Murphy's Law

Last Thursday we had my Dad and his wife over for dinner. I really wanted to make a good impression. I only had 1 hour to put dinner together and clean up the house. I started to put the lasagna together. Brett got home and I asked him to make the Cheese Biscuits. Well I was trying to tell Brett and story and I got the lasagna layers all out of order. I got mad at myself! I have made lasagna a million times . . . I told Brett that I couldn't talk I had to concentrate. As I am focused on the lasagna Brett asks where the baking soda is. The thing is Cheese Biscuits don't need baking soda. Brett realized that he was making the recipe at the top of the page - not the Cheese biscuits at the bottom of the page. He had put in a Tablespoon and a half of salt in the mix. He just doubled the recipe and it end up being fine.

Needless to say I was flustered!!! I was sweating bullets - literally. I was sweating. I went over to the thermostat and it was 80 degrees in our house!!! I turned it down to 60 degrees. Nothing happened. I turned it off and back on. Nothing happened. I turned to fan only. Nothing happened. I started to panic! My Dad would be here in 20 min and it was 80 degrees. I ran around and turned off all the lights and turned the fans on high. Brett ran outside to check the breaker.

But the trouble didn't end there. . . .To find out what happened you will have to check back tomorrow . . .

What's Cooking Good Lookin!

My friend Devin asked what I was cooking, so I thought that I would share. Here is what is being served in the Wait kitchen. At some point I would love to share recipes with you!

Saturday - Creamy Tacos (basically cheese dip with meat)
Sunday - leftovers or pizza
Monday - Chicken and Rice
Tuesday - Eat Out (we have a thing to go to)
Wednesday - Souper Burgers (similar to sloppy joes)
Thursday - Chicken popovers
Friday - Aunt Cathy's Chili
Saturday - Hamburgers
Sunday - leftovers or pizza

Menu Planning

Last week I posted about how I have been in a groove. One of the big things that has really helped me out is menu planning. As a new wife meal planning has been a challenge to me. My mom always planed our week of meals, made a shopping list and went to the store on Saturday. She always seemed to have it together. (Thank you mom for being "Wonder Woman")

My first few months of menu planning were bumpy. I would plan a meal and something would come up and plans would have to change. Or I was always having to go to the store to pick up last minute items. But I seem to have found a system that works. Here is what I do.

1) I made a menu planning "worksheet". One side of the page has the days of the week and the food I will cook on that day. The other side of the page has lines to write out my shopping list.

2) I sit down with the menu planning worksheet and my calendar. I look to see if there are any special events (birthdays, potlucks, etc) or night I won't cook for the up coming week. I make note of these.

3) I start picking out meals. I try to alternate between chicken and beef. I'll throw in a fish or pork, but we mostly just eat chicken and beef.

4) As I pick out meals I will check the pantry to see what additional ingredients I will need and write those on the other side of the page.

5) If I get stuck and don't have any ideas of what to cook I go to my "cheat sheet". I have a single page with easy, favorite meals and I pick one.

6) I finish by checking the fridge, freezer, and pantry to see if there are any staples I need to restock and add those to my shopping list.

7) I tear the paper in half. The menu list goes on the fridge (Brett loves to see what is coming up for the week) and I take my list shopping.


More ideas and tips to come next week . . .