A Simple Twist of Faith

7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 33

1.

Alleluia!  This has been a week of events starting with the greatest celebration of all, the Resurrection of our Lord.  We woke up on Easter morning to gorgerous spring weather, then beat the crowds by attending an early mass in the gym at our church, and hosted a no-fuss potluck lunch with family.  My girls enjoyed hunting Easter eggs with their cousins and loaded up on chocolate.  I sat with my husband in the backyard, and watched them play.  It was a perfect day.

2.

Tuesday was my husband's 49th birthday  For his special dinner, I made Jumbo Gumbo and paired it with his favorite beer, Sam Adams.  He really liked it, however my coconut cake was a disappointment.  Does anyone have good coconut cake recipe to share?  I need a "re-do" to redeem myself! 

 3.

At the suggestion of my blogging friend,Sharon, I just finished reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  The subtitle describes the book quite well "A dare to live fully right where you are. " I read about the tragic death of her baby sister, and thought about my crisis of faith when my mother died when I was twelve.  Then I read the following, " To the wrestle to get it all done, the relentless anxiety that I am failing." and "the sin of ingratitude", I knew this was the book I should reading right now.  It is extraordinary book, filled with inspiration, honesty and hope. 

Project Simplify: My Baking Cupboard

Welcome to week 4 of Project Simplifyhosted my Tsh at Simple Mom.    I have really enjoyed participating in this project because tackling one area a week is manageable and fits into my family schedule.  Taking the before and after photos, posting them on line, really motivates me to complete the task. 

This week's challenge was PANTRY & FRIDGE. Since this week I have been under the weather, I decided to focus on the area that needed the most work.  For me, that was my baking cupboard.  My goal was to organize the space without buying any new containers or fancy gadgets.  I used what I had, to group like things together and make it easier to locate ingredients when I bake. 

Here are some of the before pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are the after pictures:

 

A few of my favorite things...

Don't forget Thursday is book review day, I am participating in "Bookin it 2011" hosted by Life as Mom.  This week I will be reviewing The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  Speaking of happiness, I know money cannot buy joy, but here are a list of a few of my favorite things that make everyday life just a little sweeter...

 

 

Pantry Challenge Wrap-Up

 

Today is the last day of January, and thus ends the Pantry Challenge hosted by Life As Mom.  I thank all of you for sharing your recipes and encouraging me. With the extra attention and menu planning, I was able to feed my family of four on less than $100 per week and have leftovers. 

Here's what worked for me:

Pantry Challenge Week 4

It's week four of the Pantry Challenge hosted by Life as Mom. Not only am I under budget, I had enough leftovers to freeze some meal-sized portions. I am at an advantage to other families, because my girls are small and don't eat as much as growing teenagers.  However, I did host my friend and her three friend for lunch one day and brought a pot of chili and cornbread muffins to a potluck one night. We even took an extra trip to our local Chinese grocers. 

 

 

Pantry Challenge Week 3

Welcome back the Pantry Challenge Week 3 hosted by Life As Mom.  Are you cleaning out your pantry, how about your freezer? Due to limits in my storage and budget, I keep a sparse pantry and freezer, but I would like to share some great tasting recipes that will use up some staples and stretch a dollar.

This week I bought 45 items and spent $94.24 which is under my $100 grocery and consumable budget I have for my family of four.  I used coupons for coffee, cereal, and turkey sausage.  The rest of my purchases were either perishables or generic items.   

Here's what cooking at my house!

 

 

I LOVE IT!

Thank you all for your birthday greetings, they made me feel very special and drove away my winter weariness!

I had a lovely day. 

My husband arranged a good friend of ours to keep the girls and took me out to dinner.  We went to Olive Garden for shrimp, salad and minestrone soup.  (Thank you for the gift card, Bozena, it came in handy!)

After we returned home, he presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a homemade chocolate tart, a heartfelt card, and a bottle of bubbly. 

 

Pantry Challenge Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of the Pantry Challenge hosted by Life As Mom.

Last week, I invited you join me this month as I organize my kitchen, plan weekly menu plans, and start eating healthy again after a steady diet of Christmas cookies and other holiday treats. For some of you, this might mean cleaning out your pantry, planning meals or donating the excess.  For me, it was about replenishing my pantry which was running low after weeks of Christmas baking and entertaining. All this I want to accomplish without going over my weekly budget of $100.

I shop once a week at one "big box" location.  Frankly, I rarely use coupons except for my beloved Eight O'Clock coffee.  This week, I bought 42 items and my grocery bill was $94.67. 

 

Here are a few recipes from my menu plan this week:

Hurrah! You found me!

Today, was moving day at Simple Twist of Faith.  I moved my blog from wordpress to type pad. I was home all day with the girls since my husband had a Knights of Columbus conference. I am NOT a techno whiz, so it is a minor miracle  that I imported my archives.

If you are reading this, I thank you! 

For your reward, I want to share a great shredded chicken burritos recipe, my old high school pal, Wendy, sent me. My entire family loved it, it was inexpensive to make, and there are tons of leftovers!

 

 

Pantry Challenge Week 1

Yesterday, I reviewed our family's budget and realized I needed to get back on track with my grocery spending.  My jeans are also telling me I need to cut out the Christmas cookies and find some more healthy snacks.   So, this month I invite you to join me in the Pantry Challenge hosted by Life As Mom. This challenge can take many forms determining on your family's situation: How is your meal planning?  Does it need a tune-up?  Do you know what's in your pantry? Maybe, you can clean it out and donate the odds and ends to a food bank? Or, maybe like me, you need to replenish your pantry with healthy staples? What does your freezer look like? Does it need a make-over too? Here are my goals for the month of January: 1. Plan a rotating weekly menu plan. 2. Start baking bread, and healthy snack alternatives from scratch. 3. Build a Pantry to reflect my new menu plan and baking efforts. 4. Do this all, in with keeping my weekly budget of $100 for food and consumables. So, are you up for the challenge?  Join me on Tuesdays this month as I share my menu plans and recipes.