Weekly Menu

Monday - Chili, salad, homemade applesauce and Artisan bread (if it turns out)
Tuesday - Pesto Chicken Penne, salad and bread
Wednesday - Baked Potato bar and salad
Thursday - Meatballs and noodles
Friday - Homemade pizza
Saturday - out
Sunday - Tuna melts and chips

Fun With Unifix

Grandma sent some Unifix cubes along with some other gifts. The kids have enjoyed stacking them to see how tall they can make them and other various activities. The other day we used them along with our number cards and counted out the number of Unifix cubes to match the number on the card. This is such a simple activity to use with the Unifix cubes.

My five year old loved it. Can you see how proud he is?

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I thought I already posted this recipe, but I couldn't find it. This is another crockpot meal, which we all love.

4 chicken breasts
2 cups salsa
1 can corn
1 can black beans (optional - sometimes I use them and sometimes I don't)
8 cups chicken stock
Shredded cheese (for topping)
Nacho chips (for topping)

Place all in crockpot and cook all day on low or 4-5 hours on high. About 1/2 hour before serving, remove the chicken to a bowl and shred. Then place chicken back in crockpot and cook until ready to serve. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream (some of my kids like it with this) and crushed nacho chips. Enjoy!

Meals for the Week

My dad is still in town so we are going for quick and easy meals this week, as we will be busy in and out this week.

Monday - Chicken Tortilla soup with black beans, and cornbread
Tuesday - Poppy seed chicken, salad and corn
Wednesday - chili or spaghetti
Thursday - Pesto chicken penne pasta and garlic bread
Friday - Grilled ham and cheese
Saturday -?
Sunday - Pizza

Meals for the Week

Monday - Lasagna, salad, garlic bread
Tuesday - Chicken and Rice Casserole
Wednesday - Tacos, applesauce
Thursday - Chicken Tortilla Soup
Friday - Chicken BBQ's, salad and potato wedges
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Tuna Melts and chips

My dad is visiting us for the next couple of weeks. We are having fun showing him around. I am sure we will have a couple days where we take him out to experience the English pubs.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I am so proud of myself, I just have to share. For those of you that know me, you know I cook meals so my family can eat. In the past I haven't done it because I enjoy it. I have to admit I am starting to enjoy it more and more. Making a meal plan has helped me tremendously. Lately, I have also been going through a stage of wanting to feed my family more healthy food.

This week I was going to make spaghetti for the kids and Steve as I was going out with friends. I looked into the cupboard and realized I didn't have any spaghetti sauce. I looked around a bit and saw that I did have some tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes. I have been thinking recently about making my own spaghetti sauce, after all, do we really know what is in a jar of spaghetti sauce? I figured this was as good of opportunity as ever. I looked up a few recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce on-line and found a good base line for the sauce. From there, I tweaked it a bit to what sounded good to me. What I ended up with was the BEST spaghetti sauce I have ever had, even in a restaurant. Everyone loved it. I made a lot of it and they ate almost all of it. Thankfully, I remembered to write it down as I was making it. I thought I would share it if anyone else is ever in a bind for spaghetti sauce. Or maybe I am the only person that used spaghetti sauce from a jar.

1 1/2 pounds browned ground beef
1 small onion cooked with the beef
1 tsp. garlic powder (I would have used fresh if I had it)
2 8oz cans of tomato sauce
2 cans stewed tomatoes (pureed in food processor, I don't like tomato chunks)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt (although next time, I won't use any as the tomatoes made it plenty salty)
1/2 tsp. pepper

I just put it all in a large pot, brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down to low and simmered for about two hours. It was simply delicious. Try it and tell me what you think. I am just proud as this is my first made up recipe.

Meals for the Week

It just seems I am always needing groceries, I can't imagine why. I am trying to get my week figured out so I can order my groceries to be delivered sometime early this week. I don't have any chicken in the freezer so we won't have chicken until the end of the week.

Monday- Taco Soup (crockpot recipe, if I can get the lid fixed enough to work), salad, cornbread
Tuesday - Pork Chops, veggies ( I am not sure how I will cook these yet, but I have some in the freezer and it is a good option since I don't have any options) Any recommendations on a good pork chop recipe?
Wednesday - Lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread
Thursday - Chicken and Rice Casserole
Friday - Homemade Pizza
Saturday - Not sure yet
Sunday - Fish and Chips, my dad arrives for his first time in England in the morning and we have to get him traditional English fish and chips.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today (March 2, 2009)...

Outside my window... The sun is shining, such a beautiful day.

I am thinking... Spring must be in the air, because my nose is running and I can't stop sneezing.

From the learning rooms... reading some Dr. Seuss books to celebrate his birthday today. Also making kites to hang on the bulletin board for March into reading. The kids will write the names of the books they finish reading on bows and place them on the string of their kite. We will see how many books we can read in March.

I am thankful for... Mondays, getting the house back in order and getting back to the normal routine.

From the kitchen... Chicken BBQ's in the crockpot. I can already smell it, Yum!

I am wearing...black running pants, blue longsleeve comfy shirt and bare feet.

I am reading... White Christmas Pie by Wanda Brunstetter

I am hoping... for a quick nap when I get done with a couple things on the computer

I am creating... ideas on how to keep my kiddos busy and out of trouble.

I am hearing... the sound of my English washing machine. It sounds like a jet is taking off in my kitchen.
Around the house... it is getting a bit more back to normal after the weekend. A bit more vacuuming needs to be done later this afternoon.

One of my favorite things... having dinner in the crockpot and knowing that I don't need to be up and making it at five o'clock.

A few plans for the rest of the week... ordering a few things on-line for my dad to bring over next week, finding a cottage in Ireland for our holiday in April, looking for tickets for the Lion King in London to take the boys to, lots and lots of things on the computer I think.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Visit Peggy's for more Simple Woman's Daybooks.

Meals for the Week

Monday - Chicken BBQ's on buns, potato wedges, coleslaw, and veggies
Tuesday - Meatballs, mashed potatoes, bread, veg and salad
Wednesday- Chicken Fajitas and Mexican Rice
Thursday - Baked Potato Bar (we didn't do this one last week, because I didn't have bacon. I still need to get some this week.)
Friday - Cheese Quesidillas, nacho chips with salsa
Saturday - Frozen pizza or pizza delivered
Sunday - Nachos

I do the chicken bbq's in my crockpot too. They are super easy. I just put 4-6 chicken breasts in the crockpot and dump on our favorite bbq sauce. I cook it on low all day or on high for 4 hours. Half an hour before serving I shred the chicken and put in a little more bbq sauce, if needed. Serve on buns. It is so delicious and easy. We all love it.