Guest Post - Organizing a Holiday Recipe Binder

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? For me, figuring out what to serve is always the hardest part. Today I'm sharing my method for creating a Holiday Recipe Binder at Get Your Crap Together. 

Chelsea has some great bloggers sharing their tips and tricks to stay organized for the holiday season, so be sure to check them out!

Meal Plan Monday

We're still having gorgeous fall weather here in Seattle - sunny and cool, and the leaves are changing to some really beautiful colors!  Makes me want to drink tea and eat soup all day.

MONDAY
Breakfast: yogurt with fruit or cereal
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: salsa verde chicken with black beans and brown rice, roasted broccoli on the side

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, sausages
Lunch: turkey sandwiches with cucumbers and carrots
Dinner: miso, sweet potato, and broccoli bowl

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: salami, cheese, crackers with apple slices and grapes
Dinner: polenta with maple sea salt roasted vegetables

THURSDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: ultimate nachos with beer braised carnitas

FRIDAY
Breakfast: cereal or smoothies
Lunch: sunbutter and jam sandwiches, grapes and carrots
Dinner: stove top buffalo chicken mac & cheese, salad

SATURDAY
Breakfast: kale, sweet potato hash with poached eggs and sausages
Lunch: black bean and pepper fajitas
Dinner: eggplant, mushroom, and tomato pizza with salad

SUNDAY
Breakfast: apple cinnamon baked oatmeal
Lunch: out
Dinner: pot roast with potatoes and carrots, salad

Recipe: Ham, White Bean, and Cabbage Soup with Garlic Cilantro Croutons

I don't know about the rest of the country, but we are in the full swing of fall here in the Pacific Northwest.  For us, that means it's sunny and clear one minute and pouring down rain the next...possibly one of each on each side of your house!

This is my favorite time of year, food wise, because I LOVE soups and stews!  And when you have a busy family - well, a pot of stew hanging out on the stove that people can dip into as they get home from their various activities is extra nice.  This Ham, White Bean, and Cabbage Soup is something that my mom made a lot when we were growing up and it's one of my favorite easy recipes.

Ham, White Bean, and Cabbage Soup with Garlic Cilantro Croutons
Serves 8

For the soup:
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
2 baking potatoes, diced (I leave the skin on, but you can peel them if you prefer)
4 ounces ham, diced
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 can white beans

For the croutons:
1/2 baguette
4 T olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 t lemon juice
3 T chopped cilantro (you could sub parsley)

For the soup:
Combine onions, cabbage, ham, potatoes, and stock in large pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add beans, cook 10 minutes more.

For the croutons:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice baguette, brush with 2 T olive oil.  Place on baking sheet, place in oven, and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  In the meantime, add remaining ingredients to a blender, blend until chunky. 

To serve, ladle soup into a bowl.  Spoon garlic cilantro sauce on top of bread slices, top each bowl with one or two slices of bread.  You could also just leave the bread out and add the garlic cilantro sauce directly to the soup - it's delicious either way!

Meal Plan Monday

Whew, the weather here has been lovely - sunny and warm, but it's going to get chilly this week!  Lots of soups on my menu, including my kids' favorite tonight.

MONDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: turkey sandwiches, apple slices, cucumber slices
Dinner: Clam chowder (I reduce the fat in this with fat free half and half, but yeah...it's caloric.), salad on the side

TUESDAY:
Breakfast: pumpkin oatmeal
Lunch: crackers, cheese slices, salami, apples, grapes, and carrots
Dinner: Ham, White Bean, and Potato Soup with Jalapeno Garlic Crostini (recipe coming), salad on the side

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: leftover soup with apple slices
Dinner: Enchilada Noodle Casserole (My youngest literally ate 3 servings of this a day until it was all gone!)

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: apple cinnamon oatmeal
Lunch: sunbutter and jam sandwiches, carrots, grapes, and pretzels
Dinner: Sausage, Pepper, and Potato Bake with roasted broccoli on this side

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: turkey sandwiches with carrots and apples
Dinner: leftover night

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: Waffles of Insane Greatness (no really - they are amazing!), spiced apples, turkey bacon
Lunch: out or leftovers
Dinner: Black Eyed Pea and Kale Bi Bim Bap

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: migas (recipe coming) and fruit
Lunch: out or leftovers
Dinner: roast pork with baked apples, roasted Brussels sprouts, and salad

There you have it!  What's on your menu this week?

Instafriday - September edition

Whew - September was a busy month!  Back to school, back to soccer, back to Girl Scouts, back to PTA...and back to work for me!  I'm linking up with Life Rearranged for Instafriday today to share some of my favorite pictures from last month.

 

You just can't start September without a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Am I right?

 



Theses cuties started school and it was the first year I didn't get teary-eyed watching them get on the school bus.  Well...at least not too teary...

 

So long, summer shoes!

 



 

My youngest LOVE her Ducks :D

 

I posted this picture of my Sunday routine - planning the upcoming week - and it sparked a few posts on staying organized.

 



These woodpeckers live in my neighbor's tree and DRIVE ME CRAZY!

 



This girl is halfway to wanting her two front teeth for Christmas.

Fall means soccer in our house - 4 practices and 2 games a week for 10 weeks...yeah, I'm tired just thinking about it.

 

We had a really great summer, and this was the last hot day of the year - it was over 90, so we had smoothies for dinner!

 

I've been testing a lot of patterns lately, and this girl has become quite the model.  I might be biased, but I think she is just so pretty :)

 



I had fun making a pencil pouch and business card case for myself for my the Schoolhouse Craft Fall Conference.  Which, by the way, was AWESOME.

 



I picked up this fun pin there, as well as some other great swag.

 



 

Bookkeeping 101- I have finally decided which software to use...uh, I just need to install it and get going!  The ol' receipts in envelopes thing just isn't cutting it anymore!

 

First of all, if you haven't watched the show, you are totally missing out!  Second, this was a great nail color in my Birch Box, which is totally worth the $10/month!

 



 

One Pan Pasta...make it tonight!

 

My mama turned 65...she's looks pretty good, right?

 



 

Best. Soup. EVER.

 

One night it was so cold...I just had to turn the heat and fireplace back on!

 



I got to escape to Eastern Washington for a wine tasting weekend...HEAVEN!

 



I totally need to do this with all of my wine corks!

 



 

 A girl in a vineyard...it's my happy place :D

And a sparkling wine tasting the morning after...yes, please.

 



At one of the kids' soccer practices, this beautiful double rainbow appeared over the park...SO pretty!

 

If you'd like to follow along with all of the other bloggers for Instafriday, be sure to click over to Life Rearranged with the button below.  You can follow me on Instagram too - I'm thegracefulroseshop there.  Happy Friday!

Meal Plan Monday

Happy Monday, everyone!  After my posts on staying organized and meal planning, I had a lot of requests for my weekly meal plan.  So here it is (recipes that I found online included in links!):

Monday
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: leftover chicken legs with rice and broccoli
Dinner: kale, garbanzo, and chicken soup

Tuesday
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: turkey wraps, carrots, grapes
Dinner: Butternut and Chorizo Shells and Cheese, roasted veggies

Wednesday
Breakfast: smoothies or cereal
Lunch: sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, raisins, and cucumber slices
Dinner: Slow Cooker Honey Dijon Chicken and Vegetables

Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal and fruit
Lunch: leftover shells and cheese with apples and carrots
Dinner: Enchilada Noodle Casserole with salad and fruit

Friday
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftover casserole, apples, cucumber slices
Dinner: baked salmon with red cabbage and potatoes

Saturday
Breakfast: Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: leftovers

Sunday
Breakfast: Brown Butter Pumpkin Waffles with Brown Butter Buttermilk Syrup (amazing!!!)
Lunch: Buffalo-style cauliflower steaks and salad
Dinner: Beef and Onions Braised in Beer with roasted cauliflower and broccoli on the side

Extras:
pumpkin snickerdoodles, salt and vinegar kale chips, granola bars

What's on your menu this week?  Tell me about it in the comments!

Fall Bark aka The Easiest Dessert You'll Ever Make

I'll admit...I've had a not so good week.

Sometimes, you just need to "bake" away the stress, know what I mean?

Something sweet and salty...and crunchy...yum.

And easy.  It's gotta be easy!  Hence: Fall Bark:

The Cast of Characters:

 

 

White Chocolate Chips (I used one bag, but by all means...double up if you want to!)

Handful of Candy Corn

Handful of Peanut M & Ms

Handful of broken up Pretzels...basically, I used  what was left at the bottom of the bag ;-)

 

 

First, melt your chocolate...it took about 90 seconds in my microwave.  You'll want to use 30 second blasts and stir in between so you don't burn the chocolate.

Next, spread that melted chocolate out into a rectangle.  I put mine down on a silicone baking mat, but parchment or wax paper would work, too. 

 



After that, sprinkle on your toppings!  And maybe save a few peanut M&Ms for yourself...

 

 

Now, press all of the toppings in...that way when your bark dries, they won't fall off.  Walk away and let it all harden...it took about 30 minutes for mine.  If you're impatient, put it in the freezer!

 

When it's hardened, just break it apart.  And maybe snack on some...

 

 

It's salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy...basically, the perfect cure for a yucky day.

Make some and enjoy!

 



InstaSUMMER

Whew...I can't believe that today is the last day of summer vacation for my little family!  I thought it would be fun to link up with Jeanette at Life Rearranged for Instafriday with a look back at our summer in pictures! 

I had a birthday.  I felt old...so I ate a few cupcakes :)

 



 

My little fishies played in the pool.



 

And we spent a LOT of time at the beach :)

 

 

 

 

 

My baby turned SIX.  She's starting FIRST GRADE next week.  Waaaaah!

 

 



 This happened:

And then we just couldn't stop with the yummy food:

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My kids enjoyed some relaxing down time:

Where we crafted

 



 Wandered through Seattle with our Girl Scout Troop:

 

and took some nice evening walks.

 

 

Oh yeah, and we ate a LOT of ice cream!

 



 

 

My oldest started baking

 

 

And sewing...

 

She's so big!

 

 Not to be outdone, my little one got her ears pierced so she could be a big girl too:

 

 

As for me, I took lots of naps, made some jam,

 

Organized my binders

 and spent lots of time with this guy :)

 While these girls were at superhero and Nana camp:

 

I'll miss these little goofballs while they're at school but...

 

am happy that there will be a little time for this:

 

 

 

What a fun summer!  You can follow me on Instagram here and be sure to check in with the other bloggers linking up for InstaFriday here.  Have a great holiday weekend!