tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31942719302558364592024-03-05T08:54:32.841-08:00A Sweet Petite LifeElysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-12928777049990262022012-06-03T19:47:00.000-07:002012-06-03T19:47:12.361-07:00Once again, I fail at blogging...But to be honest, it's not because I don't want to! It's because we have A. had a lot of big things happening that we have been dealing with and B. Don't have anything exciting enough to talk about! I wanted to post a few reviews on a few fun products, but just can't seem to get myself together enough to do it. But I plan to this week, because I will have a lot of sitting around free time since I injured my foot. BOO! Who knew walking could be so dangerous?<br />
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I also am hoping to post more food stuff soon like recipes, meal plans, fav products that I've discovered more recently, etc. I will get to it! Hopefully this week!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-86336505363769895582012-04-11T11:32:00.000-07:002012-04-11T11:32:15.215-07:00Food For The Next GenerationWhile trying to get all of my pictures and what not together to formulate a post this morning, I was watching a rerun of the Rachael Ray Talk Show. I love this show, normally. Not so much for the food, more of the guests she has on, the tidbits of info she gives on household care, clothing, style, etc. I find that it tends to be pretty down to earth. Why am I saying all this? Well because I want you to know that it's not just that I have a hatred toward Rachael or her show. I don't.<br />
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Anyway, back to the point, today she was taking audience questions, and someone asked about how to feed her kids healthy things. This is a pretty frequent question on this show and she often comes out with tips or tricks...but today she said something about hiding and lying are okay when it comes to feeding your kids healthy things. Let me just tell you how much that BUGS ME. She referenced Jessica Seinfeld who wrote the book "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food". I haven't read the book, but I saw the segment on the show and just am not a fan of this idea of how to feed your children. Here's why:<br />
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The thing is, this idea of "hiding" veggies in your children's food just doesn't sit right with me. Why do you have to "deceive" them into eating something good for them? So they eat the pasta and sauce that you loaded with veggies and hid and like it, so then what happens? Do you tell them "haha you ate veggies and liked it!" and expect that suddenly they will be all about zucchini because they ate it? No! When has that ever worked? It won't change their views on healthy eating, so your choice left is to just continue to hide veggies in more and more things. So then you get a child that yes, is eating veggies, but isn't liking them, isn't learning to make healthy choices, and could have unhealthy views on eating and food and what they should be consuming. <br />
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Now, don't get me wrong, I totally think putting veggies in your pasta sauce is great! Heck, around here, I put veggies in our meatballs, hamburger patties, lasagna, enchiladas, what have you. But I don't like the "hiding" it. If they ask, tell them. And don't try to make it seem like it's a huge secret. Kids have to learn that they need to eat healthy choices like veggies and fruits. And that they aren't gross! Will this always work? NO! Kids go through stages where it won't eat anything but those 5 items they want, and then yea your hands are tied. But I think it's important to not deceive them from day 1. So here's how I think it should work:<br />
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<ul><li>Start your baby out with whole, healthy foods early. And tell them what it is. As they get a little older, let them try things, even if you don't think they will like them. Don't feel like everything has to be super bland. Don't feed them super spice, but if something has a bit of a seasoning, that's okay! Oh and make sure when you are feeding your baby something, you don't say "well you probably won't like it!" or make a negative face. They pick up from you. You are telling them they aren't going to like it, so why would they? Be positive! Say Yum! Encourage. </li>
<li>Make veggies taste good. I mean, let's be honest, steamed Brussels Sprouts that are squishy, stinky, mushy. No thanks! But roasted? Delish and crunchy! There's this whole idea that veggies just aren't yummy, and I think that people just need to find ways to make them so they ARE yummy. </li>
<li>Realize that you and your kids just aren't going to like certain foods, and that's okay. Think, there are at least a few food items you just don't like, no matter what. No matter how they are prepared, what they are in, etc. For my husband, it's eggplant and mushrooms. He just will not eat them. </li>
<li>Get your kids involved in the process. This is something Rachael Ray DOES talk about and support. Let your kids pick a veggie at the store, have them help you find a recipe, go to the farmer's market with them, let them try things. Kids are more likely to want to eat something if they got to help prepare it. There's a level of pride there. </li>
<li>Don't hide veggies in things like brownies. I've seen this done and it's so counter intuitive to me. If you do that and then still only allow them 1 brownie? Okay fine, I still am not into it, but it's tolerable. But don't then let them have 6 because they aren't as bad. This is where that "deception" can lead to bigger problems.</li>
<li>Don't get in the habit of making 2 dinners. I have seen this in SO MANY FAMILIES I have worked with. The kids get one thing, parents get something else because they think or know the kids won't eat what they are eating. Don't get into that habit. It's an ugly cycle. You don't have to change your diet completely to fit your child, so get your child started early on fitting what your tastes are. Modify small things if necessary...like if you want something spicy, cut it back for you child, then add more to yours. </li>
</ul>I'm not saying that this is the only way. I realize that there are going to be 165 people who read this and go, you are so wrong it's not even funny! But, I will say that I have seen this work, if you start early. Yea if you have fed your kid hot dogs and mac and cheese until they are 8 and then expect that tonight you will put broccoli on their plate and they will devour it, good luck. But if you start early, you can really create a healthy lifestyle and mind set early on.<br />
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I'm sure I sound like a broken record with the "start early" but it really does make a huge difference. You want to create a mindset that healthy does not equal bad, and that moderation is a great method for the not so great for you foods. We have to show children how to make healthy choices, by eating veggies in front of them, encouraging them to try things, and getting them involved. Deception, in my opinion, isn't the way to go.Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-11330968203867839052012-04-02T18:46:00.000-07:002012-04-02T18:46:22.555-07:00Why are you here?I've kind of been drawing a blank lately as far as blogging goes. I feel like I have things I want to talk about, but don't for one reason or another, and then things that I could talk about, but won't be as interesting. I haven't tried many new recipes lately, and the ones I have tried, I've forgotten to take pictures of so I don't have any sort of photos to go with it. Blogging blah!<br />
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This whole lack of things to talk about made me wonder why I even blog or write here. Sure, there are people who come check in, but it's not like I have thousands of followers or anything. I wondered who looked in on my life and came back again? Who found what I had to say interesting? Do people really come here regularly? I checked my "stats" and it appears some people do, although you wouldn't know that from the outside, I don't think.<br />
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So why am I here? I guess in short, to get stuff out, to help people, to inspire people, maybe to keep a housewife entertained now and then. And I'm here for myself and my husband, so we can document what we do and see hard evidence that are lives aren't TOTALLY boring...or maybe they are. So clients can see some product reviews in one nice place and maybe even get some inspiration on how to feed their families. For friends to keep up with the small stuff going on. And on the other side of it, for me to get perspective from readers...what do you think of that recipe? What did I say that was just plain stupid and why? I had hopes that it would become a place that people in real life, and in internet life could come to and check in....see what's going down on this side of the world...granted lately not a whole lot has. And in some ways, I think it has, in that people do come through, people do try the recipes, people do think we have good points now and then.<br />
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But anyway, that was ramble-y and silly, but it's why I'm here. Maybe soon more will happen around here to give it some "meat" until then, you'll just have to hold on.Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-37522653405631241642012-03-29T20:42:00.000-07:002012-03-29T20:42:04.501-07:00Lifestyle ChangesI said in my last update post that happened to just be a few hours ago that we had decided to make some lifestyle changes in our household. This was honestly a pretty easy decision for us (okay, me) to come to because I knew where we were was NOT where I wanted us to be long term, but when we were both working full time outside of the house on top of all of the other various life things that had to take place, I just didn't have the time or energy to put in to making a change. When I ended up becoming a housewife, I had the time, energy, and capability to make the changes I felt necessary. This made such a huge difference, that it's hard for me to even put it all into words in this post...seriously. But I will give it a good try so that maybe, just maybe, someone else can get some inspiration from us!<br />
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My biggest thing was changing our diets. I had and have very specific plans in mind for how I planned to feed my family, including my future children and the way we were eating was NOT part of that plan. We were going for what was fastest, cheapest, easiest, and not even worrying about the health factor. Why? I have no idea, except I think time and energy was lacking. Plus neither of us was deemed "unhealthy" so we just went along with how we had been through college and didn't worry too much about it. Sure we ate veggies and didn't have meals that consisted solely of french fries and pizza, but we didn't worry about balanced meals, or even particularly healthy meals. We just used common sense to guide our choices. That had to change at some point though, and I decided the time was now.<br />
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This was actually a fairly easy transition for us. Neither of us have a dislike of healthy food, or vegetables, or fruits. We aren't picky eaters and we were both raised to eat generally well. But we had to find a way that worked for us as a couple. One thing that made a big difference was that now I had the time to make a 45 minute meal instead of a 10 minute one, and we were eating earlier. But as I have come along in the process, I have found that I could have still fed us that way if I had been a more careful planner and done my prep work. But, oh well, shoulda, coulda, woulda, right? At least we made the changes now. (I feel like that is kind of a vague explanation of what we did, but I'm still formulating how to really go in depth on our food choices. So maybe I will just keep it vague and then explain even more in a whole separate post later. Okay? Okay, good.)<br />
Making our food choices work for us was actually quite easy, as I said because of our likes and dislikes, but also because we had realistic expectations of what was going to happen. I knew for a fact we were not going to go gluten free, or vegetarian, or vegan or any of those other "completely cut out X" lifestyles. We just weren't. Neither of us was willing to completely give up what we love because we weren't at a point where we felt it was necessary for our health. We wanted to be able to continue to enjoy our fast paced, 20-something, lifestyle and attend family parties with all the Italians, and not worry too much about what we ate. We wanted to continue to have friends over almost every weekend and feed them things that fit with our plans but weren't so healthy or uncommon that other people were turned off. (Yes, we really do have people over almost every weekend..remind me to write a post on that sometime....) I knew that I was still going to meet my best friend for Starbucks at least once a week, probably twice, if we are being honest, so I was not about to go extremist and change it. *Let me just say, so no one gets their undies in a bunch, that if you made a choice to go anything free, that is great for you! I by no means think that is bad or unintelligent or negative at all, that's between you, your family and your doctor. I am saying what works for us, and none of those work for us, so therefore didn't happen.* So we picked the things we weren't terribly attached to and changed them. Here's a bulleted break down...easier to read that way.<br />
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<ul><li>We started picking turkey instead of beef for things like burgers, lasagna, tacos, you know those items that have a ground meat. We didn't notice or car a difference and were cutting back on red meat. We still eat some beef, but made a leaner choice for the things that we really weren't going to notice a difference in. Also turkey sausage is totally delicious in many things and we grew to love it in our lasagna and pasta.</li>
<li>We started using quinoa over rice or pasta in many side dish situations. It's really becoming popular for its health benefits and it's really yummy. We really love it's flavor and have found multiple recipes and situations in which we prefer it over rice or other grains. </li>
<li>We cut back on caffeine. I am an addict, no doubt and I cut it way way way way way back. It was hard for about a week and now I feel AWESOME without it.</li>
<li>We cut back on wine. Neither of us were drinkers, but would have wine on weekends occasionally, we pretty much cut it back to almost never. Super easy for us to do, and makes us feel good that we can say we did it :)</li>
<li>We switched to organic for most things. I was very skeptical, but decided after some research that it was worth it for certain items, and while I may not notice a "difference" in us due to this, I think health wise it was a good choice for us. </li>
<li>I started reading labels. And holy crap was I amazed. It's crazy how just paying attention can make a huge difference. By doing this I have done a way better job balancing our meals and we have both felt way better health wise. </li>
<li>We eat less sugar. Again, not that hard, but I stopped buying cookies to pack in work lunches, etc and we just eat a little sweet thing instead. (Like those snackwell cookies or a 100 calorie pack of chocolate covered pretzels. Enough to satisfy without going overboard and it's awesome)</li>
</ul>Now on to exercise. This was really a spot we were not great about. I mean, my job involved some running, walking, etc but it was by no means a work out routine. We started walking together on weekends, and eventually for me this turned into during the week either alone or with a friend, which then morphed into jogging, and into going to the gym. Now I get in some form of exercise at least 5 times per week and feel AMAZING. I ended up losing a dress size and while I'm not 100% where I want to be, realistically I'm in a good place and am happier with that. I am also really happy with the routine we have and the overall benefits it's had not only on our bodies but on our minds. I am so much less stressed, anxious, control freakish, etc because I'm getting fresh air and exercise. It's amazing when I am started to get stressed to just go for a jog or even a walk and get rid of it. Not to mention my bum thanks me for making it a more reasonable size :)<br />
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We made a few other changes as well, but I think that is all better in another post. This was already kind of a mental explosion in the form of a blog post, so it's probably better I don't go crazy.<br />
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So overall I think the biggest thing I can say as far as words of wisdom if you want to make a lifestyle change in the nutrition/health department is do what REALISTICALLY will work for you. Don't make a change you aren't willing to stick with for a very long time and find ways to make it work within your lifestyle. If you know you like to go out on weekends, find ways to make that work better,like ordering a lighter dish, or keeping it to 1 drink, or keep your weekdays really structured so the splurges aren't as bad. Find exercise that you will actually do. If you don't want to run a marathon, don't make that your goal. Find ways to make it fun and a motivation for you to do it. (Bikini season anyone?) And have REALISTIC expectations of what your body should be. Don't try to force yourself into an unhealthy weight or diet. That is not healthy or okay and will not be good in the long run. And don't be hard on yourself when you have an off week. You WILL get back on track and YOU will reach your goals. :)Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-37891813527329757302012-03-29T10:06:00.000-07:002012-03-29T10:06:09.118-07:00Oh hey!I know I have been a seriously bad blogger...haven't been keeping up with where we have been and the time has just flown out from under me! Let me give you a quick update on where we are and then I promise promise promise to stay more on top of what we are doing around these parts.<br />
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*We made it through the holidays although vowed that this year we are going to take it easier! We were totally overbooked this year and went to like 6 different places..yep, no more of that. We are going to have to pick our top events and stick with them so as to not make ourselves coo-coo. (Or more coo-coo).<br />
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* We MOVED! To a bigger house and we love it! We spent way too much time (and money) redecorating and are finally settled into our new home and LOVING all the extra space to entertain and spread out! It is weird to have to call for each other and not just turn a corner and see the other person sitting there, but it's a nice change most of the time!<br />
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*We have decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle and are eating better and exercising (okay, I am, my husband has come a long way, but still has a ways to go before he can say he's totally adopted said lifestyle). But I feel SO MUCH BETTER! So much more energy, so much happier, all around a great change for us here. I will actually post more on this later.<br />
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Okay I think that's actually a recap, I guess we haven't been that exciting after all...but time has been flying for us! And we have had tons of fun weekends with friends and only more to come, especially once BASEBALL is back! YAY!!!! We can't wait! <br />
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Let's leave it at that, and I will be back to talk more about other stuff later!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-26502599761396578082011-11-29T15:16:00.000-08:002011-11-29T15:16:39.608-08:00Catching UpWow, I can't believe how long it has been since I posted! What a blogging slacker! I see a few of you have checked in on me, and I promise I will get you all caught up! Except a flood of posts in the next few days with a few recipes, coupon tips, etc that you all have been asking for!<br />
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And a small hint...there's going to be a giveaway here really soon so make sure you follow us so you can be included!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-49268002450106114362011-11-12T12:56:00.000-08:002011-11-12T12:56:48.229-08:00Christmas Contributions: The Cinnamon Roll ProjectSo not to toot my own horn, so to speak, but I make pretty darn yummy cinnamon rolls. Yep, from scratch. (quick break while I try to stop my mouth from watering). And, to clear things up, it's not just me who thinks so. My whole family actually agrees. It all started when I decided I would bring them to Christmas breakfast one morning. And I pretty much have not been allowed back in the door on Christmas morning unless I have them in hand.<br />
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So you may ask, why mess with success? Well, I am just always looking for something to be better, yummier, softer, and a few other words you would use to describe a baked good. Plus, they are in no way easy and tend to be a bit messy as well. They are a labor of love, no doubt totally worth it...but this year I am a bit busier around Christmas (yep, I use that excuse every year), plus what if there is something that dethrones the king? So that is why each year I try out new recipes...go ahead, ask my husband what his favorite time of year is...I am willing to bet he (and his roommates from college) will say cinnamon roll season. And this year, since I have this blog, I figured I would share this experience with all of you. And since I am going to be doing some baking this week, I figured I would give this introduction now, since the anticipation will hopefully get you to come check it back out! (and if you do happen to come back, don't forget to hit that happy little button that says "follow" so I know you were here and plan to come back!). <br />
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Also, please feel free to leave me your recipes to try out, cinnamon roll or otherwise. I am always looking to add to my collection and would love to see what you have to try!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-50474854389850455392011-11-07T16:47:00.000-08:002011-11-07T16:47:07.054-08:00CouponingWho knew, right? Such a silly little item has become quite the phenomenon these days. Sure there were some who have religiously used coupons, and then some who have just caught onto the craze. Heck, there's even a TLC show all about Extreme Couponing. People will show you their tips and tricks, which include doubling coupons at the register, using coupons when the product is on sale, combining manufacturer's coupons with the store coupon to get twice the savings, among other things...usually including buying in bulk.<br />
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I, for one, am a lover of coupons and sales. I anxiously await the paper and ads so I can see what items we can get and for how much off. But, I would definitely not consider myself extreme or anything. I never get my bill down to only dollars after spending over $1k....now if I could double coupons at the register, maybe, but in CA, there is no doubling of coupons (dang it!). Sure, 50 cents off doesn't seem like much, but it adds up! Plus I just registered my club card at Safeway.com so I get more deals from that! I highly suggest doing that if you have a Safeway in your area and shop there frequently. They give you great deals.<br />
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In reality, if you don't plan on going crazy with it, it's pretty easy. I cut all the coupons that I knew we would use and organize them according to dates they would expire. I took out the ones that we needed this week and also surfed online for some big name companies manufacturer's coupons and print those or load them onto my club card via the online Just for U deals from Safeway. I also surf the ads for things that are on sale anyway, because of regular savings or Club Card savings that everyone is eligible for. Then I make my list and meal plan for the week and write my list with specific brands and sizes that I have the coupons for, so I can easily make sure I am getting the right product. Then I just shop and keep it to my list. I'm also not afraid to spend a bit more one week if I know it will save us in the long run. Like if paper towels are really on sale, I go ahead and buy the limit, so I may put a few more bucks on this week, but we won't have to buy them for a long while and are spending less per unit then if I waited.<br />
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Okay, so that may seem like a lot of work, but in reality it's not. I take my sweet time with it, but you could really do all that I did in a matter of an hour or so if you just sat down and stuck to it. You won't regret it, trust me. You will get the savings. As long as you don't expect to get your whole purchase paid for with coupons, you will be okay. And hey, if you do, even better!<br />
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I have gotten questioned recently by non couponing friends as to why I do it, or if it really does save that much money. Okay well, for one, YES it does save money (proof in my weekly grocery post) and two, why I do it isn't really as exciting as you would hope. You see, my husband and I want things, like a baby, a house, and a luxury SUV that a silly college boyfriend promised his girlfriend when he was fogged by love (any guess on who those 2 are? :)). But in all seriousness, we try to save money as much as possible without being slaves to a budget. We didn't want to be wedding poor, house poor, or baby poor and would never put ourselves in a situation where we would be, so we do everything we can to save money and have our lives too. Couponing allows us to not skimp all the time, and I can feed my family the way that I want to without spending a ridiculous amount on it. This allows me a Starbucks occasionally, my husband a video game he's wanted, and us to pay less per month and in interest on big purchases because we have bigger down payments. We're normal people who have needs and wants and have just figured out a way that works for us to have them...see, I told you it wasn't as exciting as you hoped. <br />
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So there you have it, my friends. A (very bare bones) intro to couponing and how it fits into our life.Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-84876085372096864972011-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:002011-10-31T16:57:31.870-07:00The Grocery Store Project Week 2: Grocery OutletI decided this week I would go ahead and do Grocery Outlet. In case you don't have one of those by you, it's basically the type of store that gets the "overstock" from other stores and sells it to you for ,supposedly, a huge discount. We have one near by and it gets a lot of hype. I frequently see numerous cars in the parking lot and people walking in and out, so it seemed like it was popular around here and I figured it was worth a shot. Plus I had a $5 off coupon if you spent $25 bucks or more. So that's a pretty good deal.<br />
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Before I get to my receipts, Let's talk a bit about how a store like Grocery Outlet works and how it's different from your regular grocery. Like I said, they get the extras from stores and sell it for a lower price. What does that mean for shoppers? Well it means lower prices for one thing, but it also means stock that can be a little hit or miss. As in, you won't always get the same items week by week and not all of these items will be a brand you recognize. This isn't always bad, but you have to be aware of what you are getting. Another thing is, you have to REALLY check the dates on the packages. If something is frozen, fine, but you definitely want to check the dates on your fresh stuff like cheeses, meats, etc. And, you have to be prepared that they may not have an item you need for a recipe or you may not like the brand or quality of that product. So as long as you keep all of these in mind for your trip, you will be good to go, and hopefully not disappointed.. <br />
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So last night as I built my meal plan for the week, I tried to pick products that I knew would be just about anywhere. I also knew that I was going to have to be prepared to either substitute or change the plan if something wasn't available or up to my standards OR I was going to have to be prepared to go to another store. I was prepared for that and decided that I would just play it by ear when I got there. If something was a really imperative product, I would have to go elsewhere, but if it was easily subbed for something they did have, I would do it.<br />
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So let's get to comparing, shall we?<br />
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My meal plan this week is:<br />
Monday: Beef Tacos with rice<br />
Tuesday: Ricotta Stuffed meatballs with pasta and a veggie<br />
Wednesday: Hamburgers with couscous<br />
Thursday: Greek lemon rice soup with a veggie<br />
Friday: Meat and spinach lasagna<br />
Saturday: Pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and a veggie<br />
Sunday: Crock pot Hawaiian chicken with rice<br />
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I'm going to actually talk about my overall experience and opinion before I get to the receipt because this was a bit of a different circumstance. You can walk into a major grocery store and know what you are going to find, but this was a different beast, so to speak.<br />
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This week was a typical week for us as far as items go. I needed toilet paper and frozen chicken breasts, but we had frozen ground beef, so like I said in the intro post to this project, it all kind of equaled out. I was a little nervous because some of the items I needed this week were things that are typical for us, but may not be typical for all stores. I mean sure, I figured I could get shredded mozzarella and toilet paper at Grocery Outlet, but would they have ricotta cheese? Would they have pork tenderloin? If they did, would it look okay to me? I was a little nervous going in about where I would draw the line and shop at another store.But I was prepared for that so in I went.<br />
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Walking through the aisles, it was clean and organized and pretty well stocked for the most part, maybe not quite like Safeway or Target but still put together and I could easily maneuver my way through the aisles to find my products. I was pleasantly surprised by quite a few items. A bag of onions for 99 cents? SCORE! 99 cents for a carton of Swanson's chicken broth? SCORE! They had the frozen chicken breasts I needed, they were Foster Farms (score for a good, trustworthy brand) and they were only $6.00 which is at least $2.00 off what I would have found at Safeway for the same product. But I was also a bit disappointed in some things. Like there was no pork tenderloin, which we really wanted and needed since we are having my father in law over on Saturday night for dinner. They had no ricotta cheese, which accounted for 2 meals I was making this week, including one that was going to be a freezer meal for us. I was totally unimpressed with the potatoes and fresh, whole garlic selection there. They had milk but the date wasn't great on it and I would rather have had milk from a place I trusted more then the sorta off brand that was there. The refrigerated meat didn't look bad, but I would have only bought the meat from a big name brand like Jennie-O or Foster Farms, and I really didn't need any of that, except frozen chicken breasts. Plus the biggest disappointment? They had almost no toilet paper. They had 2 choices, that was all and they were only 4 packs AND they were still 3 bucks! Really? Toilet paper? I was convinced that they would have a selection and a great deal on it. At that point, I felt defeated. So I decided to just buy what I could and what I liked and then go to Safeway for the rest. <br />
<br />
Here's my receipts for both stores and the weekly total. <br />
<br />
Grocery Outlet:<br />
Frozen Chicken Breasts<br />
Soft Tofu<br />
3 lb bag of onions<br />
1 Loaf of Wonder Bread<br />
Green Giant fresh green beans (in that plastic steamer bag)<br />
Dole Broccoli (int he plastic steamer bag in the fresh produce section)<br />
Swanson's Chicken Broth (16oz)<br />
Libby brand canned pineaple<br />
Shredded Mozzarella <br />
Christopher Ranch peeled garlic (in a refrigerated bag in the fresh section, I bought this instead of a head of garlic, I was hoping it would last me longer)<br />
<br />
Total: $21.20 <br />
I saved: 21.70 according to my receipt (I didn't end up getting to use my coupon though since I didn't spend $25.00)<br />
<br />
Safeway:<br />
4 Bottles of Refreshe Sparkling Fruit Water (Rob's favorite)<br />
Toilet Paper (12 double rolls)<br />
Ricotta cheese (32oz)<br />
Milk<br />
Pork Tenderloin<br />
4.24 lbs of Red Potatoes<br />
2 Lemons<br />
2 bags of Pistachios <br />
Total: $46.10<br />
I saved $9.09 with my club card and sales<br />
<br />
Weekly total: 67.80<br />
So I spent 40 cents more then last week. I will be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Yes, I did need toilet paper and frozen chicken. And yes pork tenderloin can be a bit pricey, but I also was using ground beef from the freezer and didn't go crazy with the extras.Plus last week I bought 3 kinds of meat, which is a lot for me to buy in one week, and those weren't all cheap meats! And I know that some of it was because I personally wasn't happy with the quality of some of the fresh products, but I won't buy off brands of certain things, and I won't skimp on produce. But, I did buy a lot of good stuff, stuff that isn't just a one week item, and we are entertaining this week which means a bit more food. And I did buy pistachios which totally weren't on the list, but they were on sale buy one get one free, and they are something that we like to snack on so I knew they wouldn't be a waste. So all in all, I'm still under budget, and got some good items. Will I go back there again? Probably, especially now that I have a better idea of what's there, but it won't be my weekly store. <br />
<br />
So that was week 2! I'm looking forward to next week to see what the next store brings!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-54424783090659362582011-10-26T19:46:00.000-07:002011-10-31T16:55:41.563-07:00The Grocery Store Project. Week 1: SafewayOk so this was week 1 and so I started at my old standard. As I said, I did a typical weekly trip, where I bought some items just for the week, and some that were things that are more long term items, as in, I don't have to buy them each week and a few of my meals used ingredients I had already like chicken frozen and eggs. Here is how it went down:<br />
<br />
My meal plan was:<br />
<br />
Monday: Pork Milanese, Parsley Pasta Salad, and a veggie<br />
Tuesday: Jambalaya and Rice<br />
Wednesday: Pesto and cream cheese stuffed chicken with leftover pasta<br />
Thursday: Turkey burgers with couscous<br />
Friday: tortellini Alfredo<br />
Saturday: Beef stir-fry<br />
Sunday: Beef pitas with tzatziki sauce with veggie<br />
<br />
So here's what I bought:<br />
3 bottles of Refreshe sparkling fruit water (my husband loves these so I usually have to get them every few weeks)<br />
Lemon juice<br />
Cream Cheese<br />
2 packages of frozen veggies (1 spinach, 1 stir fry veggies)<br />
Greek Yogurt<br />
Bagel Thins<br />
Pita Pockets<br />
2 containers of ground turkey<br />
Think cut steaks<br />
Think cut pork chops<br />
1 bag of seedless grapes<br />
2 Lemons<br />
2 onions<br />
Cole slaw mix (you know the chopped cabbage mix)<br />
Parsley<br />
Cilantro<br />
Asparagus bunch<br />
Tortellini (fresh)<br />
Alfredo (also in the fresh section, not the jar)<br />
<br />
In total, I spent 67.41<br />
<br />
Not a bad deal for how much stuff I got, in my opinion. I always try to keep it under $70 but, I was nervous this week since I bought 3 kinds of meat, and good amount of fresh produce. With my club card and coupons, I saved 14.51. So, not horrid, but I probably could have saved more honestly.<br />
<br />
My overall opinion of Safeway, is it's the old standard. I know where stuff is, I like the variety, and I like that I get the gas rewards by shopping there. I also like the Starbucks located right inside. I like the coupons, and the club card specials. And I think I got a pretty good deal this week.<br />
<br />
We will have to see what the next weeks bring.Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-32559792455840453482011-10-25T21:03:00.000-07:002011-10-25T21:03:48.408-07:00The Grocery Store Comparison ProjectI have shopped at the same grocery store basically my entire life. Seriously. I have always been a Safeway kind of girl and no matter where we lived, I always shopped at the local Safeway. Recently I have been told that it's quite possible that I am overpaying for my groceries, which surprised me because we are pretty diligent about coupon use and club card savings. Not to mention I am usually on top of what is a less expensive alternative to an ingredient and can easily switch things out if something happens to be a great price.<br />
<br />
With the amount of stores popping up all over, I became intrigued as to what other options were out there. As I visited the other stores, I realized that we could realistically cut Safeway out all together since these stores do have all the ingredients you could need, really with very few exceptions. But I wasn't about to transition right over without giving Safeway a fair shot. After all, it is known to have coupons and club card specials, which not all stores have. Plus it's a big chain so you can get on board with their products. But at the same time, we are the type of people who love to save a few bucks, so thus came the Grocery Store Project.<br />
<br />
I started this project this week. I typically shop on Monday's so after this week, except the updates then, however since this week was the start, I wanted to do an intro post before I posted my first shopping trip adventure. So I will post my findings tomorrow from week 1 but first let's talk about how it works.<br />
<br />
I am going to go to a different store each week, then the last week will be a combo of the stores, so I will see what I found for the best price and piece together stores and see how that adds up. Right now the stores I have on my list are Safeway, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, 99 Ranch Market, Target (they sell groceries now, ya know), Costco (although this may be tricky, I think it's worth a shot), Fresh and Easy, Grocery Outlet and Sprouts Yep, that many weeks, y'all. I am serious about my comparisons. If you happen to think of another store to add, I would love to hear your input and add it on my list.<br />
<br />
Here's how the grocery lists will work...obviously we don't eat the same meals each week, and definitely won't want to do so for weeks on end, but you can assume that if I am doing a comparison that week it will have similar characteristics, as in it will include meals for 7 dinners per week, a couple of items that are stock up items that we only need to buy sometimes (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc), and it will always be based off of some items that we have at home like frozen meat that we bought in a previous week, etc. But that will all balance out since we will always be taking from the freezer, and always buying something that goes in. Get what I mean? That may be hard to explain but I think you will see how it works as the weeks go by.<br />
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I will also include the items I bought, coupons I had, my basic meal plan for the week, store I went to, total amount spent and what my overall shopping experience was like. Feel free to ask any questions along the way. <br />
<br />
Well I think that sums it up! Let's get started! Week 1 was Safeway (my old fav) so you will get to see that tomorrow!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-11193072564634458072011-10-17T15:35:00.000-07:002011-10-17T15:35:56.046-07:00A Few of My Favorite Things-child related sectionI think one of the main things that I get asked both in general and for the business is "what products are your favorites for babies and children?" Well, the answer is usually, "well what sorts of items are you looking for?" Because, let's face it, there are more items out on the market then one person can really grasp and I have found more and more of them to not have a whole lot of uses. The stores are filled with products that you "must have" that you actually aren't really going to die without, right? I mean, even non-child related items, do you really need a slap chopper, magic bullet, mini food processor and knives? Uhh no, or at least I don't. (Although you will probably see my mini food processor in my other favorite things list, if we are being honest, I love that thing.) Ok, back to the point...I decided to post a few of my favorite, must have baby products here. These are ones that I have used and personally love and adore and find to be fantastic. But remember, different things work for different people and you should ALWAYS look around for reviews and recalls of products before making your decision. Everyone has different preferences and what works great for me today, may not tomorrow and may not work for you. Ok...on to the list...<br />
<br />
1. The Baby Bjorn Original Classic <a href="http://www.babybjorn.com/us/products/baby-carriers/baby-carrier-original/classic/">(Link)</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wNG_EfOhTNQ023yL6lewuuRiZna3pgu6b0La-trkD6bJsvBlVgCdQe1ZLDnNycdEtQPP22K8shiZ_fKYXvFREMxiRAUGjU_oIpJZleZwMcxsZFW-MvxizN0VLqevMxkElGO0ZT6H4e0/s1600/babybjorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wNG_EfOhTNQ023yL6lewuuRiZna3pgu6b0La-trkD6bJsvBlVgCdQe1ZLDnNycdEtQPP22K8shiZ_fKYXvFREMxiRAUGjU_oIpJZleZwMcxsZFW-MvxizN0VLqevMxkElGO0ZT6H4e0/s1600/babybjorn.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Why I love it:</b>This is a product that has been around for a long time and is a favorite among many people that I know. It has some stiff competition, but in my opinion it is the easiest to use, especially when you are putting it on without assistance from another adult. It's easy to get on and off, comfortable for you and baby, and easy to just throw in the bottom of the stroller or keep in the trunk of the car in case. One thing that I loved is that it worked for me, despite my very petite frame. I was able to adjust it to fit my size and then leave it that way so every time I used it, I just had to strap it on and pop the baby in rather then going through the process of refitting it over and over. I also liked that you didn't have to be a contortionist to get it on yourself or to get baby into it. This was something I ran into with some similar carriers. I actually asked a few friends recently which one they liked, and they also agreed that this one was easy to use. I think I used it the most at the grocery store because it was great for before the kids were ready to sit in the cart, but were too old to stay in the infant seat the whole time. Since they can face in or out depending on size and age, it's great for those sorts of outings. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What I would change:</b> This is one product that I actually think is great as is. I've never had a complaint except one time when I wore the baby in it far too long and was a little sore when I put her in the car, that was obviously my fault and not it's fault. </div><br />
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2. Dr Brown's Natural Flow Bottles <a href="http://www.bestbottle.com/">(Link)</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V4PldThJ_lJ2YAwwtz-wjKMt3QNHHw0gEV75uVhVvCIN6_X6qyW9BQN1TymW8vYBCJEr0hA0cw6GbFry0UbtVU3V26cL1z2N8rbKW_UiA_4FfxCWuIztJ0tqkHjadtpZX3ftVi8X-Bc/s1600/drbrownsbottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V4PldThJ_lJ2YAwwtz-wjKMt3QNHHw0gEV75uVhVvCIN6_X6qyW9BQN1TymW8vYBCJEr0hA0cw6GbFry0UbtVU3V26cL1z2N8rbKW_UiA_4FfxCWuIztJ0tqkHjadtpZX3ftVi8X-Bc/s320/drbrownsbottles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>Why I love it:</b> I love these bottles because they are a really well thought out product. They are BPA free which is big, they are natural flow, which means their flow resembles breast feeding, which is great for babies, they come in different shapes and sizes and have different levels of nipples depending on how old your baby is. The higher the level, the faster the flow of milk. It's a nice feature. I have always used the slim ones, which fit great in little containers or pockets rather then some bulkier bottles out there. They also do help with gas and colic with the way they are constructed. I think this is a great product from a company that seems to really have their stuff together. Their website has a good deal of information on their products and the benefits of them which I love because I am a research freak :)<br />
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<b>What I would change:</b> This is minor, and usually operator error, but the little stopper that goes in the straw part really has to be pushed in, or you will have leakage. I had a few leaks because of quickly pushing them in but not really ensuring they were tight. Yes, I know, it's totally a me thing, but still should mention it so you can benefit from my spills :)<br />
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3. Boppy Pillows <a href="http://www.boppy.com/">(Link)</a><br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqPeV1OLz7MNAOW0OtbWSxG1W1pHQPmbRuRw5KqT1ayChyJBhekDL6JFHj_Hug0zR-awg-2_hI8dqlAi8Z3bskO-6OWFnPXrQiGgxDPqn_BdBNhHUN5kpijhSRQzdK4qPFam1CZuhH-A/s1600/Boppy_Nursing_Pillow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqPeV1OLz7MNAOW0OtbWSxG1W1pHQPmbRuRw5KqT1ayChyJBhekDL6JFHj_Hug0zR-awg-2_hI8dqlAi8Z3bskO-6OWFnPXrQiGgxDPqn_BdBNhHUN5kpijhSRQzdK4qPFam1CZuhH-A/s1600/Boppy_Nursing_Pillow.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>Why I love it: </b>So Boppy pillows come in a few different ways, you can buy it and then buy a slip cover separate, buy it with slipcovers and their is the newborn lounger, which looks like the classic one, but is filled in in the middle so baby can lounge on it. These things rock for feedings, rock for when baby gets a bit older and can lounge, rocks for when your baby won't sleep and you have to hold it on your lap and rock it for hours until you arms feel like they may fall off...ok, well they help them not feel like they are going to fall off. This pillow offers support for baby or whoever is holding baby. The covers are also washable which, is a must with babies and children. One thing though, make sure you read the way it's supposed to be used first. I think it's tempting to just put baby on in there, but you have to make sure you are using it correctly and always in supervision, not in the crib, or in the other room, and not before baby is ready. The use instructions can be found on their webpage, right <a href="http://www.boppy.com/how-to-use/">(here)</a><br />
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<b>What I would change:</b> Again, I don't think there's a thing I would change about this product. I think when used correctly, it's a great thing to have around, a necessity even, in my book, since it has a lot of uses.<br />
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So...that's at least a starter list! If you have any baby or kid products you love, let me know in the comments or in an email! I would love to hear your thoughts on these and other products!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-6557532821094146142011-10-09T19:12:00.000-07:002011-10-09T19:12:55.049-07:00Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown ButterOn weeknights we typically want a quick, but not boxed dinner. You know, something that makes us feel like we ate well, but not spend an hour doing so. And lately, I have been trying to watch our calorie intake, and get us in the habit of having more balanced meals. My boss got me started on Eatingwell.com and I'm hooked! She and I are both making recipes from there quite frequently, and I haven't been disappointed yet. <br />
<br />
I came across this Gnocchi recipe and immediately bookmarked it (and Pinned it, in case you were wondering), and saved it for an occasion where we needed a quick meal.This week was it. I made one change to it...omitting the tomatoes since we aren't huge tomato fans. As a result, I added a touch more butter since it seemed to get a bit dry as it was cooking. I'm guessing this was because the tomatoes would have added some natural liquid, but that's okay. Who's going to complain about a little extra butter?<br />
<br />
Overall this dish was amazingly delicious. It was filling but not overly so, rich but still light. It came together really quickly, which was a huge plus. I definitely suggest making sure you have all the veggies prepped, including the parsley all chopped and ready to go because otherwise it will be a mad dash and you may over cook your sauce which can also cause it to dry out a bit.<br />
So here's the recipe, I highly recommend it. It would totally work for entertaining as well.<br />
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Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter-From Eating Well <a href="http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/gnocchi_with_zucchini_ribbons_parsley_brown_butter.html">(Link)</a><br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<ul><li itemprop="ingredients">1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">2 tablespoons butter</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">2 medium shallots, chopped</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise (I used the mandolin slicer for this) </li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1/2 teaspoon salt</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">Freshly ground pepper, to taste</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese</li>
<li itemprop="ingredients">1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley</li>
</ul>Preparation:<br />
<ol itemprop="recipeInstructions"><li>Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.</li>
</ol><br />
And a picture of what ours looked like....it's not the best picture ever, but it'll give you the point.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRjRYRueJjFNLzE427joj-OBn9nnKUUASZp9CSDhtdUtW_sroixtv4TlQdgtfoCJY2OLmv664JxQhmaMnGGaJ6SYUjbVYDxgC5GgYo9DJzK08cuyzCwzJYzsDm4sjCfN6_DrdBCOXJUs/s1600/gnocchi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRjRYRueJjFNLzE427joj-OBn9nnKUUASZp9CSDhtdUtW_sroixtv4TlQdgtfoCJY2OLmv664JxQhmaMnGGaJ6SYUjbVYDxgC5GgYo9DJzK08cuyzCwzJYzsDm4sjCfN6_DrdBCOXJUs/s320/gnocchi.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-86188265159447588522011-10-04T14:16:00.000-07:002011-10-04T14:16:12.442-07:00Mac and CheeseThere are few things my husband and I love more in the world than Mac and Cheese. Seriously. You would think we were toddlers with how we just adore the stuff. We used to eat the Kraft boxed kind, which, I won't knock too much because let's face it, it's easy, quick, and not horribly gross. But, I will say, there are few things better then good homemade macaroni and cheese. And now that I have found an easy, delicious recipe, the blue box has been kicked out of our house! <br />
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I used to make a recipe that Rob found a few years ago when he lived with roommates. I sort of adapted it overtime and it was always "alright" but not perfect...but it was filling and relatively cheap and easy so it stuck around. Then, I found a new recipe. It was by Rachael Ray, who I usually love, although not always. But this time, she won me over. Now, note that this isn't just mac and cheese, it's a complete meal because she adds broccoli and chicken. But if you want to do it without, you can easily just not add those things in. So first, I will post her original recipe and the link...then we can go on to how to make this your own!<br />
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Rachael Ray's "Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli" <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mac-and-cheddar-cheese-with-chicken-and-broccoli-recipe2/index.html">(Link)</a><br />
<h2 class="kv-ingred">Ingredients</h2><ul class="kv-ingred-list1"><li class="ingredient">2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan</li>
<li class="ingredient">1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped</li>
<li class="ingredient">Salt and pepper</li>
<li class="ingredient">1 small onion, chopped</li>
<li class="ingredient">1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists</li>
<li class="ingredient">2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department</li>
<li class="ingredient">3 tablespoons butter</li>
<li class="ingredient">3 tablespoons all-purpose flour</li>
<li class="ingredient">1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper</li>
<li class="ingredient">1 teaspoon paprika</li>
<li class="ingredient">3 cups whole milk</li>
<li class="ingredient">1 cup chicken stock</li>
<li class="ingredient">3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar </li>
<li class="ingredient">1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard</li>
</ul><h2>Directions</h2><div class="instructions"> <div class="instruction"> Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.</div>Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.<br />
To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.<br />
While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.<br />
Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.<br />
Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.<br />
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<b> Notes: </b>I usually use a bit more cheese then her recipe calls for since I like mine extra creamy and cheesy. It also makes the sauce a bit thicker, which I like. We also mix up the cheeses according to what we have on hand, but our favs are the sharp cheddar with some colby jack. Oh and one last note, she says whole milk, but I have used 2% no problem. My only suggestion is to make sure you aren't using low fat cheese since the consistency is a little different and it doesn't melt as smoothly. If I happen to have low fat cheese, I will use mostly regular and then just supplement with a little low fat (like 2 cups regular, 1 cup low fat, or some similar fraction of cheese ratio). <br />
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Super easy peasy right? And do you want to know a trick to make it even easier? Either used leftover chicken from a previous night, or buy those precooked chicken pieces from your local grocery and just throw it in. It makes it even faster and easier.<br />
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Now...to change this up is super simple. You can use a variety of cheeses. You can basically take the chicken and replace it with a ground meat (or sliced/cubed but you will probably want to stick with white meat if you are going the sliced or diced route since the texture will match better) and any vegetable. Some of the combos I have made are with ground beef and broccoli and ground beef and frozen spinach. Both have been super simple and really yummy. I just browned the beef first and defrosted the spinach then added it in as the directions stated. This is one recipe that is fantastic for using up what's around! Try it out and tell me what your fav combos are! I would love to hear what worked for you!Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194271930255836459.post-85411132886966674842011-08-29T21:01:00.000-07:002011-08-29T21:01:42.507-07:00Welcome!Hi! Welcome to A Sweet Petite Life! This is my blog about my life and business! It will be a mixture of product and service reviews related to babies and childcare as well as my life outside of the business. I have high hopes to have this be the place where I have recipes, restaurant reviews, the best baby products, best places to take your kids, the winners of my Sweet Petite Pick awards (stay tuned for more info on that!), and all of the stuff that comes in between! <br />
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So we will start with that! I will add more as time goes on! <br />
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Elysehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06807899080866121540noreply@blogger.com0