Sunday, January 22, 2012

Menu Plan for 1/21/12 to 2/17/12

Here are my supper menus for the next few weeks.  I'm going to try to keep track of what we thought of the new recipes.

Sat, 1/21:  Taco Macaroni Skillet (new recipe found via Pinterest) Well, since this was on the menu yesterday, I've already made it so I know how it went over...the kids thought it was okay but no rave reviews from them.  I liked it, though.  Plus it made a lot, and was cheap.  This is definitely one to keep and try again, and as the kids get older, make them eat, HA!  I also made a loaf of this Applesauce Bread and the kids LOVED that...I needed to use up some leftover homemade applesauce that we opened...interestingly enough, the kids don't really like that too much.  Maybe its the texture?  I don't know.  They like the store bought stuff, but the homemade applesauce we made and canned they are very "eh" over.
Sun, 1/22:  We usually have our big meal for lunch on Sundays, either with one set of parents or go out with church friends...this week, everyone is busy, including John, so the kids and I will probably grab McDonalds on the way home.  They'll be very happy with that!
Mon, 1/23:  Sweet Pork Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw  Excited about this one...love it.
Tues, 1/24:  Homemade Pizza
Wed, 1/25:  Chicken Roll-Ups (new recipe) Been wanting to try this one for awhile...we'll see if its any good.
Thurs, 1/26:  Tostadas
Fri, 1/27:  Leftovers...going to my oldest nephew's birthday party, too.
Sat, 1/28:  Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (new recipe found on Pinterest)
Sun, 1/29:  Sunday Dinner with parents
Mon, 1/30:  Spaghetti (I may make up a batch of meatballs and put the extras in the freezer, we'll see)
Tues, 1/31:  Chicken and Rice
Wed, 2/1:  Sloppy Joes
Thurs, 2/2:  Leftovers
Fri, 2/3:  Pizza
Sat, 2/4:  Baked Potato Soup What I make is similar to this one...all recipes for this are basically the same.  Somewhere I read a recipe that called for a package of white gravy mix, and since I have that in bulk in my pantry, I usually stir in a 1/4 cup or so...I think it does add a nice flavor and body to the soup.
Sun, 2/5:  Sunday Dinner with parents...my family may want to celebrate John's birthday
Mon, 2/6:  Salisbury Steak...this is a recipe my husband affectionately nicknamed "Meat Muffins" many years ago...teasing me for making mini meatloaves in a muffin tin.  However, it wasn't even this recipe I made, but the name stuck.  I'll try to find a similar recipe or post it when I make it.
Tues, 2/7:  Chicken Tortilla Soup (from the freezer)...this was a combination of recipes from allrecipes.com...the kids loved it; hoping they will love it again!
Wed, 2/8:  Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches  Okay, I've been hearing a lot about this recipe for awhile now, and my mom made them on Christmas.  Yes, they ARE really good.  I liked them a lot, but I don't think anyone else in my family tried them.  I'm curious to see what both John and the kids will think, as they can be unpredictable in their food likes/dislikes.
Thurs, 2/9:  Leftovers
Fri, 2/10:  Ritz Chicken with Cream Sauce (new recipe found via Pinterest)
Sat, 2/11:  John's Birthday!!  We've already been invited to a church friend's birthday party, too...plus, John will probably be working anyway.  We'll most likely be celebrating his birthday on one of his nights off this week. Oh, and its Papa John's $6 Customer Appreciation Day, too, so that takes care of supper.
Sun, 2/12:  Sunday Dinner with parents
Mon, 2/13:  Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken We like this one, however, I've made a couple of modifications...I put 8 oz of velveeta instead of the cheddar soup (usually have it on hand plus its cheaper), and a package of dry italian dressing mix...gives it a nice kick.
Tues, 2/14:  Spaghetti
Wed, 2/15:  Hamburger Helper
Thurs, 2/16:  We're hosting our small group this month and we've decided to have Mexican food...don't really know any other details yet, but you know it will be good...I just can't send people away hungry!
Fri, 2/17:  Leftovers

Whew, that's a lot of menu planning for me!  This is just a guide, too...I will most likely NOT have all of this, especially on the exact nights, but its great to always have a plan, right?

The kids and I have started working on some daily routines.  We've come up with a simple morning routine first.  I'm planning on posting some of that soon...maybe the beginning of the week?

Saturday, January 21, 2012

So what is this thing? Oh, yeah, a BLOG...

Before I start, here's something funny I was thinking about the other day.  Here's what my frazzled, scattered brain thought:  "It sure would be neat if I could record all the day to day things we do...you know, what the kids did, if we went anywhere special, new recipes or activities we tried, just our day to day happenings.  And it would be super cool if I could share it with people, you know, kind of like facebook but not quite so "out there", make people work a little to read it."   Well, duh, Melissa...you do have a blog.  Isn't that what a blog is?  Why, yes, it is!  So, I say ALL that to say, I've decided to share a little more of our life in this blog, more as a record for myself than anyone else, but I have been told by more than a few people that our life is quite entertaining, so perhaps someone else might find our day to day happenings interesting.  Maybe.  I don't know.

Last night I was going to go grocery shopping, which involved going to four different stores: Price Chopper, HyVee, Walmart, and Aldi.  I only got to Price Chopper.  They have a great sale going on right now on chicken, whole chickens or thighs and drumsticks for 69 cents a pound.  That's a pretty good deal.  And you can cook both of those for meals, chicken meat, stock, etc...lots of versatility.  So I really wanted to get some chicken.  I did.  But I didn't get anywhere else.  I had dropped Emma, Jessa, and Luke off at church for Parent's Night Out, which is a blessed event, went to the store, then headed home.  The plan was for John and I to go out to eat somewhere before picking up the kids.  Well, we couldn't decide where to go, so we ended up ordering from Applebee's and picking it up there and eating at home.  So that's what we did, while watching "That Thing You Do" on Netflix.  What a Friday night.  Back to the food.  It was pretty good.  We don't eat there often, maybe once every 6 months, and I always get the same thing.  Oriental Chicken roll-up...kiwi lemonade...John usually gets the Santa Fe chicken salad.  We are both always reminded of our early married years when he worked at the "Crapplebee's" (as we affectionately call it!) in Joplin when we eat there.

I hope to get to the rest of the stores this week, maybe.  I find myself constantly going to the store.  And I don't really enjoy it that much anymore.  It's definitely easier to go by myself, and I haven't even attempted taking four children to the store.  I was thinking this morning that I probably could get to Sam's with four kids, because of their ginormo carts that hold 2 kids up top and the carseat in the basket.  Hmmm, we'll see.  But if I go there, I'll probably end up with a super-sized amount of junk I don't need.  I don't know.  Maybe someday.

Menu plan next, I promise.


Friday, January 20, 2012

A New Year, A New Start...whatever...

I'm back...

I think.

Wow, a lot has happened since I last blogged about, well, anything, and after looking through my posts I discovered something.  I miss blogging.  I miss planning meals and writing about it.  I liked doing it.  I found it to be fun.  Not that my life isn't fun, it is...but it is also many other things.  Crazy, chaotic, and loud.  And these days I have much less time to plan meals.  Why, you ask?  Oh, well, remember those "things" that have happened in my life since I last blogged?  Yeah, that's called...another KID!!!  Yep, 2011 was the year of pregnancy #4 and ended up in the birth of Remington Charles Brents, born on November 29, 2011.  Lucky, lucky me...and I mean it, for real...I AM so lucky, incredibly blessed, and thankful for my chaotic crazy noisy life.

But, there comes a time when you have to pull your head out of your...well, you know...and return to life.  To organized life.  To life with a plan.  So many areas of my life need a plan.  But for now, I've decided to start with a dinner plan.  SO I have planned out four weeks of dinners instead of just one, because I have a lot less time to sit and plan these days, its actually more like big chunks of time every so often to plan AND grocery shop.  So I'm going to give this a whirl and see if it works.

Okay, so that's it for now.  I do have the next 4 weeks of dinner meals planned out, and I would love to type them out, add links, pin all the pictures on Pinterest, but I need to write a grocery list right now.  So I'm off to do that, on good old fashioned PAPER with one of those archaic PENS, and I'll be back, with my menus, my links, and my pins.

Bye for now...