DIY Menu Planning Board

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great week. Our second week in Baltimore is resembling life in London, naps and meals have returned to normal scheduling and everyone is better off for it! We still have many boxes to unpack but the essentials are in working order which makes me feel 100% better. I just don't function without some semblance of order!

It is this need for routine that lead me to hang the first piece of decor in the new place. Quite a while ago I made a weekly menu board. Having the week's meals planned out it extremely helpful for me. It gives me an action plan at the grocery store which saves both time and money and I like that I don't get stuck at 5:00 with nothing in mind for dinner!

Our weekly menu is far from gourmet. I like to try new recipes now and then, but for the most part it's quick and easy through the week!

To make this menu board I used an old picture frame and some scrapbooking paper to lay out a template for the menu. I also created a box to jot down items "To Buy" that I don't normally have on hand. The paper is behind glass, so I can use dry erase markers to write down our meals and easily erase for the next week. 

I have been using this menu board for over a year now. I don't always update it and I don't always follow the plan. However, I do find that it's the weeks that I have taken the time to work out a menu for that go the smoothest!

Do you work from a weekly menu? Where do you record your plan?

Vegetarian Curry Soup

My husband and I absolutely love Indian food and this Vegetarian Curry Soup is one of our favourite choices for a vegetarian meal.  The health benefits of living a vegetarian lifestyle are extremely well understood, but I just don't think we would be able to fully commit to the limitations of no meat. However, when we have the opportunity to eat authentic Indian cuisine, I think it could be a possibility! For now, I try to stick to planning at least one vegetarian meal a week.

This Vegetarian Curry Soup is a great Veggie night option. It has a dark rich broth, a full aromatic flavour and is surprisingly filling. I use a pre made curry paste for seasoning, which makes it much less complicated than your standard Indian stew, and the majority of the ingredients can be a combination of whatever you have in the fridge!

Vegetarian Curry Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup of onion, chopped

2 large carrots, diced

1 zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 can of chick peas

1 can diced tomato (with juices)

2 cups of vegetable broth

1/4 cup sour cream

3 cups of baby spinach

To start, heat a couple of table spoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini and red peppers to the oil and sauté for a few minutes. 

Then, stir in one or two tablespoons of your favourite red curry paste (I usually buy patak's) and sauté for an additional minute or two. Stir in chick peas, tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add sour cream and stir until the soup broth thickens slightly. Just before serving add baby spinach so that it wilts, but does not fully cook.  

*Tip* - when I make this soup, I ladle the soup I know we will eat into a 

smaller pot before wilting the spinach. When reheating leftovers 

I add a handful of spinach to the bowl, stir and microwave until hot.

This is one of those recipes that really keeps getting better as it sits in the fridge... so make a big batch and enjoy it all week!

Guest Post - Painted Wooden Spoons!

Today I am happy to have Jessica, from Prairie Girl to Southern Belle, back to share a simple Painted Wooden Spoon project. The colours she has used are so fun! What a great way to add some flare to an everyday task! I'm thinking I need a wooden spoon upgrade!

Hey there! It's Jessica from Prairie Girl to Southern Belle and I'm so excited that Leanne asked me to share one of my favorite things with you!

The other day I dipped my spoons. And you know what? I love them!

I ran to Lowe's and picked up some of those cute little paint samples. I plan to use them for lots of projects around the house, so stop by my blog and see if you can spot these colors around my place. These colors make me happy!

I painted the handles of my wooden spoons and then stuck each one upside down
a glass so they could dry.

So far I haven't needed to seal the paint in any way. The paint isn't ever in the food and I always wash my wooden spoons right away. No problems to report! And they look so cute sitting on the counter by the coffee pot in an old blue Mason jar! (Which, by the way, they are producing again this year for their anniversary...go get some when you find them!)

I love these spoons!

Why not make the things and spaces you use every day pretty?

DIY Herb Markers

One of my favourite things about summer cooking is the availability of fresh herbs! I love to grow our favourite herbs in our garden so that we always have what we need on hand. For us, Basil and Cilantro are tops, but we also enjoy Dill, Rosemary and Mint. In the off season, I like to keep a pot of basil in the kitchen to add to salads and pasta. Now that the warm weather is coming, I thought I would put together a small herb garden that can easily be moved outdoors for summer. This little garden would be a great gift idea of Mother's Day or even for your child's teacher at the end of the school year!

I found this adorable galvanized steel planter set at the dollar store and knew that it would be perfect for the project. I had an idea for some DIY herb markers as well, so I purchased one sheet of small white tiles from The Home Depot. The other supplies included clothespins, washi tape, a sharpie and some potted herbs.

To make the herb markers, I cut out letter stencils with my silhouette, spray glued them to the tile, and filled in each letter using a black sharpie. The stencils peeled off of the tile easily.

Next, I carefully wrote the full name of each herb along the bottom of the tile and then used hot glue to attach them to a clothespin. 

I added some washi tape to the planter tray, popped the plants in the pots and attached the herb markers!

I am absolutely in love with this little herb garden! I had planned on gifting it to someone, but I think I may need to make a few more! The whole project only took about thirty minutes! I'm wondering what other items could use a new little tile label!

Monte Cristo Rollups...

As a kid, I always enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen. One day, I thought for sure I had come up with the next big thing... it was a grilled cheese dipped in egg! I excitedly described my invention to my mom, who had to break the news to me that my creation was already quite famously known as a Monte Cristo. So not only did someone beat me to the chase, but they added ham to make it even better:(

I thought of this story awhile back when I came across a recipe for french toast rollups. I tweaked the recipe to try this new idea with the old classic! Here's how it went...

I trimmed the crusts off of sliced bread and cut some cheddar cheese into long, skinny pieces. Next, I whisked eggs (1 egg for every 3 rollups) and milk together and set everything out for quick assembly. 

I rolled each piece of bread flat, with a rolling pin (wine bottle works well too!), placed the cheese and ham at one end, rolled the little package up and dipped it in the egg mixture. I then placed the rollup, seam side down, in a hot skillet with a tablespoon of melted butter. The bread browned quickly, so I gave each roll a turn every thirty seconds or so. Once they were crispy and golden brown all around, I removed them from the skillet and breakfast was served!

They were very tasty, and super easy for my little guy to handle (not as messy as a sandwich)!

...and just because we are a family of peanut butter addicts, we gave this a try! I sprinkled the outside with sugar and we dipped them in syrup!! Gotta love Breakfast Dessert!!