Menu Plan Monday

I'm tired. No fluff this week...just a menu!

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Cheese omelets

Dinner: Potato Soup

Tried and True Tuesday

Breakfast: Grits

Dinner: Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Work less on Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Pizza

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning)

Leftovers!

First Time Friday

Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Honey Syrup (repeat - got bumped AGAIN)

Dinner: Simple Chicken Cordon Bleu

Simple Saturday

Breakfast: Grits

Dinner: Tacos, refried beans

Slow Cooker Sunday

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Pork roast, carrots, mashed potatoes, green beans

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

A Riddle For You...

What's yellow, encased in glass, and juicy all over? Why, home-canned chicken, of course! So, you may think this looks pretty disgusting, but it is much more appetizing-looking in person. With the help of some friends, I had a go at some canning today. I'm much too tired to go into detail this evening, but another post at a later date with instructions and more pictures is a definite possibility.

While I was packing these jars and watching the pressure gauge today (for what seemed like several hours), I had lots of time to ponder. In particular, I was thinking of how wonderful it will be to use these gems some time in the future. It's like once-a-month-cooking (OAMC) without needing a freezer! The possibilities are limitless....chicken salad, chicken and rice, chicken soup, chicken casserole, [insert your own favorite chicken recipe here]...

Freebie Friday: FREE Holiday Countdown E-Course

I recently learned from the Orgjunkie that Cara from The Household Helper is offering a free e-course that will get us through the holidays with our sanity in tact! Given how organized I will (hopefully) be, I'm guessing it will save me some money, too. No last minute trips to the store or overlooked gifting. And, it's FREE. So, mosey on over to The Household Helper's Holiday Countdown and sign yourself up!

Backpacks 75% off at Target

I noticed backpacks are finally 75% off at Target today. This is a great deal, especially if you pick up a Jansport backpack since they carry a lifetime warranty. I know of at least two people who had a minor problem (such as a zipper break or a rip in the bag), and the company made good on it by sending them a replacement that was as good or better than the original item. Even if you are set for school, think of using them for emergency preparedness--every family member should have his or her own 72-hour kit! Safely Gathered In has a great series right now on 72-hour kits. They are in week 7 or so of the series, but it's never too late to jump in and get started.

Woot Are You Waiting For?...

It's another Woot-Off! A new item is available for sale as soon as the previous item sells out. Don't miss all the great deals. Check it out here.

If you don't know what Woot! is, click here.

Menu Plan Monday

I'll apologize from the start; I just had to do a follow-up on the French Toast Sticks (again) we first ate a couple of weeks ago. I prepared them last week without slicing the bread first and the whole process went a lot faster. The kids love them either way.

On to this week's menu, which includes a family favorite as suggested by Orgjunkie.com:

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Amish Friendship Bread (with a bit of chocolate pudding and peanut butter chips mixed in!)

Dinner: Real Mac and Cheese -- baked in the oven -- made with elbow macaroni, butter, grated cheddar, eggs and milk (our family favorite!...some day I'll measure while I cook at put together the recipe)

Tried and True Tuesday

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Chili

Work less on Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Lemon pepper salmon, baked potato, salad

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning)

Leftovers!

First Time Friday

Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Honey Syrup (repeat - got bumped last week)

Dinner: On my own...everyone has something to do....

Simple Saturday

Breakfast: Grits

Dinner: Chicken and Rice, green beans, rolls

Slow Cooker Sunday

Breakfast: French Toast Casserole

Dinner: Bachelor's Roast

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

My Target Haul

I have been working on my couponing skills the last several months, trying to stretch our dollars. I had an excellent day at Target, thanks to 75% off select school supplies and 18 (count 'em! 18!!!) peelies (coupons found on the shelf) I found in combination with clearance prices on Garnier Fructis styling products and shampoo/conditioner. Woohoo! This is what I got for a total of $31.73 (after coupons and clearance prices)--I should mention, the Yoplait Yogurt was consumed by a certain 4 year old before we even made it home. So, it's not pictured. The loot includes:

36 bottles of Garnier Fructis styling products, shampoo, and conditioner ($1.08 for each two bottle pack after coupons)
4 poly three-prong folders w/pockets (.07 each)
1 cute puppy 3-ring binder (oh how I wish they'd had 3...the little ones will fight over this for sure!) (.74)
3 small plastic school boxes (.17 each)
3 puppy and kitten folders (.12 each)
40 three-prong two-pocket portfolios (4 pks of 10 at .25/pk)
4 large plastic school boxes (.67 each)
10 70-page spiral notebooks (2 pks of 5 at .12 each)
1 Physician's Formula Bronzer/Eye Shadow/Liner ($2.74)
1 Yoplait Yogurt (.52)

I had an even better haul from Walgreens, but I was tired Saturday evening from two shopping trips and so many bags I couldn't lay it all out to take a photo! On those trips, my total before rebates and coupons was $84....I ended up paying $23 (once I receive the Easy Saver rebates in a few weeks).

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On a side note, I was driving our 6 year-old home from dance class today, listening to talk radio. The reporter kept mentioning McCain over and over. After a few minutes, "Charlie" hollered, "ALL THEY TALK ABOUT IS HURRICANES!" "No, sweetie," I replied, "they are talking about Mc-Cain....not hurricanes!" Although, both have been in the news a lot lately!

And, on a sad note, I had several other cute things the kiddos have said over the past several weeks that I have been saving, but as I went to download the sound files from my PDA (because I can't possibly remember them all), I discovered the mic is not working. All I hear is static! So, while I thought I had the 4 year-old's ("Delta") reaction to her first day of preschool on my handy dandy mobile recording device...alas, I have nothing! Thank goodness I made a couple of notes in my journal.

Isn't modern technology wonderful?....WHEN IT WORKS!

Menu Plan Monday & Three Recipe Reviews

I have been remiss in publishing the results of our new recipes that we try during the week. I'll try to catch up, beginning with the French Toast Sticks we intended to have for breakfast a couple of weeks ago (we had them for dinner instead). Mmm, mmm good! My only gripe: I had to make another batch of the egg mixture for the amount of bread suggested. And, I think I'll slice the bread after I cook it next time. Seems like this would cut down on the prep time.

As for the Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing...it didn't turn out as I had hoped. The stuffing turned to mush in the bottom of the crockpot and never recovered. It tasted like salty stuffing soup. My husband was mortified. I ate it anyway, because I can't stand to waste food. The chicken, however, was quite tasty, as it was very moist and fork-tender. I was told on more than one occasion that it was reminiscent of chicken pot pie chicken. Is there a difference between chicken pot pie chicken and chicken and stuffing chicken? I guess some people think so.

Finally, the last review for this post is on the Greek Penne and Pasta dish. The kids didn't care for it....I thought it was okay. A friend of mine was simply delighted when I delivered the rejects to her home.

On to this week's menu...

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Grilled Cheese, fries

Tried and True Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cheese Omelets with salsa

Dinner: Hamburger Stew

Work less on Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast, mandarin oranges

Dinner: Cheese ravioli or pasta with butter and Parmesan, salad

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning):

Leftovers!

First Time Friday:

Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Honey Syrup

Dinner: Favorite White Chicken Chili (from last week--it got bumped)

Simple Saturday:

Breakfast: Cheese Grits, Bacon

Dinner: Tacos, refried beans (do-over from last week...again!)

Slow Cooker Sunday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: BBQ riblets, green beans, slaw, garlic bread

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

WFMW: What To Do With ALL THOSE Coloring Pages!

My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to color. I didn't like throwing their creations in the trash, so I started saving their works of art in a binder. When it's time for thank you cards (such as following birthdays or play dates), I pull out a generic piece (i.e, one without "I Love You, Mom! or something similar) and allow them to choose which work of art to pass along to the thank you card recipient. All we have to do is have them sign their names and add a sentiment such as "Thank you for the birthday gift!"

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer!

Menu Plan Monday & Mr. Breakfast

School is in full swing. Our 15 year old, "Alpha," has resumed her piano lessons, and the 8 year old, "Beta," has joined the band. The 6 year old, "Charlie," is taking dance, and the 4 year old, "Delta," is also taking dance, though her class takes place at the preschool during the day. Thank goodness! I now find myself taking children to classes every day of the school week except Monday. Now, I LOVE Mondays! This makes menu planning even more critical to my week since hubby's schedule doesn't allow him to take on some of the burden.

Before moving on to the menu, I had to tell you about Mr. Breakfast. I've only just discovered his web site this evening, but I think I'll be visiting often. Check it out. As the name suggests, it's totally devoted to breakfast ideas!

On to this week's menu...

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Broccoli Cheese Soup

Tried and True Tuesday:

Breakfast: Eggs with salsa

Dinner: Sausage & Rice Casserole (scroll down for the recipe--it's at the bottom of the post)

Work less on Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Pizza, corn on the cob

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning):

Leftovers!

First Time Friday:

Breakfast: Spinach Quiche

Dinner: Favorite White Chicken Chili

Simple Saturday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Tacos, refried beans (do-over from last week)

Slow Cooker Sunday:

Breakfast: Cheese grits

Dinner: Crockpot Chicken BBQ, rolls, slaw, green beans

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

How Did I Do This Before?

I returned to work last week, though I never really left. Sort of. You may recall that I left a full-time job about four years ago to spend more time with my husband and children and start up a part-time resume writing business. And then, early this year, I stumbled on the perfect-for-me position in my field at one of my favorite places to find legitimate virtual opportunities, Work At Home Mom. With the youngest now in school for several hours each day a few days a week, it was a match made in heaven! But, MAN, am I exhausted! And I only worked for 10 hours last week and about 13 this week! Actually, I worked far more than that trying to get my systems/checks and balances in place. I did a lot of reading, too, learning about the company, the clients, and the policies and procedures. And more procedures. And more policies. On top of that, I shopped for a new computer since my dear Dell is on its last leg. How I'll miss her so. (We just can't stand to part ways permanently yet, so she'll have a special place in the house where the kids can easily access her until she croaks for good. If nothing else, I won't be competing with requests for coloring pages and pbskids.org when I need to get something done. How did we become a two-computer family? I never thought I'd see the day.)

This brings me to my thought that got me writing again this week...HOW DID I DO THIS BEFORE working three times as many hours in one week? I suppose we rise to meet the challenge, whatever it may be, and adjust ourselves accordingly. Lots of people ask me how I did it, working full-time (and then some!) with a hubby who worked nights and four children (three under the age of 5 at the time). Funny, since I look around and see families with 5, 6, or even more children, and some single parents, and ask myself (or their parents), HOW DO YOU DO IT? My burdens seem small compared to what I imagine theirs to be. It's all relative. And It's All the Same to the Clam.*

While I've REALLY missed the blogging this week, I can already see the silver lining in my working-class cloud: a few hours each day to do something I enjoy (I think of it as a hobby and a job since I relish what I'm doing so much) and an excuse for a new computer to boot (literally)!


*Note: I do not know the owner of the Etsy shop associated with the link above, but I do like the clam poem by Shel Silverstein she printed there. And now I don't have to type it for you to read. :)

Menu Plan Monday

I bought several pounds of peaches last week on sale and was planning to come home and can them. Having never canned fruit, jam, or anything like it before, I got out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. Within a few minutes I put it back on the shelf and decided "today isn't the day!" I know it's supposedly very easy, but I just didn't have the energy to try. So, I baked instead; and, boy, am I glad! I have a couple of peach recipes to share with you this week.

On to this week's menu...

Meaty Monday (we're cooking out, so Meatless Monday changes to Meaty Monday this week only!)

Breakfast: Peach Loaves--(pictured above) the kiddos couldn't stop eating!

Dinner: Hot dogs, fries, veggies and dip

Tried and True Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cheese grits

Dinner: Spaghetti, garlic toast

Work less on Wednesday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried fruit

Dinner: Easy Chicken Enchiladas (repeat from last week)

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning):

Leftovers!

First Time Friday:

Breakfast: French Toast Sticks (OAMC)

Dinner: Easy Lemon-Peppered Blackened Salmon, couscous, green beans

Simple Saturday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Tacos, refried beans

Slow Cooker Sunday:

Breakfast: Orange Julius (substituting powdered sugar for the granulated sugar is more yummy!)

Dinner: Crock Pot Chicken and Rice, roasted carrots, rolls, Peach Crisp

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

And the Winner is....

Thanks to those who visited and entered my first giveaway! The winner of the $10 Bath and Body Works gift card is....

CHRISTIAN AND JENNIFER

according to the Math Goodies Custom Random Number Generator. Christian and Jennifer, forward your address and we'll be in business!

Have a great Labor Day everyone. :)