Sour Cream Waffles: Recipe Review

As you can tell from my menu plans, we love pancakes around here! But every once in a while I like to switch things up and make waffles! I had tried a few recipes but when I found this one I knew it would be my go to recipe! I found this recipe from the same site that I found our favorite pancakes. They are so yummy! So, as long as I've got sour cream on hand (and we typically do!) I'm making these!




These waffles are rich (a stick of butter and 1/2 cup of sour cream, which by the way are good for you), so we all typically eat less of these than pancakes! I usually serve these with real maple syrup and fruit. And if we're blessed to have yummy nitrate free bacon, we'll have that as well! My boys love them cut into waffle sticks for dipping!



I hope you try Sour Cream Waffles! They are delicious and easy to whip up! Let me know if you try them!

Tasty Brussel Sprouts: Recipe Review

My Daddy decided to grow Brussel sprouts for the first time this year! I think they are the cutest little vegetable! Brussel sprouts are one of 'those' veggies. You either love them or hate them! I happen to love them! And in my house, I'm the only one who loves them! I tried a recipe from Kitchen Stewardship from a post entitled "Tasty Brussel Sprouts People will Actually Enjoy Eating". Well... I guess that goes for everyone except those who live in my house! I got Eli and Luke to both lick one... yes, they licked a brussel sprout. The Hubs chewed them up and spit them out (thankfully, not in front of the children). His words were, "I'm sorry, I just can't do it!" At least he tried!



So, if you like brussel sprouts, this recipe is a good one. Even if you don't but want to... try it! You might just be surprised! The caramelization is key and gives the sprouts a sweet taste. Yum! Check out Kitchen Stewardship for a lot of great info on eating real food and natural living! One of my favorite posts is on chemical free suncreen!

Menu Plan Monday 4/11/11 (recipe review)

I meant to post this review last week but I forgot! We love our pancakes around here and I have a very favorite recipe. But I saw a link for Peanut Butter Pancakes over at I'm an Organizing Junkie and thought I'd have to try it! And they were so yummy! My boys really enjoyed them! I don't think I'll be replacing my normal recipe but it will be a nice recipe to have for a change every now and then! Oh and I used all whole wheat flour and sucanat in this recipe, too. Now, here's what we're eating this week:

Chicken Fingers, Peas, Mashed Potatoes

Italian Roast Wraps, Sauteed Green Beans

Taco Corn Fritters with Salsa, Salad

Apricot Herb Glazed Salmon (new recipe), Steamed Broccoli, Brown Rice

Chicken Ranch Pasta (re-making a recipe), Salad

I didn't get to make Maple Pecan Muffins last week so I'm making them this week! I did make the granola though! It was soo good! I made it with 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. I gave in a bought the boys a box of Chocolate Cheerios. That's as close as they get to 'junk' cereal. The box is gone though and it will be a while before I give in again. I've regained composure. ;) We get so much cereal on WIC that we usually have too much! I'm not a huge fan of boxed cereal because there are much healthier options but it's free so the boys get it sometimes for breakfast and occasional snacks. WIC cereal is healthier cereal (Cheerios, Multigrain Cheerios, Frosted Mini Wheats, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds, ect) So...

Breakfasts: Maple Pecan Muffins, Peanut Butter Pancakes (from freezer), Cereal, Fruit, Yogurt, Cheese, Scrambled Eggs

Lunch: PB&J/Honey, Cheese Quesadillas, Leftover Veggies from Dinner, Fruit (and we always have a bag of baby carrots for lunches too!)

Visit Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie for more recipes and menu ideas!

Menu Plan monday 1/17 & Recipe Review

Last week I skimped on the menu mainly because of the winter storm that we had! It was fun but I was ready for everything to melt (and some areas are still thawing out!). I decided to try a new recipe that I read on Rachael Ray's blog. It was one of her top ten recipes of 2010. I decided to try her Cheeseburger Chili Mac and Cheese because it looked easy and like something we'd like. It was easy and really good! It tasted similar to Hamburger Helper but is WAY better for you considering you are using real food. The only changes I made was that I only used 1 lbs of ground beef (and it was plenty) and I used water instead of beef stock. Unless you have homemade beef stock, I wouldn't recommend using store brand (most contain MSG and this sodium is out the roof!). I also used whole wheat spiral noodles because I couldn't find whole wheat elbow macaroni! All in all it was yummy! Next time I will definitely freeze half! It made a huge 9x13 pan and we just couldn't finish it. The boys weren't interested in it at all! They had buttered noodles sprinkled with cheese. I served it with a side salad.

Here is our menu for the week:


Pancakes, Bacon, Oranges

Tacos

Chicken Fried Steak Strips, Green Beans, Potatoes

Chicken Chili, Corn Bread

Chicken Parmesan, Salad


I'm trying something different with our grocery budget next pay period! Hopefully I can share about it soon and also let you know how it works out! I've got to get a handle on what I spend and learn to be more creative!

Have a great week! Remember to feast on the Word this week! Jesus is the Bread of Life!

Tuesday Tip & Review

Of course just planning out your meals is the BIGGEST tip I could ever give but here is a tip that will help save a little money. Pick one ingredient from a favorite meal and use it several times. This won't always work but it does pretty often for me. For instance, this week I wanted to try Parmesan Chicken Subs. They turned out great but did take me about 40-45 minutes to prepare & cook. I used chicken tenderloins, which did help on the cook time of the chicken but I still couldn't get it done in the 25 minutes they said! Anyways, this chicken sub calls for spinach. And since you can buy spinach pretty reasonably (a little over 3 $) in large bags, I thought I'd just find another recipe that uses spinach. So, tonight we'll be having Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta, which calls for quite a bit of spinach. Then we will be having ham and veggie omelets later and I'm planning on saving a handful or two to throw into our omelets. Instead of the pasta and egg dishes I could have planned a spinach pizza or spinach lasagna rolls. I love spinach salads too but the Hubs prefers it cooked! It's healthy and can be put into many dishes.

From that same chicken sub meal, I also used about 1/2 cup marinara sauce. So, what do I do with the rest? Make spaghetti! The pizza & lasagna rolls would work here too! You can also freeze jarred marinara/pizza sauce. I can't tell you how many times I've made a pizza and only used a little sauce, only to put it in the fridge and then have to throw it out later! Just make it a habit to pour it into a freezer bag in 1/2 cup increments!

Edited to add- While making the Turkey Sausage Pasta last night, I was reminded that I'm also using the turkey sausage in 2 meals this week! We'll be having turkey sausage in our spaghetti, too! The 16 oz of turkey sausage was $2.88, I believe, not too bad to get two meals out of it! I browned it all with garlic and halved it. Then, I froze the one half to throw into the spaghetti sauce this weekend!

By putting a little thought into your meals, you can save a little. And a little here and there adds up!