Menu Plan Monday ~ December 17, 2012

Since becoming pregnant, I've kind of fallen behind on posting my menu's. I still make them, but only in my head. I would really like to get back to it and even try some new, easy recipes over the next two months. I'd like to find some meals that I can freeze and some easy crock pot dinners. That's sometimes not easy to do when you want to make things with real food.

So, I'm starting to officially menu plan again but I can't promise anything! And even though it's the week before Christmas, we have a very laid back week. We're doing school all week but we really have no other plans! I LOVE it! Here is my easy menu plan for the week:

Taco Soup, Cheesy Corn Bread

Sloppy Joes (I double the sauce in this recipe), Green Beans, Roasted Potatoes (I've made this recipe twice and we love it. I leave out the pepper flakes because of the heat and marjoram because I don't have it. We all love it... well, Luke tolerates it but that's Luke. Eli had three helpings the last time I made it! I've made it with sweet potatoes only and also a mix of both sweet and white! I just use what I have!)

Spaghetti, Green Salad w/ Carrots and Cucumber and Homemade Ranch Dressing (I'm using these noodles now. I changed mainly because I'm trying to use less and less wheat in packaged goods. The Hubs said this was way better than the whole wheat I usually use.)

Thai Noodles (We had Thai food for the first time last week and I loved it. The boys had Chick Fil A, but they will be trying this! I'll definitely be lowering the spice, using coconut oil instead of veggie oil and adding shredded chicken!)

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup (I add extra beans and use homemade taco seasoning mix), Cheesy Corn Bread (from earlier in the week, from frozen!)

It's been a while but maybe you remember I usually only plan 5 meals. The other two nights will be leftover nights.. or breakfast/sandwiches... something simple!

Speaking of breakfast, this week I'm planning a Dutch Baby Pancake and trying out this cranberry orange bread! Both will go well with fruit. I'll let you know how the bread turns out! I made it tonight but I'm a little skeptical! The other mornings will be eggs, fruit and oatmeal. Lunches will be sandwiches and leftovers! I might also whip up some stove top mac and cheese if I get a wild hair! Add a green veggie and it's lunch!

Linking up with orgjunkie.com!

Have a fansastic week!

There's no place like home..

We're 3 months into our new home and it's starting to feel like my home. Just this week, I've put out pictures and done some decorating. Seeing these familiar pieces that have been in our past homes (we've lived in 6 in the 8 years we've been married!) has just made things feel better. Oh, it's still a mess and a work in progress but I'm starting to feel the warmth that comes with making a home. Christmas is also coming and I adore Christmas decorating! I see decorating for Christmas just a big part of the celebration that is Christ' birth! It builds the excitement and creates lasting memories in the minds of our families. I have fond, fond memories of Christmas in my childhood home and I pray my boys will have the same.

"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."
~ Thomas Moore

I've always said that I am not good at decorating. And admittedly, it doesn't come naturally! But I do enjoy it. And guess what? It can be done inexpensively, too! That is a huge bonus for me! My desire is to make my house a home and in doing that, a part (even small) of my job is to work on creating a place for my family to live. I want it to evoke feelings of comfort and security for my family. I want my boys to feel safe and happy here. I want my husband to come home and know this is his place of rest and I have made it for him. Will it always be spotless? Ha! I have two boys and one on the way. You can figure out that one on your own! But I can work at creating a lovely place that is ours.

"God made woman to be a maker, to open her empty places and let life be knit from within her. Creativity, it’s good theology; it’s what God did in the beginning." Ann Voskamp

I've found a lot of great frugal, decorating ideas on Pinterest.  I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. I think the concept is great but I think that, as women, if we aren't careful we can leave Pinterest feeling completely discontented. So, I share this tip and at the same time to say, be careful! Guard your heart against discontentment! I've also been attempting to look around my home and see if there are things that we have that I can use in decorating. For instance, I love jars and typically keep any that I get (especially my honey jars!). So, this week I thought, "Hey, I can use that!" Here is what I came up with:

Obviously, these are for Christmas but you could fill them with anything and use any type of ribbon for year round decoration. I got the ornaments, ribbon and candy all at the dollar tree and the jars were already mine! I know this kind of thing comes easy for some but not for me! I think they will look great sitting on an counter or an end table!


Once I get the house decorated, hopefully, I'll have more pictures to share! I'm still trying to come up with some creative ways to decorate our hall bath. I'm thinking about letting the boys do some art on a few canvases! Is that crazy!? Maybe, but it will be fun! I also have an idea of what I want to do on the back wall of the homeschool (den) area. It's a little bit of a bigger project and one I'm going to need some artistic help with! Oh and I am having a baby (28 weeks today!) so his room is kind of a priority too! It's all a work in progress!

 

May we seek to glorify God in all we do, the big and small, the glorious and the mundane! Let it be all for Him!

Pumpkin Bars

 

 

Up until Thanksgiving I had been without refined sugar for 4 weeks! I was going to definitely have some dessert on Thanksgiving... and turns out, the day after too (I'm weak!). But today that ends, until Christmas! These little beauties are sort of legal because they don't have refined sugar, they have sucanat! It's still sugar, yes, so you should enjoy in moderation. I have quite a bit left from Thanksgiving (I made two pans!), so I'm putting what I have left in the freezer for the boys for treats (and maybe I'll have something when I'm craving something sweet). I thought they were great and the boys really liked them! I made them to take to both Thanksgiving meals and I'm wondering if anyone knew they were made with whole wheat flour and sucanat. If so, no one told me! You of course can make them with all regular ingredients.

Pumpkin Bars
(adapted from this recipe)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sucanat (If using regular sugar, I would use half brown sugar to give it a deeper taste. Oh and when I make them again for us, I'm going to lower the sugar amount some. It's just what I do. I like to see how low I can get!)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together. Add spices and salt and mix. Next, add eggs and pumpkin puree and mix well. Last, add flour and mix just until combined. Fold in pecans. The batter will be thick. Spread batter into pan evenly and bake for 30-35 minutes. They should start to brown slightly on top and the edges should start to pull away from the pan. Let cool and cut into bars.

 

 

 

Dutch Pancake with Sauteed Apples

A while back I posted that I was trying to get away from my kids eating cereal every day for breakfast. While I choose healthier cereal options, I wanted to try some new things to get away from that box! So, here is one of our newest, easiest breakfast options. I came across this dutch pancake when I was going through my cookbooks. I found a Sesame Street cookbook that I had received from WIC last year. It actually has some really good recipes in it! I changed the recipe up a bit to avoid bad oils, low fat milk and white flour. It turned out really well and the boys loved it! The boys even helped me mix it up and enjoyed watching it puff up in the oven.

 

 

Dutch Pancake with Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup whole wheat flour*
2 tablespoons of sugar (I used sucanat, and did a scant 2 TBS)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 large apples, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 in cake pan (I used 8 inch). Mix together eggs, melted butter and milk. Add flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until smooth. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake the pancake for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350. Bake another 5-8 minutes. I actually baked mine another 10 minutes. The smaller pan and whole wheat is more than likely what caused it to need extra time baking. I took it out and tested it with a knife to make sure it was cooked through! While the pancake is baking, add butter to a large skillet. Add apples and cinnamon (I didn't measure, just sprinkled) to pan and stir. Cook until apples are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Slice pancake like a pie and serve apples on top! Easy and delicious!

*Here's a tip that I've probably said before but I always sift my whole wheat flour before measuring. WW flour is heavier than white flour so I whisk it in the bag before measuring it. It seems to help make things come out better. In the past I've used King Arthur White Whole Wheat but I recently have been using Hodgson Mill because it's GMO free. It's heavier than the white wheat but it's working!