Menu Post - November 5

One of the many things I enjoy about being part of "blog land" is getting inspiration to do something that you have either never thought of before OR something you have thought of but just couldn't pull together on your own.  Last month, I followed (even ever so slightly) the monthly recipe post from Confessions of a Homeschooler and fell in love with the whole idea.  Her wonderful word document (which is able to be edited) is fantastic.  I have tried many times to do a monthly mean plan but, in my normal over planning ways, I couldn't do it BUT now, I have done it!  I so love this idea because I can save it and, a year from now, the planning will be easier because I will already have a November plan.  I'm so excited about this concept.  I love having our tried and true favorites every month and then having some days when I can rotate others that we like but aren't our all time favorites.  Plus there are some that are better for the summer and others (like Lasagna) that are only good during the cold months!  This will also weed out some more recipes that we don't really like!!  I still have room for some new recipes - if we LOVE them, they will stick around and if not, they will not be seen again!

I'll still post my weekly menu but I will also link to our monthly menu plan which also includes links as well our breakfast and lunch plan (plus snacks too)   The lunch ideas are lunches we actually do - I love the rotating schedule and it makes my life so much easier!  The snack concept is something new - planning out the snack for the afternoon.  I'm going to try it this month and see how it works.

Now, on to this weeks menu:

Saturday:  Saturdays are the night that my husband and I like to get something after the kids go to bed.  We budget for this and, since it is local and to go, it is less than 15 bucks for both of us.  This week, our plan is to use a gift card that Darryl got from his employee to Subway.  It is only for $8.00 (enough for him to get a meal, technically) but with $5.00 subs, we can almost eat for free!  The kids are having Mac and Cheese (because they LOVE it!)

Sunday:  I'm finding that I like Italian on Sundays - it is easy to prepare the day before and cooks quickly.  We go to early service (9;30) and are home by 11:15 meaning I actually have time to cook something!  Anyway, we are having Lasagna, Layered Salad, and Garlic Bread.  Sunday evening we will have Tacos :-)  Yum!

Monday: This is the day it is just the kids and I so I'm really working better at having meals that are not only easy and kid friendly but that I like too :-) We are having Chicken and Cheese Quasidillas and Chips and Salsa

Tuesday: A new favorite - Breaded Chicken, Parsley Potatoes, Peas and Crescent Rolls.

Wednesday:  This is my "iffy" night - Sometimes Darryl makes it home and sometimes he doesn't so I need meals that are easy, but also things that are filling for him too.  This week we are having the Ham and Cheese Quiche and Homemade Cinnamon Bread.

Thursday: Taco Stuffed Shells, Rice and Green Beans

Friday: Darryl and I are having dinner with the pastor and his wife from the church we've been visiting so dinner is up to them.  The kids will have a babysitter and will get pizza!! 

Food Friday - Homemade Lasagna

Yes, I know, everyone has their favorite lasagna, right?  Well, I think mine is the best so I thought I would share it!  This is the same lasagna that I grew up on and, nothing quite compares.  Ok, there is one other - it is from Dave's Meat Market in Grand Rapids, MI.  He has a lasagna that is to die for - hands down, the best piece of Lasagna I've ever eaten - it is so good, we don't make anything to go with it so we can eat more HA!  But, since we don't get that very often (my husband used to get a few pan every few weeks when he used to deliver there!) I need to have a back up and this is it! 

Homemade Lasagna
adapted from Betty Crocker

Lasagna is a favorite in our house in the fall and winter.  I used to always wonder why I didn't make it more because it is actually really easy so now, we have it at least once a month.  A few things about this recipe - even though the actual recipe is for a 9x13 pan - I use a 8x8 pan, use the full filling amount but about half the noodles.  If I want a 9x13 pan, I double the recipe :-)  (The first time I made it years ago, I did not double it and it was so skimpy - not the way my mom made it.  So the next time, I doubled it . . .and have never regretted it! )Also, I do not cook the noodles nor do I buy the "special" noodles - I just put the hard noodles in and cook it up - it turns out perfect.  It is also great for making a day ahead. 

Ingredients:
1 lb bulk Italian pork sausage   (or you could use ground beef but the sausage is so good!)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups  diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can), undrained

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

12  uncooked lasagna noodles (12 oz)

1  container (15 oz) ricotta cheese or small-curd cottage cheese (2 cups) (We personally use cottage cheese but that is just us!)

1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese

1  tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

2  cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain.

2. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, sugar, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened

 3 Heat oven to 350ºF. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.

4. In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and the oregano.

5. Spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 cup of the cheese mixture over noodles; spread with 1 cup of the sauce mixture. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 4 noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, 1 cup of the sauce mixture and 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

6. Cover; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake about 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

What I'm Reading

This week, I finished up organizing my library.  Oh, my poor library!  I am so thankful that years ago I took the time to make a master list of my books because over and over I've used it to organize my books when I've had to move them . .  and move them again . . .and again!   My book shelves had become a disorganize mess and I've been working, 15 minutes at a time, to reorganize them and make them easily assessable (not easy when I need about 6 shelves and only have 2!)  In doing so, I not only cleaned out quite a few books - mostly non-fiction items that were more resources and now, we use the Internet for that - but I found books that I haven't read yet.  Both fiction and non-fiction; a nice bonus I think!  I took all of those books and stacked them on one shelf so I can grab them easily.  With that in mind . . .this is what I read this week!

and



Finding Anna and The Longing Season by Christine Schaub.  (Music of the Heart Series)  Both of these books are very well written and tell the tale of two great hymns - It is Well with my Soul and Amazing Grace.  Finding Anna tells the story of the challenges face by the Spafford family - beginning with the Chicago Fire, tracing through their family live and then, walking them through the great tragedy that brought forth the words of that famous song, It is Well with my Soul.   The Longing Season tells the story of John Newton.  Personally, I didn't realize the life he lived as a slaver nor did I realize that it was love that brought him back from a life of sin.  It was a fantastic story surrounding the truth behind Amazing Grace.  If you are looking for some great stories - these are books for you.  The books, despite being a "series", do not lean on each other at all so you could read either or just one. 

That's all this week.  I just picked up a new book yesterday and will share about that next week :-)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . . sweet tea.  Yep.  You read that right :-)  For Josh's birthday party I pulled out my sweet tea recipe and since then, I make it several times a week - as soon as there is only a small amount left in the jug, I'm making a new batch.  It is my new go to drink!

I'm loving . . . .that it is November.  I will admit that it kinda caught me off guard today as I realized the date.  It seemed that June-August dragged (probably because of the horrible heat!) and then September was normal . . October?  Did we have October?  And now we are entering the official "Holiday Season".  Wow. 

I'm loving . . . that my basement is slowly getting organized again.  I still haven't posted about our little nightmare (I will soon - it is on the list) but, the fact that things are getting put back together again is a good feeling. 

I'm loving . . .  that my kids love "poptorn" HA  Nothing better then a snack of popcorn - I have to vacuum every day after snack time but it is well worth it!

I'm loving . . . watching the boys pick out a "trick or treat" from their Halloween bags.  Nope, I'm not one of those moms that hid their kids candy; isn't that the fun of Halloween?  Picking candy? 

I'm loving . . .  that Josh calls Popsicles - "Popoopoos" hahahahaha

I'm loving . . .  watching the boys play together!  It is just so much fun :-)



Holiday Control Journal

Guess what time of year it is?  It is time to talk about the Holiday Journal.  You may remember that I posted about this last year and, if you click the link you can read all of those posts! 

This year, I thought I would walk through it again, not so in depth, but with my changes.  One of the things I noticed last year was that because I was so organized, I decorated too early and, since it only took a few hours (if that) to do each room, I could really do multiple rooms in a week.  Last year, I tried to follow the Flylady zones and decorated one area a week while also doing some deep cleaning.  This year, I'm saving the decorating until closer to, and after Thanksgiving.  Another change I didn't anticipate happening is that we have to change our Christmas Tree tradition - we have always gotten our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving but, due to my husbands job, he will have to work Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving week.  We are getting our tree the first Saturday in December instead which also means I have an "extra" week to decorate.

As a reminder, the very first thing to do to have a stress free holiday is to decide how many weeks you need to get ready . My goal is to have everything done for the holiday by the time we hit that "Tree Weekend" in December.  That way, we can focus on traditions, family, and fun! 

Personally, I will be starting my plan on November 7th with . .. planning Nate's birthday party.  I know that seems odd but his birthday is December 22nd.  We will have his party on the 17th - I need to have that party planned and things ordered so it doesn't get lost in the Christmas planning.  This is a big change from last year - I put this off and ended up almost forgetting to get invitations!  I would like to have everything done from the grocery list to the gifts purchased and wrapped.  

I actually wrote this years plan as soon as Christmas was done last year while everything was fresh in my mind.  My list included ideas I wanted to do this year in decorations and traditions so I wouldn't forget!  That's my next piece of advice - dont' try to make a ton of changes right now.  Instead, use this year to go through your decor and only put up what you love.  If you have tons of stuff, either clean it out and give it away or sort things by color/theme and rotate your theme every other year.  No one can enjoy anything if it is too cluttered!  Then, make lists of ideas for next year and give yourself time to create those ideas without adding to the stress of this year!

In future weeks, I'll share some photos of how we decorate for Christmas :-)  Yes, I love this time of year (in case you were wondering).  I love the lights, colors, music - everything. 

Enjoy and . . .lets celebrate Christmas stress free!

Weekly Pinterest Challenge # 4

With a birthday party and Halloween upon us, I decided to switch to a food item from my "Recipe Board".  It's football season (which we love) so an appetizer type recipe seemed perfect.  Taste of Home shares a quick recipe for Mozzarella Sticks that is different!  Here is the inspiration photo:

Don't those just look yummy?  There were a few comments that said you could bake them to be healthy but sometimes, a deep fried treat tastes so good so I stuck with the original recipe and did just that.  This is how mine turned out:

These were FANTASTIC!!!  So super easy too!!!  The recipe calls from egg roll wrappers and string cheese.  I had won ton wrappers on hand so I cut each piece of string cheese in half. 

The Recipe:
Egg Roll or Won Ton Wrappers
String Cheese
Oil for Frying

Lay the string cheese on the corner of the wrapper and roll half way, fold in the sides of the wrapper, use water on the edges and finishing rolling; seal. 

Place in hot oil, heated to 375 (I heated mine only to 350 and they didn't brown as much as we would have liked) and fry for 30 -60 seconds.  Dip in your favorite marinara sauce :-)

Too Cute Not to Toot!

One thing I love to find is ideas for home made gifts for showers (even though I seldom make them yet!) and this idea from The Seasoned Homemaker is just too cute to pass up.  I have a friend due in the spring so maybe, just maybe I'll get this idea made :-)

My boys need hats for the winter (I do have one saved on Etsy that I love!) so when I saw this tutorial over at Moth and Sparrow I had to save it for later.  They are just super cute!

I realize that this is one day late for October/Halloween but I love this candy corn topiary from Deep in the Heart of . . . Arkansas - it is just so adorable!

This is another idea for next year, but my kids would have loved it this year - they are SOOO into "Pukin Pach" (Pumpkin Patch).  This idea for a Pumpkin Tree from Love & Sugar Kisses is super adorable!

I'm looking for ideas to fill up my October Family Fun Binder with and this is perfect - a Roll a Pumpkin Game Printable from Happy Home Fairy.

I will be adding this list also from Happy Home Fairy to that same binder; it has tons of ideas that will help with planning next October :-)

Ok, don't hate for me for posting this next idea but, it is after Halloween so it might be ok :-)  Craftomaniac shares a really cute idea to do with twine - a super adorable Christmas Card.

This pumpkin idea from i gotta create was too cute not to share this week.  This would look super cute on a Thanksgiving table.  If you planned ahead you could probably find stuff at good will or even the dollar store to use :-)

I have a thought that over the next couple of weeks we will see tons of great Christmas ideas.  It is hard to believe that it is already November - where did the year go?

Enjoy!