recipes

9/18/17 Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

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I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos usually have a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with fruit.  Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes with frozen bananas and PB2.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

We’re pretty stocked up of food for the next week or so- We’ll need milk, cream cheese, and cheese. I’ll probably hit up Costco tomorrow.

Monday:

  • D: Steak (it was a gift!), roasted broccoli, green salad, cheese toast. The kids don’t like steak, so they’ll probably have grilled cheese sandwiches on cheese toast (Lil’ Man discovered them not long ago and he told me it’s the “fancy” way to make grilled cheese).

Tuesday:

  • D:  Bean, Rice, and cheese bowls (they also have caramelized onions and peppers) This is a fav in our house. It’s healthy and inexpensive.

Weds:

  • D: Home made Red Sauce (made in the crockpot- Recipe will be posted tomorrow!) baked with cheese in Zucchini Boats. Thanks to my friend Lisa for the monster zucchini!

Thursday:

  • D:  Breakfast for dinner (probably frittata)

Friday:

  • D: Date Night! (we go out)

Saturday:

  • D:  Home made Pizza, and fruit salad

Sunday:

  • D: Leftover buffet

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

We’ve got a busy week with ABA Therapy three times, a Lego Movie event, a Lego event at our local Library, and a trip to Legoland on Saturday (just me and my Lil’ Man!).  I’ve made sure to fill up our snack backpack and wash out our water bottles.

Healthy, Frozen Fruit Pops!

Abby H.

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It’s summer and my kids would eat popsicles 24/7 if I let them. Most commercial popsicles (or as they are sometimes called, frozen dessert confections) are full of sugar and artificial ick. A few months ago my dad bought me a package of Zipzicles on Amazon. Zipzicles are long, skinny zip top freezer bags that can be filled with whatever you’d like and frozen. Think DIY Otter Pops.

What I really like is that you can be creative, use what you have on hand, and create healthy and fun treats with your kids.

Here are two recipes that the kids and I came up with. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this pictures recently.

Screen Shot 2017-06-23 at 7.46.47 AMMixed Berry Pops

Makes about 12 pops

  • 2 cups mixed berries (use whatever you have, I used 1.5 cups of strawberries and 1/2 cup blackberries)
  • 1/2 c water
  • 2 t. honey

Place all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Use a small funnel to fill the zipzicle pouches. Place all Zipzicle pouches into a cup or larger zip top bag and place in freezer. Ready to serve in approx 4-6 hours, or as soon as frozen solid.

Screen Shot 2017-06-23 at 7.46.35 AMTropical Pops

Makes about 20

2c frozen bananas
2c frozen Strawberries
1 pkg frozen mangoes
2c Orange Juice
Blend together, pour into Zipzicle pouches ( I use a funnel). Store in freezer until it’s time to consume.

They are so good, and no extra sugar is needed, because the bananas are so sweet.

Next, I think we’ll be making Bachelor Mousse treats. I think it will freeze well, and everyone loves fudgsicles!

For your convenance, Zipzicles can be purchased here (affiliate link), but you can also find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

What would you put into your Zipzicles?

3/27/17 Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

DSC07997

Bringing it back! To help get us back on track and use up what we’ve got in the pantry. I just did a pantry and freezer inventory, and I’ll need to do a quick trip to pick up some frozen veggies and fresh fruit tomorrow, but other than that (and a gallon of milk), we should be good for the week!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos have started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with fruit.  Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes with frozen bananas and PB2.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D:Crockpot pulled BBQ chicken, steamed veggies, garlic bread

Tuesday:

  • D:  Bean, Rice, and cheese bowls (they also have caramelized onions and peppers)

Weds:

  • D: Fritatta (with veggies, bacon, and cheese) and fruit salad

Thursday:

  • D:  Veggie Enchiladas (it’s a complete meal, no sides needed!)

Friday:

  • D: Date Night! (we go out)

Saturday:

  • D: Crockpot Chili (I’ve got a batch in the freezer- I’ll de-frost and toss it into the crockpot!), fruit salad

Sunday:

  • D:Chicken and Veggie teriyaki stir fry, rice

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first. I need to replenish our snack bag that lives in the car, and make sure to take our water bottles when we leave the house!

 

Save More with The Dollar Tree Value Seekers Club!!

Abby H.

Who doesn’t love a value?

Dollar Tree has recently rolled out their Value Seekers Club! Join the club and get access to members-only contests, money-saving party ideas, crafts, recipes, exclusive product sneak peeks & more!

Right now they are having an East Basket making contest, where the winner will receive a $100 Dollar Tree Gift Card!!

To join  or learn more, click here. I already signed up. I can’t wait to save even more at Dollar Tree!

Another way to receive high value coupons….

Abby H.

Everyone knows about the usual places to look for coupons, but have you heard about Brand Clubs? Some brands, like General Mills, Betty Crocker, and SC Johnson have e-clubs you can join. Each month or so, they’ll email you tips, trick, and recipes (usually), and also links to high value printable coupons you won’t find anywhere else online.

Here are a few of my favs:

SC Johnson’s Right@Home®

 Betty Crocker’sE-Club. Get exclusive coupons (up to $250 per year in savings), access to free samples (quantities limited – one per member), our hottest recipes, and more!

 

 
Tablespoon from General Mills! Subscribe and Get a daily dose of deliciousness right to your inbox!

Sign up for instant access to receive hot savings alerts for all of the latest General Mills coupons and deals as well as our BEST recipe ideas & ingredients, how to videos and new recipes right out of the oven and into your inbox!