Martha's So-Called Life

the return of the weekly menu

This week after traveling, eating junk, and having no food in our fridge, it's time for the meal plan to make an appearance again.  

I'm starting a M-F job and although I get off early enough to go grocery shooping on weekdays, I will no longer have enough time during the week to wing it when it comes to dinner.  

I'm listing everything here, but there's also a downloadable version at the bottom of the post if you want to be able to print out all the recipes at once.  I also included links on the printable versions for reference purposes. 

I did not include a shopping list.  I make my shopping list by writing down everything that each recipe calls for and then going through and crossing off the things I find in the kitchen.  Super simple and pretty fast if you have a vague idea of what you do and don't have.

I only made this menu for five days, mostly out of sheer laziness.  I was thinking about cooking some kind of roast over the weekend to have for dinner and then have leftovers for breakfast hash during the week.  Otherwise we will likely eat whatever leftovers are leftover over the weekend.  

Monday: Puerto Rican Beef + Mashed SP

Tuesday: Crockpost Chicken Carnitas + greens + SP

Wednesday: Bang Bang Shrimp + zucchini noodles

Thursday: Butter Chicken + cauli rice + greens

Friday: Chocolate Chili (made with 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey)

Download this menu

home again, home again...jiggety jig

I'm finally done with an epic two months of traveling.  Despite the fact that my house is a disaster, my dog thinks I don't love her anymore, and I haven't been home long enough to actually unpack my suitcase since October 1...it was totally worth it.  Adventures are always a good idea.  

That being said, it's good to be home.  I'm starting my new job on Monday and it will be nice to settle into a new routine since the old one has been pretty much forgotten.  I have just enough time between now and then to unpack, do laundry, try out my new skates (more on that later), make a menu (more on that too), go grocery shopping, and do a little meal prep for the week (five days of working...ack!).  

 

over the river

We've gone over the river and through the woods to my grandma's house in Chicago for the week.  Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving and drama free family time!

 

grain-free granola by larabar

I hesitate to tell anyone about this stuff because then you'll all go to Costco and buy it and then they'll be out and I will never be able to find it again (as always seems to happen with all things good at Costco), but I'm going to take one for the team and share anyway.

This stuff is amazing!  Like the traditional Larabar, it has real ingredients and nothing you can't pronounce listed in the ingredients list.  The Cinnamon Nut flavor has almonds, sunflower seeds, molasses, pumpkin seeds, pecans, raisins, cashews, tapioca syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla.  That's it!  And it's. so. good.

So far I have eaten it by the handful, with yogurt, and with almond milk (just as I would do with regular granola).  Obviously my favorite flavor is Cocoa Coconut (duh! chocolate!), and I have to restrain myself so I don't eat the whole box in one day!

This stuff has my seal of approval! 

website facelift

Hello friends! 

Those of you who are regular blog readers probably don't visit my homepage very often.  It's generally the web address I give out since it's much shorter than the URL to my blog, but it's been severely lacking and did not serve its purpose well.  I spent a few hours flexing my HTML/CSS muscles and tidying it up a bit...

It kind of felt like sweeping the floors.  Not a whole lot of effort to make a huge difference!  There is still more I want to do (there's always more), but I'm pretty happy with it for now.  

october & november book report

Some how October (and most of November) got away from me...I guess that's what happens when you are a traveling fool! There were some good reads packed into these last couple of months.  In fact, I think there are more than what I've listed below, but my recall isn't particularly great right now so they will have to go unmentioned for now. 

Incendiary by Chris Cleave // A few years ago, The Little Bee was recommended to me by a friend and I loved it.  While I was in the San Antonio airport waiting for my flight home at the beginning of October, I ran across this earlier work by the same author.  I bought it on a whim and read almost the entire thing on the flight home.  

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan // This book was much better than I expected it to be...and I think there will be a sequel at some point.  Rich Asians getting into and causing trouble, family drama, and some humor.  All the makings of an entertaining read!

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith // I read the first couple No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books a couple of years ago and found them entertaining.  They were quick reads and had good stories.  I didn't like this one as much as the first two, but I'm not sure why.  I just wasn't into the story.  I still plan on reading more in this series because I'm hopeful that most of them are as good as the first two books.  

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes // This book is exactly as advertised Mean Girls meets the Perks of Being a Wallflower."  Although it's not quite as funny as Mean Girls, and not quite as good The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  It was a pretty good book, but by the end I kind of stopped caring about the main character.  That happens to me sometimes.  Overall it was a good book.  

Night Film by Marisha Pessl // I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was not at all what I got.  This book was creepy, a little bit scary, kind of messed up, but really good.  Not something that I recommend reading while in the dark or alone.  I had to read a couple of chapters of other things prior to going to sleep while reading this one...

A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout // A memoir about a woman whose love of adventure and travel led her to Somalia, and then fifteen months of captivity.  Definitely not a light read, although the first few chapters read more like a novel than a memoir.  

still vacationing

I'm still on vacation.  The cruise was great and now I'm enjoying lying on the beach with the girls...rough life.  I know.