Easy Weeknight Meal - Meatballs

Like most teachers, I work more than 40 hours a week.  When I come home, I am not always in the mood to cook.  So I am always on the look out for easy and fast recipes.  Today I want to share one with you.

Meatballs are a favorite in my house because, not only are they easy and fast, but they can be put with many different things.  Throw them together with spaghetti, eat them alone, put them in BBQ sauce, make a meatball sub, etc.  

I made them the other night and put them with a salad.  Super easy.  I throw all the ingredients into my mixer and then shape them how I want them.  You can shape them into little meatballs (see picture), make large ones for spaghetti, or they don't even need to be shaped.  You can put them in a pan, cook the meat, and then cut the meat into pieces.

So let's get started!  This recipe is based off of a Betty Crocker recipe, but I have modified it slightly and added my own notations.

Grab your ingredients.  You will need:

• 1 lb. ground beef (You can substitute turkey or chicken as well.)
• 2 Italian sausage links (I like the mild.)
• 1/2 cup Italian-Style bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Dried Onion to taste (I am not a fan of fresh onion, so I use dried onion and when I do, it is very little, but if you love onion, you may want to use a small fresh onion.)
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  I throw everything into my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, but you can hand mix too.  For the Italian sausage, you will need to remove it from the casing.  You want the flavors from the sausage to mix with the ground beef.

 

3. Shape the meat mixture into balls that are about 1-1 1/2 inches.  Place in oven-safe dish.  I use a glass Pyrex pan.  I don't grease the pan.  The fat from the meat makes it easy to release.

4. Bake uncovered 18-22 minutes.  I usually start with 20 minutes and they are perfect.

5. Serve.

Some other thoughts for this recipe.

• I have frozen these meatballs as leftovers and they seem to freeze well as long as you freeze in an airtight container.
• The amount of leftovers depends on the size of meatballs you make.
• If you make larger meatballs, you will need to adjust bake time.

Good luck!  What weekday recipes do you go to?

Back to Reality

I was drinking my hot apple cider this morning, and I realized that I need to start thinking about meal prepping again.  Over break, I didn't have to prep for the week as much as I normally do.  It was nice to make dinner when we were hungry and not have to worry about anything.

Sometimes I feel like I could get used to staying home, or even working part time.  But then I start to think about the kiddos and how much I would miss that too.  How can I have the best of both worlds?

Today, my focus was on breakfast for the week.  I have tried many different things for breakfast, but I keep coming back to the same things.  My husband says I am boring in that respect.  He doesn't understand how I can eat the same thing every day.

Before I started meal prepping, I would eat a bowl of cereal or an english muffin.  Nothing wrong with that, but by the time I ate lunch, I was starving and I would eat something not so good for me.  There were too many hours between breakfast and lunch, without time for a snack.

I have since started making sure that I have a protein in my breakfast.  Sometimes I put in more than one.  I found that when I have protein, I am not starving by the time I have lunch.  So I start by boiling eggs.  I like hard-boiled eggs.  I tried several recipes with eggs in muffin tins with veggies.  They were good for the first few days, and then I got tired of them.  For me, I think I like that the egg is cold.  I seem to be a more cold breakfast type of person.

With that being said, this is what I go to all the time.  Cold fruit, cold, veggie, cold egg.  I also count my calories.  Sometimes when I plan my meals, I find that I am not eating enough calories at breakfast.  So some days, I add these awesome cheese Whisps.  I found these a while back and they come in different cheese flavors.  I love the parmesan flavor. 

They are basically cheese that is air whipped.  If you love chips and stuff that crunches as much as I do, this is a fun treat and the calories are not bad for how filling you feel.  Other times, I just throw in a cheese stick or yogurt.  The good news, my breakfast is done for this week.  Every week, I try to think of new things to make for breakfast, but I always refer back to the same type of things.  

What do you eat for breakfast that gets you going and keeps you full until lunch?

My Caffeine-Free Journey

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I had gone caffeine-free.  I started this in August of 2017.  I was never a huge caffeine drinker in the first place, so that made this a lot easier.  I was one of those people who enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea in the morning (which, technically, I think it was more than a cup) and a Diet Coke in the afternoon.  I also liked to order pop (Chicago girl here) whenever we were out at a restaurant.

I decided to stop drinking caffeine "cold-turkey."  I was fine the first day or so and then I would start to crave it.  I replaced my morning drink with caffeine-free tea.  I already had my Keurig, so I was going to continue to use it.  I had not found the K-Cup I wanted yet, so I was just brewing hot water and putting the tea bag it.  It worked just fine.

Then I found these!  If you are into hot apple cider, you have to try these!  I know this is technically not tea, it made me feel all warm inside.  My biggest issue with this transition has been the craving of the Diet Coke in the afternoon.  I need, or thought I needed that afternoon pick me up.  Some people drink coffee all day.  I could live off of Diet Coke.  But, I decided I was going to change and I stuck with it.  Rarely, I will have a caffeine-Free Diet Coke, but again, that is very rare!

It is kind of funny, because as I write this post, I have a headache.  I don't think it is related to not having caffeine, but it seems a little ironic.

People ask me why I started this journey when the school year started, but without getting into too much detail, it seemed like a good time as any.  If I was busy working, I wouldn't be thinking about it.  That actually made it a lot easier.

How much caffeine do you drink each day?  Do you have a favorite K-Cup?

Holiday Baking

I know my last post was about eating healthy, but I did do some holiday baking this season and I wanted to share.

I was going to be good and stick with the healthy eating.  Besides, having everything prepped, made it super easy to stick to it and I got to sleep a few minutes earlier.  I found that I was either getting up earlier to get my meals ready, or I was grabbing something I really shouldn't have been eating in the first place.

I digress...Onto my holiday baking.  Those of you that know me, know that I love to bake.  If I was not in education, I would probably own my own bakery.

This year I was not in the mood for a really sweet cookie.  I didn't even make gingerbread cookies this year.  But then we had a cookie exchange at work and the baker in me had to join in.

So I played around with some shortbread cookies.  Which, by the way, are really good with coffee or tea because they are not too sweet.  I ended up making shortbread cookies that I shaped into little snowmen and then dipped them in chocolate.

But once I started baking, I was in the mood.  So then I made Russian Tea Cakes, which most people refer to a Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Both recipes were super easy.  I put them in clear party bags.  Then I drew the faces and buttons on to make them look like little snowmen.  They were a big hit and again, they were super easy.

I also got some great recipes in exchange.  But  I have to share my favorite one.  Remember how I didn't make gingerbread cookies this year?  Well one of the cookies that was exchanged was like a lighter, chewier version of a gingerbread cookie.  It was fabulous and it will be my new go to for years to come.  You can find the recipe here.  This is not my recipe and I do not take credit for it in any way.  One thing that I will add is that you can make these decretive by dipping them in white chocolate and adding any decorations you like.  Let me know what kind of baking you did this holiday season!

Winter Break

So as most teachers this time of year, I am on winter break.  This winter break has been very quiet around here.  Which, for me, is very unusual.  I thought I would be board, but it has given me time to get back to some things I enjoy outside of education.

While I know most people who read teacher blogs, are, well, other teachers, I have decided to blog about my life outside of education as well.  And since it is winter break, and I am not currently teaching, I figure now is a good time as any to start.

So here is what I have been up to.  Like many teachers, I LOVE pinterest!  But the time I have spent on pinterest has not been looking at education ideas.  I have been looking are recipes.  I don't know about you, but I have been getting board with eating the same old stuff.

A few months ago, I started getting better with my meal prepping.  I invested in some bento-type boxes from Amazon.  Here are the ones I use.  I like the three compartments, but chose something that you will use.

On Sundays, I laid out boxes for breakfast and lunch.  I am one of those people who you might refer to as a FOODIE.  So for me, this was a challenge.  In no way, is what I do going to work for everyone, but I am the type of person who counts calories.  I have been doing it consistently for about a year now.  The reason I started with counting calories is because I knew that I would not stick with it if I could not eat what I want.  For me, it is about a balance and potion control.

This is a sample of one of my bento boxes.  This was based off of a Starbucks Protein Box.  This was enough for me for lunch.  I also have a few ideas for breakfast as well.

The basic idea is to have some sort of protein and then add fruits and vegetables.  Fruits and veggies are typically low in calories, but filling.  I tend to use what is in season at the time, but you can use what you prefer.

You can also use dinner leftovers.

I made meatballs one night with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Since I made everything from scratch, I was able to count the calories for the portions.  I use MyFitnessPal to help me do that, but I also look for recipes that include nutritional information.  While I know this is not an exact way to count calories, eating better starts with getting a general idea of what you are eating.

While I do not have pictures of all of my boxes, I have included a limited list of ideas I have tried.  Remember, you can eat what you like within limitations.

• Water Crackers, Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge, Blueberries, Apple
• Cheese, Crackers, Fruit
• Cottage Cheese, Cheerios, Yogurt
• Banana, Toast or English Muffin, Hard Boiled Egg
• Sandwich, Blueberries, Pretzels
• Chicken, Green Beans, Apple
• Cucumber, Hard Boiled Egg, Yogurt

The other thing that has helped me be successful in the past is the amount of water I drink.  I was not always good at drinking water.  I started slowly by tracking my water in take and now it just comes natural to me.  In fact, I prefer water over other drinks lately.  For my birthday, my hubby bought me a new water bottle that holds fruit.  Did someone say strawberry flavored water!?  That kicked my water in take up!  It tastes SO good. 

Once I got my water in take all set up, I started kicking out caffeine.  I know you are asking yourself how that worked and if I have been successful, but that is for another post.

Summer Break Here I Come!

Oh my has so much changed since my last post!?  Let's see where to start.  I got married in March, bought a house in April, and graduated with my Master's Degree in May.  Can you say busy!?

Now that summer break is here, I am ready to HOPEFULLY, get back to blogging and adding some new goodies to TPT.  I was looking through my store and I realized that some of my products could probably use a little TLC.

Since I will have a little more free time, I am hoping to start reading for pleasure more and get back to blogging.  I am sorry that it had to take the back seat while I was busy planning a wedding and finishing my Master's Degree.

But, I am back and I hope to be back for good.  So here is to a happy summer break for all the hard working teachers out there who deserve a little time to themselves (at least a week--I know teachers still work over the summer, but don't forget to give yourself time to relax) after giving all they have to the children.

Happy Fall Y'll!

I know it has been over a month since I have posted.  I have not been doing a  great job at keeping my blog up.  I can list all my excuses or just continue to get back on track.  Here is a summary of what I have been doing:

Grad School:  I posted this summer that I decided to go back to school for my Master's Degree.  I have been spending a lot of time working on that.  Working full time and trying to balance that is a tough one for sure!

Student Council:  This year, I was asked to be the student council sponsor. So far I am loving it.  We had our elections and I got a great group of kids.  We have since helped with the school BINGO night, school store, spirit day, and we are working on  can food drive as well as a float for the local light parade.  I am having a ball with this one!

School Store:  This goes with student council, but I listed it separately because it takes my time alone.  I have to count, sort,  and roll the money that the kids bring in from what they sell.  I also have to order and track the items we sell.  I could spend a whole day just doing inventory.  But it is for the kids and I have found if I do a little bit each day, I can manage it.

Work:  I still am working full time and loving that too.  I have a great group of kids this year.  Next week I am starting our Halloween writing prompts and I can't wait.  This week we are going to be writing about pumpkins, but next week is probably my favorite activity of the season.  I did it last year too and you can read about it here.  I am referring to my ghost writing prompts.  During the week we discuss transition words and how writers use them to sequence events or steps.  Some people teach this using PB&J.  Since I love Halloween so much, I teach it with ghosts.  I have my students make ghosts out of cheese cloth and then we write the steps using transition words.  The kids love it as much as I do.

Home:  I also have my responsibilities at home as well as everything listed above.   I don't know how you all do it.  I am ready for bed when I get home.  And now I am moving, so I have to come home and pack.

That's my update for you and I will try to get back to writing at least once a week.  In the mean time, be sure to check out my TPT Store for updates!

For the Home

I have been meaning to share this with you even though it is not school related.  I made these a few weeks ago and they are now hanging in my eatting area.  I love how they came out.  Then on Black Friday, I bought an ottaman and I needed a cute tray on it.  I couldn't find one that I really loved so, I bought a wooden tray and painted it to match these cute letters!  I don't have a picture of this, but I LOVE them and I am soooo happy with how it turned out.  I also found this fabric and made pillows for the couch that are also green.  I am so happy that my place is finally starting to come together.