My Blog Spark General Mills Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for the delay, but better late than never!

The winner of the General Mills Prize Pack from My Blog Spark is....

Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag!  Congratulations, Lauren!  Thank you, to everyone who entered! 
Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Wordless Wednesday: Learning to Make Pizza from a Pro!

Last weekend Our Boys were invited to join our neighbor's boys for some fun and a lesson in pizza making!

Wordless Wednesday.

Don't forget to enter to win a great prize pack from General Mills!  Check out THIS POST for details and to enter!

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Target, Box Tops for Education & a Giveaway! - CLOSED!!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Winner will be announced on a separate post dated Friday, August 20th.

Does your school collect Box Tops for Education?  I think many schools do since it is a really simple program for raising money for your school.  I was thrilled when I was asked by My Blog Spark if I wanted to help promote a new program that Target is running to help parents collect extra Box Tops for their local schools by offering DOUBLE BONUS BOX TOPS when you purchase 5 items with the Box Top Logo on them from Target between now and August 28th! 

You can visit Grocery Savvy for more information and a list of products that have the Box Tops on them.

Lately, it seems our schools are in more need of financial assistance than in previous years, and this is a great way to help by purchasing items you already use.  From Ziploc sandwich and freezer bags to Simply Gogurt for the lunchboxes.

My Blog Spark sent me a fabulous prize pack with an Avery Binder, Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers Variety Pack, Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni, Hefty CinchSak Trash Bags, Honey Nut Cheerios, Juicy Juice 8-Pack Juice Boxes, Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Welch´s Concord Grape Jelly, as well as 25 Bonus Box Tops and a $25 Target® gift card to use to purchase more of my favorite participating Box Tops items.  

I've got a prize pack just like this that My Blog Spark has generously offered to give to one of my readers!  How do you enter to win?

1. Leave a comment sharing your favorite product that has the Box Tops logo, or how you use one of the food products with the Box Tops logo for quick and easy meals or snacks.  Or you can share what items you will stock up on to receive the Double Box Top Bonsu from Target.  You can check out Grocery Savvy for ideas. 
2. Be sure to leave your blog address or an email where you can be reached if your entry is selected as the winner.
3. This giveaway is only open to U.S Residents. 

All entries must be received by Thursday, August 19th by 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on Friday, August 20th.

Disclosure:  The prize pack and information on the Double Box Tops program with Target were to me by General Mills through My Blog Spark. 

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Meal Planning for Busy Families

Meal planning is an area of interest to most people these days.  We have such busy schedules between school activities, PTA, sports, homework... and it goes on and on.  After my last post on meal planning, several of you shared what you do when it comes to meal planning. 

Amy who writes Dinners for a Year and Beyond works her meal planning similar to mine in that she selects 3 to 4 recipes for the upcoming week.  She checks the schedule for each member of her family and then figures out recipes and different proteins to make throughout the week.

Shelby (aka: Grumpy's Honeybunch) plans her menus because she is working on continuing her weightloss.  She has started a second blog where she shares her plan for each week called What's for dinner HoneyB?  While I try to make just one trip to the store each week, Shelby prefers to stop on the way home so that she has the freshest fruit, veggies and seafood for that night's dinner. 

Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club builds her menu around what is on sale at her local grocery store.  This is a great way to save money on your food bill and work with what's in season as well.  She also writes down her plan and posts in on the fridge for everyone to see. 

Claudia of What's Cookin Italian Style Cuisine likes to turn last night's meal into something different the next day.  That's a great way to make the most of the ingredients she purchases each week.

My friend, Shelly, plans a week's worth of meals and hits the grocery store each week.  She also stocks her pantry with quick and easy things that can fill in for dinner for those days when the idea of making a full blown meal just isn't going to happen.  To put together her meal plan, she also pulls out cookbooks and such to come up with recipes that her husband and daughter will enjoy.

I really appreciate those who chimed in with what they do.  I think we can all pick up ideas on new things that might work through what others share with us. 

I found a website that has some great tools to help with meal planning, Meals Matter.  The website allows you to create an account where you can put together your own meal plan using the recipes on the site, or your own.  There are also articles to peruse all based on meal planning and how to make it a simple task and not something you dread each week. 

Keep planning for the week, but keep it loose... you never know what each day will bring! 



Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Dining Poolside or On the Go: Ham Crescents

The summer is flying by at lightening speed, and while we still have a little more than a month before the kids go back to school I've begun looking for quick and simple on-the-go meal ideas.  I found a great cookbook with lots of great ideas at the library, The Good to Go Cookbook.

The only downfall to this cookbook is that there are no photos at all.  But, that is totally offset by the fabulous simple, family-pleasing recipes.  The Ham Crescents were such a hit that within moments the first batch was cleared and I had to make a second batch.  To tell you how much they were enjoyed, I've actually made them 2 more times since last weekend!  I made a couple different versions of them the first time, one with ham and cheese, the other with turkey and cheese.

You can assemble them within moments while the oven is pre-heating. 

The second time I baked them up the night before we were heading to the pool.  I reheated them briefly in the microwave - just to take off the chill from the fridge.  They were gone within moments again. 

Ham (or Turkey) Crescents
Adapted from:  The Good to Go Cookbook

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) container of reduced fat crescent rolls
8 thin slices of deli meat (ham or turkey work well)
yellow mustard or spicy mustard (depends on your taste)
grated sharp chedder cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll the crescent dough and separate into 4 rectangles (keeping 2 triangles together for each rectangle).  Press the perforated edges together. 

Place 2 slices of deli meat on each rectangle.  Spread mustard over the meat, then sprinkle about 1-2 tablespoons (approximate, don't overdo it though) of shredded cheese. 

Starting at the short end, roll up each rectangle and press to seal.  Cut each roll-up into 3 pieces.  Place on baking sheet.

Bake for about 14-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.


Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club: A Visit to Chinatown

I can't belive it's already August and time for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club to come together again!  The month of July really flew by and I didn't get my dish prepared until the middle of last week. 

For August, Val selected A Visit to Chinatown as our theme.  Since we LOVE Chinese food, this was  a theme I knew I'd enjoy, and I really would have liked to sit down to sample everyone's dishes in person... I've got my chopsticks ready, do you?

I chose the Pork and Stir-Fried Vegetables with Spicy Asian Sauce as my dish.  I did make a couple of slight adjustments because I wanted My Boys to dig into it as well.  I left out the red pepper flakes because the flavor of the Hoisin sauce would be sufficient to create the Asian flavor that I knew they would like. 

This is a dish that lends itself well to variation based on what you may have in your fridge or what might look particularly tasty at the farmer's market.  My Boys and I enjoyed this dish quite a lot, so I'm sure I'll be using the sauce in other stir-fries since they are a quick and easy way to get a healthy dinner on the table.

For the rest of our meal, please visit the other members of the Cooking Light Supper Club to see what they brought to the table.

Val of More Than Burnt Toast made Salt-Baked Chicken
Shelby aka Grumpy's Honeybunch made Mo Po Tofu
Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club made a Udon-Beef Noodle Bowl
Sandi of the Whistlestop Cafe made Asian Turkey Cabbage Cups

What is your favorite Asian dish (take-out or homemade)?

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!  Who doesn't know that sing-songy rhyme?  When the ice cream man comes jingling down the street, the kids run like crazy to see what he's got in his truck.  Summer means swimming pools, lazy days and most importantly ice cream!

While I've never made ice cream from scratch at home, My Mom used to do it a couple times a summer - if I asked really, really nicely.  I loved the velvety, smooth ice cream that came from her ice cream maker.  It was hard to wait patiently while it did it's "magic".  I remember it making a ton of noise and I think it required rock salt for some reason... it was quite some time ago and I imagine it's been sent off for donation by now. 

One of these days I'll have to give making it at home a try... but, in the meantime there are some quick and easy ice cream style desserts that will certainly fill that desire during the dog days of summer.  Last weekend we were invited to our neighbor's for a BBQ and I was asked to bring a dessert.  I'm always thrilled to bring dessert since it is one of my favorite things to make! 

I found a recipe on the Kraft website for Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake.  Looked like the perfect dessert for kids (and adults).  It's a layered ice cream sandwich dessert - similar to the Frozen Toffee Ice Cream Sandwich dessert I made last summer. 

You start with layers of ice cream sandwiches and top them with a layer consisting of Cool Whip, instant chocolate pudding, hot fudge sauce and chopped Oreos. 

Once you have the layers assembled, you "ice" the cake with the remaining Cool Whip before placing into the freezer.

This was super easy to put together, but I would use the smaller box of chocolate pudding mix and definitely add a little milk to make mixing a bit easier. 

Even though this was a hit with the kids, I think the Toffee Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert is so much more decadent and that might win over this one with the adults.  With a few tweaks this dessert could be taken to a higher level of summery goodness, and I think I may see how I can improve on it myself.

What is your favorite summertime dessert?


Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.

Menu Planning

A few months ago, I had a poll here asking what my fabulous readers would like to see more posts on... and, I did listen, but sometimes life gets in the way of my plans with my blog!  One of the things that people wanted to read more on was menu planning. 

I try to plan a loose menu most weeks, but the summer has made that a bit hard to do since I never know what I am going to find at the grocery store that will simply beg to come home with me from the produce section.  Our grocery store has begun selling many more items from local farms so, I'm always looking to see what will inspire our week's meals.

Even so, I still like to pull out a handful of cookbooks that speak to the type of meals I am wanting to make for the upcoming week, such as the one's in this photo:

It's summer, and while our schedule has not been jam-packed with activities we are still busy running around trying to enjoy ourselves.  We recently decided that we would join a local pool, which means I need some quick and easy snacks and things to pack into a cooler to take with us.  Also, some nights we will want something after we get home to sustain us until breakfast each morning. 

So, the first thing I do - even during the busy school year - is look at the upcoming calendar to see what we have planned.  Could be some late day appointments, a few hours at the pool after the boys finish camp or just a quiet night at home.  After figuring out just how many nights we are truly going to be eating at home, I know how many "full" meals we will need and I search for recipes that will satsify everyone (or at least try to!).  On the busier nights, I keep some convenience items in my pantry or freezer that just need a bit of "dressing up" to fill out a complete meal in a matter of 20 minutes or so. 

This week, I am testing out a cookbook I found at the library that focuses on the busy family and things that can be made ahead and taken on the go.  I selected a couple of recipes to try so that I can build up a list of go-to things that will work once soccer practice is in full swing in September.  We will need some filling snacks for that time between pick-up at school and on the way to practice.  Then, something we can come home to that won't take forever to prepare.

Once I select 2-3 new recipes and plan for a few stand-by recipes I write up the shopping list.  Everyone has their own method, but I prefer to organize my list the way my favorite store is set-up.  I do it by memory, which was a bit trying a few months ago when they decided to reorganize everything on me!  But, now I'm back on track and can find everything I need in a reasonable amount of time.  Some people like to put their list into a spreadsheet or some other computer program.  I tried that for awhile, but ended up going back to good old fashioned paper.  It just works for me. 

I do one big trip a week to pick up everything.  The only things I go back for are additional produce we might have run low on and fish or any other seafood since I prefer to buy it the day I am preparing it.  Since time is a precious commodity, the once a week trip works best for us. 

My plan is pretty loose and sometimes I will pick up ingredients for something and time gets away from me or we just aren't in the mood for one of the meals that has been planned.  When that happens, it may get bumped to the next week or I will use the ingredients in something else. 

Now, that I've shared what I do when planning our meals... I'd love to hear how you plan for the upcoming week.  What are your challenges when it comes to weekly planning?  Do you use a set plan each week (i.e.: Monday - chicken, Tuesday - pork, Wednesday - meatless, etc.)?  I'm sure we could all learn a bit from each other when it comes to feeding our families!


Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.