Leah's Favorite Things

If you read Esther’s blog…which if you don’t your totally missing out cause she is a way better blogger than I am…you might have read that we did some meal planning.
Yes…this was my second week following a meal plan.
And let me tell you…it’s been wonderful.
Sunday I make the plan, Monday I go grocery shopping and the rest of the week I have more time to get errands and chores done AND we have a decent meal.
We haven’t even been tempted to eat out!
However, putting together the meal plan is a beast.
It doesn’t come easy…lots of cookbook flippin, internet searching, and yelling at my friend.
Yes…I yelled at her to get me her list of Crockpot recipes.
She doesn’t have a “list” of Crockpot recipes.
I concocted that she has such a list in my mind.
It’s a miracle she is my friend at all
So I guess I’m here to encourage you all to make that dam meal plan!
And then blog your plan and leave me a comment linking me to your post.
I need all the inspiration I can get!
If enough of you are interested in blogging your meal plans I can host a link party so we can all share ideas!
And I am starting to cook my way through your recipe suggestions so stay tuned.

And just for the heck of it…let me share with you a great cabbage salad recipe.
My dear friend Serena introduced me to it last summer and then I cornered her in a dark room and made her give up the recipe.
Again…how do I even have friends?

Kossian Cabbage Salad

2 pkgs ramen noodles (you won’t be using the seasoning package)
1 head cabbage
1/2 c butter
2 T sesame seeds
1 c chopped almonds
1/2 c olive oil
1 T soy sauce
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c vinegar (apple or red wine)

Wash and chop cabbage. In a sauce pan melt butter. Add noodles, sesame seeds and almonds. Brown ingredients and watch so they don’t burn. Mix with cabbage. Then, mix last four ingredients and pour over salad.
This is a super easy and delish recipe…great for potlucks or large crowds. However, it does not store well…the noodles get soggy in the fridge (I’ve tried to save leftovers so eat it in one sitting or half the recipe for smaller gatherings.

Do you like our pumpkins?
We carved them last weekend.
The pumpkin “pie” one…that’s all husb

And if you need a last minute Halloween treat, I suggest homemade caramel popcorn.
 
I was craving some Halloween candy but haven’t bought any (we don’t get trick-or-treaters) so I made caramel popcorn tonight.
Super easy and you more than likely already have the ingredients on hand.

All you need to do it…
make this caramel glaze (I half the recipe and omit the gelatin for a big batch of caramel popcorn)
and then pour it over a bowl of popcorn (homemade is best).
Enjoy!

Be safe out there and eat a Reeses cup for me!

As usual Kim and I were up to no good on Thursday.

We started playing around with Picniks Halloween photo editing.
She gave me lots of facial hair.
A unibrow, chin hair, heart shaped hair patch, even hairy teeth.
Gross…the idea of hairy teeth makes me gag.
I went hunchback of Notre-Dame on her with the facial distortion.
Then we had to leave so the fun ended.
But this is just the beginning friends.
Time to dig into my photo collection and let the good times roll

Husb surprised me with a gift certificate to the spa as an anniversary gift…so I got a massage today.

I love the spa.
I would move in if they would let me.
It’s so, so…so relaxing.
The soft music, dim lighting, warm robes.
Oh yeah…they put your robe in a heated drawer so it’s all toasty warm and waiting for you after your massage.
And then there is the orange water, cranberries, pretzels, almonds and walnuts that you munch on while you read a magazine in the ladies lounge.
All the while, soaking up the last bit of warmth in that darn robe.
Can you tell I’m into the spa?
Thanks Husband…I had a wonderful time.

After my pampering session I came home and made Easy Apple Cake.
I recommend it.
It was man pleasing and not nearly as sweet as I thought it was going to be.
Bakerella makes out like it’s sugar overload…but it wasn’t.
And that’s coming from the girl known to get sugar headaches after downing one after dinner mint.

And before I end this post and go to bed, let me share with you one more recipe…Creeping Crust Fruit Pie.
 

 
I made it the night before so that we would have something yummy for breakfast.
I’m breaking my habit of breakfast cereal.
I’m not a breakfast person so this is a challenge for me.
Anyhow, back to the fruit pie…I used spelt four (which I am really starting to love) instead of whole wheat.
And I took the suggestion and used part flaxseed meal to part white flour.
As far as fruit goes…I used frozen blueberries (picked them over the summer) and a persimmon.
I had my first persimmon a little over a year ago when we lived in our last apartment.
Our landlord’s parents were in town visiting from California and had brought her some from their garden.
She was kind enough to share and I’m so glad she did.
They are delightful.
So I picked one up at Whole Foods yesterday not knowing exactly how I would use it.
Hello Creeping Crust!
It’s a wonderful combination…but as the recipe says…use whatever fruit you want!

Goodnight!

Cue the choir music…
I put together a meal plan for this week!

 
I find this to be a difficult task.
However, having it planned out makes me happy.
And it makes my bank account happy.
Eating out makes my bank account sad…very, very sad.
I’m even armed and ready with a grocery list to do my weeks worth of grocery shopping tomorrow.
After the gym.
Oh the gym…and our love/hate relationship.

For those of you with phones that use apps…
I highly recommend the OurGroceries app.
It turns your phone into an awesome grocery list and it’s free!
Much more convenient than having a paper list.
Your husband can even put the app on his phone and add items to your list.
I will no longer be blamed for forgetting to buy toothpaste!
He simply didn’t put it on the list

WHITNEY!
Way to go girl!
Let me know which item you would like and I’ll order it right away!
And just incase you are curious…Husb made my random number generator using PowerShell.
One of the perks of being married to a software engineer

And as for the rest of you…I’m sorry I can’t purchase one for each of you.
But I do love ya and appreciate that you take time outta your day/week to read my random post.

And on a different note, I was just watching the Real Housewives of D.C. reunion show when a commercial for Puffs tissue came on.
And it had a winter theme, little cartoonish people playing in the snow.
I now have an urgent need to run down to storage and dig out my fall decorations before its too late!

Today is the last day to sign up for my blog birthday giveaway!
If you haven’t already…leave a comment here to enter.

And now…let me share with you a delicious recipe for pumpkin scones.
I’ve made them twice in the last week. I use spelt flour and eat them for breakfast.
Each time I thought…oh take a picture so that you can blog about it.
I didn’t take a single picture.
They are too distracting with their amazing cinnamon icing.
Tammy…you really out did yourself with that icing.
So simple but so dang good.
So instead of waiting until I make the third batch I thought I would go ahead and share the recipe.
It is October and what better month to make pumpkin scones?
Enjoy!

Hi friends!
How was your day?
Well…I’m writing this post at 10:26pm so by the time you read it your day might just be starting.
In that case…I hope your day goes well.

My day on the other hand consisted of meetings, emails, phone calls and a quick nap which was interrupted many times by phone calls homework club.
Have I told you guys about the changes at homework club this year?
Yours truly is in charge.
Yeah…scary is right.
So far, by Gods grace, the schedule I put in place is working well.
Leaders are happy and kids are adjusting nicely to the new structure.
However, my organization and time management skills have put me out of a job.
Yeah…things have run so smoothly that by the time I have helped transition from craft to dinner, from dinner to story time, from story time to homework…
well I simply have nothing to do.
The leaders know what to do and they do it well.
I simply sit back and wait for the next transition.
However, I was told today that once I feel like things are running smooth enough that the guys will go out and knock on doors inviting families to club.
That’s encouragement enough to be thankful for the current lack of chaos.
It is sure to come! Ha!

But you guys…my biggest fear over the last year is that I would take over and then kids would stop coming and I’d be a failure.
Really…it scares me!
However, I am reminded by the words of my dear Mexican missionary friend Natalie, that this club is not my club but God’s club.
If God wants 60 kids there then there will be 60 kids there.
If God wants 2 kids there then there will be 2 kids there.
I just need to pray for guidance and wisdom and obedience.
Please feel free to pray for my crazy ol self at any time…and remind me of this post if I start buggin out…which I am prone to do!

And I didn’t take any pictures today…
but I took this picture of Kim last week while we were at my favorite coffee shop.
And that picture behind her…I wanted to buy it so bad.
You can’t tell from the picture but it is SO BEAUTIFUL!
Sadly, it was just a tad outta my budget at a mere $2,500
But I think I may be brave enough to try and make myself a knock off.
Maybe

Today I went to the spa.
I love the spa.
Serena and I celebrated her birthday… pedicure style.
I love a pedicure.
It makes all your problems melt away.
Okay…that is totally not true.
It has been a trying week…and the spa didn’t change that.
But it was still great.

You know what else is great?
Tiramisu cupcakes.
Esther and I made them last Friday.
And they were good.

 
Sorry for the poor picture quality…that’s what happens at night in the house.
And just to prove I’m street…haha Amber that’s for you…I’ll show you the non-Martha Stewart dessert I made last night.

That’s right…Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in a can.
Represent!
They truly are the best cinnamon rolls in the world.
Dare I say it?
I even prefer them over PW’s cinnamon rolls.
I know. I’m sorry. That doesn’t mean I wont eat PW’s rolls if you make them and invite me over
They are a Sanders family tradition that I plan on keeping around.

I’m off to watch Flipping Out and last nights Atlanta Housewives…
but I just want to remind you to leave a comment on this post if you want to enter my giveaway and haven’t already.
And also…you guys are so sweet.
You didn’t have to answer ALL the questions…but I’m glad so many of you did.
They are fun to read. Every blogger loves comments!