Menu Plan August 29

MONDAY:
Out 2 dinner

TUESDAY:
Italian Beef Hoagies

3-5 lbs. beef brisket or sirloin roast

1 pkg dry Zesty Italian Dressing

12 oz Beef Broth (could make beef bouillon cube)

1 jar Peperoncini (drained)

1 jar Italian mix Giardiniera (half drained), (has cauliflower in it)

Crock pot 12 or more hrs on low. (Mine got done ~ 10 hrs)

Save juice for dipping

WEDNESDAY:
De-Lightful tuna (chicken) casserole

1 package (7 ounces) elbow macaroni
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup fat-free milk
1 can (6 ounces) light water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
2 tablespoons diced pimientos
3 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup crushed cornflakes


Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the soup, mushrooms, cheese, milk, tuna, pimientos, onion, mustard and salt. Drain macaroni; add to tuna mixture and mix well.

Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. De-Lightful Tuna Casserole Reci15 25 4THURSDAY:
Hearty Penne Beef

1-3/4 cups uncooked penne pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the tomato puree, broth, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add spinach; cook for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Drain pasta; stir into beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.


FRIDAY:
BBQ Chicken Baked Potatoes

4-1/2 pounds bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 large red onion, sliced into thick rings
1 bottle (18 ounces) honey barbecue sauce
1 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke, optional
10 medium potatoes, baked
Crumbled blue cheese and chopped green onions, optional


Place chicken in a greased 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker; sprinkle with garlic powder and top with onion. Combine the barbecue sauce, salad dressing, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and Liquid Smoke if desired; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender.

When cool enough to handle, remove chicken from bones; discard bones and onion. Skim fat from cooking juices. Shred meat with two forks and return to slow cooker; heat through. Serve with potatoes, blue cheese and green onions if desired.


SAT/SUN:
LeftoversBBQ Chicken Baked Potatoes Reci15 Bb 360 375
Hearty Penne Beef Rec

Meal Plan August 22

I am having lots of trouble coming up with a meal plan for this week....nothing sounds good and I am not really inspired to try anything new. Oh well maybe next week. =)


MONDAY:
Enchillada Lasagna
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 cup picante sauce or salsa
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans (I actually am going to use black beans instead)
10 flour tortillas (6 inches)
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, cook ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is browned and onion is tender; drain. Stir in tomato soup, picante sauce or salsa and refried beans. Heat thoroughly.
Arrange five tortillas in a 12-in. x 8-in. x 2-in. baking dish, tearing tortillas as needed to cover the bottom. Layer with half of the meat mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers using remaining tortillas, meat mixture and cheese.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through. Let stand a few minutes before serving.


TUESDAY:
Penne with Chicken and Pesto

16 oz. penne pasta

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 chicken breasts cut into thin strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup pesto

3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Boil large pot salted water. Cook pasta 8-10 minutes and drain. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost done. reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, cream, pesto, and parmesan. Cook until chicken is done. Stir in pasta.

I like to use the frozen, cooked chicken strips in place of cooking the chicken. It is much faster.

WEDNESDAY:
Frozen Pizza

THURSDAY:
Asian Hamburger Helper- we will see how this one turns out. Looked decent.

FRIDAY:
Out to eat

SAT/SUN:
Leftovers, grilled cheese sandwiches

The end of summer

With the first full week of school for the girls behind us summer is wrapping up around here. No more days of waking up whenever we want, no more breakfast in our Pj's at 9 am, no more staying up late to find fireflies. Here is a look back at the last few weeks of our summer.




3 year old and 4 month old check ups. They both did great! Audrey was sad she didn't get to be seen by Dr. Winburn also. My girls LOVE their doctor.



Our neighbor across the street is a firefighter. He has his very own truck that he brought home for the kids to see. Molly saw it and very calmly asked if our house was on fire.



Audrey and Mommy being silly. Molly is a great picture taker. I think she takes after her Pop and Papa.



This picture makes me feel like the world's worst mom. We planted pumpkins this year and boy were the girls so excited. They were happy to help me water them each morning and evening for the first week. Then life got busy and I totally forgot about them. The other day Audrey told me they dried up and were gone. Oops! I guess this means my dreams of having a vegetable garden next season are out the window.



Molly doing a little painting.

I came across this the other day from a blog: kinderpendent. It has some great ideas on it! Anyway, I am thinking of making a set of these to help out with letting the girls be a little more independent. Typically we pick out our clothes and get them all ready in the evening after baths. I would love to be able to help pick the girls clothes all out for the week and use this idea to help keep it all organized.

I came across this the other day from a blog: kinderpendent. It has some great ideas on it! Anyway, I am thinking of making a set of these to help out with letting the girls be a little more independent. Typically we pick out our clothes and get them all ready in the evening after baths. I would love to be able to help pick the girls clothes all out for the week and use this idea to help keep it all organized.

Oh, and the handmade label tutorial found here is something else I plan to make. I would love to be able to label the girls' coats for school and bags for church. Looks very simple!

daily dividers ..tutorial

Every morning I wake up, put on my superhero cape, and prepare for battle... with my four year old & her closet. Getting her dressed has been such a challenge that we had to develop a new system. Every weekend we now help her pick out an outfit for Monday-Friday, hang them up using our DIY daily dividers, and there are no more melt downs. She knows exactly what to wear each day, and that is that!

If you would like to make your mornings a little smoother, too, here's how to make your own daily dividers:

Remember our handmade label tutorial? Basically, just follow the same steps, this time on wooden clothing pins. Then clip them on to your hangers. You can also use them as spacers & clip them directly onto the clothing rack, with the hangers in between.

(pssst! These also make great sizing dividers for baby's closet! You can label your dividers: newborn, 0-6, 6-12, 12-24, 2T, etc... oh! & while you're at it, whip up a set, wrap them together with a ribbon & you've got a fantastic shower gift!)

Menu Plan August 15th

This week Jon is out of town so the menu is simple and quick!

Monday: Pasta and Sauce

Whole wheat pasta
Jar of Ragu

Garlic bread
french loaf cut in half
spread butter over bread and sprinkle with garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper (I like fresh garlic better but the girls always complain that it is too spicy). Bake in 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Tuesday: Chicken and rice
2-3 chicken breasts
paprika
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans cream of celery soup
Parmesan cheese

Place chicken in crock pot. Sprinkle with paprika. Pour in soup cans and sprinkle with cheese. Cook on low all day. Serve over cooked rice (make rice separate from crock pot)

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

Friday: I am thinking pizza sounds good. I like the take and bake ones.

Saturday/Sunday: leftovers

Summer is flying by. I can't believe the girls start school in just a few weeks. We are just about ready-backpacks are hanging in the closet, tennis shoes are in their cubby, and health forms are all signed.

I was sad as I realized that never again (during the school year) will we have a weekday where everyone is at home together. Next year Audrey and Molly will be going to school on opposite days. I find myself wanting to hold onto these days and not let them grow up.

We have had some fun nights at the pool lately...it is so stinkin hot here that we have to wait until daddy is home so one of us can take the older two to the pool while Cora stays at home. Audrey is starting to conquer her fear of jumping in and going under

...well almost. Molly on the other hand wants her life jacket off and for us to let go so she can sit under water. Jon and I are both surprised that we have not had any broken bones as of yet with our little dare devil Molly.

I love to go in and steal a kiss from each sleeping girl before bed. They have been so worn out lately.

And no...we didn't stick Cora's hair up like that. Why would I want to draw anymore attention to her bad hair line. =) It will grow in soon (right?)