Menu Plan for January 31- February 6

Breakfast:


Cereal and bananas

Chocolate Chip Muffins and yogurt

Pancakes w/ bacon

Scrambled eggs and toast

Oatmeal and bananas

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls and yogurt

Sausage Cheese Muffins (from the freezer)



Lunch:

Tacos w/ chips and salsa

Turkey and cheese sandwiches

Chicken noodle soup

Grilled Cheese

Leftovers



Supper:

Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy)

Chicken Spaghetti w/ tossed salad and garlic toast

Hamburgers w/ French fries

Oven Fried Chicken w/ mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls

Scalloped potatoes and ham w/ tossed salad

Chili w/ cheese toast

Extended Family Meal

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles

Dough:

2 ¾ cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 400. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and sift. In mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to mixer, and beat just until incorporated. Shape dough into balls and roll them in cinnamon-sugar topping. *If dough is to soft to form into balls, cover and refrigerate until firm. Grease cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. Yields: approximately 35 cookies

This post is linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Kids in the Kitchen

While I was babysitting my niece and nephew's last week we got in the baking mood.

A-girl was my little helper. She was really in to the whole domestic thing and had her apron on and everything!! :-)

E-dude liked to show off for the camera. He was our all-time best bowl "licker!"

We made these delicious Homemade Three Musketeer bars.

I think the kids agreed that they were YUMMY!!

The Weekend is here....

Well it is Friday everyone and I'm happy and ready for the weekend. Having Eric and my babies to myself for two whole days is the best thing ever. So while we are planning a fun, lazy weekend at home here is a glimpse at our week.

I made a yummy Chicken Alfredo dish and Olivia loved it!! We all love anything Italian (Spaghetti, Chicken Parmesan, Raviollis, etc) so I think cooking at least one Italian dish each week will become a new tradition for us.

I have to confess that while I might slave away on some meals, breakfast looks a lot like this...

I'm not a morning person so just making sure Olivia has a decent breakfast and coffee is brewed are my priorities :-)

Although I did make these yummy pancakes from PW's blog and they were delisious!! I think I will make the icing to go with them next time.

We have also had a few days of BEAUTIFUL weather this week, so I thought I would enjoy some sweet tea just to remind myself that summer is coming!!!

Since this post has turned into more of a foody theme I thought I would include little dude who also enjoys his food (aka: mommy's milk). He's not that little anymore and we have officially graduated to 3-6 month clothes. Fat and bald babies are the best!!!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

So how has your week been...

We have had a fun week around these parts! Last week we had a huge ice/sleet/snow storm that lasted for 2 days. This meant we would be stuck inside for several days so I decided to make the most of it all. Friday became wake up, take baths, put clean pajamas on, and watch movies day. :-) Eric worked at the office until the storm started to get worse around 2, then he came home to join us. We had just started another movie when the electricity started to blink. It finally went out for good at 4 so we loaded up and tracked down to my in-law's (they live right behind us) to enjoy their gas fireplace heat. The guys went outside to work on the generator (keeps the kitchen appliances going) and the kids and I played inside with Mawmaw and Mimi (great-grandma). Well wouldn't you know that just about the time they got the generator going and the lanterns burning, the lights came back on. They went off and on for several hours after that so we decided to stay the night just in case. We all cuddled up and watched movies, played the Wii, and read all weekend. Our church was cancelled Sunday and my sister-in-law and her kids (her hubby was away on business) came to join us that afternoon. We had a lot of fun despite the bad weather.

My week has been rather calm and slow. Monday I caught up on laundry and Tuesday Olivia stayed with my mom while Noah and I traveled with my husband. Eric has to make a three hour drive bi-weekly to a job site they are working on and I decided to go with him this week. After his meeting we ate lunch at Red Lobster *YUMMY* and did a little shopping at Sam's and Target. The closest Target for us is 45 minutes away so I like to shop there when I get the chance. I purchased my sisters birthday present and then browsed around in the baby clothes. We also bought the Up and Up (Target brand) diapers to try out. I have heard they are comparable to Huggies so I thought we would give them a whirl. Has anyone else tried these and liked them?? I haven't opened them yet, but I will let you know what I think about them soon.

It is cold and rainy here today and we are just trying to keep warm. I went grocery shopping with Noah this morning while Olivia went to her great-grandma's and played with her cousin Jackson. He is 4 years old but they get along great. We are also going to eat supper at my parents tonight so I made so No Bake Cookies for dessert. I love to cook desserts when I know it will be leaving my house. I have a sweet tooth and can't keep that stuff in the house for very long. And speaking of recipes, I made this Striped Delight last week for some friends we had over and it was a big hit!! I found the recipe on Darby's blog along with this Egg Salad recipe I made for lunch yesterday (scroll to the bottom for the recipe). Her pictures are the bomb! :-)

Well I'm off to fold laundry, pour me a Diet Coke (another love of mine), and cuddle with my babies. I would love to hear your comments. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

No Bake Cookies

No Bake Cookies

1 stick of butter
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk

Bring all of the above ingredience to a boil and let boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and add

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup quick oats

Mix together and drop individual cookies onto wax paper. Let cool and enjoy!!

This post is linked to:

• 
  
   Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
  
  
  
• 
  
  Tasty Tuesday
  
  
  

Texas Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake:

1 cup butter

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs, beaten

In a saucepan bring water. cocoa, and butter to a boil. Pour into bowl. Add sugar, flour, and soda. Mix well. Add eggs and sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Pour in to greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Top with frosting.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

6 Tbsp. milk

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan bring butter, milk, and cocoa just to a boil. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, mix well. Add vanilla and beat until it is a good spreading consistency. Icing cake while it is warm. Sprinkle on some nuts or dust with powdered sugar. (optional)

Enjoy!!!

Baking Day 2

Here is what I accomplished in my baking today.
Sausage Cheese Muffins baked and ready to be put in bags for the freezer.

Two pounds of turkey sausage (for the muffins) and four pounds of ground round browning on the stove. I picked up the beef today at Kroger's for $1.63 #!!!

Ground Round in bags for the freezer.

I also made a pot of chicken noodle soup for our supper tonight. What we don't eat I will freeze for another meal. I also made cornbread muffins and plan to freeze the leftovers.

Hope your baking went as well as mine. Check out MoneySavingMom for more bloggers who have been baking!! :-)

Baking Day: Day 1

I decided to join up with Crystal over at MoneySavingMom and have a Baking Day. I had some cleaning to do this morning so really it has been a baking afternoon. Here is what I have accomplished today.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread


Waffles (for the freezer)

5 lbs of split chicken breast (cooked, de-boned and separated into freezer bags for meals)


Tomorrow is my errand running/grocery shopping day, but I plan to do all that in the morning and be back tomorrow afternoon for Day 2 of my baking.

Here is what I plan to make tomorrow:

Breakfast Muffins

Sausage Cheese Muffins

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Cornbread Muffins (These will be for our supper tomorrow night and I will freeze the leftovers)

Ground Beef (cooked and frozen)

Cabbage and Veggie Medley

This is a recipe that my mom made up several years ago. We really enjoy this dish with main dishes like: hamburgers, beans and cornbread, or baked chicken.

Cabbage and Veggie Medley

1 head of cabbage, chopped

3-4 carrots, sliced into thin strips

2 cups frozen corn

2 cups frozen or fresh broccoli florets

any other veggie you would like to add in

salt and pepper

4 Tbsp butter (melted) or olive oil

Toss all of your veggies together and place in a greased 9x13 glass dish. Salt and pepper to taste then pour butter or olive oil over the top and cover with foil. Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 1 hour. Pull out and stir after cooking 30 minutes then resume baking.

For more In Season recipes visit Tammy'sRecipes.com

Jewish Apple Cake

Jewish Apple Cake:

3 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup orange juice

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tsp. baking powder

Combine these ingredients and mix. Set aside. In another bowl mix the following:

3-4 medium apples peeled and sliced thin

2 tsp.cinnamon

3 Tbsp. sugar

Grease and flour bundt cake pan. Layer beginning with batter then apples, batter then apples, and ending with batter. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours.

For more recipes with apples go to Tammy's Recipes.com

15+ Meal Ideas for Menu Planning

The Happy Housewife is hosting Menu Planning 101 at her blog this month. Her first challenge was to come up with your top 15 meals that your family enjoys. I missed being able to link up to that post so I decided to show you what I do when coming up with meal ideas.

I recently compiled all of our favorite meals to one list and printed it for my Home Management Binder. I also like to use the websites like allrecipes.com and recipezaar.com when I'm needing to use certain ingredients for a meal. Here is my meal ideas master list.

Tacos

Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Fajitas (chicken, beef or mixed)

Nachos (chicken or beef)

Poppy Seed Chicken
Taco salads

Pineapple Chicken
Enchiladas (chicken or cheese)

Creamy Chicken Noodle
Mexican Chicken

Fish Sticks/Fillets
Mexican Spaghetti

Shrimp
Chow Mein

Red beans and Rice w/ Polish Sausage
Fried Rice

Chicken Noodle Soup

Loaded Baked Potato

Vegetable Beef Soup

Tuna/Salmon Patties
Cheesy Potato Soup

Crock pot Chicken w/ Honey Mustard Sauce

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Beef Stew

Chicken and Rice
Chili

Chicken and Dressing
Spaghetti

Grilled Chicken Breast
Lasagna

Breaded Chicken Tenders
Parmesan Chicken

Chicken Nuggets
Pizza

Meatloaf
Chicken Alfredo

Ravioli (cheese or beef)
Chicken Tetrazzini

Sloppy Joes
Salisbury Steaks

Cube Steak
Steak

Beef BBQ
Hamburgers

Brisket
Roast

Ribs
Baked Ham

Turkey Roast
Pork Tenderloin

Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie
Sub Sandwiches

Breakfast/Waffles/Pancakes
Beans and Cornbread

Beef Stroganoff
Grilled Chicken Salad

BBQ Chicken
BBQ Pork

Chicken and Dumplings

Oven Fried Chicken

This post is linked to:

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Tackle It Tuesday

Pineapple Chicken

Here is the recipe and photos I promised earlier this week in my meal plan. We had this dish last night and it was delicious!! Hope you try this yourself and enjoy it as much as we did.

Pineapple Chicken:

First you take 3-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast and pan fry them in olive oil. I battered mine with flour, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium heat till both sides are browned. I think I did 5-7 minutes per side. Next prepare your sauce. Mix together 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used the low sodium kind) and the juice off a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple in heavy syrup.

Place chicken in whatever size pan will hold the amount of chicken you use. Pour sauce over the top and cover with foil. Then place this in a pre-heated 350 oven for 45 minutes.



Remove from oven, take off the foil, and cover chicken with crushed pineapple. Bake for an additional 15 minutes without the foil.

We served ours with brown rice and steamed broccoli!!

And these were the only leftovers :-)

URS: Creamy Chicken Noodle

My speedy recipe this week is Creamy Chicken Noodle.

4 cups egg noodles, boiled and drained

2 cups chopped chicken breast

1 can cream of chicken soup

3-4 slices of American cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook your egg noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain then return to pan. Add chicken, soup, and cheese and heat on low till cheese is melted and everything is good and warm. You could also add some cooked peas and/or carrots to this dish but we prefer ours to the side. This is a quick and yummy dish that my family enjoys!!

Recipe: Taco Grande

Taco Grande

1 pound hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
12 oz. salsa
(8) 6-inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterrey jack cheese
1 green onion, sliced
lettuce
tomato
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9×9 (or similar-sized) baking dish with cooking spray. A round dish makes for very pretty presentation!
Brown hamburger. Drain.
Add taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup salsa.
Arrange 4 tortillas in the bottom and up the sides of the baking dish. (Tortillas will overlap on bottom but not all of the sides need to be covered.)
Spoon meat mixture evenly over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese and 1/2 of the onion.
Top with remaining 4 tortillas, overlapping slightly to create a scalloped edge effect. Press tortillas down over filling.
Spread remaining salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onion.
Bake 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream.

For pictures of this dish check out this post at The Finer Things In Life.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

2 bunches of broccoli tops, cut into pieces (I even like mine with some of the stem left)

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 red onion, diced

1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (or you can use real bacon bits from a jar)

1/2- 1 cup of raisins

Toss all the above ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate before serving.

Dressing:

1 cup mayo

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ( I have substituted apple cider vinegar before)

1/2 cup sugar

Pour over salad 1 hour before serving.

Menu For July 27- August 2

Breakfast:

Monday: Cereal and toast

Tuesday- Scrabbled eggs and biscuits w/ fruit

Wednesday- French toast w/ fruit

Thursday- Pancakes w/ bacon and fruit

Friday- Oatmeal or cereal w/ fruit

Saturday- Waffles or cinnamon rolls w/ fruit

Sunday- Cinnamon toast w/ fruit

Lunch:

Monday- Turkey Sandwiches w/ chips, veges, and ranch dip

Tuesday- Me- Wrap w/ salad. Eric- Bologna Sandwich w/ chips. Olivia- Bologna and cheese on crackers w/ fruit

Wednesday- Chicken noodle soup w/ grilled cheese or chicken salad sandwiches

Thursday- Eric out of town/ I will eat at mom's

Friday- Mac and Cheese w/ leftovers, veges, or applesauce

Saturday- Eat out (combined lunch and supper)

Sunday- Family Dinner or frozen pizza

Supper:

Monday- Simple Beef Stroganoff w/ salad and rolls

Tuesday- Crock Pot Chicken w/ roasted potatoes and green beans

Wednesday- Beef Ravioli w/ green beans and garlic toast

Thursday- Dinner with my family. We are having Chili w/ hot dogs, coleslaw and tater tots. I'm bring a dessert.

Friday- Burgers on the grill w/ chips and dip and peanut butter pie (we are having some friends from church over for a cookout)

Saturday- Eat out (combined lunch and supper)

Sunday- We are having Taco Buffet at a church members house.

For more on Menu Plan Monday go to orgjunkie.com

URS: Salad's On!!

This recipe came from a ladies luncheon I attend several years ago. It is still a favorite of mine!!

Spinach Salad

2 pkgs. baby spinach

1 cup cashews

2-3 granny smith apples, washed and diced

Dressing:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup salad/olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp poppyseeds

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp garlic salt

Mix your dressing together and pour over the top of salad mixture. Toss together and enjoy!!

For more on the Ultimate Recipe Swap go to LifeAsMom.com