Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Menu Plan Monday 09/23/13 to 09/29/13


Another week has gone by and I haven't disappeared off the face of the blogosphere.... as of yet.  I actually feel pretty accomplished this week that I've actually managed to post something that I had meant to post (Orange Glad Review), as well as I'm posting my menu plan at the beginning of the week (Tuesday is still the beginning of the week, sort of ☺).  This week we have a lot going on.  There's the school's open house, parents coming over for dinner, appointments to be kept, as well as most important of all... Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is out on Friday.  Dinner's this week are going to be fairly quick and to the point.  Here's what we've got cooking.

Monday
Leftovers
 
Tuesday
Chicken Pitas
Fresh Fruit
 
Wednesday
Tortilla Soup
Chips
 
Thursday
Meatball Buns
Noodles with Marinara Sauce
Salad

Friday
Tacos
Refried Beans
Rice

Saturday
Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Salad

Sunday
Leftovers

Need help with ideas still?  Check out tons of other gals menu plans at Laura's Menu Plan Monday.  You're sure to find something that will spark some creative dinner ideas!

So what's cooking at your place?  Do you have certain dishes that are go to meals when you are busy?

Friday, September 20, 2013

Orange Glad - September 2013 Unboxing

Recently, I've become slightly addicted to monthly subscription services.  I actually receive three of them at this point, although the Orange Glad Dessert Subscription is really on a trial basis at this point, this is the first month I've received it. 
 
Orange Glad is an organization that just recently began.  September is only their third month that they've been in business.  Orange Glad is a company that had a brilliant idea to deliver delicious confections to people's doorsteps.  The idea of home delivery, while not revolutionary (tons of companies deliver stuff to people's houses all the time), has been taken to the next level when they brought about the idea of delectable treats being delivered without having to get up off the couch to pick them up.  Absolutely brilliant in my opinion.

Anyways, as I stated before, September is sort of a trial month for me with this new confectionery treat box thing.  I thought I would give it a whirl, since I love sweets.  This month's theme was "cookies." 

The box arrived within a day or two of receiving the email from Orange Glad indicating it had shipped.  It came in a Priority Mail package that was stamped "Fragile:  I'm Perishable Keep Me in Shade."

 
Once opened, the goods were wrapped in tissue paper and confetti, as well as it had an ice pack in there to keep the items that could melt (chocolate) from doing just that.
 
 
Here's what arrived in the box:
 

Kelly's Kookies:  Chocolate Dipped Macadamia Shortbread
 
This was honestly probably the tastiest shortbread cookie I have ever eaten.  It was melt in your mouth good.  It had butter overtones with just the right amount of chopped macadamia nuts.  The chocolate just completed the cookie.  This was definitely my favorite item out of the box.  This is an item I would purchase again.
 

 
Cinderella Cakes:  Oreo Cookie Cake Push Pop
 
While I love the idea of a push pop with cake and frosting type fillings in it (completely could eat and do other stuff without sticky cake fingers...), I was not so impressed by the execution of this particular item.  The chocolate cake portion of it was okay, the cake was moist and tasted like your basic run of the mill chocolate cake.  The Oreo buttercream was not my cup of tea though.  It had a strong smell, sort of like fake vanilla extract?  It also had a slightly off flavor, compared to what I would expect an Oreo buttercream to taste like.  I was not impressed with this particular item.
 


Cinderella Cakes:  Lemon Sugar Cookie
 
This is another item I was not incredibly impressed with.  While the item itself had okay flavor, it wouldn't be what I would expect if I was purchasing an item from a bakery.  Neither the cookie or the frosting had a tart lemony taste.  It was a very neutral lemon flavor.  The outside of the cookie was touted as being slightly crispy with a chewy middle.  I found that the cookie wasn't particularly chewy, regardless of whether it was the middle or outside of the treat.  This item wasn't bad, it just wasn't something I would go out of my way to purchase on it's own either.
 

Modern Bite:  Designer Chai and Almond Spice Cookies
 
The Designer Chai and Almond Spice Cookies were a pleasant addition to the box.  Per the information card that came with the box, they can be custom designed or have a logo added to the top of the cookie to match whatever occasion you are celebrating.  The flavor on these were perfect.  The chai and almond spice flavors had just the right amount of presence in the cookies to make them a delicious addition to any cookie platter.  This is an item I would purchase again.
 
JJ Bakery:  Almond Nougat
 
While the fifth item that was supposed to be in the box was an almond nougat, this particular item was missing from the box.  I did contact the customer support from Orange Glad and I was pleased to see that they were very quick about responding to the issue.  They have emailed me already and indicated that they would be mailing the missing nougat to me promptly.  As I am writing this, I haven't received the lost nougat yet, but I have confidence that it is going to be arriving any day now.
 
 
Overall at this point, I am not overly impressed with the Orange Glad box.  While I very much enjoyed receiving sweets in the mail, I really was only impressed by one of the four I actually received.  The box is normally $15/month plus shipping, so I'm not sure each item in the box was worth, flavor wise, about $4 (taking into account the shipping, and the item I did not receive).   
 
I'm thinking maybe I'll give them one more chance to impress me.  They did have great customer service (Thanks Angela from Orange Glad Support...heehee she had the same name as me), and sometimes these subscription type services have a down month.  The first two months they've been around, the snacks looked delicious...so possibly month four will be better than month three.
 
Here's hoping October is more impressive than September.
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

10 Days

As some of you may or may not know, I am eagerly counting down the days until the release of the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2."  Not counting today..... there are only 10 days left!!!!!


Not sure what exactly this movie has in store for you?  Well... it has
 
 
Baked potato hippos
 
 
Mosquitoast
 
 
Berry the Strawberry... and so much more.
 
My kids and I are ready for this epic movie to be out already.  Only 10 days left.... until the wait is over.
 

Monday, September 16, 2013

Menu Plan Monday 09/16/13 to 09/22/13


So it's been awhile since I've even logged on to my blog here and posted anything... not necessarily out of lack of desire, but things have been a little crazy in my little corner of the world here lately.  So back in late February/Early March when I last posted, I had been working on my son's bedroom, beginning a new job position, and a ton of other projects I had going on around the house.  At this point, while some of those things have simmered down (my son's room is completed), other's have picked up in their places.

Since my last posting, I actually have returned to my old position that I had with my company.  While I enjoyed trying out the new venture, I felt that it just wasn't a good fit for me, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to return to the position I had originally had with the company.  It has been almost three months since I've returned back and it has been incredibly busy, but it's been great to be back.

Other things that have been happening are of course wedding plans that are gearing up to be finalized (only about a month and a half till my little brother gets married), a baby shower is being planned (only about a month and a half and my bestie April has her first baby!!!!), tons of family will be in town soon, as well as the kids have been back in school the past month so things have been busy on that front as well. 

While you would think that since I have so much going on, now would be the time to shrink from my blogging, a friend at work, who apparently actually reads what I write on here, said something the other day about not posting in forever... and I realized, it has been a long time and thought maybe it's time to get back into the swing of things, particularly with the structure of the kids being back in school.

So there you have it... a short summary of the past half year and what I've been up to.  Of course due to this hectic schedule, I've of course been keeping up on the whole weekly menu planning thing.  I can't stress enough how helpful it is to come home from work and just know what is going to be made for dinner already.  Here's the plan for this next upcoming week:

Monday
Grilled Bratwursts
Fruit or Salad on the side
 
Tuesday
Homemade Pizza
 
Wednesday
Crockpot Sweet Potato Chili
Homemade Corn Bread
 
Thursday
Chicken Fajitas
Refried Beans
Rice
 
Friday
Leftovers
 
Saturday
Slow Cooker Bacon Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken
Baked Beans
Vegetables
 
Sunday
Leftovers
 
So what is your family having for dinner?  Do you make a plan, or just make something on a whim last minute?  For more ideas on how to answer the ever present question (at least from my kids) "What's for dinner?", check out Laura's Menu Plan Monday at her blog.  She's got some great ideas along with a handful of other gals who have some tasty dishes planned for the week!