Weekly Menu

It's June, well almost but it is close enough to say it is and this weeks menu crosses over into June.  That is just crazy.  Not much to add this week so I'll get right to the menu.  Now that my husbands stomach is doing better, I went through my recipe binders, cleaned them out and put everything back where it belongs.  As I was doing that I had an idea of creating a "Summer Cooking" binder which will hold the recipes we just use in the summer (or maybe I should say would not hold any recipes we DON'T use!)  It is something I could create this summer as I cook and then have on hand for next summer and years forward.  Just an idea in my head.  I also need to get working on those freezer meals - Freezer Jams count as freezer meals, right? :-) hahaha 

Friday - Tacos.  Plain, old fashioned tacos with all of the fixin's!

Saturday - Beef Drip Sandwiches, Chips and Mac and Cheese

Sunday - Now that the weather is warming up, I don't like leaving dinner in the oven during church - my kitchen gets so hot!  Grilling after church doesn't really work either since it takes so long to get food on the table.  So, what to do, what to do?  I'm leaning towards going to get burgers somewhere like Smashburger, or Red Robin.

Monday -BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Potato Salad and Rolls

Tuesday - Brats, Beans, Potato Salad YUM! 

Wednesday - Breakfast!  I think I'll pull the Waffle Maker out and make homemade waffles with bacon and hashbrowns.


Thursday - Soccer is still happening so grabbing dinner after the game is our little "tradition".

A Summer Beverage

Recently I mentioned to my husband that, in this household, no one will ever, ever, EVER go thirsty.  It is possible we could run out of food but we will never lack for a beverage HA!  I think I spend 1/3 of my make believe grocery budget on things we drink.  Whether it be milk or water or Kool-aid "supplies" . . .we enjoy not being thirsty! 

With that said, I thought I would share a refreshing "mixed" drink that quenches my thirst after working up a sweat working outside.  If you have followed this blog for long, every summer I talk about refreshing drinks but so often they require more ingredients than I keep on hand and I like simple!

Just two simple ingredients!  Pick out the class of your choice and add some Ice (because everything is better when it is ICE cold!)  Fill your cup about 1/2 full with lemonade and then add Sprite Zero!  That's it!  To keep this drink as light as possible, I've found that the Minute Maid Light 15 is good plus it isn't quite as sour as with true lemonade which I have also used.    Another twist on this is to get Simply Limeade and mix it with Faygo Cream Soda - yummy! 

Precious Moments

I think I've mentioned a few times that my boys love Papa and Nana.  The night before Darryl's hernia surgery, my parents came over to stay the night.  First of all, I did not tell the boys they were coming so when my parents quietly walked into the house and my mom stood at the door of their room  . . . .and Josh saw her . . .well, to say there were shrieks of joy would be an understatement!  Once everyone settled down, we ate dinner, and let the boys stay up a little later they wanted Papa to read them bedtime stories.  I couldn't resist the photo opportunity!  It is just priceless, isn't it?  Once Story time was done, Darryl and I were kindly told that we could stay out in the living room - Papa and Nana would lay down and sing songs with them. 

I am beyond thankful that my boys have fabulous grandparents who love and adore them and, in return, those boys love and adore their grandparents!

I hope you all have a wonderful

 

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Happy Birthday to my fabulous mom who turns 70 years old today.  I figured, if you reach 70, you deserve to have it shouted from the mountain blog-tops!!  

My mom is one of those hands on moms.  She was at home with my brothers and I making sure we all made it on the bus . .. AFTER we made our beds HA!  We used to tease her because she would clean the house before we went on vacation (and I mean CLEAN) or before a big storm was coming because she didn't want burglars or tornadoes to hit if the house was dirty!  One of our favorite things to STILL do is to rearrange little things and see how long it takes for her to notice - one time, Darryl and I turned furniture backwards and hung pictures upside down just for fun!  Really, all of this shows what an extremely hard worker my mom is - she doesn't quit until the job gets done even if it almost kills her! 

My mom loves her grand-kids.  I've watched her through the years with all of them, especially when they were little, and she spoiled them as much as she was able (and trust me, I let her spoil my boys TONS).  She is a kind, caring, loving Nana.  Just recently we were driving away from Papa and Nana and Josh said it best when he yelled out the window, "Nana, I love you SOOOOOOO Much!" 

My mom WAS a great cook ;-) LOL  This is now a family joke because my mom doesn't (hardly) cook anymore.  For real.  You know how I joke and say I don't cook when the kids are gone - she says she doesn't cook when the kids are gone either (and it's true - she doesn't HA!)  Growing up though, she always had dinner cooking when we got home from school and made sure to make our favorites even if my dad was not a fan (which he never confessed until years later).  She does have a few great meals like BBQ ribs, Steak on the Grill, Burgers . . .oh wait, my dad cooks those :-) hehehehe  She really is a good cook but, again, at 70, I think you are allowed to quit cooking :-)

So, happy birthday Mom - we are glad we get to spend the day with you!

Family Fun

You might be wondering (or maybe not) how our week finished out without kids.  We ended up having a really great week.  Darryl was off work most of the week so even though I still babysit, we ended up with a lot of time together.

Monday - I just caught up on house stuff and made a run to the store.  I also planned out my flower bed/garden a little more after checking out the garden center.  After the extra kids left, Darryl was ready to for a ride so we took off and went a back way into town for dinner.  We enjoyed some wonderful Chinese food.  Funny story of the night - Darryl's hernia surgeon was sitting on a table near us at the Chinese Restaurant and no, we did not go up to him and ask if he remember us HA!

Tuesday - I was able to go to the garden center and pick out flowers, veggies, mulch and sand to do yard work.  This year I've seen black mulch showing up in yards and I love it!  I figured it would be pricey but it was just 20 cents more a bag for the black stuff!  Darryl and I took after again on another road trip and this time we headed to Cracker Barrel.  Now, I will admit, we aren't usually big fans but Darryl was hungry for breakfast so we figured we would give it a try.  Guess what, it was so tasty!

Wednesday - Today, I planted all of my stuff and laid mulch.  Of course, I had to pick the most humid day of the week UUUGGG!!  But, I got it all in and the ground was super soft after a rain storm through the night.  I then made another run to the store (it's nice having Darryl home - I get to run errands!!) I picked up a deck planter for some strawberry plants, a A/C unit and a swimming pool.  WHEW!  It has been so warm that I decided to get the A/C unit put into our bedroom too.  THEN, through a serious of events, we decided to pick the kids up at the train station so we took a road trip . .. ate dinner at our favorite Coney Island place by my parents house, "broke into" my parents house (hahaha) to pick up the kids stuff and met them at the Railroad Station. . ..kinda.  We got there and the only way in was completely flooded!  It was so crazy!  We parked elsewhere and let my dad drive out through the water covered road :-) OH, and I hooked up my new printer today too!

Thursday - The kids slept in (we didn't get home until almost midnight).  It was nice having them home and hearing about their trip!  I did the grocery shopping (thrilling, I know!).  AND put the A/C until in the boys room too!  Their bedroom gets so stuffy at night so this should help them sleep better.  We ended the night with a perfect evening for soccer and here are some photos to make this post actually worth reading!

 They spent time at practicing kicking goals.  Josh was very determined and kicked it in every time.

 Nate enjoys the idea of soccer but . . .his attention span is pretty short.  He actually picked a lot of grass at practice :-)

 My two favorite soccer players :-)

 Josh played full force at the game . He was always after the ball and was bound and determine to get his own goal.  To keep it real: One of the kids on his team is a bully.  Yes, a true all out bully. (We even witnessed him hitting his mom and pushing his sibling to the ground after the game)  He was come up and scream in Josh's face, push him down and steal the ball from him but, to  Josh's credit, he never got made or reacted - he just kept going after the ball.

 Josh finally got his own goal and was beyond excited!

 Nate did actually play but he also sat out a lot today - he said he was too tired.  :-(

It was a perfect night for soccer and it's always fun to watch the boys play :-)

Food Friday - Amish Breakfast Casserole

Amish Breakfast Casserole
adapted from All Recipes.Com

I can't remember if I have shared this recipe before but it isn't on my outdated recipe list and I just love this simple recipe.  It's got great flavors and is a very easy recipe to cut in half OR double for a big gathering.  

Ingredients
1 pound sliced bacon, diced (note: when I cut this recipe in half - I still use a pound of bacon because I like the casserole to be "meaty")
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (Note: I never thaw mine . . .just had an extra 10 minutes or so to the cook time)
9 eggs, lightly beaten (Note: when I cut it in half, I use 5 eggs . .. )
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Heat a large skillet and cook the bacon and onion until bacon is evenly browned.  Drain.  Transfer bacon and onion to a large bowl.  Stir in potatoes, eggs, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and swiss cheese.  Pour  mixture into the baking dish.

Bake until eggs are set and cheese is melted, 45-50 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.