sing for your supper

The title of the cookbook on top of the pile pretty much sums it up: when Matt gets home from work it's time for dinner.  In order to be prepared for his growling stomach I do some list making nearly every Friday.  I start out by flipping through my recipe binder, recipe box, and any cookbooks I plan on using during the next week.  Some of my favorites are Time for Dinner, Make Ahead: Food Made Fast, and Everday Italian.

I reference this handy guide that I tore out of an old issue of Real Simple to decide on one or two pasta dishes each week.  I'm fond of brown butter and sage combinations and, lucky for me, Matt isn't a big fan of sage so I get to eat it all.  

This week it was cheese ravioli with butternut squash sauce (not from the guide) on Monday night, and I have plans to make a giant batch of gravy (that's tomato sauce to those of you who aren't married to an Italian living in the Cranston-Johnston region) using my mother-in-law's recipe.  I made enough for four pounds of pasta, so I'll store it in the freezer in separate plastic containers for use in the coming weeks.

My recipe box is filled with clippings from magazines, cards from Whole Foods and other stores, and scribbled notes on scraps of paper.     

After I select my recipes I pencil them onto this notepad (referenced here as well), mixing up the meals so we have a variety throughout the week.  This week is a bad example, but usually we have different types of main dishes Sunday through Thursday (pork, beef, chicken, pasta, fish, or vegetarian) and Friday ends up being leftover night.  I leave Saturdays blank because inevitably something will come up during the week and one of the meals will get bumped.  Another thing I left off of this week's menu is the place to find the recipe - typically I'll write 'binder' or 'TFD' (Time for Dinner) next to the meal, as well as sides like mashed potatoes and green beans.  Then I write out my grocery list using the recipes as a guide.  Any other helpful hints?  I'm always looking for ways to streamline the process that is getting dinner on the table!

priorities

(image via etsy seller onneke)

This week I'm instituting a new daily plan inspired by a conversation with Jaclyn and a post on balance by Liz. Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom to Ezra and wife to Matt (ok, so I already was his wife, but now I'm a stay-at-home wife), I want to make the most out of my day.  I don't want to be stuck with my mouth hanging open when people ask me what I do all day, but most importantly, each day I want to feel like I've been productive and spent my time in a worthwhile way.  First things first: I need to be fed spiritually.  For me, that means being in the Word, spending time in prayer, and listening to worship music.  That's priority number one.  Next, I need to do something physical.  Most days that means a walk outside with Ezra in the Moby or some yoga.  Home maintenance is on the list, too, so cooking, cleaning, and organization are a part of my day as well.  Liz also listed creative, outdoors, and education on her daily to do list.  Education is taken care of by the sixteen or so books I'm always reading at any given time.  Outdoors will get easier to check off now that the weather is warming up in Rhode Island.  Ezra and I can go for walks or I can bring a blanket outside so we can play or eat lunch in our yard.  Creative is the one area that I want to work on incorporating more often.  There are so many sewing, crafting, and home DIY projects I want to complete that if I try to do them all in the time Ezra sleeps at night before I go to bed too I'll be working on them until 2012.  And that doesn't include any projects I may decide to do this week.  So here's to prioritization and finding balance in the day-to-day.  What's on top of your to do list each day?       

words of wisdom

Like many other well-intentioned Americans, I, too, would like to eat healthier this year; however, my desire isn't prompted by a need to get in shape, lower my cholesterol, or even to lose those remaining nine pounds of baby weight.  I didn't make a New Year's resolution and I don't have a particular goal in mind, but I want to develop better eating habits because this is the first year that I am solely responsible for the well-being of another individual.  

Word of Wisdom Living is the perfect place for me to start.  Author Skip Hellewell is suggesting 52 healthy changes.  That's right, one for each week of the year.  Last week's healthy change is about breakfast cereal, and I was happy to learn that my beloved Quaker Oats are up to snuff.  Check out healthy change number one here and find number two right here.  So far my changes include limiting myself to one hot chocolate or decaf spiced chai per week (easy, since I don't drink them too often anyway), and refraining from buying fried foods, which means no more restaurant fries.  I can't wait to make more healthy changes throughout the year with the help of Word of Wisdom.  Do you have any healthy changes in place this year?     


via Brooke