Meal Plan for the Week of Oct 1st

     How is tomorrow already October 1st? That just doesn't seem possible! I've been super busy the last couple of days trying to pack. Yesterday Graham and I went to the Cedar Rapids and got some things for the condo. We found the comforter sets for both the master and the guest bedroom. We bought a table for the living room (that is gorgeous and awesome, can't wait to show you), a desk for my computer, a cool bookcase as well as some pillows for the living room and some paint for furniture. So we got a lot done! And all for about 400 dollars! 
     But that's enough about what's been going on the last couple days. Now it's time to look at this weeks meal plan. I'll admit this week isn't the most exciting as far as food goes. I am trying to use up some of the food that is in the freezer as well as other things in our pantry. I'm not trying any new recipes this week although I will be posting the recipe for the white chili when I make it. But let's just say that my trip to the store is going to be really cheap this week! There are only about 5 items that I need to get, I may think of a couple more but I still wont have very many.
     I am really trying to use what I have so there is not as much to move. I know maybe that is silly, there will still be a lot in the way of food to move but I guess it is just a mental thing for me. I also wanted to make the meals for this week simple because I am going to start painting the condo and I am still working on packing as well. So here is this weeks meal plan...

Monday-

Lunch- Leftover Alfredo

Supper- Croatian Brats w/ sour kraut

Brussel sprouts

Tuesday-

Lunch- Leftover Alfredo

Supper- Naan pizza

Wednesday-

Lunch- Misc leftovers

Supper- White Chili

Thursday-

Lunch- Leftover white chili

Supper- Baked fish/ Brussel sprouts

Friday-

Lunch- Leftover fish and brussel sprouts

Supper- Pork Loin in crock pot with red potatoes

Saturday-

Lunch- Hamburgers

Supper- Croatian Brats

Sunday-

Lunch- Vinton

Supper- Popcorn/ snack

This week I am CookingSimpleForReal! 

Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

     This week has definitely been a crazy one so I didn't stick to the meal plan needless to say. Wednesday night we were out at my parents helping with harvest and we had yummy stew (thanks mom!). Yesterday some friends had a family emergency and so we were at their house and I helped make supper and then we ate with them.
     So tonight I decided to make the chicken broccoli alfredo since it had the fresh veggies that needed used. It was actually a great thing to make tonight because it was supper fast to make because I had the chicken cooked and the veggies were chopped.
     So all I did was boil a pot of water, add the pasta and cook. When the pasta had about 5 minutes left to cook, I added the cooked chicken as well as the veggies. Then I drained it and added the alfredo. This is how it looked....

     It was really good and Graham Cracker really liked it too! I can't wait to have leftovers, I always love leftover alfredo! Well, I'm tired but I should probably go work on packing. So until next time, stay OrganizedForReal! 

Tip of the Day: Master Grocery List

     You're in the grocery store and you go from aisle 1 to 2 to 5 to 6 and back to 2, then back to 5. You are jumping all around the store, you're frustrated and you just want to go home. Sound familiar? What if you could go straight through the store with no back tracking? Sound good? Well guess what? You can! How? By having a master grocery list! 
     This takes just a little bit of time to put together but will save you so much time every time you go to the store! If you can picture a mental outline of your grocery store, go ahead. If not, the next time you are in your grocery store, make note of the different sections. You will list produce, canned goods, dry goods, desserts, ethnic, pasta, dairy, meat, frozen, etc. You can be as specific as you want. On your computer, create a document that has about 3 columns. Through these column, list the sections in the order of the store. 
     Now when you fill in the groceries that you need to get, put them in the correct section. You can either fill the sections in on your computer or just print the list with the section titles and fill it out as you need. If there are certain items you purchase weekly, feel free to type them into the appropriate section. This will make your weekly grocery shopping even easier.
     I have also found it helpful to have an area at the top of the list to list the food you are making for the week so that you can reference it while shopping. This way you can be OrganizedAtTheGroceryStoreForReal!

Tip of The Day: Organizing Spices

     Do you ever open your spice cabinet or look at your spice rack and it takes forever to find what you are looking for? A lot of people have this problem, just keep it the way it is, and deal with it. But why deal with it when you can take a little bit of time and organize them once and for all? Well, I'll admit, I'm guilty of this, I haven't done it yet but I am hoping to this week. (Look for that post soon!)
     People have many different ways of keeping their spices but everyone can employ a few simple methods to keep them all organized. You may have a cabinet you keep them in, a stationary rack, a rotating rack or even perhaps a pull out drawer or rack. I currently have both a cabinet and a rotating rack. The rack sits on the counter underneath the cabinet where there are more spices. 
     One tip is to make sure that your bottles are well labeled. If you use the bottle from the store they are normally well labeled but if you are using a spice rack with special containers, be sure that put a label on them. Eventually I am going to get rid of some of the spices that I don't use and fill them with spices that I do and relabel the containers. 
     Another tip I have is to organize all of your spices in alphabetical order. This way you will always know where to find the spices that you are looking for. Just be sure to put them back where they go!
     My last tip is to put a small round sticker on the bottom of the container and mark the date it was opened. This way you will always know the freshness of your spices and know when you need to replace them. By doing this you will be OrganizedForReal in the kitchen!

Moving: Boxes

     One of the most important things to have when you are moving is boxes of course. But do you want to spend a lot of money on boxes? I just looked at a popular moving companies website and their boxes range from $1.25 to 3.25 PER BOX!!!!!! That's just crazy! So what am I doing instead, you may be thinking. 
     Well, I definitely believe that everyone should invest in some plastic totes. They are worth getting because they are durable and good to keep for storage as well. But there is no way that I am buying enough of those totes to move all of our stuff so what am I going to do with the rest of our stuff? Well, I just got back from the grocery store and I got 6 apple boxes! These are great because they are very sturdy and they also have a lid which makes for great stacking! See!

     I will keep checking back at our local grocery store to get more the next couple weeks as well. Well, I think it's time to start packing again! Well, maybe I should finish folding my laundry first then packing! Use these few tips and you can be Organized PackingForReal!

Meal Plan and Prep: Week of Sept 24th

     Monday morning is always the day that I plan my meals for the week and get groceries. So here is what this week's menu looks like...

Monday-

Lunch- Leftover Taco Soup

Supper- Bacon and eggs and pancakes

Tuesday-

Lunch- Leftover Taco Soup

Supper- Naan pizzas

Wednesday-

Lunch- Leftover smokies from freezer

Supper- White Chili

             Cabbage Salad

Thursday-

Lunch- Leftover smokies

Supper- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

             Raspberry Salad

Friday-

Lunch- Leftover alfredo

Supper- Croation Brats

             Brussel sprouts

Saturday-

Lunch- Leftovers

Supper- Leftovers

Sunday-

Lunch- Eat Out

Supper- Popcorn and snacks

     So I got my groceries at Fareway and spent less than 40 dollars for the whole week! Awesome! I'm so happy about that! Once I got home it was time to prep some of the food for the week like I talked about in my post about putting away groceries. I started by putting some chicken in a big pot with a little water in the bottom, then I added lots of seasoning to it and let it cook. 

While the chicken was cooking I decided to chop the veggies. I chopped broccoli and red bell pepper for supper on Thursday. I went ahead and put it in a bag and labeled it Chicken Alfredo. 

Then after the chicken was cooking I seperated it like this. 

I took out the chicken itself and then strained the broth. I sliced half the chicken for chicken alfredo and shredded the rest for white chili. In the bag for the white chili I added back what I had strained from the broth as I had added dehydrated onion and this will be a good addition to the chili. I labeled them like this and put them in the freezer. 

Then I left the broth sit in the container for a little while and then skimmed the fat off the top. Then I poured it into ice cube trays and froze them for about 6 hours. It made 22 cubes or 22 oz. I them took them out of the trays and put them in a resealable bag and labeled it. I will be using some of the broth for the chili this week. 

So by doing this I am Organized CookingForReal!

Life Update: Moving

     So last night it finally hit me. We are moving in 2-3 weeks! Panic right??? Well, I'm not really panicking (yet anyway). But this realization was definitely a motivation to start packing. So last night I decided I might as well get started. I decided to start with the closet that was basically our storage closet. This is what it looked like before from the hallway... 

Here is a view looking from the top so that you can see the back of the closet...

And this is what it looked like after.... 

     Most of what was in the closet was already in rubber totes or boxes but I took everything out, went through it and labeled the boxes. I decided that I am going to make sure that all boxes are well labeled. They will have a label that tells what is in the box but also what room it will go in. This way when we are actually moving, as soon as the box comes in the door, it can go into the appropriate room. I not only finished this closet but I also went through the bathroom and took out all the towels that we will not need as well as any toiletries and extra supplies that I can live without for a month. So all that is left in our bathroom is things that we need until we move. 
     Also, our moving experience is going to be somewhat different than many people moving experiences. We are currently living in my boss' house. I have house-sat for them for the last 3 years as they spend most of their time in Texas. But now it is definitely time for my husband and I to have a place that is truly our own. We are buying a condo that is a little less than 1000 square feet. It is going to be a welcome change as we are currently living in a 3 story house that I am quite tired of taking care of. So keep checking for moving updates! I am going to try to keep blogging so that you can see the changes but who knows how crazy busy we will be. I will try to be sure to take pictures along the way so that I can at least post about our move after things settle down. So until next time, I'm out!