Heavenly Homemakers

We tried to fight it, but the flu bug hit our house anyway. :(

I am now quite behind on my work, as well as still very low on energy. And…we have 11 guests coming to stay with us this weekend for York College Homecoming.

All six of us will be working hard to get the house clean and ready for guests, and to get ahead on school work so we can take a couple days off at the end of the week. Papa and Grandma Tacy are the first to arrive on Wednesday night. Others trickle in on Thursday and Friday. We are all so excited! (Um, even if I am typing this from my pitiful little pillow right now.)  ;)

Obviously, food preparation is an important item on my to-do list this week. Thankfully, during the past couple of weeks, I’ve worked here and there to prepare some of the meals – so I already have quite a bit finished and in the freezer. Once again, freezer cooking saves my neck!

I haven’t planned our meals for this week entirely. (Look back at some of my older menu plans if you need some ideas for your menu plan this week!)

But here’s what I’m looking to feed our company this weekend. We’ll have anywhere from 7-20 people at each meal, depending on who is here at the time and who else from town might be able to join us. Here’s my plan, with possibly more information than you ever needed to know…

Thursday, October 11

My dad usually buys donuts for the boys for breakfast when he comes. Once or twice a year eating store bought donuts won’t kill us, right? And it’s a huge treat that the boys love. I’ll be requesting and enjoying a maple long john, thank you very much. And I’ll scramble eggs and get out fruit and milk to go with them. ;)

For lunch, I’ll make Homemade Chicken and Noodles (broth and noodles already in the freezer) with raw veggies and sliced fruit. Dinner will be Lasagna Casserole with Tossed Salad after we get home from our boys soccer games. They are very excited to have grandparents coming in time to watch their games!

Friday, October 12

For breakfast, I will have two Easy Breakfast Casseroles ready to put into the oven, and make big batches of Whole Wheat Pancakes to go with them, with either applesauce or pears.

Many of the men will go golfing at noon, so we’ll pack them a big cooler full of sandwiches and the works. The ladies and the kids will either go out to eat for our traditional lunch out, or we will stay home and make homemade pizzas.

For dinner that evening, I am excited to make a Barbecue Brisket, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cream Cheese Corn. One of our guests will be celebrating her birthday while she’s here, so I believe The Cake Boys have something in mind to make for that evening’s dessert. :)

Saturday, October 13

Our boys have a soccer game at 9:00 a.m. – and we will all be on the run from then on. I have Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and Apple Sauce Bread in the freezer for that morning. And yes, I’ll also get out the fruit.

For lunch, I’ll warm up the Sloppy Joe Meat that is already in the freezer, and serve the Joes with Raw Veggies and Kettle Chips.

Dinner that evening is a little iffy, since I don’t know who will be around and who will have other plans for the night. So, I plan to either get out leftovers and offer a “buffet”, or I have a Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole in the freezer that I can get out if I need to.

Desserts

It wouldn’t be Homecoming weekend without desserts. Tacy (my dad’s wife) will bring some of her awesome cookies. Plus, Malachi and I made Cream Cheese Cut-Outs (this recipe, minus the orange juice), Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are in the freezer, waiting for us to get them out and have a sugar rush. Yowza.

Can’t wait until our house is full of so many people that we love. Hopefully I’ll have half a brain in the midst of all the fun to snap some pictures to share!

I know menu planning isn’t for everyone. I also know that many people go about menu planning in different ways. If you’d like a little more insight as to how and why I plan my menus the way I do each week, I’d encourage you to read this post. I also encourage you to check out Plan to Eat as a great source to help you with planning meals for your family.

What I want to share with you today, however, is a very simple method I use as I go about planning the meals our family will eat. When planning our meals in this simple manner, I find that I can really keep our costs low, even while eating a diet of real, whole foods.

Really, planning a meal that is inexpensive, well rounded, nutritious, and delicious isn’t as difficult as it sounds. If this is an area you struggle, how about following these simple steps?

A Simple Way to Plan a Meal:

1. Pick a main dish.
2. Choose one or two side dishes that will compliment the main dish.
3. That’s it. There is no number three.

See? I told you it was simple. :)

I used to go all out for meals, making sure we had bread and dessert all planned out along with a main course and a couple of sides. And sure, for special occasions or when we have company, I typically plan a little extra. But for our day-to-day meal plans? I stick with what is simple.  I figure out what our main dish will be. I think about what vegetables and other side dishes will round out the meal. And that’s it.

Here is an example:

Monday, I decided to make Grilled Barbecue Chicken. (Pick a main dish…check)  Tossed salad and green beans go great with bbq chicken. (Choose one or two side dishes that will compliment the main dish…check)  I was also hungry for sweet corn, had some in the freezer, and decided to make that too. (Flying by the seat of my pants and going with what sounded good at the moment…check)

Now, a few tips as you follow this simple meal planning method:

Tip #1:  Try to always choose at least one green veggie to go with your main dish.

Tip #2:  Fruit is always a great addition to a meal and a perfect way to add nutrients, especially if your family is picky about veggies.

Tip #3:  Avoid serving too many starchy foods with one meal. As in, you probably shouldn’t plan corn, potatoes, noodles, and bread all in one meal. It’s a bit of a carb overload and not nearly healthy as a meal that has green veggies. That is, unless you enjoy experiencing a sugar crash about thirty minutes after you eat. In that case, go for it.

Tip #4:  And speaking of bread, you really don’t need bread at every meal. Unless you’re my dad. And then it is a must, because how else are you supposed to sop up the gravy?

Free Menu Planners for Fall!

And with that, I wanted to remind you that we offer several free downloadable menu planners that are perfect for this fall! And, they come with free coordinating downloadable grocery lists. They are fun. They are free. Print them, put them on your fridge, and use them to your heart’s content. Some have even laminated them so that they can use them over and over!

Download your free fall menu planners and grocery lists here.

What is the easiest way you’ve found to plan meals? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants?  :)

I want to thank you all for making our month of the Funky Fresh Kitchen so much fun!! I’m a little sad that it’s ending. Ah, but there will still be more fun recipes and giveaways and homemaking ideas in the weeks to come. I still have several Crock Pot Recipes that I didn’t have a chance to post in September. Gotta work those in soon!

This is your one last chance to leave a comment for a chance to be entered in our giveway for two $25 and one $50 gift certificates to the Heavenly Homemakers Shop! I will draw three random winners Monday, October 1. Please share what you’ve enjoyed most about our month of the Funky Fresh Kitchen. :)

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, September 30
Oatmeal, fruit
Roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy
High School Huddle at our friend’s house

Monday, October 1
Whole wheat waffles, applesauce
Alphabet soup, cottage cheese and peaches
Grilled barbecue chicken, tossed salad, green beans

Tuesday, October 2
Zucchini bread, bananas
Bean and cheese burritos, pineapple
Shepherd’s pie, tossed salad

Wednesday, October 3
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Thursday, October 4
Breakfast burritos, creamy orange coolers
Chicken salad on homemade pita bread, green beans
Cheeseburger macaroni, tossed salad, peas

Friday, October 5
No knead whole wheat bread, fruit salad
Chicken patty sandwiches, creamy cole slaw
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, October 6
Flaky cream cheese pastry, grapes
Leftovers
Turkey sausage and red bean stew, fruit

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a gift certificate!