Green beans from our garden!
First today, I’ll share our menu plan for the week. Then below, I’ll give you an update on how my Two Week Tackle is going!
Sunday, July 24
Coconut flour banana muffins, applesauce
Teriyaki chicken and veggies
Grilled cheese sandwiches, chips and salsa, honeydew melon
Turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, oranges
Homemade corn dogs, green beans, carrot sticks with ranch dressing
Taco potatoes, watermelon
Giant breakfast cookies, plums
Chicken veggie quesadillas, tossed salad
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas
Pancake and sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peaches, carrot sticks with ranch dressing
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad, zucchini
Smoothies, toast
Turkey ranch pinwheels, strawberry-peach slushies
Grilled burgers, sweet baked beans, corn on the cob
Blueberry streusel muffins, bananas
Alfredo sauce with pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots
Italian roast wraps, tossed salad, corn on the cob
Easy breakfast casserole, grapes
Leftovers
Lamb chops on the grill, Italian pasta salad, zucchini
- Organize school books and create a schedule for our school year
Clean out kitchen cabinets – replace shelf linerDeep clean the entire house- Plan and begin to prep soccer meals
Make and freeze healthy convenience foods for the month of AugustMake homemade hand soapand laundry detergent (just because I really want to try)Experiment with homemade white chocolate and butterscotch chips for the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge- Finish creating the Whole Foods Pantry resource list that so many of you have been requesting
~”Deep clean the entire house” is never going to be crossed off the list, mostly because it’s a never ending job. We’ve accomplished a lot, and plan to begin our school year on August 1 with a nice, clean house…but come August 2, there will be more cleaning to do. If only dust understood that once we’ve rid our house of it, it is not supposed to return. Ugly little intruder.
~The Whole Foods Pantry resource list has a small start, and I’m hoping to dedicate more time to it this week. All the extra time I’ve had on the computer recently has been devoted to editing the new kids cooking books. (Watch for an update about those very soon!!!)
~I’ve got a list started for soccer meals and hope to fine tune it within the next few days. I’ll be asking for your help regarding these meals, so watch for a post about cooking for a crowd!
~Books. Books. Books. They fill my living room. I’ve been saving this job for last because I LOVE sitting down and organizing and planning our school year. This will be my reward for checking the other items off the list. But, I can’t wait much longer because we officially begin our new school year in 8 days!
~Throughout the next couple of weeks, you can expect posts showing you how to make butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and homemade hand soap. I am taking “make homemade laundry detergent” off my list for now – I’ll come back to it when I have more time because I’m really excited to try to make homemade detergent without borax. But not this week. I have books to organize!
What all did you get accomplished last week? Did you cross anything off your list?!
carmen @ life blessons says
I ended up picking out a new washing machine (read more here), which was quite the accomplishment! And I’m enjoying finally being able to whittle down my loads of laundry, too!
Dinorah Hampton says
I encourage you to find the time to make the homemade laundry detergent. It makes so much and costs so little that it is now a staple in our home. I also use it for other things that require a stronger “detergent.” (Washing the car, cleaning the porch, cleaning out the chicken tractor, etc.)
I also wanted to share a story about Manuka Honey. Our Newfoundland contracted mrsa through an infected insect bite. We had spent about $500 on this infected bite when the vet wanted us to spend $600 more on cultures plus a specialized antibiotic that cost and additional $160. We just couldn’t afford anymore. My son did some research and found that Manuka Honey has been proven effective in the treatment of mrsa. Yay, God! The large open wound on his paw has almost fully healed in less than a week with the topical application and oral ingestion of the honey.
I just want to thank you for always being so open about the nutritional and “medicinal” value of natural foods like coconut oil and other items. It’s what urged us to look up another way to treat our beloved Brutus.
Christy says
This is sort of off topic, but if you have too many green beans, try making some dilly beans – soooo good! :) http://onelittlewordsheknew.blogspot.com/2009/07/sun-pickles.html
Heather T. says
My beans are not doing so hot this year I have been getting a few put away but then again we didn’t eat them all from last year so maybe it’s a blessing and my sister keeps trying to pawn hers off on me so not worried, of course it comes with a price I have to show her how to can food, which is awesome I am very happy she is starting to garden and see how nice it is to have your own food!
Mkcoehoorn says
I’ve been fine tuning my list for the next month or so and it mostly consists of baking. I have 2 birthdays, a going away potluck for a family at church, a desert competition also for church and I’ve also been asked to bake a retirement cake all between August 1st and 18th. Plus I have back to school shopping for my oldest and I’m organizing some of the Sunday School curriculum for church. Instead of getting shorter, my list seems to keep growing.
Tracy B. says
Wow! You are so origanized on preparing meals a week in advance. That’s cool, but I don’t think I could handly it. I might not be hungry for say Friday’s planed meal on Friday. And I might be hungry for Friday’s meal on say Tuesday.
Hmmm…. I usually decide what I’m hungry for when it’s time for that meal. Although I can see how grocery shopping would be easier with your plan!
Teena says
I’m curious how you cook your beans.
I have to confess, i did my first garden this year and we werent to into the beans. I ended up kinda letting them go. Maybe we got the wrong kind or I just dont know how to cook them. we had pole beans and I didnt realize at first that you had to pull the string off, hehe, no experience gardening at all, so that night at dinner everyone kept pulling strings out of their mouths. :) Do you have to string yours, it sure is alot of work. Sometimes i have this whole romantic feeling about getting back to nature and was so excited about the gardening because of that, but that part did not excite me.
My favorite part of gardening this year has been the tomatoes, zucchini, canteloup and me and my two boys(4 and 2) discovering all the bugs I never even knew existed.
Laura says
I usually steam them for about 10 minutes. We LOVE them that way!
Ours don’t have a string in them…we planted Contender Bush Beans.
Actually, now that I think about it – if you let the beans get too big on the plant, then they do have a string and they don’t taste nearly as yummy. Maybe that’s what happened to yours??
Jen says
Hi Teena. We grew pole beans last year, and were not big fans either. This year we grew bush beans, and they are so much better!! They’re like the greens beans you’re probably used to, but better homegrown. I don’t know how Laura cooks hers, but I thought I’d share our favorite way. I like to saute some chopped onion in a little bacon grease. Then I toss in the green beans, and cover with water. I slow simmer them until tender, usually for an hour to two hours. I topp off with more water if too much simmers away. Finally, I salt and pepper to taste. They are REALLY yummy cooked this way!
I also made some dilly beans that are truly delicious. In the bottom of a quart sized canning jar (wide mouth) I put 3 crushed cloves of garlic, a handful of fresh dill and 4 black peppercorns. Then I stuffed the jar with fresh green beans, and covered with a brine of 1 1/2 T sea salt to 2 cups of water. I let the sit on my counter, with a lid on, for 3 days, then put them in the fridge. Seriously, they are so good!
DorthyM says
the menu looks great as usual. I’m interested to know how to make hand soap. I’ve never done that before. Will there be a post on it?
Laura says
Yep! :)
Heather T. says
Not sure what Laura makes but I found this recipe,
1cup grated bar soap
10 cups water
1 Tbsp glycerin
put all in large pot cook over med heat until dissolved this makes about 6 hand pumps full for about $1
Sarah says
I’m with Dinorah about the homemade laundry detergent. I use the recipe from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking & we love it! We’ve been using it for about 2 years now and it works really well & even gets cloth diapers clean :-).
This past weekend I realized how much work I have to get done before I can start school in a semi-organized fashion. I tackled our main bookshelves & the school supply drawers this weekend & am ready to take on a couple more hot spots in our living room. I also enlisted the help of a friend and her younger two children for my green beans & garden tomorrow. With 3 small boys (6,4 & 9months)it’s just helpful to have an extra set of hands to keep working during an interruption, they are inevitable you know. Now I just have to get the kitchen actually clean today, instead of just the dishes done. That’s one of the hardest things in the world I think.
Bethanie says
Here is my homemade laundry detergent which we use from everything from dedicates to cloth diapers. It does have Borax in it though. I’m curious as to why you don’t want to use it.
http://www.greenandgrateful.com/2011/03/laundry-detergent/
Love your blog! Thanks for sharing so many helpful hints!
BeccaB says
for what its worth i hate home made laundry detergent. it didn’t get out stains or odors at all, even on hot. was not worth the time for us.