![Our Favorite Dishes From This Week]()
by Catherine | Jan 29, 2014 | The Homefront
I thought I’d do a short & sweet one about food to mix things up! Here are a few of our favorite recipes from this week:
Sauteed Chicken Breasts With Creamy Chive Sauce
With
Olive Oil, Garlic, Chives, & Romano Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Notes:
I don’t change anything with the chicken recipe. Delish!
I substituted 2 heads of cauliflower for the potatoes recipe to sneak in some veggies. It was a delicious & easy alternative to mashed potatoes. I had some heavy whipping cream on hand, so I substituted that for the evaporated milk.
Pork Chops Piccata
With Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Notes:
I don’t change anything in the pork chops recipe. It has orzo & spinach in the recipe, so I treated that as a side. To prepare the roasted brusssels sprouts: cut off the ends, slice thin, place in single layer across baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 350 for 11 minutes (or until lightly browned).
Italian Meatballs
With
Whole wheat pasta (we’re having bow pasta) & side salad
Notes: It’s still in the crockpot for tonight, but it smells like a winner! I love how easy it is. I made way more changes than I usually do to this recipe because our recipe allow us to shop at Walmart and not a place that sells “grassfed ground beef” or “almond flour.” I’m sure that version is delicious, though! 🙂
Pork Roast With Sweet Potatoes, Apples, & Onions
Notes: So easy and so delicious! The kids loved it last night, and they devoured the leftovers today at lunch. We didn’t change anything to this recipe, and it turned out just like the picture. I love these “one pan wonders”! Hooray for easy clean-up!
Beef With Snow Peas
Notes: I don’t change anything in this one either. It’s from Ree (aka The Pioneer Woman), so you know it’s gonna be good! Yes, as I established in a previous post, Ree and I are on a first name basis. This girl knows her food!
I serve it over brown rice.
* * *
Your turn! What are your favorite dishes from this week? Did you make a delicious but easy weeknight meal? Please share!
![Small Success Thursday #4]()
by Catherine | Jan 23, 2014 | Family, Marriage, The Homefront
Here are a few of our small successes from this week. Per usual, it reads more like a week in review, but I consider another week a success! Besides, it’s my blog, and I’ll do it how I want! 🙂
Here we go:
I’m getting down on the ground and having more fun with the kids these days. Here’s a “shed castle” that Walt and I built together. He’s finally developing his own interests separate than Jane’s, and he’s constantly asking me, “Come and build a tower, Mommy!” or, “Come play cars with me, Mommy!”
There’s a lot more laughing around here, too. Jane decided she’d accessorize her Rody. She looks good, huh?
I’m getting better about letting the little things go. Jane found every single hair accessory she owns and threw them throughout the front living room. The floor was covered several minutes after I snapped this picture. When I asked her what she was doing, she informed me that she was “practicing to be a flower fairy.” She seems to think that she’s going to be a flower girl (aka “flower fairy”) someday, and she has big dreams of my little brother getting married in the near future. I let the hair accessories hang out on the floor, and I resisted the temptation to pick them up. I waited until after a morning play date, and I let Jane pick them up all by herself. This is “small” successes, right?
I’m enlisting the kids to help get the house spic and span. Walt loves dusting!
Philip and I went out to dinner at a great Spanish restaurant called España. (Hooray for LivingSocial!) Sipping on some sangria and eating the delicious tapas brought me back to my semester abroad in Salamanca. Those spaniards know how to live! Here are a few pics from our yummy date.
 |
| Either Philip has a knack for catching me at my most glamorous moments, or I didn’t want to stop eating the delicious food for a picture. |
 |
| Our drinks. Raspberry-infused mojito for me, red red wine for Philip |
 |
| Ceviche |
 |
| Croquetas |
 |
| Ohhhhhhhh, the mussels! |
 |
| Nom nom nom |
 |
| ¡PAELLA! |
The family rosary is such a part of our routine that Jane and Walt asked their babysitters to pray it with them when Philip and I went out. Yay for sweet Catholic high school girls that prayed with our children!
Adventures in home improvement continue before we list the house in a few weeks! We went to a carpet/flooring store last Saturday. I consider it a success that nobody had a meltdown, and we were able to get exactly what we were looking for at a great price.
Our parish had a fun Trivia Nite. Our team theme was “Words With Friends,” and we spelled out “GENIUSES.” We had a great time, and you wouldn’t believe how great all of the other teams’ themes and costumes were! Wow! We really need to step it up for next time. It was a fun night with friends.
I finished our “Circle Time” board. Here’s a post explaining how I made it and how we use it.
We had our monthly dinner with my side of the family on Sunday. At one point in the evening, we realized ALL 6 of us were in the same room without any of the in-laws and just a few of the babies. My brother said, “Woah! Look! It’s just us! When was the last time that happened?!” My parents and Philip came in to snap a few pics. It was fun to hang out with the original 6–even if it was just for a few minutes.
Harry is adored by his big sibs. Really, they can’t get enough of the guy. They’re incredibly gentle and sweet with him. Who knew the best part of their morning would be putting Minnie Mouse on Harry’s head and laughing hysterically?
He’s the happiest baby ever.
Your turn! What are your small successes from this week? Come on over to CatholicMom to join in the fun! If you’re using social media, be sure to use the hashtag #SmallSuccess.
![Small Success Thursday #2]()
by Catherine | Jan 9, 2014 | Family, The Homefront
Here are some of our small successes from this week:
Harry can finally stand in his exersaucer without a pillow underneath. Yay! He still needs a blanket stuffed behind him, but he loves having a new place to play. His favorite part is twirling himself around. I love the face he’s giving the leopard or whatever it is in this picture.
I think I found a solution to not having art on the walls in Jane & Walt’s room. I want to do something inexpensive that will display their art. I found this post on Pinterest, and I’m so excited to make these ourselves! They’re cabinet doors that you sponge roll in the center and add a metal clip to hold the art. Cute, huh?
I’ve been decluttering this place like a boss! We’re going to list the house in a little more than a month, so there’s plenty to do. Here’s our fridge before (with Christmas cards) and after.
I had a very successful 2-hour shopping outing by myself on Monday morning. My dear friend, Kelly, offered to take the kids for me, and I ran around this city like wild! Isn’t she the best? I know, it’s ridiculous how blessed I am in the friend department. I made stops at 4 different stores. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when you’re alone! I was at Home Depot, The Dollar Tree, Garden Ridge, and Lakeshore Learning. What a morning!
I’m most excited to share that I finally got things printed off and laminated for the calendar center I’m creating for our pseudo-homeschooling area. I got a great bulletin board on clearance, and I’ve been adding items to make the calendar my own. I’ll write more on that another time. It’s still a work in progress. Here’s a little preview.
Harry’s been extra needy lately, so he’s been spending a lot of time in my Ergo carrier. I didn’t use it much when he was a newborn since I struggled to get him in and out by myself with the big infant insert. Now that he’s a little bigger and has better neck control, it’s a cinch to get him in and out by myself. He’s happy cuddled up right next to me, and I’m able to get things done around here hands-free. The extra cuddling is nice for both of us. I’m able to make & serve meals, fold laundry, wash & put away dishes, etc., etc. Yay, multi-tasking!
Other than that, we’re busy maintaining our new schedule around here, and the kids are loving it. They beg for “circle time” everyday, and they loved finally showing it to Philip last Saturday morning when he was home. Pseudo-homeschooling is fun, and our “classroom” area is coming together nicely. The former teacher in me loves getting to laminate on a regular basis!
Your turn! What are your small successes this week? Come on over to CatholicMom to share and join in the fun! If you’re using social media, use the hashtag #SmallSuccess.
![What We Had for Dinner: Beef and Bean Chile Verde, Skinny Cilantro Lime Rice, & Clementines]()
by Catherine | Nov 14, 2013 | The Homefront
I thought I’d share our easy weeknight dinner from last night.
We had Beef and Bean Chile Verde
over skinny cilantro lime rice (you know, like that fabulous burrito joint makes?).
We always double the rice recipe to make equal amounts of the chile & rice.
Meal planning is much more fun with adventurous eaters. Hooray for little ones that will actually eat this kind of stuff!
 |
| The kids’ plates |
The Feast of St. Nicholas is almost here, so you know these have to be back in season!
Really, what is the Feast of St. Nicholas without a clementine (and some gold coins) in your shoe? Anyway, we feasted on some clementines as well.
What’s on the menu at your house tonight?
![What We Had for Dinner: Beef and Bean Chile Verde, Skinny Cilantro Lime Rice, & Clementines]()
by Catherine | Nov 14, 2013 | The Homefront
I thought I’d share our easy weeknight dinner from last night.
We had Beef and Bean Chile Verde
over skinny cilantro lime rice (you know, like that fabulous burrito joint makes?).
We always double the rice recipe to make equal amounts of the chile & rice.
Meal planning is much more fun with adventurous eaters. Hooray for little ones that will actually eat this kind of stuff!
|
| The kids’ plates |
The Feast of St. Nicholas is almost here, so you know these have to be back in season!
Really, what is the Feast of St. Nicholas without a clementine (and some gold coins) in your shoe? Anyway, we feasted on some clementines as well.
What’s on the menu at your house tonight?
![Keeping the Christmas Season Organized]()
by Catherine | Nov 13, 2013 | The Homefront
Last year, I created a Christmas Planner and shared it on my blog here. I thought I’d share the information again in case anyone would find it helpful. Why do all of that work if you’re not going to share?!
My Christmas planner includes the following categories:
- Budget
- divided by categories: gifts, charitable giving, decorations, Christmas cards, etc.
- Master gift list
- recipient, where purchased, whether it has been purchased/delivered, cost, wrapped, running total
- Stocking stuffers
- recipient, where purchased, cost, running total – this helps to make sure things are “even” among everyone
- Room-by-room décor
- item, where placed, where stored
- Menus/Recipes
- Listed here (stored on Paprika)
- Our Holiday Traditions
- List of activities and dates we do each year
- Advent Wreath
- Booklet with reflections, lyrics to songs we sing, etc.
- Jesse Tree
- reflections to read for each ornament
- Ornament Journal
- the place to write down who give us our various ornaments and what they mean to us
- Holiday Favorites
- books, movies, music, wish list
- Recipes to Try
- Craft Projects
- Entertaining
- buffet lay-out ideas, cocktail recipes, bar set-up, Pandora stations or playlists, Christmas Minute to Win it games, etc.
- Christmas Card
- archive old favorites, keep list of recipients & addresses, shopping information for cards & stationery
- Post-Holiday Debriefing
- Write down what went wrong, what went right, and what you want to keep the same or change for future years
If you are interested in making your own Christmas planner, feel free to download any of my files via a shared Google folder here.
Today, I discovered on Catholic Icing that Lacy (the creator) made an ebook called “The Advent Christmas Planner.” I’m planning on buying a copy myself because it looks fantastic! I’ll let you head over to Catholic Icing to read her description. Some of the planner looks like mine (forms for budgets and that sort of thing), but she also has a ton of great ways to celebrate the season with activities and pictures.
 |
| From Catholic Icing |
If you’re interested, “The Advent Christmas Planner” is on sale for $10 for two weeks (reduced from $12). I supposed I should mention that I did not get paid or endorsing this planner!!!
As I wrote last year, I made my Christmas planner to relieve stress and keep things more organized. I am so glad I have this information archived in one central location. Remember to make the Christmas planner work for you and your family. If it’s becoming too much work, it might not be your style! Remember, the goal is to reduce your stress around the Christmas season and focus on “the reason for the season.” If this binder and organizing is your sort of thing, then great! If it’s not, then fuhgettaboutit and step away from the label maker!
