Menu Planning Monday

This week is an easy one because I actually took the time to plan out meals and go grocery shopping at Aldi. Here's our meal plan for the week:
Monday - Sauerkraut and Bratwurst (Sauerkraut is good for inflammation in the body)
Tuesday - Beef Stew, cornbread
Wednesday - German Smoked Sausage Dish - (smoked sausage, turnips, potatoes, onions, carrots in a stew) I know that's two stew dishes in a row but it's -5 degree windchill so it's a good thing ***I cook for my husband's Masonic Lodge on Wednesdays for their meeting (25 people) so we just get a few portions out of the crockpot that I'm cooking in and eat what they eat
Thursday- Pork Chop Apple Casserole, roasted broccoli, wild rice (pork chops, apples, and honey bar-b-que sauce baked together)
Friday - Salmon patties, pea salad, hushpuppies
Saturday - Out to eat. The kids will be with their Dad so Jim and I go eat somewhere - date night!
Sunday - Beef Stroganoff, green beans

Menu Planning Monday - May 16 - 22

Monday - corned beef sandwiches on marbled rye, pasta salad

Tuesday - salmon patties, pea salad, hushpuppies

Wednesday - flank steak, grilled squash, rice pilaf

Thursday - Out to Eat

Friday - poppyseed chicken, green salad

Saturday - grilled teriyaki chicken, butternut squash, caesar salad

Sunday - lasagna, green salad, garlic broccoli

Soccer is finally over and I have time to cook!

Menu Plan Monday-August 30th - September 6th

Monday:  Tuna Casserole, garlic butter broccoli

Tuesday:  Masonic family night - we ate at the Lodge-no cooking!

Wednesday:  Ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, creamed corn

Thursday:  Soccer practice-Burrito, chili, cheese casserole

Friday:  Tilapia Piccata, pea salad, rice pilaf

Saturday:  Out to eat - Chinese food!

Sunday:  Grilled steak, baked potato, corn on the cob

This week we have two busy nights.  On Tuesday night, it's Family Night at the Masonic Lodge and since Mr. H  is going to be the Grand Poo-Bah (I think it's actually Worshipful Master) next year, he wants to make sure we all go to the dinner.  After we eat, a group will give a talk on preventing blindness.  I know you're jealous.  If you really want to be bored, I can recap the entire speech here on Wednesday-HA!

Soccer is gearing up this week.  I have to order another uniform for Tater Tot since he's getting so tall. His uniform from last year is getting too short.  He's almost as tall as I am....that...is....so....amazing!  It was just yesterday that I rocked him to sleep every night singing Mandy by Barry Manilow.  Now he just wants to get Allie our boxer and cuddle in bed with her.  I've been pushed aside for a dog.  So sad.

I'm getting Fall fever and can't wait to start decorating for the cooler weather and football!  I have to be careful though since I'm not working, I can't run off to Hobby Lobby and spend a ton of money.  I have to re-use the decorations I have.  At least I've packed everything in a Rubbermaid in the garage where it's easy to get out. 

I hope everyone has a terrific cooler week!  Yay for Fall!

Menu Planning Monday-July 26

This is our last couple of weeks before school starts.  I'm trying to use more food from the freezer and pantry rather than running to the grocery store and spending money.  We have back-to-school supplies and new school clothes to buy.  At eleven years old, Tater Tot has gotten slightly picky about what he wears.  He loves Abercrombie & Fitch and Holister, which gives me heartburn.  I just can't pay $40 for a t-shirt. 

Back-to-school shopping is fun but so stinkin' expensive!

Here's our week of meals:

Monday - Tuna noodle casserole with peas and carrots

Tuesday - Cheese quesadillas and salad

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, brown rice and stir-fried veggies

Thursday - Dirty rice with ground beef

Friday - Pork chops with rice, steamed broccoli with garlic, lemon butter glaze

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Pork roast cooked in the crockpot

Monday....Monday

I worked on my menu planning last night after finishing my freezer and pantry inventory for March.  I'm a little late to be working on the lists but it's been a crazy, busy month so far.

Here's our menu for this week (including 3 days of soccer practice until 6:45)

Monday:  Poorman's Dinner - fried potatoes with onions and hotdogs -all cooked together in a pile of        yummy goodness (don't judge, I have a house full of boys)

Tuesday:  Lemon Chicken and Spinach Salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Wednesday:  Pancakes

Thursday:  Crockpot dinner - German turnip delight (turnip, potato, onion and smoked sausage cooked together like a stew)

Friday:  Salmon Patties with hushpuppies and pea salad

Saturday:  Date night with Mr. Hautemama

Sunday:  Pork Roast stuffed with Louisianne peppers and whole garlic cloves, cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli

We'll use the pork roast leftovers for pork carnitas - soooo good!

Speaking of food, I've recently discovered the best low-fat snack evah!  It's Quaker True Delights Multigrain Fiber Crisps, Blackberry Pomegranate flavor.  I tried to find a picture on the internets, but no such luck.  You can eat 13 pieces of these delectable treats for 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.  That's 2 weight watchers points.  These rice cake crisps are sweet and crunchy without the fake sweetener after-taste that low-fat snacks can sometimes have.  I had to be careful to not eat the entire bag.  They...were....that....goooood!  That's my new go-to snack at night.  I'm a night snacker, I confess.

On to my other favorite subject.......TV!  I'm a total Bravo fanatic!  I've recently been watching Kell on Earth.  She's the lady that runs People's Revolution (the clothing, fashion, pr type company) that acted like a crazy boss on the Hills.  Lauren and Whitney worked for her in LA, then Whitney moved to NYC to work there.  Kelly Catrone is a crazy, confident woman who tells it like it is.....she's blunt and so real.  That's the draw.  I tend to be pretty real, what you see is what you get.  Just not as real as she is in the show.  She borders on brutal.

I can't wait for the Real Housewives of Orange County reunion show.  I'm really not digging Alexis and Jim, the new couple on the show this season.  Jim = slimy, controlling and white trash.  Enough said.  Vicki is a whiner and I don't feel sorry for Tamra. She needs to act more like a Mom and not a party girl.  The reunion should be good!

We have parent-teacher conferences at the boys school tomorrow.  I'm slightly nervous to talk to Small Fry's 3rd grade teacher.  I call her "the Nazi" at home.  My poor child tries so hard to not get a yellow or red card.  Sadly, he gets the ol' warning card at least once a week.  I told Small Fry just to try to cruise through until summer. Next year will be a better year!  Tater Tot went to the middle school to tour his school that he'll be going to next year and his teacher told him he would be in advanced Math next year.  That's a ton of work but I love it for him!  I'm so proud of both of my boys.  They are the best and smartest little guys in the world!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday - Pork Tenderloin, green beans with new potatoes
Tuesday (soccer practice night) - Hot dogs with chili and cheese
Wednesday - Italian Pot Roast (recipe below), mashed potatoes, salad
Thursday - Pork chops, scalloped potatoes, steamed broccoli
Friday - Sandwiches (grilled cheese or turkey and cheese)- packing for trip

Italian Pot Roast (Crockpot)

3 or 4 lb. pot roast- whatever size you want to use-just needs to fit in the crockpot

1 can Coca-Cola

1 package Lawry's spaghetti seasoning

1 large can (14 oz. I think) of diced or crushed tomatoes

1 can of beef broth

Place the roast in crockpot, then pour and sprinkle all ingredients over roast. Cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. The roast will completely fall apart.

I serve it with mashed potatoes. The sauce is awesome.

~To help support the Pork Industry, which I have to say, has gotten a bad rap in the past couple of weeks, I'm serving pork this week. Our family loves pork and I think the media has scared the general public to death with this Swine Flu or H1N1 flu. I feel sorry for any pork producer in the country. This latest scare has got to be hurting their business.

It's been raining like crazy here again, I think we're on the 10th day straight. I'm counting on soccer practice being cancelled due to the soggy fields. That gives me more time to plan for our trip to North Carolina at the end of the week. This weekend is a long awaited, exciting trip for us. Mr. Hautemama is graduating from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina with his Master's Degree in Accountancy. I'm so proud of him. He has spent many late nights studying for his Masters. I feel like our life has been on hold for the last two years, as we couldn't travel because Mr. H was worried that he wouldn't be able to access the internet on vacation. He took an online degree program which was actually very interesting. The class discussions were all online in a message board form. His professors would post the quizzes and tests online and then Mr. H would post his finished test back to the professor. Honestly, anyone with an accounting degree gets my respect. I'm an English and literature type of girl. Numbers scare the heck out of me. Heck, I even despise balancing my checkbook. And....to think that 5 short years ago I was a licensed Financial Advisor. Guess you know why I'm not one anymore. I hated numbers.

This will be one of the first times I've ever left the boys, except for business. My Mom is sweet enough to step in and take care of them while we're gone. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. I'm a list maker so I've spent the entire day listing out everything we need to remember to do before leaving.

Speaking of lists, I have the best site for downloading lists to help keep your home organized, as a matter of fact, that's what the site is called Organizedhome.com.

I keep a household notebook, which is basically just a 3 ring binder with clear tab dividers. The notebook is divided into the following sections:

Meals and Menus
Sections:
Freezer Inventory
Pantry Inventory-as shown on the enclosed photo, when you put something in the pantry, you put a mark through the box. When you use that item, you complete the X by putting another mark through the item. You then know it's been used and you need to replace it.
Menus - monthly
Shopping Lists
Pricing Form - to remember what an item is typically priced at a certain store



Sorry for the blurry pic. It's hard to take a pic of a page.




Money and Finance
Budget/spending record-very important in this economy
Bills to pay
Credit card list
Insurance Information-I put copies of my insurance policies in a clear page protector

Family and School
School schedule
Holiday list
Lunch menus
School information
Daycare information


Home Management
Household cleaning schedule
Seasonal chore schedule
Children's chore checklist
Home inventory
Home decorating ideas
Car maintenance schedule
Magazine subscriptions


Planning
Calendars
Schedules
To-do lists
Scrapbook ideas/page layouts


Phone list
Master phone directory
Emergency phone directory- doctors phone numbers-good to take out and post on the fridge when the kids are with a babysitter

Activities/School

My household notebook has been so much help. I now can tell when I have plenty of food in the pantry to menu plan. In past years, I've forgotten what was in the back of the freezer - now I don't.

This is how happy I feel after organizing my home!