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Big Family Food and Fun: January 21-27, 2024

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Here’s our Food and Fun: January 21-27, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: January 21-27, 2024

Because of the extremely cold temps last week, our church building had a pipe burst and a lot of water damage. :( We are unable to use our building for a while now, so our ministry staff put together a worship service that we could stream online, and our church leaders organized families to meet together in people’s homes.

We were happy to open our home to whoever wanted to join us, so in preparation to host Sunday morning, I set out Bran Muffins I’d baked that morning, plus some Banana Muffins that were in our freezer.

I also made a pot of coffee and got out creamers and mugs.

We were thankful for the friends who gathered in our living room for worship that morning.

Our Kid’s Minister had organized a “Picnic with Pals” event for that day also. Since we couldn’t stay after church at our building to eat as originally planned, we all met at the Mall Food Court. The kids had helped me pack a picnic the day before. We ate cheese, turkey, crackers, pistachios, applesauce, juice, and cookie bites.

After we ate, several of us walked over to the Mall’s play area. It was so fun to burn off energy after so many days of being cooped up in the house. But the best part was being with friends. We are so thankful for the connections we are making here.

We watched a show when we got home so we could have some down time. Then for dinner I made a big Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole, using the leftover burgers I’d made last week. I topped it with leftover French Fried Onions I had in the pantry from Thanksgiving. This made the casserole so good! Also, not all of our kids like bacon so I left that on the side for people to stir in as desired.

After dinner that evening, I got Brayden and Kiya involved in scrubbing potatoes for our next day’s big meal. They are so capable of being big helpers, I just have to be intentional about involving them. They love it!

Monday morning we ate Bran Muffins that I cut in half, buttered, and warmed in the air fryer. They are so good this way! I also made several sheet pans of bacon and got out a container of yogurt to finish off.

Eva came over to help with kids that morning so I took Anna to an appointment then used my extra time to make a batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs. The kids love these, but mostly I make them because I’m addicted to them right now. :)

I took a photo of the smoothie full of greens I made that morning, just in case you were wondering if we still drink these every day. ;) For Matt and me, this blender-ful means survival. :)

Acacia has decided that she doesn’t need an afternoon nap any more. Ugh. So she and I did some baking during naptime. My plan was to make a double batch of Poppyseed Bread. But then I realized that I didn’t have poppyseeds or almond extract – both key ingredients in this recipe. So this turned out more like our knock-off Starbucks Lemon Loaf. It was delicious as our after dinner treat!

When the kids got home from school that afternoon, Elias figured out how to play our new Catan Junior game with them.

Malachi dropped by to pick up a few things. Just like when each of his older brothers left home and then came back for a visit, he seemed like a celebrity. :)

We’d been given two turkeys during the holiday season – one from the realtors who helped us buy our Castle and one from our foster care agency. I pulled one out of the freezer to thaw last week and baked it for dinner that night. We ate it with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. It was more work than a typical weeknight meal, but it was so good!

Unfortunately, we had a mix-up on getting leftovers put away so the leftover turkey got left out all night and wasted. Boohoohoo. :(

The good news is that I had already put the bones into the fridge and could still use them to make broth. I started cooking it during breakfast on Tuesday and it turned out great.

That morning, we had a home visit with our Speech Pathologist who comes to work with three of our kids. As you can see, the kids love her.

That afternoon I picked Brayden and Kiya up from school and we headed straight over to hand out food at the Food Distribution site where we volunteer. We had missed two weeks because of all the terrible weather and road conditions so it was so great to get back and see everyone. Now that we’ve been doing this for several months, we are starting to become acquainted with the clients who come through the food line each week. We love this.

I’m not able to have my phone out while people are coming through the line so I can’t show you pictures to describe the specifics of how this works. But local restaurants and grocery stores donate items that they can’t sell to an organization called Food Net. There are locations all over Lincoln throughout the week that give out this food to people who come at the designated pick-up times. The goal is that no food gets wasted and that no one goes hungry. It’s such a cool program and we’re so thankful we can serve in this way.

Volunteers are blessed with any excess, and often we come home with quite a bit of wonderful food.

We got some great bread and bagel items on Tuesday plus some fruit, sparkling water, chicken broth, and canned goods.

While Brayden, Kiya, and I are handing out food, Elias and Matt are home holding down the fort. I try to leave something easy for them to make for dinner while I’m gone. This week I left what I called “Taco Dip” which was all of last week’s Taco Bar leftovers stirred into a casserole like this. Elias warmed it up and scooped it onto plates with chips like this. It was so good!

Wednesday morning I made a pot of oatmeal and told the kids that after they ate theirs, they could have a Poptart. :) We’d been given a box of Organic Toaster Pastries at Food Distribution so this was very exciting!

The kids’ favorite way to eat oatmeal right now is with an overripe banana smashed up and stirred in.

Mid-morning we took our five littlest to a Music and Movement Storytime at one of our libraries. We got there early so we had time to play with the learning toys. The girls found the make-believe post office.

Meanwhile, Keith hung out at the Train Station.

The story time was SNOW themed this time. I tried to capture the fun they had dancing and singing with their snowflakes here…

Back at home, we decided that our table was a “charcuterie board” and just tossed out apples, clementines, nuts, and crackers for the kids to eat before the school bus came for Keith and Anna.

That afternoon, I baked Chocolate Cake full of spinach for our dessert that night. I topped it with this Cream Cheese Frosting, though instead of stevia I used a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar just to lightly sweeten it.

I also cracked 24 eggs onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets to bake. Once they came out of the oven I sprinkled shredded cheese on top to melt.

Then I cut the eggs into squares and turned them into 24 Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand. I’ve noticed that our third floor renters really enjoy grabbing these and warming them up for breakfast before heading to work. Elias, Brayden, and Matt really like them too. How long will 24 sandwiches last? I give them a week. :)

For dinner that night I made Smoked Sausage, Stir-Fried Veggies, leftover Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans, plus Mac and Cheese and Corn on the Cob we’d brought home from Food Distribution. Followed by Chocolate Cake of course.

I had to run out the door for Parent-Teacher-Conferences that evening, Justus and Kelsey came over to eat and to have a piano lesson with Brayden, and we had a lot of dishes to wash at the end of the day. That sums up Wednesday. :)

Thursday morning for breakfast I warmed up Sausage Links or Bacon, depending on kids’ preferences. Then we toasted and buttered some Cranberry Orange Bread we’d been given at the Food Distribution plus I sliced apples.

Mid-morning we piled all the littlest kids into the van and went to the Zoo Play Place to burn off energy.

We had freeze dried apples, crackers, and juice for a snack while we were there.

That afternoon, Elias took Brayden out for some one-on-one time (something we’ve decided to employ him to do a couple afternoons each week to help with some of B’s extra needs). So I used that time to pour extra energy into Kiya. We read through my fun new (old) cookbook and picked a recipe to make together. She learned about measuring cups and some simple, cooking basics and she LOVED IT. So did I. :)

I had put together a huge pan of Pizza Casserole that morning, so it baked while Kiya and I made her snack. We steamed broccoli to go with it.

That evening, one of our housemates, Abby, went out for dinner with some of our York friends, Melody and Alice. Abby returned home with a special bag for us from Melody – a 4-pint package of Culvers Ice Cream!!! Such a sweet surprise!

Friday is a big blur as Matt and Elias went to work in York for the day. Malachi came over and helped me with the kids, but I got no photos of our day because we were mostly in survival mode. We decided to take advantage of a Domino’s Pizza special offer for dinner. We knew we’d have up to 16 people joining us that evening, so I ordered seven larges, paid for them online, and my nephew Troy picked them up and delivered them for us at dinner time. He then grabbed the Baby and chased preschoolers and toddlers and basically, he was the hero of the night. :)

By the way, seven large two-topping pizzas that night only cost $53 – a pretty sweet deal!

Matt and Elias brought our Bonus Boy (former foster son) back from York with them Friday evening so that we could enjoy the weekend with him. Saturday morning we took all 8 kids to our favorite Sensory Story Time at one of our libraries.

BabyBoy#11 was soooooo cute, crawling up to the front where Librarian Diane was singing and reading and doing fun action games with us. He sat there the entire time, just like he was one of the big kids. :)

We then did something a bit crazy, but what do you do when you are almost out of milk, eggs, and formula?? We took all 8 kids into Walmart, oy. It was a good outing but wow, not one we want to enjoy regularly. I got zero pictures of the shopping time or groceries because we were keeping everyone alive and trying not to scan groceries twice. Also, Walmart on a Saturday?? WHY? But at least we now have milk, eggs, and formula. :)

I had made a big bowl of Tuna Salad before we left so as soon as we got home, we made sandwiches for lunch.

Our friend Katie came by for a visit and while we chatted, she washed dishes and swept my kitchen floor. SO SWEET!!

We had a couple extra friends over that afternoon so after they did crafts and painted nails (hello, we have girls now!!), we let them watch a movie. I made popcorn for everyone, and as it started popping out into the machine, Anna laughed and laughed!!

Dinner that night was one of our $5.00 Hams, along with Mac and Cheese and Peas.

It was time to get ready for bed after that, and that wraps up our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: November 26-December 2, 2023

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: November 26-December 2, 2023 post…

Here’s what we ate and what we did this week!

Big Family Food and Fun: November 26-December 2, 2023

Sunday morning we woke up to snow!! The kids were so excited and it was so pretty. They started making plans for sledding and a snowman – even though there was only about an inch of snow on the ground. ;)

I made a big pot of oatmeal to warm us up on a cold morning.

Before we left for church, I used leftovers from Thursday’s Nacho Buffet to make Taco Soup for us to eat for lunch when we got home.

I had made a lot of bacon from the sale I’d taken advantage of last week so I used some to make Turkey Bacon Cheese Subs for dinner. I cut and fried leftover baked potatoes plus warmed up leftover steamed broccoli.

We ate an early dinner that night because everyone started getting hungry early. Therefore, I knew we’d need a snack before bed. Anna and Acacia helped me make Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins and we set them aside for later.

We’ve found that our evenings can be LONG since it gets dark so early and it’s too cold to go outside to play. If we don’t have a plan and keep our evenings structured, everything can quickly turn to chaos. So we try to plan activities for our evenings to help the kids stay calm (<— this is a loose term, ha).

I had made a run to Hobby Lobby on Saturday and had taken advantage of their 1/2 off Christmas crafts sale. For such a low amount of money, I think we have enough evening projects to last us from now until Christmas!

This particular night, we used a chain kit I had picked up to make a Christmas Countdown Prayer Chain. The littlest five kids mostly just crawled around and tried to destroy the chain, oy. But Brayden and Kiya were engaged in helping. We thought of 30 people or people groups (aunts, uncles, cousins, our church, etc) to pray for and wrote them on our chain pieces. Each day from now until Christmas, we’ll take off the end of the chain and pray for whoever we wrote down.

This was SUCH a good activity for our kids, though it did trigger some sadness, hurt, and tears as we wrote down some of their biological family’s names. We prayed differently that night at bedtime – for continued healing for the ones they miss and for the ones that caused hurt. These precious children are so dear.

We moved on to our muffins before heading up to get ready for bed. As it turns out, we needed to finish all of our clementines too. :)

Monday the kids had a final day off from school before going back after Thanksgiving break. Eva came over to help with the littles and I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution set up to help get ready for the Tuesday giveaway.

Brayden spent most of his time helping Kathleen, the leader of this distribution site, set up a snack table.

Kiya and I used sharpies to mark out the bar codes on products. I took this TERRIBLE picture as I was trying to not waste time with my phone out and as a result, moved my hand while snapping it. I’m posting it here anyway, you know, to prove that Kiya was there too, haha.

When Kiya and I finished marking all the chip bags, Keith helped drive the boxes into the store room.

After naptime that day, the little girls and I made a big batch of Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies. I put them into the freezer for later in the Christmas season for us to decorate and share with people.

For dinner we had Beef Roast that I’d slow cooked all day with carrots. I made cornbread (from a mix, thank you Costco).

Before bedtime that evening, we all gathered in the dining room to enjoy the first prayer link in our Christmas countdown prayer chain that we’d made the night before. We prayed together for aunts, uncles, and cousins then sang some songs before heading up to bed.

I love that I was able to capture this sweet moment with Anna, Josie, Elias, and Malachi. :)

Tuesday morning the kids headed back to school after a six-day Thanksgiving break. I made Bacon Cheesy Eggs with applesauce for breakfast.

We felt like we could all use an outing, so after we dropped Brayden and Kiya off at school the rest of us went to Aldi for groceries. Right away, I loaded up on salad kits and other produce.

Matt kept his cart on the move so that BabyBoy#11 wouldn’t fuss. We got stocked back up on our Aldi favorites before heading out to run other errands that morning.

That afternoon Brayden, Kiya, and I handed out food and helped clean up at our Food Distribution site. There was quite a bit leftover so we were blessed to bring home some food for our household too. Here’s a fuzzy picture of the kids heading to the van after their great volunteer work.

Back at home, we enjoyed dinner that had been cooking in the crock pots. Smoked Sausages and Party Potatoes with a salad.

We also got out the containers of raspberries we’d picked up at Aldi that morning. They looked like this in exactly four minutes:

Wednesday morning we used fresh greens to make these smoothies to go with our breakfast.

Late morning, all the littles “helped” me make pizza for lunch. BabyBoy#11 entertained himself on the floor crawling around and playing with toys. I choose to ignore how many times the kids licked sauce off their fingers. All the germs baked off in the oven, right? Sure. They did.

Here are the first two pans of pizza. Another pan was still baking, giving us LOTS of pizza to enjoy.

Which is why for dinner that night we ate more pizza. :) Matt and Elias had been gone all day so I was a bit worn out and didn’t feel like making anything else. Brayden learned how to put together salad kits to go with our (cold) pizza, and that was dinner!

We sat at our living room table later that evening and made paper ornaments with stickers. The kids had so much fun with this craft!

The next day I was blessed to take a day off!! Matt, Elias, and Malachi watched the kids all day so that I could have a much-needed day to myself. I Christmas shopped most of the day, which I loved. My final stop was Costco, and Matt and I had decided that their pizza would be our dinner. Did we just have pizza three-meals in a row? Yes. Did all the kids get fed? Yes. This is a win.

Eva had taken new photos for our family on Thanksgiving and I had picked up the prints that day while I was out. So we gathered around on the floor by our “picture wall” so the kids would watch me update their pictures. I couldn’t believe how long they sat still watching me!

Part of the fun was seeing all of the older photos in each frame. (Every year I just add the new photo to the front of the pile. So each time we open up the frame, we can look at all the photos inside to see how much each kid has changed through the years.)

Tada! The updated wall!

Friday morning I made Breakfast Sandwiches.

Mid-morning we took the littlest five to play at one of our libraries. Wow, was it a disaster that morning. We had a lot of rough behaviors while we were there, plus poopy diapers and kids who needed to poop and bleh. Some outings are great, and some are not. This one was not. As always, Matt and I are discussing what might have gone wrong and what we could do differently next time. But some of their behaviors are triggered by who-knows-what and happen who-knows-when. Ugh, God help us. (He is. He always does.)

Naptime was extra good and needed that day. I spent some time baking (which was therapeutic for me!) so that we could have easy snacks on hand. I made a double batch of Lemon Muffins, which only turned out so-so.

Then another batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins, which have become a favorite!

And then some Crustless Cheesecakes which I personally really like to eat on the run.

We had a super early dinner because we had tickets to go see our Zoo Lights (a wonderful and sweet gift from a dear friend). That morning I had “dumped sauce on chicken” for an easy meal. I rewarmed Tuesday’s potatoes, made a salad, warmed up corn, and made a bowl of Pineapple Fluff. We were nice and full, then got bundled up to walk around the zoo to see the awesome lights.

Here we are at the entrance, putting on our 3-D glasses which made all the lights look like candy canes.

We headed to the train right away so we could hopefully avoid long lines.

After the train ride, we walked through the zoo and had an amazing experience enjoying all the lights. At 7:30, BabyBoy#11 declared that we were FINISHED, poor guy. It was time to get ready for bed anyway, so we headed back to the van to go home and get to bed.

Saturday morning I made French Toast like this, Warm Vanilla Soother, and several pans full of bacon.

Kelsey texted later that morning to share that she’d made my Applesauce Muffins and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. So fun!

We had read that Home Depot was offering a free workshop for kids to come and build Gingerbread Houses so we decided to give it a try.

Apparently every single family in Lincoln had decided to try it too. This was only half of the crowd we discovered there! So we took our kits “to-go” knowing with all seven littles, we’d never be able to build and paint our kits there.

Back at home, Matt took the kids to the basement to build their houses.

Brayden was very determined to build his without help and he did a great job!

They were very proud of their finished products. :)

I made a big pot of hotdogs for lunch with sliced pears and a plate of veggies.

That afternoon I made one huge Lasagna plus three regular sized Lasagnas (because if you’re going to make one you might as well make four).

We cleaned out the fridge’s leftovers for dinner that night, got baths, and enjoyed a little bit of Husker volleyball before heading to bed. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 20-26, 2023

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Our big family food and fun this week revolved around our new school routine and extremely hot temperatures.

First, let’s all be blessed to see these two amazing brothers in the matching outfits I found on clearance at Sam’s. Sweet score!

And now onto the food and fun!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 20-26, 2023

Now, if you recall, last week I forgot to plug in the crockpot when I made dinner to leave for Asa, Eva, Elias, and Malachi to feed all the littles when Matt and I went out for our anniversary. So this week, while making a big Sunday Lunch for guests, I was very intentional about plugging in not one but three crock pots. There, my job is done. Lunch will be perfect. I sent this picture to Eva to show that I’d learned from my mistake.

But alas, when we arrived home from church to finish lunch prep, there sat my smallest crock pot. It had been plugged in. But had its owner turned it on? No she had not.

Well shucks. Can’t win ’em all I guess. Lunch that day was a big Nacho Bar, and the cold crock pot was fully cooked taco meat that was supposed to be warm by the time we got home. Nothing a skillet can’t fix in five minutes, right?!

I forgot to take pictures of our fully set out Nacho Bar with it’s chicken, beef, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, spinach, and chips. It was a tasty lunch! And here’s a picture of the mess after lunch.

Humidity and temps were high that day (and all week) so dinner that night was leftover burgers from last week, rewarmed on the stove plus bowls of cottage cheese with pineapple.

We ate outside, not because the weather was pleasant, but because the kids were all wet. Matt had set up our little pools and a sprinkler for them. We let them all just get wet in their clothes instead of changing to swimsuits. My laundry pile is big enough as it is. :)

Monday morning I made a griddle full of Eggs in a Nest. These are a favorite of our kids! Except for this particular day, two of my kids declared that they didn’t like them. Ugh. I guess these don’t taste good on Mondays?? (Meanwhile, Kiya ate three of them. No one can predict who will eat what.)

I made Beanie Weanies and packed it in Brayden and Kiya’s thermoses for lunch. I left the remainder of the mixture in the pan to rewarm for the four littles at home for lunch.

For dinner that night, I made simple quesadillas with leftover chicken, cheese, and spinach.

We ate them with grapes and we ate in shifts. Everyone was hot and tired after a big, hot day at school. I finished making the quesadillas but then I needed to feed the baby so I just threw food out on the table and let everyone come eat as they realized it was ready. :)

After everyone ate, Matt got the sprinkler set up again so everyone could cool down.

After they played for a while, I brought out some Go-gurts I had frozen. Now, not only were the kids wet and covered in dirt and grass, they were also sticky. Meh, no biggie. We hosed them all down before heading in for the night. :)

Tuesday morning, we ate yogurt and granola before school. After we delivered Brayden and Kiya to the school door, Matt and I walked back with the five littlest and made a plan to find some kind of air conditioned play place so that we could get the kids out of the house. It was 106 degrees that day, but we were going stir crazy. I packed a snack of animal crackers, cheese sticks, and grapes and we loaded up and headed out.

We checked out a fun play place at a church north of town. It’s open to the public all day long. Very cool!

The kids loved running around and playing! Then we sat them down to “snack” on what sort of become their lunch. (Keith and Anna’s bus picks them up for preschool a little after noon, so we feed them early.)

Once we were home and got Keith and Anna sent off to school, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 played in the living room while Matt and I dug into the fridge for leftovers for our own lunch. We’ve been given lots of lovely fresh garden produce from church friends and neighbors, and the tomatoes right now are amazing! I warmed up a leftover burger from last week and cut it up with a fresh tomato. Of course we also had our smoothies. ;)

The thought of cooking was not pleasant since it was 106 that day, so I made Chicken Salad Sandwiches with spinach. I cut up a cold watermelon and that was a very refreshing side dish!

After we ate, we took the kids for a surprise treat. We needed another indoor, air-conditioned outing so we found a McDonald’s with an actual Play Place (remember how we tried this before and got let down?!).

We especially loved the cool interactive light table!

Matt downloaded the McD’s app to see what deals we could get. He paid for two cups of ice cream to share and got a free large fry. The kids LOVED this! This amount was perfect for our littles to share, and I think he spent about $5 for everything. And phew, we made it through another hot night with the kids.

Wednesday morning I made eggs, sausage, and toasted buttered bagels for breakfast. Matt headed to York to work on our properties and Elias became my side-kick for the day.

We got Brayden and Kiya to school. Then while Elias stayed in the house with BabyBoy#11, I (bravely or ridiculously?!) took all four of the others outside to “help” me wash our van. It needed a good scrub and getting wet on this super hot day sounded like a good idea.

Keith (age 4) was put in charge of the hose. The girls got washrags to help me scrub. It actually all went quite well for about half and hour. We were all drenched (thank you, Keith) and the van wasn’t perfect but looked better than it did. So we decided it was a win.

We hosed everyone off, changed into dry clothes, drank lots of water, and ate leftover quesadillas cold out of the fridge. Then we put on shoes and went to the library to play with their learning toys. Why did we do this? Air. Conditioning. Plus toys that are different from the toys at our house.

BabyBoy#11 isn’t yet sitting up but this was a good spot to practice.

Three out of five kids melted down before we got all the toys picked up at the library. “Librarian Diane” was absolutely beautiful in how she came and helped. She magically got all three little girls on board to help her pick up blocks while Elias and I dealt unsuccessfully with Keith who was beyond tired. We made it home and tucked all five in for naps. (Preschool was canceled because of the extreme heat. Good timing as these kids needed make-up naps after their big transition into school.)

Dinner that night was straight from the freezer because Mama was tired. I threw nuggets and fries into the air fryer and made a blender full of these smoothies so the kids could drink some spinach with their processed food. ;)

For breakfast Thursday morning, I made this recipe for Chewy Granola Bars x5. These were a huge hit (though we had to eat them in bowls with spoons because I didn’t make them in time to refrigerate/harden them).

Later in the day, after the bars had been in the fridge for several hours, I cut and transferred them to a Pyrex dish for easy-to-grab breakfasts and snacks.

We spent a good part of our morning with one of our Early Development specialists. Our littlest kids, ages 0-3, are serviced by this team for early intervention so that we can get ahead of some of their extra needs. This has been such a gift for our family. Today Keith, Anna, Acacia, and Josie all hovered around the specialist, Bridgette, who had captured their attention with a game. I snuck this picture of them all because they were all being so sweet and fun!

Right after this meeting ended, I had to run off to the elementary school for yet another meeting for another of our kids. As much as we loved our homeschooling years and are prayerfully open to homeschooling again if God leads us to do it, we are so very thankful for all of the necessary resources that the public schools offer for our family to meet our needs right now. We were so cared for in York and we are now being very well cared for in Lincoln.

I got home in time for lunch, frying leftover baked potatoes and serving it with Sunday’s leftover nacho dip and taco meat. I also got out grapes for the kids to squish all over everything eat to their hearts’ content.

The kids are all home from school by 4:00 or a little after, and we sit at the table to get homework done right away so we can get it over with. :/

I’ve found that everyone is super hungry by 4:30 and snacks aren’t going to cut it. So at this point, I’m making very early dinners and then giving everyone a small snack around 6:30 before we start getting ready for bed.

That night I had planned to make a simple meal of this 3-Cheese Spaghetti. But while looking in my freezer for parmesan cheese to go with the recipe, I came across a package of shrimp. Ah, that would be good with the noodles! So I turned the 3-Cheese Spaghetti over to Elias and I made Garlic Butter Shrimp, which was a pretty exciting addition to our meal! I grabbed out bacon crumbles for people to stir into their cheesy spaghetti if they preferred that instead of shrimp, plus made buttered peas and got out watermelon.

Dinner was over by 5:00, haha, so while I worked on dishes, I sent Brayden out to set up the sprinkler for everyone. Today was supposed to be the last of the 106 degree weather, and we knew water was the only way to make it through.

I had corn on the cob in the fridge that we’d bought over the weekend at the farmer’s market and I was concerned that it would go bad if we didn’t get it prepped to eat soon. So after they’d played in the water for a while and cooled off, I took the corn out and had everyone help me get it shucked.

Not understanding that the corn needed to be cooked, Josie and Acacia got excited and helped themselves. ;)

The kids went back to their water play, a neighbor stopped by for a visit, and I somehow managed to give Brayden a much-needed hair cut before we headed in for the night.

Friday morning we had cereal and some of the  Chewy Granola Bars I had made the day before. Brayden had to be at school early because he gets to take part in a Ukulele Ensemble – so fun! Lunch was PB&J, which I always forget to add to our menu and always wonder why I don’t make them more often. But then again, the girls get super messy when eating them so…

Dinner was extra fun because some dear friends came and joined us for the evening. We made the corn on the cob plus a big pot of Stir Fry. (We’ve been so blessed with friends sharing their garden produce with us!)

We’d picked up a cantaloupe at the Farmer’s Market and it was extra sweet.

Breakfast on Saturday morning was French Toast made like this – always a hit!

The temps had finally cooled down, so I took advantage by doing some much-needed (or much-wanted, ha) baking. I thawed all the bananas I’d stashed in our freezer and made this Banana Bread/Muffin recipe x4. I also baked a quadruple batch of these Brownies to share at a church fellowship lunch.

We had big plans for an outing that morning, but the plans got derailed by some immediate issues Matt needed to work on at our Castle. It’s such a fabulous place, but it is a historic home, so the age of the house brings with it some issues. Good thing Matt’s so handy!

The change of plans did not set well with our kids, so while Matt was dealing with house issues, I was dealing with behavior issues. Blech. I’m so thankful for God’s provision for us. I have to rely on Him constantly.

Three hours of exhaustion later, and an hour later than planned, we were able to load up and get out the door. Matt and I were both a bit frazzled, but the outing needed to happen so that the kids had a change of scenery. We went to a super cool “Wordstock” literacy event at a park – everything revolved around reading and books.

There were games on the lawn, and of course, everyone got to take home a new book.

They also all got a balloon. Somehow we managed to get all the balloons home without one blowing away or popping?!?!

I had cooked – wait – I had burned some hotdogs in a big pot before we left (who burns hotdogs??). It sort of worked to hide the black parts by putting them burnt-side down. ;)

We ate them at the park after enjoying Wordstock.

Naptime/Rest time was a welcome event for the parents after a morning with extra needs. :) That afternoon, Matt and I worked together to finish that morning’s house issue project while the kids rested and napped.

Oh, but were they napping??? Or were they just dangerously quiet?

Ah, the face of “innocence.”

I used a pizza kit I had picked up at Costco, along with some sausage I had browned to make pizza that night.

I had browned three pounds of sausage, because why just cook what you need for one meal when you can dirty the same amount of dishes and get extra food cooked for the future?

We bathed the three little girls (Anna’s marker turned the water blue), jammied them up, then took a walk to the Sunken Gardens before bedtime.

We got everyone to bed (after making sure all the markers and pens were properly hidden from toddlers and preschoolers). What a week! God is good and faithful. Hope your week was a good one!

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Big Family Food and Fun: July 2-8, 2023

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We are slowly but surely getting settled in at our Castle. We are amazed at and grateful for the care people are showing us here!

Our moving truck got unloaded last Friday, leaving every room of our house looking something like this:

Picture toddlers climbing over that and rearranging boxes as I try to sort and organize. That’s been interesting – but as I share our Food and Fun photos of this week, take note at all God is providing for us so that we can survive these crazy days!

Food and Fun – July 2-8

My friend Cindy, whom I’ve known for a few years but rarely get to spend time with, came by on Saturday with two of her girls. They brought us this huge box of cherries!!!! She and her girls helped me unpack and clean and play with kids for several hours. How lovely that we will all live in the same town and are able to do life together now. :)

Sunday morning I cooked two pounds of meat from my freezer so we could have a quick meal of tacos when we got home from church. This felt so normal!! Which felt so good in the middle of everything that is not normal right now.

Someone at church gave us these beauties from their garden as we were leaving. What a gift!

Sam’s is a mile from church, so Matt gave all the kids a snack while Elias and I ran into the store to grab a few essentials for our 4th of July celebration plus fresh produce we needed. We grabbed hotdogs and buns, guacamole, queso, grapes, greens, apples, bananas, nectarines, sweet peppers, and strawberries. Oh, and Spindrift drinks were on sale – Elias’ and my fav sparkling water! ;) We got home and ate our tacos then got littles down for naps.

That evening I made a plate full of small turkey sandwiches and took them outside for a picnic with pickles, watermelon, and cheese.

I had a package of English muffins in the freezer, so I made scrambled egg sandwiches for breakfast the next day. I was itching to make something (my kitchen is amazing, who cares if it wasn’t fully unpacked yet?!). So I blended up our favorite Cheesecake Parfait recipe to enjoy with our strawberries.

Mid-morning was already very hot so we enjoyed popsicles to help us cool off.

Lunchtime got super exciting because we got word that our custom-built dining room table was on its way!! I had thawed chicken legs to smoke for our meal because Asa and Eva were planning to join us for the day. Plus I’d sliced up all the squash we’d been given to stir fry and enjoy with our chicken.

Our table was built by Sola Woodshed Designs, friends of ours whom I’d messaged several weeks ago to see if they’d want to tackle my huge table project. :) They did a marvelous job and joined us for lunch too. Check out this beauty of a table!! Even better is the people all around the table…

I asked for a 12-feet long farmhouse table, not fancy, just big. :) I requested long benches for seeing instead of chairs so we could fit more people around our table. It’s perfect! We went with four 6-feet benches instead of two 12-feet long benches. It’s amazing.

After such a full morning and a big lunch, we made frozen pizza for dinner.

That evening, more neighbors stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood and they came with four pounds of strawberries for us. Perfect!

Tuesday’s breakfast was peanut butter honey toast with bananas and yogurt.

Our fridge looked so delicious, full of cherries, nectarines, and strawberries!

Tuesday afternoon, friends stopped by for a visit and they brought several boxes of food – a gift from the Helping Hands ministry at church. This was all so perfect so that we had easy foods to throw out as snacks and side dishes.

Our 4th of July celebration day was as busy as the other days have been with more unpacking and sorting. But that night we put hotdogs on our smoker and had a feast with Asa and Eva joining us. (Justus and Kelsey have been in Montana visiting her family.)

I snapped this photo of our oldest with our youngest. THIS is why we moved to Lincoln.

While were were outside celebrating, our friend Rebecca stopped by with food that her mom, Barbara, had made for us. They have been so intentional about helping us settle in, and it is remarkable. They had taken the turkey we had in our freezer so they could roast it for us. AMAZING and so very helpful. The delicious cooked bird was delivered along with a big bag of banana pancakes, prepared salad, a bag of kid-sized apples, baby carrots with homemade ranch dip, and a bag of ready-to-eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This was so thoughtful and has been so helpful!

Our girls dug right into the pancakes the next morning!

Matt and I decided that the kids needed an outing so we packed everyone into strollers and headed out to explore our new surroundings. We made our way to our closest library to check it out!

Everyone had good naps (or rest times) that afternoon, then we warmed up the turkey Barbara had made us along with green beans, strawberries and cream, and salad.

The next morning, Matt and Brayden headed to York to do some work on our house there. I packed them a feast to get them through their day.

While they were gone, Eva and I took the other six on a long walk to play at a park. We enjoyed capri suns with raisins and veggie straws mid-morning.

I’d warmed up leftover 4th of July hotdogs before we left and they were still hot at lunchtime. We ate them before heading home!

That night I made Turkey Cheese Melts with more of Barbara’s turkey. We ate them with fries and watermelon.

Friday morning we took the kids to visit another library all morning. We came home and made pancakes and eggs.

A dear friend sent us a gift of flamingo paper goods and a Dominos gift card from Arkansas, so we enjoyed a fun pizza meal that night!

Saturday morning, Anna and I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins before everyone else slept. It was my first time baking anything and it was so nice!

We went to “Discovery Days” that morning on the UNL campus where the kids enjoyed fun science activities at each booth. We took a snacky lunch to enjoy late morning before coming home in time for naps.

While the kids were napping and resting, I went to the grocery store for the first time since moving. Our three littlest girls plus Baby Boy#11 are all on WIC, so I focused on getting all of those qualifying items.

While I was there, I took advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free pork loin sale. Plus I picked up a few other things we needed. Out of pocket I paid $78.

 

Before leaving for the store, I had put this Taco Pasta in the crock pot for dinner. Justus and Kelsey were on their way home from Montana so I told them to stop by for dinner if they wanted. Then I texted Asa to come (Eva was out of town). Asa invited our friends Seth and Corrie. Malachi’s friend Max came over. Elias’ friend Emma came to see the house and accepted our invite to stay and eat.

There ended up being 18 of us, all at the last minute. I LOVE THIS. The Taco Pasta turned out great, and we pulled out lots of sides to round out the meal: watermelon, black beans, corn, cherries, veggie tray, chips and guac, brownies, and rice krispie treat. Our table was full and it was fantastic.

Stay tuned for lots of pictures of what the past week and a half have looked like for us as we settle in!

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Simple Spaghetti Squash for Delightful Sapiens

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This is a regular (albeit amazing) spaghetti squash recipe. It’s intended for all people, mankind, and sapiens. However, WordPress informs me that titles with uncommon words perform better. Sapiens fits the bill. Ha!

Simple Paleo Spaghetti

I’ve been eating a paleo diet for over three months! Simple meals are slowly making their way back into my life. I spent the first month floundering and relearning how to use my kitchen. The second month I discovered all the “junk” food I could make with honey and maple syrup and and ate an insane amount of homemade chocolate. But I’m rocking this new diet now. My crowd-pleasing, feed-the-people meal is either a ginormous salad with Almond-Orange Dressing or spaghetti squash. (Or both.)

The spaghetti squash topic has already been covered by Laura. 

spaghetti squash

Yum

If you search on this sight you will find multiple spaghetti squash posts. Like how to cook it in an instant pot. (Highlights: Gut it. 5 minutes. Or leave whole and 20 minutes.) But, I had more information to share. I’ll see your spaghetti squash and I’ll raise you sausage. At first I was afraid this idea was too simple to even bother sharing, but after our great dinner last night with friends, they encouraged me to please share. Mostly because she wanted the “recipe.” 

Make it now. Eat it later. It’s a no-fuss dinner. 

Here’s how it went down. One morning I remembered I had a meeting scheduled at my house the next day. This meeting would last until suppertime. Therefore, I wanted to make something I could pop in the oven at four o’clock and then feed the delightful sapiens at five o’clock. No prep. No mess. 

While I was overseeing third-grade math and language arts I baked two spaghetti squash in the oven (In short, slice in half, gut, bake “bowl-down” at 350* for 40-50 minutes. Or use the instant pot. Or bake whole and gut later). I chopped romaine leaves and other vegetables for a nice salad and put it all-together in a bowl in the fridge to be served with the amazing Almond Orange Paleo Dressing. Next, I cooked two pounds of pork sausage. 

When the squash was thoroughly cooked, I pulled it from its shells with a fork. This next part is where it gets exciting. THEN I mixed it with the sausage and a can of pasta sauce and spread it all into a 9X13 pan. Done. Mostly. 

A pre-made simple meal!

The next day, I simply popped the pan into the oven and re-heated it at 350° for an hour. At five o’clock the smell filled the dining room and I remembered I had completely forgotten to extend the invitation to dinner to our friends. “Oh, hey. You guys wanna stay and eat with us? Dinner’s already in the oven. We’re having squash and salad and stuff.” Haha. Who could turn down an invitation like that? They stayed. A good time was had by all indeed. Especially by my four-year-old, who cleaned his plate and spent the majority of the meal explaining, in detail to fresh ears, everything he knew about dinosaurs. 

looking at books

Simple meal prep is the best kept secret for the ease of serving other sapiens.

I want to be able to host and feed the people at a moment’s notice. When I first switched to paleo, I wasn’t able to do this. How could I bless others when I was following detailed recipes that included ingredients I wasn’t used to and only had enough on hand for four servings? After weeks of learning new skills, I’ve been able to put Laura’s good advice to work with my new diet requirements. I have pre-formed Salisbury steak (fancy burgers) in the freezer. I have riced cauliflower and shrimp on hand for quick and fun stir-fry. My fridge is usually full-to-bursting with fresh vegetables for snacks and salads because that’s fast food around here. Homemade chocolates, almond flour muffins, and green smoothies are a new staple. Whatever your diet needs, there are ways to make it simpler. I’m sure of it! 

Premade Spaghetti Squash Dinner
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • Two Spaghetti Squash
  • Two Pounds Pork Sausage (or regular ground beef or pork)
  • 24 ounces of pasta sauce of your choosing
  • If using a plain pasta sauce, add salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasonings to taste.
Instructions
  1. Slice the squash down the middle to make two bowls and discard the seeds with a spoon.
  2. Oil the cut rings and place bowl-down on a pan with edges. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
  3. To check for doneness, a knife should easily slide into the squash.
  4. Brown the sausage in a skillet, pour off the extra grease if desired.
  5. Mix the squash, sausage, and sauce together. Add any extra seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, garlic, etc.)
  6. Serve immediately, or spread in a 9x13 and refrigerate up to three days.
  7. To reheat, put the cold pan in the the oven and then set to 350 for an hour.

Have you ever given spaghetti squash a chance? 

I double-dog dare you to make it for dinner this week. Only mix in some great sausage and pasta sauce and voilá: Simple dinner for the masses. Just to be clear: viola is a musical instrument (played by skilled sapiens). Because I already knew that, I did not *ahem* need to search the web for the proper spelling of the French term “to suggest an appearance as if by magic.” Ya learn something new every day!

Tasha HackettTasha Hackett, friend of Laura and author of Bluebird on the Prairie, a Christian historical romance releasing Spring 2021, is fueled by sunshine, paleo pudding, or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. Though she often pretends to be a ballerina while unloading the dishwasher, her favorite thing is writing with hope and humor to entertain and encourage women. Her time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give her the kind of love people write books about. You can connect with her at www.TashaHackett.com or Instagram @hackettacademy

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Meals to Take to Families With New Babies

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You know why I love taking meals to families who have new babies? Is it because I’m so servant hearted, loving, kind, and eager to bless these tired families? Oh please. It’s all about me.  Really. You should know this truth. Blah, blah, blah – here’s your food, hope you like it, I made it just for you, now where is your darling newborn?

Of course, I am totally kidding. (Oh she is so not kidding, said Matt.)  But I really do love helping families with newborns in their time of need. (What-ev-er, said my four boys in unison.)

Yeah. I love babies.  My babies are of the much taller, lankier, and less snuggly variety now. I love them dearly – even more than when they were newborns. Who knew that was possible? It just is. But given the opportunity to cuddle a newborn, and you know, give the tired mama’s arms a break (that’s me being graciously servant-hearted again, what-ev-er) – I take it. Sweet, sweet babies. I love them.

Taking a meal to a family with a newborn means that there are blessings all around! Tired parents don’t have to cook, older siblings get some special attention, and I’m sorry, did I not already make my point clear? I get to hold a newborn baby. Blessing upon blessing.

Meals to Take to Famililes With New Babies

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No doubt many of the foods listed in this post are great to take to others for reasons other than a new baby in the house (surgery, loss of loved one, illness, loss of job, or any other trying or exhausting situation). By all means, please use this list to take meals to anyone who might benefit. However, this post offers suggestions specific for the family who has a new addition.

Some items to keep in mind when you take a meal to a family with a new baby:

  • Stay away from hot peppers. Mom might be avoiding spicy food if she is nursing.
  • Check to be sure you are accommodating any allergies or dislikes the family may have.
  • Ask what time they prefer you deliver the meal.
  • If there are young children in the home, be sure to take foods that are easy to eat and typically enjoyed by kids. We’re trying to make Mom’s job easier, not harder.
  • Give lots of attention to the baby’s older siblings when you deliver the food.
  • Consider taking a little treat just for the “big brother(s)” and/or “big sister(s).” This could be something like 100% juice boxes, mini muffins, or even something non-edible like a new coloring book with crayons or a matchbox car.
  • Fresh fruit is always so refreshing after just having a baby. Ask what kind of fruit sounds good to Mom and pick some up to take along.
  • If you are able, it might be fun to take a little something extra for a quick and easy breakfast for the family to enjoy the next day. See list below for ideas.
  • If possible, take your food in dishes the family won’t have to wash and return to you.

Now onto the list of food ideas so you can hand them something wonderful when you say, “Blah, blah, blah – here’s your food, hope you like it, I made it just for you, now where is your darling newborn?”

Those are just the main dish ideas. Be sure to take plenty of fruit and veggie side dishes too! (You know I had to say that.)

What about breakfast?

Breakfast items like Easy Breakfast Casserole can be a fun change of pace for dinner. If you have extra time and resources, you can bless the family by taking along some Dark Chocolate Almond Granola or Giant Breakfast Cookies – something easy for them to eat in the morning after a sleepless night. Muffins and other breads are always fun to receive.

What are your favorite foods to take to families with new babies?

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