mondays + breakfast

i didn't do much cooking this weekend.  mike's mom is still in the hospital and is kind of having a tough time. much of the weekend was spent shuffling hendrix to one place or another so that i could make it up to visit her. so please keep sending her good vibes. 
i did eat some of these mind blowing pumpkin cinnamon rolls courtesy of my friend summer.  i also made this rueben bake on saturday night.  so easy and so delicious. on thursday, i made this roasted beef, mushroom, and barley stew.  huge hit with hendrix!
finally, here's 5 minute breakfast for you all...
......
apple pie oatmeal
1 peeled, chopped apple
1 generous TABLESPOON of brown sugar
generous sprinkle of baking spice
1/2 cup of oats
1 cup of water
combine ingredients in a small pot and cook in med to med high until cooked through and thickened.  about 5 minutes. serve with milk.

{semi} vegetarian slow cooker meals

as promised, here are some {semi} vegetarian options for the slow cooker and don't forget about the stuffed black bean peppers on the top ten slow cooker recipes for parents file. i'll come back next week with some easy variations on the meat heavy slow cooker recipes i have already shared.  this week has been a little crazy with preschool field trips, volunteering, and now my poor MIL broke her hip.  please send her lots of good vibes today.  her surgery is later today.  however, i do want to say THANK YOU to all of you nice folks who left wonderful comments, started to follow this blog, and shared the top 10 file. it really made my week.  of course, thanks to JENNY OF DALS, too.

my favorite potato soup

vegetable + chickpea curry (i have not made this yet, but my friend does and i eat it.  so good!!)

eggplant stew (tips: i do not use porcini shrooms.  i use portabello because i can just chop and throw them in the slow cooker.  also, i don't precook my onion because i am not making extra dirty dishes. finally, i throw in some spinach towards the end of cooking. )

black bean enchiladas (turns out more like a casserole, but delicious)

refried beans (fricking brilliant and can be frozen.  thanks to andrea for pointing these out to me.)

white bean +  collard stew (so fricking good with the sausage, but you can easily omit or add in a "healthier" sausage")

top 10 slow cooker recipes for parents

i've been doing this thing for awhile now.  when folks have a new baby, or when i remember to do it, i send them a word document of my top 10 slow cooker recipes.  these are the recipes that i mostly have memorized and often make at least once a week. as many of you know, i fricking love the crockpot.  sure, i love my dutch oven and braising, but when i was a new mom, being able to throw dinner in the crockpot in the morning was a godsend around 5pm later that day. mornings were the only time i could get a little household work done and they still are...by the afternoon i am usually so tired all i want is a latte and a nap. however, i have since figured out that all of us, parents or not, could benefit from the glory of the crockpot.  so, if you would like to fall in love with the crockpot this fall and winter...go here to get the top ten slow cooker recipes. check out one of my favorite blogs of all time, dinner a love story, and see what jenny has to say about the korean ribs she made from my top 10 list.  she's pretty awesome in the kitchen so i am sure she found a way to make these even more killer.

things i love

i love him.



happy saturday!  here are some exciting things i want you to know about....

oh darling boutique is having their fall open house this weekend.  today is the last day and they are open from 10 - 6.

does this weather have you thinking about snow? are you going through the winter coats?  think about donating to the heart ministry center.  instead of doing one big giveaway coat drive like last year they will be giving coats away throughout the month of october.

the french bulldog meat + cheese shop opens tonight for dinner service at 5pm.  our family is so very happy for bryce, phil, and ann.  be sure to check this new place out.

meet some of the pathway women and learn about what the program has done for them

i love this blog.  especially this post.

GSW {menu plan} :: 14

cute kitty photo of the day

it's feeling very indian summer like around here.  did you know that indian summer by the doors is the song our family walked down the aisle to when we got married?  it's true.  except it wasn't really an aisle.  mike, hendrix, and i just sort of entered the room where everyone was waiting and then the ceremony began.  what is true is that i love mike best.  better than all the rest.

now.  onward with the menu plan!  i'll be honest...i couldn't get away with serving all of the dinner ideas, i post on these menu plans, at my house.  mike and hendrix would be disappointed or disgusted.  i would eat all of the dinner ideas and love every bit of it.  those two? not so much.  so this week's menu is still seasonally influenced, but is actually what we will be eating next week. i'm hitting two birds with one stone you might say....

1. emily's meatloaf with roasted butternut squash and a cherry tomato salad
2. sausage, bean, and kale stew with crusty bread (except with chard)
3. roasted chicken drumsticks with peach bbq sauce and potato salad
4. best {eggplant} sandwich ever with oven baked french fries
5. grilled italian sausages with butternut squash latkes

weekend lunch & double it for the freezer....
tomato soup with grilled cheeses

prep ahead for snack/treat time....
homemade animal crackers

back to school dinner

on monday, we had a back to school dinner for hendrix.  i put out the white tablecloth, used name cards, and printed out BE BRAVE signs.  i put together a little gift bag filled with flashcards, white boards {to practice writing}, eraseable makers, and a superhero cape.  we talked about school and what it meant to be brave. 

i had read about this back to school dinner tradition in a few places and really liked the concept.   i think it is so sweet and gives adults the chance to get excited about back to school, too.  did you get pumped for the first day or were you like mike and dreaded it?  i absolutely loved the first day of school, buying school supplies, and talking about summer at recess. 

for dinner i made slow cooker korean ribs with rice and red cabbage.  just make the rice according to package directions and saute your thinly sliced red cabbage in olive oil and sesame oil.  season the cabbage with salt and chinese five spice.  it's also great with bok choy or carrots.  to make the ribs...

slow cooker korean ribs

3 lbs country style pork ribs or beef short ribs

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. water

5 - 10 whole jalepenos

combine ingredients in slow cooker (meat can be frozen which is a bonus) and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  serve over rice with veggies on the side.

.....

i'll be back soon with a menu plan for next week.  in the meantime, don't forget to check out our what's for dinner page for dinner ideas.



homemade animal crackers



mike came home with the cookie cutters that his grandmother bought at the town grocery store in the 1930s when she lived in this house we now call our home. mike's mother had made cookies with her mother, in this house, with those exact cookie cutters.  then he made cookies with his mother and grandmother in their house in another town.  now the cookie cutters made their way back to this house.  i was so awe struck with the bag of cookie cutters that mike's mom had saved all of these years.  there are ones for every holiday.  i knew which one hendrix would like the best.  an ax shaped cookie cutter.  so hendrix and i made animal crackers with the lion, owl, bird, horse, dog, and alligator shaped ones.  and the ax shaped cookie cutter. 
.....
homemade animal crackers
yield 2-3 dozen depending on size of cracker

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 heaping teaspoon of baking spice
1/8 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 cup of rolled oats (can grind them up if you like)
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour

cream sugar and butter.  add egg and vanilla, mix well. in a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.  add to sugar mixture and mix well.  form dough into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight. 
preheat oven 350 degrees.  take a hunk of dough off your dough ball and warm up with your hands.  roll out onto a floured surface.  cut out shapes and bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 5-8 minutes.  store in an airtight container at room temp for up to one week.