Friday, June 25, 2010

Birds' Nests... for dinner?

We tried something new for dinner last night, and since it was kinda fun, I thought I'd share.  I came across this recipe for Potato, Zucchini, and Carrot 'Nests' with Eggs while reading Denise's blog, Wholesome Mommy (formerly The Centsible Sawyer).  I've been reading her blog for over a year probably, and I love the turn she's taken with it lately, focusing a bit less on general coupons/saving and more on eating healthy on a budget... I'm sure subconsciously she's affected my own healthy-eating focus over the last few months as well.
Anyway, she posted this recipe a few days ago, and it's just my style - 6 ingredients!  Since I received some zucchini last week from Absolute Organics, I figured now was a great time to try it out.  Stopped by the store (on the way to see my cousin Mimsies, who I'm thrilled to have living nearby now!) to grab some Organic Russet potatoes, and whipped up these bad boys for dinner:
We both liked them, and the recipe made just the right amount for the 2 of use for dinner with no side items (though we did try them with a little ketchup, which was also good).  I'd only make a few changes to my preparation:
  1. I'd remember to add the salt to the veggies. - Not a big deal, as it can always be added later, but it saves some hassle at the plate if it's already got it.
  2. I'd shred the potatoes immediately before cooking. - Since I cooked them after my Zumba class and didn't want to eat dinner too late, I shredded the veggies ahead of time, but then of course the potatoes took on that beautiful pinky-brown shade that they get when exposed to air so they didn't look as pretty as they could have.
  3. I'd follow her baking time. - Having never baked eggs before, I wasn't sure what they were supposed to look like when they were cooked.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but after 11 mins they didn't look "done" to me, so I left them another 7 or so... and they were quite hard.  Still tasty, but hard.
  4. I'd probably make 5 nests instead of 4, and use 6 or 7 eggs.  One more egg mixed in with the flour and veggies may have helped the "hashbrown" part to stick together more, and a 5th nest would require an extra egg for the center and make them each a little bit smaller and easier to flip.
So there you have it.  Buried vegetables + protein in a creative meal.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Splurge

I don't spend money often.  However, Kohl's had some good sales this weekend (for Father's Day, I guess), and with a 20% off coupon that they emailed me, I decided to go see what I could find.  Since I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I found plenty of things :)  So I splurged a bit and bought some fun little decorations for the house.  Want to see?  I knew you would!  Here you go:
A new shirt
A little decoration and reminder for the entryway
A new decorative pillow for the guest bedroom:
Life takes us to unexpected places, love brings us home.
A reversible (and clean!) rug for the guest bathroom
A frame: Live, Laugh, Love... the most important things in life aren't things
Now I just have to replace the beautiful models in the photos with my own beautiful family and friends!
I'm not the best at decorating - I truly don't mind blank walls - but I have to say that in the 24 hours or so that these things have been around, I'm enjoying them so far :)  I guess a splurge from time to time is okay, right?
Soli Deo Gloria

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Pizza Party!

Since I love my sister-in-law and want to be just like her, I'm posting this a few days late, and a few pictures short.  My hubby and I had the privilege last Friday night of hosting a DiGiorno House Party.  If you've never heard of HouseParty.com, you're not alone - I just found out a few months ago.  Basically, it's a marketing gig.  Companies sponsor parties - Individuals apply to host parties - Companies mail cool stuff to the Individuals they select - Individuals host parties to show off the product - Everyone is happy.
I received a party pack that included:
  • 6 coupons for FREE DiGiorno pizzas
  • 15 guest coupons for $4 off a DiGiorno pizza
  • a pizza cutter
  • a chip clip
  • some World Cup country flag bandanas
  • some blow-up "bam-bams" (you know, those silly things people wave around at sports games)
  • some soccer-themed whistles
  • DiGiorno paper plates/napkins
Since the party was to be held on the 1st day of the World Cup, clearly the host pack was soccer-themed.  Unfortunately, they failed to take into consideration that the games were at 10 am and 2:30 pm - not quite party time on a Friday!  Oh well... so we didn't watch a game.  We still had plenty of fun!  We had a great group of our friends show up, so pretty much everyone knew someone but still got to meet lots of new people.  And we were a diverse group!  We represented at least 8 countries: Spain, Peru, China, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, New Jersey, and the good ol' USA - haha :)
We ate 9 pizzas (good thing most of them were free!), a bunch of chips & salsa/guac/spinach dip, and some ice cream.   It was the 1st time I'd ever tried DiGiorno pizza, and I really liked it - but my favorite part was definitely having 20+ of my favorite people around, hopefully enjoying themselves and getting to know each other better.  For those of you who couldn't make it... we missed you!  Maybe HouseParty will give me another excuse to host in the upcoming months - I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
I'll leave you with the one pic I remembered to take - BEFORE everyone showed up.  Oops!


Soli Deo Gloria...

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Mmm... lunch!

Yeah for school being out!  I finished up on Friday, had a fairly relaxing weekend, and am (of course) loving being out for the summer so far this week.  Thankfully, I have been able to be rather productive so far - I even had the fleeting thought that I wasn't sure what I would do with the rest of the summer, since I'll probably finish everything on my list by tomorrow. 
HAHAHAHA.  And then I remembered all the non-urgent stuff that I haven't done for the past X months that really should get done.  I might need a few extra months of vacation to finish it all.
Anyway, since I can, I thought I'd share my fun, non-lunchbox lunch that I just enjoyed.  Really, it could work in a lunchbox, which almost makes it better.  I started with this recipe for Creamy Apple & Carrot Roll-Ups that I stumbled across this morning.  5 ingredients - I can handle that!  And I had them all on hand (organic apple and carrot thanks to Absolute Organics, of course).  Don't tell Nature's Own, but I used tortillas that I had on hand instead of their bread.  Even though it says "serves 4," I honestly figured I would end up eating it all... 'cuz that's how I roll.  But alas!  It was more filling than I thought.  I used the big tortillas, so it made 2 and I've got 1 leftover for tomorrow.  I ate the extra 1/2 carrot by itself, and the extra 1/2 apple I dipped in Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter that I got from EarthFare a few weeks ago.  Yummy!  Top it off with a Wild Berry Simply Tea that I got for free with a coupon at EF (with a little sugar, since tea is too bitter for my tastes) and I'm a happy girl.
Hope your lunch was as good as mine!  I'm off to be productive again.

Soli Deo Gloria...

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Look what the mailman dragged in

I've always upheld that getting mail is fun.  Granted, bills a little less so.  And junk mail not so much either, but I don't get tons of either of those items... so getting mail is still fun.  Especially on days like today.

  • $10 off ANY purchase @ Kohl's
  • new black ink for my printer
  • a reusable grocery bag from Earthbound Farm
  • Earthbound Farm organic produce coupons
  • an aluminum Sigg water bottle 
  • Avatar
I paid for the ink (though not much, since I used Staples Rewards "money" that I got from recycling old ink cartridges).  And technically I paid for Avatar, since we pay $10/month for Netflix.  But everything else was free!  The water bottle I won from a giveaway @ MummyDeals, the grocery bag and coupons I signed up for online during Earth week in April, and the Kohl's coupon was a straight-up surprise!  I see $10 worth of free clothes off the clearance rack coming my way in the next few weeks!
Don't believe me?  See here:
Soli Deo Gloria