Menu Plan February 27-March 2

Here is my meal plan for this week. Let me know if you try any of these recipes, and of course what you think!!

Monday: Chicken Souvlaki Pita Pockets

Chicken Souvlaki Pita Pockets
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Vinaigrette or Greek dressing (my favorite is Newman's Own-Family Recipe Italian)
For the salad: lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese (I prefer sheep's milk feta), olives, onions
whole wheat pita pockets

Marinate the chicken in the dressing for 2-3 hours or overnight.
In a large skillet pour in the chicken and marinade. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat until chicken is cooked all the way through. While the chicken is cooking prepare your salad.
Mix the salad ingredients together in a big bowl.
Cut each pita pocket in half and warm for 20 seconds in the microwave.
To assemble the pita pockets put in about 1/2 cup of the salad and 4 -5 bite size pieces of chicken. Then top with a small amount of the dressing. Enjoy!

Tuesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Source: Cooking Light


Wednesday: Corn Cakes with Tomato and Avocado Relish

Thank you to Annie at Annie's Eats for this recipe!

Thursday: Crockpot Tacos

Source: Chocolate Therapy

Friday: Salmon with Mango-Kiwi Salsa

Source: Cooking Light

ENJOY!! 

Dr. Seuss Fun!

This week we have been having some fun learning with Dr. Seuss. As I am sure many of you know the new movie based on Dr. Seuss' book The Lorax will be in theaters March 2nd. So this is the perfect week to read a ton of Dr. Seuss books and do some really fun activities as well. Here is some of what we did:

• After reading the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish we counted goldfish crackers, organized them by color and even made patterns with them. We also made this really cute craft:

This idea came from the website Pre-K Fun.

• We also read The Cat and the Hat. We had fun with rhyming and we made pictures of ourselves wearing the cat's hat!

Daiya and Cole both colored their own hat and cut it out. Next, they glued it onto a picture of themselves. So cute!

The highlight of our week were two yummy treats that were Dr. Seuss inspired, that (of course) I found on Pinterest. 

We made these hats...

Thank you Fancy Frugal Life for the excellent idea!

We also made these Green Eggs and Ham (or bacon) inspired treats...

Thank you to The Girl Who Ate Everything for this amazing idea!

Remember "..there is no one alive that is youer than you..." 

-Dr. Suess

Kid's Art Display

I have been doing some really fun art work with Daiya and Cole and they have been so excited to hang it up. The problem was I had no where to hang it. I searched the internet and Pinterest (of course) for some art display ideas and I meshed some of the ideas together to make my own art display in our kitchen. It was really easy to do and I am so happy with the result.

First I found a wall space in our kitchen where the kids usually wanted to hang their work anyway. Then I went to Lowes for a few, very inexpensive, items. I bought eye hooks ($0.98), picture hanging wire ($2.39), and curtain hanging clips ($3.75). Next, we drilled small holes and screwed in the eye hooks. Then we attached the picture wire.The picture wire wraps really easily around the eye hook. It is almost like a twist tie! Finally we attached the clips (without the rings that they came with) and presto-changeo...an ordinary wall is now a children's art gallery!

Finished product!!

Meal Plan February 20-February 25

So I am addicted to Pinterest. All my friends know it and I have tried my best to get them to be addicted too! I convince them mostly by making them something amazing to eat and then telling them I got the recipe from Pinterest! This week's meal plan is inspired by Pinterest!! Here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday: Garlic Parmesan Crusted Chicken

This recipe is from Steph at Plain Chicken...Thanks Steph!

Tuesday: Macaroni and Cheese

This is from...who else? Martha Stewart!

Wednesday: Cheesy Quinoa Cakes

This recipe is from an amazing blog called Spoon Fork Bacon!

Thursday: BBQ Chicken Pizza (recipe below)

Friday: New England Clam Chowder

Finally this recipe comes form another blog I love, Brown Eyed Baker.

Here is my recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (either from dough or already prepared)
1/2 cup Blue Cheese Dressing ( I prefer Marie's or Rootie's)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup crumbly blue cheese
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Lightly grease the pizza pan and place your dough or crust on it. Then spread the blue cheese dressing down as your sauce. Next mix the BBQ sauce with the shredded chicken in a small bowl. Now put the chicken evenly across the crust. Next, top with all three cheeses mozzarella, cheddar and crumbly blue cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.You can add any vegetables you want to this pizza. You might also want sautéed onions or bacon too! Be creative! Enjoy!

The Beginning

So I have decided to start a blog...but I have this lingering question...Will anyone care what I have to say? I have decided to do this for me and not for anyone else. I am going to have fun and hopefully find an exciting new way to tell others about what I am doing. So here we go!

I am normally a third grade teacher, but I have made the huge leap to stay home, at least for a little while, with my kids. They are my life. I just kept thinking there had to be a way I can spend more time with them. After many stressful "what if?" questions my husband said...Let's just do it! I was so scared but so excited. Will my friends still talk to me?...Will I be pulling out my hair?...Will I forget how to teach? All questions running through my mind.  My oldest daughter Daiya will begin kindergarten in the fall and I wanted to take the time with her before she spends the rest of her life in school...okay I am being dramatic, but you get the idea. I have been home less than a month but I am having so much fun. Don't get me wrong, I now notice everything that needs to be fixed in the house and everything that needs to be "fixed" with my children. Cole needs to go to the bathroom without a fight....PLEASE!!! Daiya needs to go to bed without tears.

So now that I know everything that is wrong (nothing serious really), I thought I should focus on what is right. So the blog begins! I am excited to see where my blog adventure takes me!