It's only Thursday?

I think this week felt very slow and yet it was very busy so it should have felt fast.  What's with that?  The weather has turned and I could easily just hibernate.  Football for Owen is over...last night was the pizza party.  Varsity cafe and Roman Coin Pizza 144th and F street has GREAT pizza.

Tonight Owen had hockey and Anne had dance.  Combine that with hours of homework and it's been a long day.  I decided to make Owen's favorite Fettuccine Alfredo not realizing that Sean stopped on the way from hockey and fed the kid.  Bummer, I think he missed out on the best one yet

 

For desert I made Pecan Blondies.   They are chewy and delicious.

To make you have to melt the sugar and butter together so it gets kind of caramel-y and then add that mixture to the dry ingredients.

Tomorrow we are having a water filter/softener installed on the house.  I haven't decided what I'll make since I'll be stuck here until they finish.  Any suggestions?  I need to shop for Turkey day as well.  I'm hoping for a Blizzard for Thanksgiving since we don't have to be anywhere.  Why not get it out of the way since I'm sure we'll have one soon enough.

Just for the Halibut!!!

Tonight, Halibut, green beans, lemon cilantro rice and spinach salad.

Anne was not to thrilled about fish.  We make them eat it at least once a week.  I thought she'd like halibut but it was a tiny bit on the dry side.  Had to keep it in the oven longer than expected because someone stopped by.  The kids like the green beans steamed and seasoned with just a hint of soy sauce.  Owen didn't seem to mind the fish as much.  All in all, an easy and ok meal. 

Just another Manic Monday

Good news!  The banana bread is tastier today than yesterday.  I guess it just needed to rest (not having the secret ingredients) to make it instantly delectable.  I didn't have as much time today to plan a meal.  Sean had to work later than normal and we carpooled today so instead I took a trip to Trader Joes.  It just opened in Omaha on Saturday.  I love the soy/sesame rice crackers.  I once ate an entire bag on a road trip from Charlottesville to DC.

One of my favorite Trader Joe's snacks!

By the time I got home it looked like a convenience dinner was in the cards...which is ok after the labor intensive pie from yesterday.  The battered cod from Costco is delicious for the whole family so I popped that in the oven.  I always try to have some on hand for days when cooking is rushed.

Paired the cod with broccoli spears, hash-browns because I didn't have "chips" and some texas toast.

On another note, yesterday I went to Target specifically for something but came home with a bag of other stuff I had no idea I would buy until I got there.  Needless to say I really NEEDED those items.  :)

My new favorite Target purchase and it's under $10? Sticky hooks that aren't suppose to damage  surfaces.  I popped them onto the inside of my cabinet and voila, a convenient place for dish towels and scrubbers.  Does anyone else have issues with dish towels all over the kitchen?  My kids leave them everywhere and it always make a tidy kitchen look unkempt.   It's funny how little things like these can bring a little bit of joy.

On to my latest favorite snack.  I discovered Pop Secret Homestyle microwave popcorn.  I had been buying popcorn in bulk from Costco but that really limits the choices of flavors.  Well we ran out so I grabbed this flavor the other day and it's my new fave.  It's best with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top right out of the microwave.  I swear...how did I not do this before.  The homestyle flavor tastes really natural so if you like more butter, the parmesan would be great on that too.  Just use the green plastic canned kind.  A delicious treat.

Sunday Sunday... ba duh, ba duh da dum!

A busy day today.  Yesterday, Sean and I visited Sur La Table.  We...well, more like I have become obsessed with a couple of espresso machines.  One that has pods and one that is fully automatic and is outa-this-world expensive.  The pod one wasn't too crazy on price but still more than I want to pay.  Anyway, I have got to start saving.  One way to do that is to make my own at home with my french press and manual froth-er.  Surprisingly, my homemade eggnog latte turned out great. 

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

Tonight I made a vegetarian version of a shepherds pie.

The Kids of course hated it because it was full of "cooked vegetables" but it's one of Sean's favorite meals.  So to make up for it I made banana bread.

It wasn't my best batch...I forgot to put in the secret ingredients, so it turned out normal rather than fantabulous.