Meal Plan - 1/21/13

Monday - Pioneer Woman's Sunday Night Stew *
Tuesday - Rice, Bean and Cheese Casserole
Wednesday - Bowties with Sausage and Broccoli
Thursday - Tastefully Simple's Brown Sugar Chicken with veggies and rice
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Rachael Ray's Meatloaf Roll Up
Sunday - Burgers on the grill

Last week's review: the Turkey Minestrone Soup that I made last week was delicious. Surprisingly delicious!!!  I used leftover Christmas turkey meat that I'd frozen and added lentils and omitted the crushed tomatoes (because I didn't have any) but everyone LOVED it.
 

Meal Plan - 1/14/13

My kids helped me with this week's menu because I was feeling fairly uncreative. The only new recipe this week is the soup tonight. I'm still catching back up from our trip to San Diego last weekend.

Monday - Turkey Minestrone Soup * with Whole Wheat French Bread Rolls
Tuesday - Chili with Cornbread with Cranberries and Pecans
Wednesday - Healthy Turkey Pot Pie
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
Saturday - Pizza and salad
Sunday - Chicken on the grill with baked potatoes and broccoli

New recipe reviews from the last couple of weeks:

Shrimp Pasta with Tomatoes, Lemon and Spinach - I was so proud of myself for remembering this recipe from Pinterest. I used leftover shrimp from Christmas Eve shrimp cocktail, leftover tomatoes from the veggie tray that night, plus all other ingredients that we already had on hand. I added feta cheese and capers to mine which really pushed the whole dish over the top for me. Kaylin sat at the table sobbing because she refused to taste the shrimp. As soon as Mike convinced her to try just a bite, her face lit up and she devoured her bowl. We all gave this a thumb up or two.

Leftover Turkey and Swiss Panini - Oh. My. Heavens. Again, I was proud to use the cheese from our cheese-and-crackers plate from Christmas Eve and leftover turkey breast from Christmas Day. I also used some homemade cranberry sauce my mom made (and am willing to admit that I didn't try it that night, but it was a DELICIOUS addition to the panini!) and I grilled the outside of the bread with the leftover herb butter from Christmas day, too. This was truly a leftover sandwich and it was awesome. I savored every bite.

Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole - I intended to use leftover turkey for this recipe, but it ended up requiring ground beef, so I made it as directed. This recipe was great - I layered the mixture between tortillas and cheese, like lasagna, and it was much easier to prep and serve than rolling everything inside the tortillas. Plus, I think we ate less tortillas this way. 

Ham and Spinach Quiche - I made this crustless with some leftover Christmas Eve ham and it was great! One of my kids didn't like it, but I can't remember who or why. It just tasted like a scrambled egg bake to me...easy, quick and good.

Healthy Krispie Treats - I used Brown Rice Krispies and honey for this recipe. They were a little too good because I ate most of them...I will not be making them again for that reason. I was able to justify the sweet treat (again and again) because they were healthy-er.

No-Bake Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies - Do you like chocolate?  Do yourself a favor and make these. Immediately. I don't like anything coffee flavored, not even mocha ice cream, but the instant coffee in these little guys just punches up the flavor of the chocolate. One word: wow. Mike and I decided not to share these little gems with the kids. Yes, we're selfish.

Chia Cranberry Apple Crisp - I used leftover whole cranberries in this recipe from Christmas and it was a bit tart. My family doesn't love cranberries, so I'm ashamed to say that I consumed most of this. In less than 24 hours. Warmed and topped with Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream. Because I didn't want my family to suffer. :)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls - I've seen these in Christmas cookie tins, but was never a huge fan until recently. They're pretty good! I can see why they're so popular.

 

Panicked Today

I don't know what happened or where this came from, but yesterday, I panicked a little. It was a very quiet, private nervous breakdown that didn't last more than about 15 minutes, but I think it's worth mentioning for my own future reference.

This just a few days after a euphoric "I love my life" spell that lasted for more than a week. I feel very bi-polar right now.

What caused my panic attack? Homeschooling. For some reason, my confidence was rocked.

I had a sudden tidal wave of fear that included self-doubt questions like, "What am I doing? What makes me think that I can educate my kids? What are they supposed to be learning right now and are we even on track for their ages??? Are they seriously going to be home with me ALL of the time until they move out? What am I THINKING?!?!?" Some of the same questions many of you ask me.

Maybe it's because we've had a delightfully lazy two week break from school, then jumped back in with both feet yesterday.

Maybe it's because I've spent two hours of every morning of our break at the gym and am realizing that won't fly with our school routine.

Maybe it's because now that all of the other kids are back in school, my childless friends have tons of free time.

I have no idea what spurred this breakdown, but it passed quickly. Once we jumped back into our routine and everyone found their rhythm again, all was well with the world. Just in time for me to go out of town with Mike for four days this weekend and screw it all up again!  

The Consequence Jar

(This concept could be adapted to break any bad habit your child has: talking back, leaving the door open when they're playing in and out of the backyard, not clearing their place at dinner, missing the bus because of dawdling...the possibilities are endless.)

I loved this idea so much, as soon as I saw it on Pinterest, I recreated it immediately. And as soon as I was done, I decided to post it on here for all of you fine folks!

The basic idea is this: instead of nagging your kids to put away their toys, shoes, clothes or backpack, give them one warning to put them away, then gather anything that remains into a "ransom box" and require them to earn everything back, one by one.

I've seen many variations of this idea, but none with such entertaining, um, "consequences" as these. Most of the items below are from the original blogger, but I threw in several personalized ideas of my own.

Clean the inside of the van.

Rub dad’s feet for 10 minutes and do, "This Little Piggy" to him.

Rub mom’s feet for 10 minutes and tell her why she’s a great teacher.

Clean your sister’s/brothers’ room.

Wipe down the downstairs bathroom toilet.

Clean a bathroom mirror while singing “This Little Light of Mine”.

Wipe down outside of fridge and have a treat afterwards.

Vacuum kitchen floor.

Scrub upstairs bathtub.

Give Mom or Dad a hug and say, “I will do whatever you say, right away.”

Wipe down walls by garage door.

Wipe down garage door inside and out.

Empty all garbage cans.

Do one chore of Mom or Dad’s choice.

Do one chore of your oldest sibling’s choice.

Do one chore of your youngest sibling’s choice.

Fold socks, towels and underwear in the dryer.

Rub dad’s head for 10 minutes while telling him how thankful you are for him working so hard.

Rub mom’s head for 10 minutes while telling her how thankful you are that she cooks and cleans for you all day long.

Sweep front porch and jog down to the park and back.

Dust the living room.

Clean the back sliding glass door.

You are free but this is a WARNING!
You are free but this is a WARNING!

You are free but this is a WARNING!

Tell both of your siblings 3 things you love about them.

Write 25 times “I will not leave my things out.”

Do 25 jumping jacks while singing, “I am a cleaning machine.”

Race around for 1 minute and put away as many things as you can.

Pick up the entire playroom (or the closet - your choice).

Draw a picture of you picking up things and mom & dad smiling BIG!

Make up a song about a clean house and perform it in front of us.

Make your bed blindfolded.

While hopping on one foot, wipe the kitchen counters off.

Choose two items of yours to donate to Goodwill.

Vacuum the upstairs.

Wipe down the kids’ bathroom sink.

Wipe down Mom and Dad’s bathroom sink.

Scrub the kid's bathroom toilet while singing, "I love cleaning".

Pick up backyard, spin around in circles 3 times and beg your mother for forgiveness.

Sweep the back patio.

Say a scripture verse from memory.

Tell us what you learned in church this weekend while acting it out.

Organize shoes and socks in the kid’s closet.

Bring all of the laundry downstairs and sort it into lights and colors.

Load (or unload) the dishwasher.

Refold the shirts (or pants/shorts) in Jason’s dresser drawers.

Do 15 push ups while singing "Move It" from Madagascar.

I explained this new concept to the big kids and they were laughing so hard at this list that they didn't seem to mind. I plan to go through the house after instructing them to pick up their rooms, the playroom, etc and gather items into the box.

This sounds so much more fun, er...I mean EFFECTIVE than being a nag!

{Cheap and Easy} Korean Beef

My family loves this recipe so much that I just have to repost it. (I think I got it from my bloggy friend Emily's  blog: Practical Paleo. She has great recipe ideas!) It's traditionally made with flank steak but this is made with lean ground beef. Everyone in my family gives this two thumbs up and continually moans, "This is SO good" throughout dinner every time I make it. It's delish.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 tsp fresh or ground ginger
1 bunch green onions, diced (optional, but highly recommended)

for serving:
4 c. brown rice, cooked
2 c. broccoli, chopped and steamed

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brown hamburger with garlic and sesame oil. Drain most of the fat, then add the brown sugar, soy sauce and ginger. Simmer for a few minutes to combine the flavors. Serve in a bowl layering the brown rice on the bottom, then broccoli, the beef and top with green onions.

Yields: 4 servings

I don't have a picture because my family inhaled the whole thing as I decided to post this recipe.