Menu Plan by Brittany Here's what's for dinner at my house this week: Monday -- BBQ Chicken, Creamy Avocado Basil Pesto over Zucchini Noodles Tuesday -- Crock Pot Ribs, garlic green beans sauteed in coconut oil Wednesday -- Chicken skewers, Parmesan Roasted Zucchini (I just barbecue the zucchini and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.) Thursday -- Pork Chops, Cucumber, Tomato, Lemon, & Basil Salad, Mac n' Cheese Friday -- Hawaiian Haystacks over Perfect Brown Rice Saturday -- Wedding Reception Sunday -- Chicken Salad Find more great recipes on Frugal Living NW! Find more frugal homemaking posts here. Find past menu plans here. What are Keep Reading
What’s for dinner? This week’s menu plan (8/19)
What’s for dinner? This week’s gluten-free menu plan (8/12)
Menu Plan by Laurie Summer is flying by, and I am making the most of the last few weeks of my summer vacation. In other words, I am canning like a fool these days. Rain and cold will soon be upon us, and my little people sure do light up when we open a jar of home-canned fruit (see our Canning Guides for more!) on a long gray day. What does all this mean? In a nutshell, between the sunny hot August days and a stove full of boiling jars my house is much warmer than I prefer. So my solution is to use the kitchen as little as possible while still preparing good food highlighting the bounty that Pacific Northwest summers bring to us. Here's Keep Reading
Shutterfly: FREE 8×8 photo book (just pay shipping)
Get a FREE 20-page 8x8 photo book from Shutterfly. You will be charged about $8 for shipping and handling. Just click the "Get Started" link on this page. The offer is available through the end of September, but I suggest you add the code provided when you click the "Get Started" link NOW in case they get an overwhelming response and pull the codes. The code will sit in your account until you make the book, which can be anytime before the code expires. Be sure to check out Emily's review of Shutterfly books here. Thanks, Money Saving Mom! Keep Reading
Review of the 2013 Mazda CX-9
This is a review of the 2013 Mazda CX-9 by my husband, Will. My seven day review period went something like this… Day 1: I come home from work at lunch to find the “Niner” packed to the gills with car seats and Angela smiling, “I thought I could drive it for just one day <eyelash batting>?” Day 2: The mad rush to get kids to school and Angela off to a meeting immediately following leaves no time to switch car seats – another day shot. Day 3: The load of garbage I brought home from work in the back of our van I've been driving needs to be unloaded before I can put all the car seats back in it. One work stop after another, and the whole Keep Reading
What’s for dinner? This week’s menu plan (8/5)
This week I am focusing on simple meals. The beginning of our week is going to be packed, leaving little time to make dinner. And the end of our week, we'll be packing for a quick weekend trip. We'll be staying in a hotel with a kitchenette in our room, and my plan is to prep easy meals before we leave. So I'm looking for filling meal options that can be pulled together quickly. What are your simple go-to dinners (eating out doesn't count!)? Leave a comment! Here's what's for dinner at my house/hotel this week: Monday -- Quinoa Patties (using quinoa from the freezer), kale salad, fresh melon Tuesday -- Beans & Greens (using beans from the Keep Reading
Portland Parks & Rec: FREE summer activities
Are your kids complaining about being bored yet this summer? If you live in the Portland area, make sure you’re taking advantage of everything that Portland Parks & Recreation has to offer with their Summer Free for All program. The summer Playground in the Park program brings structured and supervised activities to many of the parks in Portland, and some even offer a nutritious lunch to kids ages 0 to 18 (no income requirements -- just show up at the specified time and all kids present get lunch!). There is also a climbing wall that travels around to different parks each week, so be sure and check the schedule to see when it will be at a Keep Reading
What’s for dinner? This week’s summer menu plan (7/29)
I love summertime, with its added heat and energy and outings. It feels like we are always coming or going, which is fine by me. We just returned from a quick weekend camping trip to an empty refrigerator and even emptier food budget. Thankfully our garden is producing a ton of great produce (broccoli, zucchini, kale, lettuce) right now. It is shaping up to be a delicious week. Here's what's for dinner at my house this week: Monday -- Quinoa Patties, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Kale Salad Tuesday -- Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche, No-Knead Bread, green salads Wednesday -- Black Beans & Rice, Green Juice Thursday -- Dinner with Keep Reading