"Oh How I Love A Good Saturday"

Yesterday was an over the rainbow kind of a day for all..

My Mr. and daughter the fabulously talented duo from www.2eesphotography.com

off to the fall Bridal Fair..well to keep a keen eye on the Wedding Photography industry here in good ole Spokane..

Son in-law at work, but off early as well to run by and pick up his Dad in-law for a 

 Micro-Brew tasting at a new neighborhood gathering called "The Manito Tap House"..

Several local brewers were there with the wonderful offerings to share..

Son at work, but soon to be done and off to a friends "Bachelor Party"..

and Me off early...

After leaving work I stopped off at my favorite grocery outing place to grab this weeks menu pickings..

Have to tell you that making a menu, making a list and sticking to it absolutely pays off in so many ways..I've known this for years, but have to admit that until the last year or so wasn't very good at it..

Now that my hubby and I are doing our best to follow the incredible financial and budget advice of the very wise Mr. Dave Ramsey

www.daveramsey.com

I am being quite diligent at my weekly planning.

New recipes with a few old favorites, keeping in season offerings in mind for the budget minded and of course most incredible flavor..

This weeks menu offerings came in at a total cost of just $60.07 for 3 of us and sometimes more..

pretty darn good huh!!!

So for this week, which for me is 4 days of cooking, 2 days of combining leftovers into new dishes and 1 day of "fend for yourself", these are my choices..

Beginning with this literally incredible recipe from the fabulous 

Ree Drummond of www.thepioneerwoman.com

Oh my gosh I do love this woman !!!

Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup...

Please visit her site through the link above..this soup is dated Oct 3rd 2011 and you can not only get this recipe, but follow along in the making with her beautiful photographs..

 It was a tremendously flavorful, beautiful soup and absolutely divine..

My Son In-Law was bowing to my soup making devices and coming from him, an incredible cook in his own rite, that is incredibly meaningful to me..thanks Ree!!

This last week my sweet Mom In-Law

bestowed upon me a very large zucchini, so after shredding all into several 2 cup packages for the freezer I decided to make this for breakfast...so yummy!!!

Paula Deen's Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Offerings for the rest of this week are:

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

another recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com

dated September 9th, 2010

also from my own stash

Veggie Quiche

Herb Roasted Chicken

and Salisbury Steak with Parmesan Yukon Gold Mashed potatoes

And if I have time I am definitely going to make this

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

From: www.melskitchencafe.com

using the leftover roasted chicken

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

Does anyone have a towel, because I am totally drooling now...

Many blessings to all for a most wonderful family filled weekend..

Me