Remember the big boxes we got in our Amazon order last week? Malachi has made very good use of them. We’ve cut flaps for doors and secret hide-outs, and we’ve gone through way too much packing tape. Malachi keeps watching for the UPS man to come back and bring more boxes. Sorry, Buddy. Mama got a big order, but I don’t think Mr. UPS is coming back this week. :)

In other news, I’m finding that my current menu planning system isn’t working very well right now. This school year is trying to knock me flat. We added a few different (and good!) academic endeavors this year. I’m amazed at the extra time it takes away from my blog work and house work. In addition, I’ve been doing a lot of canning, and need to do more during the next few weeks.
So, in an effort to simplify my kitchen work even more (and I already feel that it has been pretty basic), I’m going to try a different menu planning system this week. The idea is that I will list food ideas for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Fruits/Veggies based on the ingredients I have on hand. For each day, I’ll just look at the list and figure out what I have time to work on. We always have 1-4 fruits or veggies with each meal, so we can pull those out quickly to put with each meal.
Make sense? I think the crock pot is going to get a work-out. :) Here’s what we’ll be working with this week:
Breakfasts
- Blueberry Streusel Muffins
- Fried Eggs with Turkey Sausage
- Warm Pumpkin Custard
- Peanut Butter Pancakes
- Pumpkin donuts
- Scrambled Eggs
- Pancake and Sausage Muffins
Lunches
- Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad
- Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot with ham and cheese
- Healthier Cheese Dip with tortilla chips
- Crustless Pizza
- Easy Noodle Stir Fry
- Homemade Tomato Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
- Salmon Patties
Dinners
- Calico Beans
- Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Tacos
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Sweet Pepper Fritata
- Potato Soup
Fruit and Veggie Side Dishes
- Applesauce
- Clementines
- Pears
- Peas
- Green Beans from the Garden
- Fruit Salad
- Mixed Greens
- Fresh Spinach
- Apples
- Pineapple
- Canned Peaches
- Nectarine Cream Cups
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Raw Carrots and Cucumber Slices
- Sweet Peppers from the garden
- Home canned dill pickles
- Roasted Asparagus
We’ll see how this works, and I’ll report back next week! I may find that it works better for me to have everything planned specifically like I’ve done for years. But what if this is a change for the better? We’ll see!
















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