Bittersweet Memories.

Can't sleep. It's a killer combination of James leaving in the morning and not returning until Friday and a weird ball of emotions. I'm missing my boys. My canine boys. 

We took Molly to the dog park at Shawnee Mission Park today. The last time we were there, we had 3 dogs. Neither James nor I were expecting those memories to smack us in the face, so, there's that. It was a great trip for Molly though. She loves running, playing and exploring. This trip was the most well-behaved she's been off leash yet; she'd run and then stop to watch us catch up or she'd come back and walk with us. Mo Mo truly has done a 180 in some aspects in the behavior department. The best part for her, and for us, was the lake. Girl looooooooves to swim.

Little Princess Molly even got to ride shotgun on the way home... She hasn't become spoiled at all. 

It's hard building new memories with just one pup pup. I guess the moment that I'm having the most trouble with from today is when I had been walking backward talking to Jackson and I turned around right into the butt of a dog with fur JUST like Eddie's. Color. Texture. Length. My heart stopped. And then it broke again. 

They were my kids. They'll always have a special place in this Momma's heart. 

I needed this. ❤️ 

September 5 - September 11

I typically try to plan my grocery lists for Thursday/Friday to Tuesday/Wednesday. The ad changes weekly on Wednesday so I like to stay as close to that as possible. I don't always manage that... But it's a good rule of thumb. 

This week's menu will be shopped tomorrow (9/5) and planned to hopefully last until Thursday 9/11. James is out of town so it will just be the boys and I... I don't cook as much when he's gone :/. Anyway, we'll be finishing leftovers on Friday and possibly even more leftovers to clear out the refrigerator on Saturday. I bet it will be a frozen pizza kind of day on Sunday. Ain't no shame in that!!!!!!!!!! 

On my menu this week: 

Turkey Zucchini Meatballs 

http://www.kimshealthyeats.com/turkey-zucchini-meatballs/

These sound amazing. Ground turkey is $1.99 on average so you can make double and freeze them but still only manage to pay very little. That's most likely what I'll do. A little extra work now and they're ready for a crazy night when there's little time or energy to cook :)!! Great weekend prep recipe! 

I'll probably make noodles and sauce for the boys too. Prego is on sale this week. 

I think I'll make roasted Brussels sprouts and garlic aioli to go with them {1/2 cup mayo, 1 clove minced garlic, little fresh lemon juice, pepper and maybe a pinch of kosher salt. Easy peasy}

Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese & Arugula Paninis 

http://bsinthekitchen.com/beet-arugula-goat-cheese-grilled-cheese/

Hey! James is out of town. Why NOT make a sandwich with 2 of the things he seriously dislikes?!? While the cat's away... I'll eat beets and goat cheese. Maybe some fresh strawberries too. With balsamic glaze {Hy-Vee has a brand of pre-made glaze. Less work. Super delish}. I'm drooling 😍. 

Hemp Crusted Baked Chicken Tenders 

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/hemp-crusted-baked-chicken-tenders-recipe/

I am always looking for something new and different when it comes to chicken. I also don't like to rely on bread 100% of the time. I've done this with almond meal and coconut flour too. You don't need to shop anywhere special for hemp seed either. Not sure if Lee's Summit 2 {Ward Road} has a bulk section in their health market but Lee's Summit 1 {Rice Road} and Independence 1 {23rd Street} do. If you can't get it bulk, I'm sure they have a packaged version on the shelves. The Health Market brand also has an almond flour now that is just what you need. It's $8.99-10.99, I can't remember. A small investment as far as flour is concerned but I personally use it often... Which means you might need to now too...right?!? 

... Not feeling like going through the trouble? That's fine. Replace hemp seed and almond meal for regular flour {eh, a cup or 2. No need to actually measure it}. Season well with kosher salt and pepper. Garlic and onion powder too if you're feeling flavorful. Bake as instructed in recipe. 

I'll probably eat a salad and the rest of the Brussels sprouts with it. Maybe fries. Who knows. Not me right now. Lol. I do need to buy ketchup. Someone remind me to buy ketchup. Thanks ;). 

Here's my favorite lettuce mix for Salads. Earthbound Farm Organic's Kale Italia. 

Split chicken breasts are also on sale this week. Yes, that means you have to remove the breast from the bone. NO, it is NOT hard. I went through the trouble of finding a video for you too. Aren't I just so nice? The answer is yes. Lol http://m.youtube.com/watch?autoplay=1&v=r4r23trlLoY. It's not too hard. I usually buy lots when it's on sale and do this one whole day. That way I have lots of frozen chicken.  

Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Carbonara 

http://foodie-place.blogspot.com/2014/08/roasted-asparagus-and-mushroom-carbonara.html

Nobody can beat a carbonara. Nobody. Me + pasta = LOVE. Not sure that I'll really do much else with this. Maybe toasted French bread rubbed with a clove of garlic. Bruschetta topping too? And wine. Definitely wine. 

DONT BUY PRE-SLICED MUSHROOMS. DONT WASH THEM. Pre-sliced mushrooms are soggier and have more water which causes your dishes to be runny. Also why you don't wash them. Just brush the dirt off with a dry paper towel. And use the stem; trim the rough looking part off if it makes your little heart feel better. 

I have some good tips & suggestions for the 'woody' parts of the asparagus too. 

*~*~*~*~*

Well, I think I'm going to call that good as far as my menu goes. We typically don't eat at home one or two nights while Daddy's away. Don't want to over do it & buy too much food. 

GREAT DEALS THIS WEEK: 

2-Day Sale: Buy $25 in meat & save $.15 off per gallon. Buy $50 & save $.30... Etc. 

Driscolls raspberries 

Split chicken breasts  $.98/lb

Hy-Vee sugar $.99 

Hy-Vee graham crackers 2/$4 with $.02 Fuel Saver {we eat a lot of these, well, the boys do.} 

Caiti's Back... ALRIGHT!!!

Oh look. I haven't even taken a look at this thing since March 13, 2014. Call me crazy but I have a hard time posting about our day-to-day... We aren't exciting enough for that. Even though I don't want this to be all about food 100% of the time, it's looking and sounding like that's where people want me to focus. I'll try to balance it all out... You know, post equally about my kids, dog, cats, husband and food. Lol. 

Jessica and I have created a shareable Pinterest food board {if you don't follow Jessica, you should. She created the board!}. We'd LOVE for you to share your food pins with us too. I generally always use a recipe as a guide and change it as needed, or as I want to {especially when it comes to garlic. How dare someone create something without it!!!!} I'll use those pins in my weekly posts. Caution: we love salads. Hope you like salad ;). That's the only thing I don't try to change up every week. Feel free to eat them 3-5 nights a week with us, or make your own damn list ;). We aren't always exciting in our food lives. 

My goal is to, once again, share my weekly menu plans and we can all make our lists from there. We don't all have the same sized family nor do you need all of the things that I need to feed two small kids, a husaband and myself daily... We eat a LOT... :). 

I always use Hy-Vee's weekly ad. Here are a few great 'how to' articles about grocery ads. If you aren't as OCD as I am and don't ever pay attention to ,or work for, your grocery store's "regular" prices, you won't always be able to point out a true sale. These tips should help you more than I can :)... 

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-truth-about-grocery-store-flyers/

 http://m.wikihow.com/Read-Store-Circulars

I also take the Fuel Saver ad into consideration when purchasing groceries as well. James' store just so happens to have almost, or so it feels, everything on their fuel saver program. I bought 8 gallons of gas for $.08 the other day... EIGHT CENTS!!! It's worth it people, so worth it!! Pay attention though. That $.02 off/gallon C&H sugar could still end up costing you more than the store brand. Do the math. Extra seconds save you money. And I suck at math. I promise... YOU CAN DO IT!!! ... Especially if you have a calculator on your phone. Lol