meatballs

Upcoming changes to IKEA Family benefits

Abby H.

If you are like me, you’ve been a member of the IKEA Family benefits program since its inception.

I received an email from them the other day and I had to share it since it’s a pretty big change:

Thank you for being a loyal IKEA Family member. We have an important update to your IKEA Family benefits. Effective 2/1/24, IKEA Family members will no longer receive 5% off in-store on all furniture and décor. All currently enrolled and new members can enjoy this benefit through January 31, 2024.

Stay tuned for new ways to save throughout the year with offers and perks as an IKEA Family member.

In the meantime, continue to use IKEA Family benefits like free coffee and tea in our Swedish Restaurant (every day!), 90-day price protection, previews of store events, exclusive access to IKEA Family member discounts, and more.

We aren’t huge Ikea shoppers, but the discount was nice. Will this change to their IKEA Familiy benefits program change your shopping habits?

Italian Meatball Soup Recipe

Abby H.

I posted about this soup earlier in the week on Instagram. It’s easy to make and is super filling. The best part is that you can make it as simple or elevated as you want, and as your budget allows

If you like to make everything from scratch, make your own meatballs and tomato soup. On a financial or time budget- use premade. I double-checked and all ingredients are available at Dollar Tree, so even the tightest budget can try it!

Italian Meatball Soup

Ingredients:

  • 8-12 meatballs (I used these Smithfield Power Bites)
  • 1 can/jar Tomato Basil Soup (I used Rao)
  • 1 14.5oz can salt-free diced tomatoes
  • 6 Oz (half of a 12 oz. bag) frozen onion and pepper blend (I used my slap chopper to make the onions and peppers much smaller pieces)
  • 1T butter or oil
  • 1T minced garlic 
  • 2T chopped sun-dried tomatoes and 1T of the oil 
  • 1c. pasta shape of your choice (I used medium shells)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. In a deep pot, warm oil and saute the frozen onion and pepper until the onions are translucent and fragrant about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add in garlic, and sundried tomatoes and it’s oil and stir frequently, until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add in the soup, bay leaf, meatballs (mine were frozen), and canned tomatoes.
  4. Allow soup to cook covered on medium/low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Pour uncooked pasta into soup, turn to low, and cover again. cook on low for about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve.
  6. Top each serving with parmesan cheese as desired.

This recipe makes 4-6 servings. It can be easily doubled or tripled.

Tips:

  • It freezes well also.
  • It can be made vegan or vegetarian. Use vegan/vegetarian meatballs and soup.
  • GLUTEN FREE: Substitute GF Meatballs and Pasta

Recipe: Chicken Meatball Skillet

Abby H.1 Comment

FullSizeRender(256).jpgThis recipe came to me, as I was staring into the fridge wondering what the hell I was going to do with all spinach my friend gave me.

I used a package of Aidell’s Chicken caramelized onion meatballs, but feel free to use whatever kind of meatballs you like (or make your own!).

Mix it up with whatever veggies you have on hand! Peppers or kale would be great in this dish!

Ingredients:

  • 1 package chicken meatballs (about a dozen, if making from scratch)
  • 1/2 purple onion, diced
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1.5 c. grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise (about 1 package)
  • 3-4 c. fresh spinach
  • Juice of 3 lemons
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 T. Thyme
  • 1 T. Rosemary
  • 1 T. air-dried shallots
  • 1 package pasta (I like ziti) cooked per package instructions
  • 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan, saute onion until translucent.
  2. Add garlic, and cook on medium/low until fragrant.
  3. Add meatballs, tomatoes, and herbs. Cook on medium/low, until meatballs are heated thoroughly.
  4. stir in lemon juice and zest. Scrape pan to remove any browned bits.
  5. Toss in spinach, turn to low, and cover with the lid. Allow spinach to cook down by about half- this takes only a few minutes.
  6. Remove from heat, stir in cooked pasta and cheese.
  7. Season with salt and pepper as needed,  and serve ASAP.

 

This is a great 1 dish meal! It’s very filling, but the acid from the lemon and the chicken meatballs keeps the meal feeling very light.

To make this dish Gluten-free: Use GF pasta and make sure your meatballs are GF.

To make this dish Vegetarian: Use meat-free “meatballs”

Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

I spent a bunch of time late last week cleaning out the pantry, fridge, and freezer and worked up a list of meals that we can have over the next ten days.

Breakfasts are usually the same for us: Protein shakes for grown ups, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. We have plenty of protein shake fixins’- I buy the over ripe bananas, peel and slice them pop them into ziploc bags, and freeze them for smoothies and protein shakes. I also keep sandwich ziploc bags of  other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or a protein shake for me and the Mister, and The Big Kid has a specially packed lunch of whatever he’s into at the time (which changes frequently). Bitty Bird eats whatever I’ll feed her.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

Monday: Bean, Rice, and Cheese bowls, watermelon slices

Tuesday:Chicken meatballs (I’ll post my recipe later this week-it’s super simple) with BBQ sauce, herbed cauliflower rice, green salad

Wednesday: Stuffed Peppers, roasted brocolli, popovers (with lots of butter)

Thursday: Homemade Ramen (complete with veggies and poached eggs)

Friday: Veggie Burgers, fruit salad, butternut squash

Saturday: DIY Pizza night

Sunday: Leftovers