Sometimes I get a little too ambitious

So there are weeks when I'm feeling particularly creative and the need to plan a full and healthy menu overtakes the reality of how my family eats.  I'm not a big fan of leftovers, I just never have been but since only 3 of the 4 of us eats meat that eliminates one mouth, then I have a few picky birds amongst us so that leaves extra food left.  This is the menu that I started out with:

Look at the over confidence I had in this week! Silly of me. 

So from this menu the items that did get made were: Pasta Bake, Cheeseburgers, Beef Enchiladas, and Beef Stew. I think that what makes the most sense for my family is 4 full meals and those that so chose can eat leftovers when I've had enough of cooking for the week.

 On Sunday I prepped the vegetables for the stew and any time I prep celery and carrots I always chop it up for preparation in soups/stews.  And of course sticks of carrots and celery for the various little bunnies in my family that like to snack on such things.

Veggies ready to be prepped and my orange garbage bowl

This is a good stopping point to mention this post's tool to have.  The garbage bowl, yes it's a Rachael Ray thing, yes it's orange and not everyone likes orange understandably, but the use is the same no matter what sort of bowl you use.  I used to waste so much time walking back and forth from my cutting board to the garbage because I like to clean as I cook/prep and the garbage bowl comes in so handy! Do yourself a favor and start using the garbage bowl concept. 

I also prepped the pasta bake to throw into the oven on Monday evening after work.  Just try to bring your refrigerated casseroles or bakes to room temp before baking off in the oven or you could dry out your ingredients.  No one likes dry, crunchy pasta! My pasta bake recipe is simple and can be altered in so many ways This bake was just rotini noodles, some Italian sausage, our favorite pasta sauce, some oregano and parsley, and topped with freshly grated mozzarella cheese. Baked off at 400 degrees covered in tin foil for 30 minutes and then without the foil for another 20 minutes.  You could make this vegetarian, you could add some chunky vegetables, or even go white sauce. 

Pasta facials are a thing, might as well take some time to open your pores whilst draining your pasta

Cheesy pasta! 

I did try to do too much this week, I know that now and I adjusted our menu for the next week to include the meals that I didn't get made.  Until next week!

-Angel

Welcome! Bienvenidos! Willkommen! Välkommen! καλωσόρισμα!

Dear friends, family, strangers, odd ones who wound up here by accident and really have no idea how you got here but now that you're here you're paying attention,

Thank you for stopping by! Seriously though, thank you for clicking over here and seeing what I have to say.  I know that I'm not the only hard-working parent who is trying to provide the best for their brood, I also know that I'm not the only one using a day to prep meals and my family for the coming week ahead.  In this blog I am going to explore ways to improve those prep times and tools that I've found help me to be more efficient and actually get a hot meal on my table every night.  

I've been a vegetarian for a long time but I live with a bunch of carnivores so I'm constantly on the lookout for new recipes and scouring cooking shows for techniques to help with whatever meat-filled dish I'm making.  I love to cook and I know that tasting as you go is important but I am finding ways around that.  Not everything that I make is a winner, thankfully my family is willing to tell me that maybe that dish doesn't need to go into our rotation again.  

In this blog I'll be linking some recipes I'm trying from Pintrest, some of my own creations, some tips and tricks, tools that will make your life easier and some disaster stories too! I welcome your comments and suggestions and I hope that I can provide you another voice in the wilds of this lifestyle blogging world.  

Fair warning: I am one of those semi-crunchy natural health nuts.  I create organic beauty products in my downtime (ha! downtime!!) and we're phasing out store-bought lotions, toothpastes, shampoos, lip balm, sugar scrubs and replacing them with my homemade options.  I do sell my products in the craft scene and I hope to one day make a living from those items but even if that never happens I'm happy to provide some safe, healthy, nourishing alternatives to my family and friends.  I even create organic dog treats for my pup because her health is important to me. Those recipes will appear here a lot too.  If you're looking for me in the world of Facebook, please check out my Wings of Sugar page. 

Think of this blog as a mix of inspiration, humor, shared failures, idealistic crunchy-hippie vibes, and poorly photographed moments of my life. Comment, share, engage, I welcome it all. 

-Angel