Meal planning

Ok, so its been a while...AGAIN...since I last wrote anything on here. Sorry! We have gone from a family of 5 to a family of 8 in the last 10 weeks. =) All is good though!

I thought I would share a little bit about budgeting and menu planning in this post. The grocery budget is the one area in the total budget that I feel I can make a big impact on. Also, menu planning just helps my tired brain at the end of the day to know what to have for dinner. I can just look and see what I planned and know that I have all the ingredients to make it already. We have a certain amount of money for groceries each pay check, so I need to make sure that I plan meals accordingly, and use our money wisely. So meal planning is important in our house.

For me it's a fun "challenge" to see what kind of new, budget friendly, healthy (ok, so they may not always be healthy) meals I can come up with. I also like things that are from scratch, as well as quick and easy, too. I menu plan prior to going shopping, so that I can come up with a complete grocery list, as well as, see what I can plan based on what's on sale. I do not always do that part though. I don't use coupons, either. I just don't have the time or resources for using them right now.

It's very important for me to have a detailed grocery list. It saves me from going "Do I need this? Is this almost gone?" etc. I sit down on the Wednesday before pay day (we get paid every other week, so I plan my menus for 2 weeks at a time; starting on Thursday and ending on a Wednesday.) So, on Wednesdays, I get my menu planning sheet; which is just a simple table I created in Word, that has all the days of the week listed across the top, and 3 big boxes under each day of the week, and I get a blank piece of notebook paper for writing my list. I then start filling in the blanks on my menu with meals, and I write down on my list any ingredients that I need. It's a very simple process and it doesn't take me more than an hour.

So now I thought I would share with you my current 2 week menu as well as recipes. Hopefully it will give you some new ideas; as some of these are our favorites!! =) And please feel free to share your family favorites with me too. I LOVE new recipes. I also, am always looking for good and frugal ideas for breakfast and lunch.

Thursday-
B-Cereal
L-Sandwiches
D- Hamburgers, tator tots, and fresh fruit

Friday-
B-Egg & cheese burritos
L-Mac & cheese
D-Honey chicken, brown rice, & green beans
Honey chicken-4T butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup mustard, 1t curry powder, 1t garlic salt, In a sauce pan melt the butter, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Put chicken in a baking dish, & por the sauce over it. Cover with foil & bake at 375 for 30 min. Remove foil, stir chicken, and bake uncovered for 30 more min. Serve over rice. I usually make one and a half of the sauce recipe for my group.

Saturday-
B-Waffles
L-Hot dogs & fruit
D-Lasagna, salad, garlic rolls (so delish, btw)

Sunday-
B-Cereal
L-Cheese roll ups
D-Eat out for bday dinner

Monday-
B-breakfast burritos
L-sandwiches
D- Eat out (we have to take a couple of the kidlets to visit their siblings & mom, and since it's right at dinner time we have to eat out on Mondays)

Tuesday-
B-Cereal
L-Sandwiches
D-Sloppy Joe's, carrot sticks, chips
Sloppy Joes- 2lbs ground beef, 1/2 c finely chopped onion, 1/2 c finely chopped celery, 2 cloves garlic;minced, 1 can condensed tomato soup, 1/4c ketchep, 2T BBQ sauce, 1T mustard, 1T white vinegar, 1/4c brown sugar, 1 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce, 1/2t salt, 1/4t garlic powder, hamburger buns
Brown ground beef, onions, celery, & garlic until meat is browned. Drain, and place back in pan. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, and cook until heated through, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning. Serve on hamburger buns.

Wednesday-
B-Cereal
L-Hot dogs
D-Butter chicken, rosemary potatoes, brocoli
Butter chicken-2 eggs;beaten, 1 cup crushed buttery crackers, 1/2t garlic salt, pepper to taste, 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cut into chuncks, 1/2c butter cut into peices
Preheat oven to 375. Mix cracker crumbs, garlic salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces in the eggs, then dredge in the cracker mix to coat. Arrange chicken in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Place pieces of butter around the chicken. Bake for 45min to an hour.
Rosemary Potatoes-2lbs red potatoes cut into 1in chunks. 4T zesty italian dressing, 1t rosemary, & 1/2t pepper. Toss ingredients together to coat potatoes well. Bake in a baking dish for about an hour.

Thurday-
B-Cereal
L-Mac & cheese
D-Hashbrown soup, salad, & rolls
Hashbrown Soup-1 small onion finely chopped, 3 cans chicken broth, large bag of hashbrowns, 1 can cream of celery, 1 can cream of chicken, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 lb. velveeta
Sautee onion in a little butter. Add broth, & bring to a boil. Add hash browns and bring to a boil again. Add the soups and milk and bring to a boil. Add cheese and heat till it melts. I have served this soup in bread bowls before, it's delicious!!!

Friday-
B-Egg & cheese burritos
L-Sandwiches
D-BBQ smoked sausage, brown rice, & green beans
BBQ Smoked sausage-2lbs smoked saugage, 3/4c BBQ sauce, 1/3c water. Slice and brown sausage. Mix water and BBQ sauce and pour over sausage. Stir to coat, and simmer on low 20-30 min. Stirring frequently. Serve over rice.
Green beans-2 15oz cans green beans, 2 beef bouillon cubes, 1T worcestershire sauce, 1t soy sauce, 1T butter, 1/4t garlc salt. Mix and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer about 15min.

Saturday
B-pancakes
L-Hot dogs
D-Sticky chicken, rolls, & broccoli
Sticky Chicken- whole chicken, 4t salt, 2t paprika, 1t chili powder, 1t onion powder, 1t thyme, 1t white pepper, 1/2t garlic power, 1/2t black pepper, & 1 whole peeled orange OR onion.
Mix all seasonings, and cover your cleaned and dried chicken with the rub, inside & out. Place your orange OR onion inside of the chicken, place the chicken in a bag, and let it sit in the fridge overnite. Bake in a shallow baking pan the next day at 250 for 5 hours.

Sunday-
B-Cereal
L- Nachos
D-grilled marinated chicken, butter garlic noodles, salad
Chicken marinade- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1 cup soy sauce, 1/2c oil, 2t oregano, 1t basil, 1t garlic salt, 1/2t pepper. Whisk ingredients together, and place in a gallon ziploc bag with chicken and marinate overnight.

Monday-
B-breakfast burritos
L-sandwiches
D-Eat out

Tuesday-
B- Cereal
L-Cheese roll ups
D-Taco soup (1 can petite diced tomato's, 1 can corn, 1 8oz can tomato sauce, 1/2lb ground beef; browned & drained, 1 can black beans, 1 pkg. taco seasoning (I use homemade). Don't drain any of the cans, pour everything into the pot after you have cooked the ground beef, bring to a boil, and simmer for a few min. Serve in bowls, topped with crushed tortilla chips, & sour cream), salad

Wednesday-
B-Cereal
L-Mac & cheese
D-Hamburger helper, green beans, salad

Not crazy!

Sorry that I have not posted anything in quite a while. Things have been so very busy in our household lately. I'm not complaining, its all good stuff, I just haven't had as much time for things like blogging! =)

Well, for those of you that don't know. As of yesterday, we are licensed foster parents! We are thrilled! I'm still sort of in awe! It's been quite a process, but I know that every bit of it is worth it. Its funny though...people's reactions, when we tell them. Most are very supportive of us, but there are the few that aren't, and think we're a little crazy for doing this.

I just wanted to say that we aren't crazy! We love children, and we have so much love in our hearts that we can't not share it with a child that doesn't have anyone to love him. This is something God has placed on hearts to do, and we want to obey that. Regardless of what others think, we want to live for God, not for man! Children are a blessing! Every one of them! Even these children that are in foster care. God created them ALL, and knew them before they were born. He has a plan and a purpose for each one of them, even if we don't know what that plan is, or understand things about these children. He does! He loves them as much as he loves you and me.

We're pretty open to what children we will welcome into our home: older children, younger children, boys, girls, different races, and to the number of children. This is where we really get those crazy looks! But, we're just trusting God. We know He will bring the ones to us that He has planned to have in our family right now...whether that be forever or temporary. He knows everything about them and about us, and He has a plan. His timing is perfect and so is His plan. There are never any mistakes with Him, and we will rest in knowing that each child that comes into our home is meant to be here, because He brought them here.

Homeschooling

ETA: Ok, since I'm new to all of this, I can't figure out to add my pictures below my text. So, I guess next time, I will put my pictures in, then type above it. I don't feel like re-typing everything right now either, as it won't let me copy and paste either. So just go down and read than come back up and look at my pics!!

A picture of Jordan's weekly lesson plan sheet

Our monthly calander (I print out a new one each month)

Weekly & monthly chores for the boys

Their daily routines/jobs

Our daily schedule

I can't believe we are about to end our 8th year homeschooling! Time has gone by so quickly! I wish there was a way to slow the time down, so I can enjoy this time with my kiddos longer. We do have our rough days sometimes, but those good days more than make up for the rough days. I love my boys and I absolutely love being home with them. I am so thankful that I have the privilege to do so.

I am often asked about our school year, by other home school moms and non-home schoolers. So I thought I would share what we do and also our schedule for next year. We usually school year-round, so that we can take breaks more often. It's really quite nice. We can take time off and enjoy the beautiful weather outside in the spring and fall, and be inside doing school during the blistering heat of summer. Plus, the added bonus of taking family vacations during off season, and going somewhere without a big crowd! =)

This school year will end on July 29th for us. Then we will start school again on August 29th. So we'll be taking a 4 week break. This year we will be doing a 6 week on, 1 week off schedule.

August 29- First day of new school year
September 5- No school (Labor Day)
October 10-14-Break week
November 11- No School (Veteran's Day)
November 21-25-Break week (Thanksgiving week)
December 19-January 2-Christmas Break
January 16- No School (MLK day)
February 13-17-Break week
February 20- No School (President's Day)
April 2-6- Spring Break Week
May 21-25- Break week
July 4-No school
July 20- Last day of school

That is our fall schedule. Hopefully it will all go as planned, or at the very least, fairly close to it!! And of course..this is subject to change if I so desire!! =) Lol!

I really like organization. I strive to keep an annual, weekly, & daily schedule. I have lessons plans done for each of the boys for each week, and I have a daily schedule for us to follow. Makes our days go so much smoother. I will post pictures (well try).

Here I go!

I have had it on my heart for a couple of months now, to start blogging...I mean, I only set this thing up over a year ago, and have never used it. =) I keep thinking of all these great things to write about, or more than likely, they're things God has placed on my heart that he really wants me to share. However, for some reason I haven't been able to actually bring myself to the point of really doing it. So, this is where I start! Hopefully someone will enjoy reading my thoughts!!

Children are a Blessing!

As my first "real" post to my blog, I just wanted to share a little bit of my heart. I probably won't be very good at this, and it probably won't be very long, but I will give it my best shot! I hope that it will bless and encourage someone.

Children are a blessing! I'll say it again...Children ARE a blessing!

Psalm 127:3-5 says: Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born of one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

I often forget that my children are a blessing from God...a reward from him. I'm ashamed and saddened to admit that. But thankfully, God gives me mercy and grace. My heart is to learn through His grace, and to try and always remember that they are my blessings. My special "gifts" from Him! Yep...that's right, gifts! He hand picked them for me...ME! He thinks that I am the best mother for them. Really? Me? I often feel that He could have done much better than me, but God doesn't make mistakes! Ever!

God wants me to love them, and care for them, protect, and nurture them, and to train them up in righteousness. It's not always easy to do these things! But, as their mom, I need to strive for doing this as best as I can. All the while knowing, that I have a huge responsibility to fill taking care of these special blessings!

So, what about you? Do you think of your children as "gifts" or blessings? Did it ever occur to you that God himself hand picked your children for you? That you are the best mom for them. I don't know about you, but that is incredibly humbling to me! I think that if us moms can fully embrace the fact that our children are blessings, and treat them as such (not just nod the head and agree), but live it out daily in our lives, we will see even more blessings in our home. Our children should see and feel that they are a blessing.

Most children know their mom loves them, but do they know they are a blessing?