We’ve been trying to learn to eat more fish around here to go along with our cow, chicken, deer and lamb. 

Last week we tried salmon patties and shrimp. Matt actually was the one who experimented with the shrimp because I seriously had no idea what to do with it. It was so delicious I thought I might fall over.  All the boys thought so to, and the stuff was gone in five minutes. 

It’s the perfect time to get fishy. Tis the season for fish to be on sale.

This week we’ll be eating catfish and pollock. And maybe more shrimp because that stuff was seriously SO GOOD.

Sunday, Feb. 22
Oatmeal, toast, fruit
Chicken and noodles, applesauce
Chili, cheese and crackers, apple slices

Monday, Feb. 23
Whole wheat waffles
Catfish nuggets, potato wedges, peas
Potato soup, carrot sticks, fruit salad

Tuesday, Feb. 24
Scramble egg sandwiches, orange slices
Pizza casserole, tossed salad
Lamb chops, creamy scalloped potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, Feb. 25
Orange muffins, bananas
Homemade chicken strips and fries, strawberry-peach slushies (yay spinach!)
Cheesy beef and rice, steamed carrots and broccoli

Thursday, Feb. 26
Blueberry coffeecake
Lentils, cornbread,  fruit plate
Pollock (don’t know how I’m fixing it yet), baked potatoes, salad

Friday, Feb. 27
Giant breakfast cookies, pears
Beef and cheese burritoes, kefir and fruit smoothies
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, Feb. 28
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls (I found some in the freezer!)
Beans and rice on tortillas with salsa and kreme fresh
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn

Now…let’s talk about the blogging menu for this week.

First…you need to know that VERY SOON I will be telling you about an amazing giveaway I’m doing for an iPod Touch!!!!! Seriously!!  Come back and check for details!!!

Next…you need to know that this week’s posts will be called, “The Week of Repeats”. I am working on several projects (one or two of which I can reveal to you this week)…and I’m doing some extra writing (the deadlines for said writing are fast approaching)…and the boys in my life still want food. 

Instead of posting as normal…I’ll be pulling some of my favorites from the archives and re-posting them for you. Sorry if you find that boring. If you’re too bored…please come over and fold my laundry.

But there’s nothing boring about an iPod Touch giveaway…so if for no other reason…you must stop back by this week to find out how to enter!

Oh, and Gratituesday will carry on as normal this week…because I’m NOT too busy to take time to be grateful!! :)

Thanks for understanding…and I will make it up to you NEXT week by finally posting about how I make mozzarella cheese. How does that sound?
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu plan ideas.
 

On Monday mornings, the boys always sit down with their journals and write about what they did over the weekend. If I were to sit down and do the same, here’s what I would write (in my neatest handwriting of course):

This weekend I…hosted a birthday party for Justus. Three of his friends came over to spend the night on Friday. On Saturday, we spent time cleaning up after the party and resting up after the party. I made a batch of Chocolate Graham Crackers and a double batch of Honey Whole Wheat Bread. It snowed a ton, so we made snow ice cream (twice). I got completely caught up on laundry (which lasted for five minutes). We went to Walmart and I had to say, “Please stop touching your brother” somewhere between three to twelve times. On Sunday afternoon, I made Justus a cheesecake (highlight of the week so far).

What’d you do this weekend?! :) 

Here’s what’s on our menu this week!

Sunday, Feb. 15 (Justus’ 9th Birthday and meal choices!!)
Biscuits and gravy
BBQ benefit dinner for our friends
Cheesy turkey sausage stromboli, tossed salad, strawberry cheesecake

Monday, Feb. 16
Simple soudough pancakes (recipe coming this week), scrambled eggs
Sloppy joes on homemade buns, cottage cheese and peaches
Honey mustard chicken, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday, Feb. 17
Crepes with jelly, bananas
Alphabet soup, bread and butter
Shrimp stir fry, tossed salad

Wednesday, Feb. 18
French toast
Salmon patties, homemade mac and cheese, applesauce
Bbq meatballs, cheesy potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots

Thursday, Feb. 19
Fruit and yogurt delight, toast
Spanish rice with chicken and corn
Deer steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Friday, Feb. 20
Omelets, oranges
Homemade pizza pockets, pears
Chicken fajitas, fruit salad

Saturday, Feb. 21
Whole wheat donuts
Grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, chips and salsa
Beefy vegetable soup, cornbread muffins

On the blogging menu this week:

• My easy sourdough pancake recipe
• Gratituesday, of course!
• A simple discipline idea we use
• Another post in our Women with a Mission series
• We’re going on another food field trip!!

Here’s to a great new week!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for great menu planning ideas.

Thanks to everyone who shared their love story this weekend. If you didn’t have a chance to write your story…please feel free to add your link! Your stories have been so much fun to read!

Well…I sent Matt off to the airport a few hours ago where he is flying to his grandfather’s funeral. We’re so thankful he’s able to go be with his family. Ooh, but I don’t like it when he’s gone. I usually get weird and try to make the hours go faster by re-arranging furniture and stuff when he’s out of town. You know, because it’s always smart to move heavy things when you don’t have help.  I’ll try to hold back and leave the beds and couches alone. 

Maybe.

I usually don’t enjoy cooking as much when Matt’s gone either. Does anyone else feel that way when their husband isn’t home?  Thankfully…we’ve worked it out to have an extra person or two over during the next few days…which is extra motivation for me to actually put a real meal on the table. The boys have a buddy (Remember the red head? Love that kid.) who needs a place to stay one day…and I decided to invite a special lady over who just lost her husband for dinner on Monday. This means I will not give in to the temptation to feed my children toast, apples and popcorn the entire week. Yay.

Here’s the plan that I’ll try to stick to instead. Oh, and since it’s Valentine Week, it’ll be fun to make some heart shaped meals too! See? All kinds of motivation to cook! (Not to mention the ever helpful Menu Plan Mondays over at Organizing Junkie.)

Sunday, Feb. 8
Oatmeal, toast
BBQ beef sandwiches, carrot sticks, fresh pineapple
Leftovers

Monday, Feb. 9
Whole wheat waffles
Bean dip with tortilla chips and salsa, peaches
Chicken noodle soup, fruit salad, relish tray, chocolate chip cookies

Tuesday, Feb. 10
Scrambled eggs, oranges
Melting snowflakes (except heart shaped of course), strawberry-peach slushies
Cheeseburger mac, green beans

Wednesday, Feb. 11
Peanut butter and honey on sourdough, pears
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Shepherd’s pie, tossed salad  (Matt gets home!)

Thursday, Feb. 12
Heart shaped pancakes
Chili, veggies
Fish and chips, carrots

Friday, Feb. 13
Pumpkin bread, bananas
Baked potatoes with leftover chili and cheese, broccoli
Lasagna, tossed salad, corn

Saturday, Feb. 14
Cream cheese breakfast pastries
Heart shaped soft pretzels, strawberry fruit dip with apples
Heart shaped homemade pizza, tossed salad

On the blogging menu this week…I’ll be joining JessieLeigh for a Valentine’s Exchange of Ideas and Inspiration. Join in the fun if you’d like! To start off the week, stop by Kate’s to see other fun valentine meal ideas. Then Tuesday, join me here for a special edition of Gratituesday…where we can share what we love to be grateful for. Wednesday, JessieLeigh  encourages us all to share fun ways to celebrate valentines day with little ones. Thursday, we’ll meet at Jessica’s for a recipe swap. Then on Friday we’ll wrap up the week at Amy’s for a Finer Valentine’s Things Friday.

And..somewhere in there I’ve just got to post a random post…because it’s been way too long since I’ve allowed myself to just go entirely random on you. I’ve been having random post withdrawals at random times during the past few weeks. Brace yourselves.

What kind of week do you have ahead of you?

Happy Super Bowl Day!! (Who’s playing anyway?)  (Hey, Super Bowls are about food, right? Big, super bowls of food.)   We’re heading over to the home of our friends…the guys will watch the game, the will kids play and the gals will visit. We’ll all eat. That…is my kind of Super Bowl Party. Ah, I love basketball  tennis  football season.

Besides the Super Bowl Party, our weekend was spent mostly at home. How NICE! Matt got caught up on a few things around the house (leaving only 437 things to do on his list) plus he took advantage of some nice 50 degree weather to chop more wood for our wood burning insert. (Which is good, because this afternoon there were snow flurries again.)  I spent a good deal of Saturday cooking and baking for the week. I cooked a chicken, browned three pounds of ground deer meat, made beef and cheese burritoes for the freezer, baked three loaves of applesauce bread and did tons of dishes. Loved it!

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

Sunday, Feb. 1
Oatmeal, bananas
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Super Bowl Party – Take fudgie brownies and cream cheese salsa dip with chips

Monday, Feb. 2
Scrambled egg sandwiches, applesauce
Bean and rice wraps, pineapple
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday, Feb. 3
Blueberry pancakes
Beef and cheese burritoes, orange slices
Chicken and dumplings, carrot sticks

Wednesday, Feb. 4
Fried eggs on toast, pears
Chicken tostadas, apples
Beefy enchilada bake, taco salad

Thursday, Feb. 5
French toast
Roast beef sandwiches, carrots, fruit leather (packed to take with us on the way to a science museum!)
Steak, cheesy potatoes, peas

Friday, Feb. 6
Applesauce bread, bananas
Potato soup, tossed salad
Homemade pizza

Saturday, Feb. 7
Giant breakfast cookies
Hamburgers on homemade buns, onion rings
Spanish rice with chicken, tossed salad

On the blogging menu for the week:

This is a week you won’t want to miss! Along with all the normal posts like Gratituesday and Women with a Mission…I’ll be having a big sale with Crystal from Biblical Womanhood! Be watching for it! PLUS…make plans to join us this Saturday to Share Your Love Story!

Be sure to stop by Organizing Junkie’s place for more menu planning ideas!

Today we had a potluck after church. My boys filled their plates and stuffed themselves. Then we let them choose not one but TWO desserts.

We arrived home at 1:38 this afternoon. It took until precisely 1:58 for Elias to say, “Mom, I’m hungry. Can I have a pear?” 

Good grief.

Anyhoo…here’s what I’ll be TRYING to fill my family with this week:

Sunday, Jan. 25
Oatmeal, toast, fruit
Church potluck: chicken and rice casserole, chocolate sheet cake
Leftovers

Monday, Jan. 26
Mini breakfast pizzas, clementines
Beefy vegetable soup, buttered toast
Hearty bean casserole, fruit salad

Tuesday, Jan. 27
Scrambled eggs, peaches
Homemade chicken nuggets and fries, carrot sticks
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad

Wednesday, Jan. 28
Chocolate chip muffins, bananas
Skillet meatballs, lima beans, potato wedges
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Thursday, Jan. 29
Whole wheat sourdough biscuits with butter and honey, pears
Bean dip with chips, fruit-kefir smoothies
Deer steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Friday, Jan. 30
Cinnamon swirl bread, applesauce
Potato wedges, peaches in cottage cheese
Whole wheat pancakes, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs

Saturday, Jan. 31
Mom is Great Breakfast Cake
Lentil soup, cornbread
Chicken fajitas

On the blogging menu this week:

*It’s Bloggy Giveaway Carnival time…be watching for a fun giveaway here!
*I’ll share with you some of my “tricks” for getting everything done in the kitchen, plus we’re going on a field trip in my Feeding the Family series.
*Malachi has a “trick” of his own to show you…if you have little ones or know someone who does, you’ll want to see it for sure!
*More encouragement for all of us in another post in the Women with a Mission series.

Hope to see you throughout the week! Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

And tell me…can YOU keep your children full…or are yours eating all the time like mine are?  I mean, twenty minutes after a potluck?  And don’t say,
“Oh wait until they’re teenagers”…I do not want to have a panic attack.

Elias’ seventh birthday is today…so we’ve had a big party filled weekend. It started with a sleepover on Friday night…and ended with our own family celebration today. The birthday boy always gets to plan the entire menu for his birthday. The boys think this is a very big privilege and begin planning weeks in advance. 

Here’s what Elias chose for Sunday…and what I chose for the rest of the week:

Sunday, Jan. 18 (I’m thinking a few fruits and veggies are in order here, what do you think?)
Homemade cinnamon rolls, milk
Homemade pizza (“with olives and pepperoni”)
Nachos, birthday cheesecake

Monday, Jan. 19
Whole wheat waffles, milk
Spanish rice with chicken, canteloupe
Cheesy turkey sausage stromboli, tossed salad

Tuesday, Jan. 20
Banana bread, applesauce
Taco potatoes, clementines
Lasagna, tossed salad, corn

Wednesday, Jan. 21
Scrambled eggs, toast, apples
Melting snowflakes, strawberry-peach slushies
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Thursday, Jan. 22
Fruit and kefir smoothies, toast
Veggie omelets, canned peaches
Chicken and biscuits

Friday, Jan. 23
Rice pudding, bananas
Homemade mac and cheese, mixed veggies
Italian roast wraps, fruit salad

Saturday, Jan. 24
Breakfast cookies, pears
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Swiss steak over rice, green beans

Here’s what’s in the works for blog posts here this week:

• More whole wheat sourdough recipes and tips
• Feeding the Family:  Our food budget breakdown (You CAN afford healthy food)
• Women with a Mission:  Simple Ministry Encouragement for Everyday Life
• Let’s talk about giving kids an allowance…or not

If you haven’t signed up for the Personalized Valentine Card giveaway…be sure to come do that here!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for all kinds of menu planning inspiration.

Thanks to everyone who joined me in getting a Sourdough Starter going this week. If you want to learn to make whole wheat sourdough…check out these posts! Now we’re ready to make the Sourdough Bread! I’ll post the steps sometime on Monday. (Probably that night by the time it finishes baking!)

Our family is geared up to start school again after a three week Christmas break. Ohhh the break was nice..but ohhh a routine will be even nicer! Among other subjects, we’re excited to dive back into our history reading..start a new read-aloud, Cheaper by the Dozen…and get Asa and Justus going on their LTC projects. 

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

Sunday, Jan 11
Oatmeal, apples
Chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, relish tray, chocolate cake with hot fudge and whipped cream (with guests)
Leftovers

Monday, Jan. 12
French toast
Pizza casserole, corn
Deer steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Tuesday, Jan. 13
Turkey sausage and eggs, pears
Sloppy joes on homemade buns, baked beans, carrot sticks
Chicken stir-fry with rice and veggies

Wednesday, Jan. 14
Apricot Breakfast Bars, bananas
Chicken tortilla soup, fruit salad
Shepherds Pie

Thursday, Jan. 15
Homemade honey oat crunch cereal with dried fruit
Black eyed peas and cornbread, spinach salad
Potato soup, carrot sticks

Friday, Jan. 16
Fruit and yogurt delight, toast
Homemade pizza pockets, apple slices, tossed salad
Hamburgers and fries (Elias’ Birthday Sleepover!)

Saturday, Jan 17
Sleepover breakfast – Donuts
Potato wedges, cottage cheese with peaches
Beef stroganoff, steamed broccoli

On the blogging menu this week:

Besides posting about making sourdough bread, I have a really fun winter-time lunch idea to share…we’ll start the Women with a Mission series…and I’ll take you on a LIVE tour of my kitchen!  (Yes, I videoed my kitchen for you. You can even hear my pantry door squeak!). I also hope you’ll join us for Gratituesday!

Here’s to a great week!
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Be inspired to plan your meals over at Organizing Junkie!

Oh it feels good to make a menu plan again! Yay for getting organized again in the new year!

We spent the weekend continuing to catch up on things around the house…organizing and cleaning. And cooking. 

We live in a college town..and the York College wrestling team has been hanging around getting ready for (meets? matches?) what do you call it when wrestlers compete? (yes, I’m a soccer mom.)  Anyway…we helped feed the team since the college cafeteria is closed for Christmas break. Hey, the way I figure it…I already cook all the time for a group of boys who love to wrestle around all day on the floor. Why not feed 12 more wrestlers? :)  It was tons of fun.

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week (along with lots and lots of carrots!):

Sunday, Jan. 4
Oatmeal, apples
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Nachos, fruit

Monday, Jan. 5
Whole wheat waffles
Cheese quesadillas, strawberry-peach slushies (it’s kinda cold to eat slushies…but we NEED the spinach…maybe we’ll eat them around the fireplace?!)
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, Jan. 6
Mini breakfast pizzas, clementines
Tuna salad on toast, applesauce
BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, Jan. 7
Orange muffins, bananas
Beef and cheese burritoes, home canned peaches
Lentils, fruit salad

Thursday, Jan. 8
Sourdough biscuits with butter and honey, pears
Alphabet soup, homemade soft pretzels
Chicken enchiladas, tossed salad

Friday, Jan. 9
Peanut butter-honey toast, apples
Beans and rice with salsa and kreme fresh
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, Jan. 10
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Fish and chips, tossed salad

On the blogging menu:

I’ll share a couple of simple homemaking tips…

I’m planning to start a new series of posts about women’s ministries, which I am very excited about! 

Also…I need to get my sourdough bread going again (it is the healthiest bread you can make because it digests more easily!). So, I’ll be getting my sourdough starter going on Monday. It takes seven consecutive days (5-10 minutes per day) to get the starter going…and each day I’ll share the steps with you along with pictures of the process. Then of course, I’ll walk you through making sourdough bread. It’s SO easy to make a sourdough starter…so if you’d like to get some going right along with me, here are the supplies you’ll need to get ready:

whole wheat or rye flour, 8 cups total for the week (freshly ground if you have a grinder)
2 large jars (I’ll be using my half gallon jars. If you don’t have jars big enough, you can use large glass bowls)
cheesecloth
rubberbands
cold water

I hope you’ll join me for this week’s posts! And…I really hope you’ll get a sourdough bread start going with me too! If NOTHING else…it’s a great science experiment for the kids to watch and participate in! 
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Find more menu plans at Organizing Junkie.

Suddenly, I’m realizing that there are just a few days left before we leave for our big California trip. (Breathe…breathe…)  I’m working on staying calm and keeping things simple…but we’re talking about a HUGE trip across the country with four kids and well…it takes a lot of work to get ready for it. 

This week, I’ll be making simple meals so that I can focus on finishing up laundry and packing. I am happy to say that gifts are made/purchased and wrapped…and the house is sort of, mostly clean. I’m going to settle for “sort of/mostly”…I think that’s as good as it’s going to get!

Here’s our menu:

Sunday, Dec. 14
Oatmeal, bananas
Company over:  Beef stew, corn, green beans, cornbread, fudgie brownies
Nachos, fruit

Monday, Dec. 15
Whole wheat waffles (already made and in the freezer)
Hamburgers and onion rings
Turkey and noodles, carrots

Tuesday, Dec. 16
Scrambled eggs, clementines
Baked potatoes with butter and kreme fresh, cottage cheese and peaches
Stir fried rice and veggies

Wednesday, Dec. 17
Applesauce bread, pears
Clean out the fridge
Clean out the fridge (in other words…a piece of meat, a pickle, two lemons, whatever that is in that jar back there, and a glass of milk)

Thursday, Dec. 18
Breakfast cookies
Quesadillas on the road
Sandwiches on the road
(I can’t very well pack meals for our entire trip, but I can pack it at least for our first day!!)

We’ll get a few hours down the road on Thursday night and stay with friends…then get a lot of hours down the road on Friday and stay with friends…then go the rest of the way on Saturday. That’s the plan anyway. We felt like breaking it up like this would make it quite a bit easier on the kids…plus…it’s a great way to see friends we don’t get to see very often!

Here’s what I’ve been working on for the blog this week…

One more Christmas cookie recipe:  Peanut Butter and Honey Reindeer Cuties….More Food Gift Ideas….Fun Gift Wrap ideas…..and be sure to join us for Gratituesday!!

How’s everyone doing on your final pre-Christmas activities? Are you staying calm and enjoying the season?!  :)  Have any great ideas for activities to do with your kids while you’re traveling in a van for 4536 hours?! (Okay, I’m exaggerating…but it will be something like 24 hours one way.)
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

I’m finally feeling more like my energetic self after spending several days in bed sick. There’s NOTHING like being sick to make you appreciate being not sick. I’m very thankful to be not sick. 

With my energy being back, I spent a good part of the weekend cooking and baking. (And doing dishes.)  What a big floury mess I was. I even went a little over-crazy and made this snowman when I was making whole wheat donuts Saturday morning. 

He needs eyes and a nose…
but the kids thought he was pretty cute anyway. 

Here’s what’s on our menu this week:

Sunday, Dec. 7
Applesauce bread, clemintines (we’ve all been addicted to clemintines lately!)
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Veggie soup, bread and butter

Monday, Dec. 8
Whole wheat pancakes
Grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade potato chips, tomato soup
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Tuesday, Dec. 9
Breakfast cake, applesauce
Beef and cheese burritoes, cantaloupe
Soccer banquet (A night of NO cooking! Whatever shall I do?)

Wednesday, Dec. 10
Cinnamon swirl bread, bananas
Beans and rice with salsa and kreme fresh
Turkey, stuffing, gravy, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Thursday, Dec. 11
Sourdough biscuits, canned peaches
Turkey roll-ups, pears
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, corn

Friday, Dec. 12
Peanut butter honey toast, clemintines
Taco potatoes, fruit and kefir smoothies
Homemade pizza

Saturday, Dec. 13
Giant breakfast cookies, hot cocoa!
Homemade chicken nuggets and fries, raw veggies
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

On the blogging menu this week:

Fun ideas for using your Christmas cookie cutters creatively…Chocolate Snowball Cookie recipe…More inexpensive gift making ideas…and a GIVEAWAY!!

Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!