Menu Plan 12/1/08

Breakfasts:

Vanilla Scented Granola with Milk, Orange Juice

Oatmeal with Milk, Fruit

Leftover Waffles (make a double batch Thurs. evening)

Lunches:

Leftovers

PB&J Sandwiches

Pretzels

Fruit

Dinners:

Monday - Dinner with family

Tuesday - Out to eat

Wednesday - Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Thursday - Waffles (like Eggo's!)

Friday - Taco Soup (use homemade taco seasoning and ranch seasoning), Cheese, Tortilla Chips

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Yumminess (use leftover phyllo dough and homemade sausage)

Dessert:

Peppernuts

Visit more of the Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

12 Dates

I was perusing Oprah's site looking to see if she had her Favorite Things holiday show yet, and found this Thrifty Holiday topic instead.

I liked this 12 Dates of Christmas idea. It would go along well participating in the Advent Conspiracy - as our church is - where the focus is on giving relationally, and giving away the money that you save by doing that, to projects such as Living Water International.

For the 12 Dates of Christmas, you go on 12 dates with you special someone as your Christmas gift to each other. I would prefer to spread the dates out over the course of the year, one per month, rather than do them all in December. (That might be just too much togetherness for some people.) It would be fun to make the dates outings that are seasonally related. You could make them as inexpensive as you wish. The best part is it would be stuff to look forward to all year long!

Here are some of my ideas:

(If you are like us, you already do some of these things spontaneously. But I think it is important to be intentional about planning them in advance, especially if you have to schedule a babysitter.)

January, February: concert, ice skating

March, April, May: participate in a race or competition together, go for a walk and picnic, volunteer together

June, July, August: outdoor theater, pick blueberries/blackberries, go fishing

September, October: ride bikes and get ice cream, attend a sporting event

November, December: look at Christmas lights, go sledding

Other ideas:

bake together

get coffee

play putt-putt/mini-golf or real golf

play tennis

go camping

Whatever you like to do would work. Decide together, or take turns choosing!

Photo from stockvault.net

New Diapers

Look what came in the mail on Wednesday!

I am trying to gradually increase our supply of one-size pocket diapers since they are easier than prefolds and covers for when we are out-and-about. I am trying the flushable liners on my daughter for the first time...

Have I said how much I love Nicki's Diapers?! Their prices are the best I've seen, most of their shipping is FREE or very cheap and QUICK (I got this order in 3 days), and they ship with very little packaging/waste. I am not an affiliate and make no money off of them, I just like them so much that I keep their button over there on the sidebar.

My daugther already has a few pink and purple diapers which are adorable, but I decided to steer clear of those colors this time so that her stash can become more versatile for reuse or resale.

Saturday 11/29: Of course NOW they go on sale! It is only the pastels, though. Hmm, do I buy more? :)

The Best Cinnamon Rolls

Earlier this week, I made a batch of the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. I'd say these are every bit as good as her commentary claims them to be. But, these are the only from-scratch cinnamon rolls I've ever made, so I really don't have anything to compare them to. Everybody seems to have their own favorite recipe. I chose these because they don't require any kneading. (I always mess things up on the kneading part.) Warning: They are extremely messy to put together and a pain to clean up afterwards. But worth it. My husband asked me to make some for him to take to work and I obliged.

I tried to make them bigger this time (only used 4 pans instead of 7), but in doing so, butter overflowed into the oven and made the whole house smoky. Then I had to open the front and back doors and turn on the ceiling fan to get some airflow and it was freezing! Anyways, I just wanted to explain the pan-within-a-pan thing going on in the upper left corner of the picture.

I decided the ones in glass pans turned out better. More gooey, and less crusty, especially on the bottom of the rolls. I had my husband take the ones in the glass pans to share at work.

Thankful

We watched the movie The Notebook last night at my parents' house. Though I've seen it before, I still enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me how thankful I am to have love in my life. Love of the heavenly Father, of friends, of family, and the love of my husband. When I think of things that way, what else could I want?

Hanging the Stockings

We finally got some Christmas stockings last year, so this is the first time to hang them at our house. I've discovered that there is no way to hang them from our fireplace mantel without them being too close to the fireplace (which we use). It is just the way our fireplace was built.

Here were my other ideas for where to hang them:

1. on the bedroom doors

2. on the staircase bannister

3. over the windows like I'd seen in a Pottery Barn catalog last year

I nixed the bedroom doors and staircase ideas because I wanted the stockings more visible. So I went with the windows idea, since our windows are pretty bare, anyways. I still need to work on making the ribbon/attaching part look a little better...

But in the meantime, it works for me.

Turkey Burgers

I adapted this recipe to make our turkey burgers the other night. I'd never made any kind of turkey burger before. I didn't have any ricotta cheese or mustard, so I changed things up slightly. I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out, and my husband liked them , too! This is how I made them...

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
onion powder
steak seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients except for oil in a medium bowl until blended. Divide the meat into 4 portions. Lightly toss one portion from hand to hand to form a ball, then lightly flatten the ball with your fingertips into a 1-inch-thick patty. Repeat with the remaining portions.

2. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron or stainless steel with an aluminum core) over medium heat until very hot. Swirl the oil in the pan to coat the bottom. Add the burgers and cook over medium heat without moving them until the bottom of each is dark brown and crusted, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the burgers over; continue to cook until the bottom is light brown but not yet crusted, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Reduce the heat to low, position the cover slightly ajar on the pan to allow steam to escape, and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes longer, flipping once if necessary to promote deep browning, or until the center is completely opaque yet still juicy or an instant-read thermometer inserted from the side of the burger into the center registers 160 degrees. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.

Just Right Peppernuts

When I met my husband, he couldn't believe that I had never heard of peppernuts. Peppernuts are a big Christmas tradition in his family. They didn't sound very appetizing to me, so I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Turns out, they are neither peppery nor nutty. The are just a miniature spice cookie. I guess "pepper" is for the spice and "nuts" is because they are small enough to pop a couple in your mouth at a time, like eating nuts. Or at least that is the explanation I've made up. And it turns out that I do like them; they are quite good!

This is the first time I will be making them myself. If they turn out well, I am going to make them for the 2 cookie exchanges I plan to attend next week. I am all about easy and not labor intensive when I have to make large amounts of something. This dough can be made in advance and refrigerated. Yes, they do call for Crisco... I will be leaving out the nuts. I've never had them with nuts, anyways.

Just Right Peppernuts

2 ½ c. Crisco shortening*
1 ½ c. brown sugar
1 ½ c. white sugar
¼ c. evaporated milk
1 egg
1 and ¼ t. allspice
2 t. anise
½ t. salt
½ t. soda
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cloves (or 1 ½)
2 t. cinnamon (or 2 ½)
½ c. chopped nuts

Mix all together and add flour, enough to make a stiff dough (about 6 cups). This dough can be stored in the refrigerator. Roll dough into logs and slice apart into small coin-sized pieces. Bake @ 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

*12/6/08 Edited to add: I made some peppernuts today for a cookie exchange. I substituted some butter for a little more than half of the required shortening, and they turned out great! Next time, I may try 100% butter for the shortening. I was a little scared to today, though.

Menu Plan 11/24/08

We enjoyed our break from granola last week. We especially liked the waffles. They are the closest thing to Eggos that I've made. Yay for no sugar in them!

This week I plan to splurge some and try some new recipes since I don't have to be responsible for making a big Thanksgiving dinner.

Breakfasts:

Oatmeal or Cold Cereal with Milk

Fruit

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Pickles

Carrots & Celery with Ranch

Fruit

Dessert

Dinners:

Monday - Turkey Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - imitation Panera Breakfast Bakes

Thursday - Thanksgiving with family

Friday - Spinach & Chevre Pizza

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Thanksgiving with family

Dessert:

Peppernuts (cookies, recipe to come)

Find more menus at the Organizing Junkie!

There is something about menu planning that reminds me of lesson planning...

Christmas To-Do List

An excerpt:

• Shop/order presents (Finished - as of today!)
• Clean, rearrange, and decorate house (Tomorrow)
• Haircut (This week - schedule a real one!)
• Pepare and mail Christmas cards (This week)
• Prepare and mail great-grandma’s gift (This week)
• Print photos from 2008 (Next week)
• Bake cookies for exchanges (Next week)
• Organize and wrap gifts (Later)
• Attend Christmas parties (Later)

Trying to streamline and keep it simple...

Spice Containers

I don't know what my deal is with pantry containers lately... but here is a frugal use for the small ones: toys!

My daughter likes to carry around things that she can easily hold, like a tube of my toothpaste, a cloth wipe, her hairbrush, etc. I've started saving small, empty spice containers for her. They are the perfect size for her to hold in her little hands. She can take them in and out of the toy basket, learn to open and close them, pretend to cook with me, etc.

Right now there are in 5 or 6 in her toy basket in the living room, but someday they can go in a play kitchen set or play shopping cart.

I know I could buy some spices in bulk and eliminate new containers, but I haven't gotten that far, yet. Reusing or recycling the containers will have to do for now.

Visit Thrifty Green Thursday for more ideas!

Housekeeping

...aka blogkeeping.

I've been somewhat absent this week due to a hectic schedule and fighting off this 3 week old cold! Augh! I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I tried to fight it on my own and finally went and got some antibiotics. I have been more to the doctor for sinus infections, etc. in the past year than in the previous 5 years combined! And those previous 5 years I was around snotty-nosed 6 year olds all day... What's with that?

Thanks to Amanda for pointing out that the Mama Bite is supposed to debut tomorrow (Thurs.)! I was even behind on checking my email so I hadn't noticed that Ideal Bite had announced that until she told me.

Here's a Homemade Sausage recipe that I want to try sometime.

I should go do some real housekeeping... Or maybe take a nap? Nope, no time!

Menu Plan 11/17/08

Breakfast Choices:

Waffles (made and frozen) and Orange Juice

Smoothies and Toast

Cold Cereal with Milk, Fruit

Scrambled Egg & Cheese Sandwich and Orange Juice

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Pickles

Carrots

Cottage Cheese

Fruit

Dinners:
Monday - Chimichangas

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Vegetable-Beef Soup & Garlic Bread
Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Chili Chicken Mac

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Honey Baked French Toast

I am looking forward to our meals this week!

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more menu plans.

Chicken Stir Fry

As promised, here is the stir fry recipe. We used steak this time. I prefer plain stir fry, just cooked in a little oil, but my husband likes it saucy, so this was for him. He would actually prefer it just a little sweeter, too.

Ingredients:
2 T. cornstarch or flour
2 tsp. sugar
6 T. soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 16 oz. package frozen stir fry vegetables
2 T. oil
Hot cooked rice

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and water.
2. Add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside.
3. In large skillet or wok, stir fry frozen vegetables in 1 T. oil until tender. Remove and keep warm.
4. In same skillet or wok, stir fry chicken in remaining oil until meat is cooked through. (Drain the chicken from the soy sauce mixture before stir frying, if desired.)
5. Return vegetables to the wok. Toss until warm.
6. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.

Mama Bite

Ok, when is the Mama Bite going to start rolling off the press? I'm anxiously waiting! The Ideal Bite sign-up page still says "November"... I guess that could mean anytime up to December 1st, huh?

Bulk Storage

For easy access to an ingredient that was purchased in bulk, I store a small quantity of it in a clean, re-purposed container.

Example: Flour in an oatmeal cannister.

More Thrifty Green Thursday and Frugal Friday posts...

Cheapest Lab Work Ever

Ok, I am NOT planning on having another baby within the next 9 months.

But for those that want to and are trying to sometime soon, guess what I saw the other day...

Pregnancy tests in the checkout line at the dollar store!

I couldn't believe it. Those things are usually kind of expensive, at least to me. Especially if you unfortunately have to go through a lot of them.

I checked the expiration dates and they were June 2010. They look just like the ones that my doctor's office uses. I picked up a couple, and if I don't end up using them someday then I'll give them to friends who will.

Pregnancy tests for a buck a piece? Has anyone else seen these? Works for me!

A Legacy of Giving

You have to go read this short and wonderful post.

Brown Sugar Substitute

Last night I made some Vanilla Scented Granola. It's my new favorite granola.

I reduced the white sugar from 2 T. to 1 T. Also, in an attempt to make it more frugal, I left out the 1 cup of almonds and added 1 more cup of oats in its place.

However, my challenge was replacing the brown sugar. Not in an attempt to make the recipe healthier or cheaper, but simply because I am out of brown sugar this week...

So I did what I always do, and googled it.

I learned that you can make your own brown sugar by mixing 1 and 1/2 T. molasses with 1 cup white sugar to equal 1 cup of light brown sugar.

Surprisingly, I found molasses in cupboard. I put the molasses in with the other liquid ingredients, and put the white sugar in with they dry ingredients like usual. It seemed to work just fine.

Well, now I know I can continue to do some baking with brown sugar this week, even if I don't make it to the grocery store before the weekend. Now if only I had a substitution for the chocolate chips I've already eaten...

(Another brown sugar substitute I tried was white sugar mixed with maple flavoring. It worked well on the Pumpkin Streusel Muffins. --I had maple flavoring leftover from making P.W.'s Cinnamon Rolls last winter.)

Visit Tammy's Recipes for more tips!

On the Chicken Lasagna

...a note to self: use cheddar cheese (much better than the last time with mozzerella) and don't plan on eating it for two nights (maybe just one dinner for 3 plus a little bit leftover). Oh, and whole-grain penne is better than lasagna noodles (especially for a 16 month old to eat).

Menu Plan 11/10/08

Breakfast Choices:

Oatmeal

Vanilla Granola

Smoothies
Fruit

Milk

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Pickles

Yogurt

Fruit

Dessert

Dinners:

Monday - Chicken Lasagna, Vegetables

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Steak Stir Fry (didn't get to it last week; recipe to come)

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas, Vegetables

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Scrambled Eggs & Cheese, PB&J Toast, Juice

Desserts:

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more menus!

Over at Family Bliss...

I have a post today called Home Alone.

Tots, Tater-tots

It is time to share Freezer Meals over at Foody Friday...

Warning: This one is not the healthiest dish due to some processed ingredients. You could make some substitutions, but then it wouldn't be as easy to make. This is my go-to meal for when I am low on time, energy, and budget and need to provide a meal for ourselves or someone else. I first had this when my sister-in-law put a pan of it in our freezer when my husband and I got married.

Tater-Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. (or more) of ground beef, browned, seasoned as desired

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 bag (16 oz.) frozen vegetables, such as peas

1 bag frozen tater-tots

Directions:

Mix frozen vegetables with condensed soup in a bowl. Place beef in bottom of 9x13 dish. Spoon/spread frozen vegetable/soup mixture over beef. (Some people like to put some shredded cheese in here at this point.) Scatter tater-tots over top. Cover and freeze.

I must admit, I don't have good baking directions. It all depends on the frozen-ness of the ingredients. I ususally bake @ 375 degrees until the center is cooked through.

Pretty kid-friendly. Good served with ketchup.

Another good dish to freeze is BBQ Meatballs. If you want to stretch the ground beef, just add more oatmeal. When making these for the freezer, mix the sauce without heating and pour over the raw meatballs before freezing.

Hedgeapples...

Are they attractive or not? I can't decide.

I picked these up while out on a walk the other day. I like the color and texture, but all I remember is kids smashing them after school when I was growing up.

I recently learned from a friend that they are a natural pest deterrent and that in some states they actually sell them at the grocery stores for 25 cents apiece.

You can read more about hedgeapples here.

Right now, I have a glass trifle bowl filled with some of them on an open shelf in the kitchen and a wire basket with some in the guest bedroom. Maybe we'll see fewer spiders!

I suppose you can't get much more thrifty than free nor more green than natually growing on a tree. Check out more ideas at Thrifty Green Thursday and Frugal Fridays!

Classic Dolls

Ok, I think the toy recommendations for this edition of Works for Me Wednesday are supposed to be based off of our kids... but this one is based off of me :)

I am not a super girly girl. I'd say that I am a sporty girly-girl. But I LOVED dolls growing up, a few of my favs being Cabbage Patch and Barbies.

But my top recommendation for dolls? Easy. I don't think you can't go wrong with the American Girl dolls and accessories.

I still have my Kirsten doll that I received for Christmas when I was 9 years old... tucked away... to hopefully pass on to my daughter someday.

Notes: If you want to think frugal, there are always crafters and sewers out there making knock-off American Girl clothes for these dolls. Also, these dolls might not necessarily be earth-friendly...but since I already own one, the act of passing it on will have little impact on the environment.

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for this special edition of Works for Me Wednesday - The Toys Worth Buying Edition.

Italian Dressing

It is the all-star. I love using Italian salad dressing (preferably MSG free!) on chicken. It makes a fabulous marinade before baking or grilling. Even if I don't think to marinate the chicken ahead of time, it still works to just pour a little over chicken before I bake it in the oven. Tonight when I made Chinese Chicken Salad, I baked the chicken this way and it turned out great.

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Menu Plan 11/3/08

Breakfast Choices:
Oatmeal
Granola
Smoothies
Bananas
Milk

Lunch Choices:
Leftover Soup & Bread
PB&J Sandwiches
Yogurt
Carrots
Apples

Dinners:
Monday - Chinese Chicken Salad
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Cheesy Potato Soup & Homemade Bread
Thursday - Grilled Chicken Wraps & Veggies
Friday - Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips (no nuts) & Veggies
Saturday - Steak Stir Fry
Sunday - Leftovers

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday to see more menus!

Using the Pumpkin

I made some pumpkin puree with our little pumpkin that my almost-3-years-old buddy Preston picked out for us at the pumpkin patch. I used half of the puree to make some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. The rest is in the fridge for now. I plan to roast the seeds.