Shelf81's Profile

Wow! Thank you SO much for all the awesome ideas. The only one that I had in my mind was caprese salad skewers and baking a cake. I definitely will be able to piece together a menu from this.

I've been doing a much better job of coming home from the grocery store and spending time prepping. I peel and cut veggies and stock the fridge with easy to grab snacks. Same goes for fruit, I've got mason jars full of ready to go snacks. I hate cutting out food, I'm a terrible dieter. However, I usually turn to fruits and veggies and by having everything prepped and at my fingertips I automatically make better choices. Even my husband has seen how helpful this is. Our fridge currently has the following making it so easy to snack and grab food for on the go. We're making it a goal to eat out only twice a month. Brunch most likely!

1) cut carrots, bell peppers, jicima and cucumbers
2) assorted cut fruit in mason jars for on the go ease
3) hummus
4) greek yogurt
5) hard boiled eggs, peeled and ready to eat
6) nuts
7) tortilla chips & salsa
8) a huge bowl of segmented grapefruit, I have a citrus addiction!

I second the suggestions for Pioneer Woman or Smitten Kitchen. I never thought I could bake a pie either :)

Baked Bree's kings ranch casserole for dinner tonight! Vegan apple bananna bread, apple cake, pumpkin bread and asian pulled pork in the crock pot. Hello fall!

Yum. I am obsessed with mushrooms. I've been using them to bulk up recipes with ground beef. Makes it possible to buy less meat and save some $$.

Also anytime I cook mushrooms I ALWAYS hear Julia Child saying don't crowd the mushrooms or they won't brown :)

I use a combination of perusing the grocery fliers to see what's on sale, what the weather is going to be and what kind of crazy week we're having. Then I hit the farmers market on Saturday's to pick up some in season produce or specialty items. Followed by a big grocery trip on Sunday's.

In terms of figuring out what to make we have a list of meals that we love and are easy to cook hanging on our fridge. Those staples make it into the rotation frequently and then I go through my pinterest boards as well as cookbooks and magazines to find 1-2 new recipes to add into the rotation. Our staples list is getting longer and longer.

Weather is also defintiely a factor. My husband is not the biggest fan of stoup or stews so I know I have to wait until it's truly cold for those. Our grill has been a lifesaver for the past 3 months with 90˚ temps frequently throughout the week. I for one will welcome cold weather so I can make soups and stews which translate into great leftovers!

I second that Go Bears! I'm also making gazpacho. And an heirloom tomato salad with parmesan crisps and bacon from the newest food network magazine. And probably going to make a peach pie including homemade crust with my brand new kitchen aid!

dinner tonight was grilled salmon with a dressing of greek yogurt, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil and chives pureed lemon juice and paired with grilled rainbow carrots and a simple greek salad.

looking forward to making something with all these fresh colorado peaches!

Why oh why didn't I think of this? It's disgustingly hot here and it doesn't appear that Colorado is going to be getting any relief soon. I will be at the farmers market bright and early to get my tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers for some gazpacho! I like to top mine with diced veggies left over from soup ingredients. Sometimes we toss some chickpeas in there too.

what about making some sort of frozen ice slush? alcoholic or not?