Summertime: Recipes for a Good Time!

I've shared a couple of posts in the Summertime series so far and in each I have mentioned the fun food we always enjoyed during our summer adventures.  Today I thought I would share some of those quick, easy, cooler-kitchen-in-the-hot-weather recipes!

Lemonade the Healthier Way
We should have bought a cow when my kids were growing up, they drank soooooo much milk.  But, when summertime sauntered in, stock in Kool-aid would have been more like it.  I was troubled, though, by the lack of nutritional value in the nostalgic little packets mixed with an insane amount of sugar.... it was really flavored, colored, sugar water!  Then, one day I stumbled upon this insane fact:  Making homemade lemonade is crazy easy!!  Are you ready for this?

1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 gallon water

Bada-bing, bada-boom, and Bob's your uncle!  I buy lemon juice and organic sugar in bulk at Costco and, I will admit, Kool-aid and regular white sugar is much cheaper... however... when the pennies stretch and allow, this concoction allows me to say "yes" to my kids guzzling back a few icy glasses full with less stress.  As a matter of fact, it is loaded with vitamin C!!

Lemonade with a Twist 
Take the above recipe and throw in a few cups of your favorite frozen fruit.  We love raspberries and when you add blueberries as well, it has an almost Kool-aid-ish taste, only it's healthy!  We had company this past week and my youngest daughter loaded our 2 gallon mason jar drink dispenser and threw a mixture of raspberries and blueberries into the insertable diffuser and our guests couldn't get enough of the sweet drink!!

FREEZE!! 
Use the above lemonade with or without the fruit and pour into cleaned out plastic pudding, jello or yogurt cups.  Cover with plastic wrap and poke a Popsicle stick through the center of the wrap (the wrap will keep the stick upright).  Place in freezer overnight.  To remove the Popsicle, place the cup in warm water or under a warm running faucet for a few seconds and the Popsicle should slide right out.  When we first did these I didn't know about the plastic wrap trick, we simply laid our Popsicle sticks in the cups so that once the Popsicle was removed the stick was at a slant and this worked fine as well.

PB&J Trail Mix 
I invented this fun snack on a sheer spark of pre-beach-visit kitchen adventure while trying to dream up a healthy and interesting treat!

Popcorn (plain or lightly buttered/salted)
Plain peanuts (no shell)
Raisins or Cran-raisins (or other favorite dried fruit)

I usually made my popcorn in a popper and, taking approximately 8 cups, I would add a couple handfuls each (equal parts) peanuts and dried fruit and toss.  I would store in a bag or container and the kids always looked forward to snacking while resting between daring dives and splash-abouts!

(for bigger families/crowds, Costco has great deals on all of these ingredients)

Peanut Butter Balls
These keep best in the fridge and don't travel as well as other snacks.  However, they are a great summer snack for the back yard and require 0 kitchen heating to make!

1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers

Mix well and then form bite-size balls.  Place on wax paper covered baking sheet and refrigerate just until chilled (1-2 hours).  Kids love helping with this recipe.  I modified it from an edible play-dough recipe which calls for 1/2 cup oats instead of graham crackers!  Once set, keep PB balls stored in airtight container in refrigerator. 

**WARNING**  It is not safe to give children honey when they are under the age of 1.  If you have children around under the age of 1 I do not recommend this recipe in the event they could accidentally ingest the honey.

Cream Cheese Tortilla Rolls
The first time I had these was at a baby shower and they were served to adults!!  The adult recipe calls for chopped green onions but I am omitting that to make this more kid-friendly:

1 package cream cheese, softened
16 oz. container sour cream
1-2 cups grated cheddar or mexi-mix cheese
1 package flour tortillas (any size)

Mix the cheeses and sour cream well.  Using a rubber spatula, spread a thick layer on one tortilla.  Roll tortilla and cut into thirds (for smaller tortillas) or fourths (for larger tortillas) and serve!  Older kids might like these dipped in some salsa!

As my Summertime series progresses I may think of a few more recipes worth sharing.  These are the ones I have alluded to so far.  Our summers were host to not only my 4 kiddos, but often their friends from around the neighborhood.  It seemed more cost-effective to find easy, stretchable recipes for feeding the 'crowd' and having fun.  I would love to hear some of your great summertime recipes as well!

I pray your summer is blessed with  good times right-where-you-are, good food with what your pantry holds, and great memories to last a lifetime!

Blessings,

Linking up today with some of these...

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Dog Days and Summer Salads

We are hitting on those proverbial Dog Days of Summer aren't we?  I know in our neck of the woods we haven't been out of the 90s and 100s much more than a day or two for a few weeks now... and there seems to be no end before we start back to school in mid-August!



In my newsletter coming out Thursday I will be talking about some ways to beat the heat while showing hospitality (be sure to sign up, I'm including a recipe for a delicious twist on an old summer favorite!)  Today, however, I thought we could talk salads...


As summer ramps up, many families crank on the grill and whip together some greens.  Living in a non-air-conditioned house for most of my adult life (until 4 years ago anyway) I know this was our go-to.  We didn't turn the oven or stove on until the heat of the day passed and we grilled out as much as possible... serving cool (non house heating) sides like salads and chips and anything we could figure out how to grill!


I know, I know, for many people, salads get boring which is why I wanted to share a few out-of-the-box ideas.  These salads are family favorites, easy to make, cost effective and filling when served as a main-dish.

A tip before we start: it is best to NOT use iceberg lettuce for main-dish salads as it has little caloric or nutritional value, though you can mix it in with other types of lettuce.  I typically use Romaine.  Tomato types in my recipes aren't too particular but more of a personal preference or what you have on hand.


1) Ground Beef  
Burgers are easy to grill but tiresome to continuously consume.  Go ahead, grill that burger but then cut it up (or just crumble and fry it inside) and try these salad-twist ideas:


- Cheese Burger Salad  
Lettuce of choice, tomato of choice, red onion, cucumber, cheese of choice, crumbled burger, bacon bits (if you like bacon burgers!!) and croutons.  Top with choice of dressing, I personally like ranch or avocado.


- Taco Salad
Lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, black olives whole or sliced, chopped green onion (we use scissors to cut ours) ground beef, sour cream, avocado, salsa, crumbled Doritos in flavor of choice (hubby likes re-fried beans with this as well)

- Stuffed Green Pepper Salad  
Lettuce, tomato, green peppers sliced, green onion chopped, ground beef, dash of oregano, Italian dressing .... serve with rice crackers

- Supreme Pizza Salad  
Lettuce, tomato, green peppers, black olives, fresh sliced portable mushrooms, sliced red onion, dash of oregano,  ground beef, shredded Italian mixed cheese (usually 5-cheese package in deli section at the grocery store), Italian dressing... serve with French Bread or Bread sticks you can buy at the store

2) Chicken  
Grill chicken and then cube it and try one of these...

- Garden Fresh Chicken Salad
Lettuce, tomato, grated carrots, sliced red cabbage, green or red onion sliced, green or sweet peppers sliced, chicken with herb seasonings, cheese of choice (I use feta and cheddar), ranch dressing and croutons or fresh bread if you want the starch

- BBQ Chicken Salad   
Lettuce, tomato, sliced red cabbage, sliced green onion, cheddar cheese, chicken cooked with BBQ sauce of choice, blue cheese or ranch dressing (this recipe works great for BBQ shredded pork as well!)

- Greek Style Chicken Salad  
Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green or red onion, chicken cooked with Greek seasoning, feta cheese, cucumber dressing, croutons on top or french bread on the side

-Southwestern Chicken Salad
Lettuce, tomato, green onions, black olives, cheddar cheese, chicken cooked with Mexican seasoning, salsa, sour cream, avocado or guacamole, tortilla chips  (I like black beans on mine as well)




These are just a few to get you started.  For any meal you want to turn into a salad, think, 'how can I replace those ingredients with fresh vegetable alternatives'.   (My hamburger salad was developed on that concept... what do you think each ingredient represents from a typical burger?)

For a month full of menu ideas, subscribe to my newsletter (on side bar) and get a FREE exclusive download in each issue!

I pray your dog-days of summer aren't too doggie but instead full of delicious meals, great times with family and friends, and cooooool, despite the heat!

Blessings,

Click on this link to see some of the great blogs I am linking with today...

 

 

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Keepers & Menus: The Value of Housewifery and Tips on Cakes

What do you think of the new/re-tooled graphic? I took this picture about 2 years ago while visiting a local founding family's house-turned-museum.  It reminds me of an era-gone-by where women knew their responsibilities in the home were equivalent to managing a business and they took this position seriously and with confidence.  The community at large respected housewives, if nothing else, but because it was the way of life for many women but I also believe they understood a woman's value... especially at the helm of a home.  Even if they had a side job washing laundry for others or teaching piano; housewives, up until the last handful of decades, were respected for their roles of Keepers at Home.

I know I often talk here about the importance of writing up menus, keeping lists, and tracking chores.  But it wasn't until I read this article, Are Organized Records Just Too Overwhelming? at SawPublishing.com, that I realized the deep roots of my passion for organization:  It isn't just about being organized... it is realizing, like our predecessors did, that if we take our 'job'/calling as housewife seriously, then we ought to set out to work at it as we would a main-stream job.

I imagine I am not alone when I say I struggle with feeling justified for my passion in my 'position' as Domestic Engineer.  We live in a culture which takes the art of Housewifery as a joke... a cop-out from 'real life'.  The "Your just a housewife" mindset has severely damaged the confidence of women everywhere in being (or even thinking of being) a housewife.  Whether we have kids or not is irrelevant.  Taking care of our husbands, our home and, if one is blessed to have them, our kiddos is HUGE.

Reading Saw Publishing's article spoke more then just organizing records... it encouraged me as a housewife to embrace my JOB and to welcome every single idea of domestic managing as not just another tid-bit, but rather, an imperative bread trail leading to complete home management!

Needless to say, I couldn't miss a chance to share this awesome information with YOU so be sure to check out Saw Publishing's article today for some inspiration!  It looks like she has a lot of other great articles and resources as well!

Food from last week...

Thin-sliced steak.  A rare treat in our home because #1, steak is NOT my specialty and #2, it is usually expensive.  I got mine on sale and, strangely, my family LOVES it when I cook steak.  My trick?  1 part Worcestershire sauce + 1 part olive oil + splash of apple cider vinegar + salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  Mix around in Ziploc bag or Tupperware container, plop in steak and seal out as much air as you can.  Stick in fridge for an hour, all day, or (best yet) over night.  I use the marinading juices to saute onions and sliced garlic and, when I have them, mushrooms.  I topped my steak with feta and served with boiled potatoes (I boil them in onion soup mix) a salad and some thick-cut fresh bread, toasted with butter.

A word on cake mixes...

It was my birthday last week and Ashley made me a cake.  Her younger, more kitchen confident sister, was going to help but ended up caught in some Algebra.  Ashley didn't want to wait so she steamed ahead.  First of all, the cake was DELICIOUS, I keep dreaming about it, it was sooooo good (triple-chocolate-fudge -- total diet wrecker and worth every calorie!!)  However, upon encouragement from her dad and naivety on both their parts, I felt I would help the world-at-large with some tips I've picked up over the years, should others need it:

• ONE cake mix box makes 2 square or circle cakes OR it can make one 13x9 cake.  This cake can easily feed 10+ people depending on how big you cut the pieces and if you want left overs.
• Follow box directions and tips, they are always helpful.  When it tells you to grease your pan, I recommend cooking spray or shortening/lard.  I, personally, find butter as a pan greaser to scorch to bottom of the cake.
• Unless your box tells you otherwise, only fill pans about half full.  Anymore then that and your cake batter will bubble over and end up caked to the bottom of your oven!
• ONE container of frosting is enough for a cake if you do a thin layer but TWO containers will allow you to really lather it on. (They did totally got this part right!!!!!  yumbo)
• Let your cake cool down quite a bit before turning it out of the pan (unless your directions tell you otherwise).  It helps if you use a rubber spatula or butter knife and loosen the cake a long the edges before you take it out.  (13x9's can be a bit trickier, but not impossible, to get out of their pan).
• To turn a cake out of a pan, place the serving plate upside down on the cake in pan (you should be looking at the bottom of the plate and the top of the plate should be kissing the cake!), holding both the pan and plate, do a quick flip and set the plate down with the pan inverted now on top.  You may need to tap the bottom of your pan to get the cake to loosen some more. Gently lift the cake pan off.  If you are dealing with a REALLY moist cake, don't be discouraged if it falls apart some.  Best thing to do: practice, watch how-to You Tube videos and don't give up!
• To soften frosting for more spread-ability, use a sturdy butter knife to stir it a bit in the container before spreading onto cake.
• DON'T ice a cake while it is warm.  The frosting will melt as you go and you will have a hard time getting it to do what you want.  I like to bake a cake the day before I need to use it.  I will turn it out onto a cooling rack or serving tray and cover lightly with a flour-sack cloth overnight.  The cake is then firm and ready to be frosted the next day.

Just because it comes in an 'easy to make' cake mix, doesn't mean it is easy if you aren't use to baking!  Don't give up.  Buy them on sale and keep on trying!!
 

  By the way, is anyone else playing this game?  Brenden works at Albertsons so we have to get the employee tickets.  As usual, I only have one left to get in most squares!!  But that's not why I am playing.  Brenden wanted me to play and then he tipped me off to one of the cashiers who is REALLY generous with handing them out!!  So, amidst menu planning last week I was opening tickets and managed to score some FREE donuts for the kids and GREAT coupons for food I actually buy!  I'm not laughing at this game anymore, I'm enjoying saving more then I expected!

 

Menu for this week...

BREAKFAST....
- cereal and blueberries
- waffles
- eggs
- fresh bread with butter and jam


LUNCH....
hubby: sausage and rice
me and kids: leftovers, grilled sandwiches, grilled tuna sandwiches, mac-n-cheese, ravioli


DINNER....

Monday

BBQ Chicken over Slaw Salad with Baked Potato

Crazy easy:  Grease 13x9 baking dish with olive oil, coat bottom of pan with BBQ sauce of choice, lay in chicken breast, pour more over top to completely coat chicken and pop in oven on 375 for about an hour.  I threw baked potatoes in a dish next to them and hubby and I went for a walk!

My slaw salad is green salad cut to thin strips like slaw with red cabbage and green onions.  I put a bit of ranch and cheese and feta (when I have it) on top and it really makes the flavor in the BBQ chicken POP!

Tuesday 

Stroganoff over Mashed Potatoes with Green Beans

Wednesday
Chicken and Cheese Chimichangas with Salad
 
Thursday
Roast Chicken with Broccoli Parmesan and Fresh Salad

Friday
Burgers with Sun Chips

Saturday
Chili

  
What are you doing and cooking this week?


Blessings,

Linking up today with some of these...

Keepers at Home & Menu Monday: Catching Up

I had this post almost ready to go live last week and then - wham - Migraine.  Ugh.  The symptoms lasted 2 whole days, no joking.  Then, posting "Menu Monday" on a Wednesday just seemed weird! 

I had promised on the Friday before to share my household-in-my-absence plan.  I have to admit, I am relieved that not only is dad doing well as he waits for surgery, but this also allows me more time to prep the family and household.  I'm fully aware prep time is not always a luxury.

How I am preparing

I feel blessed to at least know.  To have time to prepare, make lists and give pep-talks.  Brooke is 14, Ashley is 18 and both have shadowed me many times over the years.  Brenden, 16, will help but he works part-time and hubby will be at work during the days.  Yet, shadowing vs. doing it on your own are two very different things.  So I am gearing up to make it as easy on them as possible:

• Homeschooling plans are situated and, with the extra wait time, we should actually finish most of our studies for the year early.  What little they will have left can be managed well in my absence.
• I am updating my grocery list outline to show which items I get at Costco each month so the kids know where to go for those things.  They can watch ads to determine grocery store buys.  I will be sure they know how to do this as well.  There dad will go with them, but the girls will be in charge of the list (hubby's request!).
• I am updating my chore check-list to show frequency of the various household duties so they can be sure to stay on top of those.
• Since they are new at managing meals on their own I think I am going to try this great idea I found on Pinterest for a Recipe Bank.  It will boost their confidence in meal planning with something so easy to follow.  I will load it with easy recipes they are familiar with and leave room for them to experiment some as well.
• I will throw together a basic daily over-view of routines to give them an idea of the order of business I usually operate... but I will encourage them to re-order where it works better for them to do so.

What happens when mom can't even advise?

Thankfully, I will be a phone call away.  However, I have experienced surgeries and situations of my own in the past where I was not able to even advise and the biggest piece of advice I can offer:  LET GO!  As long as they don't burn the house down or hurt each other or themselves, all is OK.  Household running will NOT be done the way you usually do it, and that is OK.  It will be done the way they can do it and that is plenty good enough!  Remember to compliment their efforts regularly when you get a chance. 

Words are worth so much...

Don't forget, when mom can't be in charge: They will be struggling too.  Kids, dad, all of them - they are use to you being the rudder which turns the mighty ship of Home.  Everyone will struggle in their own way in your absence and the best way to help them? Encouragement.  Even if you hear that Billy vacuumed without moving furniture or Sally used your potato masher to stir ground beef... see what they ARE doing and compliment and encourage them in it.  This will give them confidence and peace of mind as they learn to make do without your help for a season.

There may be bickering at times.  Hubby may be irritable.  When you are miles away, you may be the source of unloading all of the at-home troubles through the muffled extension of a telephone.  Close your eyes, say a prayer, and remember: they are struggling and emotions will often feed their sentiments.  Be the calm they need.  Reassure (even when you want to cry or scream!).  Point them heavenward.  No matter how bad it seems through that telephone extension, I promise, it will all settle down and everyone will become stronger through it.


This isn't my first rodeo, but it may be my longest without any of my little family unit around me.  Peace in Jesus will get us all through and even though I am going to miss my kiddos and hubby for the time I am gone, and even though I will be back east under less-then-desirable circumstances... I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve and care for the man that cared for and raised me.

Food from last 2 weeks...

Not garden food!  Remember those pictures a few weeks ago of us having lunch on the deck?  Not the week before last... and now it is raining!  The snow was beautiful though.  Spring will be here soon enough.

Hamburger salad.  I threw avocados on mine because I LOVE avocado!  It is a quick, easy fix: lettuce, hamburger fried and crumbled, tomato, shredded cheese, cucumber and ranch dressing.  Delishish!

 Dressing up a quick meal of Chicken and Cheese Chimichangas from Costco.

Hubby's

Mine

Mexi-Chicken Salad (I cooked in a pan instead of a slow-cooker as per link).

A special St. Patrick's Day breakfast!

Menu for this week...

BREAKFAST....
- cereal and blueberries
- eggs
- fresh bread with butter and jam


LUNCH....
hubby: sausage and rice
me and kids: leftovers, grilled sandwiches, grilled tuna sandwiches, mac-n-cheese


DINNER....

Monday

Thin-cut Steak with Sauteed Garlic and Onion, Beef and Onion Boiled Red Potatoes and Side Salad

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

Tuesday 

Roast Sage Chicken Breast, Mashed Potato, Green Beans

Butter a baking pan, throw in boneless skinless chicken breast, put a small pad of butter/margarine on top of each breast, sprinkle with powders: onion, garlic, sage and a dash of celery salt.  Roast in oven on 375 for 45-75 minutes.  You can even add washed whole potatoes to the pan to roast along with the chicken!  Crazy easy.  

Wednesday
Avocado Burgers and Sun Chips
Once burger is cooked, melt some cheddar cheese, add sliced avocado, lettuce, tomato and miracle whip.  It's my husband's new favorite way to have a burger!

Thursday
Pot Pie

Friday
Pizza

Saturday
In thought!
It's is grocery shopping day.  I will probably grab something quick.
  
What are you doing and cooking this week?


Blessings,

Linking up today with some of these...

 

Keepers at Home & Menu Monday: A Word on Napkins

Welcome to another installment of Keepers and Menus!  Last week I promised to share a piece on napkins in response to a similar article and challenge on Making A House A Home. (Be sure to pop over and tell her "Hi"!)

About 14 years ago I inherited a passel of cloth napkins.  They were amazingly economically helpful and sturdy in the face of a family of six. Then, about eight-or-so years ago, I thought I would push their limits and use them for draining fried food and... well... um... not a good idea!  Matters got worse when I washed them with the regular dish towels and all that grease sort of ruined everything!  Talk about a lesson hard-learned!

This past year my husband commented how he missed our cloth napkins and wished we had more.  He enjoyed their durability and the fact that ONE usually did the trick where a small stack of paper ones left a lot to be desired.  So, for Christmas, my labor of love was to make him a set!  He was ever so grateful.

This weekend I decided to get my sewing to-do bin out and whip out some more.  Partly because the set of six I made hubby for the holidays get used up fast and partly so I could photo-shoot and share the process here.  Good ideas should always be shared!  For me, like menu planning and meal making, I like the shortest, simplest route to a task which can also still yield GREAT results and this napkin-making plan is just-that...

I'm not a fabric guru.  All of my pieces are either garage sale finds or gifts from other's left-overs.  From my collection I picked sturdy fabrics that were also soft and semi-absorbent.  Pre-washing and ironing is ideal.
 

I used the cardboard piece out of a 12x12 scrapbook paper pad as my template.

I rolling cutter makes quick work but you can use a fabric pencil, trace, and then cut out with regular scissors.

All ready to go!

I sewed about 1 machine foot width from the edge as you can see above.  I used a straight stitch on these because I forgot I had used zig-zag at Christmas!

Notice the edge of the zig-zag napkin is fluffed, this happens in the wash (I was hoping it would... the fluff adds character to the edges).  I did have to trim stray threads off the first few times I washed them.  The more I wash them, though, the less trimming I need to do and they look positively refined!

I love using them at dinner, but I also love using them when I have a peeled orange because the juice doesn't really leak through AND I can still clean my hands with the napkin when I'm done! 

Because we homeschool and I get tiered of trying to stash our pens and misc. needs when we shift between eating and schooling at our table I decided just to combine!  It works for us.

Do you use cloth napkins?  If so, I would love to see pictures and hear how they bless your home!  Be sure to share a link below if you do and I will hop over and visit!

Food from last week...

 This may look weird but it was sooooo good. Chicken Fettuccine over Baked Spaghetti Squash.  (I think I will officially try to grow some in the garden this year!!)  I had some leftover Baby Bellas from a salad supreme hubby and I had over the weekend. I sliced and stir-fried them with fresh garlic and threw them into my home-made fettuccine sauce.  The whole meal took a few more steps and time then I typically take in meal prep but it was worth it and, if I had planned ahead a bit better, I might have had the whole thing done, start to finish, within about an hour.

Do differently?  Prepare the squash ahead of time and let cool completely before doing my mixture.

Do quicker?  Use pre-made fettuccine sauce.

Roast and veggies with a side-salad and feta.  I got a wild hair to record the process I discussed last week...

veggies in bottom of pot

sear on ALL sides

onion soup mix on top, water to about middle of roast

I didn't make gravy this time because hubby and I are watching carbs and the kids usually just use ranch.  It is sooooo easy and delicious.  Be sure to check last week's Keepers and Menus post for the full recipe and directions

Menu for this week...

BREAKFAST....
- cereal and blueberries
- eggs
- fresh bread with butter and jam


LUNCH....
hubby: sausage and rice
me and kids: leftovers, grilled sandwiches, grilled tuna sandwiches, mac-n-cheese


DINNER....

Monday

Cheeseburger Salad

Salad with ground beef, cheese, green onions and ranch

Tuesday 

Chicken Stir Fry

I do this the same way as Pork Stir Fry but without the eggs and I usually trade out the peas and carrots vegies for brocoli, cauliflower and green beans (or some other pre-mix frozen stir fry veggies)

Wednesday
Chicken and Cheese Chimichangas with Salad
 
Thursday
Pot Pie

Friday
Burgers with Sun Chips

Saturday
Pizza

  
What are you doing and cooking this week?


Blessings,

Linking up today with some of these...

 

Menu Monday: Week of July18th

This past week was productively busy.  I am getting the Menu up a bit late on account of having trouble getting pictures uploaded... and then I took a 5 hour (round trip) drive today to deliver Brooke to Bible Camp for the week.  I'll share the pictures from our little trip next week when I get those uploaded... here are the other ones we managed to pull together last night:

It may not look like much but there use to be carpet on these floors! Our missionary guest ended up leaving early on Wednesday so when Thursday rolled around, I had extra time on my hands!  It was Brenden and Ashley's day off from work and I was just going to roll the carpet out (it stunk from previous owners... no idea why... and our un-trainable cat).  The padding was so old it crumbled in spots as I rolled it up.  I was going to just do it myself and leave the tack strip for later but the kids asked me to let them help and we made a day of it!

Towards the end of the day of prying up tack strip, sweeping, hand scrubbing, popping out padding staples, mopping, and cutting up and disposing of the carpet and padding... Brenden told me he was having a lot of fun!!  Ashley heartily agreed.  I felt completely blessed.

We also moved our rabbit outside; hutch to come since Ashley and Brooke want to begin breading Loppy Eared bunnies... we just need a chance to go purchase the hutch!  And our un-trainable cat made the transition outside as well.  Believe it or not, these two are 'friends'!  My work inside is much less since I don't need to daily wash things the cat has cut-loose on, our house smells better, but I am actually more beat because, with rain moving in and out of the area, I have to watch the weather and tarp his crate and the rabbit's cage every time storms are rolling in!  His kitty house is forthcoming... but probably not until fall.  I also need to keep an eye on the heat and be sure to ice their water when the mercury climbs.  I consider it my mini-farm!

Brooke has been wanting some hot curlers.  I scored a great set at a garage sale Friday.  After practicing Saturday she was ready to set and go for church on Sunday!  My sweet young lady!


Food to share from this past week:

I call this "Hamburger Salad".  I felt like I needed something lighter for dinner on a night when we had burgers so this was my solution without cooking a different meal!  Everyone else loaded up their buns while I dressed up my salad!

To send our Summer Missionary guest with some fun breakfast, I switched up Wednesday morning's breakfast to make cinnamon rolls.  I took detailed pictures of the process to share the recipe at a later date (unless someone wants it sooner!!)

Another breakfast meal pic... save your money from going to McDonald's, these sausage and egg biscuits are cheap, easy, healthier and delicious!  Another recipe soon to come.


This week

As previously mentioned, today I drove Brooke to Camp.  I am planning an easy dinner tonight since I still need to finish juggling a rental car back in place (our car wouldn't make the trip).  I plan to spend my week really digging into lesson planning.  I am just about done fielding the basics to be ready for the in-depth stage.  Dinner can be both a burden and a reprieve from this process... not to mention there will only be 4 of us eating this week... and not all at the same time (kids' work schedules).  I'm planning my 'eat hot and ready' meals for the nights Brenden has off and my 'easy to re-heat' meals for the days he works.

Also this week is Thursday's Bible study and HOT weather so I plan to serve fruit as a dessert, not to mention I had a doctor's appointment this past week and the doctor has challenged me to loose weight for the sake of health issues developing.  Sugary heavy desserts are out... unless I have guests to eat them for me!

Friday I go for the all-so-fun mammogram.  I have never had one and, at 42 and with a family history of breast cancer, I figure it is long overdue.  I'm a bit nervous... if you think of it, please pray for me.

Saturday we pick Brooke up from camp and stay for the awards ceremony so our return home will be a bit later in the day.  I'm planning a super quick and easy meal that night.

Menu for this week...

BREAKFAST....
- cereal/oatmeal
- eggs
- fruit


LUNCH....
hubby: Rice and Chicken or Rice and Summer Sausage
me and kids: leftovers, salads

DINNER....

Monday

Burger and Chips

I will probably have my cheese burger salad as a healthier alternative!

Tuesday

Chicken Stir-Fry

Wednesday
Pork Steak, Baked Potato, and Green Salad

Thursday
Fish Patties, Steamed Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce, and Sauteed Green Beans

The green bean recipe was inspired by a side dish from a restaurant in our old stomping ground, Lakeside.  It uses fresh or frozen green beans, sliced garlic cloves and Italian dressing.  Put a few tablespoons of the dressing in a pan and heat on Medium High, lightly saute the garlic then add green beans, stirring often.  It is so packed full of flavor and compliments the fresh taste and snap of a good green bean well!

Friday
BBQ Chicken, Oven Roasted Potato Wedges, Salad Slaw
I will bake extra Potatoes on Wednesday and refrigerate.  This day I will take them out and slice into wedges.  Then I will mix some olive oil with a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and mix the potato wedges in.  Then I will take the potatoes out of the oil mixture and place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 until lightly brown.  10-20 minutes.

Saturday
Hot Dogs and Left-over White Chili
The last time I made White Chili I froze the extra.  I will lay it out Friday night or Saturday morning and reheat when I get home from retrieving Brooke.

  
What are you doing and cooking this week?


Blessings,

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