Menu Monday: Week of September 21st

I'm back on the blog and mostly settled in the new house.  A few decor items still need to go up in the living room and I want my whole house to have a splash of FALL since Wednesday is the first day of Autumn!  My bedroom still needs unpacking and the art studio is halfway there.  All in all, it is coming together and it feels nice to be in our own home.

As I share this week's menu plans I thought I would share a couple pictures of my new kitchen.  Moving tip of the week:  unpack your kitchen FIRST when you move!  A little tip I have picked up over time and many moves.  If you can at least cook meals, everything else goes a bit smoother.  I had my cabinets in order by day 3 of the move-in... however, my pretties on the walls didn't come until Saturday night (2+ weeks later!)  I still have a few more things to hang above my cabinets but I think they got mixed in with the general household stuff so those will go up this week.

I don't know why this image is so blurry but that picture on the wall contains the theme for my entire kitchen: old fashioned general store.  I have had it for nearly 20 years now and every now and then, when I find darling trinkets to compliment and make the picture pop, I pick them up.  My favorite finds are both antique and either free or low cost!  For the 12 years I lived in Lakeside I could pile my trinkets on top of my cabinets but since we left that house, I have had much less space for display. In our new house the only space I have is on top of my fridge.  When we do a kitchen remodel I hope to regain cabinet top display space.... but that is probably at least a few years down the road!!

I know the lighting is bad because of the sunlight coming in the window but that back corner has been dubbed the "baking corner".  One thing I love about old houses are the built-ins.  I think this area use to house the stove once-upon-a-time.  When we moved in it had the fridge which blocked that cute shelf built into the wall.  So, I moved the fridge!!  The self has my measuring cups, spoons, a small container for salt and one for flour (for when I need to "dust my surface" in baking).  The tall shelf against the wall has other baking implements and the cabinet above holds all my baking powder, brown sugar and the such. 

I love the window over the sink.  Makes doing dishes less of a chore!  I plan to plant some herbs I can grow in this space.

This week in my new kitchen and life in general we have crazy on the slate!  Brooke joined homeschool basketball with the 7th and 8th graders in our area.  She has THREE games this week and there is a college fair at the university tomorrow I felt all my kids could benefit from, even though they sort of have their colleges picked (Ashley is already accepted for next year).  I thought the exposure to degree and career opportunities would be good.  My slow cooker will come in quite handy this week since it is always nice to come home after a busy day and a 5pm game and find a nice warm dinner waiting for us to dish it up!  Oh.... and Thursday our family is in charge of the snack stand at our 'home' game so that will push us even later getting home. I think all the challenges to our schedule will be a lot of fun (and make for a well-deserved and welcomed weekend break!) so I don't mind one bit!  And all as we head into our second week of jam-packed schoolwork!


Menu for this week...

BREAKFAST.... everyone has become picky eaters!  So, generally speaking....
- hubby and I usually share eggs and toast in the morning before he leaves for work.
- kids will have cereal or oatmeal
- I will probably make pancakes or waffles at some point this week


LUNCH...
Hubby:
- chicken and salad or fried smoked sausage and rice
(I always cook extra chicken when I make it, cut it into bite-size cubes and freeze in serving size pouches to pull out for hubby's lunch which he pours over salad with some ranch dressing)

The rest of us:
- leftovers from previous night's dinner
- grilled tuna or cheese sandwiches
- Ravioli 


DINNERS...

Monday
Leftover Lasagna from Sunday with salad and homemade French Bread
 
Tuesday
SLOW COOKER Hobo Stew and Fresh Bread
- I'll put the dough in the bread machine before we leave for the game!

Wednesday
FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!!
Bread Bowl Chili and Apple Crisp dessert
This has become an annual tradition in our family.  I LOVE autumn and actually have a neat little tradition for each season change.  This is my favorite though (next to snowman soup with roasted ham on the first day of Winter!)  Last year I made my bread bowls home-made and liked the ability to personalize each one.  However, I have often bought round mini-loaves in the bakery section of my supermarket and hollowed out a hole to make the bowl and it works great.  For last year's home-made loaves I used a basic bread recipe on the dough cycle in my bread machine.  When the dough was done I formed about 6 or 8 fat disks and molded them over a greased custard dish, let them rise and baked them upside down on the dish.  Worked like a dream and everyone loved the "bowls"!

Thursday
SLOW COOKER Boneless BBQ Pork Ribs, Slow Roasted Yellow Potatoes, Fresh Salad and Corn with Fresh Bread (My family always wants a fat slice of fresh bread with meals like this!)

Friday
Stir fry Chicken with Rice and Yellow Squash


One of the greatest measures of care we can give our family and guests is a balanced menu of food we labor in love over for their well being and enjoyment.  This, I believe, is just one of the noble reflections of the Proverbs 31 character in any women.


What are you cooking this week?


Blessings,

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