Pre-chopping vegetables

When planning my weekly menu if I have a dinner that requires a lot of chopping, I usually try to make another dinner later in the week involving some of those same veggies so I can knock out the work in one night.
Tonight’s menu:
Grilled Chicken and Veggies on the BBQ
Thursday’s menu:
Kabobs
So here is my work station.  I have my chopping board and knife, all veggies laying out, a bowl for seasoning, a bowl for trash, a baggie with my extra veggies, and my chicken marinating in the far corner.

So here is tonight’s meal all seasoned and ready to go out on the BBQ.
  
Here are my extra chopped veggies for kabobs on Thursday.

And here is my yummy healthy dinner cooking out on the BBQ.  Yum!

What are you eating tonight?  What are some things you do in your kitchen to make cooking for your family easier?

Grocery Organizer

If I could hand you an aisle-by-aisle grocery list ...
► Would you zip through the store in half the time?
► Would you get a handle on impulse spending?
► Would you be motivated to track sales and coupons?
► Would you find it easier to shop for your family?
I found this cool software online that helps me save tons of time and money as I shop.
Features:
✔ Aisle-by-aisle grocery list saves steps at the store.
✔ Use it online from any computer anywhere. Nothing to download. You can even get your lists on your blackberry or iphone.
✔ Track sales to save money.
✔ Organize coupons to save even more money.


Click here to purchase Aisle-by-Aisle.
Full-featured full-year trial.
► Only $7
One-time purchase.
► Only $24
Live here in McKinney? I’ve already mapped out the aisles for a few stores for you. (Don’t worry if you don’t, there are others who have mapped out aisles, or you can map out your own as well!)
Walmart in McKinney on Custer Road
Albertsons on Virginia Parkway
Kroger on Lake Forest
Market Street on Ridge Rd
Sam’s Club on 380

Yummy (and healthy) smoothies!

My kids have always enjoyed smoothies.  Most of the time it’s the only way I can get them their fruits.  But my sister gave me a fantastic tip to help them get their veggies too!  She adds spinach to her smoothies.  So here’s what I do….
I add a bunch of frozen fruit into my smoothie maker (blenders work well too).  If I am making a small batch, sometimes I do it in my Magic Bullet.

Then I add a good handful or two of spinach.

I add in some yogurt and some juice or lemonade to help it blend more smoothly.
And then I blend it up!  If you add enough berries it hides the green spinach really well.  Sometimes our smoothies are purple!

My kids all love them…and I do too!