Meals

Growing up as a child, I always remembered Mother’s Day being a day that we bought my mom flowers and watched my father cook lunch for us. I don’t remember any of the meals being anything elaborate, but they were good enough to satisfy our appetite and give my mom the day off.

In celebration of these memories, I am planning the same thing for my wife on this Mother’s Day. I will be giving my wife the day off so that she can relax and enjoy quality time with our twin boys. Even though I do a majority of the cooking anyways, it will still be a nice gesture for her and every other mother that shows they are loved and appreciated.

For this Mother’s Day, I am taking part in the FoodNetwork virtual Mother’s Day event with The Communal Table.

Here is the menu for my wife’s Mother’s Day lunch on Sunday, May 13:

Ingredients:

Grilled Chicken

1/2 pound of grilled chicken
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary and thyme mixture

Glaze

2 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of whole grain mustard

Grilled Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus
2 tsp blood orange olive oil

(asparagus should be marinated in the blood orange olive oil for 12 hours previous to cooking)

Directions:

1. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper. Generously season the chicken with the fresh herbs. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is lightly browned. Apply glaze on chicken after it is cooked.

2. Cook the asparagus on the grill until slightly charred and tender.

3. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is quick and easy to follow, and it can be used for any type of meal.

See what our friends are bringing to the table and tell us what you would bring to the table on Twitter by using the hashtag: #pullupachair.

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We are in the middle of winter and there is nothing better than comfort food to help keep you warm.  So another simple recipe that we like to make, that usually makes about 4 meals is an easy Pot Roast.  So here is our simple crock pot recipe for Pot Roast

1 Pot Roast (we used a 3lbs Pot Roast)
6 red potatoes
1 medium onion
1 package of dry onion mix
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

Cook for 7 – 9 hours  in the crock pot and that is it.

Feel free to check out other recipes here.

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Guys, it is time to accept certain facts, we are getting older. We usually do not go to the Dr unless we are on our death bed or our wives nag us enough. But look at it from a different point of view: your child’s. What would their life be like if you aren’t here?  And I don’t want to scare anyone that they will get bad news from going to the Doctor for their annual physical, but what if there is something wrong that they are able to diagnose and treat and ultimately save your life.  And let’s be honest, your annual physical takes about an hour, then there is blood work, but that short amount of time is well worth it for the long term benefits.

I for one, hate going to the Doctor. My blood pressure shoots up every time that I even make an appointment, but last week I went for my annual physical. Overall, the visit went well. I was told that I needed to lose weight, which I knew, but when I heard the dangers of not making a change in my life, I realized for the first time, that my kids could grow up without me if I don’t make some changes. Here were some of the dangers that the Doctor explained that could happen if I didn’t get my weight down and kept it down:

Now, in saying that, I’m about 20 pounds over weight. But, it is enough that if I don’t make some serious changes to my life, that I could really be in trouble. So, what am I doing? I am looking at this at a 2 phased approach:

Phase I – Make the initial changes
This will probably take me a few weeks & this should get me down 5 – 10 pounds.

  • Cut down on eating carbs and starches
  • Breakfast now consists of  1/2 cup of egg beaters, 100 calorie bread, 1 container of greek yogurt
  • Snacks now consists of almonds and sometimes adding dried cranberries
  • Limit alcohol intake – and for the next few weeks, I am basically cutting out alcohol altogether
  • Eat more chicken and meats that are higher protein
  • Eat more salads
  • Exercise more

Phase II – Maintain
This will be the for the rest of my life.

  • Limit Carbs and starches
  • Maintain the same breakfast combination
  • Maintain snacks & introduce fruits into the mix
  • Continue to limit my alcohol intake, but occasionally have a glass of wine  or a beer.
  • Continue to eat chicken and meats
  • Continue to eat salads at least 2 -3 times a week
  • Step up my exercise routine by adding in a daily walk of at least 1 mile, if not more, focusing on at least 30 minutes of cardio a day.

These are just a few of the things that I am doing, as I want to make sure that my boys grow up with me being around and more importantly, I want to be able to set a good example for them by showing them the importance of getting their annual physical and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

So guys, do the responsible thing, get your annual physical and more importantly, set a good example for your children.

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Have you heard the latest buzz, Pinterest? If not, you are probably a guy or not connected to the web very often. Well, my wife has started to as she would say, become obsessed with it. At first, I was a little skeptable, but after this weekend, I am all for it. She found 2 recipes that she made today, a Sourdough circle pizza bread and an apple baked apple. Once I get the recipes I’ll post the links, but these were two that she will definitely be making again. No, I will not be joining Pinterest, but I am all for my wife looking at it more if she is going to keep finding recipes like those.

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I stumbled across a Pork Loin with Cranberries and Orange recipe this week and to say that I’m excited is beyond words. The recipe has 3 of my favorite things:

  • Pork
  • Cranberries
  • Oranges

So, today, I’ll see how well it turns out. I figure that for this meal, which I will spend about $17.50 on in total for the ingredients, I will get at least 3 meals out of it. I was fortunate to catch the Pork Loin buy 1 get 1 free, which cost me $12.50, then the cranberries and oranges make up the rest of the cost. And considering that I’ll get a dinner for my wife and I and 2 lunches for me out it, all in all, it is a solid meal.

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As for so many weekends, I end up having to make a shopping trip run, either to Target or to the local grocery store or both. So, with my list on my phone (Out of Milk app for the Droid is awesome) I ran over to both Target and the grocery store. The primary objective was baby food from Target and food for the crock pot from the grocery store.

20 bags later, I am home and my wife asked how much I spent, to which I replied, total, $215 for both stores. And to give an idea, there were 3 bags of baby food, no formula, just the solid foods. We now have enough baby food for 3 months and we have enough food for 5 meals in the crock pot. And, best of all, I was able to save $75 for the trip.

So, watch your sale ads and if you get a chance, stock up on the things that you know that you will need for the future. Save money today, for tomorrow.

All in all, I think that it was a successful weekend shopping trip.

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Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin
1 Pork Tenderloin – lightly seasoned with salt & pepper
1/2 Bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce
8 Hours in the crock pot

POMEGRANATE CHIPOTLE SAUCE Pork Tenderloin
1 Pork Tenderloin – lightly seasoned with salt & pepper
1/2 cup of water
1/2 bottle of POMEGRANATE CHIPOTLE SAUCE from Tastefully Simple
5 hours in the crock pot

Brisket
2 1/2 lb brisket
6 hours on the smoker on 200 degrees
2 hours on each side, then for the last 2 hours, wrap the brisket in aluminum foil and place back on the smoker.

Grilled London Broil
1 London Broil
Marinate overnight – I use a 1/2 of bottle of Fat & Juicy Bloody Mary Mix
Grill for 8 minutes on high
Then flip and reduce heat to medium for 5 minutes.

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With trying to keep with the plan of saving money, we have been trying to cook more meals for our nightly dinner and that we can use for multiple meals. So a lot of times, we use the crock pot. Our favorite recipe and one of the easiest recipes and is great for left overs:

BBQ Pork Tenderloin
1 – Pork Tenderloin & cover it with your favorite BBQ Sauce. Then place in the crock pot for 8 hours and serve. It is easy and makes 2 – 3 meals.

Pork Shoulder
1 – Pork Shoulder & cover it with vinegar, crushed red peppers, and water. Place in the crock pot for 8 hours and serve. Makes 4 meals.

Brisket
1 –  2 1/2 lbs Brisket – smoke for 6 hours on the smoker at 200 degrees

Spaghetti
1 – Package of Ground Turkey, pasta of your choice and homemade tomato sauce. (I add crushed red peppers as well) – This will provide at least 2 left over meals.

Hot Sausage with Penne Pasta
1 – package of hot sausage, cut into small pieces and fry. Boil Pene pasta until done, strain and place back into the pot. Once the hot sausage is finished, pour homemade tomato sauce over the sausage and fry for 10 minutes. – This will provide at least 2 left over meals.

Here are a few websites that I have found to have great recipes:

Food Network
My Recipes
Food.com
FoodPair
Foodily
Grilling and Beer

I hope that you’ll be able to find some good recipes that will help you and your family not only prepare healthy meals, but meals that will save you money. And if you have other sites that you visit for recipes, please share.

 

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