More of Me...

Hi TWFD friends! A couple of months ago I mentioned that I'm now also writing for Silicon Valley Moms Blog. I'm really enjoying it and Nate made the comment that I should let you guys know when I post over there. None of it is food-related, but you may enjoy my ramblings nonetheless. If you want even more of me (who doesn't? um, that was sarcastic, btw), click here. And from now on I'll link to my latest post under the SVMoms button in the right column. :)

And the 'Cook of the Year' Award Goes To...

...well, NOT ME.

We decided to take Cate to a movie since it was going to be a hot day. Because I'm cheap, I decided to pop some microwave popcorn and sneak it into the theater. Popcorn only takes about 2 1/2 minutes in our microwave, but I always set the time for 4 minutes so that it doesn't end early and I can take it out at the RIGHT moment. And I'm good at microwave popcorn. When I'm paying attention, that is.

For whatever reason, today I put the popcorn in the microwave, hit "Start" and then LEFT THE KITCHEN. Then my phone rang and it was my wonderful sister-in-law, so I chatted a bit with her. Then I went in the kitchen for some water. Yeah, not the popcorn that had, at this point, been cooking for 3 1/2 minutes. But the smell reminded me why I should be in the kitchen (see below for picture).

Instead of thinking through what was happening, I open the door as fast as I can to stop it cooking. Which let out the biggest cloud of smoke I've seen. EVER. It honestly FILLED the entire kitchen. And I'm not exaggerating. I wish I was. I got the kitchen door closed, but not before smoke snuck into the rest of the apartment, of course. Oh and not before I almost died from smoke inhalation. (Okay, THAT'S a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much!)

So, now we don't get to go the movies because I need to keep all the doors and windows open for the next two years or so. And it's so HOT today.

My microwave STINKS. My kitchen STINKS. My house kinda stinks. Not like popcorn. More like I just burned the house down. Any tips or pointers? I'm scared to use the stinky microwave, which is now stained yellow inside. Fun. Seriously, besides airing out the apartment with hot air, is there anything else I can do?

I like to think this experience has no reflection on me as a person (i.e. distracted, forgetful, DUMB) or a cook (I mean, who screws up microwave popcorn THIS bad?) but rather vindication from the Movie Theater Gods who were angry with me for planning to sneak food into the theater. Yup, I'm pretty sure that's why this happened.

CAUTION: Contents are ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meal Planning 101

Every once in a while I just feel like talking about meal planning with you. After all, it IS the crux of this blog, right? Today we're going to discuss why it's so EASY. I'm also going to share a few strategies you might find helpful. This is a long post - SORRY! I promise there's some good stuff in here, so keep reading!


Let me preface this post by saying, I'm a slacker at heart. Before this blog, most days you would find me around 4:30 pm each day lamenting the fact I had to cook dinner, with no idea what that dinner was going to be. For some reason I thought planning a weekly menu was annoying. Then I started this blog (if you want the story behind THAT, click here!) and everything changed.

PLANNING MEALS IS EASY! Yes, people, it is. I know many of you who visit this site do so because you ARE planners. In fact you are probably way more organized than I am. But I also know many of you out there are not planners and don't plan weekly menus. I know what you're thinking: "Oh, she's just organized. I'm not like that." If you know me at all, you'll know that I am not an organized person. If I can do it, so can you!

WHY should you plan a weekly menu? Honestly, it makes cooking dinner so much less stressful every day. Grocery shopping is SO much easier. And you spend less money. It's awesome. Trust me, 10 minutes of planning will save you bucket loads of grief for the rest of the week!

Okay, off the soapbox. Time to share some cool menu planning strategies. And these strategies are not mine...my strategy is pretty much sit down on Sunday, browse through the blog for ideas, randomly select meals. That's not so helpful or interesting...Ruth and Elizabeth have much better things to share...


My good friend Ruth does the following, with an 8-week rotation of tried & true meals that she uses for each slot:
Monday: Mexican
Tuesday: Italian
Wednesday: With Rice (Indian, Stir-fry, Red beans & rice, Pad Thai, etc)
Thursday: Try new things or Leftovers
Friday: Fast food (homemade fast food items: hamburgers, grilled cheese, pizza, baked potatoes, etc.)
Saturday: Fancy Meals (salmon, coq au vin, stuffed shells, etc.) or Eat Out
Sunday: Soup & Salad

One of Ruth's daughter's friends comes over regularly on Tuesdays. One day she said, "You guys eat pasta a lot!" Pretty funny...little does she know how amazing a cook Ruth is!

Elizabeth Harris wrote a post a few months back about her quest to plan meals and "reclaim" dinner. You should definitely click over to her post...she writes some great things about the importance of family dinners. Here is Elizabeth's weekly strategy in a nutshell:
- One crock pot meal (for the busiest day of the week)
- One night for leftovers
- Tuesday nights are usually quick and easy (like breakfast for dinner) because of late meetings
- One new recipe each week

There are of course many meal planning websites out there. I've gotta tell you, though, I think it just boils down to making a list of things you like and are willing to cook, then developing your meal plans from there. And if you are not planning, hop to it! You'll thank me later. :)

Time for all of you to share your strategies! How do you go about planning meals? What motivates you?


You may be wondering what the white trash dinner pictures are up here for? To take the pressure off those of you who think your meals aren't FANCY enough to post each week. This is honestly what we ate on Friday for dinner. I'm not kidding when I say I love reading your menus, fancy or not! All of your ideas are super! :) Meal planning does not equal fancy food. Especially in my house...

Silicon Valley Moms Blog

In case you just can't get enough of me here on This Week for Dinner...ha ha...I'm now a writer over at Silicon Valley Moms Blog. Today my first post went up! Silicon Valley Moms Blog is great and they have blogs for several cities now, so check it out! SV Moms hosted the Maria Shriver book signing I went to, and Katie Couric recently guest-posted on their NYC Moms Blog site. Needless to say I'm excited to be a contributor!

My new best friend, Maria

Yup, that's me...and MARIA SHRIVER.


Tonight I attended a private book signing with Maria Shriver at Books Inc. in Palo Alto. Silicon Valley Moms Blog hosted the event and it was a blast! Maria spoke for about 30 minutes, discussing her books and answering questions. She then signed copies of her latest book "Just Who Will You Be?" and we sampled her new venture, Lovin' Scoopful...more on that in a minute!


Maria was awesome. Gracious and kind, a great speaker, good sense of humor and beautiful (that hair!). She was so easy to talk to. Hope she's ready to be my friend because I'm ready to be hers. ;) I read her new book "Just Who Will You Be?" a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. A simple, fun, thoughtful book. One line that stuck with me is that you should never use the word "JUST" to describe yourself (i.e. "I'm just a mom"). SO TRUE. How many times have we all done this? Stop it! You're not "just" anything! :)


I was happy for the opportunity to sample Lovin' Scoopful, since this IS a food blog, after all. Lovin' Scoopful was delicious! You can currently find it in California and the Pacific Northwest. It's 1/2 the fat, 1/3 the calories...but still creamy and good. The best part of Lovin' Scoopful is that 25% of the proceeds go to Special Olympics. Yes, 25%. It's a great product supporting a great cause...and Maria sure would be happy if you bought some! Lovin' Scoopful also gave each of us a goodie bag with bowls painted by Special Olympics athletes. It was a very sweet gift.


A few highlights from thoughts Maria shared with us this evening...

- Everyone should take a time of stillness every day. She talked about how she grew up in a large family and didn't know you COULD do that. She does it whenever and wherever she can. Yesterday her time of stillness was in her closet...sometimes she bursts into tears...sometimes it's hard, with to-do lists running through her head. Regardless, she finds a moment to be still, alone, everyday.

- Go home, get online and look up "The Journey" by poet Mary Oliver.

- In her words, "You all have one wild and precious life. May you all be blessed with men who understand that!" :) (She said the men should understand that about themselves, too.) Go out and live your wild and precious life to the fullest! Find joy in your life!

Thanks to Silicon Valley Moms Blog for a great event! It was wonderful meeting Maria and all the great women who were there this evening!

I didn't move to the desert...why am I so THIRSTY??

These are our drinks from lunch a few weeks ago (they're so pretty, I love them). I drank that San Pellegrino in about 6 seconds flat. I think I drank some of Nate's Coke too. Why is that? Because I'm a monster!


Seriously, I can't get enough to drink lately. Normally I just want water. Water from the tap or with some ice. That Jane is nowhere to be found. I can't get enough to drink of any kind of beverage you put in front of me. I drank a HUGE bottle of Ruby Red juice in, oh, 2 days. I'm drinking milk WITHOUT ice (shocking, I know...). Bring on the soda, bring on the juice. It's a good thing I don't drink anything very strong...or this post may have been a bit tipsy. Actually, maybe I should drink something with a little kick...it could make this blog more interesting.

So Long, San Diego!

After several weeks of partying and packing and goodbying, it's time to hit the road. My computers are coming down tonight and next time you "see" me, I'll be a Bay Area blogger! :)


Since I haven't cooked in ages and I don't have time to post much right now, I thought I'd leave you with a picture of the craziest burger I've ever seen. Book Club threw us a goodbye party Saturday...Karen made (and ate!) this monster. :) Please keep visiting the blog - hopefully I'll have something more this week...if not, I'll be back on track Sunday with a menu and more food!

PS - If you participated in the survey for my bro, please make sure your email spam filter doesn't block any emails from "avenuea-razorfish.com" or "aa-rf.com" so we can get you the hot fudge recipe!

Week 62 Menu...and Moving!

This is it. We are moving this week. Come Thursday we will no longer be San Diegans...it's off to the Bay Area we go! Nate will be doing a post-doc at Stanford and we'll be starting a new life in Northern California. I am SUPER excited about all the great things to come and about living in the Bay Area. But I am definitely sad this week...about leaving San Diego, which is an amazing place to live, but more about leaving our dear friends. But, as one of those friends pointed out to me, if you weren't sad when you left a place, THAT would be sad.


Yes, that's my studly surfer husband coming in from a sunset surf. Seriously, how could anyone NOT want to live in San Diego?!?!

Since I am in the throes of packing, it's pretty much impossible to cook. Here's my "menu".

MONDAY:
- Maybe eating at Lindsay's depending on how the day goes

TUESDAY:
- Eat out

WEDNESDAY:
- Eat out

THURSDAY:
- Pizza, to feed the slaves, I mean friends, loading our truck - ordering from Regents Pizza, which is AWESOME by the way

FRIDAY:
- Unloading the truck...who knows?!?!

SATURDAY:
- Eat out?

SUNDAY:
- Eat out?

Geesh, this is worse than when I had a baby! :) Please post your menus for one another. I'm so grateful I have such amazingly supportive readers who always post menus. You guys rule.

To all my San Diego friends...we're gonna miss you!

Is there a Doctor in the house?

Nate is officially Dr. Maynard. Woo-hoo! Congratulations, Nate!

Monday and Tuesday were a blast with all the defending and celebrating going on. Sadly I am now sick. I'm starting to feel better and wanted you to know I have some posts planned...but today just needs to be a sick day.

But who am I kidding? Food is NOTHING the week your husband gets his PhD. :)

Project Runway!!!!!

I am so excited for tonight. And, yes, I'm a loser and the excitement is for a TV show. But not just any TV show. It's the Project Runway season finale!!!! Can't wait! Oh man, if Christian wins...let's just say he better not win. Sorry, dude, you're talented, but come ON. And did he REALLY win fan favorite? I'm still in shock. Goodness.

Okay, but seriously, I love this show. Love love love it. Wait, can you tell I like this show? And...I love Tim Gunn and I cannot lie. Tim rules.


Today's picture is of my new shoes. My first animal print EVER. I'm so boring, I know, but at least I'm finally letting the animal out, a little. :) The real question is, would Tim like my shoes? I'm actually dying to go get some Bitten jeans at Steve & Barry's, but since I'm not quite back to my pre-pregnancy size (which means I'm not yet wearing these), I have to live it up with shoes.

By the way, if you haven't gotten on the Runway bandwagon...it's never too late to start. Bravo plays all the old episodes pretty much 24/7. But be warned...it's a lot like Pringles. Once you start, well, you know...although, I must admit I've never actually EATEN a Pringle, so I wouldn't know much about that. Yup, I'm weird.

Happy Heart Day!

May your Valentine's Day be filled with loved ones...love notes...


...and pretty paper hearts.

Week 55 Menu

No reason behind today's picture except the oranges are pretty. :)


I apologize in advance...but I need to do just a LITTLE venting... mostly because I didn't get the opportunity to vent AT the person who deserves it. Actually, I may not even need to vent. I just need to describe what I saw today: a person driving a Prius throwing trash and a cigarette butt out their window. I guess littering doesn't hurt the environment?!?! Oh wait, that's venting. Sorry. I'm done.

Okay, a menu. Hmmmm. I am having "cooker's block" today. Here goes nothing!

MONDAY:
- Squiggly pasta, as Cate likes to call it...probably with the Knorr packet for Herb & Garlic pasta sauce, and chicken
- Salad
- Bread

TUESDAY:
- Pat's Oriental Chicken Salad

WEDNESDAY:
- Breakfast for dinner...Panckaes
- Fruit
- Hashbrowns

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Hamburgers
- Chips or Homemade Fries (if I'm feeling adventurous)
- Salad

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Beef Stew (Cate's current favorite)
- Yummy bread

Can't wait to see what you've got!

Why Backing Off Pays Off

Cate and I spent the morning making Valentine's Day cards. That is one good way to spend a morning.

I thought her cards were too cute. I started to take a picture of her chubby little hands working on a card that was lying on the table. Cate grabs the card right when I get the camera, ruining my otherwise perfect shot.

Mom: "Cate, I would like to take a picture of that."

Cate: "No, this way is better, Mommy."

She was right.

Go Patriots!!! Go Tom Brady!!!

I don't normally talk sports on this blog, but it will be WICKED AWESOME if the Patriots win tomorrow...first team ever to go 19-0!?!?!?! You betcha!

To all of you tri-state area readers who think that I'm a traitor for becoming a New England sports fan...I have 2 reasons why my New England loyalties are well-founded.

Reason #1: I didn't care about sports AT ALL when I lived in New Jersey. You can't be a traitor if you were never loyal in the first place.

Reason #2: My in-laws. They are New Englanders to the CORE. If I didn't support their teams, holidays would be very uncomfortable. Actually, they may not have let me marry Nate in the first place. :) Okay, so that's an exaggeration, but I do have evidence of their unwavering loyalty.

Exhibit A: They purchase giant cookies on game day to support the team. Oh, and football tablecloths too. (Photo courtesy of Aunt Linda)

Exhibit B: They actually get onto the Boston Globe website because they are such hard core fans. Yes, the woman pictured here is family. Izzie wore this to the game at Foxboro 2 weeks ago and caught the reporter's eye. That's serious devotion if you actually stand out at a home game. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe, via Aunt Kim)

I'm already nervous for tomorrow. I mean, I KNOW they're gonna win, but nervous just the same. :) GO PATS! GO PATS! GO PATS!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Unbelievable. This Week for Dinner is officially 1! Happy Birthday TWFD!! Now, blow out your candle and get your hands covered in cake!


Before I start reminiscing, BIG THANKS to Nate, my wicked cool husband. My iMac (which you will learn more about in a moment) has been very unhappy lately. No iTunes (hence the disappearance of the Song of the Week). No Internet. No Recipes. It's been very sad. Nate has literally spent HOURS over the last few days trying to figure out what was wrong, and he did! MAC IS BACK! I can't tell you how excited I am to have my kitchen computer back. It rules. If you can get one, do! Thank you, Nate, for the great TWFD birthday present.  (And, if you're wondering, my computer wallpaper is THIS picture. My favorite. Oh, and yes, a hot pad makes an awesome mouse pad. It works much better than the countertop. Weird, yes, but super cute!)

If you're relatively new to TWFD, you may not know the history. You may not care, either, but too bad. About a year ago Nate came home toting an old iMac. They were cleaning out the computer room at work and were going to throw this puppy away, so Nate snatched it. It wasn't a happy iMac. It made angry faces and threatened to crash on a regular basis. With a little not-too-expensive TLC, Nate brought it back to life and TWFD was born! What is the connection? Well, said iMac became my kitchen computer. Indulgent, yes (I already had two, count 'em, two computers). Awesome, yes yes. I put all my recipes into FilePro and bookmarked all my favorite food websites. But where does the blog come in, you may be wondering. I know you're all DYING to know...

The blog was born because Blogger was free. It's that simple. I just needed a place to put a list of the things I cook, my repertoire, so to speak. I was too lazy to go find the install CDs for Microsoft Word, so I just made myself a blog. That's it. Just for Jane. Then I remembered that my brother had requested I email him my weekly menus. Since I never actually planned my weekly menus, I thought posting one for him each week would help me get organized. Then I decided that the rest of the world would love knowing what I was eating, too...NO! Actually, I just wanted my friends to tell what THEY were eating so I wouldn't have to come up with ideas myself. I emailed a few friends in addition to my bro...1 year and thousands of readers later, here we are!

All I can say is that it truly amazes me how this blog has grown, and keeps growing. I'm so grateful for all the blog love I receive. Whenever I get a thank you email or kind comment on the blog, it makes me, and my heart, smile. The feeling of "community" on TWFD astounds me and it's all thanks to you. Bottom line - you guys rock! Happy Birthday!

(And don't forget to share your Superbowl food ideas...only 2 more days until the Pats make history!)

GO PATS!!!!!!!!

I know that whenever I show open support for a sports team on the blog I risk alienating a few readers (case in point, my own dad, who is a yankees fan for some sad reason)...and I especially take that risk today, seeing as how I'm in San Diego and may be attacked...but I gotta say it...

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!

I do feel bad for my San Diego friends out there - REALLY! But not that bad, I suppose. It's what we Patriots gotta do to reach PERFECTION. Seriously, a 19-0 season?!?! (And you all know it's gonna happen.) Can New England sports get any better? Besides breaking the curse, of course.

For all the non-sports readers out there, I'm done. Well, until the Superbowl in 2 weeks!

Oh My Darlin'...Clementine!

Nate always says that eating Clementines makes it feel like Christmas...I have to agree.

The Goods: Trader Joe's Hawaiian Potato Chips

With the due date just over 2 weeks away, my desire to cook has decreased dramatically. The desire to eat, however, is as normal as ever. :) I haven't really had a lot of cravings (if any)...but I can't get enough of these potato chips from Trader Joe's. Seriously, I eat sandwiches for lunch every day just so I have a reason to eat the chips (I've been able to resist eating them straight out of the bag, amazingly). ANYWAY...just thought I'd let you know these are GOOD. The weirdest part is I couldn't STAND these chips the first trimester. Go figure.


On a pregnancy-related note...I AM craving the smell of ink. You know, really "yummy" ink that smells so good in some paperbacks, newspapers and coupons (like the value pack coupons)? I just finished a paperback that I honestly would have rather just smelled than read. Don't get me wrong, it was a great book, but it just smelled soooo good. Sniff sniff. Baby better come quick before I get too crazy.

Milk on the Rocks

If you read my blog, that means you probably have some level of trust in the things I tell you. Today I'm asking you to tap into that trust and give me a chance, because I'm CERTAIN that some of you out there are going to think I'm crazy!


Last night I was eating a cookie and with some milk. Not just any old milk. Ice milk. That's right folks, ice IN the glass of milk. "What?!?! That's WEIRD! Ice doesn't belong in milk! Gross!" Just a sampling of comments I've received from friends over the years, and maybe even what you're thinking right now. Trust me - it's awesome. The picture above is really an equation that will allow you to reach milk nirvana. If you're having a hard time drinking this down (ha ha), keep in mind milk is mostly water anyway, so really it's not a big deal if the ice melts a bit. In fact, I don't even really LIKE drinking milk that much. I've gotta have it on the rocks or not at all.

As I was drinking my icy milk last night it hit me - I have a food blog that bunches of people read - and none of those bunches can talk back! (Well, I guess you CAN comment, but you know what I mean.) Remember, you trust me. I know what I'm talking about. TRY IT. What's the worst that can happen?

Go Sox!

The Red Sox won the World Series! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe tonight we should eat hot dogs to celebrate!


In case you weren't aware, I AM the reason they swept the World Series yet again. 3 years ago when they performed that wonderful feat, I was pregnant with baby girl Cate. This time, pregnant with another baby girl. 2 for 2. Me and my prego belly are totally the Red Sox good luck charm.