Monday's Menu and Reviews:

I'm writing this as of Saturday night. I have successfully made next week's menu and grocery list and luckily I had two meals I didn't get around to making for one reason or another and a roast in the freezer so our list is light. This is good for the financials.

Menu: I sized down the menu b/c we've been having lots of leftovers so I think planning for 4 meals will work better and lower the risk of moldy mystery food hiding out in the back of the fridge which will inevitably lead to a stand off between Levi and I where the food always wins and remains until my mom comes to town.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli
Chicken Spaghetti, breadstix
Pork Roast, carrots, and potatoes in the crock pot
Pulled pork Bar-b-q sandwiches (from the roast), Red, Hot, & Blue copycat potato salad, parmesan basil baked fries for the girls, fresh fruit

Last week was the first week of school and let's just say it was a rough one. I began my M-Th work schedule. The girls were beat. We were beat. I don't think we ate dinner before dark ever which means the girls got to bed way too late and Levi and I were too tired to bother doing dishes....total snowball effect. Jules threw up the second day of school right before she was about to walk out the door. All over herself, the couch, and the carpet. Oy vey. I'm not even sure how many/if any baths the girls got. And the condition of the house is quite critical. It's hemorrhaging. At one point I wanted to runaway from home and not b/c I don't love my family. Because I just wish I could be better at this whole mother/wife/running the household thing.

But, alas, I'm still here. No bags were packed. No hotels were booked. A few evenings out on the back porch to quiet my mind and beg God to send me my very own Nanny McPhee/Nanny Joe combo seemed to help some.

I have to add a side-note here. I absolutely loved Nanny McPhee Returns. We all did. My favorite thing about it was that Maggie G. hit the conflicting nature of motherhood right on the head. And she did it with charm. How you can feel like your world is crashing down around you with the urge to run away from it all so strong yet not stronger than the inexplicable overwhelming love you have for your kids, your family, your life. The love that pulls you back like a magnet and won't let you go.

When the family no longer needs Nanny McPhee yet wants her to stay is when it is her time to go. That's the rules. And oh, I think I cried real sappy tears when Maggie was running like the wind down the lane chasing after Nanny screaming.."wait! WAIT! I need you! You don't even know how much I NEED YOU...please don't go!" It's such a funny sad thing how I related to that desperate cry for help.

So far, despite my obvious need for one, there has been neither a Nanny Joe or Nanny McPhee come to my rescue. But, I have Levi and he's been pretty darn helpful lately. We've come to the conclusion that we need a prep. evening to prepare for the following week...either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening. This weekend it was Saturday. So far, I've made the chicken spaghetti, prepared the hashbrown casserole (only needs to be baked now), and prepped the cordon bleu. It didn't take long and I think the time savings will be huge during the week. Dinner by dusk? That would be nice. And to help our mornings go smoothly Levi is ironing all of our clothes right now. He's watching LA Inc to keep his sanity and man-card in check.

What's gonna work? TEAM WORK? Sorry, didn't mean to get that song stuck in your head.

Just when Levi was looking like Superman to me....ironing, stopping to massage my neck b/c it's hurting like nobody's business.....he says "I want to get an elliptical machine for the living room."

And then, poof, he's back to the old him and I wanted to choke him.

And now on to the reviews!

Monkey Bread: This was by far the kid's favorite thing I've made in like their whole lives. Wonder if the mounds of sugar, butter, and cinnamon had anything to do with it? I have to agree....it was gooood. The kids can help with this by cutting the biscuits and shaking in the sugar cinnamon mixture. This can be made ahead of time so that you just have to make the sauce and bake the next morning. The only problem I had was the top getting too brown which didn't matter so much b/c it would, in the end, be the bottom. I used a sheet of foil to cover it the last 10 minutes or so. Be sure to take a fork and separate the dough to make sure it's done in the middle before you take it out.

I had no problems with this and thought it was very fun to make. Mia said "My stomach hurts but I can't stop eating it!" Jules said "I will remember this monkey bread for my whole life...."

This is what it should like before you cook it. Check out that beautiful bundt cake pan Levi hand picked for me (It was on the grocery list..did I mention he has been doing the grocery shopping? Gotta brag when bragging is due.). I love that pan.

When it comes out of the oven it is less than impressive.

But, boy-oh-boy, look at it now! I turned it over and it came out beautifully...really.

Roast Sticky Chicken:

Oh, heaven's to Betsy. This is amazing and easy. It calls for 2 birds. I use one b/c we always have a TON left over. However, this would be fantastic for company so 2 would come in handy in that instance.

My only ONLY suggestion/alteration is to use the rub recipe for each bird. Meaning, if you do two birds...double the rub..if you use one....leave it as is. Oh, and I don't have white pepper and can't find it at Target so oh, well. But, please, other than the white pepper you should follow the recipe exactly. You won't regret it.

You literally take a naked bird:


Make the rub (all of 5 minutes) and rub down the bird...no oil necessary. This is a dry rub. I wanted you to see my $9 roasting pan from Wal-mart. Go get one if you are broke and don't have one. It's awesome. I can easily fit two birds in it if I want to and not to mention it makes you look like a serious cook.


Stick it in the oven at 250 for 5 hours.


And then, voila! Perfection in a roasting pan. You don't even have to baste it until after it's out. In fact, I basted it quite a bit last time and it browned way too much. So, don't bother until the end. And FYI, I don't get ANY juice in the bottom of the pan until the last hour so never fear...be patient.

Now you will notice there are no onions in the before pics and suddenly they appear in the after. That's b/c you are suppose to stuff them in the bird and I always forget and really prefer to stay far far away from the inside of the bird. And I do NOT rub the rub inside the bird, I sprinkle it, b/c my hand ain't going in there.

Levi de-bones the whole bird after it cools b/c I often use the leftovers for another dish and that way it's done. In this case I used the left overs for the chicken spaghetti.

Stuffed Green Peppers:

These were very good but no-one ate the peppers and those things are expensive. Levi likes the flavor they give the filling but hates green peppers. Go figure. The filling was SO STINKING EASY. I think I will try to stuff some wonton wrappers with it in honor of my fellow blogger and friend Catherine who's been stuffing those things with all sorts of yum. I may buy ONE pepper and cut it up in big chunks to cook with the stuffing then remove it all so no one gags.

Oh, and I didn't pour the tomato sauce on the top. Talk about yuck. We topped them with colby jack cheese instead. I loved them. I'll let you know if I do the wrappers. And the good thing about this is you can add anything you want to it. Sausage? Fresh basil? Black olives? Mushrooms? Endless possibilities.

Spinach Basil Pesto:

I'm gonna have to get back to you on this one. Something went wrong but I don't know what. I've made this before and we loved it. I think the garlic was too green. The dish ended up being hot in a weird weird way. I should have stuck with the jar-o-minced-garlic b/c that is always perfect. And the pasta stuck together in a clumpy gross mess. I have written off fettuccine and will forever be devoted to linguine instead. Levi still ate it that night and for left-overs. God bless him. But, I have to say this was a real flop.