Weekly dinner menu

Below I've included our dinner menu plan through Sunday, September 26th. I won't claim that we stick to this exclusively, sometimes something like a volleyball game, soccer, or life gets in the way and we have to switch things up for convenience, but I'm hater on drive-thru so usually it's exchanged for some breakfast dinner or snack night.

Sunday, Sept. 12 - BBQ Salmon with steamed baby reds and green beans - or it'll be pancakes

Monday, Sept. 13 - steamed veggies with rice noodles

Tuesday, Sept. 14 - minestrone and fresh whole wheat bread

Wednesday, Sept. 15 - Chili dogs and home fries

Thursday, Sept. 16 - baked macaroni & cheese with green beans

Friday, Sept. 17 - homemade personal pizzas

Saturday, Sept. 18 - leftovers/new recipe

Sunday, Sept. 19 - keilbasa, potato salad, & homemade rolls

Monday, Sept. 20 - rice noodles, with cabbage, cilantro, & sprouts

Tuesday, Sept. 21 - won ton soup and cabbage salad

Wednesday, Sept. 22 - scrambled egg burritos

Thursday, Sept. 23 - chicken/beef/veggie skewers

Friday, Sept. 24 - Crepes! Sweet or Savory

Saturday, Sept. 25 - leftovers/new recipe

Sunday, Sept. 26 - Turkey Dinner!

If ever, you have a question about how I do my menus or recipes just send me a message. I'm more than happy to share.

mmm...what's that taste like?

Holy moley, I have been busy! With our camping vacation behind us, and we're now to the half-way point of our remodel -more of that to come on a later post -I've got more time to spend here, surfing the internets, my farm, baking, and POSTING AS A CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER at HOMEGROWN.ORG!!!! Yes, that noise you hear is me jumping up and down and screeching like a 14 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert -I know this because I experienced this first hand only a few weeks ago. See.

You can check out my posts the fourth Wednesday of every month over at HOMEGROWN.ORG! Oh, the giddyness is worse than the jimmy legs!

Okay, now seriously. I know you are all dying to read about my weekly menus so I'll post the plan for the next two weeks. All menus are subject to change, shirt and/or shoes are not required-hell, clothes are optional at most meals.

Monday, July 26th - Yakisoba noodles with veggies

Tuesday, July 27th - Bean soup with homemade wheat bread -too frickin' hot man!

Wednesday, July 28th - White rice with Chinese BBQ beef

Thursday, July 29th - Tacos beef/chicken/veggie -to be determined

Friday, July 30th - buttermilk pancakes or if I get my way strawberry crepes!

Saturday, July 31st - leftovers/new recipe or we'll eat out -lazy asses

Sunday, AUGUST 1 - Crockpot chicken with rice and veggies

Monday, August 2 - warm chicken salad pitas (use leftover chicken from sun.)

Tuesday, August 3 - Grilled tomato and cheese sammies with salad

Wednesday, August 4 - Rice stick noodles with stir fry noodles

Thursday, August 5 - Spaghetti with olive oil and veggies

Friday, August 6 - buttermilk waffles and strawberries

Saturday, August 7 - leftovers/new recipe or eat out 'cause I'm tired as hell

Sunday, August 8 - Keilbasa and Eggs!

Monday, August 9 - Pasta salad with veggies and bread

and there you have it. If you are interested in any of the above recipes, just ask. I'm more than certain I haven't posted many of them and I'm happy to share. More pictures to come as well.

If your interested, the following is what we'll have for breakfasts. In no particular order and of no particular nutritional value. Hey, we're working on this one.

Oatmeal, Eggs -anyway you want 'em and with whatever I'm handing out at the moment, toast, english muffins, yogurt, granola, fruit, boxed or bagged cereal -pretty much whatever was on sale except for the sugary shit, pancakes, waffles -usually not frozen, but every once in-awhile I get a wind up my skirt and pick up eggos, and/or hashbrowns -the real stuff, just like at the restaurant with clarified butter and all that fatty goodness.

I'm up for questions anytime. Just throw 'em at me. You'll either get a great answer or one with absolutely no value to you at all. Cheers!

Dinner Menu Plan

Once again, I am lame. I am admitting this only because I said that I would post pictures of my food, and I haven't. It's just by the time I'm finished making this shit, I'm so damn hungry that taking out the camera just seems like too much trouble. And quite honestly, I don't even think about it until there's no food left. Sorry.

and now, The Menu, Madame/Monsieur

Sunday, June 6 - Crockpot Dinner -tater tot casserole

Monday, June 7 - Salad -surprise me!

Tuesday, June 8 - veggie panini's & salad

Wednesday, June 9 - taco soup in the crockpot

Thursday, June 10 - baked macaroni & cheese

Friday, June 11 - pizza/pancakes *that is and/or

Saturday, June 12 - leftovers/new dish

Sunday, June 13 - Crockpot dinner - french dips

Monday, June 14 - veggie pasta salad w/ keilbasa

Tuesday, June 15 - homemade chicken noodle soup or warm chicken pasta salad

Wednesday, June 16 - chicken yakisoba & veggies

Thursday, June 17 - marinara & noodles (meatless)

Friday, June 18 - pancakes/pizza

Saturday, June 19 - leftovers/new dish

and now for a recipe!

GYROS!

meat -beef, chicken, lamb, pork -what have you and slice thin

lettuce -torn up

tomato -sliced

onions -sliced and grilled if you like

greek seasoning (i found this awesome shit at the store)

tzatziki sauce (I'll post this soon or you lazy asses can pick it up your favorite at the store)

pita bread (store bought or homemade, I'll post a recipe soon)

We used beef and sliced it up sort of thin. Pound the living hell out of the slices and then sprinkle some seasoning on it and pound it up again.

Cook the meat up -you can use your grill, a cast iron pan, panini grill, George Forman, a hot side walk to your liking (white meats should be thoroughly cooked).

Grill up your pita bread. We've used our griddle(most effective for us), the panini grill, pizza stone in the oven, cast iron pan, or grill. Grill 'em up nice and toasty on both sides.

When everything is ready, start layering! I usually put a few pieces of lettuce on the pita, then the meat, then a couple of slices of tomato, NO ONION for me, but have at it!, then the mother load of tzatziki, because I love that shit. Then kind of roll together and chow down.

you want one now, don't you?

Just another manic monday...er Sunday

I'm rather enjoying my bit of work that I'm doing for my friend at her coffee shop, The Cracked Bean Coffee Company. About a month ago, I started working the "early" shift and even though it's only two-three hours it gives me that little break I need during the week. I actually look forward to getting up at 4:30 a.m. and I get home just as the little ones are starting to crawl about. I'm there when they wake, fully dressed, and with makeup to boot!

I'm not adding links to the recipes this week 'cause I'm so damned tired. One of these days I'll get them all in one spot so they are easily linked or searched. Dammit for being unorganized from the start. Also the pictures are sparse -tough.

Sunday, May 23: Crockpot Beef pot roast with Au Jus, smashed potatoes, & green beans

Monday, May 24: beef hot dogs and salad bar -baseball game

Tuesday, May 25: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Wednesday, May 26: pad thai noodles with beef strips

Thursday, May 27: Spaghetti, salad, and french bread

Friday, May 28: homemade buttermilk pancakes or waffles

Saturday, May 29: leftovers/new recipe :thinking shrimp boil!

Sunday, May 30: Keilbasa, eggs, and biscuits

Monday, May 31: veggie stir fry and rice -happy Memorial Day!

Tuesday, June 1: pulled pork sammies & cabbage slaw

Wednesday, June 2: tuna noodle casserole

Thursday, June 3: no bake lasagna -ala food magazine, thank you Martha!

Friday, June 4: pancakes or homemade pizza

Saturday, June 5: Leftovers/new recipe

I hate this fucking dog

peace be with you or wif u

Well, I'm sorry. I abandoned my 9 followers for approximately 10 days. My sincerest apologies.

Now, moving on from the groveling crap. We've had a very productive couple of weeks here at the Cross Compound. We tore out more trees, we built our pea/bean trellis and prepped and planted the bed, we had a birthday party, put up trim in our living/sitting areas, and started laying the brick around the house. All the while, the camera was AWOL. Yep, sorry yet again, no pictures.

I did prepare our dinner menu through the Fourth of July and I will share a whole two weeks with you now.

Sunday, May 9 - Keilbasa with Macaroni & cheese and biscuits

Monday, May 10 - Veggie casserole

Tuesday, May 11 - grilled turkey & cheese paninis and tomato soup

Wednesday, May 12 - chicken tacos

Thursday, May 13 - Spaghetti & salad

Friday, May 14 - homemade pancakes

Saturday, May 15 - leftovers/new dish

Sunday, May 16 - crockpot beef pot roast & taters

Monday, May 17 - caesar salad

Tuesday, May 18th - crockpot minestrone soup & rolls

Wednesday, May 19th - beef teriyaki and white rice

Thursday, May 20th - taco casserole

Friday, May 21st - pizza

Saturday, May 22nd - going out to eat :)

There you have it! I'll be posting my yogurt recipe fail & tweaked with version soon! Also, be on the look out, I'll be posting about my adventures with "no poo" and using the OCM soon!

a quick two week menu, more to come

I'm starting a little late with the menu for this week and next -hopefully I can get some pictures posted of it when I make them.

Monday, April 5

Chop Salad - leftovers from Easter, there were none so we just had a giant salad :)

Tuesday, April 6

Crockpot Chili and cornbread

Wednesday, April 7

Chicken Rice a Roni - someday I'll perfect a homemade recipe, until then it's boxed

Thursday, April 8

Wet beef burritos

Friday, April 9

homemade buttermilk pancakes

Saturday, April 10

nephew's first birthday party -HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIP!

Sunday, April 11

undecided - something easy since we'll just be arriving home

Monday, April 12

Taco Salads

Tuesday, April 13

Chicken sandwiches, ala natalie with homemade french fries

Wednesday, April 14

Baked Macaroni and cheese with ham -maybe, we've got doctor's appointments in Seattle

Thursday, April 15

Nacho bar

Friday, April 16

BBQ'd pizza -this will be a first for us, can't wait!

Saturday, April 17

leftovers/new recipe

Sunday, April 18

Keilbasa and eggs

your point? and a menu!

I need to take pictures of my food more often. When I post my menus I'd love to share what it looks like in my house. However, I forget and we just gobble it up. Then sometimes I have something on the menu and we have to tweak things a bit, and then they don't look like they probably should.

this is poached chicken
Last week we were to have beef 'n broccoli with rice. Guess who forgot to pull out the slab of meat to slice some up? Yep me. So we changed it up a bit. Chicken with cheesy cream of broccoli over rice. Half of the family enjoyed or rather, tolerated it and the other half gave the "I'm going to puke" face and went on strike. This happens from time to time in our house and unfortunately for them I'm a mean mom. The deal is you have to taste it. JUST TASTE, one bite and then decide if this really is the worst meal I've ever made. If it's still gut turning, then we work out a deal -say just eat the rice and pick out the chicken -which is what the eldest did and the youngest ate rice and picked out the broccoli. That left one kid who wouldn't touch it, her eyes watered just looking at it. I am not incredibly cruel, I didn't hover over her with my spankin' spoon until she ate every last drop. I simply pushed it aside -still on her plate- and served her some plain rice. That's it. When she asked for a snack, I told her that her dinner was still on the table. At the end of the night, if it's still there, it gets tossed.
I had no point to that story. snicker.

Hey! I picked up some seed potatoes (3 kinds) and a rhubarb start. We're growing taters bitches! In tires! I'll post pics when I get them.

Here's our menu for the next 2 weeks!

Monday: Caesar salads with chicken and homemade crusty bread

Tuesday: French dips w/ salad

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: chicken teriyaki, rice, and salad

Friday: homemade buttermilk pancakes -with homemade buttermilk ya' all!

Saturday and Sunday we are gone to Mariah's volleyball tournaments out of town.

Next week will be fun!

Monday the 15th: Ides of March Caesar's salad wraps

Tuesday the 16th: ZAKERY's 11th birthday -his choice!

Wednesday the 17th: St. Patrick's day -Crockpot corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread -I'd love to add some sort of chowder to this, we'll have to see.

Thursday the 18th: mashed potatoes with beef gravy and peas

Friday the 19th: PIZZA party! Zakery's sleepover

Saturday the 20th: dinner out w/ family for Z's bday

Sunday the 21st: we're out of town again for Mariah's volleyball tournament

This week's menu -a wee bit late

so I'll throw in next week's menu as a bonus for forgiving me.

Monday: Salad bar -romaine/green leaf lettuces, tomatoes, cukes, olives, peppers, croutons, and whatever else you can find in the fridge.

Tuesday: Crockpot chili w/ corn muffins

Wednesday: beef soft tacos w/ refried beans -using veg leftovers from monday's dinner

Thursday: Beef rice-a-roni -yes. from a box until I master a homemade version

Friday: Homemade buttermilk pancakes -yum and maybe I'll get pictures

Saturday: usually leftovers, but we'll be out of town so either pizza or teriyaki

Sunday: Enchiladas -chicken


Okay, that brings you up to date and here's next weeks' menu too:

Monday: Veggie stir fry with rice

Tuesday: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Wednesday: Rice bowls with broccoli and beef

Thursday: scrambled egg burritos

Friday: homemade pizza pockets

Saturday: leftovers/new dish or recipe

Sunday: Crockpot chicken & potatoes

I actually have two months of menus finished. My goal is to have three months completed at a time, but I lost steam and got bored.

Menus schmenus... if only

I forgot to post this week's dinner menu - so here is goes and I'll even include a recipe in there somewhere

Monday:
Chicken Caesar salad w/ dinner rolls

Tuesday:
BLT sandwiches and homemade french fries

Wednesday:
Beef/chicken rice-a-roni (either homemade or boxed) w/ peas or corn

Thursday:
Hubby's birthday his treat/choice

Friday:
Pancakes with pears -might even turn this into crepes, yum!

Saturday:
leftovers or new dish

Sunday:
Tuna noodle casserole w/ peas

Feb 1-7th dinner menu

Monday:
Salad bar w/ homemade rolls/bread

Tuesday:
meatball subs and salad (leftovers from monday)

Wednesday:
Beef stroganoff w/ corn

Thursday:
Mashed potatoes w/ beef gravy and veggies

Friday:
Homemade calzones and salad

Saturday: -family is coming for superbowl
Potluck -thinking fractured tacos

Sunday: -Superbowl Sunday
bbq/sweet n sour meatballs
chicken hotwings
veggies
beef pot roast and of course BREAD!

Fractured Tacos aka...the kids will eat this

1 lb ground meat, browned -beef/turkey or shredded chicken/pork
taco seasoning-to taste
head of iceberg or green leaf lettuce
1 beefsteak or 2-3 roma tomatoes
grated cheddar cheese or mexican mix if you buy in the bag
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
avacado, peeled and sliced -optional

throw everything into a big bowl and toss. Serve on a bed of fritos/doritos/tortilla chips. Top with a dollop of sour cream and/or guacamole and wah lah! YUM!!!

We've also just put everything into individual bowls and let everyone make their own for the more picky ones.

School? Whaat?? Where did summer go?

I am so sad to be the one to inform all of you that our summer has gone and school is quickly approaching. What? Wait, you already knew and you all are celebrating and you didn't call me!!! Okay, so seriously I already knew too. I've had the countdown ticker on my igoogle page going since school got out.

I'm having a hard time dealing with all of the school supply lists. I've been collecting some items as they have come on sale or had coupons for, but seriously, it's as if we have to supply the entire class! Four packages of four glue sticks!? How many collages can one fifth grader make? They even request a particular brand of pencil in which we must supply four packages of ten pencils -I do have to say that they are a superior brand, but with that comes a hefty price tag for a frickin' pencil. Here's a kicker, we must get a particular pen...not stick pens, not ball point, not marker -sharpies are already requested and this particular pen is not even carried at any office supply, walmart, art store in my town nor the neighboring city!!! We didn't even get the list until last week, because that's when you can officially access the information. WHAT THE EFFFFFFFin' me-oh-my?! Okay, enough of a rant, moving on.

This last week was a success with the meal planning and semi-quasi budgeting, with the exception of going through twice as much milk as I thought we would. Here is this week's menu:

Sunday: Roasted Chicken, potatoes, & peas.. eh hem, rice, leftover steak, & carrots.
Monday: Chicken kabobs on green salad w/ corn on the cob
Tuesday: sloppy joes & green salad
Wednesday: Spaghetti, french bread, salad
Thursday: Chicken enchiladas
Friday: Pancakes & pears
Saturday: leftovers/new recipe... BLT PIE!!!!

Sunday was a flop because I decided that I needed to drive to pick up the kids, to get out of the house. Good thing was that we had everything here in the house and it was ready when I returned. We made snack cake last night for dessert over the next couple of days.

stroganoff ala chicken pox...ew.

Z was diagnosed with chicken pox on monday, which means saturday, when he was feeling rather ho-hum, that was the start of things. We had family out, cousins, and after spending a few days of seclusion at the family cabin, we took them to the Olympic Game Farm, which is near our house. Lots of fun and we parted ways. Imagine my freaking out on Monday morning when Z came to me with numerous itchy pimply spots, then followed the confirmation by our pediatrician. Good times! So, he has spent a few days in isolation. With the knowledge of our ped the girls will now have their day with chicken pox -JOY! While it can in no way compare to my TWO bouts of the pox and the last when I was 13, can we say pox on the eyelids, down my throat, and on the bottoms of my feet... it ought to be interesting.

I have had many requests for a "pox party", but then have also received the emails of how disturbing the thought of a pox party is. I had to ponder this, and when I responded I sort of let loose because they were targeting me... I didn't advertise that I was having a party, I just happened to have the infected child. As if I purposed exposed my child to the disease, when in fact he was vaccinated. Now, I am purposely infecting my younger two to the pox, but they were probably already infected long before I knew it was even in our house. In our home we selectively vaccinate. There are some that we do and some that we don't.

Z would not have received the varicella vaccine had I known that it was being given at that time. It was new, and apparently, they (the nurses) thought that everyone would want it. It wasn't brought to my attention until AFTER they had given it to him, he was only 15 months. At 2, Z developed serious food and outside allergies. Thankfully, he has outgrown most, but still the damage was already done and we have to live with the effects of that.

So, before you decide to attack or alienate people because of how they decide to raise their children, think about what their reasons may be. It may be their religious beliefs or maybe we feel the need to just get down and dirty let our immune systems and bodies develop a bit before we start injecting active diseases into it. It's nothing personal against you, but it's none of your damn business. I realize that you may think that we are out there, unvaccinated and possibly spreading our "diseases" to you, but we aren't the ones living with the viruses already in our systems. We are just building up our natural defenses.
My husband and I decided long ago, that a little dirt wouldn't hurt. We weren't going to be those parents who expected everyone to slather up on the anti-bacterial gel before they could touch our babies. We weren't going to run and hide every time someone coughed or sneezed. When we were little we were given the chance to develop a natural defense system, we turned out just fine, in fact rather healthy. So, why couldn't our children? We are rather lucky to have pediatricians, nurses, family, and friends who support our decisions. We just ask that we not be attacked or condemned when we share this info with you. If you don't want to come to our "pox party" then don't come. We didn't want you there anyway.


Now for food, we had this last night and it turned out soooo good! Sorry no pictures, we ate it all so fast that by the time I thought about a picture there was nothing left. It was that yummy.

Ground beef stroganoff

1 bag of egg noodles cooked per package instructions-rice and potatoes are also good
1 lb ground turkey/beef/whatever you like! -we combined turkey & beef
1 pkt of onion soup mix (beef onion would be really good!)
salt/pepper to taste
a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce or more
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream

brown ground meat, drain off fat.
add onion soup mix, salt & pepper to taste and stir it all up
add milk and sour cream and heat thoroughly
lastly add the Worcestershire sauce to taste, start with a teaspoon or so and shake a more if needed, stir up and WA LA!

Oh, then serve over noodles, rice, potatoes, whatever your pretty little heart desires!

Notice this recipe does not have the usual staple of stroganoff recipes... MUSHROOMS. I hate, no, loathe mushrooms. I vomit in my sleep over mushrooms. My whole body heaves and convulses at the sight of those nasty little buggers. However, if you absolutely must tarnish this recipe with satan's fungus-go right ahead. Some people like those kind of things.

cupcakes & menus

Well, a big giant THANK YOU to Sara over at Our Best Bites for this wonderful cupcake recipe. Of course as usual I had to juggle stuff for what we had on hand, but this is a huge hit...well, at least the making and oogling over them part. We are saving them until we meet up with my husband's family tomorrow.

I will post the recipe with our changes added, at the bottom of this post.

We are heading down to the cabin at Lake Quinault tomorrow morning. We'll be meeting up with J's family-mom, dad, The weirds: sister, brother-in-law, and their three children-they live in Maryland and are visiting for the week. We are so excited! We haven't seen them in what seems like forever-the spring. I had no idea what to bring so, we will be bearing gifts of CUPCAKES!

Quickly, I will post my menu for next week(23rd-29th), since I am unsure when I'll be able to get back on to do it. If they work out and are a hit, I will post recipes.

Sunday: Baked mac & cheese, w/ green beans
Monday: Caesar salads w/ french bread or baguettes-Whatever I try to make that day!
Tuesday: Chili & cornbread -we'll be making a double batch!
Wednesday: Ground beef stroganoff w/ corn
Thursday: Taco skillet w/ lettuce salad
Friday: Extreme Nachos -big kids are gone, so it may end up being just chips/chz
Saturday: Leftovers or new recipe!

That's it!
Our Best Bites cupcakes
Okay, while I do have to say that ours did not turn out as beautiful as Sara's - they are in our eyes. Our colors may not be as bright, they may appear lumpy, and we are missing orange, we couldn't have had more fun making cupcakes. Ultimately we decided to make ours huge - we doubled the amount in each muffin cup, by mistake and I believe it worked out to our advantage. We only had half of the colors in the gels, so we just used extra drops of the regular food coloring. We also didn't have the paper muffin cups, but hey, we are trying to cut down on the waste. The below recipe and directions are from here I will note where I have changed it.

COLORBURST CUPCAKES or as N calls them "Rainbow muffin cupcakes"

1 white cake mix
2 eggs
1 C sour cream
1/2 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil (*we used olive oil)

Combine all ingredients until incorporated (about 30 seconds). Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 3 minutes.

Divide batter according to how many colors you are using. I used 5 colors and it worked out to a little over 1 cup for each color. *we used 4 colors and used 1 cup of batter for each color*

Use food coloring to color batter to desired intensity. I used a 1/4 t and they were very bright! *we started with 1/4t each, then added a couple of extra squeezes of the regular food coloring to get a brighter color.* You could easily make pastel rainbows using a little less. *Layer each color of batter, it said to use about 2 teaspoons of each color in each muffin... my child interpreted that as 2 TABLESPOONS... I thought it looked a bit much so I did about 1 tablespoon, and soon figured out that we were not going to get more than a dozen cupcakes out of this. In turn they ended up huge. We played it off as it was all planned. It was also suggested on the site to use a bit of water on your fingers to spread each layer of color. It definitely helped.

Bake them according to the package directions(*20 minutes was perfect for our cupcakes), until a toothpick comes out dry. Wahlah!********
BTW, I have no idea what I did to these pictures, I think I may have kicked your dog.

food. work. airpockets.

Okay, I've been slack again but I totally have a good excuse. I have a job. I mean, I've always had the job of being a stay-at-home mom. Now, I have a worldly recognized paying job. I haven't worked for almost two years and then it was a three month stint, before that it had been two years, so really I haven't actually worked since 2005. The way it came about was funny, it pretty much just fell in my lap. I overheard my dermatologist and nurse talking during an appointment. I then overheard it mentioned how they were shorthanded due to some recent changes in the office. Later that afternoon I brought in my resume, thinking I might be able to lend a hand. Sure enough, it worked. One week later, I am now an employee. weird.

I have a feeling I'm going to be tired tomorrow, so I'm going to post my weekly menu and a recipe tonight.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened this weekend. Z has strep - always fun, therefore we took the other sick kid, L, in to be checked, thank goodness she has no sickness or infections. They concluded it was viral or a cold. Woo hoo. She still sounds like an old man who has smoked since he was 3. Also, along with her "cold" she has been clumsy as all get up! The kid has had some serious head trauma this weekend. We've had bruises, bumps, and cuts before, but usually one this week and a new one would appear just as the other had turned yellow. Nope, not L. Yesterday, while standing on her green Ikea chair she leaned, and as expected it tipped. She whacked her right eye/eyebrow on the jogging stroller(yes, it was in the playroom, having it's seat switched out) resulting in a beautimus scratch/bruise that runs over her eyelid into her eyebrow, also a little scratch on her nose. She had to finish the evening off by rolling off of daddy's back(they were laying on the floor) onto the hardwood floor and knocking the back of her head.

Then, this morning she managed to hit an airpocket which hurdled her into the round coffee table. Again, resulting in injury. This time a nice bruise/welt that runs from her right cheekbone up to her eye. So, she now has a complete package that we are sure will finish off with at least a black eye if not more. At least there was no major swelling (just the welt).

Ah... you've got to love a good farewell to no longer being a stay-at-home mom. I don't think I'll miss it one bit. *sniff*sniff*


On to this week's menu: ENJOY!
thank you evilmadscientist.com for that gem

Monday- Homemade pizza, pepperoni, salami, chicken, beef, cheese, veggies, whatev!

Tuesday- Rice-a-roni chick/beef (we were scheduled for this last week, but had a moment of weakness at costco and had pizza- ah costco, gotta love it!

Wednesday- Spaghetti/salad/french bread (freeze leftovers for another time)

Thursday- Breakfast night! -we'll try the egg bake, we didn't get to last time

Friday- Meatloaf/potatoes (we're actually going to be outta town, so this will be moved to Sunday

Saturday- Leftovers- this will be easy, we're outta town no need to do!

Sunday- Dinner ala mom! Meatloaf/potatoes/greenbeans! YUM!

This week's recipe is something that we were supposed to have on Friday night, Z spent the evening at the dr's so we improvised with leftovers/soup.

Taco Skillet -




Beef Taco Skillet
Campbell’s make in minutes
Prep: 5 min. Cook: 20 min.

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) Campbell’s Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
½ cup salsa
½ cup water
6 flour tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Cook beef in 10-inch skillet until well browned, stirring to break up meat. Pour off fat.
2. Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 min. Stir. Top with cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Of course we are going to double this recipe to feed the masses. Um.. to feed our family.

bleh. diapers and dirty dishes

It's monday morning and I feel amazing. I got up early enough (before the kids!) and went to the gym. Then, got everybody ready for school and was even able to run a quick errand while in town. I got back started laundry and walked into my kitchen. Now, I'm hiding. We had guests over Saturday night, and while I did do our sit down dishes that night, I put the serving dishes, and pots and pans to the side. Then yesterday M unloaded the dishwasher and everything else sat. We had fun yesterday and I couldn't ruin it by doing the dishes. So, there they sit, still. I made fried chicken and biscuits last night and it's just such a mess that I can't bring myself to going back in there. I know that I have to do it, it's just a matter of when. I need to make cinnamon rolls today and need the entire kitchen in order to do this. bleh.

Next on my list is diaper laundry. I've needed to do these and really I love doing diaper laundry. But here's my dilemma -I haven't done diaper laundry in a couple of weeks. ew. L started teething and I tend to use disposibles during times like these. She is still teething, but I am running out of sposies and don't feel like going and buying more -so cloth NEEDS to be washed. This is going to take all day because of sitting for so long.

If you are interested in some diaper coupons here is a link to Seventh Generation, if you sign up you can print their baby products coupon for $2 off twice.

Okay, so boring, but my to do list is something that I need to be accountable for and I'm accounting for it!


THIS WEEK'S MENU!

Monday - Pork Chops, rice, & broccoli
Tuesday -Crockpot night! Some chicken/potato dish, undecided
Wednesday -Chicken rice-a-roni
Thursday -Breakfast night! Egg bake w/ bacon
Friday -Taco skillet (new recipe for us!)
Saturday -Soup/Sandwich/Salad night
Sunday -Random surprise dinner a la mom

On Friday night I made this I love coffee cake and thought -Chocolate chips, why not? Um... not that it was bad, it just wasn't right. I loved the coffee cake, just not with chocolate. So, if you get an itchin' for a good coffee cake, this is one to try, just leave out the chips my friend.

I'll post more later, as I feel this is incredibly lame.

no doubt, the gods are crazy

Well, the gods are against us. For reals people. Considering J and I never get to go out alone - ever. - and we actually had someone to watch the kids, this past weekend had looked bright. But as usual, we are forever being punished for something we did in a past life. To start things off, who in the hell starts their period the day before Valentines day? me. Seriously, not only is this cruel, but it is just plain mean. Very romantic, a real deal killer. Not to let anyone top that, they decide that L needs to get a new set of teeth. Molars to boot. The kid is a mess. Snot, drool, hacking cough, up all night, and just pitiful looking. Poor kid. Poor us. Needless to say, nana and papa did offer to watch the girls for a bit, and we were able to catch a flick. We then whisked our defeated family back to our compound to rest up in our own environment. Suck.

I'll just get down to the nitty gritty today - here's this week's menu:

Monday -Happy President's day homemade Pizza & Caesar salad-recipe to follow
Tuesday -Spaghetti & Caesar-using sauce that we made a couple of weeks ago and froze
Wednesday -Tacos
Thursday- swedish meatballs/potatoes/green beans
Friday- Teriyaki chicken w/ rice
Saturday- Veggie night -baked potatoes & Caesar salad
Sunday- Baked rotini/bread/caesar salad


Pizza Crust - this crust is a mix of a couple of recipes that I found and worked with what I had on hand and wah lah!

4 tsp bulk dry yeast
1.5 c warmish (bathtub warm) water
4 tsp sugar
1/3 c olive oil
4.5-5 c flour
1-2 tsp roasted garlic granuals

sprinkle and mix yeast w/ water, then add sugar, let sit for about 10 min or until fuzzy looking. Start by adding the olive oil, garlic, and yeast mix into mixer (I use a kitchenaid for the whole bit)let mix for a couple of minutes. Change out to the dough hook, and start adding 3 cups flour slowly to the mix until it starts to pull from the sides,it gets kind of spider-webby looking, let got for about 10 minutes. At this point add remaining flour until smooth.
I then leave dough in the mixing bowl, cover and let rise. Let sit for about 30 minutes, punch down and let sit for another 30 minutes(or whenever you remember to get back to it :)) Split into two balls, set one aside. Spray some Pam on that baking sheet or pizza stone and start to roll out the dough. I use a combination of my fingers and a pin. I put the pan aside, cover until I'm ready to use it. Add toppings and back at 425 for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy. The sauce I got from here I didn't exactly like it, I just used what I had on hand, but I have to say that garlic is a must.

Oh, the other ball that you set aside- cover with parchments paper or plastic wrap put in a labeled ziploc and toss in the freezer for next time.

Picture to come.

Also, I'm making croutons again. This time I'm trying a method that shouldn't take days. Hopefully, they don't end up chipping teeth and being used to sand the roads. Wish me luck, we'd really like croutons in our salads this week.

this week's menu and planning for SUPERBOWL!

Real quick I'm going to post my week's menu. We changed up last weeks a bit by not having turkey on Sunday night. It was a good thing too, there was a bad accident on the way home from picking up the kids so J and the big kids were pretty late, the turkey would have been too much. I make taco soup this weekend for a soup swap today(monday), and I made extra for our freezer. So, J had some of the soup and the big kids had some leftover pasta from the other night.


Monday: Pizza - original plan was homemade, but costco had a deal and I picked it up
Tuesday- Tacos
Wednesday- it's J's birthday so we're either going out or having his choice
Thursday- Veggie night again! Potatoes/salad/or whatever veggies
Friday- Beef gravy over mashed potatoes & green beans
Saturday- Pork and yakisoba noodles w/ veggies
Sunday- SUPERBOWL and we're having turkey and lots of other apps(no special premade)

I will go to the store on Wednesday to hit the sale so I can stock up on a few items. Otherwise, I am determined to make all appetizers for Sunday with what we have on hand. We'll have meatballs, veggies(will need to pick these up), these neat little chicken tortilla roll-ups that I found a recipe for in one of the inserts, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and whatever else we can come up with. We usually don't have people over, but I may invite some random person over that we've have met a couple of times. J and I need to start mingling with the locals and this is a good opportunity.

J and I would like to go out more, but it's a bit difficult when we've got the four kids and we don't know anyone. So, if anyone knows any local babysitters that are willing to watch a houseful - send them my way!
I will update more later, and post the recipe for the roll-ups. Have a wonderful day!