In my kitchen this week...

"Fall" is here (around here, we pretty much all call Labor Day the end of Summer, so hello Fall!) and for us that means settling back into a calmer groove of being home more often, at least more often for us, ha. So for the last few weeks we have made progress on getting back into the cooking groove. There has been the occassional night were I totally burn dinner into hockey pucks, or my adorable two year old calls and requests Chuy's, but for the most part we are dining in these days. Yay! So here's what we are cooking up in our kitchen this week:

• Steaks, loaded mashed potatoes and mac and cheese (this was our Labor Day celebration)
• Mini Meatloves, mashed potatoes, and green beans
• Shrimp Fried Rice, the WW version (ill post this recipe soon if it goes well, its been forever and I cant remember if its good! ha)
• Pork roast with potatoes and carrots

What are you guys cooking up?? 

Meal Plan Monda-I mean Wednesday!

Well it has been quite awhile, but I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I need some consistency in my life! haha! Here is what we are having around here this week:

• Monday: Mini-Meatloves, Creamy Instant Mashed potatoes, and green beans (recipe below)
• Tuesday: Burgers and Baked fries
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church (Easter meal!)
• Thursday: Chicken Teriyaki 
• Friday: Breakfast for Dinner
• Saturday: Out

Mini-Meatloves 

1 lb ground beef

1 box stuffing mix

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp steak sauce

1 cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 375-400. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. 

2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. 

3. Fill the muffin cups with the mixture and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked thru and browned on top. 

4. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy for best results ;-)

Creamy Instant Mashed Potatoes

Just a tip or trick basically: Add 6-8 ox cream cheese and 1-2 tsp minced garlic to your instant mashed potatoes. Makes them AMAZING! 

Planning those Meals

Up This Week:

• Monday we had Beef Stroganoff in the Crockpot (It turned out super yummy).
• Tuesday we had baked potatoes and zero point soup.
• Wednesday we will be Trunking or Treating at Church.
• Thursday we are having Lemon Dijon Chicken with Potatoes (minus the tapioca unless someone can tell me where on earth to find that stuff?!! Searched Walmart high and low with no luck...).
• Friday we will be eating leftovers.
• Saturday we are going to eat One Dish Chicken Bake.
• Sunday we are taking nacho cheese and chips to Community Group. 

What will you be eating??

Meal Plan Monday

• Monday: Chicken and Dumplings in the Crockpot
• Tuesday: Zero Point Soup and Salad 
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Ranch Burgers and Steamed Veggies
• Saturday:Homecoming! 
• Sunday: Bonfire with Community Group

Meal Plan Monday!

We didnt do so great eating at home this past week. In fact, we ate at home on Monday and Tuesday, and thats it! Oops. We did make the meatloves, the Parmesan Chicken Bake, and the Breakfast casserole. The Parmesan Chicken was super yummy, but looked weird and had lots of liquid. The Breakfast casserole was good also.

This week:

• Monday: Bacon Ranch Chicken (one of my freezer meals)
• Tuesday: Soup and Salad
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Italian Chicken in the Crockpot (since we didnt do it last week)

Thats all we got this week :) What are you having?? 

Pinterest Hoarding

Most are guilty of it, Pinterest hoarding that is. We pin and pin and pin, but rarely make the time to try out any of the great ideas we "save for later". I am trying to make a point of trying out or "doing" at least one of my pins a month (and hoping to do much more!). So here is a summary of all the Pinterest ideas I have attempted thus far:

Tub Cleaner: For starters, I did exactly what this pin said and heated this before mixing. I wouldnt do that next time. It then made the mixture very very frothy and hard to squirt. Once I let it cool down (like a day or two later), it worked great. It really did take soap scum off pretty easily and kept it at bay for quite awhile. I did not love the smell (very vinegary). 

# 1: For Griffin's Bday I took a cue from this pin and made two #1's from pictures of his first year. Super simple and soooo cute! We still have them up on our mantle because we just hated to only use them for a day. 

Busy Bags: I am going to do a whole post on this soon, but wanted to just say Pinterest has great ideas for kid learning activities. 

Recipes:

Sausage wheels: These were yummy but messy and harder to do than they look. I used pizza crust dough and not crescent dough, so that could have been the problem. They were hard to roll tightly, and then came apart after I cut them. But once they baked they were yummy and stayed together. 

Ranch Greek Yogurt: I have seen a few versions of this one. I did the one linked here, which involved greek yogurt, milk and ranch seasoning. Verdict- it tasted good but was pretty liquidly.  I would just do the yogurt and seasoning next time. 

Ranch Pork Chops: Loved them. Easy, quick to put together, and yummy. 

Balsamic Pork Loin: I did this one according to the instructions, but next time I would just mix it all together and throw it in at the beginning. 

Nutella No Bake Cookies: SOOOO yummy. And really easy too. 

Shredded Chicken: This one was easy and yummy too. 

Breakfast Casserole

Meal Plan Monday

• Monday: Crockpot Shredded Chicken Sandwiches and Green Beans (Super yummy with the swiss cheese! I put my buns and swiss under the broiler for a few minutes and it made them perfect!)
• Tuesday: Ranch Burgers and Steamed Veggies
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Yuki! & Freezer Cooking Shopping with Haven
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Freezer Cooking Extravaganza with Haven! (Remember the last time I did this? So excited to do it again!)

We have mostly already planned out freezer meal menu, but does anyone have a freezer meal that is just amazing and we just MUST do??? 

Meal Planning Monday

A few food related things from last week:

- Dont put things that you know you (or your spouse) really dont want on your meal plan. I know that Mr.Pate is not a big salmon fan (though during our dating days he always acted super happy for me to cook it for him for lunch...). Its my favorite food! But I am not the biggest fan of how mine tastes, versus eating it out. So we ate out instead of having salmon as planed one night last week. 

- I made 2 pinterest recipes this week! I made these pinwheels for community group tonight, and these roll-ups to take to Becky's last night. The verdicts: 1. The roll ups were good but I made them large (2 cresents together) and I think they are better smaller (just 1). 2. The pinwheels were yummy but messy. I chose to use pizza crust, which was too big I think. Yay for actually doing something I pinned though! 

Up this week: 

• Monday: Balsamic Pork Roast in the Crock Pot with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans (Never had this one, so Ill let you know how it goes)
• Tuesday: Grilled Chicken and Baked Potatoes
• Wednesday: Eat at Church
• Thursday: Ham & Cheese Stromboli (a super old fav!)
• Friday: North Warren's Fall Festival
• Saturday: Leftovers/ WKU Game!
• Sunday: Community Groups (have to take a dessert... hummm any ideas for me?)

Ham and Broccoli Shortcut Stromboli1 package (10 oz) refrigerated pizza dough1 can (10 ¾ oz) Campbell’s 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery Soup1 cup cooked chopped broccoli2 cups cubed cooked ham1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400º2. Unroll dough onto greased baking sheet (I use a baking stone)3. Mix soup, broccoli and ham. Spread soup mixture on one side of dough (leave one inch on the edges). Top with the cheese.4. Fold the dough over the mixture long ways and pinch all sides to seal.5. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve. Yields 4 servings.

Meal-to the-Plan-to the-Monday!

I am really feeling back in the groove around here- we have meal planned for 4 weeks in a row! Whoa!
Up this week:

• Monday Night: Pecan Crusted Pork chops, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Béarnaise Sauce and Green Beans (yeah I randomly decided we needed to eat like kings tonight... no one complained, lol!) 
• Tuesday Night: Asian Tomato Beef in the Crock-pot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Salmon, Brown Rice and Green Beans
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Grilled Chicken and Veggies 
• Sunday: Taking some type of Appetizer to Community Group Game Night! 

Right after I graduated from college, I did a leadership/missions program with the KBC in Louisville. One of the "discipleship" things we learned was how to cook/entertain. Emily Stewart made us all kinds of goodies, but this pecan crusted recipe was one of my favorite takeaways. I have not made it in YEARS. I suddenly have a desire to get back in the kitchen and cook things that remind me of our early marriage days. Weird but yummy :-) Mr. Pate is a fan of this phase! haha! 

Pecan Crusted Pork Chops (also works well on Salmon!)

6 Pork Chops

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 tbsp mayo (I used sour cream tonight and it worked well too)

1 tbsp oil

1 slice bread, torn into small pieces

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp parsley (or 4 sprigs fresh)

Turn oven to Broil. 

Mix mustard, mayo and oil in a small dish (one you can fit a pork chop in). 

Place bread, pecans, salt and parsley into food chopper and pulse until finely chopped. Place onto a plate or in a shallow dish. 

Dip pork (or salmon) into mustard mix and cover on all sides. Then dip in pecan mixture until coated well. 

Place pork on a broiling pan and Broil 6 " from heat about 10 minutes or until brown. Then flip and broil 10 more minutes or until cooked thru. 

Serve with Béarnaise sauce (add 1 tbsp dijon to it). So yummy!! 

Meal Plan Monday!

Happy Labor Day Monday! We have had a wonderful, productive and fun day around here. I LOVE days like that. Last week we ended up eating at home four nights. Not too shabby. We did make an appearance at Red Lobster (thanks to a gift card) where my son ate a TON of salmon! Yay- he got his momma's love of seafood. So here is what we have going into our bellies this week :-)

• Monday: Broccoli Chicken Potato Parmesan 
• Tuesday: BBQ Pork Sandwiches in the Crockpot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Grilling Burgers & Brats & Veggies 
• Friday: Tacos
• Saturday: Leftovers
• Sunday: Community Groups are starting up! Woo Hoo!!

What are you having???? 

Meal Plan Monday

Last week we ate at home/starbucks (we took Mr.Pate dinner) four times! Go us! My goal this week is 5 times, so we shall see.

• Monday: Ranch Pork Chops in the Crockpot with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (its a pinterest find so I will let you know how it goes)
• Tuesday: Bacon & Potato Ranch Chicken in the Crockpot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Salmon, Quinoa and Green Beans
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Baked Potatoes and Panini Sandwiches

Ok- does anybody else have their week planned out?? 

Menu Plan Monday

Slowly, but surely, we are getting back into the cook and eat at home habit! Last week I cooked Porcupine Meatballs, which is one of our favs we haven't had in forever. It felt good to be in the kitchen and actually cook something more than throwing meat on the grill. So up this week is:

• Monday Night: Mini Meatloves with Yummy Garlic Potatoes
• Tuesday Night: Hawaiian BBQ Chicken in the Crock-pot with Brown Rice
• Wednesday Night: Dinner at Church
• Thursday Night: Brown Sugar, Soy & Worcestershire Pork-Chops and Veggies on the Grill
• Friday Night: Leftovers
• Saturday Night: Spaghetti 

What's for dinner at your house this week???

Menu Plan Mond- no wait- Saturday!

Thats right, I am actually posting a Menu Plan this week (but on the wrong day... oh well)! Watch out world! Haha! My son is a year old and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have meal planned since he was born! Whew. Anyhow, no time like the present to get back to it, right?

This week we are having:

• Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups (thank you pinterest- hope these are yummy! I am making them tonight, so Ill keep you posted)
• Tacos
• Grilled Pork Chops & Grilled Veggies (we usually do mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini all cut up and cooked in a basket on the girl with some italian dressing and creole seasoning)
• Roast in the Crockpot 
• Salad topped with grilled chicken

What are you eating??? 

The Best Cookies Ever. Seriously.

For Valentines Day, one of our interns at work, Bethany, brought us the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Seriously. They were amazing. Therefore I must share the recipe (so that I will always have it on my blog to find when I need it!).You are welcome. Enjoy.

Bethany's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 3.4 oz package of vanilla instant pudding mix

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use mini-chocolate chips)

(you can also add nuts if you'd like)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy. Add pudding mix and beat until blended. Then mix in 2 eggs and vanilla extract. (I mix in with a wooden spoon, but you could also use the electric mixer for this step as well)

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix until almost blended. Then, add chocolate chips and mix.

5. Roll cookies into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. (for this step, I use an ice-cream scoop)

Add another one to the list

We found another keeper crockpot recipe, so of course I am going to share!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken in the Crockpot

4 chicken breasts
1 bottle of Honey (or Hawaiian if you can find it) BBQ Sauce
1 can crushed pineapple (the bigger can)
Brown Rice

1. Put the chicken in the crock pot.
2. Pour BBQ sauce over chicken (whole bottle).
3. Pour pineapple over that.
4. Cook on low for 8 hrs.
5. Serve over Brown Rice. Yummo!

Found this one on Pinterest, but it called for Hawaiian BBQ sauce and our Wal-Mart did not have that. So we choose honey and it worked great.

What have you been putting in your crock pot????

One Stop Crock Pot

We all know I love my crock pot. So I have been meaning to take all of my crock pot recipe posts and link them in one post for easier finding, but I kept forgetting. So without further ado, my crock pot recipes:

• Asian Tomato Beef
• Bacon Ranch Chicken
• Brown Gravy PorkChops
• Chicken and Dumplings 
• Chicken and Noodles
• Salsa Chicken 
• Yummy Rice 
• Hawaiian BBQ Chicken in the Crockpot
• Yummy & Easy Roast

So do any of you have a go to crock pot meal? Or something delicious I just have to try?? Please share! 

Menu Plan Monday!

Here is what we are having around here this week:

• Monday: Burgers, green beans and mac n cheese
• Tuesday: Asian Tomato Beef in the Crock Pot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Pork Chops on the grill and Yummy Rice
• Friday: Youth Bonfire & Hayride
• Saturday: Friends over and then probably eating out for my Bday! 

What are you eating this week?

I am highly considering doing a "freezer cooking day" of slow cooker meals. i keep seeing on Pinterest where people do basically assembly days for several crock pot meals, and then you have them ready for the month... I just need to get a free day and energy... hummmm.

Food for Thought

Or maybe just food for eating?

I haven't posted a menu plan since May... yep that's five months! Basically in June and July I was pregnant and sick of cooking, so we ate out often or grilled. And then I had a tiny human and life got crazy! So we have not been cooking a ton the past 3 months either. And when we do, it has mostly been Mr.Pate getting the food on the table. But this week we have a meal plan and so far have actually cooked two meals! Pretty good compared to the past five months. Anyhow, the meal we ate tonight was yummy so I thought I just had to share! Plus its a crock pot meal- which is sooo easy!

Bacon Ranch Chicken

4 chicken breasts 
2 tbsp bacon bits (I used like 1/4-1/2 cup instead)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pkg ranch seasoning mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
4 potatoes, chopped 


Place chicken in crock pot. Combine bacon, garlic, soup, sour cream, seasoning and potatoes. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Its so yummy! I got it off of the "Crock Pot Girls" facebook page. Have you guys been on there?? They have tons of recipes, although many are similar to each other. Well, try this recipe and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday!

• Monday: Porcupine Meatballs, egg noodles and green beans (Its so yummy!)
• Tuesday: Brats on the Grill for Mr.Pate (Ill be in G-town)
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church (Tacos)
• Thursday: Brown Gravy Pork Chops with mashed potatoes
• Friday: Leftovers (Ill be in TN seeing Duke and meeting HADLEY!)
• Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Anyone wanna share recipe ideas with me?? I could use some new ideas!!

Menu Plan Monday!

It's been forever, but I figured its time to start doing these posts again! We are all about the grill in the warm months, so we usually grill at least once or twice a week.

• Monday: Brown Sugar, Soy & Worcestershire Pork Chops, Veggies on the Grill
• Tuesday: Skillet Lasagna
• Wednesday: Dinner at Church
• Thursday: Cheesy Artichoke Chicken w/ Pasta in the Crock Pot (This is a new one we are trying)
• Friday: Brats (For the boys) and Salmon (for me) on the grill, Salad and Mac n cheese
• Saturday & Sunday: I have Baby Showers! Mr.Pate will have to eat leftovers and fend for himself! 

Our new favorite thing to cook and eat?? Veggies on the grill! Soooo good and healthy too! We just chop up whatever veggies we like (usually tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms around here) and sprinkle some season salt and creole seasoning on them. Then you either put them on a skewer or in a grill basket and get to grilling. So easy and so yummy!

What is your favorite thing to make in the summer??