Menu Plan Monday

Wow, this past week went by so fast! We had some good friends visit us over the weekend and lots of left overs to eat now! So my menu for this week is going to be pretty simple. My main goal this week is to limit how much I actually buy at the store and use up what is in the pantry for meals. Also, be sure to check out my recipe of the week which I will be posting today too! Maybe you can add it to one of your future menu plans! :)

So here we go for this week!

Monday - Leftover Buffet!! :)
Tuesday - Eating out with a friend, Italian! 
Wednesday - Lentils and Rice
Thursday - Stir Fry
Friday - ? Depends on if we go to David's parents for supper or if they come here, still don't know yet!
Saturday - Church potluck / Italian Baked Potatoes
Sunday - Manwich sandwiches with veggie meat

Happy Menu Planning! 

~ Heather

Completing Him Challenge - Last Week!

This is the last week of the Completing Him Challenge, hosted by Courtney over @ Women Living Well. This week is "kiss him like you mean it!" Since I don't plan on blogging about that topic much, I thought I would just write how I felt the whole challenge went. :) Overall, I really enjoyed this challenge and I think my husband did too. It was funny,  he knew each Monday was a new topic and sometimes he would ask me what the week was about before I had even looked to see yet! A lot of the topics helped to start conversations which I had been wanting to have and I think it brought us closer together as a couple! I hope everyone who participated had the same experience!

Thank you Courtney for such an wonderful challenge this summer!!

~ Heather

hargai selagi ada, setiap manusia ada kekurangan

sabtu lepas, abah main golf di Kem Sg Besi. berdekatan dgn RMC / MTD (Royal Military College / Maktab Tentera Diraja) & UPNM (Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia -- ATMA). kebetulan, dulu adalah seseorg, D. kenal wkt lepas SPM, di Kuching Sarawak. D pelajar UPNM & join golf club. nak dijadikan cerita D nampak abah. D tegur abah, sy pun tak pasti tegur sebagai hormat org tua, atau sebagai hormat pegawai atasan memandangkan tak lama lg D akan bekerja sebagai tentera.

mcm mana blh timbul cerita ni? dlm kereta. tak ingt dah nak ke mane. abah tanye,

"D ada contact qla lg? dia tegur abah wkt main golf td. dia ckp dia selalu jg contact qla"

ade... tp mane ade selalu. menipu lah. die ade add FB qla jgk few months ago. tp, lame jgk baru approved. then adelah die tnye soalan dkt FS. then ade jgk die msg dkt FB

mama -- "die msg ape?"

erm. die ckp moga bhgie dgn keluarga & insan tersyg. starting2 je terus ckp camtu. die nmpk kot qla mmg tgh happy dgn keluarga & insan tersyg. hehe

mama -- "jgn dilayan dah dia"

abah -- "kenapenye?"

mama pun bercerita panjang lebar. . . abah pun anggukkan kepala.

hurm. dulu mmg pernah rapat dgn D. dulu D baik. pendiam, ckp bila perlu, x gatal atau permainkan org. jaga solat, pelajaran. ajak keluar pun ramai-ramai. keluarga pun baik-baik.

then. kami pun terpisahlah sbb wkt sy masih terpinga-pinga dkt srwk, beliau di UPNM. everything was fine at 1st. sy pun study di KL few months later, but we've never got a chance to date each other. just once, itu pun dgn mama + abah sekali. itu pun pergi carrefour je. later that year, D makin diam. no ym, no sms, no call, nothing. he told me once, "i'm BZ"

okay. then 1 fine day, he sent me just one SMS. time tu da x rase ape. u know, it's kinda like i'm losing hope. lebih kurang mcm ni lah bunyinye sbb SMS tu dah lame dihapuskan. =P

--"buat masa ni biarlah kita jd kwn biasa je dulu. bkn sbb sy ada org lain, tp sbb persekitaran. awk pun akan jmpa someone better. lupakan sy." bla bla bla...

walhal, dah terang lg bersuluh D flirt dgn ramai perempuan lain. people change... then years passed by, few months ago, we met again on FB. D seems to regret all those things he did. tskkk. maaflah. bkn nak mengaibkan. cuma, hargailah seseorg tu bila dia dpn mata. dan jgn lepaskan ape yg awk ade hari ni, utk sesuatu yg masih tak pasti pd masa akan dtg. kelak "yg dikejar tak dpt, yg dikendong berciciran". dan, ingt lg bnda yg sy selalu sebut - karma. what goes around comes around.

manusia ni pelbagai. yg alim terlalu kejar akhirat pun, tak semestinya ke syurga kalau lupakan tnggjwb sesama manusia. manusia yg leka ttg akhirat, tak semestinya ke neraka kalau hati mereka baik sebenarnya, cuma belum betul-betul nampak kekuasaan tuhan. hargai saja apa yg Allah berikan, dan perbaiki antara satu sama lain. jgn harapkan yg terlalu sempurna, bila kita jauh dr sempurna. chill ;)

Grilled Rice with Basil and Lemongrass (Nasi Bakar)

2 kg rice
9 stalks lemongrass
9 salam leaves
100 gr kaffir lime leaves
250 gr lemon basil leaves, picked and washed clean
300 gr galangal, quartered and crushed
1/4 cup salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 tablespoons cooking oil

Remove the upper stalk of lemongrass, use only the lower 5″ of the stalk.
Wash and cook rice. Leave in a container till completely cool, for at least six hours.
Heat cooking oil in a big saucepan (big enough to contain the cooked rice) over high heat.
Saute galangal, lemongrass and salt for 5 minutes till fragrant and lower heat.
Add kaffir lime leaves, salam leaves and lemon basil. Quickly stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Toss in sugar, chicken cubes. Mix well for a couple of minutes until the leaves start to wilt.
Add the cooked rice, combine with the rest of the spices.
Remove from heat.

Wrapping
Lightly rub the banana leaves with a wet kitchen towel. Dry thoroughly.
Cut the banana leaves into 10″ x 12″ squares
Scoop two cups of rice and place in one end of the banana leaves, it is ok to include the herbs. That would give the rice an extra kick. The guest will remove them later
Roll up the banana leaves to resemble a sushi roll
Close the right and left opening with a couple of toothpicks
Grill over open charcoal fire for 3 minutes each side until the banana leaves turned brown
Take care not to grill too long as it will burn the rice
Serve warm.

Grilled Rice with Basil and Lemongrass (Nasi Bakar)

2 kg rice
9 stalks lemongrass
9 salam leaves
100 gr kaffir lime leaves
250 gr lemon basil leaves, picked and washed clean
300 gr galangal, quartered and crushed
1/4 cup salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 tablespoons cooking oil

Remove the upper stalk of lemongrass, use only the lower 5″ of the stalk.
Wash and cook rice. Leave in a container till completely cool, for at least six hours.
Heat cooking oil in a big saucepan (big enough to contain the cooked rice) over high heat.
Saute galangal, lemongrass and salt for 5 minutes till fragrant and lower heat.
Add kaffir lime leaves, salam leaves and lemon basil. Quickly stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Toss in sugar, chicken cubes. Mix well for a couple of minutes until the leaves start to wilt.
Add the cooked rice, combine with the rest of the spices.
Remove from heat.

Wrapping
Lightly rub the banana leaves with a wet kitchen towel. Dry thoroughly.
Cut the banana leaves into 10″ x 12″ squares
Scoop two cups of rice and place in one end of the banana leaves, it is ok to include the herbs. That would give the rice an extra kick. The guest will remove them later
Roll up the banana leaves to resemble a sushi roll
Close the right and left opening with a couple of toothpicks
Grill over open charcoal fire for 3 minutes each side until the banana leaves turned brown
Take care not to grill too long as it will burn the rice
Serve warm.