Menu Planning

So I am scouring in the internet today trying to find any and all recipes that I can slap on my calendar to make the next few weeks run as smooth as possible. 

I'm was nervous starting my job and what it will do to our already lack of family routine! I've tried a few things- cooking ahead for the days I work, planning a menu for the hubbie to follow, etc. and nothing has turned out to be "magical" at this point.

This past months I made a calendar of meals (in pencil of course!) and planned shopping, etc.  There was some rearranging, but that's what the pencil was for, and things worked out really well.  I even left blanks for left over days and I need a break days!

So to start things off I am collecting some other blogs that have freezer and slow cooker recipes that I can use as resources for my adventure!  Boy has pinterest been my best friend.

 So far my favorite had been Once a Month Mom where I also found a link for the "skinny" chefs called Skinny Mom (that's another post about my weight loss endeavor!).

Here's a few of the recipes I have tried that are keepers!! These were links found on Once a Month Mom.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

I'm a sucker for pork sandwiches- and my family loves them too. These turned out juicy and sweet!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 pound pork roast
• 0.5 teaspoon garlic salt
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
• 1.25 cups onion, sliced
• 0.75 cups root beer
• 0.25 cups ketchup
• 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 0.5 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon flour

Directions:

Sprinkle roast with garlic salt and pepper. Place in slow cooker. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over roast in crock pot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Remove roast and onions. Shred pork and discard onions. Add roast back to sauce in crock pot. Serve with buns and slaw if desired.

Freezing Directions:

Place all ingredients into freezer bag(s). Label and freeze. To serve: thaw in fridge. Place in crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Servings: 4

Author/Source: Heather @ Onceamonthmom.com, adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Mexican Dorito Casserole

Ingredients:

•2 c. shredded cooked chicken
•1 c. shredded cheese (or more if you are a cheese
  hound)
•1 can cream of chicken soup
•1/2 cup milk
•1/2 cup sour cream
•1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with      
  jalepenos-mild)
•1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
•Bag of doritos

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except doritos.
3. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

Servings: 4-6

Source: Domestic Chicky

Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 pound) ready-to-eat ham
• 1/4 cup whole cloves
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 2 cups honey
• 2/3 cup butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Score ham, and stud with the whole cloves. Place ham in foil lined pan.
3. In the top half of a double boiler, heat the corn syrup, honey and butter. Keep glaze warm while baking ham.
4. Brush glaze over ham, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Baste ham every 10 to 15 minutes with the honey glaze. During the last 4 to 5 minutes of baking, turn on broiler to caramelize the glaze. Remove from oven, and let sit a few minutes before serving.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

     

Prep Time 1 Hour / Cook Time 30 Minutes

/ Servings 10

 Ingredients

5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
¾ cups Butter

 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened

 ½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half

 ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt

 ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

  

  Preparation Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Directions:

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Sausage Egg Breakfast Bake

Sausage Egg Breakfast Bake

Ingredients:

·         1 pound bulk pork sausage, cooked and drained
·         1 1/2cups sliced fresh mushrooms (4 ounces)
·         8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
·         2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
·         2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
·         1 1/4 cups Original Bisquick® mix
·         1 cup milk
·         1 1/2 teaspoons salt
·         1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
·         1/2 teaspoon pepper
·         12 eggs

 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Layer sausage, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and cheese in dish. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour over cheese.

Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and set.

It's all about Christmas

So I am finally feeling the Christmas spirit!!  I have worked out the weekends menu... can't waut!

Friday:  Christmas dinner/ Caitie's birthday dinner with Mom
                     Glazed ham, baked mashed potatoes, macaroni & corn casserole, & tossed salad

Saturday: Soup and Sandwich (plus all the cookies, etc. you can find!)

Sunday:  Brunch casseroles, snacks and leftovers (since we will be at midnight mass)

So excited!!

Summer Fun!

I decided it's time to start working on a summer fun "to do" list! 

• Scrapbooking- I am so behind!  I would love to get caught up!!
• Gardening- this year, heat or no heat, it's time to expand the garden.
• Camping- we didn't go family camping at all last summer, I was taking classes and just couldn't ever get away!  This summer... no class!!!
• Paint the bathroom
• Paint Sam's room
• Run (at least twice a week)

I guess that's a good start to my list! 

Menu Planning Monday

This is a short and strange week due to the boys basketball state games!

Monday:
BUTTER CHICKEN
MOM'S GREAT GREEN BEANS
TOASTED GARLIC BREAD

Tuesday:
BROWN SUGAR MEATLOAF
MASHED POTATOES
BUTTERED CORN
DINNER ROLLS

Wednesday:
KIDS PORK CHOPS
ROASTED POTATOES

Thursday: in Lincoln for State

Friday:
BAKED SALMON
RICE
SALAD

Saturday: hopefully in Lincoln for State

Sunday:
Tim's choice!

Hope you all have a great week!!!
Check out Menu at http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday

BROWN SUGAR MEATLOAF

½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 5 x 9 loaf pan.
2. Press the brown sugar into the bottom of pan and spread with ketchup.
3. In a mixing bowl thoroughly mix all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf.
4. Place loaf on top of ketchup.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices run clear.
6. Serve with mashed potatoes, buttered corn and brown-n-serve dinner rolls.

Kids Pork Chops

Ingredients:
8 medium sized pork chops
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup catsup
1 cup Coca-Cola
Brown sugar for topping

Directions:1. Place pork chops in a baking pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the catsup and Coca-Cola and pour over the pork chops.
3. Sprinkle with tops of each pork chop with brown sugar.
4. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree F oven for 1 hour or until the pork chops are tender.

Great Green Beans:

2 (15 ounce) cans green beans
1 cube beef bouillon cube
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pinch garlic pepper seasoning

Directions:
1. Drain the green beans, reserving 1/2 of the liquid.
2. Dissolve the bouillon cube in the reserved liquid.
3. Place green beans and liquid in a saucepan. Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, butter and garlic pepper seasoning to taste.
4. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
5. Remove to serving bowl leaving beans sitting in their liquid. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

BUTTER CHICKEN

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup crushed buttery round cracker crumbs
½ teaspoon garlic salt
ground black pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
½ cup butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls.
2. Mix cracker crumbs with garlic salt and pepper.
3. Dip chicken in the eggs, and then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat.
4. Arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Place pieces of butter around the chicken.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Menu Planning Monday

There was no school yesterday- so today is my Monday!!!

Here's what's on the menu for this week:



Tues: Sweet & Savory Brisket

Wed: Chicken Fettucini Alfredo

Thurs: Cheeseburger Roll-ups

Fri: baked fish

Sat: Sticky Chicken

Sun: Enchilada Casserole

Hope you all have a great week!!!
Check out Menu at http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday Planning Monday

Sweet & Savory Brisket

Ingredients:

large brisket
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup grape jelly
1 pkg. onion soup mix

Combine ketchup, jelly and soup mix and spread over brisket in slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Slice and serve with juices.

CHICKEN-CHEESE ENCHILADAS

1 can Campbell's nacho cheese soup
1/2 c. milk
2 c. cooked chicken
1/2 c. salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
8 flour tortillas

In small bowl, combine soup and milk; set aside. In medium bowl, combine chicken, salsa, chili powder and 2 tablespoons of soup mixture. Along one side of each tortilla, spread about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture. Roll up each tortilla, jelly-roll fashion, place seam side down in greased 3-quart oblong baking dish. Spread remaining soup mixture over enchiladas. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbling.
Top with any of the following: sour cream, black olives, salsa, guacamole, sliced green onions and (0r) shredded Cheddar cheese before serving.

Sticky Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 3-4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a shallow baking dish and stir until sugars dissolve. Add the chicken and turn to coat well. Cover the dish and chill in refrigerator for 24 hours.
When ready to eat, transfer the chicken and marinade to a large heavy nonstick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring each piece occasionally. Check the breasts for doneness (170 degrees F on an instant read thermometer) and remove to a shallow pan as they test done. Cover the cooked chicken and place in warm oven to keep warm.
Increase heat to medium and cook the marinade remaining in skillet until syrupy, stirring occasionally at first, then stirring constantly as the mixture starts to thicken, about 8-10 minutes total. Return chicken to the skillet, coat it with the sauce, and serve immediately - with lots of hot cooked rice! Serves 8

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Ups Recipe

(image from Taste of Home)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
6 bacon strips, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package (8 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook the beef, bacon and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add cheese; cook and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
Flatten each biscuit into a 5-in. circle; spoon 1/3 cup beef mixture onto each biscuit. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and mustard; serve with roll-ups.

Yield: 8 servings.

Chicken Fettucini Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 pkg. fettucini (12 oz)
8 bacon strips, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound boneless chicken breast, cubed
2 cups sliced fresh muchrooms
8 green onions, sliced
1 garlic clove
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

• cook the fettucini according to pkg.
• cook bacon until crips, romve to paper towel and reserve 1-2 Tbsp. drippings. Saute chicken in drippings until no longer pink. Add mushrooms, green onions, & garlic; saute until mushrooms are tender
• stir in cream, chese, paprika & pepper. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Stir in bacon.
• Serve over fettucini.

Lenten Friday

My family likes fish, and we should probably eat more of it than we do, but for this Friday we are having breakfast because of a fantastic recipe for Cinnamon Pancakes that I can't resist!! Together with some fluffy scrambled eggs I think we have a winner! (Maybe they will cheer up my UGH- see previous post!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 Tablespoons White Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
• ¼ cups Butter, Melted
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla

ICING INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp melted butter, 2 tbsp milk and mix together

PREPARATION:

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined.

In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syurp, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides.

Serve warm with icing drizzled over the top.

UGH!!

I am in the rut of all ruts!! I have lists of things to get done, at every turn there are things that I need to take care of... but I can't seem to get into any of it! HELP!!!

All of the snow days, late starts, and Tim's traveling work schedule for the past 3 weeks have put my days into a tailspin!

Please send a drill sergeant to whip me back into shape!

Trip to Children's

Mollie and I made our trip to Children's today! It's always a trip I hate and love- I hate driving all the way there, but we love to see our nurses and Dr. T. Last summer they became like extended family to us. We were there every week and it became part of our routine! Now when we go it's a chance to catch-up with our friends and they are always shocked by how much Mollie changes from just month to month.

Everything was as usual this visit. Other than her platelet problem she is a picture of health!

Her count was a bit low- but nothing to worry!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mollielemmons/journal

Jr. High Basketball Undefeated Season

JH Girls Finish Season Undefeated
Ted Stubbs

February 17, 2010

Junior High Girls finish undefeated and win the Osmond "O" Club tournament
The junior high girls "A" team finished their season at the Osmond "O" Club tournament over the weekend. The young Cards finished the season with a 7-0 record. Before the tournament the girls played a rescheduled game with Hartington on Thursday the 11th and won handily 33-18. The score was 28-6 entering the 4th period and with only one game on the day everyone played, and the Hartington girls made it a little closer in the last quarter. Leading the team in scoring was Michaela with 11 points. Emily had 9, McRae, 5, while Haley, Adyson, Kelsey, and Hannah each had 2 points.
The girls ended their season on Saturday the 13th in the Osmond tournament with a dominating performance. In the first round the girls beat Wausa 48-13 and in the final took down the host Osmond girls 61-13. The Wausa game was pretty much over after the 1st quarter when the girls jumped on the Wausa girls with a 19-0 start. At the half we led 31-1 and then everyone got to play as the game ended. Ten girls scored, led by Emily's 10 points. She had a lot of help as Ady, McRae, Michaela, and Hannah all had 6 points. Haley had 5, Brooke-4, Kelsey, and Mackensie-2 each and Sydney had 1. In the final against Osmond the girls used the same formula as the first round, racing to a 22-4 first quarter lead, and a 36-10 lead at the half. Twelve girls scored in the game led by sisters Emily and Haley with 12 points each. McRae and Michaela had 8 a piece,Hannah had 5 while Malerie and Kelsey each had 4. Other girls who scored were: M. Lemmons-2, B. Hanson-2, Kasey-2, A. Bargstadt-1 and Katie-1.
Score by quarters: 1st round: WHS--0-1-5-13-18--RHS--19-12-12-5-48.
Championship: OHS-4-6-0-3--13 RHS--22-14-12-13 61


Randolph Public School Activities

Happy Birthday Caitie

Caitie is now officially 12 years old!!! She had some friends spend the night for her birthday- I think they had a good time!

Happy Birthday Caitie!!

Volleyball Has Left the Building!

Volleyball season is over... on to basketball!

Happy Birthday Mollie

Happy Birthday Mollie!!!!

Speedy Brownies

For all my busy Mom friends (and anyone else that wants a really easy and delicious brownie recipe) these are the best! Made from just a few ingredients that I always have around in the pantry.







Speedy Brownies (Quick Cooking Premier Issue)

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp salt
5 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the first seven ingredients; beat until smooth. Pour into greased 13 X 9 baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan.

*I have also used white chips, peanut butter, milk chocolate- about anything I have around.

Today I mixed the chocolate chips into the batter and sprinkled with some M&M baking pieces.

Wordless Wednesday

Mollie meeting Mickey on her Make-a-Wish trip.
Last night I was answering some questions for another ITP mom and going through all the things Mollie has been through in the last 2 years. I wish after all she has been through we could say it is behind us... but it still continues. Maybe someday there will be a cure.

Why did God create man?

I've been struggling with my faith lately (actually for about the past year now) and decided it was time for me to really start searching for some answers. I've been doing some reading, some soul searching, took a hiatus from going to church, some praying, some talking... on and on, just trying to figure some things out.

So these are some rambling on what I've discovered:

Bad things happen to good people. Good people do bad things. Some people are hypocrites.

This is where my struggles began! I think that for a long time I've been reading too much into life- think there was some great revelations I was supposed to have or some great reward if I did what was right and followed God's plan. That puts a lot of pressure on! Since getting married and having the kids I've wanted things to remain simple (less clutter, easy cooking, more fun, etc.) and I never realized that "simple" applied to God also.

I spent some time angry with God trying to play a this isn't fair to me card. Why do bad things happen? Why do I get the short end of the stick? So on and so on. I got tired of saying "everything has a reason and lesson to learn", but it turns out that even this led to a reason and lesson!

I know I don't put a lot of trust in God. I like to be in control and know where I'm going and how I'm getting there. So very early on I recognized that this is a problem I need to work on. Next, my bigger question became why would God what to walk me through life? Which then became why am I even here?

All the time- the answer was right on my book shelf, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Could it be so simple that God wanted someone to love? Could it be so simple that He wants to share blessings with the people He loves? Could it be as simple as wanting us to enjoy our lives? Sounded too simple at first. But after some more reasoning with myself it became easier to see...

When you read the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church it says that "God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life."

The same reason that I married and had children. I didn't have them so that someone would love me or because I was going to get something from them. I have my family so that I can share my blessed life with them.

Rather than working so hard to make this a complicated thing I think there really is something to be said for asking God to bless each day and surrendering the days events to Him. And rather than wasting sssssooooooooooo much time worrying about where I'm going and how I'm getting there, I'll just enjoy the ride.

Menu Planning Monday

This weeks menu plans!!

Monday: Yum Yums! (sloppy joes), green beans, cheese puffs, chocolate cupcakes

Tuesday: Easy Lasagna, lettuce salad, garlic bread

Wednesday: Beef Enchiladas, taco rice, fried ice cream

Thursday: Pigs in a Blanket, chips, fruit

Friday (husbands birthday): Chicken kabobs, dutch apple pie

Saturday: Garden Club Sandwiches, cole slaw

Sunday: homemade pizza, brownies

Check out more Monday menu's at I'm an Organization Junkie!

Garden Club Sanwiches

4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
2 Tbsp. Mayo
2 large slices tomato
1/4 cup sliced cucumbers
2 lettuce leaves
12 slices deli Shaved Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
6 slices Center Cut Bacon, cooked

TOP 2 toast slices with tomato, cucumber, lettuce, turkey, bacon and second toast slice.

'Fried' Ice Cream Recipe

* 3 cups cinnamon toast crunch cereal, crushed

* 6 scoops vanilla ice cream (1/2 cup each)

1. Place cereal in shallow pan.

2. Quickly roll 1 scoop of ice cream at a time in cereal to coat.

3. Place coated scoops of ice cream in ungreased jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch.

4. Cover and freeze about 2 hours or until firm.

5. Set oven control to broil.

6. Uncover pan.

7. Broil scoops with tops 6 inches from heat about 30 seconds or until coating is light brown.

Cheesy Meat Lasagna

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

1 egg

1 container (16 oz.) Low Fat Cottage Cheese

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

HEAT oven to 375°F. Brown meat with garlic and oregano in saucepan. Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes.

MIX egg, cottage cheese and Parmesan. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with layers of 3 noodles, 1 cup cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1 cup remaining sauce mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and remaining sauce mixture. Cover with foil.

BAKE 30 min. or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Make Ahead

Assemble lasagna as directed; cover. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, bake, covered, at 375°F for 40 min. or until heated through.