Menu Planning - Week 22

Here's our menu plan for the rest of this upcoming week .....

5.31.11 - Mission Dinner with Team-in-Training @ Carolina Wings
6.1.11 - Freezer Meal from Supper Swap
6.2.11 - Sandwiches, Salads, Leftovers
6.3.11 - Grilling Out

We've been eating a TON of great food on our trip, but I'll be happy to get back home and eat some lighter fare.  We are so excited to celebrate with our friends Christian & Stephanie tonight as they begin the adventure of marriage!   Happy wedding day y'all!

Zpizza fundraiser!

As you know, I'm training for the Rock'N'Roll Savannah Half-Marathon and racing for a cure with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team-in-Training. 

Join us for lunch or dinner on Wednesday, June 15th at Zpizza of Columbia, SC OR Lexington, SC! Just mention our code word "TEAM-IN-TRAINING" and 25% of your total sale will be donated toward our fundraising goals! 

The goal of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is to find a cure for blood cancers, and you can know that your money is going toward a great cause. Plus, you have to eat lunch or dinner anyway, right?

Need another great reason to go? On Wednesday night, KIDS EAT FREE! Take-out counts, too, so grab something for lunch or dinner on the go!

So, come on out and help us ROCK'N'ROLL toward a cancer cure!

Menu Planning - Week 21

Our week is sort of jam packed, so this is a tentative plan, but could definitely change at any minute.... we shall see how it goes!  We're coming up on a holiday weekend and we have a wedding, so this week includes a few extra days.

5.21.11 - Babysitting my sweet nephew, eating leftovers at their house :)
5.22.11 - Grilling out
5.23.11 - Pasta w/ Italian Sausage (never got to make it last week)
5.24.11 - Freezer Meal from Supper Swap
5.25.11 - Leftovers/Sandwiches/Etc.
5.26.11 - Chicago!
5.27.11 - Holland, MI
5.28.11 - Christian & Stephanie's Rehearsal Dinner
5.29.11 - Christian & Stephanie's WEDDING!!!
5.30.11 - Memorial Day - dinner on the road home

For those of you who are interested, we had our first TNT group-run this morning and I ran 4 miles!  It definitely was hard, but I'm excited to continue with our training and prepare for the Savannah half marathon.  I'm going to be working hard on running and fundraising, so follow my progress over on my fundraising site.

Hope you have a great week and a wonderful long weekend if you get one!

Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot

When we started our supper swap group, I knew that we couldn't eat casseroles all the time.  First of all, there are only two of us.  Second of all, we can't afford a whole new wardrobe for expanding bellies!  While I've made lots of yummy casseroles, I've also scoured the internet for good meals that can be frozen, thawed, and dumped in the crockpot for an easy dinner.  One of my favorites has been these Saucy Pork Chops.

Only 5 ingredients!
6-8 thinly sliced pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 dry onion soup packet
1 tsp parsley flakes

Easy Directions!
Just mix up the soups and parsley right in your crockpot, add the pork chops and cook on LOW for about 4 hours!  You'll be left with fork tender chops and some yummy gravy to serve over rice or potatoes.

Menu Planning - Week 20!

Wow, can't believe we've been at this menu planning thing for 20 weeks!!!  I'm fairly sure this is one of the only new-year's resolutions I've ever kept.  AND, one of the best.  In just 6 short weeks, we'll be half way through 2011.  I can hardly believe the year is passing us by so quickly, but I do believe menu planning is in our life to stay!

My half marathon training starts this week, so I'll be planning lots of things that can be popped in the oven or crockpot or cooked by hubby or thrown together at the last minute until I get the hang of the new schedule.

5.14.11 - Monthly Dinner Club @ Scott & Meredith's - we're in charge of bringing a veggie so we're taking Asparagus  for grilling!

5.15.11 - Supper Swap - Making Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot, Rice & Okra

5.16.11 - Parmesan Crusted Chicken w/ Spinach, Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

5.17.11 - Spaghetti w/ Italian Sausage

5.18.11 - Leftovers/Sandwiches/Salads

5.19.11 -  Girl's Night Out for Dinner 

5.20.11 - Grilled Flank Steak w/ Tomatoes, Red Onions & Balsamic

Rock'N'Rolling over Cancer

I'm training for the Savannah Rock'N'Roll Half-Marathon this coming November 5, 2011. I'm joining up with the SC Chapter of Team-in-Training (TNT) to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and raise money for a cancer cure!

A few weeks ago, I ended up walking the Women's Heart & Sole race with my friends Jennifer & Amy, even though we originally signed up to run, we didn't follow through with the goal. We came across the TNT booth after the race, talked it over a little bit, then Jennifer & I decided we wanted to participate in the Savannah R&R, but we would definitely need the accountability of a team to help us get there. That's where TNT comes in. We'll be fund-raising for the L&L Society and going on training runs 3x/week with the team up until the race. Training starts Saturday morning, with a Try-A-Training, and our official training sessions start next Thursday night. We'll train all through the summer and fall to get ready for our race.

I'm sure I'll keep you updated here as well, but most of my progress updates will be over on my TNT fund-raising page. My goal is to raise at least $1900 and finish the Savannah R&R Half Marathon. You can follow my progress right there on my fund-raising site, and help support me by making a donation, spreading the word to everyone you know, and leaving me some encouraging words. If you'd like to train with me or find out how you can get more involved, let me know!

menu Planning - Week 19.... after a crazy busy weekend

wow, this weekend went by so fast, but it sure was a fun one. i got to go to Charlotte to visit some of my ladies from college. we browsed some shops in the NODA gallery crawl Friday night while we waited on our table at Cabo Fish Taco. We waited a long time and finally sat down for a fantastic dinner and drinks. like everytime we are together, we laughed a lot, and as usual, at the end of dinner, my face was sore from the laughing/smiling. 

we hung out some more, had a visit from our first girlfriend to have a baby and the sweet baby herself, shopped a little, then headed out to freedom park for a relaxing afternoon .... more wine, more laughter, lots of people & dog watching, we even saw two wedding parties and lots of prom-goers having their pictures made. we ended Saturday at a new BBQ restaurant, probably discussing too many personal life details for the comfort of the people at tables around us, but that's how it goes when you're amongst friends, right? after one last drink, we headed back to the house and said our goodbyes before heading to bed. 


a long sunday of mothers' day festivities followed with lunch at ryan's parents, and dinner at my sister's house to celebrate with her and my mom.  


so... here's the simple menu plan for this busy week
5.7.11 - Charlotte girls trip- ate at Midwood Smokehouse (it just opened Friday), and  I would highly recommend it if you're in the Charlotte area
5.8.11 - Grilled Chicken for Mother's Day Meal #1 and Hamburgers & Grilled Corn for Mother's Day Meal #2
5.9.11 - Leftovers!
5.10.11 - Dinner with Gray & Leigh ... last time hanging out before they travel to ETHIOPIA!
5.11.11 - Homemade Calzones & Salad
5.12.11 - Grilling Out
5.13.11 - Date Night OUT!

Menu Planning - Week 18

4.30.11 - Blue Marlin for early Birthday dinner for my younger brother
5.1.11 - Wild Wing before grocery shopping
5.2.11 - California Turkey Burgers
5.3.11 - Grilled Tomato, Smoked Turkey & Meuster Sandwiches
5.4.11 - TBD
5.5.11 - Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos
5.6.11 - Girls Weekend in Charlotte