Bad Blogger

I am. There's no two ways about it.. I can't even manage a weekly feature with no photos!!  I've been feeling exceptionally busy lately - I got a promotion at work and I'm juggling two jobs at the same time until they fill my position. Doing my training in Sales while trying to keep up the front desk work makes my head feel all explodey by the end of the day and I procrastinate writing, or just plain forget until I'm too tired to form a complete sentence.

So here's a half baked Meal Plan Monday for you...

Monday we had the most amazing pork shoulder roast. It cooks for 16 hours with nothing extra but a tablespoon or two of liquid smoke.  Original recipe can be found here.  If you don't understand by now, I LOVE my crock pot. I don't know how I managed without one until last year (oh yeah, I ate out 3/4 of the time).  This roast falls apart on your fork and is soooo juicy and tender I thought there was some kind of magic kitchen elf that had appeared.

Tonight was an eat out night... they do happen every once and a while, and I look on the bright side that there are no extra dirty dishes when that happens.

Wednesday:  The Tomato soup from last week didn't get made, so I'll throw that in the slow cooker for a while and whip up some delicious classic grilled cheese sandwiches.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday:  I have a basic idea of what I want to make for the latter half of the week.  The Butternut Squash Carbonara didn't get made AGAIN last week, but luckily butternut squash lasts for a long time.  Or I may sub out this delicious looking Slow Cooker Squash Lasagna.  I want to give this Roasted Vegetable Strudel a try, and I have some phyllo dough in the freezer just for the occasion.  and finally the boy requested the Chicken Corn Chowder again this week (which is fine with me, since I'm a little worn out on the cabbage rolls that were his last obsession.)


I did manage to take some pictures this week (food and fashion related), and I have some DIY/Craft post ideas stored up, so maybe I'll actually get around to them and give folks something to read.

Thanks for checking in.
<3 E

Meal Plan Monday

Welcome to the second installment of Meeeeaaaaal Plaaaaaan Mondaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!  (Imagine that as said by a stadium announcer)

We did REALLY well staying on plan last week.  Saturday night we ended up going to hang out with some friends and instead of a formal dinner we had wine and some delicious dips.  I made a spinach and artichoke dip that is to die for, and our friends made a beer cheese dip with Fosters.  A large loaf of crusty Italian bread and some flavored tortilla chips filled up my belly so dinner was unnecessary.

Monday's chorizo and sweet potato enchiladas were AMAZE-BALLS.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel about canned enchilada sauce, but the old el paso kind was remarkably tasty.  The spicy sausage and sweet potatoes melded sooo well together. 
Tuesday's pork chops and Thursday's cabbage rolls were re-peat meal from the week before at request of the boy - still just as amazing as the first time. He's obsessed with the cabbage rolls so we made lots of extra to have for lunches.
The 40 clove chicken was new and delicious. The whole cloves of garlic just melted in your mouth without being too spicy, and I used chicken thighs, so the dark meat added extra flavor and stayed so juicy that when you went to pick it up with the fork it just fell apart.
I had also made the Autumn Penne before and it was equally as yummy. Next time I will probably double the brussel sprouts - we LOVE brussel sprouts in our house, so there were no where near enough for the leftovers, and the pasta is sooo much better with them.

I used a different Chicken Corn Chowder recipe from the one I listed before.  I had made the other one and the boy thought it lacked flavor... so I tried different, and it was much better.  Super chunky and very flavorful.  The bacon bits were good, you could probably do without the cheese if you were trying to save calories, but the green onions on top are a MUST.

We didn't get around to the carbonara, but I worked it into the meal plan for this week so we don't waste the ingredients.

This week I will try to actually take photos of what I make this week (provided it actually looks appetizing).

But nevertheless here is the plan:

Monday:  Jambalaya  (Requested by the boy, I used this recipe as a starter)
Tuesday: Asian Turkey Meatballs  and probably a side of garlicky wilted spinach
Wednesday:  One Pot Stovetop Mac & Cheese
Thursday: Chicken with Leeks and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Friday: Butternut Squash Carbonara  (Didn't eat this meal last week, still have the ingredients)
Saturday: Chorizo Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Sunday: Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Some of the recipe's are healthier than last week - I'm working my way back toward weight watchers and counting my points, and heavy cream soups don't really factor into that, but are soooo good in the winter.

Till next time (hopefully before the next MPM!)
<3 E

Meal Plan Monday

Happy New Year!

Since I've been such a bad blogger so far (only 2 posts at the beginning of December?! Come on Erika!) I'm making it one of my goals for the new year to post more regularly.  To help me with that I'm instituting "Meal Plan Monday".  This is something I do in real life already - it helps me to know what I'm going to be cooking when I come home from work every day, and to know that I already have all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge.  I don't like to buy in bulk - it always seems to go bad before I use it, even in the freezer (hello frostburnt meats).  So I make my meal plan, and my specific shopping list to buy only the ingredients I will need for the week.

I try to make things that are healthy and delicious, but sometimes I'll settle for just plain delicious... It's not always perfect for my weight loss goals, but I've learned that if I'm on a perpetual diet where I'm not allowed to eat the things that I want then I will always fail.  So I try to use lighter recipes of things that I love, and sometimes I let myself splurge.

So today's Meal Plan Monday lineup:

Monday: Chorizo Sweet Potato Echiladas
Tuesday: Honey Garlic Crunch Pork Chops and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday: 40 Clove Chicken and Roasted Parmesan Green Beans
Thursday: Cabbage Rolls with Idahoan Mashed Potatoes (I can't make EVERYTHING from scratch!)
Friday: Autumn Penne With Brussel Sprouts
Saturday: Chicken Corn Chowder
Sunday: Butternut Squash Carbonara

Weekday breakfast: Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Most of the things I make come from recipes found online - so whenever possible I'll link to the recipe I used, or write it in a post.

Some of these are things I've made before (Honey Garlic Crunch Pork Chops and Cabbage Rolls requested by the boy), and some are new, so I'll try and update and let you know how they go!

Thanks for checking in
<3 E

I have a shopping problem.

I'm currently on a spending ban.  Anything that is not groceries can't come home with me.  I really don't need anymore clothes or gadgets and I can't afford it. I'm still trying to play catch-up from when I was unemployed a few short months ago and racked up quite the credit card bill.  Of course I've gotten around this with the help of gift cards I'd forgotten about and most recently with the excuse that I need stuff for work.  I bought tights and shoes last night.  I had to get approval from The Boy of course, since he's (trying to) help me stick to my ban, but this was an emergency...
My cat ripped a hole in the one pair of black opaque tights I own(ed).  So I bit the bullet and bought some new ones.  While I was at it I couldn't resist branching out a little with these patterned ones...

(and some ribbed tan, and some opaque brown, and patterned black ones too...)  See - I have a problem. I must be stopped!

As for the shoes, I don't really own any nice winter shoes.  I live most of the year in ballet flats - I must have over 20 pairs.  Occasionally I'll bust out some heels, but only if I know I won't be walking or standing much that day.
My snow boots, though adorable, don't really cut it in the workplace and most of my other close toed full coverage shoes are casual and not very winter-proof.

I'm not sure what made me think that these were winter appropriate, but so far they haven't let me down.  No water inside them walking through today's rain storm is a good sign that I won't get them packed with snow when that starts falling. Though heeled they are extreeeeeeeeeemly comfy - even for my wide feet, work appropriate, and cute.

I don't want ALL of my posts to be outfit posts, but I haven't quite gotten around to writing about anything else yet, plus I got compliments on this today from the boy and my boss.  The boy is usually pretty ambivalent about what I wear - "You're a cute girl, you look good in everything" is what I usually hear when I ask what he thinks, and my boss is the super stylish Executive VP of my company and is always put together, so I must have done something right today and I want to share.

[Cardigan - Gap / Pencil Skirt - Kasper / Grey Lace Trim Tank - Old Navy / Grey Patterned Tights - Target / Belt - Target / Shoes - Eurostyle / Bird Necklace - owned since High School, don't remember]

If anyone actually reads this, I'm hoping you can help me stick to my shopping ban (not that you'd know if I went out and bought something new - since you've only seen 2 outfits).  But I'll be relying on my favorite fashionista bloggers to give me inspriation on how to re-mix my closet without spending money!

And one for The Boy...

Until next time...
E :)

Dear Blazer: Welcome To My Wardrobe

If you've glanced at my “How It Started” section, you'll know that recently I had a crisis of self. So now I'm working on re-discovering me, including what I wear and how I feel about my body. One of the things that led me to start a blog in the first place was my crazy shopping habits and more recent addiction to fashion blogs. Something I loved about the fashion blogging community was all the plus size and body loving blogs I found. There are so many women of all shapes and sized out there proud and stylish and interesting that I felt inspired by.

In the past year I think I've really started to find my own style. I'm understanding what works on my body and what doesn't. Not because “style rules” or trends tell me what to where, but because I like it, I'm comfortable in it, and I think it looks good.

To help me further this, I'm going to try Outfit of the Day posts. We'll see how this fares, because I don't necessarily love full body open shot photographs of myself – I think I always look awkward and it's always a bad angle etc. This will probably be a small form of torture to do on a regular basis, but I like the idea of sharing my style journey and learning from myself.  

Today's outfit really grew on me throughout the day - I was unsure at first, but catching glances in the mirror and taking photos of it convinced me that it will probably make a re-appearance in the future.

 {Sidenote: I don't know how people take pictures outside in the winter without proper environmental protection.. I'm not even from the coldest place around (Ohio can be pretty temperate sometimes) but when the temperature drops below 55 degrees I'm somehow always freezing.}

Now that I've gotten that whining out of the way... This blazer is one I bough a few months ago and it's just been sitting in my closet, unsure of where it belongs in my wardrobe and how it works on my body. I fell in love with it and it looked perfect for fall, but then i got it home and I thought it made me look like a school marm. I regretted ever thinking that it worked with my style. But somehow today paired with my brown cords it just worked for me. I liked it layered with a cardigan and tank with the different colors poking out. It looks younger, but still [mostly] appropriate for my business casual work environment.  The color is somewhere in between the rust in the outdoor photos, and the yellow-orange in the lights of the thrift store.

[ Blazer - Talbots / Cardigan - Simply Vera / Olive Tank - Old Navy / 

Brown Cords - Old Navy / Nude Flats - Steve Madden ]

PS. I promise to work on taking better photos, since these  pretty much suck by fashion blog standards, but I wanted to get this blog started already and not have ANOTHER excuse to put it off!