Menu Monday!!

***Farm Hunting Update - This weekend was a weekend of destruction!!  Remember the wall that started like this?

 

Then when we knew it had to come down, it became this...

Our great graffiti wall!!

Well, this weekend it all ended!!  We put our goggles on, grabbed our hammers and went to town!!

Some enjoyed this more than others....

But in the end, we found the garage door!!!  (though we did not find the ceiling rails or track :()

So to summarize our update.....1 Wall + 4 Girls with goggles and hammers = FUN day!!!***

Menu Monday

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays. We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit
Tuesday Lunch - Tomato Soup/Grilled Cheese
Tuesday Dinner - Chicken Enchiladas/Brown Rice/Black Beans/Avocado Slices
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Cheese Quesadillas/Salsa/Tortilla Chips
Wednesday Dinner - Fettuccine Alfredo/Green Beans/Salad
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Thursday Breakfast - Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Strawberries
Thursday Lunch - Sandwiches/Fruit
Thursday Dinner - Egg and Turkey Sausage Burritos/Fruit
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch -Turkey and Cheese Wraps/Carrot Sticks/Grapes/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Baked Chicken/Steamed Broccoli/Mashed Potatoes
Friday Snack- Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

What Is It Really About? - Around The Home

***Farm Hunting Update - Nothing new to report on the farm front!!***

 

 

What Is It Really About? - Around The Home
(You can find this weeks Menu Monday post at the bottom of this one)

 



So we talked yesterday about our family's purpose in celebrating the holiday season. 

1. Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving for God's willingness to come to earth and die a horrible death so that I might have eternal life.  Thanksgiving for the opportunity to serve Him and glorify Him here on earth.  Thanksgiving for the many blessings that He so abundantly bestows upon us.
2. Sharing - We focus on sharing the above mentioned things with others along with love, joy and peace.
3. Focus On Our Family - Embrace the opportunities of the season to spend time pursuing each of our family members and our family unit as a whole.

Now let's look at how our family does this around our home:

• Plan family activities during the season.  We will bake together, watch movies together, read books together, etc.  We usually make a schedule where Monday is baking day, Tuesday is movie day, Wednesday is craft day and so on.  When we bake or make a craft, we try and make enough to share with at least one other person or family. 
• We are very reluctant to commit to activities that don't at least involve 2 family members as our time is precious and focusing on our family is very important to us.
• Observe advent as a family.  This includes a Christmas hymn each night, Bible reading and story.  Get the supplies and make your advent wreath together.
• We usually go and cut our Christmas tree down at a Christmas Tree Farm together the day after Thanksgiving.  What fun!!!  We walk around for a couple of hours until all of the trees look the same and then pick the "perfect" tree!!

• Wrap your Christmas books and put them under the tree!  You can open one each evening beginning Dec. 1st (If you don't have enough books, just rewrap some!  They love hearing them over and over!)
• We go a little crazy in the decorating department!  We do this using what we have or making things together.  Last year we did our living room and tree all in homemade Christmas ornaments and decor from nature!  It was really fun to make it all together and even more fun to look at each day.  This does not have to be expensive at all!  It definitely does not look pretty to everyone, but boy howdy do we love it!!

•  Try to have other families over whenever possible.  It is always a blessing to serve others at our dinner table or even to just sit and visit in the living room.  Take time out to share your life with others and to serve them in your home.
• When you decorate your tree, have a little family party!  This year we had finger foods for dinner and ate in front of a roaring fire in the fire place (or course, we had to turn the A/C down really low to get it cold enough in the house so we did not melt :)).
• Hang on to your Christmas cards!  We have saved our cards for over five years.  It is so fun to go back through them and look at everyone's pictures, read them and pray for the families. 
• Try to have a caroling party!  This is an easy way to share with your neighbors in the Christmas season and involve your family and friends.  Invite a few families over and ask everyone to bring a finger food to share.  Eat and fellowship and then practice singing through about 2 Christmas carols that you all know.  Now head out!!  Ring the bell and start singing!  We have had great reception when we have tried this and a great time!
• On Christmas Eve, we have a Jesus birthday party.  The girls and I bake and decorate a cake, we sing Happy Birthday Jesus and blow out candles.  Then we listen to William read the Christmas story.  Our reasoning behind this is that on Christmas Eve, everyone begins to get really excited about what Christmas morning brings.  This is time to slow it all down again and bring our thoughts and focus back on Christ and the gift that He gave us.
• Take a trip driving around town together and look at Christmas lights.  Pack some hot chocolate in a thermos, some snacks and a little Christmas music and go look in wonder at the beautiful lights!!

• I have told you that we don't do gifts, but we do have a little visit on Christmas Eve from an "elf." He sneaks into the girls' room and leaves them each a new pair of pajamas!! It is a fun tradition that we all look forward to and it makes for nice pictures Christmas morning!
• Once the kids are out of school, plan a pj and movie day!! Go through and watch your favorite Christmas movies all day long!
• Take time to play games together!

• We usually give up gifts in lieu of taking a trip. Our girls know that we take a trip, but they don't know where we go each year. The first year we did this we found a cabin a few hours north of us. We had seen pictures and knew that when you drove up, there was a large fire pit surrounded by totem poles. In August, William began telling the girls a story at bedtime, once a week, about a group of sisters who went on an adventure. Each time he told the story, he would describe one aspect about the house. It was such a treat for them to drive up and see the house that they had heard about for months in his story!! (we could only do this that one year, after that, they were on to us!!)

• One night, usually the week before Christmas, we have my brother, and Mimi and Grampy over for a gingerbread house decorating contest. We call it gingerbread houses, but it is really graham crackers, some really, really stiff icing and tons of candy! We usually have 60 minutes to construct and decorate using what supplies are provided and then we vote for the top one. This is really fun and we always get a chuckle out of looking at what we all come up with.

• Don't try to make everything perfect.  It is not worth it and probably won't happen!  Just enjoy your family and soak in the blessings that God has given you.
• Never, ever, EVER get too busy to spend time with the Lord each day.  If you find that you are running out of time, or are too tired, or whatever your excuse might be, change your schedule.  There is no way to have a heart full of thanksgiving, love, joy and peace and be ready to share it with the world if you are not spending time with the one who fills your heart with those things. 

Several people have asked if we do "Santa" and if so, how do we explain that to the girls. We do Santa, but instead of gifts he fills the stockings that they get on Christmas morning. When we first had children, a concern of ours was how to deal with Santa. It was a fun part of AcCOWntant Willie's and my childhood, but we had heard stories of children questioning the existence of God when they found out that Santa was not real. 

What we decided to do has worked well for us!  We tell the girls that Santa stuffs their stocking, but usually around age 5 (earlier for some), they ask if Santa is real.  When they ask that, we ask them if they really want to know the truth.  Two of the girls said nope! And we went on until the next year when they would ask again. 

Once they say that they want to know the truth, we tell them.  It is funny, because knowing the truth never affected their excitement or the fun they have seeing their stockings.  In fact, DD #2 sighed a huge sigh of relief and said that she was so happy to find that out!  Apparently it had always scared her to think that some man came down our chimney and into the house while we were sleeping!!

This is a very personal decision that each family needs to make, but that is how we handled it. 

So, if you don't have one already, how about sitting down and making a schedule of family activities!!  If you work and don't have time to do elaborate things during the week, don't fret!  Just plan things like having dinner as a picnic sitting in front of your Christmas tree, or perhaps learn a new Christmas song together.  Make a plan so that you can capture special moments while focusing on your family!!  How do you bring Christmas into your home?

Tomorrow we will begin our two day talk on how our family brings the purpose of our Christmas season to the community.  See y'all then!!

Menu Monday

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays. We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit
Tuesday Lunch - Baked Potatoes/Steamed Broccoli/Cheese
Tuesday Dinner - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (set aside extra ground turkey or beef for tacos tomorrow and extra sauce for Friday's dinner)/Green Peas/Salad/Garlic Bread
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Soft Tacos (made with meat from last night)/Tortilla Chips/Salsa
Wednesday Dinner - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup/Homemade Bread
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Thursday Breakfast - Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Strawberries
Thursday Lunch - Sandwiches/Fruit
Thursday Dinner - Crockpot BBQ Chicken/Steamed Asparagus/Corn on the Cob
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch -Pizza Wraps/Red Pepper Strips/Salad/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Boil In A Bag Omelets/Fruit Salad/Toast
Friday Snack- Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

Menu Monday - Happy Thanksgiving

***Farm Hunting Update - Not much has changed since yesterday :) 





 

 

    Lots of phone calls to make today to get questions answered. We have a lot to wrap up before the Thanksgiving holiday. But.....we searched around and found that boxes are cheaper at Home Depot!!  The packing has begun!!***

              

Menu Monday - Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week!  I am always overwhelmed with the amount of blessings that we have to be thankful for.  We have a home, food, transportation, William has a job, we live in a country and state that allows us to homeschool, we are all healthy, we have family around us, great friends, awesome church, and an abundance of love. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week this week!! 

Here is our menu:

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays. We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit
Tuesday Lunch - Spinach and Feta Quesadillas/Apple Slices
Tuesday Dinner - Homemade Chicken Nuggets/Mashed Potatoes/Gravy/Green Peas
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - French Bread/ Peanut Butter/Honey/Raw Veggies/Fruit/Yogurt
Wednesday Dinner - Black Bean Nachos/Homemade Salsa (see below)/Tortilla Chips
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Thursday Breakfast - Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Thursday Lunch - Thanksgiving Lunch!!
Thursday Dinner - Leftovers!!
Thursday Snack - Lots of Yummy Thanksgiving Desserts!!

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch -Turkey Sandwiches (made with leftover turkey)/Zucchini Bites/Chocolate Milk
Friday Dinner - Potato and Cheese Soup (see below)/Homemade Bread
Friday Snack - Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

Today I have two EASY recipes for you that are soooo yummy!!!

The first is salsa.  Homemade salsa is very easy and economical to make. Here is how we make it:

Salsa

1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Tomato
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Large Onion
2 TBS Minced Garlic (or more if you like a strong garlic flavor)
1 30 oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 - 3 Jalapenos
Juice from Jarred Jalapenos (if you have it and want spicy!)

Chop your peppers, onion and tomato down in order to make it easier for your food processor.  Place the peppers, tomato, cilantro, onion and garlic in food processor and chop on high.  Once that is chopped well, add as much of the crushed tomatoes as you need to in order to bring about desired taste.  We don't like a strong tomato taste, so we usually add about 3/4 of the can. 

Then add however many Jalapenos you like and the jalapeno juice to taste, chop it all again, and you are good to go!  I add no sugar or salt as I usually use the yellow, sweet onions and I think it sweetens it enough and personally I would rather not add the sugar.

Try new things with the recipe!  Add peaches or chipotle sauce one time and see what you think!!


The second recipe is Potato and Cheese Soup.  Now, I must forewarn you that this soup recipe is VERY easy and VERY yummy, but not healthy in any way, shape or form!!  We don't eat it often, but when we do it is a special treat and we all devour it!!

Potato and Cheese Soup

4 Cans of Cream of Potato Soup
2 lbs Velveeta - Chopped into cubes
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Potatoes
Milk

Boil and cook several potatoes down until they are soft.  The number of potatoes you add is really just a personal choice.  If you like your soup more on the chunky side, add more potatoes.  We like chunky!!  Let them cool and then chop them into cubes.

Pour your cans of soup into a large pot along with the Velveeta and chopped potatoes.  Fill each empty soup can with milk and add to the pot.  Cook on the stove until the Velveeta is melted and add more milk if you like a thinner soup.  Then add sharp cheddar cheese to taste and you are done!!

I usually serve the soup with fresh bacon pieces, sour cream, extra cheese and chives for people to add.

I hope you enjoy the recipes and I pray you have a blessed week this week!!!

Menu Monday-Finally Some Cold Weather Food!

**Farm Hunting Update:  We have signed a contract on a farm!!  We received authorization to have two VA loans on Friday, went and looked at the house and property again on Sunday, visited with the couple a bit, signed the paperwork and gave them our earnest money.  The usual processing time is 4 - 6 weeks, but the agent that is working the sale is trying to have them push it through faster due to the man having terminal cancer and wanting to hurry and move.  So our hope and the hope of the seller is that we will be in by Christmas!

Now the daunting task begins of going through 13 years worth of stuff, having a garage sale, packing, cleaning, and preparing our current house for renters.  We are praying, praying, praying for great renters!!**

Menu Monday - Finally Some Cold Weather Food!

We finally have cooler weather this week and I am so excited!  Cooler weather brings snuggling under blankets, lighting fires in the fireplace, hot chocolate and cold weather food!! 

Our breakfasts, some of our lunches and snacks usually stay the same from week to week.  We will occasionally mix things up, but for the most part, I try and keep some consistency.  This saves on money and time.

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays. We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit
Tuesday Lunch - Vegetable Soup/Homemade Bread
Tuesday Dinner - Baked Chicken/Brown Rice/Steamed Broccoli/Honey Roasted Carrots
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Triscuit Crackers/Cheese Cubes/Fruit/Yogurt
Wednesday Dinner - Loaded Baked Potatoes/Leftover Soup From Tuesday's Lunch
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Thursday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Apples
Thursday Lunch - Sandwich/Fruit (we have speech/debate club all afternoon, so we go easy on Thursday!)
Thursday Dinner - Tomato Cream Soup/Grilled Cheese Sandwiches/Salad
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls made on Wednesday!! Still good on day #2!

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch - Cream Cheese Wraps with Strawberries/Mixed Nuts/Red Pepper Stips/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Lasagna/Roasted Vegetables/Garlic Bread
Friday Snack - Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

I hope this helps give you some ideas and, as always, I would love to hear yours!!

Menu Monday - Come And Get It!!

Okay, close your eyes and picture me ringing the dinner bell.  Come and get it!!!  Okay, open up!  Are you feeling the Menu Monday spirit?

How 'bout on Mondays we concentrate on menus, food and cooking! 

Let me tell you a little about our family's food journey.  Well, I LOVE food and I LOVE cooking!  My favorite meal to cook is breakfast.  Probably because I am a total morning person!  Anyways, I love to eat and cook.  That can be a dangerous combination!!  It has been for me in the past, but we have been working hard the last couple of years to remedy that. 

I have struggled with my weight most of my life.  I allowed my weight to determine my happiness and direction in life.  When the number on the scale was low....happy days!  When it was high....well, not so happy days!

A couple of years ago it hit me that I was no spring chicken (though I am definitely not old!) and this body is not getting any younger.  Losing and gaining weight, being happy and unhappy were not going to cut it if I was planning on being around to be a Mimzy to any future grandchildren!  I also felt very convicted and responsible for my children's eating habits.  I was very careful to feed them healthy meals and snacks, but once they started entering the "teenager zone" where I had less control  I realized that my "do as I say, not as I do" attitude was not going to cut it, I knew I had to get busy!!

Well, fast forward two years and I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I have slowly lost a significant amount, learned to move more and have been making a valiant attempt to transition our family from a highly processed way of eating to eating whole, less processed foods.  We are by no means perfect!!  In fact, a couple of nights ago we all enjoyed some Totino's pizza!!  But, we strive day by day.

I am still researching and learning about the benefits of whole foods and know of a ton of websites that you can read to gain more information (let me know if you want some addresses for them!), but I am enjoying the journey with my family and learning how to cook and bake new foods in new ways!

So back to Menu Mondays!  I am thinking the best way to do this is that I will post my menu each week.  Most people have their own recipes and way of making things, so I will leave that to you, unless I find a super-awesome one to share!  Sound good?

Here we go...

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit  (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays.  We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit              
Tuesday Lunch - Hummus/Pitas/Raw Veggies/Salad
Tuesday Dinner - Veggie Stir-Fry/Brown Rice/Pineapple
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies (see, I told you we are not perfect!!)      

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Black Bean and Red Pepper Quesadillas (we make some yummy whole wheat tortillas!)  This is by far our family lunch favorite!
Wednesday Dinner - Pesto Whole Wheat Pasta/Salad/Homemade Bread
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls (Daughter #3, Bubble, makes these and they are sooooo good!)

Thursday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Apples
Thursday Lunch - Sandwich/Fruit (we have speech/debate club all afternoon, so we go easy on Thursday!)
Thursday Dinner - Willie the AcCOWntant's Famous Chickpea Tacos/Corn on the Cob/Homemade Salsa/Tortilla Chips
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls that Bubble made on Wednesday!!  Still good on day #2!

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch - Pesto Wraps/Pine Nuts/Raw Veggies/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Turkey Chili/Cornbread
Friday Snack - Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

So now you hopefully have some ideas for your menu!  I would love to hear what you are planning for this week!