Weekly Menu

Can you believe that it is almost March?  Where did January and February go?  We've been pretty much home bound most of the last two months due to the weather and are looking forward to getting out a little more in the coming month. This past week I just pulled food we had on hand plus we went out to dinner one night which was not planned! 

I have planned meals for the entire month so, again, I can watch for some sales on things (especially meat!) and have tried to incorporate some new non-dairy meals so we aren't just eating plain meat, veggies and potatoes/pasta every night.  Darryl is still struggling with dairy products which, really, is not fun.  It cuts out a lot of things, that's for sure! Added to that, we are still under a deep freeze here in the mid-west so we are still enjoying some of our "winter" favorites!

Friday - Tacos!!  Just plain old tacos.  Plus chips and salsa :-) 

Saturday - Our "traditional" Saturday night dinner - Mac and Cheese for the boys and then Darryl and I order in . . . he usually gets a Sub from Subway and I usually get a small pizza from my favorite pizza place. 

Sunday - Today we are eating lunch at church and then I'm planning breakfast for dinner - eggs, toast, and bacon.

Monday - We have one of "those" nights.  Darryl has a doctor's appointment at 3:00 in town and I have to go to Choir Practice at 6:15 so I'm just planning Hot Dogs and Fries for to eat in passing.  Simple, easy, and everyone enjoys it.

Tuesday - This is a new recipe . . .Tomato Basil Chicken over pasta.  I'm hoping to add a salad and some rolls.

Wednesday - Beef Stew and French Bread

Thursday - Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops, Savory Rice, Carrots, and rolls


It's actually a pretty cut and dry recipe week.  :-)

Also, one clarification from my grocery post . .. the category of "drinks" . . .includes anything non-dairy such as Pop, Tea, Juice, and water.  We don't drink any alcohol  . .. just wanted to clear that up :-)

February Grocery Budget Challenge

I realize that at the posting of this, February won't quite be over but, considering the fact that the next time I grocery shop I will be challenging myself for the month of March, I thought I would share the basic break down of where the money went.  Since this was the first month of my challenge, I really need to track the items we bought so I could see what we are buying and where we can change. 

Fresh Fruits/Veggies - $21.32
Dairy - $54.78
Tolietries - $8.00
Frozen Foods - $34.15
Pantry Items - $121.65
Meat $53.46
Snacks $36.06
Bread - 13.37
Animals 8.28
 Dinks 72.80
Cleaning/Paper Products 60.54

Total : $484.17

A few notes:
* That total is not totally accurate.  Why?  Because I'm sure I missed a reciept or two of a quick run to the store or when my husband stopped to grab milk or something. 
* This really only includes three weeks worth of shopping and I'm already $84.00 over budget.
* I was surprised by the low amount of fruits and veggies . . . but it is also winter and I tend to only buy Bananas and Apples.  Add to the fact that the bananas in the store most of the month were green and hard - we didn't buy as many! 

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% where I can cut back.  Yes, we drink a lot and I can make a change to that category and there are snacks that can be cut out as well.  I think what I really need to do is continue to try to plan for the month and buy stuff when it is on sale and when I have a coupon too. 

Homeschool Corner

This past week, I thought through some goals I had for the boys that I wanted accomplished by the end of May.  There aren't many because they are already close to on target but I want these key things:
1) Count to 100
2) Write their first and last names
3) Know their phone #
4) Know their address
(The doctor informed us that they need to know #3 and 4 . . .guess I hadn't thought about how important that would be!!)

Anyway, these thoughts came to me last Sunday and this is what happened in our house on Monday:

Do you know what they are doing?  They are counting to 100.  Nate pulled out the tape measure and starting counting . . .he did not stop until he reached the end of the tape measure which was around 108.  Then Josh did it.  No, I had not said a thing to them about counting.  Another reason I'm not stressing about preschool.  So now, we move on to names and address/phone #! 

We are playing a ton of games in this house lately.  The boys are learning rules (and changing rules HA) and are actually playing together which is nice.  Not to mention lots of time outside in the snow. 

This week, I nailed down the K-5 curriculum we will be using in the fall so I can start to pick it up as I find it on sale.  We have made the decision to start Josh and Nate together in the fall.  The boys have shown this year that they would rather work together and do the same thing then to do different things.  Most subjects like Reading, Bible, History, and Science, we would end up doing together anyway.  Math, we are going to start together but if I feel Nate is lagging behind, I will do something different with him.  Now, I am excited to start picking up that curriculum so I can plan next year. 

Things My Kids Say

I would like to say that my kids have been extra quiet lately so I don't have many things to share but in reality, they are getting busier and busier and I find trying to remember things to write down gets difficult!  So, this is what I remember at least :-)

1. Nate is very into rhyming right now (can you guess where this is going???)  Most things are very simple - bat, cat, sat, etc.  Until he has an Itch.  Then he says, "Mom, I'm Itchy, _itchy  . . .can you fill in the blank? (And yes, it is a swear word!!)  I seriously had to scrap myself off the floor from laughing so hard (which made him say it more) and then I suggested we say "Itchy, witchy".  Obviously, he has no idea that is a "bad" word and I didn't want to make a big deal about it but boy, I hope he doesn't do any "swear word rhyming" in Church!!!

2.  I overheard this conversation this week:  Josh: Nate, you are my friend.  Nate: Josh you are best buddy.  Josh:  Well, you are my best friend and I love you.  Nate:  You are MY best friend and I love you too!  (And then sealed with a kiss! HA!)  Well, then later in the week, they had a little disagreement and we discovered how important this friendship is because Nate, after Josh broke the string on his balloon, told his brother that he was not his friend anymore.  Josh broke down and SOBBED over this fact.  It was priceless.  They truly are best friends

3. Have you ever wondered why your butt is cracked?  Well, Nate has it all figured out . . . .it is cracked so you can poop.  hahahahahaha  OH that kid and POOP!  He described it every time he goes . ."Mom, that one was smooth followed by two hard ones."  Or, "Mom, that one was bumpy, smooth, bumpy." 

Happy Birthday !

Today I'd just like to wish my husband a very happy birthday! 

I love him with all my heart and he is my best friend; my soul mate (for all of you Anne of Green Gables Fans!).  He can make me laugh harder than anyone else and always has my best interest in mind.  He is funny, caring, thoughtful and kind. 

So, Happy Birthday Darryl!!!! 

Food Friday - Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Swirl Cake
adapted from Just a Pinch

 
 Yes, this cake is so good that I had to snap a picture of it before we ate it all!  Every once in awhile a recipe comes across the Facebook news feed that looks too good to not try.  Then, you read through the ingredients and you realize that you have everything on hand!  That happened with this recipe last Saturday and this did not disappoint!  It was good still really, really warm (almost hot), it was good warm and it was good cold.  The perfect dessert.  I altered it slightly so my husband could eat it and I couldn't tell - I have some vegan butter that I use for him and then, well, I just used water instead of milk.  It turned out perfectly fine :-)  

 Ingredients:

Batter:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup butter very softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, mix all of the "batter" ingredients, except butter.  Mix well
2.  Slowly add in melted butter and mix well (It will splash so SLOWLY is important!)
3. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan.
4. In a seperate bowl, mix topping ingredients together til combined.
5. Drop topping onto prepared batter and swirl with a butter knife
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. 
7. Pull cake out of the oven and mix glaze ingredients in a seperate bowl
8. While the cake is still warm (hot), drizzle glaze over the top.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting/serving. 

Weekly Menu - the one with a Birthday

So, we've been sticking pretty close to our weekly menu lately which is a good thing.  I will admit that I miss some of the dishes I used to make that have cheese in them . . .like Cheesy Rice and Broccoli casserole . .. I might have to make it for me to eat for lunch one of these weeks.  This next weeks plan is a little different as you will see below.

Friday - Celebrating Darryl's birthday with my parents.  My mom is cooking and said it is a "surprise". 

Saturday - Darryl and I are taking off for the day to celebrate his birthday.  We'll eat out a few times which is always nice!

Sunday  - We are eating lunch with my parents and brother and his family after church.  We'll have dinner when we get home - either McDonald's on the way in or just some Mac and Cheese/Sandwiches.

Monday - Thursday: Last Wednesday I went to the grocery store and picked up some basics to get us through until, well, Monday.  Then, my goal is to use what we have and spend as little money on groceries as possible.  In fact, most of what I got on Wednesday were things like Laundry Soap, Kleenex, paper plates, etc.  We have meat in the freezer to use, canned goods on the shelves, rice, potatoes and even some noodles.  Not to mention frozen rolls.  Therefore, I'm not really planning at the moment.  I do know we'll have chicken and pork :-)

That's all!