Monday, February 01, 2016

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 5 - 2016

We had a great weekend, starting with a nice Friday night in, with a fire, dinner - salmon, rice and roasted broccoli. I also made a delicious vanilla bread pudding. It was nice to stay in Friday night knowing we had a big night out Saturday night. 
 
Saturday 14 of us got together for dinner at Ruths Chris and had a fabulous dinner and night out. After dinner we went to a private cigar club which was really interesting. Secret door and a really fun atmosphere. The guys had a great time smoking their cigars and sipping their scotch. 
 




 


Sunday was spent exactly how we wanted it to be spent. Relaxing and recovering from a very late night. I caught up on some RHOBH and Scott binge watched Bloodline and finished it. Such a good show. We had a really nice dinner, even though we ate later than we wanted to, but it was delicious. We had a standing rib roast we needed to cook, so we had that with some creamed spinach and a baked potato. SO good!
 
This week is a quiet week, hoping to go and see another movie Tuesday. Looks like it might be Room, still trying to get through the Oscar nominated films. We saw Joy last week. I just thought it was okay, I did not think Jennifer Lawrence was believable in that role. 
 


Monday
Plans - Home, catch up on DVR
Breakfast - Leftover bread pudding, have to do it, hate to throw it away.
Lunch - Crispy chicken salad
Dinner - Home Chef - Chicken Grand-Mere

Tuesday
Plans - Movie night, Room (love $5 movie night!)
Breakfast - Egg bake
Lunch - Leftover Haluski
Dinner - Out

Wednesday
Plans - 
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs
Lunch - Salmon and rice
Dinner - Home Chef - Juicy Lucy Stuffed Beef Burger

Thursday
Plans -First Thursday Wine event with Grace and Paul
Breakfast - Egg bake
Lunch - Rib roast and leftover potato
Dinner - Out

Friday
Plans - Out downtown trying a new restaurant with Paul and Grace
Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Out with a friend
Dinner - Home Chef - Coffee Rubbed Flat Iron Steak

Saturday
Plans - The Wayzata Chilly Open is taking place on the lake, I think we will go and check it out during the day. 

Sunday
Plans -  Hopefully out with my sister and brother in law for lunch and a movie.
 
For more meal plans and links to recipes and other meal plans, check out the orgjunkie

Monday, January 25, 2016

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 4 - 2016

Weekends go by so fast! But we had a great weekend! We stayed in Friday night and just had a fire and relaxed, caught up on the DVR and just unwound from the week. 
 
Saturday we attended the soft-opening of a new restaurant Barley and Vine in Lakeville. There were five of us that went, and for the most part things were pretty good, but the kitchen definitely has some issues to work out. We had a good time and I found a new wine I really liked!






Sunday we did our yearly bowling day with my sister and her family to celebrate my niece and nephew, G + G's birthdays. Hard to believe they are fifteen already. But they are definitely teenagers, ugh. It is always fun to get together and bowl though.
 
 
This week is pretty low key for us, it is definitely winter here. We don't have ANY plans during the week. I am thinking we will try to get to the movies tomorrow night, but other than that, its a really low key week. I will probably try to get some organizing done at home, I have already cleaned out the drawers in our end tables in the living room. 



Monday
Plans - Home, DVR (which is almost empty! this NEVER happens!)
Breakfast - Waffles with peanut butter and a clementine
Lunch - Leftover curry with a fried egg
Dinner - Home Chef meal - Sirloin Steak with Fondant Potatoes

Tuesday
Plans - Cheap movie night so we will probably go see a movie. 
Breakfast - Oatmeal with granola
Lunch - Pumpkin soup and grilled cheese
Dinner - Out, happy hour somewhere before the movie

Wednesday
Plans - Home, laundry, DVR
Breakfast - Fruit and Cottage Cheese
Lunch - Salad with chicken
Dinner - Haluski (traditional Polish dish, I have not had this forever, cannot wait to make it!) 

Thursday
Plans - Out for HH with neighbors
Breakfast - Egg bake (I have a ton of stuff I need to throw together and make into an egg bake)
Lunch - Leftover Haluski
Dinner - Out

Friday
Plans - Thinking we will probably stay in, but it depends on, it is actually supposed to get up to 40!
Breakfast - More egg bake
Lunch - Out with a former co-worker
Dinner - Up in the air

Saturday
Plans - We have a big group going out to dinner at Ruths Chris. We have a private room to ourselves, should be a lot of fun!

Sunday
Plans - We might get together with my sister and brother in law for lunch at a pizza place we all like, Sammy's and then a movie. Otherwise it will be running errands and I will make some kind of comfort food dish! 

For more meal plans and links to other meal plans and recipes, check out the orgjunkie
 

Monday, January 18, 2016

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 3 - 2016

Last week flew by, I do not even know where the week went!
 
We had a great weekend, kicked off with HH at our house, always fun. Saturday we went to a two year old birthday, the daughter of one of Scott's cousins. She is so adorable, so much spunk and sass, I just adore her! 
 

After the party we went to our neighbors Paul and Grace's for dinner. Grace is such a fantastic cook and made the best curry! Just loved it. They are such wonderful hosts, pulled out the BEST wines as well of course. It was a wonderful night. 
 
 
The high on Sunday hit about -6 without the windchill, so our plan was to not even leave the house. Which is exactly what I did! We started watching Homeland and really got into. I made a pot roast and some polenta, it was a great day to spend inside!
 


This week, we have some plans, but it is going to be a cold one, so we are also planning on laying low. 
 

Monday
Plans - Home - more Homeland I am thinking.
Breakfast - We bought Eggo waffles this past weekend, a big treat, cannot remember the last time I had those. Waffle, peanut butter, clementines. 
Lunch - Leftover curry. Have I mentioned how awesome Grace and Paul are? They sent us home with leftovers, SO GOOD!
Dinner - Home Chef meal - Blue Cheese and Green Onion Crusted Bone-In Pork Chop. We love these meals. Can't wait for this one. 

Tuesday 
Plans - Heading to the movies tonight, now that the Oscar nominations have come out, there are a few that we need to cross off of our list. Tuesdays the nice movie theater by us with recliners has $5 movie night so its a bonus. Not sure what we will see yet, but Grace is leaving for Palm Springs Monday, so we will bring Paul with us. Not sure what we will do for dinner yet. 
Breakfast - Egg frittata with spinach, tomato and mushroom. 
Lunch - Leftover pot roast and polenta. 
Dinner - Most likely out. 

Wednesday
Plans - We talked about going to HH at a place we enjoy Primo. We will see though. 
Breakfast - Might be an oatmeal kind of a morning. 
Lunch - Most likely more leftovers.
Dinner - Thinking HH out, but we will see. 

Thursday
Plans - Home, catch up on DVR. 
Breakfast - Fruit, cottage cheese. 
Lunch - Tomato soup and grilled cheese. 
Dinner - Home Chef meal - Sirloin Steak and Fondant Potatoes

Friday
Plans - No plans yet. Either we will stay in or go out! 
Breakfast - Bacon and Eggs
Lunch - Out with a friend
Dinner - Not sure yet.

Saturday
Plans - We have a friend who is opening a restaurant and this weekend is the soft opening. So we are going with Paul sans Grace who will still be in Palm Springs and Christi and Paul. Cannot wait to check it out!
Meals - We will wing it until dinner. 

Sunday
Plans - My niece and nephew G & G turn, OMG, FIFTEEN Friday. I cannot believe these two little cuties are 15 already! We started a tradition years ago where we spend the day bowling and eating pizza and wings to celebrate. Looking forward to it! Time goes by too fast!

For more meal plans and links to other recipes check out the orgjunkie.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Five on Friday - Week 2 - 2016

Back to posting Five on Friday! 

1. I am not a huge binge watcher, but I have done a few shows lately thanks to our Netflix subscription. I know I am late to the game on this one since it came out last March, but I watched Bloodlines this past week and LOVED it! Who doesn't love Kyle Chandler though. Great story line!
 

2. I am a paper planner person. A goal setter. A list maker. An agenda follower. And I love to write it all down in one place and see it! The Start Planner is new this year and so far I LOVE it! More to come of course!
 
 
3. We have been using some of the meal planning services for a while now, and we just LOVE Hello Fresh (there are others we use as well, but I think this is our favorite). Scott loves the directions and how easy it is to follow them, how the ingredients are all portioned out and the serving sizes are just right. We have done 8 meals from them so far and we have loved all of them. Last night was Italian Ciabatta Burgers, SO good!
 
 
4. Adele. Enough said. We are going to see her in July and I cannot wait! But, I just LOVED her in Carpool Karaoke!! SO good! I just love her!



5. Happy Hour! We have such a great neighborhood with wonderful neighbors. Tonight is happy hour at our house and I am looking forward to some cocktails, appetizers and a little Cards Against Humanity!


I am linking up with the girls for Five on Friday, check it out!


Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Tablescape Tuesday - Week 2 - 2016

One of my favorite things to do here in our house, is our tables. I always say the tables and our dinner parties are my creative outlet. Some people knit, scrapbook or make wreaths, I like to set our tables, come up with the perfect guest list and the perfect menu for a dinner party. That is my creative outlet. 
Last week we had planned on having six for dinner, but two had to cancel at the last minute, so we moved dinner from the dining room to the eat in kitchen for a more intimate dinner setting. The holidays just seem to fly by, so right after the holidays was the perfect opportunity to get together and catch up with our neighbors. 
I had remembered from last year, that right after Christmas, our Super Target had their standing rib roast on super sale. And it was again this year. Then on top of their sale price, the Target Cartwheel app had another 20% off! Great time to pick up a great roast for a nice dinner!

Here are some of my tables from this holiday season. 












Monday, January 11, 2016

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 2 - 2016

I am going to try to get back to regular blogging and get myself on a regular schedule. I told myself that this would start last week. As you can see that didn't really work out all that well. But I do want to try to focus on it a little more. 
We had a great weekend. Nice relaxing Friday evening with a big ol' glass of red and our first roaring fire of the winter. 
 
Saturday we went to friends for a Thai dinner and a showing of their pictures from their Vietnam/Thailand vacation. It was a lot of fun and everything was fabulous! 
 
Sunday we started the day out with brunch with my sister and brother in law, hit up a local brewery for the first half of the Vikings play off game and then back to our neighborhood to our friends Paul and Grace's for the second half. 
 
It was a great day, even though the Vikings lost! Such a huge bummer!
 
This week we don't have a ton of plans, but I do want to get back to regular meal planning. 
 
Monday
Plans - Home, laundry, dinner out
Breakfast - It is really cold here this week, so some nice hot granola will hit the spot. I like the ginger flavor with some granola and walnuts.
Lunch - I made a ham this past Friday, which makes great leftovers and I found this great recipe for Mac and Cheese Soup with Ham, SO GOOD! Try it if you get a chance! 
Dinner - Out, Lord Fletchers. We have a groupon that is expiring Tuesday, so we need to use it!
Tuesday
Plans - Neighborhood Bunco! I look forward to this night every month! Such a fun group of girls!
Breakfast - Eggs with spinach and ham.
Lunch - Leftovers, whatever I can find in the fridge. 
Dinner - Bunco, whatever people bring!

Wednesday
Plans - We have not gotten ourselves out to that many movies lately, and the Oscar nominations are coming up, hoping we get to see the majority of them before the awards show. We are heading out to happy hour and to a movie with friends.
Breakfast - Frittata with tomatoes, spinach, bacon and cheese. 
Lunch - Mac and Cheese soup.
Dinner - Out to HH at Jake's with friends and then to the movies to see Revenant. Looks like it might be a little suspenseful but I will manage!

Thursday
Plans - Home, catch up on DVR
Breakfast -Fruit with cottage cheese
Lunch - Out
Dinner - We have a couple of Hello Fresh and some Home Chef meals that need to be cooked up. So tonight is Italian Ciabatta Burgers. We love these meals. 

Friday
Plans - Friends/Neighbors for HH.
Breakfast - Sunnyside up eggs with bacon.
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - HH snacks. Whatever I wind up pulling together. 

Saturday
Plans - Scott's cousins daughters 2nd birthday party during the day. 
Breakfast - Frittata with spinach, tomato and cheese.
Dinner - Out most likely

Sunday
Plans - No plans yet, we may try to catch another movie. 
Breakfast - Whatever we can round up in the fridge.
Lunch - Maybe out while we run errands. 
Dinner - This time of year I really like to make something like a stew or something braised on a Sunday. This looks like the perfect Sunday menu.
For more meal plans, and links to meal plans as well as recipes, check out the orgjunkie!
 
 

Monday, November 30, 2015

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 49 - 2015

To say that this year has gotten away from me is an understatement. I don't know where the time goes. It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes. 

I thought I would try to get back to my regular blogging routine, maybe it will help me remember what we have done in the past, and stay on schedule. I did get our holiday cards out this year, the day before Thanksgiving, that was a huge accomplishment!

We had a really nice long Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving was spent at my sisters with her family and my mom and dad. The first time in years that it was just us, and it was really nice. I made Patti LaBelle's Over the Rainbow Mac and Cheese which was so good but so decadent. I also made Ruths Chris Sweet Potato dish, which was a big hit and of course, our favorite Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip recipe. I have been making this for the past four years and we all just love it.
 
My niece Gracie always spends Thanksgiving night with me and we go and do lunch Friday, sometimes some shopping and always take in at least one movie, but usually we try to do two. This year we saw Mockingjay Part 2 (we saw Part 1 last year on Black Friday) and The Good Dinosaur. We loved both of them and neither of us could decide which one we liked best. The only Black Friday grocery shopping we did was at Byerly's, our local grocery store who had some good deals. Later that afternoon, we had a few people over before the Alison Scott Holiday show at Wayzata Community Church. Ali is married to Scott's cousin and we always enjoy her shows, but this one is really special. Two of Scott's aunts and uncles came over and it was really good to see them and spend some time with them. 

Saturday we spent the day getting the house decorated, organized and cleaned up in preparation for a birthday brunch on Sunday to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. I hadn't put out any Christmas decorations yet, so we started but didn't finish. Just did what we could. We went over to neighbors across the pond, who had a bunch of people over to watch the Gopher/Madison football game. They have an awesome pub at their house and it was packed and a ton of fun, I am glad we went, it was a good stress reliever. 


Sunday my mom and sister showed up early to help with everything. My mom made her French Toast Bake which is one of our favorites with apples and craisins (we have this every Christmas morning at my parents), my sister made her cheesy potatoes and I made two egg bakes, one Italian and one Mediterranean as well as a ham. We had lots of sweets as well, muffins, breads and rolls. It was a wonderful day celebrating my dad. His sisters and my parents close friends were all here, it was really nice and everything went off without a hitch. 

This week is hopefully going to be low key leading up to our biggest party of the year. We have a lot of get togethers, celebrations on the deck, but our annual holiday party is always at least 50 people, a ton of food, lots to drink, our closest friends and too much fun! Last year we had our party for the first time on Friday, I decided to do it again this year on a Friday. It worked out really well last year. I take the day off and get everything ready, I usually have at least one friend willing to come and help me early and we have hired help that serves food, keeps making appetizers and cleans up. There are so many parties that people are obligated to in the weekends leading up to Christmas, this is a chance for everyone to let their hair down before things get crazy (or maybe this is when everyone lets their hair down!). We have a really fun gift exchange that gets really competitive, I actually still have to get my gift for Friday!



Monday
Plans - Laundry, home, first big snow storm of the season
Breakfast and Lunch - Leftovers - French Toast Bake, Mac and Cheese
Dinner - Steaks, leftover hashbrowns and sweet potatoes

Tuesday
Plans - It is supposed to keep snowing, we are both working from home, so I am thinking the tree will go up, more decorations out and hopefully an appetizer or two prepped for Friday. 
Breakfast and Lunch - More leftovers!
Dinner - We have three meals coming from Hello Fresh this week and next week. And then we have three meals coming from Home Chef the following two weeks. I figured with everything going on during the holidays, that this would be a good idea to do to make our lives easy. Scott loves making these meals and he does a great job. This week we have Smoky Chicken Fajitas, Seared Steak and Crispy Potato Salad and Walnut Crusted Salmon with Broccoli and Cous Cous. We will probably do the fajitas. 

Wednesday
Plans - We have friends that are leaving Friday until December 28th, so not only will we miss them dearly but Grace's birthday is today so there is some celebrating that needs to take place. 
Breakfast and Lunch - More leftovers.
Dinner - Redstone, out with friends to celebrate!

Thursday
Plans - Final prep for Friday. Make any appetizers that I can in advance, make sure the tables are ready, candles are ready to go, get my spruce top planters done. 
Breakfast and Lunch - Egg and Bacon, salad from Costco for lunch. 
Dinner - one of the Hello Fresh Meals

Friday
Plans - All day prep for the party. I am having my hair done at noon and our cleaning woman is coming at 1:00, so it is going to be a hectic day. I decided to have my hair braided for the party, something festive. I have my 28th Stitch Fix box coming, I am hoping it comes early in the day, I haven't planned an outfit for the party yet, which is really unlike me!
Meals - will be on the go until the party, and then I need to remember to eat!

Saturday
Plans - Ahhhh, clean up, a nap and relaxing! We might hit a movie in the evening. 

Sunday
Plans - My mom, sister, niece Grace and I go to see a musical every Christmas. This year we are seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I can't wait. We always have lunch first, should be a great day! 

For more recipes and links to other menus, check out the orgjunkie.


 
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