Meal Plan

So...I'm not as consistent as I would like to be on making a weekly meal plan. BUT when I do, I find:

It helps me save money. (I'm not buying food I don't need...that gets bad and goes to waste. And I'm not making extra trips to the grocery store for miscellaneous ingredients.)

It helps me be more organized. (My husband is not a fan of eating PB&J or cereal when in a "time crunch"...don't ask me why?) So, on nights we have a lot on the schedule, I need to plan ahead.

It takes the stress out of meals. (I'm not standing in my kitchen, looking through my cupboards, despairing "WHAT am I going to make for supper?!?")

So, for those of you interested in what we'll be having at our house for supper this week...and next...and the week after that...

...feel free to hop on over to my other blog: A little bit of...something delicious!

Enjoy!

Trying something new...

I've been trying out some new recipes this week & branching out from the rut I tend to live in. I have a wonderful "mamma" who blesses me with all her cooking magazines. I pour over them, carefully cut out ones that sound yummy, file them neatly in my "to try" folder...and never actually make them. So this weekend I went back through my folder of recipes & pulled out ones that I fully intended to make. Then I made my grocery list & made sure I wrote "bread" on it this time! (I still had to go back to ALDI...I did it again! What is it with me forgetting bread?!?!)

Here is a recipe I found for French bread that was quick & easy to make:

2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
2 c. warm water
2 tsp. salt (I put in a bit less)
1 tsp. sugar
4 1/2 - 5 c. bread flour (I used regular flour)

Dissolve yeast in water. Add salt, sugar & 2 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour; turn onto a floured surface & knead until smooth & elastic, about 6-8 min. Place in a greased bowl; turn to grease the top. Let rise 1 hour. Punch down; form into 2 (12") loaves & let rise 30 min. Sprinkle w/ 1 tsp. cornmeal. With a sharp knife, cut 4 shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake @ 450 degrees for 15-20 min. until golden brown.

Yesterday I made this Lasagna recipe from The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook. I've followed her blog for a while now, and from the start, I felt a "kinship". I was sure we could be friends. We have plenty in common...we live in Oklahoma, have four children (almost the same age & in the same order - 2 girls, 2 boys), enjoy cooking, and married "farm-boys". I even got excited when I spotted their ranch on the way home from a camping trip. I thought about stopping in & introducing myself and my brood, but that might have been awkward. These days she's gone & gotten all famous, traveling the country & on national television. She's a little out of my league now. But I still laugh at her blog, love her pictures, and savor her recipes...and this Lasagna is one of my new favorites.

The last recipe I found on allrecipes.com. It's my go-to place when I need to find a recipe that contains a specific ingredient...like butterscotch chips, because for some odd reason I was on a kick at Christmas and bought several bags! The first batch is out of the oven, and they are delicious. One is enough though...butterscotch chips are sickeningly sweet.

I've got two more to try - Chicken Marsala & Creamy Beef Fold-Over Pie.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Something new

This afternoon I tried out a new recipe & was pleasantly surprised at how yummy these cookies were. My friend informed me that "healthy" should never mix with "yummy". She tells me, "Don't be puttin' no fruit in that jello. It'll ruin it." That's oklahoman, in case you were wonderin'. :) These cookies have plenty of "healthy" mixed in, but it doesn't ruin the taste.

Also, I love to keep cookies in the freezer. It became a habit about 10 years ago. I'll admit, I am a little anal about it. My cookies go directly from baking sheet to freezer. This deters me from snacking on them, and I can't stand crumbly, stale cookies. Our good friend, Greg, loves to tease me about my "fresh baked" cookies. I offered him some "home made" cookies one afternoon. They were frozen solid & he carried on, saying he could have broke a tooth! He still hasn't let me hear the end of it.

So, for those of you out there who don't mind mixing healthy & yummy, this recipe's for you:

Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 c. regular oats
2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix butter, sugars, eggs & vanilla. Add dry ingredients & mix well. Add chocolate chips. Spoon onto a cookie sheet & bake for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven before they look "done" & let them sit for another 2 min. before removing from baking sheet. Makes about 4 doz. medium cookies. (I think I'm going to try substituting 1/2 c. applesauce for 1/2 c. of the butter & see how they turn out. I'll let you know how it goes...)

Menu Plan Monday

Since we're leaving for CO mid-week for my brother's wedding, it will be a short week here.

Monday: Grace's birthday supper - pizza

Tuesday: Stove Top Chicken & applesauce

Wednesday: Salmon Patties & boiled potatoes

To check out more complete :) menus & great recipes, go to Organizing Junkie's site.

Easter weekend

As much as I love getting away and going on vacation, it was nice to be at home this time. The kids had Thursday & Friday off from school. Our time was busy, but not hectic. We colored eggs, participated in soccer, watched movies, played with friends, and enjoyed being a family. The best part of my weekend was reading The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk to my boys. They are finally at the age where a story (without pictures) can capture their attention, and they are able to follow & understand the story line.

Saturday night before bed, the kids helped make these Resurrection Cookies. They each got to eat one Sunday morning. Daniel was wide-eyed listening to the story & the first one up Sunday morning, anxious to see what had happened to the cookies. It was a fun, hands-on way to talk through the story of Easter with them.

Sunday we invited friends over for lunch. They brought eggs for the kids to hunt, and despite the rain outside, we had a lot of laughs hiding over 100 eggs around the house & watching the kids find...and walk right past countless eggs.

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and a wonderful Easter.

Livin' Life

Well, I guess I've been too busy living life these days to do much blogging. It's been a busy week filled with the "everyday" and the "in between".

Last night I hosted my first & only Pampered Chef party. Should I admit the only reason I wanted to host one was for this? When I told people I wanted a mandoline, many wondered if I had developed a desire to play a miniature guitar. But no, my love affair is with slicing vegetables! My old (Dollar Store) mandoline assisted me with countless casseroles, but also left its mark on my fingers. That was not the kind of "secret ingredient" I was looking for.

By far, the best part of the night was the "after-party". Five friends - some old, some new, some older than others :) - stayed afterwards to watch a movie, play games, and laugh until it hurt. It was a great way to work off the calories we accumulated eating all that yummy food.

And for those who are wondering where my family was during all of this...
Some men send their wives away on weekend vacations; my husband takes the kids & leaves me @ home alone for the weekend. Being that I'm a typical home-body, this is the perfect "vacation" for me. I lounge around in my pjs, curl up with a good book or movie, some hot chocolate & bask in the peace & quiet. I don't sleep so well at night without them here, so it's always wonderful to welcome them home again...noise & all.

The biggest "hit" at my party was these easy appetizers, something that actually originated as an "accident"; I was trying to "dress up" leftovers. So this doesn't have a name (maybe you can help me think of one).

2 cans of buttermilk biscuits (the small ones)
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1/2 - 1 c. BBQ sauce (enough to moisten meat, but not too much liquid)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Mix meat & BBQ sauce (I've made these w/ leftover taco meat). Grease muffin pan; place a biscuit in the bottom of each one. Top with about 1 Tbsp. of meat & top w/ cheese. Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 min. or until biscuits are done. Enjoy!

Betty what's-her-name

Last night I tried out a new recipe to take to Bible study this morning for Betty Crouch's birthday. The kids saw me making it, and as much as they begged for a bite, I would not relent. At supper tonight, I informed them there was dessert (not a normal @ our house). Abbie asked, "Is it that stuff you made for Betty Crocker?" After a good laugh, Phil commented, "Yeah...I suppose they're pretty close. Crouch...Crockett." No, wait. That was Davy Crockett. Not to be left out, Daniel had to add his two cents to the conversation, "It's Betty Crocodile!"

No matter who it was for, it turned out to be a yummy dessert & easy to make.

Mint Sundae Brownie Squares

1 pkg. fudge brownie mix (9x13" size)
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. peppermint extract
4 drops green food coloring
2 c. heavy whipping cream
chocolate ice cream topping

Prepare & bake brownies according to the package directions (make the fudgy recipe, not the cake; do not overbake). Meanwhile, whip the cream. In a separate bowl, add the milk, peppermint & food coloring; mix well. Fold in whipped cream. When brownies are cooled, spread mixture over the brownies & drizzle with chocolate ice cream topping. Freeze for several hours or overnight. Let stand 10 min. before cutting.

Traditions

Recently, a friend asked what holiday traditions our kids look forward to each year, and we were hard pressed to think of any. I'm not sure that is a good thing. There is something comforting about the "sameness", the "we do this every year", the assurance that some things never change.

On the other hand, not having set traditions allows for spontaneity and creativity. Phil's friend brought over wild goose & Phil made "goose nuggets" for the kids on Christmas Day. (He would like to think it will be a yearly tradition...but I'm hoping I can talk him into something more appealing by then!) This year we had fun making peppernuts (a molasses German-Mennonite cookie), and even though they're fun to roll out & cut, they require quite a bit of time. My Grandma used to make gumdrop fruitcake, and I've tried to carry on the tradition for my Dad, though some years he doesn't get his fruitcake until Valentine's! Last year we had fun making New Year's cookies (Mennonite fried doughnuts) w/ friends, and our kids have already begged to make them again this New Year's Day. Watching the parades was always my Grandpa's tradition, and hosting lots of company was my Grandma's. Christmas is very important to Phil's family, who recites Luke 2 together before opening gifts. I know many families who give their kids three gifts each, in honor of the 3 wise men. I've always aimed for four. Don't ask me why.

I got the movie Fiddler's Roof for Christmas. (Okay, the truth is I spotted it for $5, bought it & asked the kids to wrap it for me. That's just how things work around here.) Abbie was really interested in it & we had some neat conversation about why traditions are important to some, and what happens when they walk away from that foundation. If anything, our lack of traditions have allowed our kids to think for themselves, and express their own opinions about what is important to them. We may not do the same things in the same way each year, but at the core, there are things that are important to us about each holiday we celebrate. And hopefully we will pass those "traditional values" on to our children.

A gaggle, a gang, or a rafter?

Fall Recipes

I am loving the cool weather these days & it looks like Fall might be here to stay. You never can tell in Oklahoma. There have been years we've worn shorts for Thanksgiving! I'm keeping an eye out for a good price on pumpkins. The kids have fun carving them & we all enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds. I don't know if I should admit this :) ...but the day after Halloween last year, Phil reverted back to his dumpster-diving days & collected 7 whole pumpkins that were being discarded. We scooped out all the seeds, then set them out with our trash. I think those seeds tasted even better because we hadn't spent any money on them! Here's a really simple recipe...not the best for you, but so addictive and yummy!

Rinse pumpkin seeds. Boil in water for 5-10 min. Drain well. For each cup of seeds, combine 1 Tbsp. melted butter & 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce & sprinkle over. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt (we love Lawry's). Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes until nearly dry, stirring every 10 minutes. Check seeds to make sure they are crunchy/crispy & not chewy.

My sister-in-law makes some of the best food I have ever tasted, and I fell in love with this stew the first time I tried it.

Harvest Stew

1 1/2 lb. boneless pork, cut into 1" cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp. butter

3 c. chicken broth

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

1 bay leaf

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (3 c.)

2 medium apples, peeled and cubed

In a large saucepan, cook the pork, onion, & garlic in the butter until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the broth, salt, & spices. Cover & simmer 20 min. Add squash & apples; simmer uncovered for 20 min. until squash & apples are tender. Discard bay leaf. (Yield: 6 servings)

On vacation...no place to go

Last Wednesday Phil got to a stopping point with work & didn't have anything urgent lined up, so he decided to make a trip to his folks' to finish siding their shed & spent some time with his Dad for Father's Day. He joked with our church on Sunday morning (while delivering the announcements) that when he decided to go, I packed a bag for him AND the kids & said, "Have a great time!" Haha. The truth is they were having VBS & Grandma had already invited the kids to spend the week there.

By 3pm on Wednesday my family left me all alone, with nothing but the Voth van for transportation. Let's just say - anywhere I wanted to go didn't sound worth driving that clunky ol' van around town for! So I pretty well stayed put. Shari spent a lot of time here - we textured the kids' bathroom & painted it. The color's growing on me, but I still think it's too dark & am kicking myself for not going w/ my instincts. Maybe some day I'll learn my lesson. :)

Yesterday we had a relaxing Father's Day. We had Phil's favorites: BLT's & beets for lunch, and waffles & white sauce for supper. His family eats white sauce over waffles instead of syrup, and our family prefers it too.

White sauce for Waffles:

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar

In a saucepan, melt butter. Take off heat & add flour, mix thouroughly. Return to heat, add milk & whisk/stir continually over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat, add sugar & vanilla. Stir & serve hot.

SpongeBob

I'm not a big SpongeBob fan. I'll just leave it at that. But I am a big softie & I have a special place in my heart for kids. So I'm willing to put aside my personal feelings to make them happy. And this is why I was up until after midnight last night decorating this cake. I like that you can't look at it up close & personal & see all my mistakes. It looks fine from far away. But the best part of the cake isn't the decorating or the frosting, it's the cake itself. Several years ago, I came across this recipe for moist chocolate cake & now it's the only one I use. You can make many "flavors", just choose a pudding flavor that compliments the cake.

Moist Cake:
1 cake mix

1 pkg. instant pudding

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. water

Mix ingredients together until well blended. (I often use a hand-mixer for this.) Batter will be thick. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan & bake @ 350 degrees for about 30 min. or until a toothpick insterted in the center comes out clean. Cool & serve. My kids love a "lighter" frosting & one of our favorites is a mixture of instant pudding mixed w/ CoolWhip. Enjoy!

Another birthday, another cake

I love birthdays. They were fun when I was little, but now that I'm a mom, they're much more satisfying. The kids look forward to planning their birthday meal menu. We've had pizza, mac & cheese...to chicken curry with rice (Abbie's choice) & baked beans with nothing (Grace's choice). It's fun to let the kids pick what kind of birthday cake they want. My mom gave me a book of kid's cakes a few years ago & it has come in handy. My kids love flipping through the pages & they spend countless hours choosing which cake is the right one for them.

Noah ate so much dirt by the time he turned one, that I felt a dirt cake was appropriate for his 1st birthday. Phil found this old Fisher-Price farm set @ our thrift store ("Just like the one I had") & it was a perfect addition the dirt.

Grace was, and still is our ladybug girl. And she wouldn't be Grace if she didn't like to be different, so this one had to be PURPLE (Grammie's favorite color too) & not red, like the real ones.
When Abbie turned four, she wanted a GREEN cake. So I make her a Junior Asparagus cake. At seven, she decided she was grown up & didn't want cake, but chose strawberry shortcake for her dessert instead. But when she turned eight, she chose a horse cake, because aren't all little girls in love with horses?

Poor Daniel. By the time I get to December, I'm just too pooped to party...or too exhausted to decorate birthday cakes...and definitely too overwhelmed with Christmas baking. So far, he hasn't complained. If I start planning now, I can have something spectacular made by December. Maybe...

Cooking shortcut & money saving tip

I have never really gotten into once-a-month cooking. There are several reasons for this: I don't usually have a whole day to devote to cooking. I tend to forget about what meals I have in my freezer or I don't plan ahead enough to get them out & fully defrosted in time for supper.

I like bargains. I like to shop in bulk when the price is right. And I do fairly well at planning a weekly menu. This week I found a great price on extra lean ground beef from the local grocery store, so I bought 25 lbs. and divided it into thirds. I cooked it with chopped onions, then divided it into baggies that held about a pound each (2 c.), I made meatballs & cooked them up, and I made two meatloaves (frozen raw) & meat pies (recipe below). I also bought sausage & bacon, and cooked & divided them for future recipes. I love to get chicken breasts or tenderloins at Sam's when I can, and do the same with them. It saves me time to defrost a bag of cooked hamburger meat, than have to mess with cooking it each time I make a recipe that calls for it.

This recipe for meat pie may not look all that appealing, but it is very tasty & filling. I like to serve it with brown gravy.

Pastry for 2 double crust pies

2 c. potatoes, peeled & grated

1 1/4 c. chopped celery

1 c. grated carrots

3/4 c. chopped onion

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 lb. uncooked lean ground beef

Roll out pastry & cover 2 pie pans. Combine potatoes, celery, carrots, spices & ground beef; mix well. Spoon meat mixture into crusts. Roll out pastry for top crust; place over filling & seal edges. Cut vents in top pastry. Bake @ 375 degrees for 1 hour. Pies can be frozen (raw) for up to 3 months. Bake frozen pie (or partially thawed) @ 375 degrees for 70 minutes.

For more great tips, be sure to check out Rocks In My Dryer.

Favorite meals

I'm always on the lookout for good recipes that are easy to make. Below are two of my favorites.

Crock-Pot Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
29 oz. spaghetti sauce (small jar of Prego)
1/2 c. water
28 oz. petite diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. spicy spaghetti seasoning (or italian seasoning)
8 oz. pkg. lasagna noodles (about 9, not oven ready)
24 oz. small curd cottage cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Brown beef with onion. Stir in spaghetti sauce, water, tomatoes & seasoning. Mix cottage cheese, mozzarella, & Parmesan in a separate bowl. Layer 1/4 meat sauce, 1/3 noodles (about 3 - I break them up into smaller pieces), & 1/3 cheese in a crock-pot. Repeat layers. Top with remaining meat sauce. Cover & cook on low for 4-5 hours. I like to make this ahead on Saturday & keep it in the fridge overnight, then plug it in Sunday morning.


Cheesy Potato Casserole

2 lbs. frozen Ore-Ida cubed potatoes, thawed
1 (10oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dried onion

Mix all ingredients together. Place in a greased 9x13" pan or casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. *Topping (optional): Mix 1/4 c. melted margarine & 2 c. crushed corn flakes. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

Favorite Things

This past month I discovered two new favorites: one old, one new. Someone told me about this 3D snowflake & my Sunday school class had fun making them last week. They turned out really neat. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake

The second is my sister-in-law's granola recipe...tweaked. For some crazy reason I was compulsively buying canisters of quick oats (thinking I was out), until at one point, I had 5 stashed away in various cupboards. The kids love this & we alternate between granola & oatmeal w/ raisins for breakfast. I still have yet to figure out if it's cheaper than cold cereal, but I'm pretty sure it's better for you. :)

1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. sliced almonds
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. ground flax seed
2 1/2 c. quick oats
2 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. honey

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl & mix well. Take 2 9x13" pans & cut 1/4 c. butter in each pan. Place in the oven until butter is melted. Add 1/4 c. honey to each pan & return to oven until warm & able to stir; add vanilla. Divide dry ingredients between both pans & stir to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 7-10 minutes, until browned & crunchy. Let cool & store in a Tupperware container.