Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Meal plan for Jan 18 –24, 2015
Happy Monday, yall! How goes it, your way? All is good here in the Cates household!
This is week two of trying the “Freezer” cooking, and I have to say I like it! The hardest part is just remember to thaw out the food the night before. I did have one snaffoo, where I had the wrong thing out for dinner so I got a late start on cooking. Other than that, this experiment in cooking has been a breeze! So, whats my plan for this week? Well…
Bunnys Meal Plan for January 18-24, 2015
Sunday
Breakfast for dinner! (Family fav)
- Scrambled eggs
- Bacon
- Biscuits
- sausage gravy
Monday
This is a recipe I haven’t made in FOREVER.
- Chicken Casserole – Here is a recipe for chicken casserole.
Tuesday
Yay for freezer cooking! This is already made, so all I have to do is load up the bread machine around noon, and throw the pans in the oven!
- Lasagna
- Salad
- Home made garlic bread
Wednesday
NEW RECIPE DAY! I’m trying to incorporate some new recipes into our diets. I feel like we have the same thing always, and even though its good food, it gets boring. So for today, we are trying something new.
- Chicken Pockets – Here is the Chicken Pocket Recipe I will be trying.
Thursday
Another new recipe! Whoot! As a family, we love soups, so I wanted to give this one a try!
- Ham and Bean Soup – This is the Ham and Bean Soup Recipe I will be trying!
Friday
One thing is certain, we are PASTA lovers! So this week to take a break from spaghetti, we are going up some Penne.
- Chicken and Bacon Penne – You can try this Chicken and Bacon Penne recipe here.
Saturday
Saturday is DATE NIGHT this week! The kids will be visiting their Dad, so Mom is taking a ME DAY! WOoohoooo!
THE COST
This week, the cost was nearly FREE! I bought the bulk of these groceries LAST WEEK! I will have to pick up some more salad stuff for Friday, but everything else was already here and most of it is even already PREPPED! Like I say, I am LOVING freezer cooking!
FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLAN DOWNLOAD
If you missed it last week, here is the FREE PRINTABLE WEEKLY MENU PLAN that I shared on Last Week’s Post! I’ve made it in chalkboard, which you can laminate and write on in dry erase markers or grab it in white for those who want to print it weekly, it will save you ink!
Click here to download the:
>> CHALKBOARD STYLE FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLANNER
>> WHITE FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLANNER
Thanks for reading.
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Monday, January 12, 2015
Meal plan for Jan 12 –18, 2015 + FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLAN
Happy Monday, you guys! Holy crickets, who left the deep freeze open?! It is so cold outside the dogs don’t wanna go out to tink!
This is my first post of 2015 for this blog. Sometimes I get so sidetracked on updates for my wearewordnerds website that everything else just kind of falls to the wayside. That’s why one of my goals for 2015 is to hammer down some kind of schedule that lets me work on ALL of my blog! At this point in my life, I am really regretting separating my blogs up so the reading blog could be on its own. Having MORE blogs means MORE work, and I just don’t have the time! So if I am updating this blog, I’m not working on wearewordnerds today. *sigh*
Anyway, I've spent the last couple of days reading up about “Freezer to crockpot” cooking. Have you heard of this? Making up a months worth of crockpot meals, and freezing them so come cooking day all you have to do is toss them in the crockpot? I am really itching to try it. So rather than jumping all in and doing up a month at a time. I’m going to tip toe in by doing a few premade meals this week and next. Just so I can see how this goes.
Whats on our menu this week? Well, here ya go!
Bunnys Meal Plan for January 12-18, 2015
MONDAY
We are trying something new! YAY!- Sauerkraut & Kielbasa – recipe is here
TUESDAY
This is going to be a premade up and froze test.- Meatloaf
- corn on the cob
- baked potatoes
- cheddar drop biscuits – recipe here
WEDNESDAY
One of our favorites
- Chicken Broccoli Fettuccini Alfredo
- Homemade breadsticks
- salad
THURSDAY
Something to make the kids happy…- Bacon Cheeseburgers
- loaded steak fries
FRIDAY
One of my favorites…- Teriyaki Pork Chops
- Rice
- Steamed vegetables
SATURDAY
By kids request – Mexican build your own Fiesta bar! This was actually scheduled for another night, when the kids would be at their dads, but they asked me to move it so they would be here.- Tacos
- burritos
- all the sides
SUNDAY
Closing out the week, I am doing one of the FAMILY FAVORITES. Breakfast for dinner.
- Bacon
- Scrambled Eggs
- Sausage gravy
- biscuits
- hash crowns
THE COST
Once again, I am posting before I go shopping, so I have no idea what this weeks meals will cost us. I am in the process of doing pantry inventory, and planning out TWO WEEKS worth of meals before I go shopping. I am going to start shopping ONCE A MONTH eventually, but it is going to be a learning curve, for sure. I can not WAIT to get into that new habit.Do you shop once a month, or go weekly like I currently do? Do you find it saves you money?
*Edited to update!
Hi guys! I just wanted to update this now that the grocery shopping has happened. I got every thing we needed for the month, minus the extra milk and bread we will need, and the stuff for salads to go with pastas (because the veggies will go before we get to them) and we spent....
......wait for it..........$320!
Thats a $430 savings over what I would have spent going WEEKLY! (we spend about $250/week!) I can't believe it yall!
I'm spending today prepping meals to freeze, but am so happy how this partial month went FINANCIALLY!
For the breakdown of what meats and cheeses we got (since meats & cheeses are the most expensive things)
- 8 - lb bags of assorted shredded cheeses
- 4 - packs of american slices (thats one a week)
- 3 - 1lb bags of assorted lunch meats (for lunches)
- 10 - lbs 80/20 ground beef
- 2 - family packs of pork chops. (there were 8-10 chps each pack. not sure on weight)
- 6 - Polish sausage or Polska Kielbasa
- 2 - lb sausage
- 3 - large packs of little smokies (these were on a 5 for $20 deal)
- 2 - 2lb slabs of bacon (part of the 5 for 20)
- 6 packs of hot dogs (another lunch item)
- 3 packs of bologna
- 1 bag of all white meat chicken tenders (the dinosaurs, for nights Sis wont eat what Ive cooked)
- 1 ham steak
- 2-lb of spiral hams - these were awesome little .5 pound hams. Great for breakfast casseroles, etc. Had never seen this size and they were in the 5/$20
I also found my new favorite dishwasher tabs that of course they no longer make, and devistated me (Cascade with GAIN). But a 16 pack bag was $4.98 at walmart and I found a 60-pack at family dollar store for $12! Bought TWO!
FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLAN DOWNLOAD
To celebrate kicking off the new year, I wanted to offer you a FREE PRINTABLE WEEKLY MENU PLAN!I’ve made it in chalkboard, which you can laminate and write on in dry erase markers or grab it in white for those who want to print it weekly, it will save you ink!
Click here to download the:
>> CHALKBOARD STYLE FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLANNER
>> WHITE FREE PRINTABLE MENU PLANNER
Thanks for reading.
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Easy Dirty Rice and Beans
Hey you guys!
Here is my recipe for Dirty Rice and Beans (non-spicy).
This is super quick to cook, under 10 minutes once all the chopping is done AND you can tailor the amounts of everything to suit your own families tastes.
Now about the amounts: I have to cook enough to feed 6 people, all grownups except one. So it is going to make quite a bit. Don’t fret! Cut the recipe in half if you want OR better yet, go on and cook it up as I do and freeze the leftovers for another day. It freezes up just fine!
We also have some very picky taste buds in our house so this is very light with the seasoning. Don’t be ashamed to give ‘er a taste test after its been simmering a few minutes. Turn it up if you need to!
The Ingredients
- 2 pouches of boil in the bag rice ( I use family size minute rice)
- 2 beef sausages
- 2 cans dark red kidney beans
- 1 small can diced tomatoes, drained
- 3 stalks celery (chopped)
- 1/2 large onion (chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp chives
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper (couple of shakes)
- red pepper flakes (a shake or two)
Prep
Get out two large pots. You need one for boiling rice and a big one for mixing the goodies in. Go on and fill one with water and get it on HIGH to boil, and while that is heating up drag out all your ingredients.
Slide the rice pouches in to boil, and set the timer as directed on your box. You can even use left over rice, or make the rice earlier in the day so its good to go.
Chop your veggies and the sausages and drop them into the pot. Add all the other ingredients. Mix well, cover with lid and bring to a boil.
Once it starts to boil, turn it down to simmer, give it a stir and stick the lid back on it. It will make juice as it heats up, and that is fine. That will soak up into your rice in a minute anyway!
When the rice is ready, drain it and open the pouches. Put the rice into your simmer pot, mix it all up and stick your lid back on there. Bring it back to a boil, then set it back to simmer.
Let it simmer with the lid on for about 5 - 10 minutes, to let the juices get sucked into the rice. That way every bite will have flavor.
That’s it! Wasn’t that easy?
Serving variations:
I like mine served on a heaping bed of baby spinach! Jesse likes his with cheddar cheese. Harm just eats the rice and sausage out of hers, so someone gets extra veggies added to their plate in our house. LOL
For the leftovers:
This is great for lunch the next day! Kind of like a meatloaf does – the flavor gets better the longer it sets.
This freezes well. I don’t have any leftovers now that I have tweaked the recipe enough to suit our family, but the first few times I made it we did. I did freeze it a couple of times and it reheated well. I was worried the rice would get mooshy, but it was fine.
The leftovers are great recooked into stuffed bell peppers! Just add some tomato sauce and cheddar to the mix, throw it in some peppers and bake them suckers right up. *nomnomnom*
Monday, October 13, 2014
Meal plan for this week, October 12 –18, 2014
Happy Monday, you guys!
Its so rainy and disgusting here this week. With no change in the immediate future, bluh. My meal plan for this week definitely reflects that. Lots of food to combat the dreariness of the current weather streak.
One of my favorite things about my new vinyl menu board is the MEMO area! I’ve been loving seeing the little inspirational notes we stick up there. For my “message” this week, I wanted to focus on the negativity we sometimes fall into.
It is so easy to criticize those around you and forget that we, ourselves, are not perfect and still need work. Especially with children. We forget they are just kids and need guidance, just expecting them to do or be as we think they should. Forgetting to take into account that they are more than just children, they are PEOPLE. Each with their own personalities and quirks. Each one different in their emotional and intellectual development. Each one, learning and adapting to change as best they can. And they too, deserve to be accepted for who they ARE and not criticized for not conforming to the “standard norm” “mold” you expect them to be.
This week instead of thinking everyone around them needs to change, do better, be better, I want my family to focus on THEMSELVES. For by bettering ourselves & leading by example (not dictation), we influence and become the catalyst for the change.
I invite you, too, to take this on as your challenge this week.
Know that YOU are the CHANGE that you want to see. It all starts with YOU.
Our Meal plan for this week, October 12 –18, 2014 :
SUNDAY
- Breakfast for dinner
MONDAY
- Meatloaf
- mashed potatoes
- corn on the cob
- rolls
TUESDAY
- Homemade barbque
- tator tots
WEDNESDAY
- homemade vegetable soup (recipe is HERE)
THURSDAY
- Apple Baked Pork Chops (recipe coming soon!)
- Garlic Homestyle Mashed Potatoes (recipe Coming Soon!)
- Beans
- Corn bread (recipe coming soon!)
FRIDAY
- FEND FO YO SELF NIGHT
SATURDAY
- Frugal Chili (recipe here)
I haven’t hit up the grocery store yet. Who knows what this weeks bill will end up being. I am in the process of organizing a closet out, and then I am going to start shopping ONCE A MONTH. I can not WAIT to get into that new habit. Do you shop once a month, or go weekly like I currently do? Do you find it saves you money?
Thanks for reading.
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Meal Plan for Sept 22 – Sept 28th 2014
Its going to be a busy week for us this week, so I needed to choose meals we could easily flip from day to day as needed.
Our Meal plan for this week, Sept 22 – Sept 28th:
MONDAY
Guh Mondays, how you drain me! I wanted something simple today, so we opted for Sloppy joes since we hadn't had them in FOREVER. Jesse even helped by peeling tators for me!- Sloppy Joes
- Fried Potatoes
TUESDAY
- Chicken Brocoli Fetucini Alfredo (RECIPE HERE)
- Garlic Toast
- Salad
WEDNESDAY
Today we are celebrating! Jesse's sister has gone back to work, finishing out her maternity leave, and Jesse has gotten a new job!WHOOT!
- Apple Baked Pork Chops (recipe coming soon!)
- Garlic Homestyle Mashed Potatoes (recipe Coming Soon!)
- Beans
- Corn bread (recipe coming soon!)
- Home made Dutch Apple Pie (recipe coming soon!)
THURSDAY
- Chicken Enchiladas (recipe coming soon!)
FRIDAY
- Fend Fo Yo' Self
SATURDAY
- UNDECIDED
SUNDAY
- Ribs
- Corn on the Cob
- Baked Potatos
- Green Beans
- Black Eyed Peas
This was a great week for us, grocery bill wise. I had all the meat on hand, so I only spent $168. I know that sounds high, but we were out of dogfood, and all cleaners (Laundry Detergent, Dish Detergent, Dishwasher tabs, Downy, and even SHAMPOO! So, food wise, this was NOT a bad week for us! lol
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Here is my recipe for Homemade Vegetable Soup.
If yall didn't see this the other night on facebook. Here is my #recipe for #cooking #homemade soup.
First night, is Rump roast cooked in crock pot with carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery if you like that in your roast.
Just put the leftovers in your fridge crockpot and all.
Next night: if there is a LOT of meat left - I make barbque with that meat and save the juice and veggies for soup the next night.
If not a lot of meat left: I go ahead and make soup.
Since there is not a lot of meat left, brown up some ground beef crumbles. (a pound, pound and half, depending on your crockpot).
While that is browning, take a slotted spoon and scoop out the left over vegetables, to cut them up into bite size pieces, and then just put them back in the crockpot with the leftover roast juice. To this I add either fresh veggies on hand OR *TWO* cans of VeggeAll Homestyle LARGE CUT vegetables, and about 1.5 cups frozen corn kernals. Vegetables in the crockpot, drain and rinse the ground beef. Put it back in skillet and throw in a WHOLE chopped yellow onion. Just heat this enough that the onions start to change color a little and then dump this meat into the crockpot. Add either 2 big diced tomatoes or 1 big can diced tomatoes with juice. Put in two or three big pinches of fresh chives, 3 whole bay leaves, a few shakes of thyme, a few good shakes of garlic salt, a pinch of pepper, and then fill the rest of the crockpot up with either canned tomato juice or homemade tomato juice.
Let me know if you try it. We love it, so....
INGREDIENTS:
- left over roast plus all juice
- 1.5 pounds ground beef browned and drained
- diced onion
- 2 cans Veg-all HOMESTYLE CUT mixed vegetables (or fresh)
- 1.5 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1 lrg can diced tomatoes
- pinch of chives
- 3 whole bay leaves
- pinch of thyme
- garlic salt
- pinch of black pepper
- can of tomato juice (put in LAST and just fill the rest of the crockpot)
Heat in crockpot on med all day. I usually get mine going around 9-10am and we eat around 5.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Meal Plan Monday – week of 9/1 – 9/7/2014
Last week was crazy for us and I have a feeling this week will be even worse. I tried to plan out an easy menu for this week utilizing my crockpot at least two of the days. So here is what we are doing this week…
Our Meal plan for this week, Sept 1 – Sept 9th, 2014:
MONDAY
Got away from me so we ended up just having:- Harmburger helper
- salad (left overs)
- mashed potatos (left overs)
- green beans (left overs)
- sweet corn
- drop biscuits – recipe HERE, with honey butter
TUESDAY
Today is going to be an easy day. I am cooking what I intended to cook yesterday, but I hadn’t gone to the store yet. Yay Crockpot!
- Roast w/potatoes and carrots
- mac n cheese
- salad
- wheat rolls
WEDNESDAY
Another easy day. I told ya. pfffttt…Im about wore out. I really need to go have my blood work done again I think. You know something is off when I don’t feel like cooking! Anyway. This is super simple. I just grab a bag of those frozen raviolis (they are like $2.98), some spaghetti sauce, some ground beef, and whaaalaaaaahhhhh…. Homemade ravioli. Well, sort of. I like mine with spinach and tomato. No sauce.
- Ravioli
- salad
- garlic toast
THURSDAY
This week I am going back to trying a NEW recipe every week. I hate feeling like we always have the SAME THING over and over. BAH. How boring! This week are are trying this:- Chicken Enchiladas (recipe here)
FRIDAY
I’ll be honest with ya. I’m not really a big fan of roast. I usually just eat the carrots and tators out of it. What I am a big fan of is THIS. I love leftover soup. I think it is amazing and could just eat on it till I popped.
- Soup (left over roast)
SATURDAY
The kids are gone this weekend, so we get grownup food! yay!
- Porkchops
- beans
- cornbread
- mashed tators
It is going to be a good week I think. I needed a lot of stuff at the store. I swear I think we were out of everything. Somehow I only spent $140, though. So, that was awesome. You know what wasn’t awesome? Getting up to the checkout at Walmart, and being told I had to use self checkout becauase there would be no cashiers until 7. (30 minutes). Ummm…. Dude. Do you know how short those little self checkout counters are? And I had f*ing dogfood too. Holy crap. That sucked. I know I keep saying how much I hate shopping there and that I am finding somewhere else to shop. Seriously though, if having to check yourself out is the new thing, and prices dont DROP…. I really WILL be finding a different store. Not even kidding.
Thanks for reading.
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Monday, August 25, 2014
Meal Plan Monday – August 24th – 30th, 2014
Happy Monday, you guys!
Geeze, its been so long, Im not even sure what all to talk about in this post! So I will just say, I MISSED YOU… and…well…
Rest assured that this blog is being resurrected and I will be adding tons of new recipes, photos, giveaways and more! So make sure you subscribe to not miss any posts!
ANYWAY!!
So…
Our Meal plan for this week, Aug 24 – 30, 2014:
SUNDAY
Today needed to be an easy day because we had so much running to do this afternoon. Hamburger soup was “souper” easy! Souper. Do you see what I did there? haha. I cooked a double batch, hoping there would be enough left to freeze and we’d have a freezer meal. NOPE. Just checked the fridge and there is maybe enough for two bowls. LOL
- Hamburger Soup
MONDAY
We were talking the other day and reminiscing about childhood. We got to talking about our favorite foods and were both surprised to find out that we BOTH liked stuffed bell peppers! So, Stuffed bell peppers made the list.
- Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Loaded Texas Fries
TUESDAY
This is the girl childs FAVORITE meal, so, since she is such a picky eater – I needed to put in at least ONE MEAL I knew she would eat! haha
WEDNESDAY
- Teriyaki Pork Chops
- Rice
- Steamed broccoli and carrots
THURSDAY
- FEND FO YO SELF! (left over night)
FRIDAY
- Meatloaf
- Home-style Mashed Potatoes
- Corn on the cob
- green beans
- rolls
SATURDAY
We will probably grill this weekend! woohoo!!!!!!!!!
This was a really bad week for us grocery wise. We were out of so much stuff, we had a buggy and a half of stuff. Nearly $400 total.
My buggy was $210 and Jesse was pushing around sale items that would be good to stock up on, and his was $164. That’s SO MUCH MONEY! But, on the plus… we are finally getting food back into the deep freeze.
I am working on restocking my freezer and pantry, and once I have it where I want it, we are going to try the ONCE A MONTH COOKING to see if it helps our grocery bill or not. I have GOT to figure out how to carve this bill down, yall.
Anyway, thats our meal plan for the week! Let me know what your cooking plans are!
For tons of other Meal Plans, check out:
Friday, June 20, 2014
Starting back up soon!
Hey you guys! I know I haven’t updated this blog in a while (like almost a YEAR!). I’ll be back to updating soon! I’m trying to decide the direction I want to take this blog, and what types of posts to include, etc. I will begin posting again on a regular basis in July!
Until then, I wanted to share this ebook I found on FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY! If you follow my instagram at all, you know there are TWO things I like. Meh food and meh books! lol!
Anyway, here’s the book:
Thanks for keeping up with me! See you back in a couple of weeks!
~B
Monday, October 21, 2013
Meal Plan Monday–21 October, 2013
Hey guys, welcome to a new week! I have been so busy working on moving my website over from www.bunnycates.com to www.wearewordnerds.com that I really haven’t even thought about posting on this blog! The move is done though, so now it is time to work out “kinks” and get myself on some type of posting schedule. See, I even bought a date planner. All official like. 
Hopefully, I can get onto a good posting schedule for this blog. I am thinking Mon, Wed, and Fri… We’ll just have to see what happens. If there are any fun “weekly memes out there that you LOVE, let me know in the comments, please! If you are into books and reading and all that, make sure you subscribe to www.wearewordnerds.com That is my book site/blog.
As for this Monday, welp, how about my meal plan for the week. I’m going to try to start getting my grocery shopping DONE on Sunday, that way I can include a “what it costs” section to my plan, but I feel like poop today so that isn’t going to happen this week. I can tell you what I plan on cooking though!
Monday
- Beef stew (recipe on MarthaStewart.com)
- Rolls
Tuesday (Jesse is cooking)
Jesse keeps telling me how amazing of a cook he is. This week, I have decided to test that statement. He is beaming at the thought of me trying his “home made mac-n-cheese” because he *hates* “the boxed stuff”. Ok, Sir. Here is your chance, wow me.
- Pork Chops
- Black eyed peas
- Mashed Potatoes
- Home made Mac-n-cheese
- Rolls
Wednesday
- Frugal Chili (My Recipe here)
Thursday *new recipe night!*
One of the *perks* of getting divorced…. Getting to try new recipes! I found this one online, and am dying to try it! I love penne and I love LOVE spinach, so…
- Beefy Spinach Penne (Recipe on JoyfulHomemaking.com)
- Garlic Mozerella Toast
Friday
- Fend fo’ yo’self
Saturday
I have no idea what to cook this weekend. We’ve been being so busy on the weekends lately, that even planning for Fri & Sat at all seems like a waste of time. So I think this weekend, we’ll just be winging it and seeing what happens.
- UNDECIDED (wing it)
Sunday
Breakfast for dinner!
-
Biscuits
-
Sausage Gravy
-
Scrambled Eggs
-
Bacon
My grocery budget for this week is $180. I hope I can hit it because literally, that is all the money I have. LOL…. I am desperately trying to figure out how to get my weekly total DOWN, because my funds are so limited ATM. So if you have any tips, please share them!
Thanks for reading, guys.
~B
For more Meal Plans, check out:
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Throw back Thursday and being 40
Yesterday, I turned 40.
As for the day itself, it really just felt like any other day. I got TWO birthday cards this year. Yep, just two. And one of them was from Marlboro with cigarette coupons in it. I’m not a smoker. I felt like they were saying “Go ahead and smoke, Bunny. You’re so old now that you’ll be long gone before the cancer can take ya.”
Thanks Marlboro.
I blame facebook. Everyone says HAPPY BIRTHDAY on facebook, so they don’t have to put any thought into picking out a card that actually SAYS SOMETHING. I got a ton of Happy Birthday messages on the facebook and twitter. But that is all they said “Happy Birthday!”, Im sure that was copy and pasted to all the other birthday people listed on the friends list. So I just copied and pasted “THANK YOU!” in return.
It felt lonely.
I don’t think I look 40, but I definitely feel it. I feel old and run down. I imagine this is how crack heads or drunks feel. I feel dirty and like I haven’t had more than a few hours sleep in weeks. I have to stop moving to concentrate on anything. Rethink things to make sure I am thinking about them the right way. Reel myself in, when I start “blowing things out of proportion” or letting my imagination “fill in the blanks” to give me “worst case scenario”. I have serious trust issues and a whole slew of complicated things I can’t talk to anyone about yet.
No, I’m not going crazy. I am just tired. I’m officially OLD. And I am depressed.
My divorce STILL isn’t finalized. My ex, bless his heart, is such a douche. It disgusts me. I’m not even disgusted with HIM, I am disgusted with myself. How in the HELL did I convince myself he was a good man? How did I ever let myself live such a “lie”? It is really kind of sad. Now that I am out of that relationship, I can see how bad it was. When I was IN IT, though… That is just the “way it is” and it was acceptable- How it was “supposed” to be.
*sigh*
The day I filed for food stamps – my ex messaged me to tell me he was buying a house with the woman he cheated on me with. Really? I ate my pride and filed for food stamps, because without them- we cant get by….and he gets to buy a HOUSE with his girlfriend? REALLY?
That didn’t rub salt enough, I guess, because I got my first food stamps on Oct 8th. ($111 for the month for a family of 3, yeah….) On October 11th, he shorted me $110 in child support. Yep, that just happened. Apparently, food stamps aren’t to help us get by, they are to lessen the amount he pays.
I can’t wait to have this divorce DONE and all down in PAPERWORK, all nice and legal like. Binding.
Yesterday,my 40th birthday, was the first time in my LIFE that I wasn’t awoken between 6 – 7 am, by my Granny calling to wish me Happy Birthday.
Up until today, when I awoke and realized my Granny didn’t call me on my birthday, I felt like she wasn’t really sick with the Alz.
But Granny missed my birthday.
If you knew anything about my Gran, you would know she NEVER misses her babies birthdays. NEVER. It is just a given that if you are in our family – on your birthday, that annoying ass phone will ring LONG before you are ready to get up. And you will answer it, because you know it is Granny. Calling to tell you she loved you and didn’t forget your birthday. You will sit and talk on the phone for an hour. WIth your eyes closed, because you are so tired and not ready to get up. But that is Granny and you will not deny her being the first one to wish you happy birthday.
Yesterday, my phone didn’t ring. Not once.
Today, I know that the Alz is real. And as I type this with tears rolling down my cheeks, I miss my Granny more than anything. And I worry that someday, my kids or grandkids will be typing this exact same kind of post on a blog or whatever people do then, about me.
Happy birthday, Me. You are 40. You are now a grown up. And it sucks.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Review: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven
Item: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Plus
Purchase: available HERE
Price Range: $40 - $60
When I was asked to review this Pizzazz Plus Oven, I was so excited! I have wanted one of these ever since I saw one at Wal-Mart and just couldn’t make myself spend $60 on something to JUST cook pizza!
I got mine from cookware.com (linked above)
Shipping was fast! It wasn’t scheduled to be here until the 1st (expected delivery date), but it came yesterday (May 28, 2010). I was a little concerned because they didn’t “pack” it. They just shipped it Fed-Ex. See my shipping label? As you can see the box is a little beat up too…
When I opened it I couldn’t help feel excited. I really love that the manual was right there on top. No digging to find it!
Tonight, we decided to test it out on the kids FAVORITE Pizza… Literally. This stuff gets cooked at least twice a week in my house.
The oven comes in two pieces. The pan and the base.
To put it together you have to put this little groove thing ( below) onto the little peg thing on the base. Easy enough I reckon. However, don’t have it plugged in already! The thing automatically spins if the pan is on it and its plugged in. There is no way to turn the spinning off except to unplug it.
The cord is about as long as my coffee pots, so there is not a lot of moveability going on. The base is also pretty deep. It would not sit on my counter facing front, in front of my coffeepot. That’s why all these pics are from the side. Sorry.
Once its all together it looks like this. As you can see, its a pretty good sized pizza pan on there.
The diagram in the manual looks nothing like the actual oven, but the wording is clear enough you figure it all out.
I don’t like that there are no lights on the top or anything to let you know that its on. I mean it’s obvious its plugged up because the pan is spinning but there is no indicator that the heating elements are on…
The kids were absolutely fascinated by it and both my 9 yr old and my 13 yr old stood in the kitchen and watched their pizzas cook.
Sis even tried to figure out how it worked. Why doesn't the pizza just get cold again when its not under the cooker? hmmmmmmmmm….
Once its been on a few minutes you can see the red glow from the hot hot cooking element. Don’t touch!
Once the timer dings you take the pan off the base to get the motor to stop spinning.
Perfect crust! (below) There was also NO STICKING. I mean I tilted the pan and about dropped the pizza in the floor.
Then we cooked our second pizza. This one was the plain cheese Totinos plus extra toppings.
Cooked it PERFECT.
Again no sticking, the pizza just slid off the pan.
Cleaned the pan with a little soap and water and set it aside.
The crust is perfect. I really like that you can turn the bottom burner or the top burner off. So if I wanted say DARKER Crust but not to burn my cheese I could turn off the top burner toward the end…
As you can see from the manual, the Pizzazz is actually pretty versatile. Chicken nuggets, quesadillas, chessesticks. They aren’t listed but I’m even thinking French fries and chicken breasts.
chocolate chip cookies?! REALLY?!
I also love that they included a couple of recipes. Yes, that says pizza DOUGH. yay!
Before I close, I need to post 2 more cons…
One, the thing took FOR EVER to cool off. Really! An hour later and the base was still hot enough to the touch that I was scared to put it back in the box.
The other downside is storage. What am I going to do with it? I don’t have the counter space to leave it out and its too odd shaped to put into any of my cabinets unless I want to rearrange and give it its own cabinet. That’s not going to happen. I ended up putting it back in the box and putting it up on top of my pantry next to my expensive punch bowl set.
So for my complete pros and cons list:
I love that:
- it was pretty fast.
- Cleanup was almost non-existent!
- pizzas came out perfectly
- there was no mess, no pizza stuck to the pan, etc
- its open and on the counter so you can WATCH the pizza cook, and take it off as needed. No more accidently burnt edges!
- No preheating oven – cuts down on wait time and how hot the upstairs gets
- no bending over repeatedly to check the pizza. I have a bad back so this is a great perk for me.
- the kids were fascinated by it. Both ate their pizza with NO complaints. *first time for everything!*
- very hot to the touch. No kids unsupervised around this thing
- its big and bulky and storage is an issue
- the thing got hot and stayed hot for a long time after use
- It runs the entire time its plugged in if the pan is on it. This can't be good for the motor
- I also didnt like that you had to remove the pan to put the pizza on and then remove the pan to get the pizza off. I cooked two pizzas, and nearly dropped BOTH in the floor. I mean I never thought I would complain that something REALLY WAS non-stick, but the pan needs a lip on it or something.
What do YOU think about this cookware? Knowing my experience with it would you buy it? Have questions about this product or have something to add? Feel free to comment below!
| This review was originally posted on www.bunnycates.com in 2010. I wanted to repost some of my older “product” reviews to this new blog, especially the ones I thought would benefit SAHM, family life, etc… Just FYI: We still use and LOVE our Pizzazz, and its been nearly 4 years. |