Welcome back :-) Nothing exciting to share this week - I followed our menu to a tee and we are sick of chicken HA! Here's the plan for this coming week.
Saturday - Enchiladas and Bacon and Cheddar Potatoes in the crock pot
Sunday - No Peek Chicken, Carrots, and French Bread
Monday - Labor Day! Steaks, Macaroni Salad, Corn on the Cob and Cupcakes (My mom is providing all of the food!)
Tuesday - Friday - My kids are going home with the grandparents for the week specifically so we can finish up their room. Darryl and I will be cheating . . .some Taco Bell, Little Ceasers, a new Mexican restaurant in town and then one night, we will go on a "date". We are taking this weeks grocery money and using it this way :-)
That's all!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Food Friday - Stuffed Cabbage and Crash Potatoes
Can you believe it? It is another "Two Fer"! I figured since the photo was blurry (oops!) I wouldn't subject you to seeing it twice!
Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage
adapted from . .. I don't know!
Sorry again for the slightly blurry photo - I could have sworn it was clear when I took it :-/ I came across this recipe over a year ago and it has become a favorite in out house (I know, my mom is saying WHAT??) First of all, my husband loves cabbage as a side dish; I learned that only a few years ago but I guess it is something he grew up on and never understand why I didn't cook it. I though, ummm, cabbage was for cole slaw ;-) LOL Needless to say when I saw this recipe I decided to try and and I figured I could just eat the filling but, after cooking in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours the cabbage just melts. Even the kids will eat the filling on this (and a little cabbage that I can hide while cutting it up HA!) This time I served it with Crash Potatoes (recipe to follow) and green beans.
Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
1 egg
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked rice (I use white, the recipe says brown . . .I'm afraid brown won't actually cook up)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 pound ground beef (use something lean like ground round, sirloin, or even turkey - per the recipe)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2-3 cups of regular V8 juice
Core the cabbage. Very carefully peel off large cabbage leaves (8-12; personally I usually fill about 8 and run out of filling) and wash them. Then steam them in the microwave for about 30 seconds (I just lay them on a paper towel) to make them soft enough to use. In a mixing bowl, combine everything except the V-8 juice and mix well - it will be like a very gloppy meatloaf. Place about 1/3 cup of mixture into each cabbage leave and roll or fold it; place it in the crock, seam side down. It's okay to stack the rolls on top of each other in the crock. Top with 2-3 cups of V-8 Juice. I try to fill my crock until the juice comes about 1/2 way up roll cabbage but you can add more. The last time I made it, there was no liquid left after 7 hours so the leaner the meat the more juice you will want to use.
Crash Potatoes
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
I came across this recipe on Pinterest and, because I'm always looking for new side dish ideas, I thought I would try these. I was not convinced that we would love them, nor was I convinced that we wouldn't need to drag some dry potato pieces in ketchup but, I was proven wrong. Once these cook in the oven, they become slightly crunchy and the seasoning/olive oil had so much flavor it is unbelievable. Even my husband, who is not a huge potato fan, loved them.
Ingredients:
12 whole New Potatoes (or other small Round Potato)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste (Rosemary or other herbs of choice)
Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until fork tender*. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it is slightly mashed; rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper and seasonings of your chose (I just used Nature's Seasoning - a favorite of ours). Baked in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
*Make sure that they really are "Fork Tender" - I took mine out a little early and ended up with potato all over my counter when the masher slipped on the too hard potato!!
Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage
adapted from . .. I don't know!
Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
1 egg
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked rice (I use white, the recipe says brown . . .I'm afraid brown won't actually cook up)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 pound ground beef (use something lean like ground round, sirloin, or even turkey - per the recipe)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2-3 cups of regular V8 juice
Core the cabbage. Very carefully peel off large cabbage leaves (8-12; personally I usually fill about 8 and run out of filling) and wash them. Then steam them in the microwave for about 30 seconds (I just lay them on a paper towel) to make them soft enough to use. In a mixing bowl, combine everything except the V-8 juice and mix well - it will be like a very gloppy meatloaf. Place about 1/3 cup of mixture into each cabbage leave and roll or fold it; place it in the crock, seam side down. It's okay to stack the rolls on top of each other in the crock. Top with 2-3 cups of V-8 Juice. I try to fill my crock until the juice comes about 1/2 way up roll cabbage but you can add more. The last time I made it, there was no liquid left after 7 hours so the leaner the meat the more juice you will want to use.
Crash Potatoes
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
I came across this recipe on Pinterest and, because I'm always looking for new side dish ideas, I thought I would try these. I was not convinced that we would love them, nor was I convinced that we wouldn't need to drag some dry potato pieces in ketchup but, I was proven wrong. Once these cook in the oven, they become slightly crunchy and the seasoning/olive oil had so much flavor it is unbelievable. Even my husband, who is not a huge potato fan, loved them.
Ingredients:
12 whole New Potatoes (or other small Round Potato)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste (Rosemary or other herbs of choice)
Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until fork tender*. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it is slightly mashed; rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper and seasonings of your chose (I just used Nature's Seasoning - a favorite of ours). Baked in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
*Make sure that they really are "Fork Tender" - I took mine out a little early and ended up with potato all over my counter when the masher slipped on the too hard potato!!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Blog Schedule - why I do this I have no idea!
**Due the large amount of spam comments I've been recieving lately, I've had to re-instate the word verfication feature on comments. When you type in a comment, you will now be shown a box with a word and/or number in it. Just type that in the space provided and the comment will post. Sorry - I know it is a pain but the spam is a bigger pain :-( **
Every once in awhile, I like to tell you what my blog schedule is - then, just the time I do it, it changes or I get bored BUT with the start of the new school year I figured it was a good time to do this again :-)
So, this is what you can expect!
Sunday - This is my "free day" - I tend to post "Things my Kids Say" or a photo montage of the week or . .. I skip just to take a break :-)
Monday: I will be posting about our homeschool activities from the week before so that I can also link up to some other blogs with weekly school posts.
Tuesday: Too Cute Not To Cute will still be around!
Wednesday: Devotional Posts or Book Reviews
Thursday: Crafts, Pinterest Success (or Failures), Home or Organizational posts (I.e. - whatever I feel like posting HA!)
Friday: Food Friday - a recipe post
Saturday: Menu - I like posting my weekly menu because I like reading other posts of the same nature. It's also a way for me to share a few tidbits from our week.
We'll see how long this lasts :-)
Every once in awhile, I like to tell you what my blog schedule is - then, just the time I do it, it changes or I get bored BUT with the start of the new school year I figured it was a good time to do this again :-)
So, this is what you can expect!
Sunday - This is my "free day" - I tend to post "Things my Kids Say" or a photo montage of the week or . .. I skip just to take a break :-)
Monday: I will be posting about our homeschool activities from the week before so that I can also link up to some other blogs with weekly school posts.
Tuesday: Too Cute Not To Cute will still be around!
Wednesday: Devotional Posts or Book Reviews
Thursday: Crafts, Pinterest Success (or Failures), Home or Organizational posts (I.e. - whatever I feel like posting HA!)
Friday: Food Friday - a recipe post
Saturday: Menu - I like posting my weekly menu because I like reading other posts of the same nature. It's also a way for me to share a few tidbits from our week.
We'll see how long this lasts :-)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Hello Mornings - a great group!
If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you'll remember me talking about Good Morning Girls (GMG) which is a great way to set up accountability for daily devotions. I've been part of a group off and on for about 2 years but the group that I joined up with that many years ago has kind of dissolved. I was planning to sign up and look for another group but I happened upon another group that fit me better and, honestly, seems a little more structured which is right up my alley.
Inspired to Action hosts a series/group called "Hello Mornings". The concept is accountability in three areas 1)Devotions 2)Getting up in the morning earlier 3)Exercise. I'll be honest, right now, I'm only focusing on numbers one and two!!
Just like with GMG, they provide a devotional study that you can choose to do but it isn't required. This session we are studying First Peter. It actually started on August 20th but I'll be honest, I was on "vacation" that week (I didn't have the munchkin) so I enjoyed sleeping in until the boys got up and just taking it easy. I jumped in with both feet this past Monday.
As far as getting up earlier - the goal is to get up before your kids and have time to have your devotions and exercise. Well, here's the truth of it. For a totally non-morning person as myself it is hard enough to get up early enough to have my quiet time. Then, for someone who hates exercise on top of not being a morning person - getting up even earlier, well that's not happening right now. Previously, I got up at 7:00 with just enough time to be presentable before the munchkin arrived. Now, I'm getting up at 6:00. I take a shower, have my devotions, and actually get ready for the day all by 7:00. It's great - some days my kids sleep until 8:30 but some days they are up by 7:00 - it's nice being ready for the day before they get up.
The group I'm in is fabulous - our leader is wonderful and, small world, we actually know some of the same people even though I randomly picked her from a list of people. Also, I'm already enjoying the other 14 ladies in the group.
Who knows, maybe by mid-session, I'll be ready to get up at 5:30 to work out . .. but really, I need to find a way to work out during the day, around the kids!!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Too Cute . . .fail, kinda :-)
Sorry, no Too Cute post today! Last night I had try outs for an upcoming Follie's concert with the group I'm in so my focus all day was practicing my song and then by the time I got home and ate dinner it was 10:00 . . and I'm trying to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier!!
With that said, enjoy the posts the rest of the week :- )
Hopefully I can round up some good ideas next week. The big holiday season is starting to peek around the corner (I.e. Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!) so I'm sure there will be lots of ideas to share
Have a great day!
With that said, enjoy the posts the rest of the week :- )
Hopefully I can round up some good ideas next week. The big holiday season is starting to peek around the corner (I.e. Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!) so I'm sure there will be lots of ideas to share
Have a great day!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Homeschool Happenings - Week 1
As been my norm all summer, I have been posting our "Summer Fun" on Mondays. I had some big plans for this past week but we ended up doing the big room switch this past week plus throw in a really low month at my husband's job and, well, we stuck close to home and just worked on getting stuff set up. The boys and I went on a couple of walks, we emptied the pool (which is actually a lot of fun!) but for some reason did not get it re-filled, and played with some of our new school games. The boys love sharing a room and they love the classroom - Nate loves it because he can now color without asking - there are always markets and paper on the table for him and Josh loves it because he can turn on the stereo all by himself and loves to listen to music. Throw in games, "cutters", and tape - life is perfect HA!
With that said, I decided to switch to homeschool posts on Monday. Yes, we are starting homeschool - just preschool, but it is a start. This week I wanted to share what we are using for curriculum.
1. Bible - My First Hands on Bible and We Choose Virtues - The Bible book we are using is great. It shares a Bible story, in order of a regular Bible, and then gives activities - simple activities. In the first lesson, we are supposed to go outside and look at the clouds for one of our activities. It is my heart to have my boys grow up not just knowing the Bible but loving the truths that are in it and for it to be part of their life so we are starting strong!. I love the concept of the Virtues lessons. I just picked up the sets of activity cards - we'll be focusing on one each week, doing the activities and talking about it a lot. Once we've gone through them all, guess what? We will start again!! (Both Josh and Nate will be part of the Bible Lesson)
2. Reading - All About Reading - Pre-Reading level. This is something that just Josh will be focusing on this year as I prepare him to read. I'm very impressed with this curriculum and can't wait to dive into it with him. I plan on also doing these fun alphabet creatures that were shared on Totally Tots.
3. Rising Rock Stars Preschool (RRSP) - This is a program that I found over at 1+1+1=1 and I really loved the set up. It's a Christian based Preschool program that focuses on learning the basic letters and sight words. The membership is minimal and is a one time fee which includes a fantastic power point. I love the simplicity of it and the fact that there is a lot of repetition. We get our memory verse, sight word, number and color of the week from this program. It also presents some basic skills like cutting with scissors, tracing, and coloring.
4. Piano - Piano for Preschoolers Yes, we are starting piano lessons. Josh is very interested in music and the piano - he has already gotten his book out and has been sitting at the piano. I did quite a bit of research and really liked this beginning book and think it will be a great starting point for him. I know that in a matter of weeks, he'll be playing the songs.
5. Nate - Yes, Nate gets his own category. 1+1+1=1 has a toddler section as well. I've printed worksheets for Nate to work on that coordinate with the letter of the week that Josh is working on. Nate's items are just put in a binder to use when he wants to join us - I don't plan on really teaching him this year. Because of when our boys birthdays are, we have late starters so I don't want Nate to jump way ahead and then graduate at like . . .12 ;-)
6. Life Skills - Life skills include multiple things. First of all, we are going to start working on skills they need. For example, one of the first life skills we are going to work on is cleaning up their toys when they are done. We'll talk about it, practice it, and then they will get rewarded for it (with stickers and then coins for their piggy banks - they LOVE pennies!!). It will then become a chore then need to do daily. Then we will progress on to the next item. Life skills also includes other items. I plan on cooking with them once a week - whether it be baking something, making something to go with dinner, or making a fun snack, they need to know how to work in the kitchen. We also will include "P.E." in life skills. The goal is to do something specific two times a week - maybe just a walk or maybe working on tee ball skills. We just want to move :-)
On Fridays, we will be attending "Friday School" with our local Homeschool group. This will give the boys a chance to be with other kids and have structure that is different that at home. I'm also strongly considering attending a MOPS group with a friend of mine which would give the boys another chance to hang out with other kids 2 times a month.
So what is my plan?? My goal is to get through our Bible Lesson and then either a reading lesson or a RRSP lesson each day. Piano will only be once a week and Life Skills vary depending on the day. No pressure :-) I also have some theme units (Like Apples for September) that I would like to intermingle with our lessons but that will depend on time and desire!
We aren't actually starting "school" until after Labor Day (On Tuesday of that week) so next week I'll share our current classroom set up.
With that said, I decided to switch to homeschool posts on Monday. Yes, we are starting homeschool - just preschool, but it is a start. This week I wanted to share what we are using for curriculum.
2. Reading - All About Reading - Pre-Reading level. This is something that just Josh will be focusing on this year as I prepare him to read. I'm very impressed with this curriculum and can't wait to dive into it with him. I plan on also doing these fun alphabet creatures that were shared on Totally Tots.
3. Rising Rock Stars Preschool (RRSP) - This is a program that I found over at 1+1+1=1 and I really loved the set up. It's a Christian based Preschool program that focuses on learning the basic letters and sight words. The membership is minimal and is a one time fee which includes a fantastic power point. I love the simplicity of it and the fact that there is a lot of repetition. We get our memory verse, sight word, number and color of the week from this program. It also presents some basic skills like cutting with scissors, tracing, and coloring.
4. Piano - Piano for Preschoolers Yes, we are starting piano lessons. Josh is very interested in music and the piano - he has already gotten his book out and has been sitting at the piano. I did quite a bit of research and really liked this beginning book and think it will be a great starting point for him. I know that in a matter of weeks, he'll be playing the songs.
5. Nate - Yes, Nate gets his own category. 1+1+1=1 has a toddler section as well. I've printed worksheets for Nate to work on that coordinate with the letter of the week that Josh is working on. Nate's items are just put in a binder to use when he wants to join us - I don't plan on really teaching him this year. Because of when our boys birthdays are, we have late starters so I don't want Nate to jump way ahead and then graduate at like . . .12 ;-)
6. Life Skills - Life skills include multiple things. First of all, we are going to start working on skills they need. For example, one of the first life skills we are going to work on is cleaning up their toys when they are done. We'll talk about it, practice it, and then they will get rewarded for it (with stickers and then coins for their piggy banks - they LOVE pennies!!). It will then become a chore then need to do daily. Then we will progress on to the next item. Life skills also includes other items. I plan on cooking with them once a week - whether it be baking something, making something to go with dinner, or making a fun snack, they need to know how to work in the kitchen. We also will include "P.E." in life skills. The goal is to do something specific two times a week - maybe just a walk or maybe working on tee ball skills. We just want to move :-)
On Fridays, we will be attending "Friday School" with our local Homeschool group. This will give the boys a chance to be with other kids and have structure that is different that at home. I'm also strongly considering attending a MOPS group with a friend of mine which would give the boys another chance to hang out with other kids 2 times a month.
So what is my plan?? My goal is to get through our Bible Lesson and then either a reading lesson or a RRSP lesson each day. Piano will only be once a week and Life Skills vary depending on the day. No pressure :-) I also have some theme units (Like Apples for September) that I would like to intermingle with our lessons but that will depend on time and desire!
We aren't actually starting "school" until after Labor Day (On Tuesday of that week) so next week I'll share our current classroom set up.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Weekly Menu
This week didn't go completly as planned but that's ok. Instead of not using recipes, I ended up having to make due a few times I thought we'd be out. We had some great meals though so in the end, it all worked out!
This is the plan for the coming week.
Saturday - It's supposed to be hot again and, I fell off my "Hamburgers every week" wagon so we are going to have Burgers on the grill. We'll just have some chips with it to keep it cool and maybe some deli potato Salad.
Sunday - My husband has a concert and there is a pot luck with the group afterwards. I'm going to make Southwestsern Tossed Salad (it's actually a dip) and chips. For dinner - I'm planning on picking up a Pizza. Depending on the weather, we may go to the beach after lunch so I really don't want to have cook when we get home.
Monday - We are going to have the Corn Dog Muffins that I actually didn't cook last Sunday evening because we were so busy moving rooms - we just got a Pizza. I think we'll just have chips with it and maybe some fruit. (This is a simple meal because I have to leave early to get to practice - no time to be wrapped up in the kitchen!)
Tuesday - Stuffed Shells with Cheese, Roasted Cabbage Wedges, Garlic Bread
Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Thursday - Coconut Chicken, Baked Beans, Green Beans, biscuits
Friday - Breaded Chicken Thighs, Parsley Potatoes, Corn, Garlic Bread
Yes, a lot of chicken!!! That is what is in my freezer that needs to be used up :-)
The desserts this week are a Brownie Tart and Lazy Cake Cookies.
This is the plan for the coming week.
Saturday - It's supposed to be hot again and, I fell off my "Hamburgers every week" wagon so we are going to have Burgers on the grill. We'll just have some chips with it to keep it cool and maybe some deli potato Salad.
Sunday - My husband has a concert and there is a pot luck with the group afterwards. I'm going to make Southwestsern Tossed Salad (it's actually a dip) and chips. For dinner - I'm planning on picking up a Pizza. Depending on the weather, we may go to the beach after lunch so I really don't want to have cook when we get home.
Monday - We are going to have the Corn Dog Muffins that I actually didn't cook last Sunday evening because we were so busy moving rooms - we just got a Pizza. I think we'll just have chips with it and maybe some fruit. (This is a simple meal because I have to leave early to get to practice - no time to be wrapped up in the kitchen!)
Tuesday - Stuffed Shells with Cheese, Roasted Cabbage Wedges, Garlic Bread
Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Thursday - Coconut Chicken, Baked Beans, Green Beans, biscuits
Friday - Breaded Chicken Thighs, Parsley Potatoes, Corn, Garlic Bread
Yes, a lot of chicken!!! That is what is in my freezer that needs to be used up :-)
The desserts this week are a Brownie Tart and Lazy Cake Cookies.
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