What's for dinner...

Ah, the age old question that makes every mom want to cry and wish they were fabulously rich so they could order out, at least at some point or another. Usually I am on top of things and have my menu done on Saturday and written on my calander from Flylady, so I can stock up for the week. Well, my menu is done, but the stocking portion just has not happened. Maybe it was because I was too excited for my my date on Saturday night, or that on Sunday, my back decided to spazz out. Maybe it was swimming on Monday, or Biathalon on Tuesday or the thought of swim again on Wednesday, or the fact that it is summer and the idea of hauling four kids to the grocery store is some sort of torture in itself. At any rate, the shopping has not happened, and it is supper time. What's the solution? Kitchen sink soup! You heard me, and yes it is what it sounds like. This dish starts with me firing up the computer and opening the fridge and freezer doors and a lot of staring. Eventually, I am inspired. Part of an onion in the drawer, oooo some peppers, here is that sausage I bought three months ago to make pizza with, wow, when did I freeze that zucchini? While this may seem a strange way to cook, if you put your four year old on stirring duty and let him dump in herbs, he thinks it looks like the best meal he has ever eaten. Guess I'll call hubby to pick up a loaf of fresh Italian bread and head out to the garden for salad. Oh hey, here is some tortellini....

Things I love on a Tuesday

I love the smell of bread....
This is Laura's recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Bread which actually makes two loaves. Unfortunately I can only show you one, since I turned the other one into a pan of cinnamon rolls and we ate them this morning before I baked the bread.

I love fresh strawberries, too.
I can show you these that are from our garden, but what I can't show you were the ten pounds I turned into strawberry spread for the rest of the year. I don't love that jam recipes have so much sugar in them, six cups for a batch! So I found this great product, pectin that doesn't require sugar, and I only added about 3/4 cup of sugar for an entire batch. We tried a partial jar that I immediately opened after canning, and you know what? It tasted like... strawberries!

Menu Monday June 28-July 4th

I went shopping and vowed to buy only what was on my list in an effort to stick to the budget much better this month. While it didn't go too badly, I did have three extra helpers in the store with me and we all know what happens when you have extra help, (particularly the kind that can't read your list and doesn't understand the word budget). I walked out of the big box with a total of $100.00 on the nose, and our local grocer with another $16.76. I don't feel too terrible with these totals as they do include two packages of diapers ($31.54) and four donuts ($2.32 and still not sure how they talked me into those). Here is our plan for the week.

Breakfast-
Eggs and toast
Cinnamon rolls
Waffles
Blueberry muffins and smoothies
Oatmeal
Cold cereal
Kids choice

Lunch-leftovers or cold sandwiches, fruit and veggies

Supper-
Sunday- Pizza and homemade strawberry ice cream
Monday-Stove top lasagna, salad, tropical fruit
Tuesday-Kitchen sink soup, bread, strawberry and spinach salad
Wednesday- Black beans and rice in the crock pot, corn bread and salad
Thursday- Grilled chicken, salad and plums
Friday-Date night (fish fry)
Saturday- Chicken broccoli bake, apples

No, I'm not dead...

I think the title is a good way to cover the last two weeks I have not been on. What a zoo! We left here on Friday the 12th after two days of packing and prepping to be gone and stopped in MN for the night at a hotel (great free breakfast the next morning!) Then drove on to my in-laws in Nebraska to surprise my mil for her 60th birthday. She was so excited to see everyone, it was worth the trip. Now that I think about it, between the stop over, and that hubby was with me this time, I can scratch #83 off my list, it wasn't that bad.
After spending two days in Nebraska, it was on to Iowa for the clean up week at the farm. We have had this on the calendar for two years since we have to plan around hubby's schedule. What a week! We burned down the sheep shed, moved bricks from the mill house, helped clean out the barn, wired new lights and outlets in the shop and then had a party just for fun on Friday. Since we stayed out at the farm, we had a whole house and tons of room for ourselves. Not to mention, my family stocked the refrigerator and cleaned before we stayed, so it was kinda like a vacation despite the work. Not to mention, helped out with my budget issues, lol.
Now, back home again and recovering from bug bites, sunburns and laundry, I have a garden full of weeds and an empty refrigerator. So, meal planning will be updated as I go. Sometimes you just gotta fly by the seat of your pants...
Sunday-Smoked pork chops, salad, cottage cheese, strawberry crepes
Monday-Grilled steak, tortellini, broccoli, beets
Tuesday-Naan, hummus, boiled eggs, lettuce, feta cheese, tomatoes and olives
Wednesday-T-bone, baked potato, salad
Thursday- Kids-pizza us-Grilled chicken, pasta with rosemary tomato cream sauce, salad
Friday- Date night!
Saturday- Crock pot Mexican beef into Baked Enchiladas with tomatoes, lettuce (from the garden), corn tortillas and sour cream

Posts, Posts Everywhere

We did it! 80 bazillion posts later, we have surrounded our yard with what looks like the start of a stockade. What a job that was! I say that somewhat tongue in cheek since my part of it was relatively easy compared to what my hubby did. We had someone come out with a tractor to drill holes since our first attempt didn't quite produce the results we wanted. (read as- rented a machine with not enough power to dig, or a long enough bit to dig deep enough) This put our project up to about a 9 on the cuss-o-meter scale from the start. Only installing our own crown molding was more painful. After some discussion about how the other 86 holes were going to go, we made the decision to pay someone to do what clearly was going to take us that many years to accomplish, and by then our kids would be out of the house and we would be too old to hunt let alone with a new puppy.
Tractor came, and in the same amount of time it took us to do 5 holes, did all the holes! We were ecstatic! String the line, let's start planting posts, no problem right? That was 2 1/2 weeks ago. Between schedules, rain, wind, rain and more wind...(makes the string move) it took a while to get the rest of them in the ground. My job was holder, clamper, water getter, cheerleader and string mover. I have to say, I sweat much less than hubby who was raker and tamper, using a 40 lb iron bar and a lot of sweat and muscles. It never ceases to amaze me what an incredibly strong and resourceful man I have married. God couldn't have given me a better one, and I know that I wouldn't have found such a guy without His awesome hand. Posts are up, hard part is done, and I am overjoyed at the money we saved doing it ourselves. Hard work! Works for me.

Grocery budget take 2

Ok, week two of the budget. If you read the last week, you were a) shocked at how much I spent, like I was b) wondering what possessed me to not keep track before or c)... well, there is no c. So off I went, newly determined to stay on task this week. Here is what I spent.
Big box (dried and canned items) $18.50
Local grocery big box $29.03
For a total of $47.53!
Now, before I get too excited about this, bear in mind last weeks lump spending of $295.09 which about put me over the edge when I added it all together. So, now I am up to a total of $342.62. This would be an outstanding total, for a whole month, not 2 weeks! Take a look at my menu to see what I will be making this week with my purchases.

Menu Monday June 7-12

Here it is,
Short and sweet.
Our menu plan,
For what we'll eat.
Thank you, thank you
(bows to the applause)

Breakfast
Eggs and toast
Blueberry muffins, green smoothies
Waffles
Oatmeal
Apple bread, green smoothies
Biscuits and gravy

Lunch
Assorted sandwiches
Chips
Bagels
Fruit
Cheese sticks
Veggie sticks
Hummus

Supper
Chicken tortellini with alfredo sauce, shrimp, peas
Chinese (birthday supper choice)
Crock pot Swiss steak, noodles, California mixed veggies
Jambalaya, rice, lettuce salad
Leftovers
Hamburgers and fries
Who knows?

Grocery budget.... not!

Ok, I just updated my grocery budget post and I gotta say... looks bad, looks bad coach. I knew we were a bit off target, but had no idea how much is spent on food. To be fair, this week is a bit of a stocking up week on items we order only once a month or so. The Schwans man comes the first week of the month, and my Country Life order is rather hit and miss about every 3 months or so. If I had not had those two whoppers we would have been much closer to target. I guess I will just have to keep in mind, the end of the month is where the real numbers come out, and since this month is just to get an idea of what we spend, better to be realistic than idealistic, right. Still I have to shake my head and wonder where all that food goes... oh ya, 4 healthy kids...

Random thought #1

#2 - Mom
Me- Ya, honey
#2- I think you should move away.
Me- What?
#2- I think you should move away and get your own place, and I will stay here and be the mommy to the little boys.
Me- Why do you think that? (trying to remember what this is called, they talked about it in my college psych class I think...)
#2- Then you could do all the things you don't get to, like... you know, take naps and stuff.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry because she wanted me to move away, or if I should be paying more attention to what I say because apparently she thinks I am tired all the time. Or maybe, I just look tired, hmmm, time for a new haircut or could it be the same black track pants and gray t-shirt that has become my Mom uniform. There may be more coming on this post...

Time for a Food Budget *(update)

I don't know what it is, but I have decided I am somewhat of a food collector. I love having a full pantry and refrigerator. I is perfectly logical to do this in my mind, always ready for company or that last minute, "We're having potluck tomorrow, honey." event. If I am not crazy about what is on the menu, I can change it on a moments notice. If I forget to thaw meat, no problem... However, my grocery budget is non-existent, and one of my goals is to get that under control. I have no idea where we are with our current spending but my goal is to pare it down to $550 a month for 6 people and the occasional guest, while trying to eat local, organic and natural as much as possible. No problem on the local, I shop here for my produce and cereal, we get our beef from a local dairy farmer who raises it on the side and our neighbor plans to raise 10 chickens for us this summer. No problem organic as my bulk items come from Country Life Natural Foods since there is no Azure Standard drop by us. No problem natural, I love to cook. So what's the problem? Staying on target with the budget.

Here we go, week 1. Saturday 5/29.09
Bad start.... I decided to use my hour in town on Saturday as a power shop trip. One hour to run to the dreaded big box while hubby watched #1, #2 and #3 play soccer. While I stayed on target spending only $75.97 ( I don't have to buy beef) not one lick of anything I bought was local or organic. I did however hold to the natural, as most of what I bought were ingredients for homemade dishes. I splurged on cereal and fruit bars for the kids, creamer for me and a bag of noodles, but that was it. One out of three things isn't bad right? Check out my menu to see what I will be making with my purchases. If I get a bit more organized, next week I will take a photo of my purchases like my favorite grocery blogger, Gayle.

*(Update)
Hmm, starting to step away from the budget already. Hubby wanted grillers... who can resist chicken wrapped around cheese, ham and asparagus right? Costly $23.45 stop at local grocer for what was a really good lunch, but could have been made for a fraction of the cost....

*(Update 2) 6/03/09
Ok, add another $20 for milk for the week. We pay this way because we get our milk from a local family with happy cows, :-) Yesterday I saw them all laying in the grass and I would swear they were smiling...

*(Update 3) 6/04/09
Schwans man today. I love Schwans, it just makes me happy to see that big yellow truck pull into our driveway. Substantial order at $75.65 for the month. This would not be so bad if I had not also gotten my bulk order from Country Life today too. This includes my pb, dried fruit, oatmeal, olive oil (a gallon), sucanat, pasta and wheat berries, beans, and vinegar. It added up to $100.02, yikes!

Menu Monday May 31-June 6

It's Monday, it's Monday, so much to do, so much to tell. My sister and her one trailer (ok, one trailer, one pickup bed and one van load, but not bad for a 4 bedroom home) got moved up on Saturday. Hubby and I went will all 4 kids (yes, all 4) and helped her, my step-dad and uncle move in rather quickly. The kids had a great time, she was exhausted from getting up so early and the stress of moving and we all had pizza and a beer to celebrate. Hubby and I got the south fence line put in, I planted petunias, my potatoes came up, and one of my friends had her 5th baby! So did Sara on another blog I follow, but this was her second. Ahhh baby love, nothing like it! Some days I look at my kids and think what fun it would be to have twice the number....
Hmmmm...
On to the menu!

Breakfast
Whole wheat pancakes with peaches and syrup
Cinnamon breakfast biscuits and smoothies
Eggs and toast
Oatmeal with toppings
French toast with apples
Breakfast cake
Kids choice (usually means cereal)

Lunch
Last week with just the two little boys, will have to start planning next week, lol.

Supper
Grilled round steak, fried potatoes and onions, green beans, rolls
Roasted chicken, carrots and onions, rice, salad
Grilled venison tenderloin, noodles, green beans
Chicken tortellini soup, cheese sandwiches, fruit
Hamburgers, fries and applesauce
Chicken enchiladas with homemade tortillas, salad
Homemade pizza, salad

Taco Seasoning

1-2/3 c chili powder
2 T salt
1/2 c cumin
1/4 c granulated garlic
1/4 c dried onion
1 T oregano
3 T arrowroot powder or cornstarch

Mix and store in airtight container.
Use 1/4 c in place of packaged mix.
Makes 17 oz. of mix

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I commented here about how I am a fabric addict. I love the stuff, can't get enough, have a whole dresser (tall boy size) full of the stuff and yet seem to still buy more. I have been faithful about using the recent yardage for clothing for #2. Twirly, girly clothes that I adore and wish she had a doll I could sew matching things for... My other passion is anything to do with the kitchen. Yup, not scrapbooking or crafting, it's cooking. I don't buy many items for our favorite room in the house, I tend to stay away from extra appliances and am in the process of regifting some things I have replaced since our wedding 14 years ago. I think an anniversary shower is a good idea for old brides... I digress. So, on to the kitchen! Someday I will be really on top of my blog and post pictures, but for now I just want to talk about one little corner of my piece of heaven on earth, the spice racks. Yes, racks, as in two plus the bottom shelf of a cupboard. Why so much space, well, there is just something about a good spice that gets a girl going, and a hubby with a grill, too. You will notice I am posting on Works for me Wednesday and not Frugal Friday where one would think something like homemade anything would go, but since I am a bit of a kitchen snob, I don't know that it is really as frugal as it could be. Why not? I order from Penzey's Spices. You got it, I don't pick up that who knows how long it's been there can of parsley that has no smell and a questionable color from my local big box and put it in my food I worked to hard on to have it be tasteless! Can't do it, don't want to. You think I am kidding about how bad that other stuff is? Treat yourself to one small jar of something you already own. Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme (humming) cinnamon, I don't care what it is. Order it here. Wait for it to come, sooner if you live in Wisconsin. When it does, open your old jar and take a whiff of whatever it is... does it have a smell? Now open the Penzey jar and smell that one.... ha! Gotcha didn't they? You will never go back. Headed to the kitchen to mix up my taco seasoning, since I always have the spices, but never one of those little nasty packets full of extra whatever it is they put in there. Keeps forever, gotta be cheaper, Works for Me.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is such a powerful word. We don't think of it the same way as it used to be, the alter, the lamb (or chicken) the fire and the prayers. For some, it means not purchasing that big t.v. they wanted, or going on that cruise they planned on for this year. Call me crazy, but that is just being patient, not a sacrifice. Sacrifice hurts, sacrifice is hard and is life changing. Sacrifice is my sister without a husband for a year. Sacrifice is being half a world away from your baby boy and only hearing his voice, not holding him. Sacrifice is all those crosses in Arlington cemetery. Heavy for Gratituesday, I know. Today I am thankful for Sgt. Mitchell L Brahms and all the service men and women both alive and at peace, who make the ultimate sacrifice.

Apron Strings

Have I mentioned I am trying to be frugal? Trying being the main word here, it is tough! We are constantly being bombarded as a nation with information about the latest greatest __________ we just can't possibly live without. We won't be complete, our children won't be as smart, our lives just are just so blase or out of it if we don't have such and such product. I got an email the other day recommending we all pay attention to what we were purchasing for one month and avoid buying anything from China in an effort to improve quality control and boost the American economy. While I agree with buying local, I have a problem with the idea of being encouraged to buy. Period. Lately my greatest weakness has been fabric. I am bordering on obsessed. If I have time before picking up kids at school, I find myself more and more often drifting through quilt shops and craft stores to look at the latest patterns and fabrics. I tell myself it is because I am trying to be more frugal and sew things for the kids but there is no way to sew a shirt for as cheap as the local big box store sells it. I just have to be content knowing #2 is wearing an American made product, lol. So where is the frugal in this whole ramble? Well, I found fabric on sale yesterday and bought 2 yards to make an apron. My total cost with fabric and interfacing was $6.82 to make an apron with huge pockets to keep track of my phone (another story). While I was very happy with my purchase, I was bothered by the amount of wasted fabric after cutting out my pieces. Fortunately I have been blessed with a knack for see and copy. So I took my leftover and....... Ta da! Another apron, just big enough for a certain 6 year old who loves to be just like mom! Two for one is my kind of Frugal Friday project! Head over and see Laura for her Frugal Friday idea and her Digi-scrap Giveaway

Command Central

My family, on more than one occasion, has accused me of being too organized. Well, not organized so much as scheduled. Breakfast done by 7:10, lunch at 11:30, nap at 1:00, pizza on Friday, muffins on Monday, swimming on Tuesday, soccer on Saturday.... you see where I am going. Those of you with a large family, or a spouse, or a job, or a house know what I mean. Actually, that would include nearly every adult I know. On that note, everyone is scheduled and while I know some people do it better than I do, this is how I know what is going on here. (drum roll please)

Command Central!

This is how I keep track of everything that I have going on and rid myself of all those notes and invites that come home and I can't help but loose. If you are familiar with Flylady, then this looks very familiar. Her calendar is hanging up on the left, kids 1-3 each have a clip on the bottom, the double clip is hubby's work schedule and phone numbers, and the top right is my YMCA clip. Everything is housed on our back door in the laundry room so it is easy to find, and keeps my fridge clear. As soon as mail enters the house it is sorted, that is if it is not already recycled coming in through the garage. Whatever makes it into the house is immediately opened and dealt with. If it is an event, we RSVP and then write it on the calender. All the kids things are on there as well as a menu. How you ask? Color coding is my friend.
#1 is green, #2 pink, #3 brown, #4 navy, mom red, dad, orange and multifamily members events are an electric blue. I don't have to worry about putting names on the calendar because I just have to glance for colors. I draw lines to show something that continues, like the blue line for soccer down through Saturday. I even know when the Schwan's man is coming since I am sure to put the sticker on as I come back in the house after putting away my groceries. May is a hectic month, the page doesn't normally look that full, but the large spaces make it easy to write as much as I need to. I also have a smaller version of this for my car. No problem planning Dr. visits since I know what's coming. This also helps for scrapbooking, as I just have to look back for dates to events I have photos for. Cool huh? I would love to hear what works for you as any system can always use help...Off to make some salad dressing, thanks Laura!

Menu Monday May 17-23

Wow, what a great time we had this last week with my sister and nephew up here to visit and look for an apartment. While there was much success in the apartment department... not nearly so good on the WW plan, much too fun to cook for someone new!

So, in an effort to get back on track, here is a much more healthy menu that we will stick to... sorta

Sunday
French toast with bananas, strawberries, syrup and whipped cream, eggs benedict
No lunch
Roast chicken, fingerling potatoes and carrots, beets, applesauce

Monday
Banana muffins, fruit smoothies
Turkey sandwich, veggie soup
BBQ pork sandwiches, salad, pineapple chunks

Tuesday
Oatmeal with honey, toast, bananas
PB&J sandwiches, apples
Fruited chicken salad in a pita, tortellini soup

Wednesday
Eggs, toast and apple butter
Bagels with hummus or cream cheese, carrots and celery
Pan seared shrimp, rice, stir fried veggies

Thursday
Waffles, bananas
Grilled cheese, apples
Sloppy joe's, salad, grapes

Friday
Pancakes with fruit topping
PB&J sandwiches, canned oranges, celery with ranch
Homemade pizza

Saturday
Kid's choice
Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries, fruit salad with yogurt
Grilled pepper roast, salad, fried potatoes and onions

Checkpoint #1

Yesterday I tried to be extra conscience of my latest challenge, and no, it has nothing to do with #3... Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers has encouraged everyone to be more aware of getting in their daily requirements of fruits and veggies and that is certainly easy to stomach. What I didn't realize was how hard it was going to be to remind myself to do it. So, I will follow her example, and checkpoint myself in order to be sure to follow this excellent suggestion.

Wednesday
Breakfast- 1 egg, 2 whites, toast, 1/2 apple (6 points) 1 serving
Lunch-Turkey bagel sandwich with mustard and lettuce (5 points) 1 serving
Snack- Dates (2 points) 1 serving
Supper- Provencal venison daube with mushrooms and fruit salad (8 points) 3 servings

Not too bad, managed to get in 6 servings or so, and only slightly go over my points allowance. Today I will focus on more servings and less points. Thanks Laura!

Good Food

Today I am starting the Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge, and I am grateful that I don't really have to try to get good food for my family. Everything we could want is available for use to enjoy by simply walking into a store. There are no lines (third world country), we don't have to mail order them (middle of nowhere Alaska), and they are never out of season (almost anyway). I am most grateful that I live in an area that supports local agriculture, so rather than eating fruit from half a world away, I had a great salad with locally grown lettuce for supper last night. Just a few short weeks, our garden will be producing it's first yummy goodness. Now that is local... Hop on over to Laura and see what else there is to be happy out this Gratituesday!

Menu Monday May 10-16

My sister is on the road! She just called to get our address so that she can use one of my other sister's GPS for the drive up here. The Twin Cities can be tricky, so she will appreciate that one. On to the menu. Since she is on Weight Watchers (and so am I in theory) this week we will be paying special attention to the points value of recipes. (this will not include the homemade ice cream we had Sunday night, lol)

Breakfast
Waffles
lemon poppy seed muffins (4), fruit chunkies-chopped fruit with yogurt on top (3)
oatmeal, milk (2)
eggs (2), Lindsy's multigrain toast (2), cantaloupe (1)
french toast (don't want to know)
smoothies (4) and pb toast (4)
kids choice

Lunch
Bagels(4) with toppings-lettuce, pb (2), cream cheese, cheese, hummus (2)
turkey sandwiches (5)
carrot and celery sticks (0), ranch dressing (1)
tortellini soup (4)
sloppy joes
cereal (4)

Supper
Sunday- Shrimp Bake, rice, salad, homemade ice cream
Monday- Buffalo chicken salad (5), naan, parsnips
Tuesday-Beer burgers (7), ranch potato wedges, fruit kabobs
Wednesday-Applebee's for their WW menu (swim and CPR class)
Thursday-Papa Murphy's pizza (chicken artichoke, yum!)
Friday- pizza for kids, grilled salmon with black bean salsa (7), salad
Saturday-chili (snuck in 2 cans v-8,) grilled cheese