A new outfit for Miss M

Miss M really needed an "in-between" outfit for school. The weather is crazy around here. One day it is freezing and a few days later it is 70 degrees! She is growing like a weed and doesn't fit in some of her stuff from the fall. So, I looked at what I had lying around and found this brown t-shirt and some pink and brown paisley fabric. I made Sarah's Skort. (My fave pattern for active little girls) Then appliqued a big M out of a scrap of the fabric. Maybe this will get her by. I must focus on Easter, Spring and Summer or she and Lil will have nothing to wear. I can't believe it is almost March!!

Menu Plan Monday

Hello. This is another busy cooking week. It is my wedding anniversary, school arts and crafts fair, and taking dinner to a friend that just had a baby.
Last week, I also forgot to mention the Double Apple Bran Muffins I made. They were very good. Hubby really liked them, he is not a big sweet eater. The kids ate them and seemed to enjoy them, but they commented they liked the blueberry ones the week before much better. I guess everyone has their favorites.
Lil kept asking for Strawberry muffins. I don't think I would have ever thought of making strawberry muffins. So, I looked on myrecipes.com and found this one. I will try it out this week for breakfast.
So, here is the menu:
Monday - Enchilada Casserole
Tuesday - Grilled Fish (whatever is wild and cheapest), Stir Fry of Mustard Greens, Kale and Leeks (we had a bunch leftover from last week), wild rice
Wednesday - Taco Soup or Chili (will double this and take the rest over to a friends house), corn bread
Thursday - Cashew! God Bless You Chicken
Friday - Kids eat pizza and salad, We go out for Anniversary!
Saturday - Grilled Meat, broccoli, Whole Wheat Orzo
Sunday - Smoked Pork Butt, Sweet Potatoes, salad
I am making Mom-mom's one pot brownies for the cake walk at the school fair for Friday. For more great menu plans see orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan for the week:
Monday - Spaghetti with zuchinni
Tuesday - Turkey Taco Salads
Wednesday - Roast Chicken, English Peas, Mac N Cheese
Thursday - Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast, Stir Fry veggies, Brown Rice
Friday - Grilled fish, Black Beans, Roasted Cauliflower
Saturday - Grilled Country Style Ribs, Stir Fry Mustard Greens,Kale and Leeks, wild rice
Sunday - Grilled Chicken, Salad, grilled potatoes

For more great meal plans visit orgjunkie.com.

Lollipop outfit for Miss M

Miss M needed one more outfit for this season. So, I had some of this Pink Minky Dot fabric that I got 2 years ago on sale (along with the blue, white and yellow - I know I am insane). I have used it for bibs, clothes, pillows and I still have a ton of this stuff. She loves anything PINK! I also found this blank shirt that I forgot I picked up at a store around here. So, I got busy and made this outfit. She loves it. I used this pattern for the pants.
Too bad it has been 70 degrees this week!!! I can't believe it, it was freezing just last week. Well, it has snowed here in March. There's hope she can get some wear out of it before I save it for Lil. She wants to wear it tomorrow, so I better check the temp!
Only spring clothes on my list now, with the exception of some embroidery on some long sleeve T's I have lying around.
Oh, made those Bursting Berry Muffins (see Menu Plan Monday) tonight for breakfast tomorrow morning. I haven't tried them yet, but my hubby came in from work and had one and said they were great!

Apron

This apron is a gift for someone that I have had for a while. We haven't been able to get together, so I am going to just mail it. I love this fabric (don't I always say that). Anyway, I am trying to decide what to do with the rest of it. Again, I used as my template the pattern from Amy Karol's book.

Menu Amendment

I was making lunches this morning when I found two whole wheat pizza crusts in the pantry. I have tomatoe sauce, black olives, green bell peppers,ground turkey breast, etc. So, no take out tonight - Pizzas! I should have time to make them this afternoon, then we can pop them in the oven when get home. This should take no more time than take-out! Plus, we can eat it at home with some salad.

Menu Plan Monday

This week I decided to use one cookbook to plan out our menu. Almost every recipe comes from this cookbook. I really like this cookbook it has good recipes with good ingredients. This is our menu for the week. I plan on trying the "Bursting Berry Muffins" from the book to break up the breakfast options during the week.
Monday - Country French Chicken Stew with Green Olives, Cornbread
Tuesday - Pizza - afterschool activities until 7 p.m.!
Wednesday - Simply Saucy Beef Stew, Brown Rice, carrots
Thursday - Not-Your-Basic Turkey Burger, Mac n Cheese, broccoli
Friday - Crabby Cakes, green beans, wild rice
Saturday - Steak (Valentine's day!!), roasted sweet potatoes, salad
Sunday - Grilled Chicken, asparagus, Whole Wheat Orzo

Taco Soup

I looked everywhere for my taco soup recipe and could not find it. An old friend had given it to me and it was always good. So, I decided to use my "not so good" memory and come up with something similar and maybe even a little bit healthier.
Taco Soup
1 lb of Ground Turkey (not breast meat)
1 onion Chopped
1 pkg of Taco Seasoning **
1 pkg of Ranch Salad Dressing Seasoning **
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 - 2 cups of water as preferred

Saute onion and meat in pot or dutch oven (sometimes I add a little oil). Drain off excess. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Let simmer at reduced heat until ready to serve. I usually simmer at least 2 hrs. I do think the longer it cooks the more the chiles heat up. Don't know if that is true or not, it just seems like it to us. If you don't like any spice just use regular diced tomatoes. Serve with cornbread, corn chips, a dollop of sour cream, or cheese. **Note: I used Simply Organic brand for these, I like to find seasonings without MSG or other yucky stuff.

Menu Planning

I usually do a menu plan and when I do it is extremely helpful. No stressing about what we are going to eat that night. Well, I did have my menu plan done yesterday, but I am a day late in posting about it. I don't get the list of what is going to be in our CSA box until Mondays. I like to add that to my menu plan. I came across this blog last week: I'm an Organizing Junkie, that I just love. She has a menu plan monday. I so wanted to participate this week, but my Monday was such a monday. I couldn't get anything right yesterday.
So, here it is now. I wanted to get it out there quickly, but I will try to go back and link to recipes later. Note, right now on Mondays and Tuesdays I have to do quick dinners, we have the most after school activities on those days. So, if you have a quick healthy dinner, please let me know about it! My hubby loves to grill, so he usually tries to grill Friday, Saturday and Sundays. I usually let him pick the item he wants to grill.

Monday - Homemade Chicken tenders, Alexia Oven Fries, chopped spinach
Tuesday - Taco Soup and cornbread
Wednesday - Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin, broccoli, black beans
Thursday - Roast Chicken, Brown Rice, carrots
Friday - Grilled Fish, mustard greens, quinoa
Saturday - Grilled or smoked meat, risotto, fresh green beans
Sunday - Grilled meat, salad, Brown Rice

I will make some banana bread and smoothies to break up breakfast during the week, also.

Maybe I'll get better at this!!