What is on your menu this week?

My mom made my day this weekend.  She ordered me this pan and had it delivered it to my house.  I've been needing/wanting a bigger saute pan for a long time since my family eats more these days, but haven't bought myself one.  Now I don't have to make meatballs in two diferent pans.  Thanks Mom! Menu time... Monday:  porcupine meatballs , rice, steamed broccoli Tuesday:  birthday boy dinner Wednesday: slow cooker tamale pie Thursday: sloppy joes, oven fries Friday:   Swedish meatballs , mashed potatoes, ikea gravy Saturday: chicken tetrazinni Sunday:   slow cooker pork and black bean soup What are you making this week?

I thought I'd give a little shout out to my some of my favorite tools in the kitchen.  My newest favorite kitchen tool is... my Dustbuster. My fabulous mother-in-law, Marianne, and sister-in-law, Melinda have each had a dustbuster in their kitchen for a long time.  After our trip to visit family this last Christmas, I realized that my life would be so much easier with a dustbuster. We have tile floors in our kitchen and wood floor under the kitchen bar and in the dining room.  My kids make millions of crumbs from eating a piece of toast.  And muffins.  And cereal. And...pretty much everything they eat makes crumbs.  We try to stress the importance of leaning over the table and their plate when they eat, but that's a lot to ask of kids, I guess. I ordered my own dustbuster from Amazon a few weeks ago and it arrived in the mail last week.  I would have loved to just go pick one up from Walmart or Target, but I didn't have time to make the trek ...

I bought myself a little gift this Christmas.  I needed to add something small to my online shopping cart when I was buying Christmas presents from Deseret Book .  I saw this silicone accessory set for $3.99 (regularly like $20) and added it to my cart.   It was definitely worth $4!  I wish I could have bought more to give to other people.   I love the silicone whisk the most!  I love to whisk things, but have been afraid that it will scratch my pans, especially my dutch oven that I got last Christmas .  Now I can whisk all I want and my pans will be fine! I needed one more spatula.  This one works great! My kids love the pinch holder.  They run around with it on their hands. And the trivet is nice.  A little small for baking pans, but perfect for pots. If they get this item back in stock at this sale price, buy yourself one!

I was given several wonderful gifts this year that are for the kitchen.  I love all of them and wanted to share with you what I was so generously given. My little sister gave me this fabulous cookbook.  I'm so excited to read it. My sister-in-law bought me this covered dutch oven .  She gave it to me after Thanksgiving and I couldn't wait to use it.  So instead of wrapping it up and sticking under the tree, I opened it up and started using it.  I love it. My hubby and kids bought me this Giada food processor from Target .  (Okay, so I really picked it out and put it in the cart, but that doesn't matter).  I know it's not the fanciest or most expensive, but I had a coupon, plus it was on sale, so I got a great deal.  And it's a lot better than the mini food processor that I've been using that I got for my wedding 9.5 years ago with a lid that's taped together in three places.  I'm excited to start processing in it. :) Did you get anythin...

My sister-in-law, Meagan, gave me these fun silicone muffin cups for Christmas a few months ago.  I've loved baking with them.  They make the bottom of a muffin more crispy and more like the top of the muffin.  And, the best part is that they just pop right out of the cup.  I love that they are easier to clean than my normal muffin pan.  I made some dessert in them today that I'll post the recipe for in a few days. Thanks Meagan for the fun gift.  I love them! Here's my menu for the week: Monday:  marinated steak Tuesday: parmesan chicken w/potatoes Wednesday:  crockpot BBQ chicken sandwiches Thursday: crockpot porcupine meatball s and rice Friday: lasagna Saturday: 4-Year-Old Birthday Boy dinner Sunday:  crockpot chicken stew Feel free to share your menu!  Have a good week! And don't forget about the mini dessert recipe coming soon.