The Headbangin' Housewife

Menu Plan Monday Garden Edition 9/5/11

2011-09-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday rockers! I had a nice menu planned out for you last night and then woke up and picked all of this (Except the bananas). I'll stick that other menu in my back pocket for another week. This menu is pretty typical for most weeks in the summer as the garden really starts to take off. Here we go, in no particular order:

Pasta night-this week spaghetti (uses tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers)
Pizza night-uses tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and also the onions and spinach that are in the fridge.
Mexican night-Chicken tacos. I'll throw chicken in the slow cooker with onions and bell peppers. Then make a batch of salsa.
Stir Fry night-Clean the fridge style. I'll use some of every vegetable in the house along with the leftover slow cooker chicken and then serve it over the spaghetti squash.
Sandwich-ish night-this week cheeseburgers with corn and fried zucchini
Slow cooker night-Undecided although I'm fairly sure that it will be chicken veggie soup. Three out of five people in the Headbangin' Household are fighting summer colds, so we could use the extra nutritional boost.
And finally leftover night.

Lunches-leftovers, sandwiches, corndog muffins

Breakfasts-banana pancakes, zucchini bread, baked oatmeal, cream of wheat

Snacks-chips and salsa, peanut butter or jam toast, banana smoothies, fruit, yogurt

Desserts-Zucchini pie, zucchini cookies, smoothies

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Cheap School Supplies Rock! Week of 8/28/11

2011-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

We made another trip to Office Max this week to take advantage of the sale. We paid a little more this week because most of the things we were after were a whopping quarter. Only the colored pencils were a penny. All in all, I still think we rocked it. In total we had 25 items and paid $5.20 after tax! I'm planning another trip to pick up some more Sharpies. They will make an awesome addition to the Christmas gift baskets for my crazy concert crew! Happy shopping!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Menu Plan Monday 8/29/11

2011-08-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday rockers! Have you ever had one of those weekends where things got so crazy that by Sunday night, you feel like you didn't get anything done? While I did get quite a bit of groceries prepped and frozen over the weekend, the only thing I managed to get into the oven was a big pan of chicken to use through the week. Now, I feel like I need to play catch up over the next couple of days. I also have a ton of produce to use from the garden out back. As a result, here's what the Headbangin' Household will be eating:

Monday: Breakfast: cream of wheat and toast

Lunch-Hot lunch at school for the kids (gross I know, but I've had a seriously proper Monday morning) Mom and Dad get leftovers.

Dinner- Stuffed bell pepper burritos with homemade salsa (this makes alot so I'll make extra burritos to freeze for lunches). I use the recipe as a guide, but I chop the peppers and mix them with everything else instead of fill them. The kids prefer it this way.

Tuesday: Breakfast-breakfast sandwiches (I'm going to make a few extra and try to freeze these. I've read it works well, I've just always been afraid to try. I hope it works!)

Lunch- leftover burritos

Dinner-Zucchini casserole with chicken and spinach added in and mashed potatoes on the side (Can't wait for this...total comfort food!). I saute the zucchini instead of boil it. We also prefer it with spinach (or broccoli) instead of the carrots.

Wednesday: Breakfast-Peanut Butter baked oatmeal

Lunch- Homemade chicken veggie soup with croutons that I'll make from leftover french bread from the weekend.

Dinner- leftovers from Tuesday dinner

Thursday: Breakfast-cream of wheat and toast

Lunch- corn dog muffins (just cut up some hotdog pieces in your favorite cornbread recipe)

Dinner- Breakfast! Biscuits and gravy, bacon (making extra), fruit salad

Friday: Breakfast- leftover biscuits and gravy

Lunch- BLT's from leftovers

Dinner- Pizza night! Going to use bell peppers, green onions, zucchini and tomatoes from the garden. I'll also use some spinach I picked up on mark down. I'll also freeze a few slices for a lunch next week.

Saturday: Breakfast-danishes with zucchini jam, fruit

Lunch- leftover pizza

Dinner-Zucchini patties and pasta salad

Sunday: Breakfast: Cereal

Lunch-leftover pizza

Dinner- Chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, cucumber tomato salad

Desserts: Zucchini pie, zucchini cookies or warm delights with blueberries

Snacks: fruit, yogurt, peanut butter toast, chips and salsa

What's cookin' at your place this week?

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Cheap Groceries Rock

2011-08-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

We went to Save Mart this week to pick up a few things on sale with coupons. Here's what we got:

25 packages of pasta (10/$10)

20 pounds of chicken (on sale for .59 per pound)

4 pounds blueberries (2 pound pkgs. were marked down to 1.99!)

2 big packages jalapenos (.99 each and our peppers haven't blown up yet in the garden. Mama needs to make some jalapeno jelly!)

1 pound baby bella mushrooms (regular 4.99 per pound marked down to 1.99)

4 (2 liters) Pepsi Max (I've never tried this stuff, but they were on sale 4/$4 and there was a .55 blinkie on the shelf, so .45 ea. Sold!)

I used 25 $1/1 coupons for the pasta and 4 of the .55 coupons for the Pepsi. The grand total out of pocket for all this was $21.21!!!

How did your shopping go this week?

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Super Simple Gift Idea

2011-08-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

With all the back to school and gift giving talk this week, I wanted to share this quick and easy idea with you. It cost me a penny. It would have been .02 if I used the red folder to make the tag. The marker, index card and ribbon I already had. At Christmas time, I'll actually take a few extra moments and fancy up the tag a bit, but for a trial run in August, I think it's pretty cute! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Cheap School Supplies

2011-08-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Staying with the Back to school theme this week, I wanted to show you just how cheap some supplies really are this week. My total (after tax) for everything pictured (11 items) was a whole 12 cents. Yeah, 12 cents. These folders are great for report covers and for a penny, even if you cut them up for colored paper, it's a great deal! Check out your local Office Max ad, grab a handful of pennies and get going! Happy shopping! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Back To School=Gifts!

2011-08-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you did it right, summer went by way too fast this year. I know it did around here! We've been back to school for a couple weeks, but we're still ironing out all the kinks. Back to school also means it's time for me to dust off my Christmas binder and start planning. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but with 124 days left, and an extremely tight budget this year, I don't have any time (or money) to waste! Here's a list of back to school items that I try to stock up on now, so I don't have to pay full price later. Keep in mind, over the next couple/few weeks, the stores will also be putting alot of these on clearance. Backpacks. Why? It never hurts to keep a spare in the closet so mid-year, when someone has a blowout, I don't have to rush out and pay full price. They also come in handy for overnight trips and 72 hour kits. The character themed backpacks also make a cute gift for little ones. Lunch boxes, water bottles and Thermos's. Why? Keeping a spare or three in the house keeps my sanity in check when my son forgets his at school on Friday, or my daughter leaves a banana in her lunchbox over the entire winter vacation and it dies a slow and stinky death. Yeah, spares are good. I also keep one for shopping days and yard sales. Pack a lunch and save yourself a trip through the drive thru! These also make cute little birthday and holiday gifts. Binders. Why? I personally have a binder addiction, in case you couldn't tell here or here. They are awesome for organizing coupons, concert venues and ticket stubs, holidays and household papers. You can organize your recipes or print off your favorites and make a "cookbook" for gifts. Add printer paper to list as well. It's super cheap this time of year. Why on earth would you want to pay double later? Composition books. Why? These are no more than .50 now. If you decorate the front with some cute scrapbook paper, you'll have made a journal gift for someone on your list. Pencil pouches. Why? Last year, I made a few survival kits at Christmas and used the pouches instead of jars. I loved the way they turned out, so I'll be picking up plenty of extras. They are great for storing puzzles and board game pieces long after the kids tear up the boxes. Sharpies. Why? Most schools don't allow these anymore, but they write well on homemade CD's and DVD's. I also won't go to any concert without a sharpie in my pocket. In case you missed that story check it out here. Pens, pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, sharpeners, glue, etc. Why? Oh, where to begin? These items are all on sale now for a penny to a quarter. Think stocking stuffers, gift baskets, Easter baskets, goody bags, rainy day or heat day kits. If you participate in any of the shoebox donation drives during the holidays, or want to donate to a shelter or school, a very little bit of money can go so far this time of year. To be continued... Until next time, rock on my friends!

Wow! It's Sure Been A While!

2011-08-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. I just had to stop in and let you know that the mosh pit that I call my life is still spinnin'. Like every good pit, though, when it gets really crazy, you can't help but fall on your ass from time to time. But you get back up, shake it off, check for missing teeth and jump back in! Game on! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Dog Treats That Humans Will Hijack

2010-10-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a rainy day which was a great setting for finishing up the baking that I didn't get to on Saturday. I had about an hour to kill while waiting for some cookie dough to chill, but already had the oven on from the first batch. I thumbed through a couple cookbooks for quick inspiration and came across a recipe for Cheese Bone Cookies For Dogs. Now, my dog gets treats regularly, but I've never actually MADE them. There's a first time for everything, though, right?

These were crazy simple to make, especially because I didn't bother with the cookie cutter step. I figured I can make them cute next time IF the pooch actually liked them.

When they came out of the oven they smelled awesome! Of course, garlic cheddar anything coming out of the oven smells amazing. Curiosity got the best of us all, and we HAD to try these treats. Aside from needing a little salt, the common opinion is that they taste like Crazy Bread. Seriously! Next time, I'll make two batches. One for the pooch and one with a teaspoon or so of salt for the humans.

Even if you don't have a dog, you should give these a whirl. They would be great with a bowl of soup or dipped in your favorite pizza sauce. I'll be adding them to the keeper pile for sure!

I almost forgot! The pooch loved them, too :)

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Deals of the Day!

2010-10-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled baking day for some crazy cool Halloween deals!

For starters, our local Salvation Army is having a Dollar Day today. All clothes for a buck!? Yeah, I'm so there! Usually we get a dollar day on one Friday per month, but they were nice enough to give us a second one this month. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finish up the kids' Halloween costumes. The possibilities were endless!

Giant green shirts= Christmas tree costume

Crazy blue dresses with a ton of sequins= mermaid or princess

Big blanket sleepers or robes=baby

Camouflage anything= soldier

Giant orange shirts=pumpkin

Anyhoo, the boys are going for the soldier and psycho look so we only needed a crappy flannel to shred and a camo shirt to finish up for them. The girl didn't find much but says she's all set. We ended up finding a few extra treasures like a new Tony Hawk shirt for the boy and a new Harley shirt from Hawaii for Hubby.

When we finished up at the thrift store, we headed over to Raley's because their large pumpkins are a dollar with printable coupon today and tomorrow. That's the best deal I've seen so far for pumpkins so we were all over it. We had to do three transactions since we needed so many, but our Raley's is really coupon friendly so we didn't have any problems. I'm tempted to go get a couple more for baking. I'll let you know how that goes.

So rockers, if you need to get your Halloween pumpkins, or need a few to fill the freezer, I'd head over here to get your coupon this weekend and get while the gettin's good!

Now I'll get back to our regularly scheduled baking because late is better than never.

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Keepin' It Real Folks!!! Baking Day 10/2/10

2010-10-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday rockers! You ever have one of those days?

The Blueberry Snack Cake turned out perfectly, but my banana experiment flopped...literally. I'm happy to report that it tastes awesome, but we'll be eating it with a spoon, I think. All I did was mix some overripe bananas and chopped up chocolate with a yellow cake mix. Next time, I'll wait until it's cooled off before I try to flip it. Otherwise, I think it'll work much better in a 13x9 pan. Oh well, live and learn.

Since I didn't have the best luck in the kitchen today, I'm going to declare it beer 30 time and enjoy the heat wave in my part of the world. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Mission Birthday Week a Success!!!

2010-09-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday rockers! This week was a whirlwind of chaos, metal and birthday cake! As I think back to the last handful of days, parts are a blur, but I wouldn't have done anything different.

Monday started out pretty typical. School, housework, kids, you know, the usual. Then, just about dinner time, I popped on Facebook and found out that Hinder was playing at a club in the Sacramento area. Within an hour, we got the kids squared away and were on the road to the show. We had one hell of a time! I even got to be the chick in the pit that caught a drumstick!

Tuesday, I consumed A LOT of coffee and recovered just enough so that I could pull off...

Wednesday which was my older son's birthday. I got the cake bombs done and pack up a lovely heavy metal picnic dinner that consisted of beef sticks, cheese crackers, PB&J's and water to take t0 the Uproar Concert. We sang Happy Birthday and had the boys blow out their candle in parking lot before going in. The kids were so excited to see Stone Sour and Avenged Sevenfold and I'm happy to report that they totally rocked. Everyone was still so amped up that we even stuck around for Disturbed, which wasn't part of the original plan (we've taken the kids to see them numerous times and knew we wouldn't miss much, in our opinion) but we weren't ready to call it a night! Hubby took the kids down to get a better view and I hung out with some friends and played "pit patrol" to pass the time. It was a blast!

Thursday was another recovery day. Getting up in the morning and getting the kids to school was a big enough job. Yes, they go to school after a concert day. We're trying to teach the kids that it's totally acceptable to goof off and have fun as long as it doesn't interfere with our responsibilities. Plus, there is the added threat that concerts on school nights will stop (for them) if they flake on school. Needless to say, we all crashed pretty hard that evening. Honestly, I can't even remember what we had for dinner that night.

Friday we ran around like crazy people getting everything done for Saturday's birthday party. Housework, cooking, wrapping, goody bags, decorating and last minute shopping stops took over the whole day. The nice thing was, almost everything was done when I got up Saturday morning. I put four pork roasts in the slow cooker before bed to make BBQ pork sandwiches. I made a huge batch of macaroni salad and got the cake baked, filled and iced.

Saturday all I needed to do was shred the pork and put it back in the slow cooker to keep warm. Then, I put bell peppers and onions from the garden into the second cooker. In the third cooker, I put a bunch of baked beans. In case you're wondering just how many slow cookers I have, the answer is five. Since I had made most of the cake decorations last Saturday, finishing up took me all of about 15 minutes. I love, love, love the way the sugar skulls turned out. I plan on using some of my Christmas candy molds to make holiday sugar shapes to give away with little coffees and teas for gifts.

As far as today, I thought we would take it easy, but it's not working out that way. The guys are pulling the last big useless (meaning you can't eat from it) tree out back to make room for a baby fig tree that our friend gave us this week. I also went to a yard sale and was able to score two more canning jars for fifty cents. Now, I'm getting ready to start some seeds to get the winter garden under way. The nice thing is, there is so much food leftover from yesterday, I get the day off from cooking :)

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 9/18/10

2010-09-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday rockers! I must admit that it feels a bit odd that today's baking load was so small. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a light work day just as much as the next gal, so I really shouldn't complain. I also know that this week and next weekend are going to be super busy. On Wednesday we're taking off after school to have a Headbangin' Household concert adventure. Wednesday is also my older son's birthday, so we'll have a mini parking lot celebration before the show. Then Friday is my younger son's birthday. There won't be a concert that night, but I think we'll go out for something fun. Saturday is the big birthday party bash for the boys with lots of friends and family.

I planned out today's baking on the light side because I know that the week is going to be filled with all sorts of chaos and odds and ends that really just can't be done too far ahead of time. Plus, because I knew this week was quickly approaching, I over did it during the last two Saturdays and filled the freezer, so there really wasn't a need to go too crazy today. Here's today's list of goodies:

1 batch oatmeal raisin cookies (for snacks and lunches)

2 tubes of refrigerator croissants (not my favorite, but the kids love them and they were stupid cheap at the discount store. If the kids don't finish them by tomorrow, they'll have them with ham and cheese for lunches this week.)

1 bowl cake bomb filling (I'm purposely not dipping these until Monday when the kids are at school. They'll be for Wednesday's birthday celebration at the concert.)

1 batch sugar skulls (when I saw these, I knew they were going to make it on top of the boy's birthday cake this year. I'll be decorating these while the kids are at school, too. I have made it pretty clear that we are a heavy metal family, right? 'Nuff said.)

2 white chocolate bones (Also for the birthday cake.)

And that, my friends, was all she wrote. Since I finished up so early, I may go hit a couple yard sales and enjoy the rest of this awesome Saturday. Have a great rest if your weekend!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 9/11/10

2010-09-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how quickly this week flew by! I hope all of you rockers are having a great weekend. Good thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims and families affected by 9/11.

Here's the run down for today:

15 little stuffed bell peppers (for the freezer)

1 batch burrito filling (for the freezer). I used this Stuffed Pepper recipe as a guide.

1 batch Down in The Dumps Pudding (desserts this week)

1 batch banana chocolate chip snack bars (lunches and snacks)

1 batch Cake Mix Cookies (lunches and snacks...if they last)

1 double batch pizza dough ( pizzas are going in the oven in a few for lunches)

I need to finish making a batch of salsa to use up some garden goodies. I'm also making a couple pork roasts for dinner tonight. The leftovers will be shredded for dinners throughout the week. Pork tacos and BBQ pork sandwiches sound pretty good. Not having to do much cooking this week sounds even better!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 9/4/2010

2010-09-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday rockers! I woke up this morning knowing I was about to make a ton of lasagna. What I had conveniently forgotten, however, was that we only have enough sugar for coffee. Yikes!

I really didn't feel like running out the store around the corner and paying twice as much as I would at Winco, so I knew I needed to get creative.

I made the four lasagnas ( two for tonight and tomorrow's leftover night and two for the freezer). I knew I didn't need to make much for breakfasts after last weeks crazy insane bake fest. I did need to make somethings for lunch snacks. Without sugar.

Usually, I know at least a few days in advance what I'll be making on any given Saturday, but this week I couldn't think past the lasagnas. As I was rummaging through the cabinets for inspiration, I found four open boxes of random cereal and a bag of marshmallows. Peanut Butter krispy treats it was!

Then, I was staring at a stack of yellow cake mixes and I thought about making pineapple upside down cake. That wouldn't work, though, because we finished up the oil last night for taco shells.

Wow, no sugar AND no oil!! Maybe we should have grocery shopped this week, after all.

While I was going about the morning, I remembered reading a recipe a while back for Cake mix cookies. That might work! I jumped online, did a quick search, found the recipe, and went back to square one because oil did not magically reappear in the cabinet over the course of the morning. Awesome!

Finally, I thought about a Christmas cookie I make that starts with a cake mix and uses butter instead of oil. Houston, I think we may have lift off!

All I did was mix a yellow cake mix with an egg and 1/4 cup melted margarine. Then, I added about a half a cup of drained pineapple pieces because I still had the upside down cake on the brain. I dropped TBSP sized scoops about two inches apart on the baking sheet and baked them for about ten minutes at 350. After they were done, I pressed a chocolate covered macadamia nut into each one. The only thing I will probably do differently next time is make them a little smaller. I had a little trouble getting the baking time just right with them as big as they were. Other than that, Hubby declared them a keeper and said I need to make a double batch next time. I love when experiments have a happy ending!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday rockers! I know I will :)

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Apple Butter Update

2010-08-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned that I was trying this Apple Butter recipe. A couple weeks back while I was out with a friend of mine, we passed an apple tree in the country that had apples all over, including a bunch all over the ground. We decided to stop and ask if we could pick some. The lady was so nice and even offered us a bag. When it was all said and done, we had two big bags full. If I had to guess, I'd say it was easily 25 pounds worth. Well, I'd baked my way through, eaten and given away so many, but the apples just wouldn't disappear! Finally, I came across the Apple Butter recipe. I've heard of it before, but I've never tried it. Since I'd canned most weekends over the summer, apple butter seemed like a nice fit. Well, after my crazy, insane baking day, I got caught up having a beer with the guys after dinner. Somewhere in the middle of beer number two, I remembered the big bowl of apples that were still sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to be peeled and chopped for the crock pot. Lovely!! The guys decided to help me out. So, there we sat, on a Saturday night. Music, beer, and apple peeling. Do we know how to party, or what?!? When we finished up, the crock pot was full. That was the only thing I didn't follow in the recipe. Everything else I left alone. When I woke up this morning, the house smelled amazing! The apple butter didn't look very appealing, though, and I wasn't sure if it was going to be a keeper. I decided to press on anyway. I ran the apples through the blender and through them back in the cooker for another hour. They thickened up nicely, but still looked scary. Really, the stuff looks like barbecue sauce! I reluctantly jarred it up and set some aside to finally try. It still smelled wonderful, I just had a hard time with the appearance. Now, I'm so mad at myself for not taking pictures! This stuff is so good! I can't wait to try it on biscuits or pancakes! It totally rocked on a blueberry muffin, too! I thought it would have the texture of jam, but was much lighter and sweeter like applesauce/syrup. The recipe couldn't have been much easier, and the end result was addictive. That's what I call a keeper. Now, I want to go pick apples again so I can make up a few more batches for Christmas presents. If you try it, let me know what you think! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 8/28/10 Crazy Insane Edition!

2010-08-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey rockers! It's great to be back to my blog! As much as I hate to see summer leaving, it feels great to get back into the "normal" routine of life. I won't lie, though, it's been rough getting started. Today I felt like I was making up for several weeks worth of baking and prep work, even though I'd still accomplished smaller baking days throughout the summer.

With the garden still giving like crazy, we had to plug back in our big old standing freezer. It's an awesome feeling to know that it will be full soon with the summer's garden goodness that will last us the coming months.

Here's today's goodies:

3 (yes 3) Zucchini Pies ( to be frozen)

2 batches of blueberry muffins (snacks and breakfasts)

1 big pan of chicken breasts ( for dinners this week)

1 batch Latte Bars (I haven't made these all summer, I swear!)

1 pan of apple snack cake (snacks and lunches)

1 batch of bread pudding (breakfasts)

1 big BBQ pizza (lunches, not pictured because it was still in the oven)

Still on the list:

a big batch of salsa (for the freezer)

a batch of corn bread (for tonight's dinner)

and a batch of Apple Butter. I can't wait to try this! I'm going to toss everything in the slow cooker tonight before bed. Keep your fingers crossed. I'll post the results tomorrow.

I hope you're all having a great weekend! I'm going to finish up in the kitchen and then get back to enjoying this Saturday outside.

Until next time, rock on my friends!

I'm Still Around

2010-07-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday rockers! I just wanted to check in with you to let you know I haven't forgotten about you. The Headbangin' Household has been playing hard and enjoying the summer. It's been a hectic few weeks, but it's been well worth it. We got to camp for a couple days up at Lake Amador, which was a first time for us. The fishing could have been a little bit better, okay okay, the fishing could have been a lot better, but the lake was still amazing. The water was perfectly warm, and we even accidentally found a rope swing to play on while we were out exploring on the boat.

After we got back from the lake we celebrated the 4th with some friends. We could see dozens of fireworks in the sky all around us and the kids had a blast with the sparklers.

This week we have a house full of friends from out of town. We've been staying up late on the back porch catching up over a few beers while the kids play Nerf wars and video games. The days are spent at the pool and full of more back porch time. We've been eating plenty home made salsa and fried zucchini, of course all from the garden :)

After today, Hubby will be home for a 10 day vacation. We're gearing up for the Mayhem Fest on Sunday with the kids. Nothing' says family time like a giant mosh pit! We also plan to go out for another camp out for a couple days. Who knows what else the next week and a half will bring! I'll keep you posted as often as I can!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 6/26/10

2010-06-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday rockers! It's been a busy week here at the Headbangin' Household. What can I say? Summer is here!

I managed to get all but two items on my baking list done today. One was Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cookies. I really meant to get these done for Hubby's lunches, it just got too warm before I could get them done. The only other item was Smoothie Popsicles. Now, these still make get done...that is, if I can find the pitcher to my blender. I just used the thing a few days ago. Apparently, the pitcher has sprouted legs and vanished. I hate when that happens!

Here's what I did get finished:

A double batch of rice to be frozen for later. There's a couple Broccoli, Rice, Cheese Chicken Casseroles in our near future. Having the rice already cooked makes it go so much faster.

I also baked up a bunch of potatoes for the week. I plan on making a big potato salad for a cheese burger night.

Since I didn't get the cookies done, I made a quick batch of Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats. I made up a batch of Strawberry Muffins. This recipe came out of another one of my mom's old cookbooks. They are crazy simple, and also almost gone. Note to self: make a double batch next time. We have a few birthdays this week, so I wanted to make something special. Since I haven't made them in a while, I went ahead and made some Cake Bombs. I picked these because they freeze and travel well. They take a tiny bit of effort since you have to dip them, but it's totally worth it. Good luck just eating one! Finally, I made Apple Pie with Struesel Topping. Just Kidding! That's actually a little recipe called Zucchini Pie. I used the struesel topping that one of the reviewers recommended. Please, please what ever you do, don't tell my boys there is zucchini in there! This was the experiment of the week since zucchini is starting to go crazy in the garden. I read about it last season, but was too afraid to try. Now, I'm kicking myself for not trying it sooner! It tastes just like apple pie. I don't even know how to stress that enough. I fooled everyone who tried it. Everyone! It's the best darned apple pie recipe I've ever made. There you have it rockers! I'm off to go locate that blender top. Have a great rest of your weekend! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Clean the Fridge Stir Fry

2010-06-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hey rockers! It turns out cell phone pictures aren't that great, but try to ignore the blur, alright? In my quest to make the most of the garden and what we have on hand, I wanted to give you a better look at our Clean the Fridge Stir Fry. I talked about it over here a few weeks back, in case you missed it. After last weekend, our menu for the week is all about makin' due. The cool thing is, makin' due doesn't have to suck. This recipe never turns out the same way twice, which rocks because we never get sick of it. Since we'll have an exploding garden soon, this'll be a weekly staple. I don't follow a recipe anymore, but here's what I did this week: Cooked up a pound of linguine (the kids prefer it over cooked ramen noodles, whoops!) Then, I cleaned out the produce drawer in the fridge. I found celery, carrots, red and green onions and a couple zucchini from the garden. I also ran out back and found a yellow squash, a couple handfuls of green beans, one bell pepper, two jalapenos and three cherry tomatoes. I rinsed, peeled and sliced everything and threw it in my biggest skillet. I sauteed it all up with a couple tablespoons of olive oil until it's cooked to our preference. If I'm adding leftover cooked meat, I'd add it now, but didn't this week. I did however misjudge how much the veggies would cook down, so somewhere in the middle I added a bag of frozen broccoli to the mix to make sure we'd have enough for leftovers. Once it was all cooked up, I mixed two beef gravy packets and about a tablespoon-ish of soy sauce in two cups of cold water and dumped it in the pan. Then, just stirred until the sauce was thickened which only takes a couple minutes. Serve over the pasta. It's really that simple. On a side note, I only put it on the platter for the picture. In reality, the skillet and pasta pot would have been on the table :) Since I was curious, I added up an estimated total cost of this dish and came up with around $3.61. For five people, guys. Plus leftovers! We may just make it through the week after all! I'd love to hear if any of you have a "clean the fridge" dinner of your own. I'm always on the lookout for cheap cheap meals that rock. These recipes definitely make makin' due suck a lot less. Until next time, rock on my friends!

We Blew the Budget, And I Sooo Don't Care!

2010-06-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

The recovery from this weekend's road trip is coming along slowly. Everything hurts, we're broke until payday and as twisted as it sounds, I don't care! Saturday night, before the Korn show, we all sat down at Johnny Rockets to have some cheeseburgers. We were already hungover and moving slowly from way too many cocktails the night before. As we half finished our dinner, we tried to give each other pep talks of encouragement. C'mon man! Korn's playing in an hour! We can do it! But as excited as we were for the show, sleep kept screaming at us. We were a bunch of tore up metal heads, let me tell you. Then, all of the sudden, my girlfriend's eyes literally bulged out of her head. She was looking at something behind me, but I was too tired to bother turning around. "LOOK, LOOK LOOK, " she whispered. I turned, but didn't see what she could possibly be looking at. Nothing over my right shoulder was close to being that interesting! Her eyes moved over to my left side. She looked like she was about to have a heart attack. "LOOK, LOOK, LOOK RIGHT THERE!" I could tell she was afraid to point, so following her eyes and checked over my left shoulder, half expecting to see the world's largest mohawk. Instead of a mohawk, though, I saw a dude with dreadlocks walking next to our table. I couldn't see his face at first and wasn't even sure if I was looking in the right direction, so I glanced back at my friend for confirmation. She was scrambling for her phone like a mad woman. I can see that now, our friend sitting next to her has "deer in the headlights" eyes. What am I missing here? Mystery dreadlock dude sat down at the table across from us. I gave him a quick peek, but I was interrupted by my husband's elbow in my ribs. I shot him a look that ensured paybacks to come. He said, "Look! It's f*ckin' Munky!" WHAT!!!???!!! I looked over at the table again, actually paying attention this time, and as realize I'm looking AT MUNKY, I suddenly felt my stomach flip. I had to feel my chin to make sure it wasn't sitting on our table. Our friend had successfully found her phone, and tried unsuccessfully, to sneak a picture without Munky noticing. He noticed. We were all so worried that we'd tick him off, which is not something you want to do when someone from KORN sits next to you. He didn't get irritated, though. He giggled with us and posed for the picture above. We asked if, after he ate his dinner, he would mind signing a couple things for us. He said it was no problem. We didn't mind waiting. At all. I sat back in my seat, realizing that I still had half of my food on my plate. Everyone else at the table was texting wildly to all of our people at home. All of the responses were either disbelief or pure anger. As the texting died down, we all stared at each other. No one could eat. We were determined to sit at that table the entire night if that's how long Munky wanted to take to finish his meal. Then, a funny thing happened. Almost all at once, we discovered we weren't tired anymore. We weren't hungover anymore. Apparently we all received a much needed shot of adrenaline that would carry us through this night. We giggled like a bunch of school girls as we thanked the Big Man Upstairs for this amazing surprise. Nothing was going to top this. At this point, the show was a bonus. As promised, Munky took our tickets and things to sign, gave hugs and shook our hands. After we thanked him, he quickly and gracefully disappeared into the crowd. Such a nice guy. Seriously. We celebrated at the bar for a bit and toasted to great friends and adventure before heading into the theater. We laughed at all of the star struck silliness that none of us knew we had inside of us. We asked each other, countless times, "Can you believe that just happened?!?" As I said yesterday, the weekend was historical. Sometimes we all get so wrapped up in our own personal realities that we forget to just go with the flow and have some fun. We forget to stop sweating the small stuff. So yeah, we blew our budget and I so don't care. I'd do it all again exactly the same tomorrow if I had the chance. We laughed until we cried, created secrets, and "inside jokes," broke down walls and strengthened friendships. For everything we gained, I think a busted budget was well worth the price. Until next time, rock on my friends!

Menu Plan Monday 6/14/10 Oops Edition

2010-06-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday rockers! Amazing isn't a big enough word to describe the weekend we had. I can't think of many things better than a weekend road trip with best friends. The whole adventure was historical, and while I feel like I could sleep for a week to recover, I can't wait to do it again. Korn absolutely rocked. The venue was so small that there wasn't a bad seat in the place. The pit was insane and the energy all around it was contagious and addictive. Saturday night was one of the best heavy metal roller coasters I've ever been on! I wanna go again!

So here I am, on Monday morning, trying to figure out the menu for the week. Somewhere over the last couple of weeks, with everything going on, we forgot to make time for grocery shopping. Oops!

Somewhere over the weekend, we also managed to completely blow the budget for the week. Oops!

I feel alright about it, though. I've already paid the bills for the month and I have a freezer full of food. The garden is also finally starting to give more. I know we'll need to go pick up some milk and eggs, but we can make do with what we have for the rest of the week. Irresponsibility is totally acceptable in our house as long as we are responsible first. This week is a perfect example of responsible irresponsibility.

So what the heck are we eating this week?

Breakfasts: Baked Oatmeal, eggs and toast, cereal, and bagels.

Lunches: Sandwiches, cheese quesadillas, corn dog muffins and leftovers.

Dinners: Tamales (from the freezer) with beans, rice and salad.

Rotisserie chicken, baked potatoes and steamed veggies from the garden. I'll baked a bunch of extra potatoes so we can also have Bacon Cheddar Baked Potatoes the following day and then we'll also have hot dogs and potato salad later in the week. I'll also steam extra veggies so we can have Clean the Fridge Stir Fry. I'm hoping to try Vegan Fajitas this week, too. I may end up adding some leftover chicken to the recipe just because it sounds good. Finally, we'll have breakfast for dinner which will be pancakes, sausage, eggs and apple salad.

Desserts: (Man, my brain and back are screaming REALLY!!!????!!!) Smoothies, ice cream and any cookies that are left in the freezer.

There you have it! Not a bad menu for the week, considering I'm running on auto pilot :)

Don't forget to check out Menu Plan Monday this week!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 6/12/10

2010-06-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

Yay for me! This is my last baking day off for a few weeks. We're out on a road trip without the kids for a much needed weekend with great friends, lots of booze and a KORN CONCERT!!! I'll definitely be back to baking next Saturday, but this week, I've traded my apron for my favorite boob shirt. I hope all of you have a great weekend too! Maybe I'll see some of you metal heads at the show. For all of you that couldn't make it out, here's a recipe to try: Down-In-The-Dumps Pudding Beat together: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 4 Tbsp. cocoa. Stir in: 1 cup milk, 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 cups chopped nuts (optional, and I leave them out). Spread mixture in an ungreased 9x13 pan. I also put the pan on a cookie sheet. I've had this rise up and over flow a bit in the oven and make a big, big mess. Blend in a small bowl: 2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over the top of batter in pan. Pour over all: 3 1/2 cups hot water. DO NOT STIR. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. This is my daughter's favorite dessert. She even asked for it instead of birthday cake last year. It's a gooey, chocolaty, mess but it'll fix even the worst sweet tooth. Alrighty rockers, enjoy. I'm going to get back to my mini vacation. Until next time, rock on my friends!

First Garden pick!

2010-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

You know how it goes. You plant seeds and starts, you water, you weed, you fertilize. Wash, rinse, repeat. For months. MONTHS! Starting the garden in March sounded like a great idea at the time. We had gotten lucky with some nice weather and thought if we got everything into the ground nice and early, we'd see an early harvest.

Meanwhile, back in reality, Mother Nature had another plan. Apparently she thought it's be just hilarious to give California a long winter. Lots of rain. Sun, not so much.

(This week, I can't complain. I finally got to run around barefoot most of the time. That's just how I gauge the weather. If I can run barefoot all day till bedtime, it's officially warm. Anyhow, back on topic.)

So, summer, or spring maybe (?) finally showed up this week. Finally, the garden has produced something. I couldn't wait to show you a picture! We got a couple handfuls of sweet peas, a strawberry, two raspberries, I think 8 blueberries and a whole whopping orange cherry tomato. Can you believe it? I know, it's not exactly enough for a meal yet, but it's a start!

I can't be the only metal head with a garden. How are your gardens growing?

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Got Cereal Bags?

2010-06-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I was in the middle of making a batch of Chex Muddy Buddies for my daughter's last class party of the year. Her class loves the stuff and they're so easy to make, I thought it would be no big deal. I get it all mixed up and bend down to grab a big plastic baggie so I can shake the powdered sugar to coat everything. Except there was one problem. I only found an empty box that used to contain my big baggies. Great! I can't run to the store since the chocolate will harden by the time I get back. So now what? That's when I had my "Ah Ha!" moment. I didn't have any more baggies, but I did have a big plastic cereal bag sitting empty on my counter. This could work! I started to spoon the chocolaty cereal mixture into the bag. Visions of powdered sugar clouds coating my kitchen ran through my head as I poured some sugar into the bag. I told myself to fold and hold extra tight. I realized I had closed my eyes as I started shaking the bag. Afraid to look, I peeked one eye open. Hmm...all clear? Sure enough, it worked. It worked like a charm! Now I can't help but kick myself knowing how many plastic baggies (and money) I could have saved over the years. I also keep asking myself how many other ways I can use cereal bags. I'll have to start purposely keeping a few of them on hand to experiment. I just had to share my accidental woo hoo with all of you. Have a great day! Until next time, rock on my friends!