In the Kitchen :: Meal Planning 101

Real Life : Dottie

Keeping your family fed is work. There is nothing more frustrating (and expensive and time consuming) than going to the store and buying random stuff only to not know what to do with it when you get home or to have to rush out again for forgotten ingredients to turn your groceries into a full fledged meal.

When I was a senior in college my roommate Curt introduced me to meal planning.  My four roommates and I were spending gobs of money on groceries and our meals were quite scattered.  That is until Curt sat us down and brought order to our collegiate cooking chaos.  Each of my four roommates would cook one dinner a week and we would fend for ourselves Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We would each pour over our few cookbooks (basically all Molly Katzan books and maybe one Joy of Cooking) and write down the ingredients by Sunday morning and go food shopping Sunday afternoon.  So simple, yet amazing.  And our family style meals turns us into the best of friends as well.

And now many years later, the bones of it are still there.  I still have my Enchanted Broccoli Forest, but rely more on Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, the Barefoot Contessa and dozens of other cookbook writers.

Every Thursday night I sit with a glass of wine watching 30 Rock leafing through my cookbooks and visiting a few very loved Websites–like Shutterbean, CHOW.com, TheKitchn.com, Epicurious.com and Smitten Kitchen.  I think about what is in season right now and often do a search around that ingredient to come up with a winning recipe.

Image via: CHOW.com (recipe is Mushroom and chile tacos)

I also try to cook one new recipe a week, which is a great way to get one out of a rut we all get into every now and then. I’m also that annoying person who tears interesting recipes out of magazines and has  folder full of them collected over the years that easy falls to the floor if you even slightly bump it. Sigh…

I try to think things through–like if I’m doing a roasted chicken on Sunday, we’ll probably have a salad with the leftover chicken on chicken soup on Monday.  And if something produces a lot–like slow cooker dishes, I’ll put us down for leftovers the following day–which is especially useful if one of us is out that night.

After I make a list of the meals I go through each recipe and write down the needed ingredients.  I often read the recipe twice just to make sure I wrote down all of the ingredients and make sure I feel comfortable doing the steps. And then we grocery shop on Friday.

Image via: Shutterbean  And yeah, this recipe is SO on my meal plan TODAY.

Now, I’d love to say this is fool-proof because of course it’s not. There are many days when I am too tired to cook or forget an ingredient or what have you, but most of the time, I’m really happy about this method. And I’m certainly not the only person to meal plan like this. There are some great templates for menu planning.  Like this one. Or this one. But I prefer my old spiral bound steno pad. Why fix it if it ain’t broke?

My sister in law is the exact opposite. She relys solely on what she gets in her CSA box and plans around that. Or she’ll go the market and fix what she and her family are in the mood for that day.  I wish I was more extemporaneous in looking into my fridge and seeing a world of possibilities. Sigh, but I’m not.

Are you a meal planner or more about scratching your food itch of the moment when you go grocery shopping?

 

MK Book Club : We Didn’t Forget!

Uncategorized

OK. Soooooo it’s been well over a month since we told you about our next pick for the Little Book Report Club. What can I say? We got distracted..and were hopelessly busy. I’m sure you know the feeling! There was life. And work. And then there was the Month of Color. Aaaaand, well. We suddenly smacked our heads and said, “OOPSY!!!” So we are reading it THIS WEEK! It’s short. We’re gonna power through it and you can too! Pick up a copy of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler here OR swing by your local book store. It’s sooooo fun, I just know you’ll love it!

Springy Vintage Finds!

Kiddo Style: Vintage, ,

Hi, hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!  I did!  It started with a lovely little brunchie with the Peach and ended with homemade cookies and watching Games of Thrones. And a lovely gab with my Mom!  I wanted to do a little hurrah for my own Mom similar to that lovely piece Alix did for her beautiful mama, but alas, I didn’t have any old photos of her. But just you wait!

Anyhoo! I did have some time to find some great vintage goodies to share with you, friends!

I’m beyond in love with this little bicentennial romper. A completely U. S. of Yay piece of vintage! From Etsy seller,

Here is another red, white and blue vintage find! A great knit deadstock skirt. Cindy Brady would have totally rocked this skirt. From Grace Paradise.

Oh, this sweet little Hawaiian dress is perfect for a spring party! Utterly charming and what great colors too! From Etsy seller, MidCentury Marfa.

 

For the past few weeks, every round up has included something involving a giraffe. And this week’s

Lazer Baby!

You can’t help but smile when you see

I’m totally in love with

I think the best parts of design/deco are the small details that just can’t help but make you smile! Like these great vintage

I remember watching my brothers look at the stars with Fuzzymama!

Happy Monday, folks!

I love you mom.

Real Life : Alix

My parents were visiting recently to help me clean up our basement. We called it a “working vacation” and it was something we had never done before. I was sooo appreciative. Oddly it was one of my favorite visits. Usually we have planned outings and try and take little day trips. But because we were working, we just hung out around the house. And it was so comforting and fun having them just be here….having breakfast/coffee with them in the morning. The luxury of them taking Wolfie to school in the morning. Sitting in the back yard “taking a break” and just chatting.

A while back Wolfie and I found a little vintage slide viewer at the thrift store (kind of like a fancy view master). I asked my dad if he would bring some slides so we could test it out and he did it one better—he brought the slides AND all the slides digitized on a DVD. SO GREAT! These were just a few of the photos. I loved looking at them. Look how foxy my mom is! I remember I loooooved her blonde farrah hair. I’m sure I’ll be sharing more of these photos soon. There are some hilariously awesome ones.

Mutti, thank you for being the best role model a girl could ever have! I had an amazing childhood and so many terrific memories. All the lessons you taught me have truly made me the lady I am today. And it’s because of you, that I am now this:

To all the mom’s out there….and to Dottie and HER sweet mama, HAPPY, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Friday Link Hootenanny :: Cool Things to Browse

Link Hootenanny

It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow! Did you make/send your mama something? If not, a phone call is still special. I’m always torn with what to do on mother’s day. On the one hand, it’s nice to have “me time”….get a manicure. A massage. Sit outside and read a book. But I also just really love spending time with my guys. And having a day with them is always something I enjoy. Rumor has it they are making blueberry coffee cake for me (yes, my non-sweet loving son actually has been really into BAKING lately….go figure!). To all the mama’s out there, may your day be amazing and wonderful. You deserve it! Now….on to some links.

1. PRETTY PERSONAL PRESENT.


Our friend Mari over at Small for Big came up with the sweetest little DIY printable. It would make a PERFECT last mother’s day gift if you are still on the prowl. Make one before tomorrow over here! Or save it for a birthday project.

2. HEY DADDY-O.

This was listed as “my dad’s band”. I don’t know who the kid is, but if this was his dad’s band I am hoping he’s a pretty cool cat himself. I LOVE these photos. See more of  his “dad’s band” here.

3. SHE FOUND THEM SOMEWHERE, OVER THE RAINBOW.

When I was younger, my godmother Tanta Judy always gave me a Madame Alexander doll for my birthday and Christmas. I LOOOOVED them. When I was younger, I was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. So much so that I went as Dorothy for halloween and my parents used to always buy me Wizard of Oz “stuff” as gifts. (although in my bratty 20s I requested they stop.) Anyway, I was soooo charmed by this entire collection of Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz dolls that my friend Jenny unearthed. You’ll never guess where they are from! See more here. The blue “Oh Wee Oh!” guy is awesome.

4. STICKY FINGERS

These little colorful stickie notes are so fun….they’d make great book marks. Find them here.

5.  GETTIN’ DOWN TO BUSINESS.

I’m a big fan of Bri’s blog, designlovefest. She always has gorgeous eye candy, but she also has lots of thoughtful posts on freelancing, running your business and building your blog. This post is a recap of a a session she did recently on consistency of your blog “brand” and i thought it was great. Check it out here.

6. OH WHAT A PEAR.

This Vanilla Pear Cocktail is intended to be a fall beverage, but I think it looks so refreshing I can still imagine sipping it on a lovely warm spring Mother’s Day! Find out how to make it here. (via sfgirlbybay)

7. A BRIGHT IDEA.

This is not only a decorative sticker, it’s also a phosphorescent night light for kids, which glows in the dark when you switch off the light providing comfort during night hours. So sweet. Get them over at My Sweet Muffin.

8. A BEAUTIFUL WALK TO PARIS.
In 1962 illustrator/graphic designer extraordinaire Saul Bass made a children’s book. This past February they re-issued this marvelous book and now you can get all the magic of Henri’s Walk to Paris without having to obsessively troll thrift stores and used book shops. (ahem. not that anyone around here has been known to do THAT….)

9. PANIC AT THE DISCO
Feelin’ like your homies aren’t as ready for mother’s day as they should be? Send ’em over to Shutterbean. She has some awesome brunch ideas for the guys and gals in your life to whip up for you!

10. BONUS VIDEO // MARY POPPINS GETS SMOOTH
Have you seen (heard) these amazing remixes? They are sort of groovy, downtempo electronica but very very cool (via Black Eiffel). I also really love the Harry Potter “Alohomora” remix.