Menu Plan Monday!

So I finally get a chance to join in with Menu Plan Monday. I usually grocery shop Thurs or Fri but I just put it off this weekend! We had dinner with my folks Saturday night and then yesterday was pizza after church because R was craving it (I think he has some sympathy 'symptoms') so I just skipped my regular grocery trip. I'm totally NOT into food right now. Nothing sounds good at all. I'm eating because I'm hungry.. but that is the only reason. Thankfully I'm not sick as in.. well, you know. But I do feel yucky and I have this constant feeling of food sitting right in the middle of my chest.. no matter what I eat or when or how much! It never goes away. This lovely symptom all started a few days ago. I will say that I will take this over *the other* any day. I refuse to say the word, especially in a food post. So here is my menu, whether I like it or not... the family has to eat!

~Mexican Tortilla Pie (recipe below)

~Chicken and Biscuits (kind of like chicken pot pie)

~Potato Soup
~Spaghetti and Meatballs (this will finally use up all of the remaining frozen meatballs!), salad

~Vegetable Beef Soup, cornbread
~Pot Roast with potatoes & carrots, some green veggie

I have never made a pot roast so this should be interesting. I'm really feeling like the only things that sound even the slightest bit good to me are things that aren't heavily spiced or in other words, are bland! Why then, you ask, am I having spaghetti and tortilla pie? Well, because I already have all of that stuff on hand.... so that's why! :)

Here is the recipe for Mexican Tortilla Pie. I'm not sure if I've shared it before so if I have, forgive me!

Mexican Tortilla Pie
3 large flour tortillas
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
salsa
cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Spray cooking spray on a large cookie sheet. Lay one tortilla down on cookie sheet. Spoon salsa over tortilla, just like if you were spreading pizza sauce on pizza dough. Mix corn and black beans in small bowl. Spoon half of corn/bean mixture evenly over salsa. Top with cheese. Repeat one more layer and top with tortilla. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. 1/4 of the pie is a pretty decent size if you use the large tortillas. Serve with sour cream. Very easy!

A late Christmas gift!

(If you haven't heard my news go here)

Those of you who saw my Christmas Tour may remember one of my favorite ornaments.. the one of Luke's little hand print. Well, I was soo excited to find out at New Years that my mom just happened to be keeping Luke the Sunday in December that they were making ornaments again! One of the girls at my mom's church had told me that she helped with his footprint but I didn't even think about it being an ornament! I was really surprised! So I just had to share my cute new ornament that will definitely be on the tree next year!!

His foot turned into a snowman:





And here are his little toes!

The other side has his other footprint and his name and year. So cute!

And as a side note: the other pic I showed of his 'hand print' ornament actually has a little baby in a manger on the other side. The manger is his thumb and baby Jesus is his little finger prints! I don't know why I didn't take a pic of that! They are too precious!

Guess what?

Well, since the news is spreading fast.... I figured now would be a good time to spread the news to all of my bloggy friends!

We are expecting Baby #2!!! We just found out, so I am only 5 wks! I wanted to wait a while SO bad before telling family but I just couldn't! Christmas was just the perfect opportunity!

I know some people choose to wait for fear of something happening.. and I know that is always a possibility but I just decided to be excited and celebrate! Any life, no matter how small (even the size of a poppy seed) is reason to rejoice! I know that God is the giver of life and whatever happens is in His hands!

I'm sure I'll be updating as things progress. I have my first Dr's visit Jan. 15th. So far, no morning sickness. I'm hoping to avoid it again, since I didn't have any with Luke. The only thing I am suffering from is EXTREME fatigue!! That is why I am ending this post now and going to bed. I cannot keep my eyes open any longer!

Menu for the week, Publix Deals

Well, I feel like I haven't posted a menu in forever! It's only been 2 wks though! I need some HEALTHY menus!! I ate WAY too much this past week! Seriously.


Turkey Chili (using a recipe from the new issue of Everyday Food)
Chicken Fajitas, Corn
Cheesy Tortilla Pizzas, Salad
Toasted Ham Sandwiches and Tomato Soup
BBQ Meatball Subs, Potato Salad
Oven Fried Chicken Tenders, Broccoli and Cheese, Roasted Potatoes



I'm still in the process of using up those meatballs and instead of having spaghetti again, I thought meatball subs might be nice..

Since I am trying to cut my grocery bill, I've decided to keep a 'price book'. I'm going to attempt to write down prices of things that I regularly buy, from a few different grocery stores. Today I shopped at WalMart and Publix. I got about half at each place. Before I went shopping this morning I checked the Publix ad online. Here are some of the good deals I got:

Sour Cream 16 oz-$0.99
5lb bag potatoes, $2.00
Dole Salad, 2 for $5.00
Weight Watchers Smart Ones- 50% off
Publix Yogurt, 4oz/6pk- $2.00
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce- BOGO (saved $2.19, I mean who doesn't use BBQ sauce!)
Angel Soft Bath Tissue- 2 for $10
Progresso Diced Italian Tomatoes- BOGO (saved $1.65 on 2- 28oz cans)

I'm trying to only buy things that I will use in my weekly menu and that I know I can use later! They had some other things on sell but I didn't need them. I was tempted to buy some shredded cheese because they had that 2 for $4 but I have an unreal amount of shredded cheddar cheese left over from Christmas! I mean like almost 2 full LARGE bags because my mom brought one over and left it with us! They also had SeaPak shrimp BOGO which was a great deal but I just had to pass.

Well, I must go.. my son is crying because he must watch the "De-deer" movie (the clay Rudolph movie from the 60's) once more. I have a feeling we will be watching it long after the new year is over. Never mind the 5 new Veggie Tales videos he got for Christmas....