Author Archives: Melissa

Unknown's avatar

About Melissa

Blogger about all things home at http://myhomebaked.com

Decluttering with Project Simplify

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with , , ,

One of those tasks that never ends is decluttering, and the longer days of spring seem to illuminate the dirt and clutter that have accumulated throughout the winter. To motivate myself to tackle some of these problem areas, I’m linking up with Project Simplify 2013 at Simple Mom. Sure, I can see what areas in my home need work, but it’s awfully nice to have someone else map out a timetable and a plan of attack.

This week’s project is about decluttering flat surfaces. Shelves, drawers, tables…you know the ones. In our house, the usual suspects are the family room coffee table, the hall table, the mail center cupboard, and my desk in the kitchen. At the moment, my desk is the problem. It regularly gets so stacked with stuff–much of which is NOT MINE, that I just lift up my computer and go elsewhere to work.

This was mostly paper, so I sorted out everything that could be recycled, and then filed the rest appropriately. I put away all the bits of toys and hair accessories. I assessed the notes on the memo board and culled anything outdated. Then I dumped out the entire container of pencils and pens. Though I love the oatmeal tin, it’s just too tall to use as a pencil cup–things get lost in the bottom. I threw away all the dried up pens, sharpened all the pencils, and resurrected this cute flower pot that I bought in Spain to hold them all. After a good dusting, I can once again work at my desk!

If you’d like to join Project Simplify, click on the graphic at the top of this post to get all the details. It’s a great way to get a handle on Spring Cleaning!

The Dinner Swap

Posted by Melissa in Food, Organizing and tagged with ,

You may have noticed in my Monday Menu posts lately that I’ve been swapping meals with my friend, Jen E. (not to be confused with my friend Jen V., my personal gardening expert and all-around partner in crime). Jen E. introduced me to the idea of the dinner swap, and we’ve been talking about it for months, but finally made it happen. Three weeks in, I’m calling it an unqualified success. The Plan: We each cook a double batch of one of the week’s dinners, and then exchange the extra meal. One less meal to plan each week! One night of home cooked take out! More variety in our menu!

Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t have any complicated rules or monthly calendars. We both plan our week’s menu in advance, then email each other what we’ve planned to swap and decide which day to make the exchange. We’re not exactly neighbors, but Jen’s kids have skating lessons near my house, and I can make it to Jen’s porch and back in 30 minutes (assuming I don’t stop at the T.J. Maxx on the way).

Obviously, you can’t swap meals with just anyone. You’ve got to have similar tastes and expectations. Our families like a little bit of everything, with an emphasis on fresh, unprocessed ingredients. We all try to cook and eat healthily, but we’re not going to be militant about it. It might be difficult to swap with a family that requires a special diet because of allergies or other health concerns. Your families should probably be a similar size. The E.’s have two preschoolers to our 10, 7 and 5-yr-old, but I just double what I make for our table, and if they get more leftovers out of the deal, lucky them!

I’ve read about larger meal swap groups, and some of them exchange freezer meals instead of fresh (for example, five families each prepare five batches of two freezer meals, and then everyone goes home with 10 different meals to stock their freezers). I don’t know whether we will try a version of that in the future, but so far, things are going swimmingly.

Monday Menu and Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

I had a bad case of Spring Fever yesterday and spent all day working in the yard. We got our raised bed prepped for planting (just waiting for those seeds to arrive in the mail–any day now!), raked up all the leaves and dead perennial foliage, and started assembling our compost pile. The Hub cleared the pine needles out of the gutters and went a little crazy with the spring closet cleaning. There are muddy boots by the door and bikes on the porch. Ah, Spring!

This morning I took my achy self to the store for a few groceries and finally made up our menu. We have a lot in the freezer, so I didn’t need much. It’s another busy week–something planned for every single evening–followed by a busy weekend. I’m hoping to prep dinners early in the day to take the pressure off the dinner hour. If plans go awry, I have the makings of angel hair with spinach pesto–my favorite emergency meal.

Last week

Monday: Mexican Rice Casserole (swap from Jen), guacamole and chips

Another winner of a casserole from Jen! Loved the big slices of tomato (they are also easy to avoid when serving tomato-averse children).

Tuesday: Chicken with Lemon, Cumin and Mint, farro, Greek salad (doubled, to swap with Jen)

I loosely followed the recipe: I used boneless chicken thighs, added plain yogurt to the marinade, and let it marinate several hours longer–overnight, actually. They broiled nicely in about 12 minutes, but would also work great on the grill.

Wednesday: Ali Baa-Baa Sandwiches, Greek salad

A post-Easter lamb favorite. I set aside a small portion of meat without the onions and apples for the picky eaters. Leftover sandwich filling was good for lunch atop the farro from Tuesday.

Thursday: Baked Potato Soup

This recipe has gone into our regular meal rotation. I don’t think it’s nearly as fattening as it seems (though it is filling!). I double the recipe as a matter of course, and we all had soup for lunch the next day.

Friday: Pasta and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

Next time Mr. Ten is going to be in charge of making the sauce, now that he knows the recipe. I caught someone licking their bowl after the pasta was all gone. Even Miss I-Don’t-Like-Tomato likes this sauce, so long as I purée it well with the immersion blender. I made a batch and a half so there’s a little extra to go on this week’s pizza.

This week

Monday: Tex-Mex Meatloaf (doubled to swap with Jen)

Tuesday: White Bean Soup with Kale and Turkey Italian Sausage (from Jen)

Wednesday: Pizza (toppings: mushrooms, asparagus, pepperoni; dough is in the freezer)

Thursday: Locro de papas (I don’t follow a recipe, but that one is similar), avocado, pickled red onions

Friday: Pork medallions in creamy pan sauce, rice, asparagus

 

What was your favorite meal last week?

The Garden Project: Ordering seeds

Posted by Melissa in DIY, Garden and tagged with , ,

The snow has finally melted, the sun is shining, and I can see blue sky out my dirty windows. The daffodils are inching their way up. Spring is whispering in my ear. It ought to be saying, “Get on with the spring cleaning already,” but instead it’s telling me, “Plant a garden!” One morning last week, before coffee even, I ordered seeds and–on a whim–strawberry plants. I found that Home Depot has some reasonably priced raised bed kits that are in stock at my local store. There is still plenty of work in the back yard that requires the professionals, but I don’t want to wait until everything is perfect (that could be a long wait) before we start growing some vegetables this year. Right now I have a sunny spot that is clear and seeds on the way, so I have to make it happen!

I have no gardening expertise. A few times in years past we have planted a handful of vegetables, with mixed results. I am trying to start small this year so I don’t get in over my head. (“Baby steps, Bob!”) I’m not starting seeds indoors. I chose my seeds based on what the almanac tells me I can sow directly into the ground in March and April. I bought lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, sugar snap peas, basil, parsley and beets. I plan to set up two four foot square beds, one with some trellis at the back for the peas, and see how it goes. Later in the spring, I hope to add some tomato plants, and maybe cucumber and squash.

In other landscaping news, we had our big tree and the remaining hedge cut down. We took advantage of a city program tree trimming program that gave us a reduced rate.

BEFORE

BEFORE

We are still waiting for the crew to return and grind out all the stumps. The front of the house looks dreadfully bare right now, and you can see all the pine needles the tree left in the gutter.

DURING

DURING

But thanks to Dig Right In, we have a beautiful plan to work from, and once the stumps are gone, I plan to work on amending the soil and adding some new plants in front of the porch.

AFTER

AFTER

I’m calling it officially Spring!

 

Are you making any plans for your outdoor spaces this spring?

Smoothie Week

Posted by Melissa in Food, Health, Kids and tagged with , ,

I declared last week Smoothie Week. If you’re going to stay home for spring break, you need to inject a little excitement into the usual proceedings. Without the need to get everyone out the door early in the morning, I decided it would be a good time to bust out the blender and experiment with some new smoothie combinations.

Why smoothies? 1) They taste good. 2) They’re a sneaky vehicle for getting more fruits and veggies into all of us. 3) Depending on the ingredients, they can help prevent annoying tummy complaints that some of us have been suffering from. 4) A smoothie is also a good way to get some calories into Miss Seven, a reluctant breakfast eater.

I did a little bit of googling to find out what ingredients to have on hand. I decided to stock bananas, frozen berries, baby spinach, plain yogurt, chia seeds, milk and orange juice. I also created a little smoothie station on the counter: the blender, the jar of chia seeds, and a jar of colorful straws. I sliced up the bananas (I like to buy the overripe bananas that are marked down) and stored them in a container in the freezer.

The kids really got into the smoothie spirit. Every morning they would ask what kind of smoothie we were having.

Day 1 (dessert): Chocolate Banana

(banana, ice cubes, yogurt, milk, honey, chocolate syrup)

Day 2: Orange Strawberry Banana

(orange juice, strawberries, banana, yogurt, milk)

Day 3: Green Smoothie

(kiwi, banana, yogurt, chia seeds, spinach, orange juice, milk)

Day 4: Banana Cream Pie

(banana, yogurt, drizzle of honey, milk, vanilla, cinnamon)

Day 5: Purple Smoothie

(banana, blueberries, spinach, yogurt, milk, chia seeds, drizzle of honey)

Day 6: Mixed Berry

(strawberries, blueberries, banana, spinach, yogurt, chia seeds, orange juice)

By Day 7, I was starting to repeat the rotation. If you can believe it, Green Smoothie was a heavy favorite, along with Banana Cream Pie. I’m not sneaking the spinach into the blender anymore–they figured it out pretty quickly and don’t seem to mind. I overheard Mr. Ten telling his friend, “You can’t even taste the spinach!”

The verdict? I have had far fewer nights where my stomach has felt out of sorts. We’ve all had extra servings of fruit and vegetables, and we’re all getting a serving of yogurt every day. The kids didn’t seem to need a mid-morning snack. And they all asked if we could still have smoothies, even though Smoothie Week is officially over. And so we are.

 

 

Monday Menu & Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

This is the first year since my kids have been in school that Easter has coincided with Spring Break. The big kids went back to school today, but when I went to drop Little Five off at preschool, I discovered when we got there that there’s no school on Easter Monday. April Fools’ Day on me. Guess I should have looked at that calendar that was stuck to the back of the “W” worksheet in his folder. So I dragged a reluctant five-year-old to the store and bought groceries. Luckily, it was a short list because we have plenty of nice food left from our Easter feast. I’m back at my post on the couch with a cup off coffee, surrounded by empty plastic Easter eggs. The sun is streaming in, and I’m very glad about it, despite the inconvenient spotlight on the dust lurking under the piano.

We had a beautiful Easter. The bunny filled the baskets (contents procured in one fell swoop at Aldi: kites, water bottles, a little bit of chocolate, Peeps, egg-shaped gumballs in a tiny carton), and we made it to church only two minutes late for 7:30 mass. We even got our regular pew. Go early and avoid the crowds is our motto. Dinner was relaxed, and the weather was nice enough for an extended walk to the park before dessert. After our guests left, I played Forbidden Island with Miss Seven and Mr. Ten, which I confess I enjoyed very much. It’s a cooperative role playing game where you work together to gather the treasure and escape the island before it sinks. Near the end, Miss Seven was quivering with the tension of whether we would all survive or not. Little Five was in charge of sound effects every time a piece of the board fell into the abyss. We escaped to play another day, in case you were wondering.

So here’s the rundown of last week’s meals and what’s on the agenda for this week.

Last week

Monday: Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken, (courtesy of Jen, my meal exchange buddy!), rice, broccoli

This was really tasty, and the kids ate it all up without a fuss. It would be good as a lettuce wrap, a taco filling or on buns like pulled pork, too.

Tuesday: Passover Seder with friends (I brought the charoset)

Toasted walnuts, a little brown sugar and a drizzle of honey made this the best charoset I’ve ever made. Double the recipe if you have more than four people.

Wednesday: Baked Pasta Shells with Chicken

I was going to make gnocchi, but didn’t start dinner in time. Instead, I improvised a baked pasta with some shredded roast chicken I had in the freezer, a quick homemade white sauce with wine and mushrooms, and some peas and parmesan. It was good.

Thursday: Baked Potato Bar with Sloppy Joe Sauce, salad, carrots and dip

Baked potatoes with self-serve toppings are popular with the kids. Instead of frying bacon, I pulled some sloppy joe sauce out of the freezer, which made the potatoes seem more like a meal. My family liked it on their potatoes, and Mr. Ten’s friend had his on a bun, with a potato on the side. To compensate for those who didn’t eat an adequate amount of salad, the next morning I stuffed their blueberry smoothies with a lot of spinach.

Friday: Black Bean Burgers, Smoky Red Pepper Spread, sweet potato oven fries, kale and radish salad (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

This meal felt both virtuous and very satisfying. It was colorful, and turned out to be a nice balance of flavors and textures. The burgers took some time, but I doubled the recipe to feed two families, and still had enough to freeze for a third meal. Next time I will keep a little of the bean liquid to make the burgers a bit more moist, but that’s my only complaint. They have great flavor. This recipe would work well as a freezer meal. Don’t skip the sauce: roasted red pepper (I used jarred) and feta in the food processor. (We thought it might make a good pasta sauce, too.) It was the third time we’ve made a version of that kale salad, and everyone we’ve served it to has asked for the recipe.

Saturday: We went out to dinner and the kids had pizza with the babysitter. That was good, too.

Sunday: Roast leg of lamb with garlic, rosemary and anchovies (from Jamie Oliver), Risotto with mushrooms,  green beans with almonds and mint, deviled eggs, Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake with berries

The lamb was perfect, and we have plenty of meat for several more lamb meals in the coming weeks. The risotto was also just right; I’ve always followed this recipe, but it’s most successful when you’re not feeling rushed or distracted. I had a glass of Prosecco and friends to talk to while I stirred the rice, and nobody was rushed for dinner because we had plenty of deviled eggs to snack on. The green beans are my new favorite version. I had fairly mature, fat beans, so I added about 1/2 cup of water to the pan, covered it, and let them steam until crisp tender. After a hike to the park and some heavy work on the playground, followed by an Easter egg hunt in the yard, we all recovered our appetites to do the lemon pound cake with sliced strawberries (and a cappuccino) some real justice. I baked it in my flower shaped pans, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. I wouldn’t change a thing.

This week

Monday: Mexican Rice Casserole (swap from Jen), guacamole and chips

Tuesday: Chicken with Lemon, Cumin and Mint, farro, Greek salad (doubled, to swap with Jen)

Wednesday: Ali Baa-Baa Sandwiches, Greek salad

Thursday: Baked Potato Soup

Friday: Pasta and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

Crab Cakes

Posted by Melissa in Food, Recipe and tagged with , , ,

I love crab cakes. There’s a good reason you find them on so many restaurant menus. They can be a bite-size appetizer (the Hub used to make them for parties, back when we used to have parties), or you can make larger patties to serve as a main course (alongside a big salad and some crusty bread, so you don’t make a glutton out of yourself over the crab cakes alone).

I have followed this recipe to the letter, with good quality crab meat and beautiful shrimp that required peeling and deveining. They were so good I wanted to hide them from the guests and huddle in a corner with my bowl of remoulade. But for a weeknight, when you’re trying not to blow the grocery budget on a single meal, you can absolutely make these with whatever proportion of canned crab and frozen shrimp you have. It’s a reassuringly flexible recipe, and last week I used one little can of crab and about a pound of cooked frozen shrimp, scaling down the other ingredients slightly (I also halved the remoulade). The entire platter was devoured, and Miss Seven asked me the next day if there were any crab cakes left for lunch. Now that’s high praise.

Crab Cakes

1 lb. crab meat

1 lb. shrimp, chopped

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

1 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. hot sauce (like Tabasco)

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1 tsp. Worcestershire (or soy sauce)

5 eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

2 cups flour

2 cups bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Combine the seafood, bread crumbs, cayenne, hot sauce, scallions and Worcestershire. Add one egg and the mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly and shape into patties (I used an ice cream scoop). Whisk the remaining 4 eggs with the water in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge the patties in flour (they’ll want to fall apart, so be patient and just keep sticking them back together), dip them into the egg mixture, and then the bread crumbs.

Heat 2-3 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan (I use my nonstick pan). Fry 4-6 crab cakes at a time–don’t crowd them)–until lightly brown on both sides. Add oil between batches if necessary. Keep them warm on a paper towel-lined platter in a 200-degree oven.

Serve with Remoulade Sauce:

2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup cornichons, chopped

1/4 cup capers, chopped

1 oz. chives, chopped

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 oz. anchovies, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill. (Leftover remoulade + can of tuna = fabulous lunch.)

Monday Menu & Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu and tagged with , , , , , , ,

First day of spring break, and it’s snowing. It has taken me nearly three hours, what with all the interruptions (“He stole my Zhu Zhu pets!” “When can I use the computer?” “I need help getting dressed!”) but I’ve finally planned meals for the rest of this week. This afternoon I will brave my list of errands with all three children in tow. Spring Break at home requires some planning, maybe more than a vacation away–certainly more than I want to plan. But if we are to avoid some nasty Lord of the Flies scenes, I’m going to have to face the music.

I’ve got an Easter craft planned that should occupy Miss Seven and Little Five for a little while and create a flurry of paper scraps to clean up. We’ll have lunch at Ikea one day (kids eat free all week!). I’m declaring this Smoothie Week, and we’re going to try some new variations. The weather is supposed to improve later in the week (sunny and mid-40s), and I vow that at least once we will get out the bikes and scooters and ride to the park. I’ll probably have to play some board games. (My board game aversion is legendary.) I’ll try to encourage some cooperative Lego building. Mr. 10’s closet needs to be reorganized and everything could use a good spring cleaning. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the tree guys will come and grind out all the stumps in our front yard–that will make for some good noisy entertainment.

Many plans. And it’s already time for lunch.

Last week

Wednesday: Creamy Spring Turnip Soup, mint limeade, scones (with multigrain flour, rosemary salt, and no cheese)

I finally discovered what to do with a turnip. This soup was lovely, green from the leeks and slightly sweet, creamy but not heavy, and everyone liked it. The bacon and greens made it feel more like a meal, but it would be a nice first course. As predicted, the limeade was a hit, too.

Thursday: Roast chicken, roasted vegetables

I defrosted that chicken for four days, and it was still icy in the middle, so it took far longer to roast than I planned. I still love Jamie Oliver’s method the best: high heat, stuff the bird with garlic and herbs and lemon, and roast a big pan of veggies (extra turnips!) and potatoes alongside. I need to remember that what looks like too many raw veggies is, in fact, not quite enough. I had visions of leftovers that were sadly disappointed.

Friday: Shrimp Scampi with angel hair pasta, tomato salad

Garlicky pasta with shrimp? We all had seconds.

This week

Monday: Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken, (courtesy of Jen, my meal exchange buddy!), rice, broccoli

Tuesday: Passover Seder with friends (I’m bringing the charoset)

Wednesday: Gnocchi in Tomato Broth (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook), salad

Thursday: Baked Potato Bar with Sloppy Joe Sauce (Mr. 10 is having a friend over for a sleepover), salad

Friday: Black Bean Burgers, sweet potato oven fries, kale and radish salad (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

Saturday: Indian Butter Chicken Curry, green beans with almonds and mint

Sunday: Roast leg of lamb, Risotto with mushrooms, deviled eggs, Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake with berries, more sides TBD

Choosing busy

Posted by Melissa in DIY, Kids, thoughts and tagged with , ,

I read a blog post the other day about how people should stop complaining about being too busy, and just slow down. While I read the post, I found myself agreeing with it. I don’t like to be so busy. I don’t thrive on dashing from one activity to another. I’d like nothing more than a few uninterrupted days of NOTHING. Time to read a book or three, watch a movie, fiddle with a DIY project, work a little in the yard (if it ever warms up again, O Snow on the First Day of Spring). But then I started to feel guilty about the busy-ness in my life, and now I resent that article for making me resent (more) the many claims on my time and attention.

I say no to a lot of things. No to PTA meetings, no to chaperoning field trips, no to scouting and soccer and Little League. No to joining a second choir, no to Wednesday night club meetings. But there are still so many things I can’t opt out of–and wouldn’t want to–and it doesn’t do much good to anyone to resent the time they take.

Cooking dinner, doing laundry, helping with homework, sweeping up the crumbs, writing. Junior high band festivals, supervising snow fort construction, book signings with a favorite author. It’s all about choices.

Yesterday I said no to folding the mountain of clean clothes in favor of finishing the paint job in the bathroom. Little Five spent some quality time with Curious George and PBS Kids, and I spent an hour and a half painting the baseboards and giving the beadboard wallpaper a second coat of paint.

Today I skipped emptying the dishwasher, and instead framed and hung the kids’ artwork. Later this afternoon I’ll say no to folding clothes again and say yes to a playdate. But at least the bathroom is complete.