Weekly Menu

This past week was "fun with food" and by that I mean that we had good food to eat all week.  Some new recipes and some old favorites.  I'm actually enjoying cooking this summer because 1) it has been unseasonably cool this summer and 2) We have three a/c units set up that keep even the kitchen cool.  My parents were here last Sunday and my dad cook thee best steaks ever.  Yum!  It was just plain awesome

Guess what starts this coming week?  Football!  Saturday night brings the Hall of Fame fun and the Hall of Fame game will be played Sunday evening kicking off preseason games.  C.a.n.'t. w.a.i.t.!!

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Saturday - I think that we will use the Boy's "Free Pizza" coupons from Spring Soccer.  They each got a free personal pan pizza.  Now, this is how we roll - Josh loves pizza so he will get his, Nate does not so I will use his, we'll get breadsticks for the whole family which Nate will  eat many (haha) and Darryl can pick whatever he wants :-)   Fall soccer starts in a few weeks so I figured I had better use these up first!

Sunday -Marinated Flank Steak, Corn on the Cob, Mashed potatoes and Rolls

Monday -Tomato Basil Chicken, Rolls, Salad

Tuesday -  Chicken enchiladas, Savory Rice, Chips and Salsa

Wednesday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, Blueberry coffee cake, and Hashbrowns

Thursday -Stuffed Shells w/Cheese, Salad and garlic bread

Friday -  Tacos - I might try a recipe for "SoCal tacos" which are street tacos.  It's just a different way to cook the meat.  OR I might just do regular tacos.

I took the boys with me to the store one day last week and Josh picked up one of those little cookbooks that happens to be all kinds of cakes.  He has "read" that book from cover to cover with Nate and they have picked out all of the cakes they want "us" to make.  So I do plan on making one cake this weekend.  I promise to share my success (or total failure HA!)

Homeschool Happenings - K-5

I spent the last week working on lesson plans.  After doing the first 6 weeks, I realized that I could fill in the basics for the entire year and figure out where each subject will end and also I discovered that to get through our Say, Sing Write and Read curriculum we will actually have to continue that about a month longer than our "school year".  Really, though, that's fine because the kids need a little review throughout the summer break next year anyway.  The other thing I have decided, after seeing the full extent of the SSWR curriculum is that we are not going to be doing Five in a Row. As I was writing the first 6 weeks of lesson plans I was not feeling FIAR - it seems a little, well, out dated.  I also feel that SSWR will give us plenty to do for reading and phonics and I will supplement with some books along the way.  Another reason is that I really want to have time to teach some basic US Geography and also use a couple of magazines for Social Studies and Science AND have time for some basic Bible including the review of the SS lessons and working on their AWANA stuff - we just don't have time to get everything in and FIAR seemed like overkill at this point.  Finally, FIAR is a lot of work on my part - with prep for the activities, discussion topics and needing to purchase so many books - it just was making me feel overwhelmed already. I updated my  calendar board, added the white board and just tried to refresh things.

 And I got a basket to house all of our books/workbooks to keep them nice and neat.

The lesson plans are a basic overview.  I plan on making time each weekend (maybe Friday afternoons . .. ) to review for the following week.  This will allow me to make a more detailed weekly plan IF needed, gather supplies for the week, set up their workboxes for each day and just make sure our week is ready to go so it DOES go smoothly!

I have a few goals over the next few weeks:
1.  Order the last supplies which include some workbooks (I only ordered one of each earlier this summer so I could plan but knew I needed to order a second one before school started) , two magazine subscriptions, and a few other little things.
2.  Do 4 weeks of solid lesson prep.  I have a file drawer empty in my 2 drawer filing cabinet so I can put file folders together for each week and be able to just grab stuff and go.  We are camping the weekend before school starts so I need to be 100% prepped and ready to go.
3. Take the kids school supply shopping.  I love school supplies.  :-)  I have already picked up some things to have on hand  but the boys will be able to pick out things too - new markers, crayons, pencils, a ruler, etc.

Things My Kids Say

* Recently Nate said to me, "Are we having chicken and fries for lunch?" I said yes to which he replied, "I knew that because I got inside your mind and read it."  How scary is that???

* We took a drive on Saturday evening and, while driving, the boys noticed the farms.  Josh stated that he wanted to live on a farm.  I told him he could do that when he grew up to which he replied, "That's fine but the farm needs to be in the yard by our yellow house because I love that house."  He and Nate proceeded to talk about what animals they want, what we needed to build and how to make the fence work for the cows. 

Food Friday - Chocolate Cobbler

Chocolate Cobbler
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

  Several times over the last few months a good friend of mine would mention "Chocolate Cobbler" and how great it tastes.  Well, I finally searched a recipe and decided to make it.  It's a rich, chocolatey (obviously) gooey dessert that really MUST have ice cream :-)  It is fantastic served still hot with the liquedy center serving as a great topping for the ice cream.  Once it is cooled, it becomes like a really, really moist, rich brownie.  

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided
• 1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided
• ½ cups Milk
• ⅓ cups Melted Butter
• 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1-½ cup Hot Tap Water

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.
Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. I prefer my small oval Corning Ware glass dish.
In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.
Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.
Let stand for a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. Serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.

Weekly Menu

This past week was simple - just Darryl and I and then a few meals from church.  Now it's time to get back into reality and real life cooking all while trying to keep the grocery bill as very low as possible!  I don't have a food prep photo this week because other than chopping up lettuce for salad I didn't do much.  The ladies from church supplied us with tons of fruit with their meals so the fridge was overflowing with fruit meaning that I didn't have to buy any this week.  I keep thinking my garden will produce some stuff but so far I've only picked a few cherry tomatoes.  Both the cucumber and zucchini vines have TONS of flowers but no vegetables yet.

So the plan for this coming week:

Friday  - Brats and Hotdogs with fries and fruit

Saturday - Beefy Noodle Bake, Salad and Rolls - This is a recipe a friend made for us before Darryl's surgery and I loved it.  I'm hoping it is as good when I make it!!

Sunday - My parents are coming over for the day so I have lunch planned :-)  (I'm keeping my mom in suspense.)

Monday - Orange Ginger Pork Loin with Rice, Green Beans and Rolls

Tuesday - Tacos, Beans and Chips and Salsa

Wednesday - Breakfast!!!  Amish Breakfast Casserole, Muffins, and Fruit

Thursday - Chicken Alfredo Pizza (for the big people) and the kids favorite frozen pizzas (for the little people) with salad.

This weeks meals are freezer/pantry based with the exception of Thursday.  (Meaning, I don't have any of the stuff on hand to make that Pizza).

A Visit

Recently, my brother Kel, sister-in-law Deb and niece Marisa visited us.  They came in on a Saturday and stayed the night, attended church with us and then stayed through lunch before heading home.  My boys love Kel because, well, Kel loves them, talks to them and plays with them too!

One of the funniest things of the whole visit was when one of the boys looked at him and said, "Where is all of your hair?" hahahaha

 The boys have LOVED having Darryl home as he is recovery (and I have too!!)  Nate enjoys "things" so doing puzzles with his dad is a favorite activity.

 Nate and Josh took over Darryl's couch (since he has to lay down alot still) and turned it into a fancy bed with all kinds of pillows and animals.

Things My Kids Say

* It's the time of year where we get about 4 flies in the house no matter how many we kill on a daily basis.  It was super cute when Nate walked in the kitchen and asked for the "Flyswapper."  :-) hahaha

* The boys and I were heading to the grocery store so I fixed their hair.  Josh looked at himself in the mirror and said, "Wow, I look Fandsome"  I had to leave the room so I could laugh but no, I did not correct him.  I LOVE hearing kids say things wrong - eventually they will learn to pronounce everything correctly but for now, we just enjoy their creativity.

* The boys were out in the pool one day when I heard, "Abra Ca-Pocus"  I think they have their magic and witchcraft sayings mixed up HA!