My Project 365 Photos – February 2010

by Kristen on March 3, 2010

I’m through month two of Project 365, and I have to say it has been one of the favorite hobby/projects I have ever done! If you haven’t done it before, I strongly encourage you to pick up your camera and start taking a picture a day! Here is what I did in February:

Project 365 - February 2010

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For being the person who heads up Adopt a Blogger, I must admit that I’m about the worst adoptive parent ever when it comes to my own adoptees. I hope my new fledglings don’t feel ignored. You can blame it on my real life kiddos… they take all the attention!

I have had the chance to have a few email conversations with both of my adoptees and I must say… they really don’t need my help at all. Bloggers these days seem to be so much savvier then I ever was back in the day… you know, when I had to walk uphill to school, against the wind, without shoes carrying an 80 pound backpack full of textbooks. Yeah… those were rough days. Makes me cold and tired just thinking about it.

Katie, from The Cutting Back Kitchen, is a menu planning, coupon / deal finding queen. She lives in OH and is married to a prince of a guy as well. I wish I had the sense of mind to be so smart with my money when it was just my husband and I. Katie’s blog is a fantastic resource for parents, singles, couples… anyone wanting to save money, cook delicious food, and figure out how to live a great life on a budget! I have a feeling I’m going to learn as much from Katie as she will learn from me!

Stephanie, who writes the blog Desserts for Breakfast, is a lovely CA native. She is a graduate student in linguistics, but I secretly think she should drop all that and just focus on food photography and styling. She is quite talented for being on the newer side of blogging. Stephanie’s blog is full of delicious, indulgent, rich and decadent desserts… all written up with clever writing and beautiful photography!

I hope you will visit both of these blogs and say hi… welcome them to my ever expanding family and give them a little of attention, please. Ask my kids – you kind of have to fight for it around here.

Now, on to menu plan Monday. My menu this week features some really delicious recipes, but I have to give an extra shout out about what we had for dinner tonight. Have you ever eaten at Bonefish Grill™? Have you ever had their amazing Bang Bang Shrimp™? One of the tastiest things on the planet, in my opinion! Well, this past week I found a copycat recipe and made it tonight… Oh. My. Gosh. This stuff is so good. Warning you though… it has quite the kick to it, so if you don’t like spicy food, you might want to skip this recipe!

I hope you all have a great week! What’s on your menu? Don’t forget, for more great menu ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday at I’m An Organizing Junkie!

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Menu Plan Monday (Recipe: Taco Seasoning)

by Kristen on February 22, 2010

As I’ve mentioned time and time again on my blog, I have not always been a cook. In fact, I used to detest cooking. My husband still refers to our early days together as “back when you couldn’t cook” (nice, isn’t he?).

As my ability to cook has evolved, I still have my old stand-by recipes that I turn to when I’m looking for something quick and easy for a weeknight meal. Stir-fry, some version of tacos and spaghetti are three things that you can normally find at least one of on my menu on any given week. The difference between now and “back when I couldn’t cook” is that instead of automatically reaching for a jar of spaghetti sauce, stir fry sauce or taco seasoning to make these various weekly menu staples, I have turned towards making my own. It may take additional time, but the extra little sense of pride I feel for knowing that I don’t have to rely on pre-packaged items and can whip up our family favorites with items I usually have in the pantry, makes me really happy!

Below my menu plan for the week, you’ll find my go-to Taco Seasoning Recipe. This recipe will usually season 3 pounds of ground beef or ground turkey. I often double the recipe and put the extra in a tightly sealed container and get it out when I need it. Once you realize how easy it is to make your own pantry staples, you won’t want to buy packets of spices or jars of sauces again!

Our Menu for the Week (For more information about Menu plan Monday and to  participate yourself or get other great menu ideas, visit I’m An Organizing Junkie):

Taco Seasoning Adapted from All Recipes

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (Do not substitute table salt!)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. When you make your taco meat, use approximately 2 Tbs of seasoning per each pound of ground beef.

I always brown my beef, add a little flour and water to the pan and stir in the seasoning. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Taco meat is ready once most of the liquid is absorbed.

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Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this. I get all motivated to do something and then an event… being sick, crazy schedule, full moon… something out of the ordinary comes up and I fall right off the wagon. I get in these spurts with menu planning where I do really great and then before I know it a couple of weeks go by and I realize we’ve fallen into old bad habits.

So, this week I’m on the wagon – I have my menu planned, groceries purchased and the motivation to hopefully get me through to next weekend’s menu planning session again. You would think that simply looking at my bank account on the weeks that I menu plan versus don’t would be motivation enough to keep me consistent! We do so much better, which means more fun money, when I plan out our meals and stick to it.

Here is my menu for this weeks Menu Plan Monday at I’m An Organizing Junkie:

Coming up this week on Dine & Dish:

If you are looking for something quick and easy to add to your weeknight menu, this Chicken Stir-Fry recipe is a regular on our menu. Switch up the veggies for what your family likes and will eat!

Chicken Stir-Fry (adapted from Recipezaar)

  1. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch strips; place in a resealable plastic bag.
  2. Add cornstarch and toss to coat.
  3. Combine soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well.
  4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil; stirfry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes.
  6. Remove and keep warm.
  7. Add remaining oil; stir fry bell peppers, carrots, and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
  8. Add chicken broth.
  9. Return chicken to pan.
  10. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
  11. Serve over rice.

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Blogging Mentors (Recipe – Chocolate Cocoa Pancakes)

February 4, 2010

My Grandma Sumner was an extremely charitable woman. Even though she had a pretty tough life, her attitude was one of positiveness and looking forward instead of behind. Her house always had bowls of dog and cat food outside for any stray animals that came around. She had numerous people in her neighborhood who considered [...]

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Sneak Peak – Adopt-a-Blogger #4

January 31, 2010

I’ll do a proper post for this, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know that the matches for Adopt-a-Blogger #4 have been made. I still have a few people waiting to be adopted, so if you can adopt one of them, please let me know!
I have to give an extra special, couldn’t [...]

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Menu Planning Monday – Back on Track

January 24, 2010

1. Goals – Project 365 – Day 1, 2. Bottles – Project 365 – Day 2, 3. Project 365 2010 – Day 3 – Grandma & Leah, 4. Project 365 2010, Day 4 – Mystery Ornament, 5. Project 365 2010, Day 5, Shake It Photo App, 6. Project 365 2010 – Day 6 – Jammie [...]

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Cake Decorating Woes (Recipe – Millie’s White Wedding Cake)

January 10, 2010

A little under 8 years ago, I took a cake decorating class. It was my first foray into domestication after my first child was born. I was determined that as the perfect mom I was sure to be, all of my kids’ cakes would be extra special and decorated by me. Well, to do that, [...]

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Looking Forward to 2010 (Recipe: Garlic Herb Braid)

January 1, 2010

Well, 2009 is officially behind us. It seems like I know a lot of people who are glad to see a new year come around. Not that 2009 was all that bad… it was just different. I am thankful to have had the year I had, but I am also excited to start fresh with [...]

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4 Kids, Life and Dinner (Recipe: Corn and Veggie Chowder with Chicken)

December 13, 2009

Someone who was expecting their fourth child asked me the other day how going from three kids to four kids has been. I feel sorry for the poor lady because she asked me on one of those days when I was feeling quite overwhelmed, and I was bluntly honest with her!
I love my family and [...]

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