101 Things in 1001 Days March 2012 Update

For this month I read a lot, so most of the progress made on my list was in the reading related ones.
#89 - Read the new Brian Selznyck book (Wonderstruck) - done
#90 - Blog 15 books for BookSneeze - 1 done (I am Second)
#7 - Go for 1 overnight with Jim without the kids - done (Jim was asked to judge a concert band contest in Columbus, IN. We got someone to stay with the boys and left on a Friday morning so we could walk around Nashville, IN before heading to the hotel in Columbus.)
#76 - Go back to Brown County, IN - done (Since Jim and I spent one day of our honeymoon walking around in Nashville, IN, it was really nice to go back there again.
#25 Write in personal journal- 9 entries added - new total 14/143 entries done.
#26 - Update Bookworm blog - 1 entry added - new total 3/70 entries done.
#27- Update Homekeeping blog - 6 posts added - new total 17/286 entries done.
#78 Read 25 juvy books - 5 read - new total - 7/25
#79 Read 15 y/a books - 2 read
#80 Read 50 fiction books - 3 read - new total - 5/50
#81 Read 50 nonfiction books - 5 read - new total - 7/50
#82 Try new recipes - 8 tried - new total - 25/ 143

Road Trip Snacks

We are leaving for a short road trip tomorrow to go see my husband's father. This means a 3.5 hour drive. Usually before going on any road trip I stock up on snack foods such as fruit snacks, toaster pastries, granola bars, etc. This time I planned to make my own snacks for us to take and did attempt a couple of snacks this afternoon but they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. At 9:00 pm with several things still to do to get ready to leave tomorrow, I was about to head to the store for road food when I stopped and thought about what I already had in the kitchen. I then pulled out a box of zip top snack bags and got busy. As a result we have plenty of good snacks packed as well as items that can be used for lunches. Using what I already had on hand, here is our list of road trip snacks:
Pretzels
Chocolate animal crackers
Dry cereal
Raisins
Clementines
Bananas
Sandwich crackers
Bottled water
Apples
Graham crackers with peanut butter



Stopping to think and use what I already had instead of making a last minute dash to the store saved time and money and resulted in healthier snacks for my family than the processed

Real Food for Working Moms -Fish Sticks & Chicken Strips

I can't remember the last time I bought a bag or box of frozen chicken strips or chicken nuggets. I have discovered that it isn't hard to make my own that taste better and are better for us to eat. I keep bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders in the freezer. When we want chicken strips, I pull out a few pieces of the frozen chicken, defrost them in the microwave, and get to work. If I am using the chicken tenders, I just leave them whole. If I am using whole chicken breasts, I cut them into strips or chunks. I then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. I put some flour mixedwith salt & ppper in one bowl and 2 0r 3 beaten eggs in another bowl. I then mix some bread crumbs, cornmeal, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a third bowl or in a gallon sized plastic storage bag. The chicken pieces get rolled in the flour, dipped in the egg, and coated with the bread crumb mixture. I then spread the pices on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping the pieces halfway through the cooking time. Easy! These are good as is or served with barbecue or honey mustard dip.

This past week I decided to try making fish sticks for the first time. The process is sinilar to the one used for the chicken. I started with frozen fish filets that had defrosted in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. I preheated the oven to 425 degrees and sprayed a cookie aheet. I then cut the fish fillets into strips, coated them with flour, beaten egg, and a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt & pepper and baked them for 20 minutes. I served them with a mixture of mayonnaise & pickle relish to dip the sticks in. My boys loved these!

Now, no more frozen fish sticks or chicken strips, I can make my own!

Menu Plan March 13-23, 2012

After going through a few weeks (again) of eating more take-out and convenience foods than I want to think about, I'm back on track with cooking more from scratch and fixing more real food. With baseball season coming up, I am planning for leftovers that can be frozen for the busy nights so we don't end up living on burgers at the ballpark all spring. Here's the plan for the nex two weeks (already in progress):
Breakfasts: peanut butter granola, cinnamon raisin bars, cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, brown sugar banana oatmeal, slow cooker apple cinnamon oatmeal

Lunches: some school lunches for the guys, sandwiches (peanut butter, tuna, chicken, turkey), carrots, grapes, apples, Cuties (mandarins), bananas, pretzels, peanut butter crackers, pudding,
Supper leftovers

Suppers: Homemade fish sticks, green beans, roated potatoes & sweet potatoes, apple sauce
Scallops & veggie stir fry, snap pea crisps, pineapple, roasted carrots
Potato egg & cheese tacos, oranges, applesauce
Individual veggie pizzas, steamed vegetable medley
Breakfast for supper (cinnamon pancakes, eggs, turkey bacon, fruit)
Sunshine chicken (from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook), baked potatoes, steamed snap peas
Potato soup with ground turkey
Slow cooked chicken with applesauce, noodles, green beans, pineapple
Leftovers.
Salsa & black bean chicken burritos, applesauce, carrots
Turkey burgers, homemade fries, blackberries

Snacks: anything from the lunch list, skinny monkey cookies, maple oat bread, pumpkin bread, honey milk balls, chocolate granola, oatmeal bars

52 Week Savings Challenge - Weeks 9 & 10

I am keeping up with the challenge although I haven't been blogging about it. For weeks 9& 10 I put a total of $20 in our trip jar. As I progress through this challenge I will begin putting more of the money I am saving each week into our savings account at the bank.

101 in 1001 Days - Feb. 2012 Progress

Here is the progress on my 101 things list for Feb.
#25 Added 3 more entries to my personal journal - new total 5/143.
# 26 Added 2 entries to my Bookworm blog - new total 2/70.
# 27 Added 4 entries to my Homekeeping blog - new total 11/286.
# 53 We got our new kitty fixed.
# 78 Read 1 more juvenile fiction book - new total 2/25.
# 89 Read 1 more nonfiction book - new total 2/50.
#82 Tried12 new recipes - new total 17/143.
#83 Made 2 more meal plans - new total 4/72.
#65 Finish the RTI class I was taking to renew my teaching license.
#1 Read through the Bible in The Message version - Nehemiah done.
#66 Finish the diverse learners class I was taking.

It is a huge relief to have numbers 65 & 66 done!