Angies Pangies » Events

A Week of Recipes: Menu Plan Monday and a Give Away

Angie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:30:09 +0000

Be sure and check out the end of this post where I am giving away a cookbook!

**Sorry, this contest has ended. Please check back for future give aways!**

Keeping a menu or “food plan” as I like to call it is something that I’ve been doing for several years. It helps our family budget, it helps me get dinner on the table more often (as opposed to “Ack! What’s for dinner!?! I guess we’re going out. Again.“) Oh, and it helps me avoid getting in the rut of having the same things over and over.

Granted, I try so many new recipes that we don’t often have the same thing more than twice in a year around Angie Pangie’s house. You know you might cook too many things when you say ~

“Hey, tomorrow is your birthday (or insert any special occasion here). What’s your favorite – what do you want for dinner?”

*blink blink* Silence.

It’s not like I get that blank look because I don’t make anything good.

I mean. Well, wait. I don’t think so, anyways. Um. No, no, I ‘m sure it’s not that.

I believe it is because I make so many things that picking just one, or even remembering everything we’ve ever had is darn-near impossible. Yep, that’s what I choose to believe.

So anyhow, if you don’t make a menu for the week you might think about starting this habit. I try to look over my calendar for the upcoming week and plan meals that fit into our schedule, but if I’m not that organized I just try to plan a few easy nights and a new item or two.

I keep a printed list on the pantry door. I include dinner with sides, lunch, snacks and breakfasts in my menu.

And. Yes. I am that OCD. You don’t even need to go there, o.k.?

Actually, this list is awesome. It lets the kids be independent about finding their own snacks and it also means no freak outs when we have broccoli casserole for dinner since they can see it is listed on the menu. (O.k., fine. That will never happen. I cannot stand broccoli. And, honestly casseroles are not really my thing either. But, you know what I mean.) Having a menu posted helps let my family be in the loop about what’s for dinner.

Our dinner menu for this week:

Pancakes, fresh fruit, turkey bacon

Sloppy Joe Pizza, salad, fruit and yogurt

Chicken Gyros, wrapbread, tzatziki, tomatoes/lettuce and onions, potato smashers

Tuscan Stew, salad, beer bread

Asian Sesame Noodles with grilled chicken breasts, roasted grape tomatoes and crusty bread

If you’d like to have more ideas about what to make for dinner you can check out the other menus at Menu Planning Monday.

Cookbook Give Away

**Sorry, this contest has ended. Please check back for future give aways!**

I’d also like to help you plan your dinner time by sending a copy of Taste of Home’s The Busy Family Cookbook to one lucky reader. This cookbook is chock full of great recipes with great directions and awesome color photos.

I love that this cookbook is organized by the amount of time it takes to prepare any given dish so you can plan according to how much time you have!

If you’d like to win this cookbook please leave a comment below letting me know how you figure out what you’re having for dinner each night. Do you wait til the last minute? Are you a list maker/planner like me? Does everyone fend for themselves? I’ll choose a random winner on Friday January 29th, so please leave your comment before then if you’d like to enter!

xo~AP

P.S. I purchased this cookbook with my very own money. It wasn’t given to me by Taste of Home or anyone else, for that matter. Just sayin’.Similar Posts:

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WFMW: Quick Dinner – Meatballs

Angie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:40:34 +0000

No matter how much I enjoy being in the kitchen, I don’t always have time to be creative while making dinner. A typical dinner takes me 2 hours to get on the table.

Whaaat? I can’t help it that I’m slow. I know, Hubby doesn’t get it either. Thankfully, he’s a tolerant guy.

I have a few staples that I turn to when I need to hurry. And no. It’s not Hamburger Helper. I can’t eat that stuff. *shudders* My husband and kids totally like it (NOT LILLY – you know the drill), but . . . ew.

Nope, I make things like Meatball Subs.

I drop a few frozen meatballs in a pot of boiling marinara sauce until they are hot. I make meatballs in bulk and keep them in the freezer. They’re amazing.

While they’re warming up I chop up some carrot sticks, cut up and cook some corn and set the table.

I buy mini-sub buns (HFCS free!), put two or three meatballs on each bun and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over the top.

Voila! Dinner in under 30 minutes, Angie Pangie style. Works for me!

After you check out my tip for today, I hope you’ll hop on over to the hosting blogger’s website, We are THAT Family, and have a look at some of the other great tips and tricks that are listed.Similar Posts:

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Nice People, Temperature Controlled Trucks, and Lichens

Angie — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:10:28 +0000

[Be sure and read to the end to day, folks. There's a very special announcement for you.]

O.k.-O.k.-O.k. I. am. SO. EXCITED. Today when I got the mail, guess what?!? I got a package addressed to little ol’ me! And it’s not even Christmas. Or my birthday. Or Mother’s Day.

And when I opened it guess what I got?!? Hmmm, you’re dyin’ now, aren’t ya? Hmm?!?

LOOK!!

And, who, you may be wondering, would send me tangerines and a navel orange? Well, I’m going to tell you. Todd and Diane over at White on Rice Couple sent them to me. These are a couple of super funny, mighty talented, and unbelievably friendly folks. And even if they hadn’t sent me goodies, I’d still say those nice things. Because they are true. If you don’t believe me, you should hop on over to their blog and check it out, because they send free stuff to people all the time. All you have to do is ask. They call it “Sharing the Love” and I call it groovy.

You know something else that is mind boggling cool? They GREW these! Holy Sh!t people!! I live in Michigan. Do you know what it looks like here right now? Kinda grey, kinda brown, gloppy, muddy, wet, mushy – with parking lots spotted with cement colored snow hills from months of heavy plowing. (Those snow hills will still be here in MAY!) It’s really not pretty. Nothing but mold and lichens growing here. And they sent me gorgeous home grown food. Unreal.

As I opened the package Katie walked into the dining room. “Look! Todd and Diane sent me fruit! From California! They GREW these. In their backyaaard.” She furrowed her eyebrows a little and said “They grew them? That’s weird. Are they safe to eat? I thought they were supposed to come from a temperature controlled truck.” Fricken’ smart ass. But, do you see how deprived we are here? My kids think that oranges don’t really grow on trees in backyards. They come from trucks. Sigh.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Todd and Diane. You’ve made my day, my week, my month! And, you’ve let me teach something new to my children. And I think you’ve taught me a thing or two about giving, too.

Speaking of giving, tomorrow I’ll be offering free downloads of my last cookbook; Angie Pangie Celebrates: Chinese New Year. Be sure and check in so you can get be among the first to get your first copy. If you use Twitter you can follow me here. I’ll send an update when I release the cookbook. Similar Posts:

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Macadamia Chocolate Nut Pie a.k.a. Killer Pie: Happy Pi Day 3.14

Angie — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:13:21 +0000

[Updated on 3.15.08 - Hi Folks! I've updated this post to incude pictures, but left the original post the same. Thanks for reading!]

Happy Pi Day, everyone! I want to thank Evil Chef Mom for offering to host the Pi Day Event. It was great fun telling everyone “Happy Pi Day” (and then explaining it to them).

I wish I could say that I had as much fun making this pie as I did participating in the Pi Day Event and eating it. But, I’d be lying if I said that. My pie isn’t really overly difficult to make, but I was having one of those days where if things could go wrong they did. When I made my crumbs for the crust they looked. like. mud. I do not know what happened, but I took pictures because I couldn’t believe it.

Then, I forgot to add the eggs. Not just one egg, but all of them. I had to start all over because you can’t just, ya know, pour it back out of the crumb crust. Doesn’t work so well. OH, and then, when I pulled it out of the oven, I just, ya know, reached right in and grabbed it. Sans pot holder. Um, o.k. Angie. Are you in there?

Up until about an hour ago I was feeling like today was much better! But, this recipe is apparently still determined to make my life hell because now it’s time to post the recipe and guess what? I can’t even find my notes. I cleaned off my desk today. Guess I tossed them. Good thing I have a great memory, right?

I did get some awesome pictures. This pie is a complete drop dead knock out blonde (the macadamia nuts make it look like a blondie pecan pie, sorta). But, now that’s it’s time to upload pictures . . . (I can’t even believe this) I realize that my SD card is in my daughter’s camera and my daughter is at her friend’s house for the night . . . with her camera. Do you see what I mean?!? WTF?!?

So, I’m sorry I’m a bit late in the day getting this up, but I did make a Pie for Pi day. A troubled pie, mind you, a naughty pie, even. While I don’t have pictures to prove it, I gave half of this naughty pie to my friend Holli this morning in an attempt to banish it (and the problems) from my kitchen. Holli’s a nursing student and if you know anyone who has ever been a nursing student you know that they appreciate anything you do for them . . . even giving them a slightly rebellious pie.

At the risk of making my blog crash and bringing down all the internets . . . I will now post the recipe. And tomorrow I will post some pictures. If you all are still out there. I’m almost scared to say this, but this is a damn good pie. I mean, a killer pie. But, you’ve been warned, o.k.?

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup Irish Cream
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

For the crust:
15 chocolate wafers
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
2-3 tablespoons butter

In a food processor pulse chocolate wafers and nuts until finely ground. Slowly drizzle butter and mix with a fork until you have a mixture that resembles wet sand.

Press crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate.
Refrigerate crust until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 300F degrees.
Using a mixer, blend together eggs, sugar, salt and butter until creamy.
Add the corn syrup and Irish Cream, blending well.
Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts.

Pour into prepared pie pan.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until top has turned golden brown and is set.
Cool on a wire rack and keep leftovers refrigerated.

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