Monday, November 25, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Steamed Carrots/Peas,

Tuesday: Leftovers &  Olive Garden Salad

Wednesday:  Moroccan Style Lentil & Chickpea Soup & Biscuits

Thursday:Chicken Stroganoff (adapting the recipe for the crockpot), Egg Noodles, Veggies

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade Pizza & Salad

Sunday: Leftovers


On Friday night, I ended up making "Leftovers Soup" instead of pizza. I have really been trying to cut down on the amount of food thrown out, and on Friday night I had a bunch of random leftovers that needed to be used up. I had half a bag of expired (it had not gone bad yet) coleslaw mix, about 1/4 cup cooked taco meat, half of a cooked chicken breast, and about 1 cup of cooked brown rice. I had heard of others doing a similar thing and making soup with a bunch of random leftovers. So, I tossed that all together in a pot and added a can of diced tomatoes, spices, an onion, carrot, and a potato. It actually turned out really well and fed our family for 2 meals. It was nearly identical to hamburger vegetable soup, except it had a bit of chicken added as well. In the past, most of those leftovers would have likely been forgotten and tossed out.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

When There's Everything to Blog About....

My blog posts have been reduced to mostly menu plans lately. This isn't because I have nothing else to blog about. In fact, I have more to blog about these days than ever before. It's just that I'm not quite sure I want to lay it all out there for the whole world to read, which is why I haven't been blogging much lately. So much of what I have swirling around in my brain is just far too complicated and personal to write about on here. And I might as well forget trying to formulate my jumbled up thoughts and feelings in a way that is coherent and concise! - That is simply beyond my pregnant self's brain capacity these days :-).

We are nearly the time when another major decision will have to be made. Family and friends have been very supportive, which we are incredibly grateful for. It is nearly impossible, however, to explain just how stressful this whole ordeal has been. Whichever decision we end up making will have huge consequences for our family, whether it be financially, personally, or professionally. The past 6 months have been a roller coaster ride of emotions. One day I'll feel optimistic and hopeful...like we have some sort of logical, plan and a sense of the Lord's direction. Then, the next day we receive some news that throws us for a curve ball... neither a "no" nor a "yes" but rather has us shaking us heads in confusion, wondering, "Huh? What does that mean? Is that a no or a yes? Now what?"

Frankly, I'm a a bit of a mess. Here I am at 28 weeks pregnant, and other than the glaring signs that I am indeed pregnant, I haven't even had a chance to really think about the fact that I'm growing a baby, much less enjoy the thought. We live in a community where gossip spreads quickly and most people know of most everybody. I dread going to the grocery store or to the doctor's office because I'm bound to run into someone I know, and I just feel so awkward talking to people these days. I feel strongly the Lord reminding me to think "day by day" rather than think too much about the future. Over and over I read things like "Give us this day our daily bread", "Do not worry about tomorrow". Thinking about the future, even 1 month from now, overwhelms and paralyzes me. Some days it excites me, but mostly it overwhelms me.

We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5 

I do not think I have yet learned how to truly glory in tribulations or rejoice in suffering. Regardless of my feelings in the moment, God's Word tells me that trials are good for me. Thus, I will choose to believe it. My heart may deceive me, but His Word is truth.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we plan on eating this week:

Monday: Shipwreck Casserole, Peas, Tossed Salad

Tuesday: Dijon Chicken (Been on the menu for a few weeks, but I still haven't made it yet...), Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday: Katcha Korma (NEW- in crockpot) with Rice, Mixed Veggies

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza & Veggies/Dip

Saturday:  Leftovers

Sunday: Cheeseburger Soup

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Menu Plan This Week

Last week, my menu was changed up a little bit because my Dad came over and surprised us with a rotisserie chicken, which was so nice. So, I ended up making a huge batch of chicken noodle soup with the bones/scraps and then shredding the rest of the meat and saving it for later use. Mennonite style chicken noodle soup is my absolute favourite way to make it, seasoned with onion, carrots, celery, ginger, star anise, peppercorns, salt, and cloves served with lots of fine egg noodles. The sour cream noodle bake was just okay. I probably wouldn't make it again. The Pizza Hut copycat recipe was pretty good and made a very thick, golden crust, but I will likely stick to my simpler pizza dough recipe for the most part. In an effort to keep this pregnancy weight gain to 40- 55 pounds instead of 60-75 pounds, which is where I'm heading if things don't change, I am trying to eat a bit healthier and use a few Trim Healthy Mama (THM) principles throughout the day even though I'm still eating off-plan most of the time. I'm aiming for 1 or 2 on-plan meals a day (S, E, or cross-over) and then trying to choose healthier snacks instead of my typical junk food choices.

Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Cheeseburger Pie, Mashed Potatoes, & Tossed Salad (This was my first time making this, and my husband really liked it. He was surprised when I told him it was a THM recipe. I skipped the mashed potatoes to keep it "S").

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Dijon Chicken, Brown Rice, Tossed Salad, Steamed Asparagus

Thursday: BLT Sandwiches & Potato Wedges

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Potato Soup & Biscuits

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday, November 4, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

It looks like winter has officially arrived. I am sure I would not miss winter if it never came :-).
I finished my monthly shopping trip this past weekend. It's always a huge, exhausting ordeal, but I'm glad it's over with for the month, and it is nice to have lots of fresh fruits & veggies in the house again.

Here's what our menu looks like this week:

Suppers

Monday: Sour Cream Noodle Bake & Steamed Carrots (NEW) (don't tell my husband what's in this casserole...pretty sure he won't notice the sour cream and cottage cheese, but we'll see :-D)

Tuesday:  Leftovers

Wednesday: BLT's & Potato Wedges

Thursday: Dijon Chicken (NEW), Herbed Rice, & Steamed Asparagus

Friday: Pizza Hut Copycat Pan Pizza (NEW) & Caesar Salad

Saturday: Potato Soup & Favourite Baking Powder Biscuits

Sunday: Leftovers


Lunches This Week
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup (modified this recipe slightly)
Vegetable Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (eat this 2 times for lunch this week)
Tuna Salad Sandwiches & Fresh Fruit
Cheese Quesadillas & Fresh Fruit & Veggies
Mac N' Cheese with Mixed Veggies
Leftovers

Breakfasts
We eat very simple breakfasts. The kids usually have toast & fruit or a fruit smoothie. On Sundays, they have cereal & milk. Hubby usually has bread with jam every morning. I am the only one who likes to mix it up a bit more. My typical breakfast choices are scrambled eggs & cheese in a whole wheat tortilla, toast & fruit, a yogurt fruit smoothie, or oatmeal. On Saturday mornings, I usually make pancakes for the whole family.

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