Meal Plan Monday is back again! This will be a short one, folks. We are venturing off to the Big Apple for a few days while the kiddos are on spring break. I can't wait! The kids haven't been to NYC, so we are taking the train up and visiting some of the iconic sites...not to mention getting to see some of my college buddies. Yeah!! smile emoticon

Monday - Lemon Chicken, Rice Pilaf, mandarin salad
Tuesday - "pick your poison" aka clean out the fridge wink emoticon
Wed - Fri - NYC, baby!
Saturday - Hot dogs/mac and cheese/raw veggies for little kiddos; egg sandwiches for big kiddos, aka adults  smile emoticon
Sunday - Hoppy Easter!
Easter Brunch --
egg casserole
peach french toast
bacon/sausage
asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
oven fries
sour cream coffee cake
vanilla bean scones 
...and the boys picked ice cream cake and cookies for dessert...who am I to say no wink emoticon

Have a great week ahead!!

Happy Friday, friends!! Here is a Friday treat for you!! Buckeye Bark!! If you are a fan of the Buckeye (wahoo Ohio State!!), you will be happy with this recipe! Peanut butter and chocolate goodness! First pic is the Buckeye Bark I made - I will say that only 2 out of the 3 layers *really* stuck together. For the chocolate pieces that didn't stick, I just pressed on the peanut butter part on and that worked okay. The 2nd pic is the chocolate that I used (I actually used the milk chocolate variety, the white chocolate variety is in the pic) - I have fallen in love with this almond bark. Contrary to it's name, it doesn't taste like almonds, but it melts SO incredibly smooth. You could use it for just about any kind of bark or for dipping needs (fruit, cake pops, etc). Happy Friday all!! smile emoticon

http://www.livesigmakappa.com/2011/12/06/buckeye-bark/

If you are looking for some tasty cookie creations to add to your religious celebration...check out these sugar cookie crosses. I made them for my son's First Holy Communion, but could easily be used for a baptism as well.

{review} The other night I made the {Slow Cooker} Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes -- I thought they were pretty good. 3 out of 4 of us liked the flavor, however the smell coming from the crock pot was not the best. I would give them an B-. I think - if there was a next time - I would add the bacon in last (although cooked extra crispy, it got mushy) and definitely top with extra cheese and fresh green onions. ...back to the drawing board at this was a trial run of one of the recipes for W's 1st Holy Communion

Tips and Tricks Tuesday! Ok - so have you and your loved one ever fought over the corners of the brownies?? Not that I am speaking from experience or anything... wink emoticon ....but, I got one of these pans, and look, everyone gets a brownie with corners! How awesome is this?!?! I also am a huge fan of the Ghiradelli brownie mix. You can pick this box up at Costco and there are 6 bags of mix in there! I love it!

Meal Plan Monday is here again! Anyone else wrapped up in the NCAA tournament?? I went to Villanova, so got sucked in this year from the beginning when they were rocking their conference! Sooo bummed about last night....but I digress....here's what will be on our table this week...

 

Monday - Hamburgers, {crock pot} potatoes (http://damndelicious.net/…/slow-cooker-cheesy-bacon-ranch-…/), raw veggies and dip (hamburger recipe -- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/juiciest-hamburgers-ever/ I do not use evaporated milk..but sub in regular milk)

Tuesday - Italian Chicken Casserole, garlic bread, salad (Chicken recipe - http://www.shugarysweets.com/20…/…/italian-chicken-casserole I may throw in prosciutto to add some extra flavor)

Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Mandarin Orange/Almond salad

Thursday - Baked Chicken Fajitas and toppings

Friday - Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders (these got pushed from the following week), potato wedges, and raw veggies and dip

Saturday - Heavy Appetizers and Desserts with friends. I have the pleasure of making the desserts for two events this weekend. We will be enjoying:
*Meyer Lemon mini bundt cakes with Vanilla Bean Icing (http://foxeslovelemons.com/meyer-lemon-bundt-cake-vanilla-…/)
*Buckeye Bark (http://www.livesigmakappa.com/2011/12/06/buckeye-bark/)
*Bailey's Brownies with Irish Whiskey Ganache (http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/…/baileys-brownies-with…)
*Almond Shortbread Bars

Sunday - Lasagna, Garlic bread, and salad

Have a wonderful week ahead!!)

Happy Thursday, friends!! Today is one of my most favorite days of the year...my birthday! My family laughs, but I love celebrating my big day.  wink emoticon I wanted to share a special birthday present that I got this year....http://www.amazon.com/Homemakers-Domestic-Han…/…/ref=sr_1_1…. 

It is a really neat book that captured me from the 'get go'.  Brit Morin is a 21st century crafter...a girl after my own heart! Thank you @Kurt and @Kim for such a thoughtful gift! If you have a 2nd, check this out -- from beginning cooking skills and basic "must have" recipes, to decorating tips to basic fashion advice to working out, Brit offers simple and modern ideas for the times. Well worth the read!

Homemakers: A Domestic Handbook for the Digital Generation

From “Silicon Valley’s Martha Stewart” comes a new manifesto for the modern homemaker in the digital age.Over the past three generations, the rules of...

AMAZON.COM

Hello Thursday! Hopefully, you are reading this from somewhere warm. smile emoticonWe had a streak of a few nice days, and now tomorrow (technically spring), we are supposed to get SNOW! Yes - 1-3" of that fluffy white stuff that just won't go away! Here's the funny part -- I used to LOVE the snow. When it meant no school and I could hit the slopes, I was a huge fan. Now it just means being cold, shoveling and dressing little people in and out of snow gear. Anyway - I had planned to bake "watermelon" cupcakes for Bake Sale Friday thinking it would be in the 50s and "spring" like. I guess the joke is on me. Lol! Well, here are the cupcakes...maybe they will help the kids think spring. smile emoticon

(For the pics - wanted to show you the dyes I love using - Wilton gels; just made a regular vanilla cake then dyed it and added mini chocolate chips; the finished product!)

Just looked at my calendar the other day and realized that Easter is just over 2 weeks away! Wow! Guess this bunny needs to get moving! I'll keep you posted on what's on the Easter brunch menu...but wanted to show you a cute Easter dessert a friend ordered. I was so excited with these... smile emoticon