Just in case anyone was worried, there was no Meal Plan Monday post this week because Matt and I are in Fort Worth, Texas until Friday. Matt is here for a work-related conference, and I am doing grad work in the hotel room.
I feel bad for Matt because an event like this requires him to be "on" all the time, which has to be tiring. Even for a people person like him. I'm doing pretty well, though-- no lunches or dinners to make, no cleaning to do, no errands to run. All I have to do is get this grad work done.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Meatloaf is Love
Ah, meatloaf, that humble comfort food. It's so easy to make, but no matter how hard you try, you can't get it exactly the same as your mother's. And don't even try to duplicate your mother-in-law's version, you can't do it.
Because I still consider myself a kitchen novice, I really appreciate how forgiving meatloaf is. The first few times I made it, I started with the basic meat/egg/bread crumbs base and just threw stuff in. "My mom puts soy sauce and mustard in her burgers, let's see how it works with meatloaf." Or, "Oh hey, I have some salsa but no chips. I'll just throw the salsa into the meatloaf."
I think I can now officially say that I have figured out "my" meatloaf. Ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, soy sauce, mustard, salsa, and onions, with ketchup on top. I don't know any amounts other than one pound of beef and one egg. Everything else I just sort of put in until it seems right.
My husband really likes meatloaf in general, but I checked with him today and he assured me that he likes MY meatloaf. It's a little thing, but for this Midwestern man, meatloaf = love. Leaving all the leftovers for him = lots of love. And so I'm happy to make it for him.
Because I still consider myself a kitchen novice, I really appreciate how forgiving meatloaf is. The first few times I made it, I started with the basic meat/egg/bread crumbs base and just threw stuff in. "My mom puts soy sauce and mustard in her burgers, let's see how it works with meatloaf." Or, "Oh hey, I have some salsa but no chips. I'll just throw the salsa into the meatloaf."
I think I can now officially say that I have figured out "my" meatloaf. Ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, soy sauce, mustard, salsa, and onions, with ketchup on top. I don't know any amounts other than one pound of beef and one egg. Everything else I just sort of put in until it seems right.
My husband really likes meatloaf in general, but I checked with him today and he assured me that he likes MY meatloaf. It's a little thing, but for this Midwestern man, meatloaf = love. Leaving all the leftovers for him = lots of love. And so I'm happy to make it for him.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Meal Plan Monday - Week of April 19
This week's meal plan is based on the fact that I'm entering crunch time with my current semester of grad school. I still have two big assignments and three smaller ones hanging over me, and I'm slogging through them as best as I can. Matt offered to make this week's theme "eat out" but instead we just went with "easy".
- salmon (carryover from last week), couscous, some veggie to be determined
- spaghetti
- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas
- Hawaiian pork chops, rice, broccoli
- tuna noodle casserole
- chicken & mushroom pasta
Friday, April 16, 2010
HGTV: the First Time Homebuyers I Love to Hate
Last week on Facebook I admitted that Matt and I yell at the TV-- while watching HGTV. But thank goodness, it turns out we are not the only ones!
We often end up watching the "First Time Homebuyers Hour" which includes two shows, My First Place and Property Virgins. These people usually drive us crazy!
They have no financial sense.
Last week we heard a husband and wife have this conversation:
They add their down payment to the approved mortgage amount.
This may actually be kosher in the world of real estate, but Matt and I aren't sure it's a good idea. When these shows lay out a budget, they'll say something like, "Dick and Jane have been approved for a $350,000 mortgage and have a $15,000 down payment, so their budget is $365,000." To us it just seems like a good way to start getting in over your head.
They don't do their research.
This is a big one on Property Virgins. The Virgins take the host to a neighborhood where they want to live, and are shocked when the host reveals the average price of houses in that neighborhood. Spending about five minutes on realtor.com isn't that hard.
They rule out houses for stupid things like paint color/wallpaper/curtains/furniture.
This is why HGTV's staging shows are popular-- because most people just see what's in front of them and not what is possible. But hey, once Matt and I start our own house-hunt, we'll be more than happy to snap up an awesome house that someone else didn't want because of unfortunate paint choices.
They won't walk away from major problems.
Call me cold-hearted, but I was never one of those people who believes there is "one true soulmate" for me out there. I figured that nobody is perfect, so there were probably several guys I could have made a good marriage with-- I think Matt is the best there is, but still. Anyways, people get so caught up in one house that they won't walk away if the price is too high or if there are major problems with the house.
I remember seeing one episode of My First Place where the homebuyers loved a house they were viewing. Then they got to the basement and found two feet of standing water. The pregnant wife wanted out, but the husband swore it could be fixed. So she let him call in a plumber friend, who told them the water was actually sewage. Still, the husband wanted to stick with the house. The city flushed the sewer lines, which drained the sewage from the house. Then a home inspector found toxic mold where the sewage had been and ordered the pregnant wife out of the house while he finished the inspection. The husband STILL wanted to stick with the house, but the wife finally put her foot down. Drove. me. nuts!!
On the plus side, though, I feel like Matt and I will be well-prepared when we finally start our own homebuying process. These shows have gotten us talking about how we would want to handle different situations. And we get to look at lots of houses, so we have a pretty solid idea about what appeals to us. Thankfully we match up well on those issues.
In the meantime, we'll just keep yelling at HGTV the way others yell at sports.
We often end up watching the "First Time Homebuyers Hour" which includes two shows, My First Place and Property Virgins. These people usually drive us crazy!
They have no financial sense.
Last week we heard a husband and wife have this conversation:
Wife: I'm not sure we can handle $2500 in monthly payments. We might have to lower our budget.
Husband: Honey, that's what we were approved for-- I'm sure they would know.Seriously? Maybe this particular episode was filmed before the housing crash, but I thought it was common sense. Just because you're approved for a certain amount doesn't mean you have to pay that much.
They add their down payment to the approved mortgage amount.
This may actually be kosher in the world of real estate, but Matt and I aren't sure it's a good idea. When these shows lay out a budget, they'll say something like, "Dick and Jane have been approved for a $350,000 mortgage and have a $15,000 down payment, so their budget is $365,000." To us it just seems like a good way to start getting in over your head.
They don't do their research.
This is a big one on Property Virgins. The Virgins take the host to a neighborhood where they want to live, and are shocked when the host reveals the average price of houses in that neighborhood. Spending about five minutes on realtor.com isn't that hard.
They rule out houses for stupid things like paint color/wallpaper/curtains/furniture.
This is why HGTV's staging shows are popular-- because most people just see what's in front of them and not what is possible. But hey, once Matt and I start our own house-hunt, we'll be more than happy to snap up an awesome house that someone else didn't want because of unfortunate paint choices.
They won't walk away from major problems.
Call me cold-hearted, but I was never one of those people who believes there is "one true soulmate" for me out there. I figured that nobody is perfect, so there were probably several guys I could have made a good marriage with-- I think Matt is the best there is, but still. Anyways, people get so caught up in one house that they won't walk away if the price is too high or if there are major problems with the house.
I remember seeing one episode of My First Place where the homebuyers loved a house they were viewing. Then they got to the basement and found two feet of standing water. The pregnant wife wanted out, but the husband swore it could be fixed. So she let him call in a plumber friend, who told them the water was actually sewage. Still, the husband wanted to stick with the house. The city flushed the sewer lines, which drained the sewage from the house. Then a home inspector found toxic mold where the sewage had been and ordered the pregnant wife out of the house while he finished the inspection. The husband STILL wanted to stick with the house, but the wife finally put her foot down. Drove. me. nuts!!
On the plus side, though, I feel like Matt and I will be well-prepared when we finally start our own homebuying process. These shows have gotten us talking about how we would want to handle different situations. And we get to look at lots of houses, so we have a pretty solid idea about what appeals to us. Thankfully we match up well on those issues.
In the meantime, we'll just keep yelling at HGTV the way others yell at sports.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Meal Plan Monday - Week of April 12
As I dink around on the various blogs I read, I've seen this "Days of the Week" meme pop up a lot. I don't remember all the days, but Monday is for meal plans. I have the weekly meal plan down as a solid habit now, but I don't have a good way to keep track of what I've used in the past several weeks. I'd like to avoid too-frequent repetitions but also record things I tried that went well so I remember to do them again.
Some people specify which meal will be eaten on which day... I just make a list and decide as we go along. Oh, and I only list six meals because we do still eat out once a week or so.
So, here is the first installment of my Meal Plan Monday:
Some people specify which meal will be eaten on which day... I just make a list and decide as we go along. Oh, and I only list six meals because we do still eat out once a week or so.
So, here is the first installment of my Meal Plan Monday:
- chicken teriyaki, rice, broccoli
- BBQ pork chops, baked potatoes, peas
- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas
- chicken pot pie
- tunaburgers, sweet potato fries
- salmon, egg noddles, broccoli
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