Menu Plan 1/24 - 1/30

What a relaxing weekend!  I napped, napped, scrapbooked until 2am with some good friends, napped, went to Church, and then took a nap. Not sure why I was so tired, but I feel better now :).  Here's what I got for the week:

Sunday:  Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole with a salad **Check back Tuesday for the recipe**

Monday: Tacos

Tuesday: LO Tacos

Wednesday:  LO Chicken Casserole

Thursday: Pork Roast with homemade Mashed Potatoes

Friday: Dinner Out

Saturday:  Not sure yet ;)

To see more menu plans go to Organizing Junkie's blog!

Have a great week!

Fun Video

This little guy is so cute!

Happy Friday!!!

If You're Bored...

Today for my weekly writing assignment Mama Kat told me to write about 10 things to stave off boredom.  This is what I do when I'm bored. It's a strange mix of things that would probably cause boredom for most people.  But it works for me!

1.  Blog...duh!

2.  Organize finances online.  Yes.  I actually think this is fun.  Stop laughing. 

3.  Read a good book or magazine.

4.  Snuggle with someone.

5.  Make lists of things you should be doing.

6.  Organize the fridge.  I see a pattern here.

7.  Watch trashy television that you DVR'd.  Some options are Real Housewives, The Jersey Shore, As the World Turns, or Teen Mom.  I could go on but it would reach even more embarrassing levels.

8.  Work out.  Now I'm not ever really that bored.  But if you are then that's a good option :)

9.  Cook something special.

10.  Clean.  I actually like to clean some things and it makes me feel super accomplished once it's done.

Well.  That was very Martha Stewart/Jerry Springer of me. Hmmmm...I should see someone.

Fantastic Forks

Today I found a list of 10 things you can do with a fork in an old issue of Martha Stewart Living. Does anyone else love that magazine as much as I do? I always pull pages out of magazines if I want to make the recipe, craft, etc. When I'm done reading Martha I seriously have no magazine left and a huge pile of paper.  Anyway, I guess I knew you could do all these things with a fork, but it was interesting to see it all written out. Also, I have a huge affinity for lists. You may remember my Lemon Love and Earth Day posts ;) So, here we go:

1. Reaming: Insert the tines into halved citrus fruits to extract juice.

2. Pricking: Make holes in piecrusts or potatoes before baking.

3. Crimping: Decorate a raw piecrust by pressing tines along the edge.

4. Whisking: Whip eggs for omelets and other dishes.

5. Mashing: Crush berries for a sauce or bananas for banana bread.

6. Decorating: Make a crosshatch pattern on cookies of sides of a cake.

7. Dipping: Lower nuts, fruits, or cookies into melted chocolate.

8. Scraping: Carve out spaghetti squash or make granita.

9. Spearing: Lift pickles from a jar and waffles from the waffle iron.  Hold meat when slicing.

10. Testing: Check if boiled potatoes are cooked through.  

Thanks Martha!!

Oh and I haven't given you any pictures of him lately and this post was lacking pictures. You're welcome:

Not sure why this picture is so big, but I figured no one would mind....

Have a great day!!

Shrimp Etouffee

I made this last night and it was so good!!  I have made it in the past, but as with most recipes, I forgot about it.  It worked out perfect because I had tons of frozen peppers from the summer and a bag of onions I wanted to use up.  If you want to keep the recipe a little more frugal, just add more veggies and less shrimp.  Also, I don't see why you couldn't add a little cooked chicken. I guess that would take the "shrimp" out of "shrimp etoufee", but who cares.  Also, I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but many of these things are items that I already have on hand. 

Shrimp Etouffee

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 stick butter  **you could just use one stick of butter and omit the oil**

1/2 cup flour

2 cups onions, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup bell pepper, chopped  **I used green**

1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp white pepper

2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 cup water

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tbsp dry white wine or sherry  **You could put in a little lemon instead**

1 1/2 lbs shrimp

green onion for garnish

hot sauce to taste

4 cups cooked rice **I used brown**

Directions:

In a large pot or dutch oven, melt the butter in with the olive oil over medium heat.  Once melted, add in the flour.  This part is called making a roux.  Stir the flour frequently until it is the color of peanut butter.  This will take 5-10 minutes depending on your heat and pot.  

Add in onions, celery, peppers, black pepper, white pepper, salt, and cajun seasoning.  Cook about 5 minutes until soft.  Add in garlic and cook about one minute.  Add in the water, tomatoes, and wine.  Let cook over low heat, stir

ring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add in shrimp and cook until they turn pink.  This will be very quick.

Spoon the mixture over rice and garnish with the green onions and hot sauce.  

Enjoy!

To see more great recipes check out these fabulous blogs:

Tasty Tuesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tuesday at the Table

Have a great day!!

Menu Plan 1/17 - 1/23

Ahhh....I had a pretty relaxing weekend.  We didn't do too much, however, we got too see some friends and played some games on Saturday night, which was really fun.  I felt a little down this weekend.  Maybe I watched too much coverage on Haiti? I wanted to write in my blog a couple times, but never really did it. I think I was feeling like with everything going on there, should I be writing about me? It seems so mundane. But, I know the world must go on. So here is my plan:

Sunday:  Shrimp Etouffee **Look for recipe on Tuesday**

Monday: Dinner out with a friend

Tuesday: Mama Bird's Chicken Spaghetti and a salad

Wednesday: LO Shrimp Etouffee

Thursday:  Salmon, rice, and green beans

Friday:  LO Chicken Spaghetti

Saturday:  Dinner Out

To see more plans please check out Organizing Junkie's blog here :)

Have a great week!!

What's in a name?

Hello, I'm Ashley. I don't really have much of an opinion about my name.  I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.  I've never really felt much like an Ashley though.  I've always wanted to be named something fun like Lucy, Sophia, or Vivi.  I particularly like the name Dottie.  I guess I like names from the 50's. Aside from Dottie, because I think she'd kill me, I think I'd name my girls those names if I ever have them.

 

Anyway, I found out yesterday while on Facebook that my name was the 2nd most popular name the year I was born, in between Jessica and Jennifer. I think my mom lied to me when she said she named me that because no one else named their kids Ashley.  Clearly they did.  Kind of odd considering it means "ash meadow".  I was hoping for something like lovely, spirited, most beautiful on Earth.  But no...ash meadow.  Oh well.

 

Mama Kat said in her instructions to explain why I was named my name. Well...there is a very nice reason and evidently the real reason which is really...charming.  My family owned a German restaurant in Ann Arbor for years.  It was on Ashley Street.  When my mom decided that's what she wanted to name me she told my dad that it was to honor the restaurant. However, she tells me that she named me after her:

That's Ashley Abbott from The Young & the Restless.  My mom tells me she loved her in the soap as soon as she saw her and always wanted a daughter named Ashley.  This is my mom:

This is how our conversations went when I was little:

little Ashley:  "Dad, why was I named Ashley?"

Dad:  "Oh, cause Mommy thought it would be nice to name you after the street the restaurant was on."

little Ashley:  "That's nice"

Mom walks in the room and whispers to little Ashley:  "No it's not, I named you after Ashley Abbott, from Y&R.  You're going to love that show when you're older too."

little Ashley:  "I'll stick with Dad's story."

Mom: "Be thankful, he was going to name you Percy if you were a boy."

Oddly enough, I love Y&R and I also have a secret desire to name one of my kids Percy.  I think Percy and Dottie would be cute.  You?

To see more reasons people are named what they are check out Mama Kat's blog!!

Have a great day!!