Holy Mole, It's Guacamole

It actually seems a little silly to post a recipe
for good ole' Guacamole,
but ever since I got rid of all the
processed type condiments in my diet,
Salsa and Guacamole are staples at
my lunch and dinner table!

There are so many variations of Guac,
use your own and spice it up depending
on what you are using it for-
Here is a recipe for one that we recently found-
we had eaten at a Trendy & Hip Mexican Restaurant
and ordered their Guac- it looked fresh, amazing
and beautiful because it was topped with salsa-
And it was $20.00!!! Holy Cow! Thems avacadoes
must've been lined with gold!
The best thing about it was that they
made it AT our table from start to finish-
the worst thing about it was
that it was the exact same way I make it at home
and they didn't bring us chips to eat it with!

I was so frustrated that I had spent $20. on guac,
which as we all know,
cannot come home and be saved-
at least not for long
and with no chips, it was a bit of a waste.

Anyhoo, so I like this recipe,
because it looks fanciful,
but I definitely don't worry that my kids
won't go to college because I eat it all the time

Fire Roasted Guacamole w/ Salsa

For the Guacamole:
4 large ripe avocados
1/4 c. finely diced red onion
cilantro to your liking
2-3 TBSP. freshly squeezed lime juice
a quick little zest of lime
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper sauce
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
In a bowl, mash to avocados to your liking. Stir in the remaining guacamole ingredients.
Spoon into a large ramekin or shallow dish. Top with Salsa, recipe below.

For the Salsa:
One 14 1/2 oz. can Fire Roasted or plain diced tomatoes, well drained
2 Roma tomatoes, finely cubed
1/4 c. chopped red onion
2 TBSP. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
(I keep my seeds in- get rid of them if you don't do spicy)
1/8 tsp. cumin seed

In a bowl, mix the salsa ingredients. Serve alone or on top of the above Guacamole.

How I make a Menu

***** Warning very long- though informative- Post *********
Pictures to follow

It's the end of the month again,
I am absolutely flabbergasted
and totally befuddled that it is the
END of AUGUST!!
Holy Cow! Do you know that
December is just four squares on the
calendar away from August.

Well, I'm not talking about December
cares right now, though they are
on my mind, 
never you fear.
No, today, as the end of the month approaches,
I am thinking about the new month,
which means two things 'round here-
Bill Paying (ugh!)
and Menu Planning (yum!)
but unless anyone out there in cyber land is
raising their hands and shouting from the rooftops
that they'd like to pay my bills,
I think I will settle in and talk menu.
Plus, I've been fighting with the menu planning page
for a month, this will be a good start.

So I start with a few of my favorite books-
cookbooks that is.

These are the three I turn to the most,

I can always find healthy, fast & friendly
when I open these three books- and 90%
of the time, that's what I'm looking for.
I love to try new things so this is the springboard
to start the planning.
I ask everyone for 4 dinner ideas, 1 treat
and 1 breakfast that they are totally craving!
I'm not one of those who tries something new
EVERY DAY! We have our favs, our go to guys,
and I like to keep them as the building blocks to
a good menu.
This way everyone knows that there will be something
on the menu that they not only like, but that they are
dreaming about-
maybe at your house, you don't dream in food,
but here- it's all about the palette baby!

My menu planning also revolves around the weather,
the season and what is happening at our house that month,
Birthdays, Diets, Sports, activities at school and vacations
(in September we have one birthday, 4 weekly after school activites,
one vacation & mr. treasure is trying to lose weight, plus it is 
still a hot month in sunny so-cal)
all are part of the equation.
The final thing I try to keep balanced is the amount of
meat, pasta and bread that makes its way onto the list-
I'm not against any of these,
it just so happens that if I'm not careful,
they show their heads more often than I like
and I really want a healthy balance in what we eat.

I usually end up with list that looks a lot like this:
September Menu Plan
Stir fry *
Shrimp Tacos *
Summer Spaghetti *
Crunchy Cabbage Salad *
Chicken & Sundried Tomato Panini *
Roasted chicken w/ balsamic peppers & potatoes *
Lime Grilled Chicken & Orange Scented Green Beans *
Shrimp with Creamy Orange Chipotle
Tri-Tip with Caramelized Red Onions & BBQ sauce
     w/ Quinoa & Pepper Pilaf
(we have a Birthday Dinner)
Asiago Pork Chops w/ Parmesan Shmashed Potatoes
(about this point, I realize I have a lot of meat so I try to recover)
Caramelized Pepper Quesadillias *
Field of Greens Salad *
Roasted Asparagus & Green Salad *
Grilled Rainbow & Homemade Wheat Bread
Asparagus Salad *
Fiesta Salad *
Pesto Pasta *
Maple Butternut Squash & Apple Fall Salad *
Roasted Vegetable Pasta *
Carrot Cake Pancakes *
Fish Primavera and Brown Rice Bake
Taco Pockets, Corn Bread & Guac *
Brown Sugar Salmon & Wild Rice Pilaf *
California BLT Pockets *
(the starred (*) items are meals that can go together 
in about 30 minutes & that my kids can do if needed)
Breakfasts:
Overnight Honey Almond Multigrain Cereal
Pumpkin Muffins
Blueberry Casserole
Crepes
Cranberry-Orange English Scones

Desserts:
Molten Lava Cake
(remember there is a birthday)
Apple Spice Cake
Chocolate Peppermint Parfaits
Mango Lime Smoothies
Lemon Berry Angel Food Cakes
Orange Bread Pudding

Sorry it got lengthy, I decided to just go ahead
and finish it up- now you know what we will be
eating in September.
I only do a few breakfasts ideas because we have our
run of the mill, eat during the school week routine,
so these are the weekend breakfasts.
I plan our desserts for two reasons-
A) if I don't have something to look forward to,
I will dessert myself to death on a daily basis &
B) if I have a plan, I won't buy 10 gallons of ice
cream, make a ton of cookies and buy all the
ingredients for every thing I see-
oh wait- they are kind of the same reason-
Well anyway, it is out of self preservation for me!
I gotta have my dessert plan!

So that is the footprint for the month.
From those, I make a working menu for the week,

and it includes breakfast, lunch & dinner
It looks like this:

I get the grocery ads for the week,
and analyze it for any great sales-
if there are any, I modify my weekly menu accordingly
(if I have asparagus on the menu, but it is $5.99/ pound,
that gets skipped, and likewise, if Salmon is on sale,
I pull out all that I love about Salmon recipes)

I go shopping on the 1st of the month,
and I buy all the pantry basics for this list plus
all the sale items that I know I use on a frequent basis.
This is a big shopping day, because I usually end up
at all the stores-
and it usually takes up about 1/2 of my monthly budget!

Than each week, I look at the ads,
make changes if needed,
and do a quick stock up of what we need,
usually only the produce, milk, & eggs.

Starting in September, I am going to try
something to save a bit of money. I am only
going to buy the sale items that we are ACTUALLY
using that month, not the others that we use regularly,
but won't need that month. My plan is to try that
through the end of the year, and than go back to
stocking up. I'll let you know how it works.

Taking a Break

I'm not afraid to give myself a day off.
As a matter of fact, I have a scheduled
day off every week-
WEDNESDAY'S

I don't make lunch for anyone who might show up
early from school on Wednesday's.
My husband isn't allowed to go to work
late or come home early on those days,
and he can't come home for lunch.

I don't schedule doctors appointments,
hair cuts or do any volunteer work on
Wednesdays!
It's my day and usually I fill this day with
things that I love- I might scrapbook, or
organize my pictures. I might sit by the pool
and read a good book, or I might wander the mall.
I seriously believe that this ONE day a week,
which really amounts to 5 hours once I factor
in school drop offs and pick ups,
is my saving grace and the very reason that I'm
don't find myself too stressed out very often.
I get what I love out of life, but I also let my
children and husband know that I am committed to
taking care of myself- which means I am
committed to taking care of them.
I want my family to know that it is important to
take time for the things you love. It may not be
a ton of time, but I know that if I'm feeling
stressed, I only have to make it to Wednesday
to decompress and enjoy a few hours of my own.

What day will you take off this week?