One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we are making the most with what we have. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry. P.S. We don’t always stick to the menu, but it helps get good food in the house on hand to create with, which is often half the battle.
Halloween, Halloween. The trick-or-treating hasn’t even started (last year’s up above), but if you’re like me, you’re going to need to detox or at least have a few healthy and refreshing meals ready to combat the sugar that’s about to hit your house.
We’re starting off the week with one of my favorite new traditions. I started it last year, copying Kristen’s annual Halloween soup party. While my neighbors haven’t joined in just yet, I suspect as their kids grow old enough to trick-or-treat, I could probably convince them to make it a tradition.
Monday – Pumpkin, Coconut and Lime Soup
Tuesday – Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Poached Eggs
Wednesday – Kale and Sweet Potato Soup
Thursday – Baked Quinoa Patties with Potstickers
Friday – Sweet Potato Naan Pizzas
The Preparation Shortcuts:
1. Make a huge batch of naan to pair with soups and serve as a side of bread for the brussels sprouts.
2. Use the kale in both the soup on Wednesday and the leftovers for the quinoa patties the next day.
3. Everything leftover gets added to top off those pizzas. Sweet potatoes are definitely going to be on there, perhaps with some goat cheese and pine nuts leftover from the brussels.
This week I’m sharing one of my favorite kitchen appliances with you, our rice cooker. I remember when rice cookers first came into my family’s home when I was in high school. I couldn’t possibly imagine life without one now, and we use ours for everything from rice to having it make complete breakfasts and dinners for us. It really is a versatile appliance.
HOW TO ENTER TO WIN a Zojirushi Umami 5.5-Cup Rice Cooker
1. Leave a comment. Tell me the craziest Halloween costume you’ve ever donned.
2. Follow @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following, and come back and let me know you did:
Enter to win a Zojirushi Umami Rice Cooker from @FoodforMyFamily http://su.pr/4WJepI #giveaway
3. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did.
THE RULES:
This giveaway will run until Sunday, November 6th at 11:59 p.m. EDT and is open to all U.S. residents. A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org from all eligible entries. Each reader has 3 chances to win by completing the above tasks and leaving a separate comment for each entry method completed. Chosen winner must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!
I received a Zojirushi Rice Cooker back in May. I’m in love with it, and I’ll show you exactly how I use mine this week, starting with breakfast and ending with dinner.
Last week from Food for My Family:
Things have been a bit quieter around here as I finish my book and deal with family emergencies, but I have still been working plenty.
Healthy Snake Bites
Cheesy Herbed Potatoes au Gratin
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Green Bean Casserole and Fried Onions from Scratch
My dad made this crazy good homemade costume of R2D2 from Star Wars (I was obsessed with Star Wars). He fashioned cardboard boxes and something else into a robot shape that fit over the top of me, wrapped the whole thing in aluminum foil, cut out holes for me to see through and covered them in colored saran wrap. It was the best. Everyone thought I was just a robot, but I would quickly correct them! I still can’t believe my dad did all that for one day’s wear!
I am now a follower on twitter! @2ndheartmom
I also tweeted! http://twitter.com/#!/2ndheartmom/status/130895968156659712
Joined Food for My Family on Facebook!
Some friends and I were Bridesmaids of Frankenstein, and we each wore the most unattractive bridesmaid dress hanging in our closet!
Its not crazy, but my most memorable was Boy George!!!
And I tweeted, too!
I already like you on Facebook! (And I am a huge Zojirushi fan!!!)
I was a picnic table once in 5th grade. Seriously. Red gingham on some dowel rods that I wore across my shoulders, complete with plastic food.
I was a burrito one year haha
I’m a weenie, I always make my ids wear the crazy costumes. I refused to dress up as long as I can remember. SO, I guess I’d have to say I’ve made all my poor kiddos be skunks their first year, LOL! IT struck me as funny since they were often stinky in diapers!
What a great giveaway! I think I was a slutty…. something once for Halloween. Heck most of my costumes from 18-25 were a slutty something er other. 🙂
Joy’s kale and sweet potato soup is one of my favourites. I made it just last week!
When I was in the midst of my divorce from my ex husband, I went as the Bride of Frankenstein. It was mean spirited, and I feel badly about it. Really, I do.
That’s hilarious. Wish I’d thought of that!
Tweeted! I REALLY want that thing, LOL!
My friend and I dressed up as Adam & Eve one year.
Oh how I love my Zojirushi rice cooker!!!!!! And I’m loving on the pre-planned Halloween detox….going to do something similar! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
I Tweeted and followed you on facebook! My craziest costume was probably the wicked witch of the west. I looked so evil and green 😉
Hope I win the rice cooker, I’ll be dreaming about it~~
I think I’m a little too cautious to have a really crazy Halloween costume, but one year I was Madonna from her phase in the 80’s when she donned the famous “cone bra”. Oh the good old days, wish I could still pull that look off 😉
Love the menu line up this week!! Memorable costume, hmm…well, my husband was “Super Santa” cape, tights the whole thing and I was a Christmas tree complete with pine, lights (plug myself in periodically during the party) and a star on top of my head.
I would LOVE the rice cooker.
Of course I follow you on ALL social media, twitter, FB 🙂
Great Halloween menu and giveaway!
A rice cooker is on my christmas list! Craziest costume (well, most fun) was a ketchup/mustard duo that my husband and I wore a few years back:)
Off to tweet! And already follow you on FB:)
I dressed up as a banana one year in high school. I wore yellow windpants and a yellow sweatshirt, drew a big Chiquita banana sticker, and made myself a little stem hat.
I was a spider web one year, that was difficult to talk in.
love following on facebook!
wow what a give away…my fav halloween costume was the wicked witch form wizard of oz, the fake chin, nose and green face no one knew it was me!
my craziest halloween costume was a a bag of jelly bellys, filling a clear garbage bag with small colored balloons, wearing that with a cute hat and their logo on my belly!
i follow on twitter!
I tweeted about the giveaway!
I haven’t dressed up in years and years, but I think my craziest costume was a sewing kit. I have really long hair so I put it up in a bun with about 4 long chopsticks holding, they were the needles in a pin cushion. I ran a piece or two of string through my bun and I had clothes on for material. Not super original, but it worked for that day.
I follow you on Facebook now.
I follow you on Twitter now and tweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/Jinxyisms/statuses/131016905527005186
My craziest costume ever was a rock-n-roll mime. Totally out of character for me and a blast to pull off!
I follow on facebook.
I just tweeted your giveaway. It’s been years since I put a costume on for Halloween, but the last time I did, it was for a Star Trek themed party.
I joined on facebook! My craziest costume was when I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I wore a hospital gown, rented an IV pole, hooked up some IV bags (just for show) and drug it around with me thru my sister-in-laws very wealthy neighborhood. Best thing about the costume was that I bought a plastic bare butt and wore my bathing suit under the gown, and the bare butt hung out the back. I can’t even explain how many double takes I got! It was Awesome!!!! Oh and my hubby wore scrubs and a mask and walked around with me acting like I was in labor!
I’m not sure what crazy costume I’ve worn, but often get ready 5 minutes before I go out on Halloween, even now. That’s crazy in my book, no plan. last year I was a clown, put the make-up on in two minutes!
I tweeted 🙂
http://twitter.com/#!/createdbydiane/statuses/131040673595015168
what a great giveaway!!!
I’m a fan on facebook 🙂
I follow on twitter! ( @mvmassage )
I was a “Liberty Bell” and could not move more than a few feet, it was so heavy… 🙁
I follow you on FB!
What cuties!! In 8th grade I made myself a Maleficent (the witch in Sleeping Beauty) costume, complete with full skin-tingling makeup. Not sure why I opted for that one, but it was pretty crazy. 🙂
I follow you on facebook!
I follow you on twitter and tweeted!
I have not had any super crazy but last year my 2 kids went as Garfield and Odie (handmade costumes nonetheless 🙂 )….they were super cute!
In fifth grade I was Charlie Chaplin. We found a tiny boy’s suit at the goodwill, pasted on a little mustache — I looked just like a mini-Charlie.
I already follow you on facebook, not sure if that counts!
Love the costumes! SO cute! Happy Halloween! My every day look is scary enough:)
Hmm, not so crazy. The only think I can think of is when I was a vampire.
I followed you on fb and twitter, and rt’d the above giveaway. 🙂 The craziest costume of recent years was Lady Gaga – and I made my costume out of silver foil tape strategically secured over underwear to look like the costume in Paparazzi (complete with the crutches).
In college I was a cat with much too short of a skirt.
I’d LOVE this rice cooker!
I recently was an *ahem* a knocked-up 20 showgirl. That was interesting. =)
I dressed up as little edie from grey gardens one year and wore a sweater on my head! 🙂
Joined the facebook community! I would LOVE to have this rice cooker!!
My craziest costume ever was a whoopie cushion :)and I have been following you on FB for a long time 🙂
Homemade Cupcake Cutie. It was so big I could barely move.
Craziest costume: I dressed up as a poached egg.
Hmmm, I can’t think of any crazy costumes. When I was 7 months pregnant, I wore a chicken hat, a white t-shirt, and pinned the top of an egg carton to my chest.
I’ve been part of the Food for my Family FB community for a while now.
my most memorable was being a dalmation as a kid. full face make-up and everything.
I have been following you for some time now and truly enjoy your tweets, facebook & blog. I have been longing for a rice cooker for a Really long time and it would be awesome to win it! Thanks for the chance!
i was never crazy when it came to halloween costumes. the craziest i got was being a french maid… and i’m german… so yah, there ya go 😉
I went as a cluster of purple grapes. I used felt and cotton stuffing. They were all the size of basketballs. Now realize I am a mom of 4, so I wanted them to cover up allot of me 🙁 It looked great but I couldnt fit through a door without going sideways, the grapes were sooooo big !!!!!
It was a fun night 🙂
A butterfly.
i can’t really say it’s crazy, but i dressed up as a baby years ago – footies, bottle, etc. a gal at my ww meeting is going to wear a shirt with “go ceiling” on it, carry pompoms . . . you know – a ceiling fan.
i already follow you on twitter, and i tweeted.
You said there were 4 chances, so I’m thinking I need to separate my last comment: I tweeted about the giveaway.
I already follow Food for my Family on FB.
Just signed up to follow you on FB!
I always dress up like an old lady…now I AM the old lady:-(
A bacon since my sisters insisted they were eggs and pancakes.
http://twitter.com/#!/tcarolinep/status/131128059037368320
HoooBoy! The funniest costume I ever donned was just a few yeard ago for a party at our yacht club. Through coincedences, I had a curly red hair wig. I was fond of a blue and white short skirt checkered dress. I put these together with some accessories and became Lil Annie!
I won the prize…that’s the funny part: a bottle of Kahlua…I’d JUST stopped drinking, had liver cancer.
Now I have a new liver.
I see you filled in the http…
FB liker
Jessie C.
Shania, I am now following you on Twitter. Nice tweets!
Dang, NOW i am following you on Twitter as BTVB.
I went as a homeless guy.
I joined on facebook…
last Halloween I went as Cotton Candy, everyone thought it was very cute!
My friends and I went as Scooby Doo and the gang with a semi-life size Mystery Machine. I was Velma which was pretty easy for me sine I sort of looked like her at the time anyway. I wore a bright orange sweater, red tennis skirt, knee-high orange socks, red shoes, and blue lens black framed glasses. I helped make my other friends costumes too. We were pretty spot on to the characters and the mystery machine was really well made. This was pre-cell phone and digital camera era and I must have lost my hard copies of the photos, but I still have the memories.
I like you on FB
Shrek. I made it by myself!
https://twitter.com/#!/HappyTina0115/status/131182326360182784
follow you on facebook
Woody from Toy Story and my twin daughters were both Jesse the cow girl.
Rageddy Ann…I know…not all that crazy
I went as a Victoria’s Secret Angel – no I didn’t go in my underwear 😛 I wore my VS pjs and added some wings!
Already follow you on Facebook.
I tweeted it!
I have wanted this rice cooker for so long! Thanks for the opportunity! The craziest costume I have worn was probably a Pink Lady from Grease!
I follow @FoodformyFamily on Twitter and I just tweeted the giveaway!
Wow, lots of creativity on this thread! I am more of a traditionalist, Moritcia from the Adams Family is as adventurous I’ve ever gotten for Halloween.
I am following you on twitter and tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/rusthawk/status/131208772642291712
I am a current member of your facebook page! (Rust Hawk).
Hmm, I haven’t had any crazy costumes, but I think my favorite one was Minnie Mouse!
Liked your page on facebook! 🙂
I dressed up as a man one halloween but my husband went dressed up in a really short maids costume. What worries me is that he really liked it.
I follow you on twitter and tweeted giveaway. https://twitter.com/#!/flipper211/status/131379893014499329
I follow you on Facebook/Debbie Welchert
I was a pineapple one year, as a kid. Crazy enough?
I like Food for My Family on FB!
Perhaps not the craziest, but in retrospect certainly the silliest, Halloween costume I’ve ever worn is MC Hammer. 🙂
I’m afraid I am not a Halloween fan. When I was working I always did ” construction worker” because we had all the gear. Cute but definitely not crazy.
My tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/HSlater351/status/131466122477322240
I’m already a member of your facebook group!
I was a non-survivor of the Titanic
My favorite was when I was a black cat. It was cute but not crazy.
the craziest halloween costume we did was legos.
http://warfieldninjas.com/2010/11/lego-costume-construction/
http://twitter.com/#!/jrwarfield/status/131552207802863616
I already was following you on twitter,and tweeted above
I already like you on facebook
I was a computer one year as a kid.
Wow, I’m really boring. I can’t think of anything other than a witch.
I don’t think I was ever anything crazy. As a kid I always wanted to be something involving pretty dresses, then I stopped dressing up for the most part. My best costume was a gnome.
Didn’t get a chance to dress up for halloween before 🙁
I was a zombie cheerleader complete with a grey pigtail wig!
I joined your Facebook group as well 🙂
i dont really have a crazy costume. but i was a ladybug with my daughter this year!
and lol @ the pinapple as a costume. love it! id carry around spongebob
i like u on fb
I’ve dressed up quite often for Halloween, but I think my most favorite was still Seung Mina from Soul Calibur!
I’ve also followed and tweeted your giveaway with @ladydragooness!
And lastly, I’ve joined the Food for My Family facebook community!
Growing up i was obsessed with Little House on the Prairie and for Halloween, several years in a row, would dress up as Laura Ingles.
Liked you on facebook, Johanna
Already follow you on twitter but tweeted the contest info
I actually dressed as a woman… which isn’t a big deal except I did it in the 4th grade and went to school that way; balloon breasts with the knots out so there would be, well you know. No, it wasn’t a portent of things to come, just a crazy idea I had before I was old enough to know better.
When I was little, my mom sewed all my costumes. One year I the little mermaid-complete with tail!
I tweeted!
I was never anything too crazy… Witch, clown, cheerleader… My dad did dress me as a scarecrow one year and stuffed me with real straw. Itched like crazy!
When I was a kid, my mom made me a She-Ra, Princess of Power costume ~ that was pretty cool!
i have never really worn any crazy halloween costumes. although, one year my husband went as a pimp and got fake chest hair.
I joined the Food for my family community on facebook.
i tweeted and am following:
http://twitter.com/#!/CourtneyBPhoto/status/132985301839781890
The craziest I can think of is one year I went to work as my husband. Jeans, flannel shirt, old tool belt (he worked construction at the time), baseball cap, and I even used a bit of mascara on my lower lip to make a dark mustache.
tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/cmouse01/status/133016958231773184
I follow you on Facebook!
I follow you on Twitter!
The craziest costume I ever wore was when I was around 9 or 10: I wore a bloody monster mask, a brown “old lady” hat my mom crocheted with yellow and purple flowers, something that looked like my grandmother’s house dress and I held an ET doll (also that my mom crocheted) wrapped in a blanket that I called my baby. I was a weird kid.
We didn’t celebrate Halloween when I was a kid. So I haven’t worn a funny costume. 🙁 However, I do follow you via email, and love every post!!
When I was about 10, I grew tall enough to no longer fit in my Care Bear sleeping bag. My mom sewed it up except for arm and leg holes, and I went as a sleeping “camper” complete with leaves glued on to the sleeping bag.
I tweeted. 🙂
Pfft. Of course I like you on facebook.
Your little guys look so cute for Halloween, Shaina! Adorable. Hmmm, my craziest Halloween costume, I can’t think of that. But my BEST Halloween costume was the time I decorated a box to look like the front of a National Geographic magazine, then put it over my head (cut out, obviously, so you could see my face), with a scarf over my hair to look like that iconic woman with the blue eyes from Afghanistan.
I dressed as a witch, which isn’t all that crazy, but at the time I was dabbling in amateur theater and went a little crazy with makeup, including a fake nose made from … well, it’s called nose putty. Because that’s what it was used for. Problem was that as the evening progressed the nose started to get warm and misshapen and even odder looking than I had intended. Best thing was that even my friends didn’t recognize me with the makeup job. It was a lot of fun.
Following on Twitter and tweeted here: http://twitter.com/dbcurrie/status/133275482731982848
Like you on FB.
I was a vodka and cranberry one Halloween.
Following you on Twitter now. Tweeted your tweet.
I dressed up like a cow one time. That is not that crazy but it was for me! We also dressed my twin nephews up once as a pair of dice! That was just too cute! Thanks for the chance!
I follow you on Twitter & tweeted the following~ Enter to win a Zojirushi Umami Rice Cooker from @FoodforMyFamily http://su.pr/4WJepI #giveaway
I was a cute bunny until I was 5 and from then on, a witch. Not crazy, but I haven’t dressed up for Halloween since I was 11, so there you go.
I follow Food for my Family on face book! Thank you for a chance at an awesome prize! 🙂
Already following you on Twitter and tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/saladgoddess/status/133325717793542144