E-Mealz - My dinnertime plan!

So, I started using a meal planning service a few months ago..it was my husband's idea - I guess maybe he got tired of the same meals over and over?!?!?!?  Not really (I hope!).  Turns out he had met the owners of E-Mealz and decided to sign me up.  

I LOVE IT!!! 

What is E-mealz, you ask?  It is a service that provides me with a weekly meal plan and grocery list, and it's only $5 a month.  That's crazy cheap for what I'm getting!  I use probably 4-5 of the 7 meals on the menu each week...some are fish and we don't eat fish.  And sometimes the meal just doesn't appeal to me.  I fill in the empty nights with favorite recipes, recipes I happen upon on the internet, and eating out (always a favorite!).  The premise behind E-mealz is Jane's (the founder) passion for providing a plan to enable families to eat together, talk about their day, and share life. All of the meals are usually 30 minutes to prepare, start to finish, and they range from absolutely amazing to "okay."  A lot of it depends on your personal taste, of course.  The great part is that it gives me a start to my menu planning, which helps with grocery expenditures, variety of food, and saves a lot of time and frustration when it comes to "What's for dinner??"

In fact, what inspired this blog post was that I pulled leftovers out of the freezer for dinner tonight last night, of an "E-mealz" meal that I took pictures of when I made it originally last month. 

 

This is what the weekly menu and shopping list look like.  I use the "Wal-mart" plan, because that's where I do most of my shopping.  I haven't yet used the grocery list, because I like to do it my way (I'm weird).  But the grocery list is store specific, so if you shop at Kroger/Publix, etc., the meals and list are actually tailored to the sales/coupon deals at your particular store.  

Here is the "Cheesy Tortellini Casserole" - it's a crockpot recipe, and I was throwing it together before church on Sunday morning.  

Start with 1 package of Italian sausage, casings removed, and cook completely.

 While it's cooking, mix up some waffles for the family.  (I multitask sometimes).

Then drain the cooked sausage.

 In your crock pot, combine the cooked sausage, 1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes (undrained), and 1 26-oz jar of pasta sauce.  I added Italian seasoning because I just had normal tomatoes.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high 3.5-4 hours.

Then, before serving, add in a 9-oz package of cheese tortellini.  Get the cheese & spinach if you're trying to be sneaky and feed your family vegetables!  Let the tortellini cook for 15 minutes. **see below

**Now this is where I will veer from the recipe next time.  It took longer than 15 minutes for the tortellini to cook, and I really wanted to eat shortly after we walked in the door.  Next time I will cook the tortellini while I'm cooking the sausage, and just refrigerate it while we're gone.  Then, I'll throw it in for 5 minutes to get warm, while I'm making green beans & garlic bread.

Servie with green beans and garlic bread...and of course, top with Parmesan cheese!l

This recipe was thrown together in about 15 minutes, while I was making breakfast, and it was delicious. However, it's a pretty big recipe.  We had 7 people eating lunch, and I still ended up with 2 quart bags to put in the freezer. When re-serving, thaw, throw in a baking dish, top with Mozzarella cheese, and heat until warm.  You might also add a bit more pasta sauce, as it gets a little dried out in the re-warming process.  (I did not do that last night...oh well!) 

"Running"

So, I've decided that I need help with my running.  I've hired my brother-in-law, Shane, to be my running coach.  He's got me on a heart rate training plan, and right now, I'm basically at a walk!  My heart rate zones are way low, and to keep the HR where it needs to be, I'm not quite at a jog!! (uG!) I may be posting some stats when they are not so embarrassing.  I'm hoping that the training works as well for me as it did for Shane...at least in time to run 5.1 miles of the marathon relay October 30th!

Chicken Pot Pie

Disclaimer:  I am SO trying to be Pioneer Woman with this post....


This is not my Grandma's chicken pot pie.  I can't make hers like she does, so I've given up trying.  I love to eat it when she makes it, but I prefer making this version for myself.  


I took pictures last month, intending to blog this, but am just now getting around to writing it...actually, I made the chicken pot (my husband's nickname for it) tonight for dinner, so that was my reminder.  (I also made a variation from my usual recipe, so I'll have to update with those changes after we eat it tonight.)


I originally got the recipe from this cookbook, and I've made some modifications over the years I've been making it.  

The grid is multiple servings of the recipe already calculated for you, so that you can make multiple recipes at a time!  I usually make just 1 recipe...it is for 2 pies (12 servings), and I sometimes even split that into 3 pies.  I usually make this when I'm taking dinner to someone.  I make one for them, and one for my family - sometimes one for the freezer, depending on the number of people eating.  It's so easy to double (triple, etc.) and have an extra in the freezer or help out a friend who needs a meal!


SO, without further ado, here it is!

Chop 1 cup each: onions, celery, and carrots.

Saute vegetables along with 1/3 cup butter over medium heat until tender.  Use a big skillet (or wok) cause you're going to add lots more stuff!

Once the vegetables are tender, stir in 1/2 cup flour....

...and cook (stirring constantly) until it's smooth and forms a kind of paste on the vegetables. 

Then stir in 2 cups chicken broth, and 1 cup evaporated milk.  

Cook this mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  It does cook up pretty quickly, so you won't get bored with all the stirring!


Then, if you're like me and tend to do things as you go, turn the heat off and just let it sit while you get your chicken chopped.

 This time I cooked a whole chicken, plus some extra thighs in the crockpot, because I needed chicken for a couple other recipes.  Sometimes I use leftover rotisserie chicken, or I roast the chicken.  I didn't love cooking in the crockpot, because I forgot about it, and it got a little overdone, so it tasted a bit dry in the pie.  (But I think I was the only one who noticed it...)


Anyway - back to the recipe...

Chop your chicken (4 cups), and thaw 1 cup of frozen peas.  I usually do this by running hot water over them in a colander, because I always forget to take them out of the freezer ahead of time!

 Mix in the chicken & peas.  Then, add in 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Don't forget these, because they're very important!  I forgot them once, and adding it to your plate after the fact just doesn't do the trick.

Then, dump your filling in a pie pan.  I usually use a disposable one when I'm making food for someone, or freezing it.  This is where I vary from the printed recipe.  You're supposed to put a pie crust in the bottom of the pan, but I usually don't do that.  I'm a little lazy sometimes. 

 Then arrange your (top, if you're using 2) crust over the filling.  I usually use a store-bought rolled crust, but tonight I experimented with my very first homemade crust.  I'll update you on how that went after we eat it!!

 Brush the store-bought crust with melted butter to make it more decadent.


If you're freezing the pot pie, this is the point where you cover, seal, and freeze it.  Then, when you're ready to eat, thaw it completely before you cook.


To cook: Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then bake covered with foil for 30 more minutes, to keep the crust from over-browning.  (I have also baked it covered for the whole time, then browned the crust under the broiler for a few minutes.  This works ok, especially if you want to use the time-bake feature on your oven, but it's better the first way.)

Dish up and enjoy!!

Mid-day Run

Today, at 12:12 pm

It wasn't bad.  I think the fall weather might be on it's way!!  Today was overcast and the temp was about 85 or so.  Very humid though.

Total Time:  36:16

Total Distance:  3.01 m

Avg Pace:  12:03

Avg HR:  175

Mile 1:  10:54 (hr 167)

Mile 2:  11:30 (hr 182)

Mile 3:  13:46 (hr 177)  **I had to walk about 1/4 mile of this one.  When I finished mile 2, my heart rate was 194.  I didn't want my heart to burst and have to pay late fees for not picking P up at preschool, so I decided to walk until it came down to 150.  Then I slow jogged the rest of the way home.

It's My Birthday!! & a Cake Pop Giveaway!

Today is my birthday, and even though some days I feel like I'm getting old, I'm really thankful that I'm having all these birthdays.  So much better than the alternative...

I'm participating in Relay for Life this year.  I'm on a team with some great ladies, some of whom I know, and some I don't.  But we all have the same goal:  to make a chance for more birthdays.

In honor of that, we're going to be giving away cake pops at our tent (the Purple Warriors) next weekend!  Here are some that I just dipped today:

These are strawberry/cream cheese.  And the coating is purple. (I just don't know how to use the camera very well.)

These are vanilla/cream cheese, just waiting to be dipped in that delish {artificial} vanilla coating!

And {drumroll please}...

These could be yours!!

I will give 1 dozen cake pops in your choice (or combo) of strawberry or vanilla to the first 3 people who donate $25 (or more) to my relay page!!  It goes for a great cause, and you get first sample of my yummy cake pops!

Here's the link:  Donate Here!!

Much love to you all!

P's 2nd Birthday Party!

This weekend I threw my daughter an Elmo 2nd birthday party.  She loooooovessss Elmo, so it was the perfect thing.  I actually decided on Elmo because of this dress that my mother-in-law bought her:

I made the cake...Elmo, of course!

We had a lot of people coming, so I decided to do the Elmo face on a base layer with plain white frosting.  It was the perfect place to put her name and the candles (which she refused to blow out).


I also did Elmo cake pops.  (A post on that will come later.)

Many thanks to my friend Janelle at Peace Love & Cake Pops for the instructions on how to decorate them!  I also looked up pictures (because I need visuals) on Bakerella's site, but I did make a few modifications to accommodate my time frame and laziness!!


For food we had hotdogs (for the kids), BBQ (for the adults), slaw, chips, watermelon/tomato salad, a cheese tray, and THIS...

Yep...that's Elmo out of veggies.  I just love Pinterest!!  This is the blog I got the picture from...I didn't have time to utilize any of her other ideas, but there are some great ones there!


I spent the week browsing the internet and crafting for the decorations:

The tissue balls I got from this blog.  The yarn balloons can be found here.  I have tons of yarn, so I didn't even need to buy any for this project!  And the "2" I made up all by my own self!  It's just cut out of poster board (although cardboard probably would have been better, but I didn't have a big enough box laying around), with scraps of tissue paper hot-glued on.  I recycled the tissue paper from trimming the tissue balls...how economical and earth-friendly is that?!?!?


More decorations:

I bought these foam puzzle pieces when P was a baby and learning to sit up, so I could have something to put on the hardwoods in my kitchen.  Now she just likes to disassemble them and spread them all over my kitchen!  I put them up (9 tiles in all, with different Sesame Street characters) with masking tape on the wall in the breakfast nook where the kids ate.  I took the yellow/red color scheme for the party from the Elmo tile.

AND....for one of my favorite parts of all.....

The GOODY BAGS!!

 I was proud of these...they took me almost an entire evening to make.  They are craft bags from Michael's, and I used my scrapbooking tools to cut out the face pieces. Then stuck them on with a glue stick.  I found a picture in an Etsy store, and I made them better, I think!  Inside the treat bags I had a box of crayons, a snack bag of goldfish, a small Elmo coloring sheet, and some candy.  (Because, "Elmo loves his goldfish; his crayons too....")

The goldfish/crayon idea I unabashedly stole from my dear friend Michelle, who is going to throw her daughter an Elmo party in December!


It was a super fun party...we had over 20 kids there, plus adults, so my house was LOUD for the 2 hours of the party...but it was such fun.  I'll probably do it again next year...

Recent Run Data

Whoops - I got busy last week with all the party stuff and didn't post my run data.  Here are the stats on my last 3 runs:


Monday, 8/29, 7:34 am
Total Time:  27:59
Total Distance:  2.01 m
Avg Pace:  13:54
Avg HR:  147
Mile 1:  13:07
Mile 2:  14:42  (ended up walking 1/2 of this one because my foot hurt)
Editorial:  I was definitely not feeling it that day...I made myself get up and get out, so that part of it felt good, but I was still tired and achy from the busy week/weekend, so I didn't really push myself at all.


Thursday, 8/25, 7:20 am
Total Time:  32:52
Total Distance:  3.01 m
Avg Pace:  10:56
Avg HR:  176
Mile 1:  9:58 (hr 171)  (*my best mile in a LONG time!)
Mile 2:  12:30 (hr 172)
Mile 3:  10:21 (hr 187)
Editorial:  I felt good going out and really pushed myself on the first mile.  Then, for the 2nd one i decided to take it easy and do a slow jog. (It actually wasn't that slow, compared to what I've been running lately...)  The 3rd mile I tried some interval stuff...I pushed it for about a tenth, then jogged for about a tenth.  I ended up pushing it for the last quarter mile, because I wanted to get my average under 11:00.  This is probably one of the best runs I've had in a while, although my HR was way high.  I have decided to ignore that.


Tuesday, 8/23, 7:30am
Total Time:  10:30
Total Distance:  1.03
Avg Pace:  10:12
Editorial:  I only had 15 minutes, so I pushed for a fast mile, then walked for 5 minutes.  I didn't wear the HR monitor.


At some point last week I did 20 minutes on the elliptical...Sunday maybe ??  I'm not back on my training schedule this week...I need to be next week, since that marks the 8 weeks leading up to the marathon relay....