Menu Planning Monday

This week's menu includes cereal bars and fruit salad (mangos, pineapple, grapefruit, kiwi) for breakfast. Lunch will be sandwiches and fruit salad.
This week is unusually very busy in the evening. So I have several convenient foods planned.

Monday- Beef Fajitas (Sam's find- very yummy- just adding green peppers and onions)
Tuesday- Pizza (frozen)
Wednesday- Eat at Preschool End of Year program
Thursday- The one night home!! Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillets
Vege, Rice
Friday- Corndogs and tater tots and raw veggies
Saturday- Beef Stroganoff
Sunday- Eat at church for lunch
Creamy Crock-Pot chicken for dinner

Gratituesday

I seem to always be a day behind in my postings. This week we have taken some time to enjoy some sunshine and the warmer weather. The freedom of being outside and not in pounds of layers is a welcome and refreshing part of the season. The kids are having fun in their imaginative play. They are, for the most part, enjoying one another. I am forever grateful for two kids that are healthy and physically and mentally able to play together.
This past week brought a reminder to darling husband and I that the little lives we have been entrusted with here, ultimately belong to God. A local family's three year old drowned in a pond as he was riding his bike. With a pond in our backyard and a three year old of our own, that situation became very real for us. As much as we love our kids, God loves them far greater! It is difficult to fathom that kind of love. I am thankful that God does love my two sweet blessings that much and loves me that much as well. I celebrate my kids and their joy in the spring's wonderful weather.

Menu Planning Monday

Okay, so I create menus but don't strictly adhere to them. Life happens and on to the next week-

This week breakfasts and lunches are pretty standard stuff- frozen waffles, sandwiches and chips - nothing really new there.

Monday- Dana is gone to an Elders' meeting -
Spinach Enchiladas
Cheese Quesadillas

Tuesday- Ham and Potato Casserole

Wednesday- Dinner at church

Thursday- Chicken Fajitas

Friday- Shrimp and Grits

Saturday- Homemade Pizza

Sunday- In LaGrange

Spinach and Cheese Enchiladas
(I will halve this recipe using the leftover spinach from another weekend meal)
8 tortillas
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1Tbls diced garlic (I use minced garlic from a jar)
2 Tbls butter
1/2 onion
1 tomato, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar/jack cheese
3 Tbls vege oil
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 tsp Hot sauce
2 tsp flour
1 cup water
1 tsp garlic salt

For sauce, combine oil, taco seasoning, hot sauce, flour, water, and garlic salt in pan on stove. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In small pan on stove, warm butter over medium heat. Add spinach, garlic, and onions. Stir until warmed through. Remove from heat and add tomatoes. Gently warm tortillas. Using 1 cup cheese, and all spinach mixture, place small handfuls of each in cener of each tortilla, roll up and place in pan , seam side down. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Ladle on enough sauce to cover, then add remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with remaining sauce on side.

Menu Planning Monday

Okay, today is Tuesday but with the crazy weekend and MOPS this week, I am running a bit behind. But I must say this week is going to be pretty easy.

DH is not home two nights this week for dinner and not home for at least two lunches. Wednesday night normally has us at church for dinner, but this week, preschool is having a BBQ fundraiser Wednesday so I am picking up the plates earlier in the afternoon and the kids and I will eat before heading to church for the activities. Friday night is Mommies' Nite Out with MOPS so the family will eat leftovers and I will take a dish for that. What with all the food from the weekend, most of the meals are already made- just a reheat and add a fresh vege. So here is this week's crazy (luckily not often) menu:

Breakfasts- cereal, frozen waffles and fruit
Lunches- sandwiches and crackers, fruit
Monday- leftover potpie and ham, twice baked potatoes, and veges
Tuesday- Upside down dinner (waffles - probably frozen)
Wednesdsy- BBQ from preschool
Thursday- fish sticks and popcorn shrimp
Friday- leftovers
Saturday- pizza
Sunday- Crockpot chicken

I won a neat little book from 24/7Moms.com. It is 70 Meals and 1 Trip to the Store.
I am going to try to use some of those recipes in the coming weeks.

Gratituesday

Sometimes the end of the day results in this Mommy feeling very frustrated and so tired as I listen to two preschoolers argue over who has the blue crayon or who wrote on someone's masterpiece. I wonder what am I doing wrong? What do I need to do to have a peaceful and enjoyable afternoon with two loving and compassionate children? Then there are those few days where I listen to them playing together in some imaginary and creative play, giggling and just being sweet. When I stop and be still and really think things through I realize that I do have two sweet, loving and compassionate kids! But they are learning how to get along with others who have different ideas or ways of doing things. With one being boy and the other girl they do think about things differently. They are also a lot like me. When I am tired from the day's activities, I get impatient and simply grumpy. But I am older and have learned some self-control over those emotions. They are simply little people trying to figure all of that out. They are also like me in that often my way seems to be the best and the only way and become very irritated when others don't see things my way. In short, we are all not perfect- selfishness, pride, lack of self-control often shove out the gentleness, patience, joy, contentment, and love we really want for ourselves and for ourselves. So today, I am thankful for two children who are truly gifts from God. And even with their grumpiness and fussiness, they are mine to guide and help prepare for this imperfect life and the perfect life with God.

Menu Planning Monday

I like the idea of being organized. With 2 preschoolers, a busy husband and my own busy to do lists, organization is far from the word to describe my household or my life. However, when it comes to meals, organization is crucial to making it through a difficult time of the day. It also helps save a little money. If dinner is planned, then fastfood is not going to be an option.
I have planned menus for many years, but in my first personal blog I will share my menu for this week. I do grant myself a little grace in allowing menus to be substituted or rearranged a bit. With erratic work schedules, a erratic moods, behaviors and needs of the two kids and my own unforeseen issues to deal with, I need all the grace I can get. So I try to keep some fast emergency meal ideas with ingredients on hand.
If you are stopping in for a peek at my menu, please know that my choices are mommy and kid friendly. Ease and yumminess for all is my motto. There are a ton of other links at orgjunkie.com for more menus plans. Take a peek there,too.Enjoy!!

All breakfasts consist of cereal bars, cereal, grapefruit or apples,frozen waffles or toast sticks. Juice, chocolate milk, coffee.
All lunches consist of deli meat sandwiches (may use sandwich maker to make it hot, pretzels or chips, fruit and cookie and tea or water.

Monday:
Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie
Salad
Easter Egg Cupcakes (made from cake mix and put in Easter Egg mini cake pan- kids decorate with sprinkles after frosted)

Tuesday: Smoked Sausage Bake
Vege
Cornbread

Wednesday:
Eat at Church building

Thursday: Monterey Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Vege

Friday:
Leftovers
Resurrection Buns

Saturday:
Leftovers
Resurrection Cookies

Sunday:
Lunch:
Ham,
Twice Baked Potatoes
Deviled Eggs
Veges
Mayonaise Rolls
Carrot Cake

Recipes:
Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 deep dish pie crust form the freezer section
1 package (4 breasts) boneless, skinless chicken, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup milk
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place cubed, cooked chicken in pot pie crusts
pour veggies over chicken, 1/2 bag in each crust
In separate bowl, mix soup, sour cream and milk. Pour over meat and veggies
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake at 375 for one hour, or until cheese forms top crust and is melted and slightly golden.

Smoked Sausage Bake
smoked sausage, cook up
quartered potatoes
chopped onion
red, yellow, green peppers, sliced
parsley and olive oil

Combine all in a dish. Cover and bake at 400 until potatoes are tender.

Monterey Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
4-6 T BBQ Sauce
4-6 slices bacon
grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken in glass dish. Top each with 1 T BBQ sauce and 1 slice baon. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Top with cheeses and bake additional 10 minutes.

Resurrection Buns

Resurrection Cookies

Mayonaise Rolls

1 c self-rising flour
2 T sugar
Mix
1 cup milk
2 T mayo
Add to dry ingredients and mix.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.