Picture Perfect Cooking

I need to sing the blues a little bit today.  C & I were on vacation last week and today is our first day back at work.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like my job and I know I am blessed to have it.  We just got REALLY spoiled to not having an alarm go off in the morning and I got REALLY spoiled with not having to get ready every morning.  C might prefer that I am going back so I will fix my hair and put a little makeup on.  I can tell that did not happen much this last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We did get a few chores accomplished while we were off.  Personally, I did a little freezer cooking, a lot of ironing, cleaned up the garden beds and emptied my flower pots.  C washed a lot of our vinyl siding, mowed our yard and his parent’s yard and weedeated everything!  We still have a few more little jobs to finish up but we made quite a bit of progress in just a few days.  Oh, we did manage to sneak in a little extra rest as well.  I DID say we were getting spoiled to being home.  We would make great hermits if there are any job openings for those!!

At first I said that I wasn’t going to cook at all while I was off, but that didn’t last long.  It was actually a pleasure since I could do it when I wanted and had time to keep things fairly clean as I went.  It was really, really nice.  This week is pretty simple so there probably won’t be anything new this time.  C & I still want to try to finish up a few little projects.

Bubble up pizza with fresh fruit

Grilled pork chops with oven fries & salad

Baked ham slices with baked potatoes

Tacos with salad

Pizza night

Basic meatloaf with curly fries & salad

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Happy Labor Day, folks!  I hope everyone is having a safe and fun holiday weekend.  It is not just a long weekend for us since we decided to go ahead and take this week off for our “summer vacation”.  Woo hoo!!!  C & I were both so in need of a little R & R so hopefully this week will be easy and laid back. 

We decided not to travel anywhere for this vacation so we are acting like hermits.  Hopefully, we will have some time for a  few small projects around the house that have gotten pushed aside.   So far I have managed to do some freezer cooking and cabinet/closet clean outs and it’s only Monday. 

I do have somewhat of a menu this week but it is shorter since we will probably be eating leftovers a few times.  Last week, I didn’t list the new recipe that I tried which was a Rustic Pot Roast that I made yesterday.  It will be on the blog very soon! 

Sausage cheese dip with nacho chips

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven fries and salad

Baked ham slices with oven fries and corn on the cob

Honey butter pork loin (new) with baked potatoes

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Goooooooood morning, everyone!  I hope everyone is up and at ‘em more than we are today.  C & I took in the Kentucky State Fair on its last day yesterday and closed out the night by watching one of our favorite comedians, Jeff Dunham, at Freedom Hall.  We lost a little sleep, but it was well worth it.  Maybe we can catch up next week since we are taking a few days off.  That’s right…a staycation is just a few days away and I am SO READY!

This weeks menu is a little light since I am trying to clean out the pantry/fridge/freezer before going to the grocery at the end of the week.  Hopefully I can get stocked back up on some essentials for a few new recipes.  Have a great week everyone!

Grilled hamburgers with oven fries

Tacos with fresh fruit

Pizza night

Grilled pork chops with baked potatoes

Grocery night out

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Shredded pork bbq with oven fries

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Good Monday morning, everyone!  I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend, or at the very least, an enjoyable one.  We took things pretty easy around here and caught up on a little housework and laundry.  You know how I said I was going to try one new recipe a week last Monday?  Well, I did, just not the recipe I had planned.  Instead of making the new pasta dish, I used an old favorite and made a new cake instead.  So I guess I still followed my rule! 

This week is a little haphazard.  We have a few plans that will have us eating out.  Bummer…well, no, not really.  We should get to have some fun and I will have all of the details later.  Have a great week!

Grilled pork chops with oven baked fries & corn on the cob

Minestrone soup (new)

Sausage bake with salad

Grilled steaks with baked potatoes & corn on the cob

Pizza night

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Do you ever feel like you cook the same meals over and over again?  I know I do so I am going to try to make more of an effort to try a few new supper ideas in the coming weeks.  I hope to add one new thing each week if time permits and it should.  My hope and prayer is that life just settles down in the near future.  There are a few projects, both big and small,  that C & I would like to start on so hopefully we will be able to. 

I had a new experience over the weekend and I hope it is not the last time.  I took exhibits to Louisville on Saturday to enter in the Kentucky State Fair.  I was a nervous wreck by the time we got up there.  I don’t know if I was just scared that something was going to happen to my food and photo before I handed it off or it is just the thought of someone “judging” the things I do.  We made it safely though and I hope to get a good response from my entries. 

I hope all my readers have a safe and blessed week! 

Basic meatloaf with baked potatoes and corn on the cob

Beef stew with noodles

Enchilada beef with salad

Grilled pork chops with oven fries and salad

Pizza night

Classic baked ziti (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Good morning, folks!  It’s Monday again so it is time for a fresh start at home and work.  This weekend has been beautiful and the unusually cool weather is supposed to continue through this week.  I finally had a chance to weed the garden and strawberry beds last week and I hope to clean out the front landscaping this week if all goes well.  The weeds like this nice weather as much as the good plants do.  They just keep growing and growing and growing!

Since it has been cooler, it gets me in the mood for fall home improvement projects and we may have a couple in the near future.  We have to get past the beginning of school first.  Even though my husband works year round for the school system as technology coordinator, the beginning and ending of the school year is always a stressful time.  Once he gets back in the swing of things, life can get back to normal. 

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven fries

Enchilada beef with fruit

Taco ring with fresh veggies & fruit

Pineapple pork chops with grilled potato wedges

Taco roast with oven fries

Pizza night

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Well, good morning, everyone!  It is nice to back in my regular posting routine and it is also great to be delivering some good news.  Last Monday, my MIL, who is such an awesome lady, had triple bypass surgery to correct 3 very serious blockages.  We are so blessed because all three blockages are fixed and she is home resting and recuperating.  Yay!!!  Praise God!

Since she is now on dietary restrictions and I am helping out in the kitchen, it is time for me to learn to do more low sodium and heart healthy cooking.  I don’t think my usual meals are too bad, but I know I can do better.  C & I have been what I like to call “stress eating” the last few weeks so it is time to clean up the old diet a little.  Don’t expect to see major changes here…just a few tweaks to old favorites.  I have ordered a few salt-free spice blends from Penzey’s Spices to try and I will let you know how they are.  Besides avoiding extra salt, it is back to breakfast smoothies for me instead of stopping for a ham biscuit and Coke at Dairy Queen.  Hopefully we will all be a little healthier for it.

Salsa sloppy Joes with oven fries

Taco pork chops with baked potatoes

Deep dish pizza casserole with fresh garden veggies

Grilled hamburgers with oven fries

Pork Chops a la City Chicken (new) with baked potatoes

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Good morning, my dear readers!  First things first: I finally created a Facebook page for Picture Perfect Cooking and I would love if you would “like” it!  The link is on the right side bar just below “Who Am I”. 

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day holiday.  We celebrated a day early with C’s cousins at a cookout and had a great time.  The 4th was a complete wash-out around here.  Actually, the 4th, 5th, 6th, & 7th were washouts.  I am beginning to feel a little like Dorothy, because this doesn’t feel like Kentucky anymore; at least not Kentucky in July.  We have had days and days of cool, wet, dreary weather and I hope it is about over for a while.  If not, we will be able to start a mushroom farm in the backyard. My poor garden looks bad, but it is still producing so I guess that is all that matters.

Anywho, this week is a little short on the menu plan.  We have some busy work days and one night out planned (if it doesn’t rain out the event).  I still haven’t made it to the grocery store yet so hopefully I will venture out this week. Hope everyone has a safe, blessed and DRY week!

Leftover shredded BBQ with oven fries

Baked ham slices with butter roasted potatoes

Taco ring with salad

Shredded beef taco roast with oven fries

Pizza night

Frozen Oreo pie (didn’t get made last week)

Join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »

Happy July 1st, everyone!  Are you ready for the big holiday weekend coming up in just a few days?  Nah, me neither.  We only get the 4th off from work so it will be business as usual on Friday so I don’t think we will have any grand plans for Independence Day.  It will be nice just to piddle around home and take it easy.  I am still refinishing a hutch I bought last year and I hope to have enough time Thursday and Saturday to get it finished.  Of course, there will photos coming up if I get it done.

We had a all day outing this past Saturday and I have multiple Thoughtful Thursday posts coming up soon about it all.  I just couldn’t squeeze it all into one!

This week’s menu is mostly old favorites since I am cleaning out the fridge and pantry before a grocery shopping trip at the end of the week with a new BBQ recipe and new dessert recipe to try next weekend.  I hope everyone has a happy, fun, and safe Fourth of July!

Bubble up pizza

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven fries

Taco ring with salad

Grilled steak burgers with oven fries

Plain Chicken’s Slow Cooker Coca Cola Pulled Pork with fries

Frozen Oreo Pie

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Read Full Post »