Menu Plan Monday...

Well, last week did not go as planned. On Tuesday, I had just got Lucas up from his nap and was coming down the stairs carrying him. I thought I was at the bottom step, but wasn't and fell. I was able to catch myself enough to keep Lucas from getting hurt, but I hit my knee on the floor (leaving a nice bruise) and somehow twisted my ankle. I ended up at the ER because it hurt worse than any sprain I have ever had. They did x-rays and nothing was broken, but I've been limping around (I have a follow up appt. today at 4 PM). So, my husband helped out more with dinner (he made a huge pan of mac and cheese for lunch and then helped make a meatloaf to go with that for dinner) and we had leftovers and easier things (like hot dogs, etc...). So, I didn't get to some of my meals, but I still mostly changed my meals for the week to the ones that I had planned already.

On top of all that....I was behind on laundry before I hurt my ankle. However, we live in a 3 level townhome with the laundry room on the bottom floor and all bedrooms on the top level (where 99.9% of the dirty laundry accumulates). So, I was not able to move laundry up and down and I really didn't want to mess with it any way. I say I was behind on laundry....I had been washing it, and hanging the hanging clothes, but not folding the folding clothes. So, this weekend hubby helped me get caught up. He is more than happy to transfer everything over, but I do all the folding (mostly because I am picky). I sat on the couch and folded laundry for 2 HOURS!! I wonder how many calories you burn folding laundry....LOL!!

Also, we are still doing well with our October challenge of not eating out. Our month is almost over!! Logan announced almost daily that our month WAS over....he was not happy about the no eating out thing. Check back next week to see what we spent on eating out in Sept. vs. eating out in October!!! I haven't added it up yet, so I am anxious to see our savings!!

So...on to this week's menu!!

• Monday--Greek lemon chicken soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

• Tuesday--beef noodle casserole, salad, green beans

• Wednesday--pork roast, mashed potatoes, steamed Normandy veggies, old fashioned oatmeal bread

• Thursday--beef broccoli stir fry, Jasmine rice, egg rolls

• Friday--(husband's birthday)--Italian cheese balls, green bean casserole, salad, 3 layer raisin pie --->this is his favorite meal!! (I got the recipe for the cheese balls and pie from his mom!) Scroll down for recipes
  

• Saturday--(my birthday)--I'm planning leftovers, but hubby says we aren't having leftovers for my birthday--->truthfully, I don't mind

• Sunday--leftovers

• breakfasts: oatmeal, pancakes, cold cereal, or breakfast sandwiches

• lunches: hot dogs, mac and cheese, soup, ham and cheese sandwiches, or pb&j sandwiches
  

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Italian Cheese Balls

1 c. fine bread crumbs
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts (these should be very fine..almost like bread crumbs)
4-5 eggs, beaten
1 med. onion very finely chopped
1 clove garlic very finely chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. sage
1 t. thyme
1 t. pepper
1/2 c. oil

Combine all ingredients except oil, mixing well. Form into small balls and lightly brown in oil only enough to set balls. Put in baking dish.

Sauce:
Spaghetti sauce or
mushroom sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup (perhaps cream of celery)
1/2 c. water
veg. bouillon cube
1 c. sour cream

Dissolve bouillon cube in 1/2 cup water. Add to soup and sour cream. Mix well.

Place sauce and 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese over balls and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

I usually double this recipe as we really like these and love having left overs!!


***These can be pretty labor-intensive, but I buy shredded cheese and get my walnut meal at Trader Joe's. It makes the process a lot faster!!


3 Layer Raisin Pie
(I have to say I am not a big fan of this pie...I prefer chocolate, but my husband and his family love it)

1 c. raisins, chopped
2/3 c. sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 c. water
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1 T. butter
1 c. sour cream
1 baked pie crust

Combine: sugar, raisins, egg yolks, and water in sauce pan. Cook over med. heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Continue boiling and stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and butter and sour cream. Chill.

Beat: 4 oz. cream cheese and 1/3 c. powdered sugar

Beat: 1 c. whipping cream

Mix: Whipping cream and cream cheese mixture together.

Cover bottom of pie crust with half of cream mixture. Cover with raisin mixture and them top with the rest of the cream mixture. Refrigerate.


Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
Pampered Chef
“It’s good for you” cookbook

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped onion
1-2 lemons
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 cans (14.5 oz each) Chicken Broth
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked white rice

Lightly spray 4qt. pot with cooking spray. Heat pot over medium heat and add carrots, onion and garlic. Cook and stir 2 min. Stir in chicken, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ¼ cup lemon juice, soup, chicken broth and black pepper. Bring to a boil and stir in rice; reduce heat. Cover; simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley just before serving.

Menu Plan Monday....

We tried two new recipes last week, pan seared red snapper and rice pilaf with pine nuts. They went very well together. The sauce on the fish was very strong (it was still very good, I just needed a bite of rice with it and it was perfect). If we have it again, I would probably cut down on the vinegar a bit. The rice was really, really good. Logan isn't a big rice fan, but loved it as long as I took the pine nuts out (he doesn't like nuts or seeds).

I went to watch a friend's daughter play softball one night last week and didn't cook the meal planned. We all just ate various things that we had at home, so one meal is carried over to this week.

I typically bake banana nut bread each week. Last week I bought a bag of ripe bananas and made 4 loaves. I need to wrap some and get them in the freezer. I still have bananas to use so I will likely make more banana nut bread and put it in the freezer.


On to this week (which happens to include lots of green beans.....our favorite veggie!).....

*=new recipe

Monday-- My husband's birthday, so I am making a favorite (got the recipe from my MIL)!! -- Italian cheese balls, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, berry pie (he doesn't like cake all that much)

Tuesday-- My birthday and I'm not cooking!!-- leftovers

Wednesday-- baked chicken, baked sweet potatoes, green beans, frozen banana salad*

Thursday-- steak* burritos (just using the recipe for the meat)

Friday--chicken strips, mashed potatoes, Syrian green beans (We love these!! I omit the cilantro.)

Saturday-- jambalaya*

Sunday-- Asian tuna patties*, sesame noodles, steamed broccoli

I'm going to attempt homemade granola bars this week, too.

Breakfast, lunch, and snack choices pretty much stay the same each week.

Breakfast choices :
--eggs, sausage, toast with jam
--cold cereal
--cereal bar, yogurt, cup of fruit
--oatmeal
--banana nut bread with or without peanut butter

Lunch choices this week:

--hot dogs, chips and fruit
--sandwiches, fruit
--macaroni and cheese, fruit
--grilled cheese and tomato soup
--leftover bean soup

Snacks:
--hummus and pita chips
--fresh fruit or dried fruit
--nuts
--goldfish crackers
--banana nut bread with or without peanut butter
--graham crackers and applesauce
--graham crackers, almond butter, choc. covered raisins

Treats:
--Halloween candy
--leftover pie and ice cream


Head on over to Laura's for more menus!

Homeschooling--Lesson #4

Lesson number 4 was A--apple.

We made some crafts:




We read the story in this book called "A New House" and Logan drew a picture of the worms new house.


This is the worms bedroom (he is sleeping on his bed):



We read lots of books (here are some of them):





We did workbook pages (I'll post the previous weeks below because I finally took pictures of it all):





And we baked apple cream cookies (we aren't big apple pie fans...especially not the boys). They were super yummy!!


Apple Cream Pennies

Cookies:
2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar (I used light)
½ cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cups granulated sugar
¼ cups apple butter

• Preheat oven to 300°.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
• Blend sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Add the flour mixture and blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Shape dough into marble-sized balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake 10-11 minutes. Do not brown. Transfer cookies to a cool, flat surface with a spatula.
• Prepare the filling:
• Blend cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add apple butter and beat until filling is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• With a small knife spread 1 teaspoon of apple cream on the bottom half of a cooled cookie and top with another cookie to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.

Yields about 6 dozen cookies.


Here are the workbook pages from the previous lessons.

Lesson 1--S:


Lesson 2--M:
In the above picture for the letter "s", he drew a spoon and a snake, in case you can't tell!



Lesson 3--L:

Menu Plan Monday--Christmas Edition

We have finished all of our wrapping and stocking stuffing, so we won't be rushing around to get that done!! YAY!! Bad parents that we are, we've never done the whole Santa thing with our boys. This year Logan is just starting to catch on. He knows that Santa is a guy who gives gifts to everyone (said he saw that on Polar Express). Recently while we were out and someone asked him what he asked Santa for, he told them Santa never brings him anything...LOL!! So, here is my dilemma....do I start the Santa thing with him now...at 5 years old, or do I just let it slide?? I thought about doing it this year with the gifts I hadn't wrapped yet, but then I realized that Logan was with me when I bought Lucas the Pat Pat Rocket. So, I guess if I want to do Santa next year I will have to think ahead. Gee....I never realized this whole Santa thing took so much planning ahead!!

• Monday--leftovers---->making sugar cookies and other various goodies today!!

• Tuesday--Merry Christmas!!--Italian cheese balls, green bean casserole, turkey breast*, cranberry sauce, salad, rolls, and we might just have to try this pie!!
  

*-- I use a boneless turkey breast roast. Ball up some foil and place in bottom of cooker. Pour one cup chicken broth in. Rub turkey breast with olive oil, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and place on top of foil. Cook on high for 3 hours or until 170° F. I used my meat thermometer to make sure I didn't overcook it.

• Wednesday--leftovers

• Thursday--pecan chicken, brown rice, steamed veggies

• Friday--turkey sandwiches, tater tots, salad

Breakfasts:

• cold cereal
• oatmeal
• breakfast sandwiches
• toast with jam

Lunches:

• pb and j sandwiches
• kale salad
• pasta
• chicken salad on whole wheat tortilla
• hot dog

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!! Here are the pictures of my boys that I included with my Christmas cards....





For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday...

Last week we tried five new recipes and we liked them all. The falafel will certainly be something we have often....we LOVED it! Matter of fact, I'm planning it into this week! The recipe says to use a blender on the onion and parsley, but my blender isn't that great and wasn't chopping it up. I switched it into my mini chopper and it worked great. I had planned on baking them, but ran short on time and fried them to save time. The recipe says to make 8 balls, but I had trouble with them falling apart when they were that large. I made some smaller ones and it worked out great.

The sesame noodles were very tasty! Even my 7 year old ate them up!

The fideo was very yummy, but I had to make a few adjustments. I didn't read at the top that you can "use less water for a drier pasta" until it was too late. It was more like a soup, so I drained most of the liquid off and added in a can of tomato paste. It stated above the recipe that you could add tomato sauce, but it was already so liquidy, so I thought the paste would be perfect and I was right!

We also tried the pumpkin pie oatmeal. I don't have individual-sized ramekins, so I just used an oval Cornigware dish and it worked out. My 3.5 year old loves oatmeal and my 7 year old tolerates it, so I thought it was something we could all eat. My boys did eat it, but neither of them really loved it. My husband and I thought it was rather tasty, though!

I also made the strawberry bread. YUM! I just finished it up late Sunday night, so the boys haven't tried it. I think they will love it!

We have had the butternut squash/sausage pasta lots of times, but last week we tried it with sweet potato instead. It was very good!


On to this week.....

*=new recipe

Monday--falafel sandwiches on chapati bread (I have chapati flour. All I have to do is add flour, knead, wait 10 minutes then roll them out and heat them on a hot cast iron skillet. YUM!)

Tuesday-- Bacon Cheeseburger Wellingtons and baked sweet potato fries

Wednesday--chipotle lime turkey breast burritos

Thursday-- pulled pork sandwiches* and baked beans

Friday-- oven baked chicken breast, baked sweet potatoes, and green beans

Saturday-- pan seared red snapper*, rice pilaf with pine nuts*, and carrots

Sunday--honey balsamic chicken, homemade spaetzle, steamed broccoli

Breakfast choices:
--eggs, sausage, toast with jam
--cold cereal
--cereal bar, yogurt, cup of fruit
--oatmeal
--strawberry bread with or without peanut butter
--banana nut bread with or without peanut butter

Lunch choices (never anything exciting):
--hot dogs, chips and fruit
--sandwiches, carrots and dip, fruit
--cheese quesadilla, chips, salsa
--macaroni and cheese and fruit
--grilled cheese and tomato soup

Snacks:
--hummus and pita chips
--strawberry bread with or without peanut butter
--banana nut bread with or without peanut butter
--graham crackers and applesauce
--graham crackers, almond butter, choc. covered raisins

Treats:
--rice crispy treats (didn't make these last week)
--ice cream

Head on over to Laura's for more menus!