I’m not sure what it’s like at your house, but at my house today it is potato soup weather. And wear your slippers weather. And oh yeah…don’t forget to take off your slippers and put on shoes before you run to the store weather. I’m trying to retrain my boys to close the big front door when they go in and out…they are very much out of the habit since for the past few months we’ve been leaving it open to let the breeze blow through the house. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said, “Hey! Close the door behind you!” today, I’d have a nice fat wallet. If they had a dollar for every time they’ve heard me holler and still left the door open, they would also have big fat wallets. As it turns out, neither of us have big fat wallets and the big door is currently standing wide open. ;)

We’ll be feeding the YC ladies soccer team dinner Monday night…lasagna of course. It’s what several of them request (with puppy dog eyes) when I see them and who am I to say no? My boys are also excited that I’m making lasagna…it would appear that I don’t make it enough or something. They throw a party when they hear that lasagna is on the menu. Maybe I should make more lasagna around here? 

Here’s what our menu  looks like for this week:

Sunday, September 19
Oatmeal
Potato soup, raw carrots and broccoli with ranch dressing, honey wheat muffins
Grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, watermelon

Monday, September 20
Crepes with jelly, oranges
BLTs, peaches, carrot sticks
Lasagna, tossed salad, french bread, butterscotch bars, Lynn’s No-Bake Cookie Bars

Tuesday, September 21
Orange muffins, bananas
Chicken and noodles, carrots
Pizza casserole, tossed salad, corn

Wednesday, September 22
Mini apple pies, cheese
Chili, whole wheat sourdough biscuits
Chicken veggie stir fry with yellow squash, carrots and broccoli

Thursday, September 23
French toast with homemade peach syrup
Cheddar ranch burgers on homemade buns, green beans, fresh tomatoes
Black beans and rice with salsa, corn and kreme fresh

Friday, September 23
Giant Breakfast Cookies, applesauce
Homemade pizza pockets, pears, raw veggies
Chicken Fried Steak Strips, gravy, ranch potato wedges, peas

Saturday, September 24
Scrambled eggs, peaches
Leftovers
Swiss Steak with rice, tossed salad

I hope you’ve taken the time to check out our new Homeschool Curriculum Share Forum and the new Healthy Grocery Discount Page! Coming up in just a couple of days…another fun announcement!

(One of my boys just came in and asked for a some cheese. And I said, “Sure I can cut you some cheese.” Ahahahaha…cut the cheese. Yeah we’re having a big laugh at our house now because Mama is going to go cut some cheese….)

We survived our nine soccer games last week. We survived the musical. In fact, games and musical were better than great! You’ve heard enough about our soccer week, but I’ll share more about the musical later…because you do want to see my boys in their costumes, right? 

Now, we are enjoying some out of town guests for a couple of days! I’ll share more on Gratituesday!

Here’s our menu for this week! Oh, and I’m happy to report that we have way less than nine soccer games this week…plus NO musical practices! Whatever shall I do with all my extra time?!

Sunday, April 25
Oatmeal, peaches
Potluck – take chocolate chip cookies, turkey sandwiches
Pizza, fruit

Monday, April 26
Chocolate chip pancakes, milk
Picnic in the park – Quesadillas, carrot sticks, apples, juice
Southside Grille with out of town guests

Tuesday, April 27
Creamy Orange Cooler, fried eggs on toast,
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad

Wednesday, April 28
Orange Muffins, bananas
Sloppy cornbread, green beans
Lamb roast, potatoes, gravy, carrots

Thursday, April 29
Honey whole wheat bagels, applesauce
Taco salad, fruit kabobs
BBQ brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Friday, April 30
Breakfast cake, pears
Sweet beans and franks, bread and butter, apples
Hamburgers on whole wheat hamburger buns, onion rings

Saturday, May 1
Turkey sausage and egg scramble, clementines
Leftovers
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad

And now, a few random items of interest…

Hallee the Homemaker is beginning an online Bible study on May 1. She’ll be taking you through a study of Stomie Omartian’s book, The Power of a Praying Wife. Join in if you can!

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There is one day left to sign up for the following giveaways:  Tropical Traditions Organic Palm Shortening; Malachi’s Harvest Gourmet Granola; Green, American Style Book. Don’t miss out!

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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

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You have to check out The Junk Drawer! Kathy is one of our sponsors here and she is a hoot!

Download free menu planners here!

Recently one of my readers asked if I have any special method for menu planning. When planning a menu, I usually ask myself these questions:

• What do we have going on this week (field trips, soccer games, events, church activities, company coming, etc)?
• What is Matt’s work schedule this week?
• What do we have in the fridge that needs to be eaten up?
• What did we eat last week? (so I can offer a variety if possible)
• What do I have in the freezers and pantry?

Then, I plan meals accordingly. If we have soccer games, I’ll try to plan a quick meal before we leave…or plan something easy to heat up when we get home. If Matt is working in an evening, I’ll plan a bigger meal for lunchtime so he can share it with us. If we have a homeschool activity in the morning, I’ll plan something quick to heat up when we get home (or something transportable so we can eat on the way there or back).

I try to plan a variety, so that we don’t have three chicken meals in a row or the same veggie all week long. This helps keep food exciting for the kids…plus makes sure we get many different kinds of nutrients each day.

What about you…do you have a special way of planning your meals?

Sunday, April 11
Oatmeal, peaches
Leg of lamb, baked potatoes, honey glazed carrots, peas, honey wheat muffins
Homemade pizza pockets, fruit

Monday, April 12
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Fried chicken legs, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans
Bean and cheese burritos, clementines

Tuesday, April 13
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Spaghetti, tossed salad
Chicken fried steak strips, potato wedges, steamed broccoli and carrots

Wednesday, April 14
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins (recipe coming THIS week – finally!)
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad
Simple soaked pancakes, turkey sausage

Thursday, April 15
Breakfast burritos, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, steamed carrots
Italian roast wraps, fruit salad

Friday, April 16
Giant breakfast cookies, pears
 Corn dog muffins, fruit-kefir smoothies, carrot sticks
Homemade pizza

Saturday, April 17
Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit
Leftover buffet
Grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, carrot sticks

Hey, question for you of the UTMOST importance (not really)…

We got our toaster as a wedding gift and it has lasted 15  years (which means it’s actually 105 years old in toaster years – impressive). It’s been good to us and has toasted hundreds upon thousands of bready items. It is now on it’s last leg…sometimes toasting…sometimes forgetting to toast…sometimes sleeping through the entire process.

It’s time to get a new toaster. My question is…do you have any recommendations? Do you know of a great brand of toasters? OR do you think we should just get a toaster oven instead?!

See, I told you my question was important.