I’ve been thinking about how life is going to be with four kids. It seems as if the people I know who have more than three kids either live in complete chaos, but really make it work for them or they are totally organized. I’d be dreaming to think that I am going to turn into Martha Stewart by the time May rolls around, but I do think I have a few months to get some good systems back into place. I want to get on top of my menu planning, scheduling, cleaning, freelance writing, hobbying, etc. I think the best way to live, especially with kids, is as simply as possible. No – this doesn’t mean we are giving up toilet paper and completely clearing our house out, but I do want to do some major de-cluttering, restructuring and planning.  If I am going to be the best “Mom-in-Chief” of my household, as Michelle Obama likes to call it, then I need to simplify and stick to it.

One way I like to simplify my menus every week is to throw in a few meals that I know I can whip up quickly. There are some nights where eating out just seems easier than cooking, but if you have a few “quick” meals scheduled for your week, you will be less likely to be tempted by the thought of eating out. Two food items that I know I can always turn to for a dinner time quick fix are shrimp and Italian sausage. Shrimp and Italian sausage thaw super quick (which to me is important because I am constantly forgetting to take the meat out of the freezer to thaw out) and cook quickly, don’t require a lot of extra ingredients to make a meal out of them, and it shakes up your weekly menu a bit with something besides the typical beef or chicken.

As I begin my goal planning for the next year (which is something I am getting my kiddos involved in too and encourage you to do the same) you’ll hopefully be seeing a lot more planned out meals on a weekly basis from me. You can bet that in that rotation you will begin seeing a great deal of things that can be put on the table fairly quickly. I’m going back to basics in order to begin my journey to simplicity.

I adapted this Italian Sausage and Peppers recipe from the Taste of Home website. Talk about simple and delicious… the recipe fits my new plan perfectly!

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Speaking of husbands, do any of the rest of you not know exactly what it is your husband does? I always get a little embarrassed when people ask me because I try to explain it (something along the lines of managing computer programmers for a company in the Mutual Fund Processing Industry) but in all honesty, I really have no idea. I know he works a lot, often comes home crabby from his day, and would love to be independently wealthy, but I have no idea what he actually does. Married to the man for over 9 years now, and I still struggle with explaining his profession.

Anyway… enough blabbering. I’m sure what you are really here for is to find out who won the Taste of Home Cookbooks and the Brother P-Touch Label Maker. I loved all of your organizing tips! I left the decision of the winner up to the Random Number Generator and out of 80 comments, it chose comment number 62. Comment number 62 just happens to be… Carmen from Carmen Cooks! Congratulations, Carmen! I can’t wait to hear about all of the great things you do with it.

For the rest of you who didn’t win this time, I won’t leave you empty handed. My friend Sandie over at Inn Cuisine sent me this recipe for Creme Brulee back in April. I’ve been meaning to try it for quite some time now, but just haven’t gotten around to it. This is a rich and delicious Creme Brulee recipe and I love the little kick that the Grand Mariner ads. I replaced the vanilla extract with beans from a whole vanilla bean (and sliced the palm of my hand open in the process…but that is for another time).

Stay warm and enjoy some delicious Creme Brulee and stay tuned for another great giveaway later this week!

Creme Brulee

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Hungry for more Creme Brulee? These food bloggers are cooking it up with some special twists!

• Crockpot Creme Brulee from A Year of Crockpotting
• Maple Creme Brulee from Closet Cooking
• Coffee Creme Brulee from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy
• Pumpkin Creme Brulee from More Than Burnt Toast
  

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Lunch time is when we go for the all out kids fare at our house. Chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, PB&J… they get to have the limelight at lunch time. One very kid friendly recipe that my kids go crazy for are Extra Cheesy Crescent Mozzarella Wedges. I love it too because it is so easy to put together and really tastes great.

The ingenious people over at Pillsbury have created a product to make this recipe (and ones like it) even more simple. Crescent Recipe Creations… a product just like the Pillsbury crescent rolls, but with out the perferated seams. Isn’t that brilliant? This will make making the Extra Cheesy Crescent Mozzarella Wedges, Grandma Doyle’s Breakfast Pizza, and more recipes like that so much easier!

The folks at Pillsbury sent me some other great products to try out. Stay tuned for what is new at Pillsbury!

Extra Cheesy Crescent Mozzarella Wedges

22 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 8

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