Menu Plan Monday - Oct 26, 2015

Good morning!! After a weekend of gorgeous weather it looks like fall is finally upon us… pouring rain and not very warm… makes me want to curl up with a good book and a blanket in front of the fireplace. We had a fantastic weekend though! Travelled an hour away to get my littles to an Irish Dancing Feis (competition) and they did fantastic! Yesterday we spent the day cleaning the house and preparing for the week.

I’m so pleased with my fam for how we managed to get through yesterday! We made a GIANT to-do/clean list and managed to get through the whole thing. Everyone pitched in and we not only got all of the chores done, but the girls and I packed and prepped for the week’s activities, baked for a party tonight, AND my husband went grocery shopping!! I know, crazy, right??

This week we’re hoping to try out a new recipe that I can share with you on the weekend! Also in the works (since I missed it last week) is my post about my master bedroom closet. Two weeks later and it still looks fantastic and is completely functional!

On the menu this week:

Monday: Cajun Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo

Tuesday: Fish tacos with a zesty lime slaw, homemade guacamole

Wednesday: Cheese and bacon quiche

Thursday: Chicken parmesan and spaghetti

Friday: New recipe – Beef and Broccoli

Saturday: Hallowe’en – Pizza and candy for dinner!!

Sunday: Tex Mex Lasagne

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 19, 2015

I made this!! Can you believe it??? 

Good morning!! I hope you all had a great weekend – mine was completely chaotic, filled family photos with our fave photographer, birthday parties, Operation Shoreline Cleanup and a fun filled Paint Nite out with some of my fave ladies!

My minions and a friend cleaning up a local park as a community service #GirlGuidesinAction

I am so so so thankful that I was pushed by my friend Alana to get back to blogging. Without the push of making this schedule for myself, I pretty much didn’t plan a meal all summer and we just ate whatever was quick and easy, which was not necessarily wholesome and nutritious. This week we are fully booked once again, and the girls have a dance competition an hour away, so part of my menu “plan” will be planning to eat dinner on the road a few times!

I hope you will have time to check back in on the blog later this week! I’ll be posting about our master bedroom closet overhaul – it’s a big big big change!!

On the menu this week:
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday: Lettuce wraps, gyoza and rice
Wednesday: Chicken fajitas and cheese quesadillas
Thursday: Homemade pizzas!!
Friday: Kids are at a birthday party – Date night dinner out for mama!!
Saturday: Kids dance competition! Dinner out!

Sunday: Tex Mex Lasagne
I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Breakfast Sandwiches - Freezer Meal

If you are like me, one of your favorite meals of the day is breakfast. It’s so much my favorite that I can eat breakfast foods for lunch and dinner too! Like most other moms I know, I barely have time to run a brush through my hair and find clothes that match before dashing out the door to work each day. Most days I don’t have breakfast before I leave for work, so if I don’t remember to pack and apple and some yogurt, I’ve got a long wait until lunchtime.

In the past I’ve made a few different freezer breakfast meals that I can bring along to work and keep in the freezer to microwave on crazy days. I’ve done Bacon and Egg Breakfast Muffins , Breakfast Burritos, plus the usual type of baked breakfast (banana bread muffins, etc). This time I wanted to pull together a quick and easy (to prep) breakfast sandwich that’s easy and healthy at the same time.

I picked up the essential ingredients (all four of them!) and got to work yesterday. All in, this task took me about 20 minutes, including cooking and packaging time!

Breakfast Sandwiches – Freezer meal

Ingredients
1 package of a dozen English muffins
1 dozen eggs
1 package of deli ham
12 slices of cheese
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Crack an egg into each muffin cup, use a fork to slightly beat the egg. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked through.

While the eggs are baking away, slice the English muffins in half and put a slice of cheese and some ham on one half of the muffin. When the eggs are finished baking, put one egg on each of the muffin halves. Top with the English muffin top.

Wrap each breakfast sandwich in Saran wrap and store them in a Ziploc bag. When you are ready to eat them, unwrap from the Saran wrap and microwave for approximately 1:45-2 minutes.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Hope you enjoyed this recipe! I had my first breakfast sandwich at work today and it was fantastic!!

Thanks for stopping by today, I really appreciate it!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving friends!! This weekend we have so much to be thankful for - a healthy family, beautiful children, turkey dinner with my parents, siblings and beautiful niece and nephews!! I managed to put together a Chocolate Eclair Cake for our Thanksgiving dessert, and it was delish!!

I am thankful for my husband - also known as the Laundry Fairy. He works hard for our family and will always make sure we have everything we need (before he turns on the football game).

I am thankful for my children - these two gorgeous girls who test and challenge me every day to be a better mother, teacher and friend. Every day I learn something from them, and I hope they know that I love them to the moon and back.

Seriously?? I took 14 photos and this is the best one!!

I am thankful for our family - parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. I know that they are always there when we need them and can be counted on for everything - fixing a leak, emergency babysitting, sharing a cuppa and some chocolate digestives. Our moms pick up the girls from school and are always around to spend time with the girls for which I am eternally grateful.

I am thankful for turkey dinner. This is the first year my side of the family didn't have our traditional dinner for 50 (yes, 50!!). Although I miss seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins, my dad cooked us an amazing turkey and ham dinner this year. And I got the leftovers for Turkey Pot Pie. Life is good.

I am thankful for my friends. We are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing people. Friends who live next door and pop in for a cup of tea and a design consultation, friends at work who can tell when I need a hug or a cup of tea (I'm sensing a common theme here... happiness is a cuppa tea...and sometimes a glass of wine).

As the sun sets tonight on my 36th year, and I celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday with my favorite faces, I am thankful for all of the gifts in my life. I hope that this coming year is as amazing as all those before. Cheers!!

Thanks for stopping by for a read today, I really appreciate it!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 5, 2015

Hello everyone! I hope you are all keeping well!! I know it’s been ages since I checked in her – I missed a whole summer – but I’m hoping to be able to get back to blogging a little bit at a time. As I am sure all the mama’s out there know, back to school is a crazy time, and my girls are scheduled to the max! Between their activities and me working full time, this place seems to get forgotten.

After taking the summer off from planning and organizing and trying to enjoy the many adventures with my husband and girls, I finally managed to pull together a menu plan for the month of September. Even more exciting than a whole month of dinners all planned out?? We managed to stick to it most days!!

Today I wrote out our menu plan for the rest of October. When I printed out the blank calendar, I had a complete brain freeze. I couldn’t think of a single recipe that I wanted to make… I went through my archives on the blog and found some recipes that I can’t wait to make again! First on the list - Baked SalmonParmesan and Turkey Meatloaf!!

It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend, so with the extra day off from work I’m going to hopefully manage to get a couple of freezer meals (Tex Mex Lasagne and Baked Ziti) prepped and put together to make the rest of the month even easier!

On the menu this week:
Monday: Pizza and Salad
Tuesday: Scalloped potatoes, BBQ chicken breasts and beans
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, cheese quesadillas
Thursday: Baked salmon parmesan, rice and veggies

Friday: Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s – I’m bringing Chocolate Éclair Cake
Saturday: Turkey pot pie
Sunday: My birthday! Maybe we’ll go out for dinner?

Here’s hoping I can manage to a) follow the menu plan; and b) continue on the planned blogging schedule I’m trying to keep! Wish me luck!

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!