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What’s Cooking – Weekly Menu 5/19

By Nicole · Comments (0) · May 19th, 2013

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Welcome to a new week! I’m focusing on quick, simple and healthy meals this week because I don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. The garden starts are almost all planted in my indoor greenhouse. Once I finish those up today I’ve got to get all the rest of my seeds in the ground and to whip our weedy garden area in to shape! So between that and getting my office cleaned up there’s just not much time left for the kitchen. And that’s OK. Some weeks are like this. That’s why I’m glad when we have help from stuff in the freezer!

We eat simple, (mostly)  healthy recipes that I can tailor to my restrictions of no corn, eggs or yeast. I also do limited dairy, wheat and oats.

What are you eating/cooking this week?

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

(WT) uses Wildtree products.

Dinners

Sunday: Greek Chicken and hummus platter night.

Monday: Spaghetti (WT), green salad.

Tuesday: Chili (F), salad, fruit salad. Mint frozen vanilla chocolate chip Chobani.

Wednesday:  Meatballs (WT) (ground turkey), veggies, baked fries.

Thursday: Greek Chicken Salad (WT) (shredded chicken, quinoa, klamata olives, cucumber, tomato, green onion, lemon grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, brine from klamata olives.)

Friday: Leftovers night.

Saturday:  Taco Salad (F – seasoned ground beef), fruit salad.

Breakfasts

Shake (LS Vibe) or Detox Smoothie (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

Frozen Waffles w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

or

Salad w/Protein

Water with Life Shotz!

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky (homemade)

Chobani

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What’s Cooking – Weekly Menu 5/12

By Nicole · Comments (0) · May 12th, 2013

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Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have the most fantastic day today.  I skipped last week’s menu post as I was off doing Bloomsday. So much fun. I put together a weak menu plan last week — that ended up not even getting followed all week. Oiy! I’m ready to get back on track with this week’s menu.

We eat simple, (mostly)  healthy recipes that I can tailor to my restrictions of no corn, eggs or yeast. I also do limited dairy, wheat and oats. You’ll see some repeat items from recent menu plans that we just never got around to eating.

What are you eating this week?

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

(WT) uses Wildtree products.

Dinners

Sunday: Mother’s Day Lunch – so light a fend for yourself dinner.

Monday: Meatloaf (WT) (ground turkey), herb-roasted potatoes, broccoli.

Tuesday: Tilapia Foil Packets (WT), green salad.

Wednesday:  Leftovers.

Thursday:  Grilled chicken (WT), Mediterranean Dip (I like Greek 7-Layer Dip as an easier name… easier to spell anyhow!), Fruit Salad.

Friday:  Moroccan grilled chicken wings (WT), quinoa w/dried cherries and pistachios, green salad. Mint frozen vanilla chocolate chip Chobani.

Saturday:  Dinner out or BBQ night.

Breakfasts

Shake (LS Vibe) or Detox Smoothie (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

Frozen Waffles w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani -  loving the Coconut Flip. It’s like eating ice cream.

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Organic Garden Update…

By Nicole · Comments (0) · May 9th, 2013

Garden Layout 2013 _updated

Hello! Have you started planting yet?! We planted our first seeds last weekend. Sorry no pics. The rest of the garden is still a mess with weeds because we need to get our tiller serviced. And I’d probably have to take a week of vacation to pull all the weeds myself. No one needs to see that mess. And I’m sorry to our neighbors who can see over our fence. I promise in the next few weeks it will start looking more like a garden and less like a weed factory. :-)

I am so excited to share with you the new garden layout! After reading an article in Mother Earth News I decided to switch from long rows to small garden beds. Theoretically there should be less surface space to manage the weeds. This is to be determined in actuality. If you are interested in using my layout to use as a base for your garden planning I have the Excel file available for download at the end of this post.

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Aside from the seed-tape planting last weekend (lettuce, radishes, green onion, some herbs) I still need to get in gear. I was up this morning making more seed-tape for flowers and herbs. And tonight I’m stopping to get organic starter soil because this Saturday I’m planting all my indoor starts.  It has been really nice the past week – almost summer-like weather in fact. But I know better. Don’t you fall prey to this teasing warmth. It’s never truly safe to plant starts outside until after Memorial Day in our area. So if you’re wondering why I am just now planting my starts – it’s because I’m not going to plant them outside until the first weekend in June. That will give them almost a month of starting indoors, with the last two weeks of acclimation to the outdoors.

Why did I plant my seeds outdoors last weekend then? Because those crops, for me, do best straight in to the ground and are cooler-weather loving crops. They’ll do just fine germinating and taking off during May — which is often filled with warm days and cold nights, and sometimes a few frosty mornings.

Hope your garden season is off to a great start too. Questions? I’m no Master Gardener but would be happy to share any of my knowledge from my trial and error backyard gardening. Just comment or contact me through any of the social media sites to the right.

HAPPY PLANTING!

 

Garden Layout 2013 - Small Beds (10)
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What’s Cooking – Weekly Menu 4/28

By Nicole · Comments (0) · April 28th, 2013

Happy Sunday! It’s been dreary weekend weather here. That means no garden work. Everything is starting to get  very…weedy.

Now back to what we’re eating: our weekly menu. We’re cooking simple, healthy recipes that tailor to my restrictions of no corn, eggs or yeast. I also do limited dairy, wheat and oats. We ended up not eating a few of last week’s dinners — having just salad or something instead. So in the true spirit of making the most of what you have, you’ll see some repeats from last week (again!).

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

Greek 7-Layer Dip!
Greek 7-Layer Dip!

Dinners

Sunday: Taco Salad – meat (F).

Monday: Chicken Fajita Bowls with peppers, onions, beans and rice.

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes (F) over brown rice, veggies and salad.

Wednesday:  Pork Loin (F), roasted herb potatoes, veggies.

Thursday:  Soup Night (from the freezer)

Friday:  Rodeo Meatballs, quinoa, veggies.

Saturday:  Grilled chicken, Mediterranean Dip (I like Greek 7-Layer Dip as an easier name… easier to spell anyhow!), Fruit Salad.

Breakfasts

Detox Smoothies (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

Frozen Waffles w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Dried Plantains with Sea Salt

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani - so excited to try the new Chobani Flip!

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Garden Update: Homemade Seed Tape and Seedling Pots

By Nicole · Comments (0) · April 24th, 2013

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So… it’s Spring in the Pacific Northwest. That means snow, rain and sun. Possibly in the same day. I’m anxiously awaiting the right timing of a day at home without pouring rain so I can do some work in the garden. I shared my garden layout with you before — only the download wasn’t working – now it is! See the bottom of the post . However, now I think I’m going to modify it to do small beds versus long rows. It will make less surface space for weeds. Plans in progress for that and  I will share those soon! :-)

In addition to a new garden layout, we’re trying other new things this year. Homemade seed tape using newspaper, glue (water soluble, non-toxic) and seeds. It’s really simple. Cut strips of newspaper. Place dabs of glue at the desired spacing for that seed and put a few seeds on each glue dab. Let dry. Plant in the ground! I’ve also seen that you can use paper towels or toilet paper instead of newspaper. (Check my Pinterest board – 2013 I’m Trying This: April!)

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I also discovered two clever upcycle ways to make seedling pots. First to use 1 or 2 liter plastic bottles. Cut the top off so you have two pieces: bottom of the bottle, top half of the bottle, tie a piece of yarn around the top piece so that a longer piece hangs off of it. Invert the top piece into the bottom piece with the long yarn hanging down in to it. Place a larger rock in the spout to prevent soil from falling out. Fill with soil, plant your seeds. Soak thoroughly. Then lift of the top piece and pour water down below. Now you have a self-watering seedling pot! (The yarn is the method of transfer for the water.)

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The other way is to do pots from newspaper! I think this video sums up the ease of making these.


Free downloadable – Excel garden layout sample (ROWS)

2013 Garden Planning (18)

 

Coming soon: Free downloadable – Excel garden layout sample (BEDS)

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What’s Cooking – Weekly Menu 4/21

By Nicole · Comments (0) · April 21st, 2013

Happy Sunday! It’s been a true Spring week in the Pacific Northwest – I believe we’ve had some rain, a little snow and sunshine all in the same week. I’m excited to be working on garden prep this weekend. Last weekend we made homemade seed tape — and  we’re planting some this weekend as the weather allows (carrots, lettuce, onions, beets, radishes).

Now back to what we’re eating: our weekly menu. We’re cooking simple, healthy recipes that tailor to my restrictions of no corn, eggs or yeast. I also do limited dairy, wheat and oats. We ended up not eating a few of last week’s dinners — having just salad or something instead. So in the true spirit of making the most of what you have, you’ll see some repeats from last week.

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

Greek 7-Layer Dip!

Greek 7-Layer Dip!

Dinners

Sunday: Slow cooker Beef Burgundy with noodles, veggies and salad.

Monday: Greek Chicken Salad – shredded seasoned chicken (F), quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, parmesan, klamata olives, lemon juice and green onions.

Tuesday: Boy’s Night – I work late.

Wednesday:  Citrus Garlic Tilapia Foil Packets – see example here.

Thursday:  Taco Salad – meat (F).

Friday:  Pork loin (F), roasted herbed potatoes, veggies.

Saturday:  Grilled chicken, Mediterranean Dip (I like Greek 7-Layer Dip as an easier name… easier to spell anyhow!), Fruit Salad.

Breakfasts

Detox Smoothies (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

Frozen Waffles w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Dried Plantains with Sea Salt

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani - so excited to try the new Chobani Flip!

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What’s Cooking – Weekly Menu 4/14

By Nicole · Comments (0) · April 14th, 2013

Good morning! Here’s to a new week. Remember the new blender I told you about in last week’s menu post? It’s so awesome! Next time you are in the market for a new blender I highly recommend the Ninja brand.

We’re cooking simple, healthy recipes that tailor to my restrictions of no corn, eggs or yeast. I also do limited dairy, wheat and oats. Makes for interesting menu planning!

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Asparagus

Dinners

Sunday: Sloppy Joes (over rice instead of buns), roasted asparagus, fruit salad.

Monday: Fajita Chicken bowls with rice, onions and peppers, side of fruit.

Tuesday: Greek Tilapia (F) with veggies and macaroni.

Wednesday:  Greek Chicken Salad – shredded seasoned chicken (F), quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, parmesan, klamata olives, lemon juice and green onions.

Thursday:  Stuffed Pepper Soup (F), green salad, fruit salad.

Friday:  Beef meatballs, rice and veggies.

Saturday:  Taco salad – meat (F), Smoothies.

Breakfasts

Sunday: Waffles, Fruit (Earth’s Best and Vans)

Detox Smoothies (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Dried Plantains with Sea Salt

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani – so excited to try the new Chobani Flip! Check them out here: http://chobani.com/products/

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What’s Cooking – My Weekly Menu 4/7

By Nicole · Comments (0) · April 7th, 2013
thai noodle salad with peanut lime dressing

thai noodle salad with peanut lime dressing

Hello! It’s a new week and I’m excited. For what? So glad you asked. I got a new blender. I know, I know. My excitement may seem excessive but I found a Ninja Pulse on clearance at Walmart the same day my blender started acting up. Sweetness! I couldn’t justify the regular price of the Ninja’s but this clearance price put the one I got in the same price bracket as the other blenders I was looking at. Some things are just meant to be. :-)

Besides making smoothies this week, we’re eating simple. I don’t know how to cook for one and a half (me and the boy) since the Husband is traveling for work. This means the few things I am going to make will actually last us all week. And unlike my husband who has had to learn to eat leftovers, I don’t mind them at all.

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

cilantro lime chicken salad

cilantro lime chicken salad

 

Dinners

Sunday: Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad (I’m tweaking to remove the dairy)

Monday: Leftovers, Fruit.

Tuesday: Thai Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing, Fruit. (I’m tweaking the salad to not be hot, use rice noodles, and simplify the dressing a bit.)

Wednesday:  Leftovers, Fruit.

Thursday: Leftovers, fruit.

Friday: Lemon Rosemary Chicken (F), Rice, Steamed Edamame.

Saturday: Greek Tilapia (F), Rice, Steamed Veggies.

Breakfasts

Sunday: Bacon, yogurt and fruit.

Detox Smoothies (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Dried Plantains with Sea Salt

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani

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What’s Cooking – My Weekly Menu for March 31st

By Nicole · Comments (0) · March 31st, 2013

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Happy Easter! Looks like I’ve got myself one cute little bunny…who has since chopped his hair off during this past week. Just look at those curls. Good thing they grow back. :-)

Last week’s menu was a huge success – in two ways! One that we stuck to the menu the entire week AND that everything was pretty tasty. Slam dunk! Here’s what’s on the menu this week. I’m taking advantage of some things in the freezer to make dinner prep a breeze.

Key:

(F) from the freezer.

Dinners

Sunday: Lunch @ parents — so a light dinner of leftovers or salad.

Monday: Leftovers, Green Salad and Fruit.

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes, Green Salad, Fruit.

Wednesday:  Beef Taco (F) Salad, Fruit.

Thursday: Citrus Garlic Tilapia (F), Steamed Garlic Broccoli, Fruit.

Friday: Lemon Rosemary Chicken (F), Rice, Steamed Edamame.

Saturday: Greek Tilapia (F), Rice, Steamed Veggies.

Breakfasts

Detox Smoothies (for me)

Cereal w/fruit

Toast w/fruit

Steel Cut Oats w/fruit

 

Lunches

Leftovers

Frozen Meals (not for me though)

Salad w/Protein

 

Snacks

Fruit

Veggies

Nuts

Sahale Snacks

Dried Plantains with Sea Salt

Cheese Sticks

Plum Kids Snacks

Beef Jerky

Chobani

Comments (0)

2013 Garden Planning Time!

By Nicole · Comments (0) · March 25th, 2013

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I pulled out the seed packets this week to take inventory and just ended up planning out the garden. Yay! My layout and notes are attached as an Excel file that you can download to use too. Just modify to your space and crops to create an easy layout to follow when you plant this year. [The download plugin is not working right now - - stay tuned I will try again soon to attach it!]

Things to remember as you plan your layout: full or partial sun needs and what that means in your space, crop height versus where you place your sprinklers and the type of sprinklers you use, crop rotation (try to move them around from year to year).

I’m going to try making my own seed tape and perhaps even starting pots from newspaper. See my pins below.

 

 

Here’s What We’re Growing This Year:

INSIDE STARTS:

WATERMELON

CANTALOUPE

BIG MAX  PUMPKIN

JACK O LANTERN

BAKING PUMPKINS

BUSH BEANS

CUCUMBER

TOMATO

CORN

SQUASH

ZUCCHINI

TRY HOMEMADE SEED TAPE:

CARROTS

LETTUCE

GREEN ONION

RED ONION

ROW ENDS:

MARIGOLDS

DAISIES

MINT

 

PLANTERS/POTS:

DILL

MINT

CILANTRO

RADISHES

ROSEMARY

 

DECK:

HERBS

FLOWERS

 

FRONT PORCH:

HERBS

FLOWERS

 

TREES TO START:

APPLE  (from seed)

PEAR  (from seed)

CHERRY  (from seed)

APRICOT  (from seed)

 

OTHER:

HIBISCUS (from seed)

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About Nicole…

Thanks for stopping by! It's nice of you to visit. This is my little place on the Internet to share with you all the things I love: saving money, saving resources, saving time, living a debt-free lifestyle, eating organic and natural and loving life. From recipes, to DIY, goal setting, kid crafts or homeschool projects, gardening, book reviews and my thoughts on work culture and happiness, you'll find a little bit of everything here. I love cooking, baking, reading, gardening, recycling, scrapbooking, Zumba and blogging. Be sure to subscribe using the RSS feed or using your favorite reader (beware Google Reader is great but is closing on July 1, 2013). Contact me, or find me on various platforms, using the links below. And look for me on Instagram too!


         

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