At the beginning of 2014, Hubby and I decided that we wanted to take our children on a vacation this year. He and I have traveled on several cruises together in the past and we think that it is completely worth the money. I will cover what we do and do not love about cruising in a separate post.
Since our teenage daughter is in public school and we were not wanting to pull her out of school to go on vacation, that left our options fairly slim. Cruising during the summer can be very expensive so we decided on a cruise at the tail end of summer out of New Orleans to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. We have been to Cozumel several times and knew what to expect but neither of us had ever cruised to Progreso, so we were excited for a bit of a change.
We would have two toddlers and a teenager traveling with us, so I was in full planning mode from the time that I booked the cruise until the day that we boarded the boat. This was our first big vacation since the younger ones were born and I was nervous about what they would enjoy, how they would react, etc. On top of all of that, I was dealing with anxiety about them falling overboard. If you want to look up all of the research on google, let me save you some time. It is almost impossible to fall overboard a cruise ship unless you are trying, i.e. climbing over the railing, standing on top of the tables near the edge in a 'Hold my beer and watch this' style moment, etc. And as far as I could tell, there has never been a child fall overboard a cruise ship... but that didn't stop me from worrying that we would be the first. With that fear aside, I plunged forth into planning and executing a vacation that we would all be happy with.
The following are my 6 tips for happy traveling with kids on a cruise:
Know your food options.
Anyone with children can tell you that a single moment can go from perfect to ruined if your child, or husband for that matter, is hungry or thirsty. One of the positive parts of a Carnival cruise is that you can get something to eat and drink 24 hours a day. This is perfect for people traveling with kids. Weeks before boarding, I had already viewed the deck plans of the floors of the ship provided on the company's website to find out how close we were to the different eating areas. Carnival will provide tea, water and lemonade during the day, and juice during the morning hours for free to all patrons. Sodas and alcoholic drinks are available for purchase throughout the day and night at any bar throughout the ship. I will review the Bottomless Bubbles soda and will talk about the alcohol program in a later blog.
If you don't find anything that squelches your child's hunger pangs, there is always free room service. A small selection of sandwiches, snacks and beverages is available for delivery for free to your stateroom. Just remember to tip!
There is a formal dining room option on every ship. Prior to the cruise, your stateroom gets placed at a table. Sometimes this is alone, sometimes this is with strangers. In the past, we have been sat with our fair share of interesting people. On this cruise, we were sat with a very nice family from Canada with three lovely daughters. They were pleasant to speak with and it was good to get to know someone over a nice meal. This dining room serves more fancy type foods than the other dining areas, think lobster, shrimp cocktail, escargot, etc. I wanted our family to eat in this dining room everyday just for the experience, but hubby was not so sure. We made plans for both situations and ended up eating in there every night. The kids enjoyed it and we got to have our nice dinners. If you kids are not used to dining out and behaving simultaneously, I would refrain from eating in this type of a dining room. Ideally, this is not the place for loud children, children throwing food or screaming tantrums at the top of their lungs. The waiters and other patrons understand a small disturbance but be respectful of other's trying to enjoy their meal.
Typically on 'sea days' - where you don't stop at a port, they will offer a brunch in the formal dining room. If you can manage to wake up in time and find yourself some decent clothes, you should definitely partake in this. They offer kid friendly items, like chocolate chip pancakes, but also grown up fare such as heuvos rancheros. We went to brunch one morning because we had a coupon for a free drink and it was much nicer and more enjoyable than we anticipated and worth the line that we had to wait in to be seated. The kids enjoyed their pancakes and juice and we got to have a decent breakfast. The day before they will place a menu outside of the dining room for both the brunch and the regular dinner so you can see what you will be offered before you get all gussied up for a meal. There was also at least one vegetarian item per day offered in that dining room.
The casual dining area serves different food options at regular intervals throughout the day. They typically serve some of the same cuisine as the nice dining room but also more casual fare in a buffet style setting. This area provides salad bars, soft serve ice cream, pizza, hot sandwiches, drinks, and a bar - a yay for mommy after a long day! There were several days that after the children went to bed, Hubby and I snuck up here for an ice cream cone and an adult beverage. On our boat this time was also a Mongolian grill and an outdoor grill area serving burgers, hot dogs, fries, chips, queso, and a few small desserts. During breakfast, there will typically be an egg/omelet/quiche station. This is the place to go with rowdy kids. This is also the place to go to watch the drunks stumble around, as there was plenty of that. Our casual dining was at the very rear of the boat, so it was neat to go in there and enjoy the view of the open water. You can also eat outdoors next to the dining room. This sounds nice and is good for someone without kids, but it is very windy out there and that isn't always conducive to being able to enjoy a meal.
In the casual dining area for breakfast, they will have individually packaged dry cereals. Typically, I would grab at least one extra for the kids to have at a moment's notice. We usually carried one bag around the boat and I would keep them in there. That way if we were walking around and someone started acting up, they could eat a little something to hold them over until the next meal.
Keep some "normal".
If your children are young enough, like two of mine, to still need a daily nap, don't forget that they will still need to nap on board. As a matter of fact, they will need a nap more because they are out of their routine and constantly being stimulated by new people, new sights and new activities. This nap during the day was also good for the rest of us because it enabled us to chill out and relax while they were resting. Also, one of the days, Hubby and I snuck away and played Bingo and walked around. It was nice. If your children don't need a nap, then don't be afraid to keep them on their regular schedule from at home. If you typically eat at 7 and are in bed by 10, why change that because you are on vacation?
There is a higher chance that your children will be well behaved and enjoy their vacation more if they have something familiar like their schedule when they are surrounded by a lot of unfamiliar things. I packed the pillowcases from their beds and one of their toys that they sleep with to have on board to give them some comfort since they would be sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. It worked very well as they didn't seem to have any problems going to sleep during the day or at night. Have them help you pick an item out to put in their suitcase and they will feel more involved in the process.
We also chose to bring our own re-usable water bottles, so we could keep the kids hydrated throughout the day. These came in handy on the boat as well as in the ports, since you don't always want to drink the water in Mexico. We would fill them up several times per day with ice and lemonade or tea. Since they were our own water bottles, the kids were familiar with them and thought nothing of drinking the same amount of water that they would at home, where if we would not have had them, the kids might not have stayed as hydrated as they did. This is important since getting overheated while swimming on the upper decks or at a port can be very dangerous.
Don't be afraid to try new things.
This is for kids and adults alike on a cruise. In the formal dining room they will offer items like escargots, lobster, etc. If you have never tried any of these items, what are you waiting on? Encourage your kids to try items from the menu that they never would. Isabella ate a seafood pasta and a mushroom pasta at the dining room one day and loved both of them.
There are also 2-3 nights during a 5 night cruise that they will have their performers put on a show. This might not be every one's cup of tea but it is really cool. Dancing and singing and sometimes audience participation - what could be better? Of course, at home, we have never taken our toddlers to see a show like this. Our teenager might have seen a show like this but never with us. They loved it on board! Silas was SO enamored by the sights and sounds that he looked like he was in a trance. Isabella enjoyed it because she got to dance around and sing with the people. She now acts out shows like this in our living room every day. Take your kids and if they don't enjoy it, you can always leave and find something else to do. They will put a flyer everyday in your stateroom that will detail all the activities for the following day so you will be in the know.
We did not participate in a lot of other activities but on the boat there is literally something to do all day and most of the night. They have competitions out by the pool, such as the hairy chest competition, Bingo, dance classes, art shows, etc. No matter what you like to do, they have something for everyone to enjoy. There is a casino aboard every ship and they are always busy. I usually have decent luck with the slot machines and always spend a small amount of money in there during each cruise. The casino is a nice place to go to indulge in some alone adult time since no children are allowed in, sneak a cigarette and an adult beverage. Plus there are plenty of deck chairs for anyone who likes to sit out by the pool and relax in the sun. Since three of the five people in my party are almost transparent they have such fair skin and red hair, it is impossible for us to be in the sun for very long without super sun protection.
Utilize the childcare.
During the week, my children are watched by my mother. If hubby and I want to go somewhere, they are always watched by our teenager, or another member of my family. There is never a time that they are being supervised by someone that they don't know personally, so the thought of using the daycare program on board was terrifying. Camp Carnival is a children's area for children that are 2-17 years old. The children get separated into appropriate age groups and different age-appropriate activities are conducted in each group. Some of the older groups even roam around the ship, can swim, etc. The younger group that my toddlers fell into stayed in the area where we dropped them off. There were tons of toys, Legos, books, etc. in this area for them to play with.
My daughter was immediately fascinated and as a child who is mostly out of that 'stranger danger' mindset, she was excited to go and play with other children her age. Plus the person that she was going to be left with was a woman and she has a tendency to be a lot more comfortable with women strangers than men strangers. Not sure why... it's just the way that it is. Silas, on the other hand, did not approve of this plan from the get-go. He was determined that he would not be left there and I was determined to give it a go for a bit. On our boat, they gave us a phone for the duration of the cruise that they would call if something went awry with your children during their stay in Camp Carnival.
I dropped them both off one morning. Silas cried at the door and Isabella ran off to play. The woman told me that he would be fine and they would distract him and I took off with hubby for some time by ourselves to walk around, etc. I am glossing over the part where I was also crying leaving him there. As a mother who is lucky enough to not have to leave my children while they are crying like that ever, I don't know how you parents do it if that happens to your child at a daycare. That was honestly one of the hardest moments of the trip. Little did I know that we would be back to pick them up about an hour later. Grace had gone back to have them call us and find out where we were and this upset both of the younger kids and they called us to come retrieve our three upset children. It was a small break though.
I fully believe that if your children are used to being around a daycare type environment or old enough to walk around by themselves, that the Camp Carnival atmosphere is awesome. Grace's age group had ice cream socials, towel animal folding demonstrations, swimming, their own formal night, etc. They plan lots of fun activities and the people who work with the children seem really invested in ensuring that the children of all ages have a great time.
Child containment devices are your friend.
The two most important items that we brought on our cruise were our Ergo carriers. In the planning stages of our cruise, I was very overwhelmed with the idea of getting my children through the long lines that you have to wait in to get on the ship, metal detectors, etc. At that time, we had one Ergo carrier and I would comfortably wear either one of the children on my back anytime that we needed to go on a walk in the mall, around town, etc. I knew that we had to get another one for this cruise.
Now that they are older, the stroller is less and less a good idea. Plus our stroller that will hold both of them is so bulky and heavy and I knew that we would be stressed for space in our room making that a less than awesome option. These Ergo carriers were the best item ever and I would recommend them to anyone traveling on a cruise with toddlers and babies. Being able to wear the kids when getting on and off the ship saved us time and energy wondering where they were, getting them to walk up the gangway to get on board, etc. You just strapped them on your back and away you went. They are fast and efficient and the staff even let us through the metal detectors with them on and allowed the kids to take a picture for their ID while still strapped to us.
And last, but certainly not least... let your kids be kids. A vacation is a time for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves. This should not be limited to just adults, but should go for teenagers and kids alike. There are so many activities available to people on board, there is no excuse to not have fun on a cruise. If my kids wanted to dance and sing with the many performers singing and playing music around the ship, I let them. If they wanted to swim at night and have an extra ice cream cone before bed, I let them. I know that when they grow up, they probably won't remember a cruise that they took when they were 2, but if they do, I want them to remember that they had fun and enjoyed themselves. These times don't last forever and we should try to preserve them as best as we can and allow our children to experience joy in anything that they are doing.
What are your tips for cruising with kids?
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Monday, September 1, 2014
Thursday, August 8, 2013
52 in 52 #9 - Homemade Taco Seasoning
Homemade Taco Seasoning – Pinterest Project #9
I have had my eye on this pin to make my own taco seasoning for months. This is one of those items that I would not have previously brought up to my husband. My husband is very practical and one of the things that he always wants me to think about is the amount of time, effort and money that it would take to make something personally versus the amount of money that it would cost just to purchase something pre-made at the store. Since a packet of taco seasoning is like $.80 at the store and I figured that he would be less inclined to indulge my desires to try this recipe at home. Luckily he was feeling generous that day and he actually seemed like he was into it.
The original pin that I used as inspiration is here. I was very interested in at least trying this because I figured that it would solve at least a few of my issues with the packets of taco seasoning. We eat tacos, salsa chicken and other recipes that require taco seasoning a lot, so we were always buying at least a few packets of that seasoning mix when we went to the store. We buy a lot of spices for chili mix and other cooking adventures so I knew that we would have everything on hand, I was always just hesitant to try a new recipe because I didn’t want it to be horrible. Also, with the packet of seasoning, I was always getting HORRIBLE heartburn with it no matter what we put it in. I am not sure what is in that mix that causes that but this homemade version definitely does not do that, which is awesome.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Prep time: 10 minutes
2 Tbsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
2 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and store in an airtight container. Use 2-3 Tbsp per 1lb of ground meat depending on how flavorful you like your dishes.
This seasoning blend tastes amazing in any dish that you would use the store bought mix in. There are several different things that I love about this mix:
· It’s customizable – you can add more or less salt if you like. We use smoked paprika in place of regular paprika and we also usually add more red pepper flakes since we like ours a bit more spicy than some other people.
· You don’t get that gross, heartburn-y feeling after eating this mixture. There are no preservatives that aren’t already in the spices themselves and there is no MSG to leave you with an upset stomach like the package mix.
· We buy our spices in bulk most of the time, so this recipe ends up being fairly comparable as far as price is concerned to the package. It will cost maybe a few cents more per use but to have something that tastes much better and you can customize makes it totally worth it. Plus, people are impressed when you say that you make your own spice blend.
You can buy cheaper mixes and get a bland result but if you are looking for something to add some kick to your dishes that require a taco seasoning packet, give this one a try. Let me know what you would add or remove to make this blend different for your family. I am always in the market for substitutions to try.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
52 in 52 # 7 - Reece's Peanut Butter Trifle
Let me start off by saying two things:
1. this is definitely in the running for being the dessert that we bring to the Titan meet in April - close your ears and eyes if you are going.
2. I didn't eat any of this while making it or after it was done. Well maybe one small bite of just the pudding... which was probably 50 calories alone.
Last year was our first year at the Titan camp out. My husband started posting on this forum for Nissan Titans and Armadas right after we got our Armada and realized that they have a rather large local group. They do an annual meet in Belton, TX to camp for the weekend. We loved it so much we definitely decided to go back this year. They have a Saturday night potluck with a dessert contest. Last year, I brought this cookie, Oreo, brownie awesomeness (recipe to come soon) and didn't win. This year it is on! Last year the winner was a 'cold' dessert which I think won because it was so hot outside, so we decided to go with this.
I wanted to make the recipe this weekend to test it out because I have been burned enough by bad recipes off the internet. I mean, the basis of this recipe is peanut butter pudding, brownies, and Reece's Peanut Butter cups - how bad could it be? Grace was at our house and so I made it to send home for her grandparents and her to share during the week.
Reece's Peanut Butter Trifle - post from Pinterest here
9×13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces
5.1 oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (buy in a 10-pack. Not the bite-sized)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.
This recipe is awesome. Grace said it needs more brownies for the amount of pudding, so we will probably 1.5x or double the amount of brownies for the meet.
Here's to hoping that we will win this year!!
-Sara
1. this is definitely in the running for being the dessert that we bring to the Titan meet in April - close your ears and eyes if you are going.
2. I didn't eat any of this while making it or after it was done. Well maybe one small bite of just the pudding... which was probably 50 calories alone.
Last year was our first year at the Titan camp out. My husband started posting on this forum for Nissan Titans and Armadas right after we got our Armada and realized that they have a rather large local group. They do an annual meet in Belton, TX to camp for the weekend. We loved it so much we definitely decided to go back this year. They have a Saturday night potluck with a dessert contest. Last year, I brought this cookie, Oreo, brownie awesomeness (recipe to come soon) and didn't win. This year it is on! Last year the winner was a 'cold' dessert which I think won because it was so hot outside, so we decided to go with this.
I wanted to make the recipe this weekend to test it out because I have been burned enough by bad recipes off the internet. I mean, the basis of this recipe is peanut butter pudding, brownies, and Reece's Peanut Butter cups - how bad could it be? Grace was at our house and so I made it to send home for her grandparents and her to share during the week.
Reece's Peanut Butter Trifle - post from Pinterest here
9×13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces5.1 oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (buy in a 10-pack. Not the bite-sized)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.
Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip.
Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. (Or shaved chocolate curls, as I did.) Chill until serving.
Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. (Or shaved chocolate curls, as I did.) Chill until serving.
This recipe is awesome. Grace said it needs more brownies for the amount of pudding, so we will probably 1.5x or double the amount of brownies for the meet.
Here's to hoping that we will win this year!!
-Sara
52 in 52 #6 - Light Ranch Dressing
So, it's been a little more than a week on the diet. Can you hear my excitement? This week I have been dealing with MAJOR chocolate cravings like never before. My sister gave me a tip a long time ago when we were both first on Atkins when we were like 18 or so that if you have a craving for sweets then you should eat a pickle or an olive. I have been downing the olives at work like crazy - I say like crazy but I mean 2-3 per day. Unfortunately you have to keep a watch on that as well because there is a load of sodium in regular green olives.
I am on a salad kick right now since we don't eat a lot of salads when we are not on our diet. I make a huge salad for lunch and the entire thing is like less than 390 calories, which isn't too bad. I have been using this awesome app called 'myfitnesspal' to keep track of what I am eating everyday, the calories that I am allowed to have, my current weight, etc. I really like this app because it has records of almost every food that I could want to eat and the calories that are in that food. Once you submit your food, water and exercise for the day, the app calculates a weight for you in five weeks if everyday was like that day. That is REALLY motivating. It will also do a rough calculation on the calories that you burn during certain exercise and changes your calorie count to net. That is neat as well. This app is really a big help during the day to keep me motivated and on top of this diet. I have already lost 12.4 lbs!
Back to the salad - my husband, being the supportive awesome guy that he is, found this recipe on Pinterest for a light ranch dressing. I was suspect of anything that claimed to be a large portion with little calories. However, my love for Ranch dressing won over my suspicion. I have tried other dressings and I still can't help but be loyal to Ranch dressing. We were raised eating it on salads and I just can't stop.
Light Ranch Dressing
1 cup Dannon Oikos plain Greek yogurt
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1/2 cup 1% milk (we used skim and it was just fine)
Mix all ingredients together and chill at least one hour before serving.
We put the ingredients in a jar and shook it up. I take the whole jar to work and just pour a bit out when I am ready for lunch. The entire jar has 255 calories compared to 75ish (low estimate) calories for 2 tbsp of normal Ranch.
This dressing is amazing! I can't even tell that it is diet. It has a different underlying flavor because of the Greek yogurt but I think that it is awesome and I would even eat this if I wasn't on a diet. You definitely have to make this if you love Ranch dressing like we do!!
-Sara
I am on a salad kick right now since we don't eat a lot of salads when we are not on our diet. I make a huge salad for lunch and the entire thing is like less than 390 calories, which isn't too bad. I have been using this awesome app called 'myfitnesspal' to keep track of what I am eating everyday, the calories that I am allowed to have, my current weight, etc. I really like this app because it has records of almost every food that I could want to eat and the calories that are in that food. Once you submit your food, water and exercise for the day, the app calculates a weight for you in five weeks if everyday was like that day. That is REALLY motivating. It will also do a rough calculation on the calories that you burn during certain exercise and changes your calorie count to net. That is neat as well. This app is really a big help during the day to keep me motivated and on top of this diet. I have already lost 12.4 lbs!
Back to the salad - my husband, being the supportive awesome guy that he is, found this recipe on Pinterest for a light ranch dressing. I was suspect of anything that claimed to be a large portion with little calories. However, my love for Ranch dressing won over my suspicion. I have tried other dressings and I still can't help but be loyal to Ranch dressing. We were raised eating it on salads and I just can't stop.
Light Ranch Dressing
1 cup Dannon Oikos plain Greek yogurt
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1/2 cup 1% milk (we used skim and it was just fine)
Mix all ingredients together and chill at least one hour before serving.
We put the ingredients in a jar and shook it up. I take the whole jar to work and just pour a bit out when I am ready for lunch. The entire jar has 255 calories compared to 75ish (low estimate) calories for 2 tbsp of normal Ranch.
This dressing is amazing! I can't even tell that it is diet. It has a different underlying flavor because of the Greek yogurt but I think that it is awesome and I would even eat this if I wasn't on a diet. You definitely have to make this if you love Ranch dressing like we do!!
-Sara
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentine's Dinner at Torchy's Tacos
I'm eating something called a Trashy Trailer Park, sitting under a small red devil character, and drinking a soda made from certified organic fair trade cane juice. If you are even remotely familiar with Ft Worth, Texas and local awesome eateries then you know that I am at a place called Torchy's Tacos http://torchystacos.com/.
Torchy's Tacos is awesome! It was started in Austin by a fellow named Michael Rypka as a taco truck and has expanded into locations in Austin, DFW, and Houston. We go to the one in Ft Worth. They offer tacos, chips, salsas, amazing queso, drinks and desserts. Parking is daunting because they share parking with a bank and a busy hotel but there is a parking garage onsite that I believe is free. Also, be advised that you will probably have to wait in a line to order, but it is completely worth it so don't be discouraged. They have a cool outdoor setup that allows you to enjoy their patio if you are into that sort of thing.
The queso is definitely one of the food highlights. They describe it as a green chile queso with queso fresco, cilantro and diablo sauce. This diablo sauce alone is HOT; definitely too hot for me. My husband eats it on his tacos. It comes with a generous helping of chips. The servers bring your chips and queso to you almost before you are able to get your drink and pick a seat which is helpful if you are hungry.
They have creative names for their food, like the Trailer Park (left) which comes on either corn or flour tortillas, with chicken, pico de gallo, green chiles, lettuce and shredded cheese. Your friendly cashier will ask you if you want it trashy and if you say no then you should be committed to a mental hospital. Getting it trashy means that they remove the lettuce and add their outstanding queso. It's cheesey and spicy but not overwhelmingly hot.
My husband's favorite is called the Brushfire, which comes on your choice of tortilla and has jerk chicken, sour cream, mango, grilled jalapenos, and cilantro. On the side is a spicy sauce that my husband loves but I find a bit too much for me. He normally has it on flour tortillas but had corn tonight and definitely prefers it that way.
They have a children's menu available on their website or in person that has a number of different menu items including a breakfast sounding quesadilla with banana and peanut butter. Our kids have eaten a chicken quesadilla, which is just their grilled chicken and cheese - always a crowd pleaser for young children. Today they also had a bean and cheese burrito. Their beans are vegetarian which is cool for kids because you feel like you are feeding them something good but they still taste like good old refried beans.
Torchy's has an excellent atmosphere. We have always had great service from everyone that works there. They are wildly busy on Saturdays and Sundays so we definitely recommend visiting on a week night. My husband has been for lunch and says that there is usually always a crowd during the day. We went tonight and while we still had to wait in line for a short time to order, we were able to sit down easily and not feel rushed by people waiting for seats or having to sit elbow to elbow with someone else. They do have a bar that serves both beer and mixed drinks, I believe. I think that I saw a mention tonight of a margarita of sorts, but I have never ordered an adult beverage from Torchy's so I can't say for sure.
We would definitely give Torchy's two thumbs up!!
- Sara
Torchy's Tacos is awesome! It was started in Austin by a fellow named Michael Rypka as a taco truck and has expanded into locations in Austin, DFW, and Houston. We go to the one in Ft Worth. They offer tacos, chips, salsas, amazing queso, drinks and desserts. Parking is daunting because they share parking with a bank and a busy hotel but there is a parking garage onsite that I believe is free. Also, be advised that you will probably have to wait in a line to order, but it is completely worth it so don't be discouraged. They have a cool outdoor setup that allows you to enjoy their patio if you are into that sort of thing. 
The queso is definitely one of the food highlights. They describe it as a green chile queso with queso fresco, cilantro and diablo sauce. This diablo sauce alone is HOT; definitely too hot for me. My husband eats it on his tacos. It comes with a generous helping of chips. The servers bring your chips and queso to you almost before you are able to get your drink and pick a seat which is helpful if you are hungry.
They have creative names for their food, like the Trailer Park (left) which comes on either corn or flour tortillas, with chicken, pico de gallo, green chiles, lettuce and shredded cheese. Your friendly cashier will ask you if you want it trashy and if you say no then you should be committed to a mental hospital. Getting it trashy means that they remove the lettuce and add their outstanding queso. It's cheesey and spicy but not overwhelmingly hot.
My husband's favorite is called the Brushfire, which comes on your choice of tortilla and has jerk chicken, sour cream, mango, grilled jalapenos, and cilantro. On the side is a spicy sauce that my husband loves but I find a bit too much for me. He normally has it on flour tortillas but had corn tonight and definitely prefers it that way.
They have a children's menu available on their website or in person that has a number of different menu items including a breakfast sounding quesadilla with banana and peanut butter. Our kids have eaten a chicken quesadilla, which is just their grilled chicken and cheese - always a crowd pleaser for young children. Today they also had a bean and cheese burrito. Their beans are vegetarian which is cool for kids because you feel like you are feeding them something good but they still taste like good old refried beans.
Torchy's has an excellent atmosphere. We have always had great service from everyone that works there. They are wildly busy on Saturdays and Sundays so we definitely recommend visiting on a week night. My husband has been for lunch and says that there is usually always a crowd during the day. We went tonight and while we still had to wait in line for a short time to order, we were able to sit down easily and not feel rushed by people waiting for seats or having to sit elbow to elbow with someone else. They do have a bar that serves both beer and mixed drinks, I believe. I think that I saw a mention tonight of a margarita of sorts, but I have never ordered an adult beverage from Torchy's so I can't say for sure.
We would definitely give Torchy's two thumbs up!!
- Sara
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Fort Worth Food Truck Park
Rewind to about five years ago... if someone asked if you wanted to go eat at a food truck you would probably have looked at them like they were crazy. At that time you might have only seen food trucks on construction sites and random seedy corners near bars. You would have never seen gourmet food being served in food trucks and definitely wouldn't have considered them popular. These days you can find amazing food trucks of pretty much any genre of food in any major city. Fort Worth, Texas is lucky enough to be blessed with a number of different food truck parks and several other stations for stand alone food trucks.
One such food truck park is the Fort Worth Food Truck Park http://www.fwfoodpark.com/index.php. It is effectively hidden from the public unless you know what you are looking for. It is near 7th St and University Dr near downtown Ft Worth. On the closest major road near the park is a small sign about the size of a garage sale sign directing you to the correct location. There are usually six food trucks parked here surrounding a small seating area. The environment is always fun and upbeat and there is even live music on the weekends. Pets are welcome on a leash and they are definitely kid friendly, but you will need to come prepared with a way for your children to eat because there are no high chairs or anything like that. There is a bar in the back but I have never had a drink from there so I won't be able to testify to it's awesome-ness.
My favorite food truck that is usually present is Red Jett Sweets (http://www.redjettsweets.com) which is the most awesome cupcake food truck that ever existed. The partners have been competitors on the Cupcake Wars show on the Food Network. They make an amazing cupcake called Nuts for Kentucky which they describe as a bourbon cake with caramel buttercream rolled in candied pecans. Wipe the drool off your mouth. This is honestly the best cupcake. Just imagine the best cupcake that you have ever had and multiply that by ten. We have also had the Coconut Comet which is absolutely amazing, but we definitely keep going back to the Nuts for Kentucky. They have a number of other awesome cupcakes and the always have the friendliest staff.
My husband loves a truck called Salsa Limon. He normally gets the El Capitan taco plus avocado. You get a generous selection of salsas with your tacos. If you are interested in a super spicy salsa, he would recommend the pink/orange colored one. They also have rice and beans for $1.50 which my daughter appreciates. They have a friendly staff and a wide variety of items available on their menu.
There is a rotating schedule of trucks from pizza to tacos to Italian food to hot dogs. You can find their schedule here: http://www.fwfoodpark.com/calendar.php including days that will have live music and brief descriptions of the trucks that could be present. If you have never been to a food truck, I would totally recommend trying it! With six different varieties of food normally available every weekend you are sure to find something for everyone!
-Sara
One such food truck park is the Fort Worth Food Truck Park http://www.fwfoodpark.com/index.php. It is effectively hidden from the public unless you know what you are looking for. It is near 7th St and University Dr near downtown Ft Worth. On the closest major road near the park is a small sign about the size of a garage sale sign directing you to the correct location. There are usually six food trucks parked here surrounding a small seating area. The environment is always fun and upbeat and there is even live music on the weekends. Pets are welcome on a leash and they are definitely kid friendly, but you will need to come prepared with a way for your children to eat because there are no high chairs or anything like that. There is a bar in the back but I have never had a drink from there so I won't be able to testify to it's awesome-ness. My favorite food truck that is usually present is Red Jett Sweets (http://www.redjettsweets.com) which is the most awesome cupcake food truck that ever existed. The partners have been competitors on the Cupcake Wars show on the Food Network. They make an amazing cupcake called Nuts for Kentucky which they describe as a bourbon cake with caramel buttercream rolled in candied pecans. Wipe the drool off your mouth. This is honestly the best cupcake. Just imagine the best cupcake that you have ever had and multiply that by ten. We have also had the Coconut Comet which is absolutely amazing, but we definitely keep going back to the Nuts for Kentucky. They have a number of other awesome cupcakes and the always have the friendliest staff. My husband loves a truck called Salsa Limon. He normally gets the El Capitan taco plus avocado. You get a generous selection of salsas with your tacos. If you are interested in a super spicy salsa, he would recommend the pink/orange colored one. They also have rice and beans for $1.50 which my daughter appreciates. They have a friendly staff and a wide variety of items available on their menu.
There is a rotating schedule of trucks from pizza to tacos to Italian food to hot dogs. You can find their schedule here: http://www.fwfoodpark.com/calendar.php including days that will have live music and brief descriptions of the trucks that could be present. If you have never been to a food truck, I would totally recommend trying it! With six different varieties of food normally available every weekend you are sure to find something for everyone!
-Sara
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
My mouth is on fire!
My husband had to work late tonight for his job and I get home later than most Americans, I think, from work which stinks especially considering that I leave my house in the mornings around 5:30am. Because of this we decided that Chicken Express was going to make an appearance for dinner. Bad, I know, but still so good. I must confess - I am super excited (sarcastically) about cooking when I get home from an 11 hour workday and a 1.5hour commute each way. Pretty much the only thing I am excited about after work is seeing my family, vegging out on the sofa and convincing my husband that I am not going to fall asleep watching television. We have been together since 2007 and I would say that on average I fall asleep watching television at night at least 3-4 nights a week... for some reason he doesn't just leave me there. I'm not going to lie that if I had to gripe to someone to get off the sofa and go to bed everyday for 5+ years, that I would be sleeping alone and they would be on the sofa!!
Now, after five of them, I think that my tongue has been singed and is potentially going to crumble to ash in about five minutes. Not a good feeling. Now that we know this little piece of information, will we continue to order them? In all honesty, yes, because they are awesome. If I could figure out how to make these at home, we wouldn't eat there nearly as often and I would still have some feeling in my tongue.
-Sara
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Meal Planning Week 1
First off - I understand that this is not the first week in the year. This is the first week of my actual meal planning. We try to meal plan every week - some weeks we are totally successful and feel like we have this stuff together and then other weeks we don't make anything on the list.
Second - I am not one of those planners who decides that on Monday we are having this and on Tuesday we are having that. I know that I have to plan for seven meals and I let us pick as the day arrives. Three of the seven days my husband makes dinner for the family before I get home from work so I like to have several things on the list that are able to be made while two kids under three are either having tantrums or trying to lock one another in the laundry room or are trying to open the oven door. My husband is an awesome cook and I am lucky that I don't have to dumb down recipes for him... if anything I feel like he should be doing that for me sometimes.
My meal plan and grocery shopping this week is adventerous for a few reasons: 1) I am behind on my 52 Pinterest projects in 52 weeks, and 2) I am bored with some of our recent favorite meals. I planned seven meals for this week:
1. Chicken spaghetti - this is adapted from the Pioneer Woman's version and it is a hit everytime. I will do a recipe post on this because of how awesome it is.
2. Cheeseburger pasta - this will be one of my Pinterest posts for this week. My sister pinned this but I don't know if she has made it yet... either way, it looked awesome.
3. Bacon cheeseburgers and tator tots - my husband requested bacon cheeseburgers last week and it didn't happen so this is to make up for that.
4. Chicken logs, rice dish and veggie - this sounds weird but it's really awesome and horrible for you. It's a stuffen chicken cordon bleu frozen entree from one of our grocery stores.
5. Baked tacos - second item from Pinterest this week. It looks awesome. We don't usually eat this much red meat during the week but it's what sounded good
6. Pulled pork on burger buns, tator tots and veggie - this is a recipe also adapted from a previous recipe from Pinterest. We always have pulled pork in our freezer. We used an approx 8lb pork shoulder the other day and made about 6 different meals out of it; one that night and five freezer meals for later.
7. Country style pork ribs, pasta dish and veggie - pasta dish will be this cheesey, garlicy, buttery wonder that I found from Pinterest as well.
After a review of our pantry, fridge, and freezer, it was determined that we needed a lot of items this week. I like to keep a stash of some items that we were going to use this week, so even though we had some I still bought as if we didn't. We were also going to buy some extra items from a local grocery store (Brookshires) that was doing a "Buy one get one for $.01" on a lot of different items. We try to buy most of our groceries from Aldi for cost purposes, but items that we can't get there we normally get from either Walmart, Trader Joes, or Brookshires.
Aldi:
Spaghetti pasta x 2
Cream of Chicken soup x 2
Colby Jack cheese - block
Chicken broth x 2 paper containers
Approx 3 lbs ground beef
Poblano peppers- 15 (my husband roasts these and we freeze them for all year)
Tomato Sauce x 2
Sour Cream
Chicken logs x 3
Veggies - corn, peas, green beans x 9 (3 each)
Hamburger buns
Sliced cheese - Colby Jack and Pepper Jack
Tator tots x 2
Paprika
Onion Powder
Sandwich bags
Milk
Eggs
String cheese
Veggie Chips
Taco shells
Arizona lemon teas in the can x 3
Total: $58.74
Brookshires:
Toilet Paper - B1G1
Yellow Mustard - B1G1
Smoked sausage - B1G1
Breakfast sausage - B1G1
3 lbs Bacon - B1G1
Windex refill
Yogurt x 6
Parsley
Lemonade Vitamin Water x 2
Pimentos
Black Olives
Frozen Chicken breasts - 3 lbs -B1G1
Total: $64.14
Trader Joes:
Cookie butter - we have never had this before and my husband said it was amazing
Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies
6 mixed beers
Apple Cinnamon puff snacks
Tarter Sauce
Caramel corn
Total: $22.57 - we didn't need any of this but it was a matter of being in the area and being bored.
All in all a decent week and I set myself up well for at least a few extra week's worth of protein with the smoked sausage, chicken, and breakfast sausage. I also have a stockpile of dried rice and pasta so this week I will be looking for extra recipes to make side dishes. I have a small stock pile of canned and frozen veggies so this could be no shopping for next week!
- Sara
Second - I am not one of those planners who decides that on Monday we are having this and on Tuesday we are having that. I know that I have to plan for seven meals and I let us pick as the day arrives. Three of the seven days my husband makes dinner for the family before I get home from work so I like to have several things on the list that are able to be made while two kids under three are either having tantrums or trying to lock one another in the laundry room or are trying to open the oven door. My husband is an awesome cook and I am lucky that I don't have to dumb down recipes for him... if anything I feel like he should be doing that for me sometimes.
My meal plan and grocery shopping this week is adventerous for a few reasons: 1) I am behind on my 52 Pinterest projects in 52 weeks, and 2) I am bored with some of our recent favorite meals. I planned seven meals for this week:
1. Chicken spaghetti - this is adapted from the Pioneer Woman's version and it is a hit everytime. I will do a recipe post on this because of how awesome it is.
2. Cheeseburger pasta - this will be one of my Pinterest posts for this week. My sister pinned this but I don't know if she has made it yet... either way, it looked awesome.
3. Bacon cheeseburgers and tator tots - my husband requested bacon cheeseburgers last week and it didn't happen so this is to make up for that.
4. Chicken logs, rice dish and veggie - this sounds weird but it's really awesome and horrible for you. It's a stuffen chicken cordon bleu frozen entree from one of our grocery stores.
5. Baked tacos - second item from Pinterest this week. It looks awesome. We don't usually eat this much red meat during the week but it's what sounded good
6. Pulled pork on burger buns, tator tots and veggie - this is a recipe also adapted from a previous recipe from Pinterest. We always have pulled pork in our freezer. We used an approx 8lb pork shoulder the other day and made about 6 different meals out of it; one that night and five freezer meals for later.
7. Country style pork ribs, pasta dish and veggie - pasta dish will be this cheesey, garlicy, buttery wonder that I found from Pinterest as well.
After a review of our pantry, fridge, and freezer, it was determined that we needed a lot of items this week. I like to keep a stash of some items that we were going to use this week, so even though we had some I still bought as if we didn't. We were also going to buy some extra items from a local grocery store (Brookshires) that was doing a "Buy one get one for $.01" on a lot of different items. We try to buy most of our groceries from Aldi for cost purposes, but items that we can't get there we normally get from either Walmart, Trader Joes, or Brookshires.
Aldi:
Spaghetti pasta x 2
Cream of Chicken soup x 2
Colby Jack cheese - block
Chicken broth x 2 paper containers
Approx 3 lbs ground beef
Poblano peppers- 15 (my husband roasts these and we freeze them for all year)
Tomato Sauce x 2
Sour Cream
Chicken logs x 3
Veggies - corn, peas, green beans x 9 (3 each)
Hamburger buns
Sliced cheese - Colby Jack and Pepper Jack
Tator tots x 2
Paprika
Onion Powder
Sandwich bags
Milk
Eggs
String cheese
Veggie Chips
Taco shells
Arizona lemon teas in the can x 3
Total: $58.74
Brookshires:
Toilet Paper - B1G1
Yellow Mustard - B1G1
Smoked sausage - B1G1
Breakfast sausage - B1G1
3 lbs Bacon - B1G1
Windex refill
Yogurt x 6
Parsley
Lemonade Vitamin Water x 2
Pimentos
Black Olives
Frozen Chicken breasts - 3 lbs -B1G1
Total: $64.14
Trader Joes:
Cookie butter - we have never had this before and my husband said it was amazing
Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies
6 mixed beers
Apple Cinnamon puff snacks
Tarter Sauce
Caramel corn
Total: $22.57 - we didn't need any of this but it was a matter of being in the area and being bored.
All in all a decent week and I set myself up well for at least a few extra week's worth of protein with the smoked sausage, chicken, and breakfast sausage. I also have a stockpile of dried rice and pasta so this week I will be looking for extra recipes to make side dishes. I have a small stock pile of canned and frozen veggies so this could be no shopping for next week!
- Sara
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Successful items from Silas's first birthday party
So let me start this post off on the right foot - I am not a chef by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, for anyone who knew me about five years ago you would swear that I could NEVER learn how to cook. Everything that I used to cook was a failure - even if I followed the recipe word for word.
Once I got married and had children I started to become more aware of my need to provide sustenance for my family. It seemed like an almost overnight switch where this light came on in my brain and I began to be able to differentiate recipes that I could be successful with and recipes that maybe were not the best fit. I started small and have worked my way up to a small repertoire of recipes that have numerous lovers - because anyone can like their own cooking.
I now begin my search on Pinterest, of course. In my opinion, if your recipe has numerous people that have pinned it, it must at least sound good. I knew that I wanted to make most of the food for Silas's party myself. Normally for my children's parties I use this awesome cake woman near my house. Heather from http://www.asweetfix4u.com has made several cakes for us in the past. She is inexpensive for the quality of cakes that she provides and they have always been a hit. She has always been able to take my crazy spaced out ideas and turn them into an awesome masterpiece that was exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, Silas's party snuck up on me and I was too embarrassed to call the week before and ask her to squeeze us in.
So began the search for a cake pan to match his star theme http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-2512 and a recipe deserving of the party. Now I have made several cakes before from scratch and countless cakes from a box mix - not nearly as awesome and/or brag worthy. However, none seemed to be awesome enough worth repeating. Luckily I found an awesome sounding chocolate cake: http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2012/04/easy-made-from-scratch-you-cant-stop-eating-it-chocolate-cake.html that turned out to be AMAZING. Unfortunately, when the back of the star cake pan said it took a normal cake recipe to fill it, it meant that a normal cake recipe was going to overflow and be way too much in the pan. Luckily, this did not alter the taste nor the texture. I decided that I wanted Silas's smash cake to be vanilla and so another recipe had to be found. After about an hour reviewing recipes that contained either items that we didn't have or didn't sound like the taste that I was looking for, I resorted to a vanilla boxed cake and it turned out fine. I did make two full recipes of vanilla buttercream frosting as well: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/ This is the standard recipe for vanilla buttercream that I have always seen but I wanted to give credit to the source that I used. It was awesome and had many compliments.
We also had "copycat" Pizza Hut pizza sauce for dipping with two pepperoni pizza rolls made with Rhodes bread dough, pepperoni, mozzarella, olive oil and spices. Both are always a hit and super easy to make. I also made cake balls which is a super braindead item but it takes SO much work. I don't like them but I always make them for other people and it really is too much work. I have always told people that I could train a monkey to do it, but people love them.
The good news: We all survived the party. Silas had an awesome time with his family and friends. We ate some awesome food.
The bad news: We all have super bad allergies today and have been in general the mopiest family this side of Texas.
Until tomorrow:
-Sara
Once I got married and had children I started to become more aware of my need to provide sustenance for my family. It seemed like an almost overnight switch where this light came on in my brain and I began to be able to differentiate recipes that I could be successful with and recipes that maybe were not the best fit. I started small and have worked my way up to a small repertoire of recipes that have numerous lovers - because anyone can like their own cooking.
I now begin my search on Pinterest, of course. In my opinion, if your recipe has numerous people that have pinned it, it must at least sound good. I knew that I wanted to make most of the food for Silas's party myself. Normally for my children's parties I use this awesome cake woman near my house. Heather from http://www.asweetfix4u.com has made several cakes for us in the past. She is inexpensive for the quality of cakes that she provides and they have always been a hit. She has always been able to take my crazy spaced out ideas and turn them into an awesome masterpiece that was exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, Silas's party snuck up on me and I was too embarrassed to call the week before and ask her to squeeze us in.
So began the search for a cake pan to match his star theme http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-2512 and a recipe deserving of the party. Now I have made several cakes before from scratch and countless cakes from a box mix - not nearly as awesome and/or brag worthy. However, none seemed to be awesome enough worth repeating. Luckily I found an awesome sounding chocolate cake: http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2012/04/easy-made-from-scratch-you-cant-stop-eating-it-chocolate-cake.html that turned out to be AMAZING. Unfortunately, when the back of the star cake pan said it took a normal cake recipe to fill it, it meant that a normal cake recipe was going to overflow and be way too much in the pan. Luckily, this did not alter the taste nor the texture. I decided that I wanted Silas's smash cake to be vanilla and so another recipe had to be found. After about an hour reviewing recipes that contained either items that we didn't have or didn't sound like the taste that I was looking for, I resorted to a vanilla boxed cake and it turned out fine. I did make two full recipes of vanilla buttercream frosting as well: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/ This is the standard recipe for vanilla buttercream that I have always seen but I wanted to give credit to the source that I used. It was awesome and had many compliments.
We also had "copycat" Pizza Hut pizza sauce for dipping with two pepperoni pizza rolls made with Rhodes bread dough, pepperoni, mozzarella, olive oil and spices. Both are always a hit and super easy to make. I also made cake balls which is a super braindead item but it takes SO much work. I don't like them but I always make them for other people and it really is too much work. I have always told people that I could train a monkey to do it, but people love them.
The good news: We all survived the party. Silas had an awesome time with his family and friends. We ate some awesome food.
The bad news: We all have super bad allergies today and have been in general the mopiest family this side of Texas.
Until tomorrow:
-Sara
Friday, January 4, 2013
Teething baby + Sick Toddler = awesome day
Silas turned 1 on December 31st. He is my last baby. We will cover the sadness around that subject sometime in the future. For now, let's just say that he is enduring the worst part of baby/toddlerhood - teething. Specifically cutting molars. I have always told someone that if it was possible for babies to cut all of their teeth in like two days, I would much rather that happen. Unfortunately it does not.
We are currently on day 5ish of molars coming in. Let's regress a second and relive our lives months ago when Silas cut his other eight teeth in like two weeks. He gets a fever, is up ALL NIGHT, and just generally a ridiculously cranky baby for days. Isabella was never a problem with teething. No fighting, no crying, no whining or anything. We always attributed it to the amber teething necklace that she wore. I have told my husband that we should have Silas look like Mr. T with so many amber necklaces to combat his teething. We have one on him that he has worn solid since he was about 2 months. Please don't judge - I am the worst amber owner ever. I don't take it off of them ever... I don't wash it... I don't sun it... he just wears it. I am currently researching how I should go about washing it but I am kind of afraid to remove it because of how he will react. Currently he doesn't even seem to notice it and I don't want to draw attention to it in any form or fashion.
So, we are on about 5 days of not sleeping for Silas, me and my husband. Needless to say our house is in an awesome mood. Because the universe sometimes likes to throw all kinds of fun at you at the same time, Isabella woke up this morning and said that her ear was hurting. I got instantly anxious because she has had HORRIBLE double ear infections before and not said anything about pain. After a doctor appointment for the both of them it is determined to be nothing serious except teething for cranky baby, ear infection for Isabella and totally shot day for mommy.
Today is the day before Silas's first birthday party. I have a million and one things to do. I am finally getting a second to breathe after making a cake from scratch, cake balls, prepped fruit salad, prepper the dip for tomorrow, cleaned the kitchen, made the banners and got as much prepped as possible for the food tomorrow. I hope to be able to take some pictures and post them tomorrow. For now, I am going to pass out while the second cake cooks.
-Sara
We are currently on day 5ish of molars coming in. Let's regress a second and relive our lives months ago when Silas cut his other eight teeth in like two weeks. He gets a fever, is up ALL NIGHT, and just generally a ridiculously cranky baby for days. Isabella was never a problem with teething. No fighting, no crying, no whining or anything. We always attributed it to the amber teething necklace that she wore. I have told my husband that we should have Silas look like Mr. T with so many amber necklaces to combat his teething. We have one on him that he has worn solid since he was about 2 months. Please don't judge - I am the worst amber owner ever. I don't take it off of them ever... I don't wash it... I don't sun it... he just wears it. I am currently researching how I should go about washing it but I am kind of afraid to remove it because of how he will react. Currently he doesn't even seem to notice it and I don't want to draw attention to it in any form or fashion.
So, we are on about 5 days of not sleeping for Silas, me and my husband. Needless to say our house is in an awesome mood. Because the universe sometimes likes to throw all kinds of fun at you at the same time, Isabella woke up this morning and said that her ear was hurting. I got instantly anxious because she has had HORRIBLE double ear infections before and not said anything about pain. After a doctor appointment for the both of them it is determined to be nothing serious except teething for cranky baby, ear infection for Isabella and totally shot day for mommy.
Today is the day before Silas's first birthday party. I have a million and one things to do. I am finally getting a second to breathe after making a cake from scratch, cake balls, prepped fruit salad, prepper the dip for tomorrow, cleaned the kitchen, made the banners and got as much prepped as possible for the food tomorrow. I hope to be able to take some pictures and post them tomorrow. For now, I am going to pass out while the second cake cooks.
-Sara
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2013 Resolutions
Ok so one of my 2012 resolutions was to write on this very blog more ... and it failed miserably. This year I am going to take a new approach. In order to accomplish the resolution this year I am going to write every day around the same time. That way it makes it like a job ... a more enjoyable version of a job, I suppose. Here's hoping that I can do it. I am also taking on more than one blog. There are some topics that I would like to discuss or get assistance with that I understand that the general public will not be interested in so I will not bring them here. Once I establish those other blogs I will link them here..
So, my first post will be my 2013 resolutions. They are numerous but should be easy to accomplish. Because I am a list maker, I have organized them into categories. Later in the week, I will detail how I feel that I will accomplish them.
Personal
1. Be more "girl"y, i.e. wear makeup, do my hair, etc.
2. Blog everyday.
3. Go on more dates with my husband.
Home
1. Do 52 "Pinterest" projects for the year.
2. Stock freezer with prepared meals once per month.
3. Create a monthly budget and stick to it.
4. Save more money every month.
5. Do 52 acts of preparedness.
Health
1. Stop drinking sodas.
2. Do some form of exercise 5 days per week.
Once every week or so I will update on my progress. Eventually I hope to have more of a schedule to my blog about what kind of post gets posted on a certain day of the week.
Happy New Year!!
So, my first post will be my 2013 resolutions. They are numerous but should be easy to accomplish. Because I am a list maker, I have organized them into categories. Later in the week, I will detail how I feel that I will accomplish them.
Personal
1. Be more "girl"y, i.e. wear makeup, do my hair, etc.
2. Blog everyday.
3. Go on more dates with my husband.
Home
1. Do 52 "Pinterest" projects for the year.
2. Stock freezer with prepared meals once per month.
3. Create a monthly budget and stick to it.
4. Save more money every month.
5. Do 52 acts of preparedness.
Health
1. Stop drinking sodas.
2. Do some form of exercise 5 days per week.
Once every week or so I will update on my progress. Eventually I hope to have more of a schedule to my blog about what kind of post gets posted on a certain day of the week.
Happy New Year!!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Resolution #2: Utilize the parts of Once a Month Cooking that work for our family
Let's just get it out of the way now and say that I have an unhealthy obsession with Pinterest. If you have ever been on it, you understand - here is my page http://pinterest.com/saraprice/. Feel free to follow. I get on tangents where I pin weird stuff but mostly foods that I want to try, stuff for my children or arts and crafts ideas. Side note: After my few posts about my resolutions I plan to start a daily post of "this is neat" type entries. Mostly from things that I find online or see on Pinterest and want to share with more than my followers. If you haven't been on Pinerest, you could never understand and should join. I will send you an invite, if interested. Now that we got that settled let me also say that this entire idea was found on Pinterest on this woman's blog: http://pregnant.livejournal.com/17071127.html
Let me go back: I have been bugging my husband since we got pregnant with Silas that I would like to do some sort of OAMC (Once a Month Cooking) to start before we had the baby so I wouldn't have to worry about cooking when I was on maternity leave. Based on how Isabella was as a newborn and what I have found to be the case with newborns they are not fun and tend to scream/cry A LOT so I was fairly confident that if I had another "high needs" child that I would be uninterested in my husband coming home from work and having one of those "what do you want for dinner?" conversations. He refused every time to even entertain the idea. There was also a reason... and looking back there was always a good reason. Reason #432 why I love my husband is he sees how we live and is able to be honest about how things will work in the future based off of our past experiences. I have a tendency to have a more rose colored glasses-type review of our past when it comes to making decisions about our future. We, as a couple, have a tendency to buy food at the grocery store with the intentions of cooking and eating at home and, in the past, have still eaten out instead of eating that food at home. He knew that if we spent $200-$300 on food to prep, possibly cook, and freeze that it would end up getting freezer burned or not being eaten until after it's freezer shelf life expired. And he was right... we would have.
Then he found that blog post on Pinterest. Of course, he was on Pinterest on accident looking around for car parts or naked ladies *wink* and not for recipes or anything that the website should be used for. He was instantly enamored with this idea and brought it up to me one night. I will say that our grocery trip cost more and made more portions on some dishes than originally stated but all in all worked out the same. We have made and frozen all dishes except the enchiladas, but have only actually tasted two of them so far so I am not fully comfortable sharing them yet until I taste what was made. Reviews of her recipes and our version of the recipes coming soon.
I tell you all of that to tell you that one of my resolutions this year will be to utilize the parts of OAMC that work for our family. We like having fully cooked, or almost fully cooked meals in the freezer that just have to be warmed up. We like having stew, soup, chili, sauce type meals that you can freeze in freezer bags flat to save space. I like to cook my meals over the course of a few days instead of one big cooking spree. This prolongs the agony, so to speak, but leaves me overall in a better mood and more apt to be a more pleasant person once the meals are cooked. One thing that I will change next time is to do all of the "prep" work the day before, i.e. chopping veggies, browning and portioning out meats, etc as that makes the actual cooking go a lot faster.
Any other tips and tricks from once a month cookers?
Let me go back: I have been bugging my husband since we got pregnant with Silas that I would like to do some sort of OAMC (Once a Month Cooking) to start before we had the baby so I wouldn't have to worry about cooking when I was on maternity leave. Based on how Isabella was as a newborn and what I have found to be the case with newborns they are not fun and tend to scream/cry A LOT so I was fairly confident that if I had another "high needs" child that I would be uninterested in my husband coming home from work and having one of those "what do you want for dinner?" conversations. He refused every time to even entertain the idea. There was also a reason... and looking back there was always a good reason. Reason #432 why I love my husband is he sees how we live and is able to be honest about how things will work in the future based off of our past experiences. I have a tendency to have a more rose colored glasses-type review of our past when it comes to making decisions about our future. We, as a couple, have a tendency to buy food at the grocery store with the intentions of cooking and eating at home and, in the past, have still eaten out instead of eating that food at home. He knew that if we spent $200-$300 on food to prep, possibly cook, and freeze that it would end up getting freezer burned or not being eaten until after it's freezer shelf life expired. And he was right... we would have.
Then he found that blog post on Pinterest. Of course, he was on Pinterest on accident looking around for car parts or naked ladies *wink* and not for recipes or anything that the website should be used for. He was instantly enamored with this idea and brought it up to me one night. I will say that our grocery trip cost more and made more portions on some dishes than originally stated but all in all worked out the same. We have made and frozen all dishes except the enchiladas, but have only actually tasted two of them so far so I am not fully comfortable sharing them yet until I taste what was made. Reviews of her recipes and our version of the recipes coming soon.
I tell you all of that to tell you that one of my resolutions this year will be to utilize the parts of OAMC that work for our family. We like having fully cooked, or almost fully cooked meals in the freezer that just have to be warmed up. We like having stew, soup, chili, sauce type meals that you can freeze in freezer bags flat to save space. I like to cook my meals over the course of a few days instead of one big cooking spree. This prolongs the agony, so to speak, but leaves me overall in a better mood and more apt to be a more pleasant person once the meals are cooked. One thing that I will change next time is to do all of the "prep" work the day before, i.e. chopping veggies, browning and portioning out meats, etc as that makes the actual cooking go a lot faster.
Any other tips and tricks from once a month cookers?
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