9.13.2009

Meal Plan- Sept 14

I'm putting this up a little early in case I don't get time in the morning.

Monday- Swiss Steak, homemade rolls (didn't have it last week)

Tuesday- Cheeseburgers, homemade fries, baked beans

Wednesday- Foil Pack Chicken Fajitas

Thursday- Pork Chop Stuffing Bake, Sweet Corn

Friday- Chicken Tacos, Mexican Rice

Saturday- Baked Potatoes

Sunday- Beef Stew, Homemade rolls

Dessert/Snacks:
Gram's Best Brown Sugar Cake
Lemon Blossoms

9.08.2009

Foodie Tuesday

Today I'm going to participate in a few different blog events.

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Chicken Caesar Wraps

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 10 min Makes: 4 servings

3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup croutons
1/2 cup KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing
4 flour tortillas (8 inch)


PLACE first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing; toss lightly.
SPOON onto tortillas; roll up tightly.

9.07.2009

Meal Plan Monday- September 7th

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Its time for menu plan monday! I'll be adding recipes tonight so come back then!


Monday~ Cheeseburgers, Homemade fries
Tuesday~ Swiss Steak, potatoes and carrots
Wednesday~ Chicken Quesdillas
Thursday~ Taco Bake
Friday~ Homemade Calzones
Saturday~ Chicken Caesar Wraps
Sunday~ BBQ Beef Cups


*Make-Ahead items:
Boil Chicken for Quesdillas and Chicken Wraps at one time
Split cooked bacon & ground sausage. One half for Calzones, the other half for Cheddar, Broccoli Pull-aparts.

Deb's Buggy Covers is closing

One of my best friends owns Deb's Buggy Covers. She makes cart/high chair covers. I have one and we still use it.

She has decided to close her shop. She will not be taking orders after October 7.

Deb is trying to clear out inventory, and is offering $10 off any instock shopping cart cover!

Use the code THS at checkout to take advantege of this offer!!

www.debsbuggycovers.com

9.06.2009

Park, Acorns and good deals

Yesterday I ran into the local Dollar General and they had alot of stuff for half price. I picked up a few things for Christmas and got CJ a new outfit. They had alot of cute clothes half off but the biggest size they had was 3T and my big boy is barely in a 3T now. So I just got one outfit. :)

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I paid $12.25 for everything shown above. (originally $24.50)

And today we took CJ to play at the park. It was really crowded today and he would rather play than let me take his picture so I only got a few shots.

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9.04.2009

Some sites I use

Here are a few sites I use to get activities, coloring pages, etc for CJ.

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.preschoolcoloringbook.com/
http://www.preschooleducation.com/
http://ittybittylove.blogspot.com/
http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/preschool_activities.htm#Dolly
http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/
http://funwithmama.blogspot.com/

9.03.2009

Menu Plan 8/28-9/4

I am late posting this but I wanted to post our menu plan from this week.

VELVEETA Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice
Sloppy Tacos, Fries
Slow-Cooker Lasagna, Salad, Breadsticks
STOVE TOP One-Dish Chicken Skillet, fresh sweet Corn
Super Stuffed Potatoes


VELVEETA Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 25 min Makes: 6 servings, 1 cup each

What You Need!
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

Make It!
COOK chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 5 min. or until chicken is done.

STIR in broth. Bring to boil.

ADD rice, VELVEETA and broccoli; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 min. Stir until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is well blended.



Sloppy Tacos

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 20 min Makes: 8 servings

What You Need!
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (16 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Medium Salsa
1 pkg. (12 oz.) hamburger buns (8 buns)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) KRAFT Singles

Make It!
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain.

STIR in salsa; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

FILL buns with meat mixture and Singles.


Slow-Cooker Lasagna

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 6 hr 15 min Makes: 8 servings

What You Need!
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Ricotta Cheese
1 pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted



STOVE TOP One-Dish Chicken Skillet

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 25 min Makes: 6 servings

What You Need!
1-1/2 cups hot water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

Make It!
MIX hot water, butter and stuffing mix; set aside.

SPRAY nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook on medium heat 5 min. on each side.

MIX soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Top with stuffing; cover. Cook on low heat 10 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

Super Stuffed Potatoes

Prep Time: 30 min Total Time: 30 min Makes: 4 servings

What You Need!
4 small potatoes (2-1/4 lb.)
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small tomato, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream

Make It!
PRICK potatoes in several places with fork. Microwave on HIGH 14 min. or just until tender, turning after 7 min.

MEANWHILE, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Add VELVEETA, tomatoes and onions; cook until VELVEETA is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.

SPLIT potatoes; mash insides with fork. Top with meat mixture and sour cream.

9.02.2009

Display board

I have been trying to find a way to display CJ's coloring other than the fridge. Especially now that we're doing coloring pages to help learn letters. So I took a piece of poster board and let him color it. Then I attached some ribbon and hung it up on the wall. Now each week when he colors his "worksheets" for that week's letter we can hang it up where he can see it. When that week ends and we move on to the next letter I'll put the last week's pages into a binder so we can still work with them.

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Also my mom and I went to a new thrift store today and I got a brand new Birthday celebration cake plate and server for $2!

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Holiday gift giving

I can not believe its the middle of the week already. Or September for that matter! Time is flying by. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, if you plan to make any of your holiday gifts now is the perfect time to get started.

When making your own gifts its essential to use the talents you already have but its also a great time to learn new crafts as well. Some good ideas for homemade gifts are Mix in a Jar (homemade food mixes layered in a glass jar), dishclothes, scarves, and decorated picture frames. I also like to make themed baskets. You could do a scrapbook basket filled with stickers, scissors, embellishments and a new scrapbook; Movie night basket filled with candy, poporn and a new movie or movie rental gift certificate; or even a cooking basket filled with dried pastas and/or beans, new spices, sauces and a new cookbook.

What I like to do is sit down and make a list of everyone we need to get a gift for. Then I think of each person's likes and dislikes and start writing down ideas for gifts beside their name. Then when I'm ready to make or buy their gift I have a handy go to list to refer back to.

Men on the list are definately the hardest to get gifts for, so for most of our guys I go back to the no-fail gift, Food. Homemade candy, cookies, brownies, etc are always a win with the men on our list.

9.01.2009

Lemon and Black Bean Pasta

Heres the recipe I created for the Vegan Recipe Challenge at AMH.

Squash and Zucchini:
Preheat oven to 350* Slice one squash and one zucchini length wise, brush with oil and salt to taste. Bake on a cookie sheet until done.


Pasta:
Boil water seasoned with salt and garlic.Cook 1oz spaghetti until al dente.

Sauce:
1t basil
1t oregano
1/8t Cayenne pepper (more or less depending on your taste)
4t lemon juice
1/4t Garlic powder
1/3c black beans
1/2 onion diced

Sautee onion in a bit of oil until done. Drain and rinse beans. Add pasta, beans, lemon juice and spices to the pan with the onions and toss. Cook on low just until beans are warm.

Arrange Squash and Zucchini on a plate. Top with pasta and serve.

Notes- Any bean could be substitued for black beans. You could also add some diced chicken and some parm cheese to the top if you aren't going vegan.


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