Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan

Let’s do some housekeeping first.

Boom. Right off the bat. Jumping in with both feet. Something my Dad can’t technically say or do.

I found a new mascara that I really like.

I know, you’re relieved. It’s been on your mind for months and you’ve been super concerned.

It’s Maybelline Colossal Big Shot. I bought it at Target for about $6 and I’m really pleased with it. My eyelashes are blonde so mascara is a must unless I want to look like a naked baby mole rat. I used to use Maybelline Falsies but within a week of buying it, the container would always have a ton of clumps in there. Blah.

Hard hitting stuff here my friends. I’ll be linking to the Economist shortly. Hold tight.

What are you doing next Saturday? Want to join me at the March for Our Lives? There are 763 marches worldwide and I’m guessing there is likely one near you. I’m so damn impressed with the student organizers and am proud to support their efforts.

Can we talk TV for a bit? I love TV. LOVE it. But I hardly ever watch it anymore. I’m usually listening to a podcast and working after the kids are in bed and TV would just distract me from that. There are four shows that Troy and I watch together: SNL, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Last Man on Earth, and Modern Family.

We saw a preview for a new show coming to TBS (no idea when the last time I watched TBS was!) called The Last OG. Maybe we have a thing for shows with former SNL cast members (Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Last Man on Earth are written by and have SNL alums as stars), but this new show looks pretty damn funny. I’m willing to give it a try because it’s nice to turn my brain off from time to time and put the podcasts away. And it is rated TV-MA which always means you’re going to see something rad.

We finished building a woodshed this week. “We” built it in the same way that “we” had two babies with giant heads and no pain meds. In actuality, Troy and my father-in-law did most of the work. But I helped stack the wood when it was all done, and I offered extreme moral support. 🙂

A few years ago we acquired a free outdoor plastic shed. We really needed it because all of our garden storage was eliminated when the house was remodeled to allow my parents to move in. The plastic shed houses our lawn mower, gardening supplies, tomato cages, and our homemade best long-lasting garden trellises.

With the addition of our woodstove, the little garden shed also became home to our wood supply (5-minute firewood racks built by Troy).

We also have the extra storage on our front porch after Troy built a fake wall there, but we still needed more space. The pictures below are old. We don’t still have a jack-o-lantern on our porch!

This new little shed was made possible by some random scraps of wood from my Dad that were around the side of the house. And the donation of some heavy-duty pallets from Troy’s friend who owns Second Chance Effects (he is the same guy who builds the wooden trays I put my food on for photos) which formed the walls and racks for keeping the wood off the ground.

The lovely tarp wall in the back was made possible by a two-pack we bought from Costco. If you live outside the city of Seattle, you’ll see lots of blue and brown tarps in various uses in some neighborhoods. Blue tarps are a Pacific Northwest (PNW) staple.

Do you need a minute to get caught up on posts from this week? I’ll read The Economist for a minute to give you some time.

Crunchy Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon – I have eaten it almost daily this week. A 10-minute dish that tastes so good and has bacon. Win-freaking-win. One of my buddies on Instagram made it using baby turnips. Genius.

How to Make Popcorn Without a Popper – Popcorn is serious business in the Cook house and I shared how to make a rockin’ bowl of popcorn (<—-I initially typed ice cream. You can tell where my mind is) without a fancy popcorn popper. Bonus, if you saw my Instagram story you know what is really on the bottom of that bowl of popcorn. 🙂

Confessions! One of my favorite posts each month.

I have a hard time asking others for help. It’s just not my forte by any means. But a few weeks ago I asked my in-laws if they would consider taking Bennett one day a week. They watched Jack once a week until he went to kindergarten, and the bond those three have is amazing!

They generously have agreed to watch Bennett every Thursday. They live an hour round trip from us, so coming home just doesn’t make any sense. Instead, I squat at Panera or the library with my laptop and work. And work. And work. No one needs their nose wiped or more Goldfish crackers. Earbuds in, head down, I can pound out so much busy work only looking up to eat or find someone who looks legit to watch my laptop so I can pee.

This last week I was able to finally fill out an Excel file for a project I’m working on, and bang out nutrition stats for some old recipes (like this one, this one, and this one). There is nothing more boring than uploading ingredients into a nutritional label generator. Unless I was doing it while watching golf.

Many of you have been asking and messaging me on Facebook if I’m going to be changing my Facebook page handle anytime soon. The answer is I would love to! But thus far, Facebook has not only blocked that request but also suspended my other account that I was trying to merge with my old account. Somehow securing the handle for my new site’s name is a violation of their code of conduct. That’s cool because racist idiots are allowed to spew filth on Facebook, but god forbid I share a fart joke with you all.

So I’ve been working on some alternatives and had a major breakthrough on Friday night with “the” Facebook. They partially approved a name change to Sustainable Cooks – Frugal by Choice. It’s not where I want it to be yet, but baby steps I suppose.

For the time being, I so appreciate all your patience. Because I have zero patience myself and I’m feeding off of yours like I’m an amoeba and you’re all my host cells.

Meal Plan time! We don’t have any baseball practice this week! I think our coach may not realize that but I’m not going to be the one to tell him. I’m not that ahole who raises their hand on a Friday afternoon to remind the teacher that she forgot to give us homework. Eff that noise.

Monday:: Breakfast dinner

Tuesday:: A new sheet pan recipe I’m planning for you all! I’m super excited about it and hope I don’t eff it up because the idea of it in my mind is so perfect.

Wednesday:: Troy’s amazing hamburgers, roasted veggies, and some organic tots. <—we love the Simple Truth brand for so many things and no one is paying me a dime to say that. Nor am I being paid in tots.

Thursday:: Instant Pot Lentil Soup and garlic bread. This soup is so fast, so healthy, and crazy delicious. I always look forward to it being on the menu.

Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night.

Saturday:: Working on a new soup recipe. But then again, aren’t I always?

Sunday:: Family dinner

Smith Brother’s Farms: $23.08

No picture! Jack and my nephew caught the milkman before he put everything in the box and “helped” him unload.

Want to sign up for Smith Brother’s home delivery and get a $10 credit on your first order? Simply click this link enter “Sarah Cook” in the “How Did You Hear About Us” field and then enter “FRIEND” in the promo code field on the payment page and you’ll be credited $10! For full disclosure, they would also credit my account as well.

Fred Meyer: $35.61.That Organic Valley mozzarella was a closeout item and I got each one for only $2. Each wedge made two homemade freezer pizzas.

What are you having this week?