It’s snowing at my house right now. How about yours? I wouldn’t mind the snow so much if the wind wasn’t blowing so much. Brrrrr. My fireplace and slippers are my friends. 

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, December 6
Oatmeal, peaches
Roasted  chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, honey whole wheat bread, orange vanilla cream cake (this cake was an experiment that we ALL – including my company – decided I was going to have to make again some time!)
Chili, cheese, carrots, oranges

Monday, December 7
Simple soaked pancakes
Hearty bean casserole, strawberry-peach slushies
Fried chicken, mashed pototoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, December 8
Scrambled egg sandwiches, applesauce
Fish and chips, peas
Beef stew, cornbread

Wednesday, December 9
Applesauce bread, bananas
Corn dog muffins, green beans
Lasagna, tossed salad, honey whole wheat bread and butter

Thursday, December 10
Peanut butter honey toast, warm vanilla soother
Beef and cabbage rolls, apples
Soccer banquet

Friday, December 11
Honey whole wheat bagels, pears
Beefy vegetable soup, crispy cheese crackers, clementines
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, December 12
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, apple slices
Chicken and dumplings, tossed salad
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More menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

We went through a lot of food over the weekend…how about you? We are so blessed to have so much food. Amazing.

We had eight people join us at noon Thursday for our Thanksgiving meal. As I was putting all the final touches on the food that morning I was once again struck by this fact:  I LOVE TO COOK. 

Anytime I mention that fact to Matt, he nods, smiles and says, “Well, I love to eat.” Ah, everyone wins.

If you recall, the YC basketball team came over Thursday night. All I could think of while they were trailing in through my front door is:  Am I really short or are they just really, really tall? And WOW could they eat. It was great!

Friday we kind of had a “eat whatever you want whenever you want it” kind of a day. As much as I love cooking….a day off from cooking was really great too. 

By Saturday, we were feeling the need for some beef  :)…plus we had done pretty good work on all of the leftovers. Time for Mama to cook again. We still have turkey, which I’m working into this week’s menu. Other than that, we have the fridge pretty well cleaned out! 

More about our weekend on Gratituesday!

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, November 29
Oatmeal, peaches
Turkey and noodles, carrots
Cream cheese salsa dip, organic corn chips, orange slices

Monday, November 30
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Ranch burgers, green beans
Garlic turkey pasta, steamed cauliflower and broccoli

Tuesday, December 1
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Turkey chef salad (lettuce, tomato, cheese, boiled egg, turkey, peas), homemade ranch dressing

Wednesday, December 2
Orange muffins, bananas
Potato soup, carrot sticks
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Thursday, December 3
Peanut butter honey toast, applesauce
Beef and cheese burritoes, grapes
Venison stew, cornbread muffins

Friday, December 4
Sourdough biscuits with butter and honey, pears
Sloppy joes on homemade buns, cantaloupe
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, December 5
Mom is Great Breakfast Cake
Leftover buffet
Tuna casserole, peas

Have Thanksgiving leftovers? Need ideas? Check out these links and add your own ideas!

• What to do with Leftover Turkey
• What to do with Leftover Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

Be watching for two great giveaways in the next couple of days! 

There are a few hours left in our Black Friday through Sunday $2-3 sale!!! Don’t miss out!
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This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Remember when I went on this shopping trip last year? I got to do that again this weekend. It was SO much fun! I found myself some new jeans!!!!! I so needed some new jeans! I was  also able to get Matt some dress clothes for his new job. (You can read about his new job here.  The restaurant still hasn’t opened yet, but they’re working now toward December 1st! Oh lovely red tape.)

In food news, my Azure standard order is set to come in this week. Crazy me, I sort of ordered sixty pounds of apples. BUT, sometimes my produce doesn’t come in. So just in case, I ordered three different twenty pound boxes of three different varieties of apples…hoping that at least one of them comes in. So I may end up with only twenty or forty pounds of apples. But I may end up with sixty pounds of apples. But it’s okay because we’ve been feeding a lot of people lately and our boys like apples for snacks a lot and…and…we can even share with our friends if we need to.

Want me to let you know if they all come in or not (so that you know whether or not you should be coming to an apple eating party or not)?

Here’s our menu this week:

Sunday, November 15
Oatmeal, peaches
Simple soaked pancakes, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs
Veggie soup, crispy cheese crackers, fruit-kefir smoothies

Monday, November 16
Warm vanilla soother
Cheese quesadillas, pears
Beef stew, sourdough biscuits

Tuesday, November 17
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Sweet baked beans with hot dogs, apple slices
Oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Wednesday, November 18
Whole wheat waffles
Tuna melts, cottage cheese and peaches
Potato soup, tossed salad

Thursday, November 19
Cinnamon swirl bread, applesauce
Hamburger patties, stir fried rice and veggies
Italian roast beef and pasta, green beans

Friday, November 20
Yogurt, toast
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrots
Cheesy beef and rice, fruit salad

Saturday, November 21
Cream cheese breakfast pastries
Baked potatoes with chili
Homemade pizza, salad

I’m enjoying reading all of your Gratituesday posts so much! Thank you so much to everyone who has joined in the November Gratitude Challenge!! Be sure to join us again this week!
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Fine more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie!

This week I’m going to work on making our breakfast foods the night before we need them! I’m finding that we get a much earlier start to our school day when I have muffins or fruit dip or breakfast cookies made ahead of time!

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, November 8
Oatmeal, fruit
Roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots, death by chocolate
Bean dip with chips and salsa

Monday, November 9
French toast, turkey sausage, blueberries
Pizza casserole, tossed salad
Shredded beef sandwiches with BBQ sauce on homemade buns, green beans

Tuesday, November 10
Chocolate-chocolate chip muffins, bananas
Chicken veggie quesadillas, fresh pineapple
Spaghetti, steamed brocolli and cauliflower

Wednesday, November 11
Strawberry yogurt dip with apples
Beefy vegetable soup, homemade bread and butter
Garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad

Thursday, November 12
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Cottage cheese and peaches, homemade soft pretzels
Chicken and noodles, carrots

Friday, November 13
Pumpkin pancakes, applesauce
Taco potatoes, cantaloupe
Country fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, asparagus

Saturday, November 14
Giant breakfast cookies, apples
Leftovers
Tuna casserole, peas

Please make plans to join the November Gratitude Challenge this Gratituesday!
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Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie!

Sunday, November 1
Oatmeal, peaches
Potato soup, carrot sticks, fudgy brownies
Bean and rice bowls, cantaloupe

Monday, November 2
Simple soaked pancakes
Sliced turkey ham, hashbrowns, peas
Chicken tortilla soup, fruit salad

Tuesday, November 3
Sweet potato streusel muffins, bananas
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrots
Sloppy cornbread, tossed salad

Wednesday, November 4
Fruit and yogurt delight, toast
Salmon patties, stir fried rice and veggies
Lasagna casserole, corn

Thursday, November 5
Blueberry coffee cake, applesauce
Creamy mac and cheese, green beans
Italian roast wraps, fresh pineapple

Friday, November 6  (Matt’s birthday!)
Biscuits and gravy
Black bean taco salad, grapes
Cheesey turkey sausage stromboli, peach cobbler

Saturday, November 7
Chocolate donuts
Hamburger patties, steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Leftovers

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

We have had very few days at our house in the past several weeks when I have only fed our family. Almost every day, there have been extra people here to eat. Out of town guests, college students, friends, soccer players. I LOVE it! Feeding people is my favorite hobby!

Do any of the rest of you feel like feeding people is a fun hobby? (Or do some of you feel like it’s a dreaded chore?!)

Here’s our menu this week:

Sunday, October 25
Oatmeal
Chili, veggie tray, Lynn’s no bake cookie bars (these are SO good!)
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas

Monday, October 26
Applesauce bread, bananas
Pizza, apples
Sloppy cornbread, tosssed salad

Tuesday, October 27
Scrambled egg sandwiches, clementines
Chicken and rice stew, cheese muffins
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, October 28
Simple Sourdough Pancakes
Nachos, grapes
Cheesy chicken and potatoes, carrots

Thursday, October 29
Fried eggs, turkey sausage, hashbrowns
Tuna salad on toast, peaches and cottage cheese
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed broccoli

Friday, October 30
Breakfast cake, pears
Quesadillas, applesauce
Tacos

Saturday, October 31
Zucchini muffins, apples with dip
Corndog muffins, baby carrots
Hamburgers and homemade fries

If I get a round tuit, I’m hoping to write a marathon of posts in the next few days so that I can get caught up on all the posts I feel behind on. I’ve got a giveaway, a new recipe, more about grain mills, Gratituesday of course, and something like five other posts waiting to be finished and posted. Keep checking back all week to see if I actually get it all done. It all depends on if I get a round tuit. (Yes I know. I already HAVE a round tuit.)  :)
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Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

Nothing says “Welcome to Autumn” in Nebraska like falling snow mixed with falling leaves!! Brr! 

I actually think it’s sorta pretty. 
Green grass, brown and yellow leaves, white snow. 

We got our fireplace going for the first time this season. Toasty! It is definitely soup weather here! Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, October 11
Oatmeal, peaches
Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans
Cream cheese salsa dip with chips, apples

Monday, October 12
Honey whole wheat bagels, pears
Chili, carrot sticks
Roasted chicken, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli

Tuesday, October 13
Scrambled egg sandwiches, clementines
Alphabet soup, homemade soft pretzels
Sloppy cornbread, peas

Wednesday, October 14
French toast, blueberries
BBQ chicken, ranch potato wedges, carrots
Beef garden casserole, tossed salad

Thursday, October 15
Creamy vanilla soother, fruit
Chicken tostadas, cantaloupe
Spinach quiche, tossed salad

Friday, October 16
Breakfast cookies
Tortilla wraps, carrot sticks, apples
Hamburgers, onion rings

Saturday, October 17
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Bean dip with chips, fruit
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, green beans
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

Last week Shorty asked this question:

I love reading your plans for the week. I was wondering how often you go off plan? Do you make what is on plan even if it doesn’t sound good out of discipline? 

Well…if I tell you that I occasionally rearrange my menu and sometimes don’t even fix what I have planned…will you be horribly disappointed in me?

Yes, it’s true. Especially lately while I’ve been trying to juggle almost daily soccer games and practices, finish canning and preserving our garden produce, teach the boys and keep up with my blog. I’ve had a hard time finding socks that match…much less sticking to my menu plan.

BUT…while I don’t always fix Wednesday’s meals on Wednesday…I find that having a detailed menu plan like the one I usually make is incredibly helpful even if I don’t stick to it exactly. When I plan three meals for seven days in a row…I can be sure I’ve got a good balance and variety of foods. I can try to cook ahead of times for busy soccer days. I can have food purchased and ready for the week. When something comes up or I run out of time or forget to thaw a roast…I switch meals around. It works just fine. 

How do all of you handle menu plans and sticking to them?

Here’s our menu for this week. This weekend my dad and his wife are coming for a short visit. Can’t wait to see them!

Sunday, October 4
Strawberry muffins
BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, peas
Leftovers

Monday, October 5
Apples with strawberry yogurt fruit dip
BLTs, sweet bell peppers, fruit-kefir smoothies
Shepherd’s pie, tossed salad

Tuesday, October 6
Scrambled eggs, orange slices
Tuna melts, strawberry-peach slushies
Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, October 7
Sourdough pancakes, pears
Popcorn chicken, stir fried rice and veggies
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn

Thursday, October 8
Breakfast cake, bananas
Butternut squash soup, toast
Chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, carrots

Friday, October 9
Donuts (Remember my dad is coming. Papa likes to buy donuts. )  :)
Sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies (Some of the guys will go golfing!)
Lasagna, tossed salad, french bread, dessert (Big dinner with lots of family members!)

Saturday, October 10
Fried eggs, turkey bacon, hashbrowns, peaches
Potato soup, homemade bread, carrot sticks
Tacos

If you haven’t signed up to win a Shutterfly Photo Book…there are just a few hours left to enter the giveaway!!

The Fall Giveaway Carnival starts bright and early Monday morning. Plus…I can’t wait for Gratituesday! Just wait till you hear what God did for our family!! Make plans to join us for both!!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!