Menu Monday

Last week was a good menu week!  Everyone liked the dinners I had planned.  The sweet and sour meatballs was a huge hit.  I had a friend request the recipe so I'll just share it here.  I actually got the sauce recipe from a friend in a "freezer meals swap."  We got together with 5 other couples and each of us made our recipe for all the other couples.   So the meatballs and sauce are freezable, but make the rice fresh.  The meatball recipe I used is just a simple recipe from All Recipes.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Ingredients for meatballs:
2 T. Olive Oil
1 (20oz package) ground turkey
1 egg beaten
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with the olive oil, and place it in the oven while preheating.

2.In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, and bread crumbs using your hands. Using an ice cream scoop if possible, form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs. Place about 1 inch apart in the hot baking dish. Press down to flatten the bottom just slightly.

3.Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn them over, and continue baking for about 5 more minutes, or until somewhat crispy on the outside. 

Ingredients for sauce:
1 (20oz) can pineapple chunks
3 T. vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
approx. 1/3 cup water
1 T. soy sauce
3 T. Cornstarch
1 large green pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion cut into chunks
1 clove garlic

In a large skillet saute onion and garlic. Add the green pepper and cook for a few minutes.  In a bowl, combine the pineapple juice with enough water to make 1 1/2 cups. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Add to the skillet and stir till thickened. Add the meatballs and pineapple. Simmer until the meatballs are hot and the green peppers are tender-crisp.  Serve over rice.

If you are going to freeze this, cool sauce completely and then just store it in a gallon freezer bag or a freezer safe container.  When you are ready to eat it, I recommend thawing it in the fridge over night.  I have never tried putting it directly from the freezer into the skillet.

And now, on with this week's menu!
Monday: Parmesan Chicken with rice and veggies
Tuesday: Italian sausage skillet with Penne Pasta
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken sandwiches (from last week because my in-laws surprised us with pizza one night)
Thursday: Turkey bacon paninis
Friday: Spaghetti
Saturday: Breakfast
Sunday: Leftovers!

Sometimes I end up doing leftovers mid week if our fridge is starting to fill up.  It's just nice to have a menu in place so I know that I have the ingredients and I don't have to think about what I have in the cupboard come dinner time.

I'm going to have to make some banana bread (oh darn...) this week because we didn't eat all our bananas in time.  I might even add a few mini chocolate chips if I'm feeling like a sweet treat.  There are also a lot of pumpkin recipes floating around out there this time of year that I wouldn't mind trying. :)

Have a good week everybody!

~Melissa

Our Student of the Month

I am so proud of my girl RL!  She has made quite the positive impression on her teachers and the staff at her school in her first 30 days there!  Each month they vote on a student of the month for the individual grades and RL was the first one to get the award for 5th grade. 

Here's what the teachers and staff had to say about her:  The Bulldog of the Month in fifth grade is a quiet, sweet student who is considerate and very helpful to those around her.  She works hard and is succeeding in all subject areas.  She can always be found doing the right thing and making good decisions.  She is new to Berney this year and is a delight to have in class.  Congratulations to RH!

Way to go RL!  We love you very much!

RL Holding "Berney" the School Mascot

Menu Monday

Whew!  It's been a hectic day, and I am posting this as I wait for the rice to cook up for tonight's dinner.  We are actually having last week's Sweet and Sour Meatballs tonight, because we had a couple of sick days in there last week when I had to alter my menu a bit.

Here's what I'm cooking this week:
Monday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs over rice
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Sandwhiches
Wednesday: Stew in the Crock Pot
Thursday: Breakfast - French Toast with extras for the freezer
Friday: Steak and Potatoes
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Stroganoff

I'm still experimenting with muffins for snacks but this week I want to try pretzil bites also. :)

Last week's juice making session was fun, but I didn't get as much apple juice as I would have liked.  It turns out that it makes great apple cider though, so that's a bonus now that we are getting into fall weather.

Have a great week all!
~Melissa

Menu Plan Monday

This is starting to become a regular thing for me again, and I LOVE it!  Today's dinner, Crock Pot Italian Chicken and Potatoes, is already in the crock pot.  That means no fuss and no frustration for me around dinner time! 

Before I share the rest of this week's menu, let me just say that muffins for snacks and breakfasts have been a huge hit here lately!  I have to say, I never knew it was so easy to bake my own muffins from scratch.  I don't know exactly how healthy they are, but they've got to be better than your typical boxed kind, right?  (And cheaper.)  The favorite this week was blueberry muffins with orange glaze.  I have to give credit for these delicious muffin recipes to Tiffany, over at Eat at Home.  In fact, I get a lot of my favorite recipes from there, so if you need some menu planning ideas, hop on over there and take a look around! 

Monday: Italian Chicken and Potatoes in the Crock Pot
Tuesday: Green Salsa Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice
Thursday: Baked Potatoes
Friday: Homemade Chili
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Waffles (Will make extras for breakfasts next week.)

I'm still working on apple chips.  They are a big hit with the kids and my dehydrator only fits 7-8 apples at a time, so I've been making a batch a day.  I'm also going to make apple cider with my MIL this week so I'll let you know how that goes!

Have a great week all!
~Melissa

The Fruit that Grows out of Discipline

"When you get home from school, you're mine," I said very firmly to my son this morning as we were getting into the van to go to school.  He knew that not getting his chores done before school meant that not only did he have to do them when he got home, but I was going to give him a chore or two extra of my choice.

Today being the first day of fall, I decided it was weeding time.  I haven't really had a chance to get to the back yard since we moved in so I handed him a pair of gloves, pulled the garbage can around to the back yard, and put him to work.  

I showed him exactly what area I wanted cleared and was ready to leave him to his work when I spotted a little yellow flower.  A closer look revealed that under all those weeds there were two pear tomato plants struggling to survive.  Just goes to show what you can find when you pull away the weeds and dead foliage.

Hmm...  I suppose my son is not the only one getting a lesson today.

Lately I have been reading a lot about the Lord's discipline in our lives.

Proverbs 3:11-12 says "My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, or loathe His reproof,  for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."

Paul quotes this scripture to the Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 12:5-6, reminding them that the Lord's discipline is a GOOD thing.  He goes on to say "Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."  (Hebrews 12:9-11)

How does this relate to my son, our back yard, and weeds?  Remember the pear tomato plants that we found?  If I had not decided to discipline my son with the task of pulling weeds, we would not have found the tomato plants that were there, which currently have two tomatoes growing from them.  Perhaps now that the weeds have been pulled away, they will produce even more fruit.

The lesson that God taught me is this: Sometimes before "the peaceful fruit of righteousness" can be produced in our lives, we must first be disciplined to pull a few "weeds," or the sins that prevent us from growing more like Him.

I discipline my children because I love them, and I want them to grow into responsible adults with excellent character.  In turn, I accept the Lord's discipline in my life because I want to reflect His character and "share in His holiness."

Blessings,
~Melissa

Menu Monday

Last week worked out so well that here I am again, menu planning!  The favorite dish last week was Pizza Chicken over Rotini.  As my DH would say, it was "a keeper."  Here's my plan for this week:

Monday: Turkey, BLT Quesadillas (Carried over from last week due to leftovers night.)
Tuesday: Goulash with home made bread
Wednesday: Pizza Night!  The school is having open house and providing the pizza. :)
Thursday: Pulled BBQ Beef Sandwhiches (crock pot)
Friday: Meatball Subs
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Breakfast

Things I'm baking for snacks and breakfasts this week: Bagels, Muffins, and apple chips in the dehydrator from the leftover apples.
Of course, now we have all kinds of peaches and applesauce for sides and snacks too! :)

If ever I get organized enough, maybe I will post recipes and grocery lists here too.  For now, I'm keeping it simple.

Have a great week!
~Melissa

A Pantry Filled With Love

Labor Day weekend we went over to my In-Laws and canned sweet pickles.  It is actually a three day process, and let me tell you, I'm glad that we did it at their house instead of mine.  Mostly because it stinks!  Her kitchen smelled like vinegar for hours!  I gladly endured the smell for a time though, in exchange for 16 beautiful jars of pickles. :)

After pricing out what a jar of peaches cost now a days, I talked my Mother in Law into helping me can some for my pantry.  I'd done it once before with my Sister-in-Law while living in Spokane.  There's something satisfying about grabbing a jar of fruit from the pantry that you know how much hard work went into it, and exactly what ingredients! 

The three boxes of peaches we bought on Tuesday were ripe enough a day early on Thursday to peel and can.  Luckily, my MIL was willing to change her plans and come over to take care of things!  We used the small kitchen in the basement to work.  I'm told that it's the perfect "canning kitchen." 

Originally my Sister in Law had planned to come out and can applesauce with us, but she was unable to make it. That left us with 4, 40lb boxes of apples to make into applesauce!  We gave one to a friend of mine and set to work on the rest yesterday, bright and early.  My MIL arrived at 8:00am, ready with the supplies needed.  We set up the kitchen and recruited everyone to help.  The kids removed stickers from the apples while my MIL and I sliced them for boiling.

Once we got the first pot boiled, my MIL taught me how to use the "Victoria."  It was a very impressive machine!  You put the boiled apples in the funnel, core, seeds, peels and all.  The sauce comes out one end, while the waste comes out another.  We took turns cranking the handle...even RL and JS gave it a try!  It was definitely a family event. :)

After we had enough applesauce, we poured it into jars and began the processing.  I would have to say, one of my favorite parts of the day was celebrating when we would here the "popping" noise of a jar sealing.  It was a very fun filled day and I am so thankful that my MIL is willing to come over and take the time to teach me the art of canning.  It is a very useful skill to have, and very cost effective.  

Cost of peaches including fruit and supplies: Just under $1.50/jar.  In my local grocery store right now, a jar of Dole Sliced Peaches goes for $3.59!

Cost of applesauce per jar including fruit and supplies: $0.58!  Yes, that's 58 cents per jar!  I don't know what applesauce is going for in the store right now, but it's not that!  It would have been even less, but we left some apples for slicing and dehydrating as snacks this week. :)

Time spent with family learning a valuable skill: priceless!

Now that I have all these wonderful jars of pickles, peaches, and applesauce, I needed a pantry space to store them.  I decided to make over a room at the bottom of my stairs that already has built in shelves.  It originally had paint in it, but it serves much better as a pantry!  Now, I have the perfect pantry filled with lots of love! :)

Before

After

The Other Side of After