A new Book Study

I've started another Book Study through Proverbs31.org.  I enjoy book studies because, well, I enjoy books!

In this study, we are going through the book What Happens When Women Walk in Faith.

I'm really working on staying current with this study, as I often get behind, so this week I'm working on reading the first 4 chapters and following along with the information posted on the blog. 

What We Are Eating - Seven Layer Salad

Seven Layer Salad
 adapted from . . .Me! 

This salad is a family favorite - for the first several years Darryl and I were married, this is what I was asked to bring to every one of his family gatherings!  It's such a simple salad yet the flavors blend together so well while it hangs out in the fridge for 24 hours.  I'll list my original recipe below and than follow it with some substitutions that I often use.

1 small head lettuce, torn in bite size pieces

½ cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 – 10 oz. pkg. frozen peas, thawed but not cooked

Mix together:

2 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

Layer on top of dressing:

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Crumbled bacon

Layer in given order, cover or wrap tightly.  Refrigerate for 24 hours

1. I almost always leave the peas off this salad.  I personally don't really care for peas and have found that people either love them or hate them . .. so why put them in? 

2. I love adding hard boiled egg to this salad - it makes a nice "blt" concept. 

3. Cauliflower is another optoin to add as a veggie. 

 

Teach It Tuesday - Spring Break

We took a totally 100% unplanned spring break this past week.  I had totally planned to do school but, well, that did not happen.  We were all fighting various kinds of colds which made wanting to do school work . . well, not fun.  We were lacking sleep (ok, I was) due to several nights of coughing and several nights of thunderstorms which meant I had kids up multiple times during the night. 

And by taking a spring break - I mean we took one from everything.  I read  . . alot :-)  We had several dreary, rainy days so I even introduced the boys to Anne of Green Gables :-)

On that note, I'll be back with a more exciting stuff next week.

Make It Monday - Legos

When we put the bunkbed in the boys room, one of my big projects was organizing their Legos in a way that was easy to keep up and, well, as inexpensive as possible.  I had done tons of research and found some fabulous ideas but so often they involved spending $$ and I really didn't feel like having to budget and wait to get them organized! 

 The very first thing that I did was sort all of the "normal" Legos by color.  This really didn't take too long and I just picked up simple $1.00 plastic shoe boxes at Walmart.  Nate actually helped me to sort these which was nice. 

 Then, I took a file box that I already had on hand and sorted all of their maps by # and put them in numerical order with a basic description on the file folder.  The boys often like to take apart projects and rebuild them so being able to find the maps are very important. 

 This part of the project I'm not totally happy with yet but I used the three drawer bin to sort out the Lego People, the teeny tiny pieces and the pieces that I knew went to specific projects.  The drawers are too full which is why I don't like it.  I need to work on sorting this out more and maybe getting a different set of drawers.  This photo was taken before I had finished sorting but now, that table, is completely cleared off and ready for Lego Building.

Finally, I needed to sort their finished and/or in process progess.  I found some great bins that are long and not too deep - perfect for all of those lose pieces while working on a project.  I then used those same shoeboxes I mentioned earlier to store their completed projects.  I would like to pick up more of those long bins because they stack very well but those run about $3.00-$4.00 a piece so I'll pick a few up at a time. 

I love that I now have a process in place so as the boys get more projects, I can plan ahead and already have bins for building. 

family FUn - Metro Beach

 On March 22nd, we headed out for our annual trip to Metro Beach where Darryl and I got engaged many years ago.  This year, the weather was pretty nice - we didn't freeze to death :-)  The boys love walking on all of the walls all around the park.  We headed out fairly early so that we could stop and pick up a rental car.  Our truck went into the shop a couple days prior to our planned trip (something we were NOT planning for but leaking transmission fluid is not a good thing!); we decided instead of taking Darryl's car, we would rent a vehicle for the day and it was wonderful.  Nothing better than driving an almost brand new car with lots of bells and whistles!  Our first stop once we are in town is National Coney Island for lunch.  I love their Hani Sandwich and Chili Cheese Fries.  Once done with lunch we headed to the beach :-)

 Nate enjoyed posing for me. 

 Joshua exploring every single wall no matter how high!

 When we got engaged, we took a photo in this same spot and have gotten one every year since . .. jus tnow we have kids!

 Another tradition, Darryl doing a chin-up (or attempting . . . .)

 The boys love being able to play at the playground. 

 Our rental car :-) 

We also always take a photo of our rings :-) 

From the park our next stop is Morely's Candy Factory.  This stop gets more fun each year because the boys love to pick out a few favorites.  Then, this year, we decided to take in a movie.  We got to see Paddington and it is our new favorite movie! 

It was a great day as a family :-)

Weekly Menu

Well, I missed last weeks menu post.  Not because I didn't do it, I did, but somehow it got left as a draft and I never made it on my actual computer until too late to post it HA!  That's ok because our menu last week was not even to close to what we ate HA!  So, we'll start over this week!  This is supposed to be the last month of the "Winter Menu" but lets be honest, we are really tired of the heavy, rich, cheesy foods . . .uuugg.  I think Easter did us in - with Ham, Cheesy Potatoes and lots of sweets.  So I'm starting the change over now.  :-)   I'm hoping to kind of put together a "salad bar" in the fridge so that I can eat salads more for lunch again and Darryl and I will be eating them with dinner. 

What is on the plan for the coming week?

Saturday - Pizza.  Store bought, homemade or ordered in - put still pizza.

Sunday -Stuffed Shells, Garlic Bread and Salad; Sloppy Joes and Fries for dinner :-) 

Monday - Slow Cooker Honey Ginger Pork, Savory Rice, peas, and Rolls

Tuesday -Dill Shrimp Pasta, Garlic Bread, and Broccoli

Wednesday - Quasidillas, Chips and Salsa

Thursday - We are going out to dinner with my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday

Friday - Tonight Darryl and the boys are going to a Father/Son banquet at our church so I'm on my own.  :-) 

What We're Eating Wednesday - Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
adapted from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Green bean casserole is one of those classic holiday dishes but every once in awhile we enjoy just having it for every day dinner too!  I've tried quite a few different recipes - some that did not use the classic cream soups and some that did . . .and as much as I like to do away with cream soups .  .. this recipe requires it :-)  Josh even liked it . .. well he liked the crunchy onions :-)  Two changes I made - I used canned green beans so I did not need to cook them first and I left out the mushrooms.

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

 

• 4 cups of green beans (ends trimmed and long ones cut in half)
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (4-ounce) package white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 (6-ounce) can French-fried onions, divided

Instructions

1. Place green beans and chicken broth in a medium saucepan. Add just enough water to cover green beans. Bring to a boil and simmer 10-12 minutes. Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 1½-quart baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
4. In a large bowl, mix together mushrooms, green beans, condensed mushroom soup, milk, cheddar, ½ cup of the French-fried onions, and soy sauce, and pepper.
5. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish, Top with remaining onions.
6. Place in oven for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.