Food for My Family

...one plate at a time.

Vacation Re-Entry Menu with a Hoover WindTunnel MAX Giveaway

· · 229 Comments


One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.

I have what I lovingly refer to as “canoe burn.” It’s that red knee from sitting on a big, open lake with the sun reflecting off the shimmering surface and burning its rays right into your exposed thighs and knees, despite your best efforts to protect them. I’m not complaining, though. The weather was beautiful, and I honestly wish I could have spent another full week in the middle of it with my family, swimming in the cold water and hiking up palisade after palisade to look out over a tree-covered eternity.

Re-entry thus far has been rough. The letdown after a few days of bliss, the bedtime routine mangled and the work piling up in my inbox (let’s not go there, please), not to mention the sports schedules and photo sessions that start bright and early the very next morning (8:00 a.m., anyone?).


After I unpacked and sorted through load after load of forest-stained clothing, I was amazed at just how much Boundary Waters adventure we brought home with us that was now settling into my living room rug and sitting on my wood floors. Luckily, my new WindTunnel, courtesy of Hoover, took care of the mess on both floors with the flick of a switch and left me again with a semi-clean living room. It was extremely useful, and we’ve been enjoying the convenience as a family with both hardwood with rugs and carpet in the basement. Plus, the retractable cord makes putting the vacuum away after using it a breeze. Now, if someone would just come and wash and fold laundry.

I’m giving a Hoover WindTunnel MAX to one lucky Food for My Family Reader:
-7 Floor Settings – adjustable nozzle for every floor type regardless of the surface
-Multi-Cyclonic Technology – 12 cyclones separate fine particles of dirt before reaching the filter with less frequent filter rinsing
-Maximum 28 Feet Automatic Cord Rewind – 28′ auto rewind cord (the longest Hoover® offers) rewinds in seconds at the touch of a button
-Up to 18’ Feet of Above-The-Floor Cleaning Reach – maximum stretched cleaning of stairs, window sills, curtains and hard-to-reach areas.
-Fabulous Filtration – multi-cyclonic filtration, rinsable primary filter and a high-quality final filter made with HEPA media


This week it’s all about quick and easy to prepare, as well as fitting into our Summer Pantry Challenge so I don’t have to run to the store, but I also give myself time to play catchup after being gone for four days. I’m also putting the finishing touches on my french fry recipe for Alexia Foods. I have the flavors narrowed down, and I’m working on how the method on how to properly bake a french fry for the perfect crispy results.


Monday – Salmon Salad

Tuesday – Caprese Omelets

Wednesday – Brick Grilled Chicken

Thursday – Caprese Pasta

Friday – Tomato Crumble

The Preparation Shortcuts:

1. We’re using leftover salmon from our trip for this salad and filling it up with all the garden produce that has been growing while we were gone.
2. Tomatoes are finally ready here, and I’m taking advantage of our ten plants by using them in multiple ways this week. It will make shopping a breeze, and it will ensure none of them go to waste.
3. Caprese Pasta and Omelets comes straight from the pantry and the garden. They’re simple and easy. I’m adding some bacon I have in the fridge to go alongside the omelets, and I’ll use leftover chicken with the pasta to help satisfy the carnivore husband.
4. Use the tomato crumble as a good vehicle to get rid of extra herbs or onions and other vegetables from the earlier food, too.

The Shopping List:

1 whole roaster chicken
1/2 pound asparagus
1 pound fresh mozzarella


Pantry Items:
1 pound salmon
eggs
milk
unsalted butter
garlic
yellow onion
all-purpose flour
yellow cornmeal
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
balsamic vinegar
spicy brown mustard
honey
salt and pepper


Garden or Farmers Market Items:
1/2 pound fresh green beans
3 cups baby white potatoes
3 ears corn
2 pounds cherry tomatoes
6 pounds mixed variety tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 teaspoon parsley
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1/4 cup scallions
1 cup fresh basil
2 sprigs fresh oregano



HOW TO ENTER TO WIN a Hoover WindTunnel MAX

1. Leave a comment about anything that strikes your fancy: your hardwood floors, what you’re eating this week, whatever. I love hearing from you.

2. Follow @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following, and come back and let me know you did:

Win a Hoover WindTunnel Upright Vacuum from @FoodforMyFamily http://wp.me/puu57-2so

3. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

4. Join the Hoover community on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

THE RULES:

This giveaway will run until Sunday, July 24th 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 4 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!

Hoover sent me a WindTunnel to review of my own. I was not compensated for this post and the views and opinions are my own.

More Chances to Win:

July 20 – 27 Jolly Mom
July 27 – August 3 My Wee View
August 3 – 10 Jabbering Jessi
August 10 – 17 Dad Labs
August 17 – 24 Simple Organized Living
August 24 – 31 Buttoned Up

For more menu plans: OrgJunkie.com


Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. I too like everything to fit together nicely and plan ahead in my cooking to I just grab during the week for meals, especially when I am working. I am trying my hand at my FIRST South Carolina garden and it has not gone well so back to the drawing board next year for me. First time at your site and can’t wait to look around.

  12. Oh man, I’m also having a tough time getting back into the groove after vacation! BUT the raspberries I found at my farmer’s market this weekend have definitely helped 😉

  14. Hi, we just found your blog via a tip from @wearsmanyhats. We are new to food photography and blogging and can use all the inspiration we can get. You seem to be a pretty good candidate for my iGoogle home page! Thanks

  20. My husband and I just moved this past weekend, so we’re busy unpacking, cleaning, and figuring out where everything will go. A new vacuum would be wonderful!

  26. Gotta plan a full day at home after vaca before returning to usual activities to enjoy the memories and do nothing but some laundry, eating whatever and letting the kids (adults) tell their favorite vaca story. I used to hear about things I’d completely missed or forgotten.

    We have 5 sons, so a lot can happen that mom and dad never know about until the “vaca review day”. Kids are all grown with their own families now, but hubby and I still do the vaca review – just the two of us. Really solidifies the wonderful, funny, sad and hmmm moments 🙂

  29. Please enter us. Our vacuum has been on its last leg for a LONG TIME. We, too, are catching up on our garden after vacationing in the PA mountains last week. The zucchini and string beans alone are a task!
    reporterkc at hotmail DOT com.

  49. Great giveaway!! I’m finally beginning to get tomatoes from my garden. We planted Pink Brandywine, German Johnson, and a few other varieties. I had a BLT for lunch today.YUM!!!!

  57. One of the best things about where I live is the variety of local produce. Soon there will be local heirloom tomatoes. They are to die for! We eat them just about every night while they are available. Do you have any good recipes for tomatoes?

  72. Oh I would very much love a vacuum! I’m in the middle of organizing my whole home. When my husband and I moved in together, we never went through our stuff but just put it all in boxes. Now we have so much stuff and clutter that I feel like I could be a guest star on the show “Hoarders.” So now we are avidly cleaning and downsizing!! It’s looking loads better, but there’s still so much to do. A HEPA vacuum would be oh so helpful! Not to mention, helpful to mine and my toddlers dust & pet dander allergies!

  74. My biggest pet peave is stepping on floors and feeling grit under my feet. My college roommate teased me because of my obsession with vacuuming. Our vacuum is now spitting gunk back out at us, so we would LOVE a new one. Hoover FB and Twitter, I will now be your fan:)

  75. ‘Canoe burn’ is *pain*! Around here we call it ‘baseball burn’, but a burn by any other name still hurts. lol

    Our vac is dying a slow death. Each time I plug it in I expect to find it’s gone. I would love to win a new one and not have to worry ‘is it going to work’ when I have company en route.

  82. “liked” you on fb recently and enjoy your posts and recipes…making your pesto recipe today from my herb garden! Please enter me in your hoover giveaway (my daughter’s college apt needs a vacuum!) Thanks!

  83. What a great giveaway! Thanks!

    I am amazed by how dirty my house gets in such a short time. That is what has been on my mind lately. A toddler, a dog, and a husband and our not so on-top-of-it cleaning and well…it gets dirty really quickly. A new vacuum would help 🙂

  86. You put together such a wonderful blog. I enjoy reading every update and of course the wonderful recipes…
    Thanks for the great giveaway!!!

  87. I’m definitely not a camping person… I have been to the Boundary Waters before though. Unfortunately, I was pretty young, and my only memory is my brother pushing me into some poison ivy. Ahh, brothers!

  89. I’ve been thinking recently that I’d like to trade in my cannister Eureka for something smaller, and a Hoover would be just the thing. I’ve only been following your blog for a while now, so I’m new to your comments, but I love your stuff. thanks Christina

  91. Our vacuum died so we are currently using our shop vac–works fine but hard to lug around and it’s so noisy it terrifies the dog. Would love to win a Hoover!

  98. I’d love to win this. Our current vintage vacuum is really starting to show its age. It still works reasonably well, but I have a feeling that it will not work much longer and that parts are difficult (impossible?) to find. We have painted cement floors so a vacuum is pretty much the floor care around here. They’re due for a new paint job, too. Another project to put on the list.

  111. My husband does the vacuuming (or he makes the kids do it) and I’d love to win a new vacuum for them to use.
    Salmon salad sounds delicious!
    thanks for the giveaway.

  115. Everything on your menu looks amazing – especially the salmon salad. Our ripe tomatoes are multiplying too. I love new ideas for how to use them up.

  128. I have got a turkey breast in the crock pot this morning. I’ve never done it in the crock pot before but found a recipe that sounded great and it keeps the oven off on this hot day!

  132. I really need a new Vacuum, hope I win! We just moved recently so I am working my way up to stocking my pantry again…….makes cooking simpler. Love you site and all your thoughts and tips.

  138. Out menu for this week is pretty darn boring because we are so busy planning our 10 day camping trip to Idaho and our wedding! Tonight is pizza 🙂

  155. I’ve never owned a new vacuum cleaner – I’ve always had hand me downs. I would love to have one of these – especially since our first is on the way 🙂

  156. Hi. I could really use a new vacuum cleaner. 🙂 The little guy is saying “oh no” right now and crawling all over my lap…that’s what’s going on with me.

  158. I’m something of a social networking luddite, so I’m not ON Facebook, or Twitter, but I sure enjoy your recipes and could really use a new vacuum cleaner. If this qualifies me, groovy. Christina

  159. It is so hot here, Ft. Calhoun, NE, I don’t think our air conditioner has shut off for three days. I know I am going to hate myself for saying this but I wish fall was here. Thanks for having this giveaway.

  163. We just got back from our anniversary trip – and I gained 3 lbs, so this week we’re eating lots of fruit and veggies and going easy on the meat and starches. This vacuum looks great!!!

  180. Oh, this would be the perfect vacuum for me! We’re just getting ready to put area rugs down over our hardwood floors, so that the little one’s falls are a little softer as she learns to walk! Thanks for the opportunity!

  182. I’d love to win this fantastic vacuum but right now I’d love to win a powerful air conditioner even more! It’s 96 degrees in northeastern PA (
    Pennsylvania)!! We’re not set up for this kind of heat!

  188. Thank you for such a cool mandatory entry. What is going on in my house, is my vacuum cleaner broke. My wife is having to sweep the carpet with a broom. If you let me win this for her, I can be a hero and maybe she won’t realize that she is way to good for me 🙂

    Really…we have four precious little girls and she works very hard. I can’t afford to buy her one for the next month or two, as she homeschools and we live on one income. She NEVER complains. I want to thank you for the chance for someone to win something so nice. I know it is a long shot, but really…..thank you. Best of luck with your Website.

    [email protected]

  192. I love the fish picture!

    The vacuum we have at our house is so loud that it sounds like a jet is taking off each time we use it! I think the whole block can hear it. It would be so wonderful to have a new one.

  204. I love my hardwood floors, but they are not the easiest to keep clean… However, I am glad we don’t have carpet anymore because obviously all that dust and mess was on our carpet but we couldn’t see it! Yuck!

  209. This week I have been helping out with my cousin’s newborn, and it has been such a great experience! She is a good little girl and doesn’t give us much trouble.

  227. I saw the word “vacation” on your blog title, and it attracted me! Your photos are lovely; just came back from Western Australia and your photos reminded me of it! I also dread unpacking after vacations…. but I’m a neat freak and I have to wash absolutely everything that I took with me before putting it away.

Leave a Reply

Some of My Favorites

Potato Leek Casoncelli Pasta with Walnut Pesto #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Grilled Turmeric Ginger Shrimp and Mango Avocado Slaw with Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe: Food for My Family
Homemade Salted Nut Rolls with Bourbon Caramel #recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Galete Waffle Cookies recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Curry Cauliflower Quinoa and Lentil Salad Recipe | FoodforMyFamily.com
Roasted Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Waffle Cones \ FoodforMyFamily.com