Yes, I stuck with meal planning for six days and then totally lost track of where I was and what I should have been doing. Sigh. I am not giving up on meal planning, but I do think I will only plan one week at a time. Maybe I can break my own record and stick with meal planning for seven days!
This month all around was frustrating for me with regards to our grocery budget. Because everyone got so sick, especially Miss Precious, we spent a lot more on groceries. I know that even the best laid plans go awry and you just have to pick yourself back up and dust yourself off. But it is still so irritating! The holiday food didn't help our budget any either....I went a little berserk at Winco.
On the bright side, we have a lovely 15 lb turkey waiting for Christmas in our freezer and it only cost us $3.33 :)
December is another month, another chance to reach my goal.
I will post our final grocery totals as soon as I tally up the receipts.
It's not going to be pretty.
FIVE IN THE POTTER'S HAND
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Giving Thanks...
Today I am thankful for:
My place in the family of God.
El Shaddai/ Jehovah-Jireh Who meets all of our needs.
My health.
My beloved family both here in the States and abroad.
My husband who has unending patience with me.
My precious children, who bring us so much joy!
Our beautiful home.
Our quiet neighborhood.
Our friendly neighbors.
Our AWESOME church and church family.
Our faithful friends.
Two vehicles that work great!
My husband's job.
Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom :)
Living in a free country where I can worship God in the open.
Prayer.
Praise and worship music.
Beautifully crisp, sunny days.
A loving marriage between me and Mr. Q.
Sons that have given their hearts to Christ!
Love unending from my Father above.
The atonement Jesus bought with His blood for me.
Oh, there are so many more things to be thankful for, but I haven't time to list them all!
May you have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving as you reflect on His goodness!
My place in the family of God.
El Shaddai/ Jehovah-Jireh Who meets all of our needs.
My health.
My beloved family both here in the States and abroad.
My husband who has unending patience with me.
My precious children, who bring us so much joy!
Our beautiful home.
Our quiet neighborhood.
Our friendly neighbors.
Our AWESOME church and church family.
Our faithful friends.
Two vehicles that work great!
My husband's job.
Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom :)
Living in a free country where I can worship God in the open.
Prayer.
Praise and worship music.
Beautifully crisp, sunny days.
A loving marriage between me and Mr. Q.
Sons that have given their hearts to Christ!
Love unending from my Father above.
The atonement Jesus bought with His blood for me.
Oh, there are so many more things to be thankful for, but I haven't time to list them all!
May you have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving as you reflect on His goodness!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Not Forgotten...
We have a neighbor behind us, who is a paraplegic, and he ended up in the hospital. He was in ICU for a week and now he is recuperating in a rehabilitation center.
He was in ICU for a week and no one knew.
He kept to himself. The only time he ventured out was to buy groceries. We met him through the fence in our backyard. Our boys were noisily playing as he barbecued some steak. They are naturally very curious about people around them and so they wasted no time in befriending him. He reciprocated with sugar-free popsicles whenever he saw them outside playing.
His story is full of pain. He was in the military in Vietnam (or Korea?) when they used Agent Orange to destroy the foliage in the jungles. As he inhaled the air surrounding him, the toxic vapors seeped into his nervous system and destroyed the nerves that control the lower half of his body. He is in constant pain, and alone.
This past summer he didn't barbecue in his backyard at all. We noticed, but we got too busy and would forget to check up on him.
Then last Friday, we received a call from him. He was in a local physical rehabilitation center and wondered if we could just look after his house while he recuperated.
We were so convicted. Especially me, because he had been on my heart for the past two weeks.
We have been praying for ways to touch our neighbors' lives. Believing for opportunities to saturate them with God's love. So we jumped at this opportunity.
We went to visit him at the rehab center. We brought him some things from his home that he requested, and we also brought "The Chronicles of Narnia" as well as some fruit in a pretty blue bowl.
As we walked down the hallway to his room, I noticed there was no laughter that came from the rooms. Only the hollow echoes of the television sitcoms punctuated the silence. No one smiled. This was a place full of people that were dying in one stage or another. Laughter and joy had long since been replaced by moans of pain and suffocating loneliness.
It was overwhelming sorrow that pervaded that building.
We sat and visited with our neighbor for a while. Making small talk as we tried to get to know each other better. His eyes are so full of pain and emptiness. I can only imagine how much he longs to be loved and belong.
Those same eyes of longing followed our footsteps as we left. Those silent stares of yearning appeared in every doorway as we passed. A hint of a smile from one lady as our children smiled at her.
We drove home in silence.
My husband and I finally spoke when we arrived home. He is burdened with a desire to do something, so am I. We are still praying about exactly what we are supposed to do. But those faces we saw have been indelibly marked on our hearts.
We wondered aloud, how many of those residents have no one to visit them? How many have grandchildren they never see? How many have no that cares whether they live or die? How many simply exist but never really live?
How many wonder if God has forgotten about them too, just as society has?
Matthew 25:36
"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."
Sometimes prison doesn't have bars on the doors...
He was in ICU for a week and no one knew.
He kept to himself. The only time he ventured out was to buy groceries. We met him through the fence in our backyard. Our boys were noisily playing as he barbecued some steak. They are naturally very curious about people around them and so they wasted no time in befriending him. He reciprocated with sugar-free popsicles whenever he saw them outside playing.
His story is full of pain. He was in the military in Vietnam (or Korea?) when they used Agent Orange to destroy the foliage in the jungles. As he inhaled the air surrounding him, the toxic vapors seeped into his nervous system and destroyed the nerves that control the lower half of his body. He is in constant pain, and alone.
This past summer he didn't barbecue in his backyard at all. We noticed, but we got too busy and would forget to check up on him.
Then last Friday, we received a call from him. He was in a local physical rehabilitation center and wondered if we could just look after his house while he recuperated.
We were so convicted. Especially me, because he had been on my heart for the past two weeks.
We have been praying for ways to touch our neighbors' lives. Believing for opportunities to saturate them with God's love. So we jumped at this opportunity.
We went to visit him at the rehab center. We brought him some things from his home that he requested, and we also brought "The Chronicles of Narnia" as well as some fruit in a pretty blue bowl.
As we walked down the hallway to his room, I noticed there was no laughter that came from the rooms. Only the hollow echoes of the television sitcoms punctuated the silence. No one smiled. This was a place full of people that were dying in one stage or another. Laughter and joy had long since been replaced by moans of pain and suffocating loneliness.
It was overwhelming sorrow that pervaded that building.
We sat and visited with our neighbor for a while. Making small talk as we tried to get to know each other better. His eyes are so full of pain and emptiness. I can only imagine how much he longs to be loved and belong.
Those same eyes of longing followed our footsteps as we left. Those silent stares of yearning appeared in every doorway as we passed. A hint of a smile from one lady as our children smiled at her.
We drove home in silence.
My husband and I finally spoke when we arrived home. He is burdened with a desire to do something, so am I. We are still praying about exactly what we are supposed to do. But those faces we saw have been indelibly marked on our hearts.
We wondered aloud, how many of those residents have no one to visit them? How many have grandchildren they never see? How many have no that cares whether they live or die? How many simply exist but never really live?
How many wonder if God has forgotten about them too, just as society has?
Matthew 25:36
"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."
Sometimes prison doesn't have bars on the doors...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Don't Pay Too Much For Your Poultry...
WINCO has an awesome deal going....if you spend $50 (excluding the turkey) you get a Norbest frozen turkey for $0.22 a pound! I got a 15 lb turkey for about $4 :)
Thanks to my mother and my neighbor for alerting me to this FABULOUSLY FRUGAL deal!
Thanks to my mother and my neighbor for alerting me to this FABULOUSLY FRUGAL deal!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Joy of Reading...
Miss Precious sits comfortably on her brothers' bed and holds a book between her pudgy little hands. Her big brothers enthusiastically encourage her to read to them.
She turns the page and babbles along happily...
Occasionally one of the boys takes over the "reading" of the story.
It makes my heart smile :)
She turns the page and babbles along happily...
Occasionally one of the boys takes over the "reading" of the story.
It makes my heart smile :)
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Six
Day 6::
Breakfast: Cold cereal. I think I forgot to eat breakfast. I was awoken rather early by a terrified Mr. Dramatic.
"There's a bee in the living room!" He was stung by a wasp a few months back, so his fear is quite understandable.
"Honey are you sure it's a bee?" Often flying insects get slapped with the all inclusive: "It's a bee!!!!"
"Yes! It is black and yellow."
Oh joy, a yellow jacket in my living room.
My adrenaline starts to flow...can't decide at this point if it is the fight or flight mechanism kicking in. Briefly I consider the idea of waiting for my husband to get home in a mere six hours. But then I come back to reality. I am the mother. Their protector. I am the Bug Killer by default when Mr. Q is not home, and wasps are included in my job description.
I tell the boys to take care of their sister, say a prayer, ask my son exactly where it was when he last saw it, mentally say another prayer "Lord, please let it not be flying around like crazy!" and courageously step outside of the safety of my bedroom door.
Bleary-eyed, and squinting through glasses that have a four year old prescription in them, I locate the offender where my son had directed me. It was on the floor laying on its side.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! It's dead! Mr. Dramatic had told me it was alive and moving. Oh, wait a minute....nope, it's not dead! Eeek! Acckk!
Regain my lost bug killing composure and review my choices for weapons.
Library book? Nah, bug guts on public property not a good idea.
Rolled up newspaper? Nope, doesn't have enough accuracy. There is no room for error when dealing with wasps.
Finally, I settle on my husband's flip-flop. Big enough surface area for maximum annihilation assurance, long enough that if I miss I have a chance at a getaway.
Screw up the courage that seems to be draining from my body fast in vast amounts of perspiration.
One foot slowly moves forward. Stealth is everything. The other foot. I am now approximately six inches from the now more lively wasp.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
WHACK! Sorry, one more for good measure.
Clean up bug guts and any possible stinger left on carpet. Exclaim joyfully and jitteryishly to your kids that it is dead.
Throw remains in the woodstove just in case...
Lunch:
Hubby ate out again (I know, I slacked.), kids and I had hotdogs with cheese.
Dinner:
Ranch chicken over leftover spaghetti. I think we are all a little tired of spaghetti now. The chicken was marinated in ranch sauce prior to baking in oven. It had a nice kick to it. The boys didn't want any chicken so they had noodles with butter and parmesan cheese.
***Edited: Okay, I CANNOT believe that none of you caught my horrible grammatical faux-paux! Maybe you all are just too sweet to correct me. What I meant to say is " I was awakened rather early.." Apparently I was still half asleep when I wrote and proofread my post....LOL!
Breakfast: Cold cereal. I think I forgot to eat breakfast. I was awoken rather early by a terrified Mr. Dramatic.
"There's a bee in the living room!" He was stung by a wasp a few months back, so his fear is quite understandable.
"Honey are you sure it's a bee?" Often flying insects get slapped with the all inclusive: "It's a bee!!!!"
"Yes! It is black and yellow."
Oh joy, a yellow jacket in my living room.
My adrenaline starts to flow...can't decide at this point if it is the fight or flight mechanism kicking in. Briefly I consider the idea of waiting for my husband to get home in a mere six hours. But then I come back to reality. I am the mother. Their protector. I am the Bug Killer by default when Mr. Q is not home, and wasps are included in my job description.
I tell the boys to take care of their sister, say a prayer, ask my son exactly where it was when he last saw it, mentally say another prayer "Lord, please let it not be flying around like crazy!" and courageously step outside of the safety of my bedroom door.
Bleary-eyed, and squinting through glasses that have a four year old prescription in them, I locate the offender where my son had directed me. It was on the floor laying on its side.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! It's dead! Mr. Dramatic had told me it was alive and moving. Oh, wait a minute....nope, it's not dead! Eeek! Acckk!
Regain my lost bug killing composure and review my choices for weapons.
Library book? Nah, bug guts on public property not a good idea.
Rolled up newspaper? Nope, doesn't have enough accuracy. There is no room for error when dealing with wasps.
Finally, I settle on my husband's flip-flop. Big enough surface area for maximum annihilation assurance, long enough that if I miss I have a chance at a getaway.
Screw up the courage that seems to be draining from my body fast in vast amounts of perspiration.
One foot slowly moves forward. Stealth is everything. The other foot. I am now approximately six inches from the now more lively wasp.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
WHACK! Sorry, one more for good measure.
Clean up bug guts and any possible stinger left on carpet. Exclaim joyfully and jitteryishly to your kids that it is dead.
Throw remains in the woodstove just in case...
Lunch:
Hubby ate out again (I know, I slacked.), kids and I had hotdogs with cheese.
Dinner:
Ranch chicken over leftover spaghetti. I think we are all a little tired of spaghetti now. The chicken was marinated in ranch sauce prior to baking in oven. It had a nice kick to it. The boys didn't want any chicken so they had noodles with butter and parmesan cheese.
***Edited: Okay, I CANNOT believe that none of you caught my horrible grammatical faux-paux! Maybe you all are just too sweet to correct me. What I meant to say is " I was awakened rather early.." Apparently I was still half asleep when I wrote and proofread my post....LOL!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Five
Day 5::
Breakfast: Hubby had oatmeal and the kids and I had cold cereal.
Lunch: Mr Q went out to eat for lunch. The kids ate wontons (filled with creme cheese) and apple slices. I had a ranch chicken flatbread sandwich. (Okay, I know I didn't stick to the lunch meal plan. Our neighbor brought over a bag of frozen goods that didn't fit in her freezer. It was from Schwann's! So I took advantage because I am eager to try out the stuff (read: too tired and lazy to cook lunch)!)
Dinner: Potato skins! Yummy! We all like these, but I think I will do them with red potatoes next time. We are red potatoe fanatics! The kids thought they were giant potato chips:)
Breakfast: Hubby had oatmeal and the kids and I had cold cereal.
Lunch: Mr Q went out to eat for lunch. The kids ate wontons (filled with creme cheese) and apple slices. I had a ranch chicken flatbread sandwich. (Okay, I know I didn't stick to the lunch meal plan. Our neighbor brought over a bag of frozen goods that didn't fit in her freezer. It was from Schwann's! So I took advantage because I am eager to try out the stuff (read: too tired and lazy to cook lunch)!)
Dinner: Potato skins! Yummy! We all like these, but I think I will do them with red potatoes next time. We are red potatoe fanatics! The kids thought they were giant potato chips:)
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Four
Day 4::
Okay, so to be completely honest, I cannot remember what we ate. I know it wasn't what was on the meal plan...lol. Since Sunday I have been in a bit of daze. I am trying to get my mind back to the tasks at hand. But it is hard to return to business as usual when God reaches down and touches your life in such a miraculous way.
Since then, I have talked to several friends and they have all told me the same thing: "Normally, I don't carry cash on me. But it just so happened that day that I had some in my wallet/ purse."
More than half of it was cash. Our congregation size that day was probably about two hundred or less.
He makes something out of nothing! He moves the hearts of His people with compassion.
He is so good!
Okay, so to be completely honest, I cannot remember what we ate. I know it wasn't what was on the meal plan...lol. Since Sunday I have been in a bit of daze. I am trying to get my mind back to the tasks at hand. But it is hard to return to business as usual when God reaches down and touches your life in such a miraculous way.
Since then, I have talked to several friends and they have all told me the same thing: "Normally, I don't carry cash on me. But it just so happened that day that I had some in my wallet/ purse."
More than half of it was cash. Our congregation size that day was probably about two hundred or less.
He makes something out of nothing! He moves the hearts of His people with compassion.
He is so good!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Twenty Minutes of Grace...
Sunday was a life-altering day for our family.
It was my second service back at church since my baby girl got so sick. I was so thankful to be able to attend the service again and worship God with my church family! Nothing could have prepared my heart for what happened though.
Pastor was teaching on faith. Specifically, if you say you have faith, put feet to it and do something! He was also teaching on being confident that God will do what He has said He will do in His Word. Every time. Without fail. I can't speak for my husband, but I started to rethink what I thought about Who He is and what He says He will do. Of course, the ER bills were on my mind too. But I knew some how He would meet that need.
Then Pastor started talking about a couple in the church (he didn't name names at this point) who had gone through some really rough times financially. He said that God told him to give to them and he held up a check, then he called up his wife and she also had money in her hand. In the next minute to my utter shock and disbelief he said "Mr and Mrs. Q will you please come up here?"
WHAT???? Did he really just say our names?!?!
But oh yes, the Pastors did call us up front. As my feet propel me forward, I am thinking "Praise God, that money will go to pay for some of the medical bills! Thank You Lord You are so faithful!"
Here is where it gets really good...
Then the Pastors invited others to add to that amount to pay for the hospital bills. (We don't have insurance because we cannot afford it on one income.)
At that point I honestly don't remember much of what was happening. I was too overwhelmed to process what was going on. I just stood there next to my Pastors crying my eyes out!
In absolute amazement I watched as a huge, long line (made up of every single one of those people in the sanctuary) began to form and stretch around the perimeter of the sanctuary! People dropped money and checks into an offering bucket FOR US. In gratitude all I could do was hug each one and cry. My husband stood there holding the bucket in shock!
People we didn't even know came forward to give.
It took twenty minutes for people to finish giving to us. In twenty minutes God met above and beyond the need. In twenty minutes we were shown just how much He cares and how much our church family loves us. In twenty minutes we were so humbled and in awe of the overflowing generosity and outpouring of love.
Every person who stood in that line was smiling. No one looked on us with pity. Oh no, it was compassion I saw in their eyes. The same compassion I imagine that those who were touched by Jesus saw when He looked at them.
We love you. It was echoed with every hug, every dollar that was placed in that bucket.
We have never been that profoundly touched. We were impacted for life by twenty minutes of His lavish blessing. Twenty minutes of His miraculous provision. Twenty minutes of being drenched in His love. Twenty minutes of tangible, irrefutable, undeniable grace.
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
Oh, and the result? All the ER bills, as well as labs and physicians, were paid in full with some left over! Is He not amazing?
God's boundless grace and lavish love, it works for me!
It was my second service back at church since my baby girl got so sick. I was so thankful to be able to attend the service again and worship God with my church family! Nothing could have prepared my heart for what happened though.
Pastor was teaching on faith. Specifically, if you say you have faith, put feet to it and do something! He was also teaching on being confident that God will do what He has said He will do in His Word. Every time. Without fail. I can't speak for my husband, but I started to rethink what I thought about Who He is and what He says He will do. Of course, the ER bills were on my mind too. But I knew some how He would meet that need.
Then Pastor started talking about a couple in the church (he didn't name names at this point) who had gone through some really rough times financially. He said that God told him to give to them and he held up a check, then he called up his wife and she also had money in her hand. In the next minute to my utter shock and disbelief he said "Mr and Mrs. Q will you please come up here?"
WHAT???? Did he really just say our names?!?!
But oh yes, the Pastors did call us up front. As my feet propel me forward, I am thinking "Praise God, that money will go to pay for some of the medical bills! Thank You Lord You are so faithful!"
Here is where it gets really good...
Then the Pastors invited others to add to that amount to pay for the hospital bills. (We don't have insurance because we cannot afford it on one income.)
At that point I honestly don't remember much of what was happening. I was too overwhelmed to process what was going on. I just stood there next to my Pastors crying my eyes out!
In absolute amazement I watched as a huge, long line (made up of every single one of those people in the sanctuary) began to form and stretch around the perimeter of the sanctuary! People dropped money and checks into an offering bucket FOR US. In gratitude all I could do was hug each one and cry. My husband stood there holding the bucket in shock!
People we didn't even know came forward to give.
It took twenty minutes for people to finish giving to us. In twenty minutes God met above and beyond the need. In twenty minutes we were shown just how much He cares and how much our church family loves us. In twenty minutes we were so humbled and in awe of the overflowing generosity and outpouring of love.
Every person who stood in that line was smiling. No one looked on us with pity. Oh no, it was compassion I saw in their eyes. The same compassion I imagine that those who were touched by Jesus saw when He looked at them.
We love you. It was echoed with every hug, every dollar that was placed in that bucket.
We have never been that profoundly touched. We were impacted for life by twenty minutes of His lavish blessing. Twenty minutes of His miraculous provision. Twenty minutes of being drenched in His love. Twenty minutes of tangible, irrefutable, undeniable grace.
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
Oh, and the result? All the ER bills, as well as labs and physicians, were paid in full with some left over! Is He not amazing?
God's boundless grace and lavish love, it works for me!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Three
Day 3::
Breakfast: Mr. Q made scrambled eggs for the kids and himself, I slept in.
Lunch: Kids had PB&J as well as a vanilla peanut butter pudding shake. (My simple solution for running out of bananas!) Hubby went to a memorial service and skipped lunch. I had a sandwich and a shake :)
Dinner: Another memorial service but this time at church. There was lots of yummy food there. Came home and finished it off with Cranberry Apple Cobbler.
Got some more FREE french bread from Albertsons, so I will be making spaghetti tomorrow. (Why else is there a reason to make spaghetti but as an excuse to have garlic bread?) My noodles are already cooked so I just have to whip up the sauce. It will be a nice filling, easy Sunday lunch!
Breakfast: Mr. Q made scrambled eggs for the kids and himself, I slept in.
Lunch: Kids had PB&J as well as a vanilla peanut butter pudding shake. (My simple solution for running out of bananas!) Hubby went to a memorial service and skipped lunch. I had a sandwich and a shake :)
Dinner: Another memorial service but this time at church. There was lots of yummy food there. Came home and finished it off with Cranberry Apple Cobbler.
Got some more FREE french bread from Albertsons, so I will be making spaghetti tomorrow. (Why else is there a reason to make spaghetti but as an excuse to have garlic bread?) My noodles are already cooked so I just have to whip up the sauce. It will be a nice filling, easy Sunday lunch!
Friday, November 14, 2008
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Two
Day 2::
Breakfast: I made pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes with the leftover pumpkin filling I had from the can. It was a 29-oz can so I still have more leftover! I think I might make some pumpkin muffins...
Lunch: My husband had leftovers consisting of a piece of chuck roast with au jus gravy. I put some french bread in there so he could dip that in it...yum! And for a nice little dessert I made Cranberry Apple Cobbler...he gobbled up the taste test last night...lol!
The kids had leftover pumpkin pancakes because I fell asleep with Miss Precious for a nap! I had been up since 5:45 so I needed it!
Dinner: Sunset Pumpkin Soup was a hit! I made garlic bread to go with it. What a great way to get some really good vegetable down the kiddos (and myself!) :)
As I have been following the meal plan, I find that I am a lot less stressed around dinner time. I just take a peek in the morning to see what we're having for the day and what I might need to prepare ahead of time for the next day. In fact, last night I made the Sunset Pumpkin Soup just because I felt like cooking! (I rarely feel like cooking for the pleasure of it...I usually do it because I don't want my family to starve...lol!) So, this meal planning might just turn me into Suzie Q Homemaker..or just regular Mrs Q Homemaker! :)
Breakfast: I made pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes with the leftover pumpkin filling I had from the can. It was a 29-oz can so I still have more leftover! I think I might make some pumpkin muffins...
Lunch: My husband had leftovers consisting of a piece of chuck roast with au jus gravy. I put some french bread in there so he could dip that in it...yum! And for a nice little dessert I made Cranberry Apple Cobbler...he gobbled up the taste test last night...lol!
The kids had leftover pumpkin pancakes because I fell asleep with Miss Precious for a nap! I had been up since 5:45 so I needed it!
Dinner: Sunset Pumpkin Soup was a hit! I made garlic bread to go with it. What a great way to get some really good vegetable down the kiddos (and myself!) :)
As I have been following the meal plan, I find that I am a lot less stressed around dinner time. I just take a peek in the morning to see what we're having for the day and what I might need to prepare ahead of time for the next day. In fact, last night I made the Sunset Pumpkin Soup just because I felt like cooking! (I rarely feel like cooking for the pleasure of it...I usually do it because I don't want my family to starve...lol!) So, this meal planning might just turn me into Suzie Q Homemaker..or just regular Mrs Q Homemaker! :)
Sunset Pumpkin Soup
(Please excuse the awful lighting and poor photography)
This soup is like eating autumn in a bowl!
It was my first try at this recipe. And it was sooooo delicious! I don't even like pumpkin in anything but pumpkin pie, and I slurped this up! My husband raved about it and my daughter sucked it down eagerly.
The best part is...it is so easy to prepare!
Recipe adapted from Recipezaar
Ingredients:
1 c. chopped onion (I substituted onion powder because the texture of onions grosses me out! I believe I put in probably a tablespoon by the end of it all. Sorry no exact measurement for this one)
1/4 c. margarine or butter
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. paprika
3 c. chicken stock (you can also use vegetable)
1 can pumpkin (14-oz)--(or in my case I had a 29-oz can so I just used half)
If you are using real onions rather than onion powder, start off by sauteing the onions in the butter. Then mix in the flour, salt, pepper, ginger, paprika and garlic. Add a cup of the chicken stock and mix all until smooth texture. Boil until it thickens. Stir in the last two cups of chicken stock and add pumpkin small bits at time. Whisk or stir it until it is smooth and creamy in texture. Let it cook a little longer until it thickens up.
Serve immediately with french bread. Enjoy! Serves approximately four to six.
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You will have leftovers because it is so filling! Freeze the soup that doesn't get eaten so you can enjoy it another day :)
Don't forget to check out the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap for other yummy ideas!
Cranberry Apple Cobbler
I found this recipe on the Bisquick website. It is so delicious and so simple!
Ingredients:
1/3 c. butter or margarine
2 1/2 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 c. chunky applesauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In DEEP (ask me how I found this out...lol) baking pan melt butter in the oven. In a bowl mix the Bisquick, sugar and milk until it becomes a smooth batter. Pour the batter evenly over the butter in the pan. In another bowl, mix the cranberry sauce and applesauce and spoon mixture evenly over the batter. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown on top.
When I first read the recipe, I was thinking why put the batter in first? Doesn't batter go on top? But the batter bubbles up and cooks through to the top....hence the need for a DEEP baking dish. It is sweet without being too sweet and has just enough tang from the cranberry sauce. The recipe also calls for cooking apples thinly sliced but I don't like apples cooked (something about the texture I think) so I left that off.
Serve hot with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy! Serves approximately four to six people.
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It is a simple but elegant dessert and CHEAP too! I probably spent $5 on the whole thing :)
Ingredients:
1/3 c. butter or margarine
2 1/2 c. Bisquick mix
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 c. chunky applesauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In DEEP (ask me how I found this out...lol) baking pan melt butter in the oven. In a bowl mix the Bisquick, sugar and milk until it becomes a smooth batter. Pour the batter evenly over the butter in the pan. In another bowl, mix the cranberry sauce and applesauce and spoon mixture evenly over the batter. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown on top.
When I first read the recipe, I was thinking why put the batter in first? Doesn't batter go on top? But the batter bubbles up and cooks through to the top....hence the need for a DEEP baking dish. It is sweet without being too sweet and has just enough tang from the cranberry sauce. The recipe also calls for cooking apples thinly sliced but I don't like apples cooked (something about the texture I think) so I left that off.
Serve hot with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy! Serves approximately four to six people.
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It is a simple but elegant dessert and CHEAP too! I probably spent $5 on the whole thing :)
Stretching My Budget
You may have noticed in my meal plan that we eat a relatively small amount of meat or poultry. We are carnivores, but we are carnivores on a strict budget. This dollar diet demands that we incorporate more meals that don't contain meat. When I first started out this frugal journey (and by no means have I yet arrived), I despaired when I realized that we wouldn't be able to have meat with every meal. What was I going to serve? I was an avowed veggie-loather and so were my children. And pasta for every meal just didn't sound appetizing. So I started off with 'vegetarianizing' my homemade chili. Normally it called for ground beef, but I just left that out. And you know what? Nobody, least of all me, missed the meat! Serve a hearty helping of the chili with some sweet cornbread and everyone was happy and full.
With that small success, I saw that it was possible to incorporate vegetables into our diet and to make them the main meal. I just needed some more recipes! When I found Recipezaar I realized that I had found my partner in taming the savage budget. What I especially love about that site is that you can search for recipes by ingredient, and then find a really good recipe by how many stars it was rated. Other times I found great recipes by perusing other blogs. And some of the meals are just tried and true ones from my childhood.
Figure out what vegetables your family will eat and work those into the meal. If they won't touch turnips, then it would be a waste of time and money to prepare a dish containing those. That being said, don't be afraid to stretch their tastebuds! Never would I have dreamed that I, and my family, would have liked anything pumpkin that wasn't a dessert. Prepare the meal creatively. Maybe steamed carrots aren't your kids' favorite, try something different like glazed carrots. Variety is the spice of life, and spices add variety! Throw in different seasonings to give it a different taste. Go exotic! Try a dish from a different country. Learning about other cultures elevates dinner to new heights. Go icognito. Even I appreciate a well-hidden vegetable! :) Added bonus, you don't have to argue with your children about eating all their dinner. Salads are simple. Adding a salad to a dinner of pasta rounds out the meal. Fancy up your salad with some chickpeas for an added veggie-punch!
I hope that some of these ideas help those of you who are in the same vegetable-tolerating-but-not-exactly-fond-of-them category that I still live in! You CAN stretch your budget dollars with vegetables even if you don't like green beans or onions :)
With that small success, I saw that it was possible to incorporate vegetables into our diet and to make them the main meal. I just needed some more recipes! When I found Recipezaar I realized that I had found my partner in taming the savage budget. What I especially love about that site is that you can search for recipes by ingredient, and then find a really good recipe by how many stars it was rated. Other times I found great recipes by perusing other blogs. And some of the meals are just tried and true ones from my childhood.
Figure out what vegetables your family will eat and work those into the meal. If they won't touch turnips, then it would be a waste of time and money to prepare a dish containing those. That being said, don't be afraid to stretch their tastebuds! Never would I have dreamed that I, and my family, would have liked anything pumpkin that wasn't a dessert. Prepare the meal creatively. Maybe steamed carrots aren't your kids' favorite, try something different like glazed carrots. Variety is the spice of life, and spices add variety! Throw in different seasonings to give it a different taste. Go exotic! Try a dish from a different country. Learning about other cultures elevates dinner to new heights. Go icognito. Even I appreciate a well-hidden vegetable! :) Added bonus, you don't have to argue with your children about eating all their dinner. Salads are simple. Adding a salad to a dinner of pasta rounds out the meal. Fancy up your salad with some chickpeas for an added veggie-punch!
I hope that some of these ideas help those of you who are in the same vegetable-tolerating-but-not-exactly-fond-of-them category that I still live in! You CAN stretch your budget dollars with vegetables even if you don't like green beans or onions :)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day One
Day 1::
Breakfast: Well, Miss Precious hasn't been sleeping until LATE (like 2 am) because her sleep schedule got all screwed up when she was sick. Needless to say, I am not popping out of bed at 6am to feed everyone breakfast. Mr. Q had oatmeal and the boys had cold cereal, I forgot to eat until lunch.
Lunch: I made Mr. Q Tuna Alfredo with Garlic Bread (I make his lunch so he can eat it at work) and the kids and I had sandwiches.
Dinner: The Zesty Bean Quesadillas were squishy and I didn't like the texture much. Neither did much of anyone else. We won't be making these again.
So far so good. Tomorrow is a new item for dinner...we'll see how well the kids like it. And I am going to serve it with garlic bread because I am in LOVE with garlic bread! And because the bread was FREE from Albertsons! :)
Breakfast: Well, Miss Precious hasn't been sleeping until LATE (like 2 am) because her sleep schedule got all screwed up when she was sick. Needless to say, I am not popping out of bed at 6am to feed everyone breakfast. Mr. Q had oatmeal and the boys had cold cereal, I forgot to eat until lunch.
Lunch: I made Mr. Q Tuna Alfredo with Garlic Bread (I make his lunch so he can eat it at work) and the kids and I had sandwiches.
Dinner: The Zesty Bean Quesadillas were squishy and I didn't like the texture much. Neither did much of anyone else. We won't be making these again.
So far so good. Tomorrow is a new item for dinner...we'll see how well the kids like it. And I am going to serve it with garlic bread because I am in LOVE with garlic bread! And because the bread was FREE from Albertsons! :)
Recipes Forthcoming...
Wow. I thought that what we had for dinner was just hum-drum until you all starting clamoring for recipes! Now I feel somewhat like a culinary celebrity...lol!
(Just let me revel in that for a minute even if it was only two of you who have actually asked for recipes!)
As I am NOT the Meal Planner, I won't be posting recipes and photos for each meal. I will try to remember to photograph some of my meals though. (And when I say try, I mean it. Often there are other more pertinent things cluttering up my brain while I am cooking!)
As a teaser though, Elizabeth requested "Oven Quesadillas"...
Ingredients:
Flour tortilla
Cheese (We like to use the Mexican blend but right now we just have Cheddar)
Black beans
Sprinkle cheese on flour tortilla and add a smattering of black beans. Put on a cooking sheet (don't forget to put foil down so you don't have to spend hours scraping cooked on cheese off of the cooking sheet!) and pop in the oven, 400 degrees, for about ten minutes. Or until you see the tortilla start to bubble and crisp.
Remove from oven when done cooking and cut into pizza wedges. Serve with favorite sauce, avocados, pico de gallo, etc. We love to save the hot sauce packets from Taco Bell and drizzle that on top.
Enjoy! Makes a great snack too :)
(Just let me revel in that for a minute even if it was only two of you who have actually asked for recipes!)
As I am NOT the Meal Planner, I won't be posting recipes and photos for each meal. I will try to remember to photograph some of my meals though. (And when I say try, I mean it. Often there are other more pertinent things cluttering up my brain while I am cooking!)
As a teaser though, Elizabeth requested "Oven Quesadillas"...
Ingredients:
Flour tortilla
Cheese (We like to use the Mexican blend but right now we just have Cheddar)
Black beans
Sprinkle cheese on flour tortilla and add a smattering of black beans. Put on a cooking sheet (don't forget to put foil down so you don't have to spend hours scraping cooked on cheese off of the cooking sheet!) and pop in the oven, 400 degrees, for about ten minutes. Or until you see the tortilla start to bubble and crisp.
Remove from oven when done cooking and cut into pizza wedges. Serve with favorite sauce, avocados, pico de gallo, etc. We love to save the hot sauce packets from Taco Bell and drizzle that on top.
Enjoy! Makes a great snack too :)
Okay I Know It's A Little Late....
After reading Meal Planning 101, I have been challenged (yet once again) to create a meal plan and STICK TO IT! So here goes...
Yes, I realize the week is almost over. But, today was payday so I did all my grocery shopping tonight. I am over-budget by $3.07...which I consider amazing considering all of the extra food and medicine we bought when the plague visited our house!
Here is what we will be eating for the next two weeks...there will be a lot of potato and chicken recipes...
Day 1::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches with Apple Slices
Dinner: Zesty Bean Quesadillas, Mexican Rice
Day 2::
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Black Bean and Rice Burritos
Dinner: Sunset Pumpkin Soup with French Bread
Day 3::
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup
Dinner: Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, Garlic Bread, Salad
Day 4::
Breakfast: Banana Peanut Butter Shakes
Lunch: Lunchmeat Sandwiches, Bananas
Dinner: Spicy Peanut Chicken with Rice
Day 5::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Perogies
Day 6::
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: Fried Potatoes and Cheese
Dinner: Soy Sauce Glazed Chicken with Fried Rice
Day 7::
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Fried Egg Sandwiches
Dinner: Hotdogs, Homestyle Fries
Day 8::
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Dinner: Ranch Chicken over Greens, Garlic Bread
Day 9::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: Lunchmeat Sandwiches, Apples
Dinner: Going to my parents house, will probably bring a dessert dish...
Day 10::
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Baked Potatoes
Day 11::
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Tuna on Crackers, Raisins
Dinner: Roasted Tomato Soup with Biscuits
Day 12::
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: Oven Quesadillas
Dinner: Potato Skins, Fruit Salad
Day 13::
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Lunch: Sandwich Wraps, Bananas
Dinner: Black Beans and Rice
Day 14:
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Hardboiled Eggs, Fruit
Dinner: Going to friends' house for dinner...bringing dessert.
Whew! Okay, I haven't (up until this point) successfully planned TWO WEEKS in advance! Yay for me...lol!
Now I just have to follow what I have put up, and also hope that I haven't overestimated how much chicken I really have ;)
Yes, I realize the week is almost over. But, today was payday so I did all my grocery shopping tonight. I am over-budget by $3.07...which I consider amazing considering all of the extra food and medicine we bought when the plague visited our house!
Here is what we will be eating for the next two weeks...there will be a lot of potato and chicken recipes...
Day 1::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches with Apple Slices
Dinner: Zesty Bean Quesadillas, Mexican Rice
Day 2::
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Black Bean and Rice Burritos
Dinner: Sunset Pumpkin Soup with French Bread
Day 3::
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup
Dinner: Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, Garlic Bread, Salad
Day 4::
Breakfast: Banana Peanut Butter Shakes
Lunch: Lunchmeat Sandwiches, Bananas
Dinner: Spicy Peanut Chicken with Rice
Day 5::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Perogies
Day 6::
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: Fried Potatoes and Cheese
Dinner: Soy Sauce Glazed Chicken with Fried Rice
Day 7::
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Fried Egg Sandwiches
Dinner: Hotdogs, Homestyle Fries
Day 8::
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Dinner: Ranch Chicken over Greens, Garlic Bread
Day 9::
Breakfast: Oatmeal Bake
Lunch: Lunchmeat Sandwiches, Apples
Dinner: Going to my parents house, will probably bring a dessert dish...
Day 10::
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Baked Potatoes
Day 11::
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Tuna on Crackers, Raisins
Dinner: Roasted Tomato Soup with Biscuits
Day 12::
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: Oven Quesadillas
Dinner: Potato Skins, Fruit Salad
Day 13::
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Lunch: Sandwich Wraps, Bananas
Dinner: Black Beans and Rice
Day 14:
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Hardboiled Eggs, Fruit
Dinner: Going to friends' house for dinner...bringing dessert.
Whew! Okay, I haven't (up until this point) successfully planned TWO WEEKS in advance! Yay for me...lol!
Now I just have to follow what I have put up, and also hope that I haven't overestimated how much chicken I really have ;)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Writing is On the Wall...
Even when you think your kids don't get it or they aren't learning anything....remember, they ABSORB everything!
I found these on the walls of their bedroom today. I had nothing to do with it. They haven't copied down a scripture ever, until today...
(Mr. Dramatic penned this one, age 6)
(Mr. Independent scrawled this one out, age 4)
And this happened because I have that exact verse written on a piece of paper on the front door. They wanted a verse to adorn their bedroom wall.
Just in case you can't tell what verse it is by the writing...
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way."
Psalm 37:23
I found these on the walls of their bedroom today. I had nothing to do with it. They haven't copied down a scripture ever, until today...
(Mr. Dramatic penned this one, age 6)
(Mr. Independent scrawled this one out, age 4)
And this happened because I have that exact verse written on a piece of paper on the front door. They wanted a verse to adorn their bedroom wall.
Just in case you can't tell what verse it is by the writing...
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way."
Psalm 37:23
Light For My Path...
While looking through the new school curriculum we are going to try out (I'll post more on that later once we get into it---but I am very excited!), I decided on the memory verse for next week.
Yes, we memorize a verse a week. To date, my boys have memorized:
Ephesians 6:1 (very important, and useful when bringing up the subject of obedience..)
Psalm 37:23
Mark 10:27
They love memorizing Scripture and beg for a new verse every week. Well since last week was such a disaster, we didn't have one. And because the beginning of this week started off ugly, we won't have one for this week either. Call me lazy, but after all of the kids being so sick and me falling ill on Sunday, I am just plain pooped! Regular routines will resume next week.
All that to say, this will be the verse for next week:
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
Psalm 119:105
I started thinking about what that verse meant, beyond the usual "He guides my steps" sort of thinking. And I stumbled (excuse the pun) upon this little thought...
His Word illuminates where we are right now, and where we will be going.
A regular lantern only has a certain radius of light that extends. Even a flashlight doesn't illuminate ahead of where you are walking unless you shine it there. If you focus on what is ahead while walking in the dark, you often trip over little things. (At least that has been my personal, painful experience..lol!)
In contrast, His Word, brings light to our current situations as well as illuminating the path He has for us to travel in. So keep your eyes fixed ahead and walk confidently in His Light.
Yes, we memorize a verse a week. To date, my boys have memorized:
Ephesians 6:1 (very important, and useful when bringing up the subject of obedience..)
Psalm 37:23
Mark 10:27
They love memorizing Scripture and beg for a new verse every week. Well since last week was such a disaster, we didn't have one. And because the beginning of this week started off ugly, we won't have one for this week either. Call me lazy, but after all of the kids being so sick and me falling ill on Sunday, I am just plain pooped! Regular routines will resume next week.
All that to say, this will be the verse for next week:
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
Psalm 119:105
I started thinking about what that verse meant, beyond the usual "He guides my steps" sort of thinking. And I stumbled (excuse the pun) upon this little thought...
His Word illuminates where we are right now, and where we will be going.
A regular lantern only has a certain radius of light that extends. Even a flashlight doesn't illuminate ahead of where you are walking unless you shine it there. If you focus on what is ahead while walking in the dark, you often trip over little things. (At least that has been my personal, painful experience..lol!)
In contrast, His Word, brings light to our current situations as well as illuminating the path He has for us to travel in. So keep your eyes fixed ahead and walk confidently in His Light.
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Asian Vegetables
This dish brings me back to my childhood. As a family, we would go visit this hole in the wall Chinese restaurant called Kwang Chow. They may have not had the spiffiest exterior, but the service and food were excellent. Alas, I live too far away to eat there anymore, so I set about trying to find a sweet and sour sauce recipe that fit the bill. Nothing I have found is comparable to that tangy/sweet liquid. But I did find a sauce that is delicious in its own class.
This sauce is for those of you who like sweet and sour but can't stand the pineapple and peppers! :) (I cannot remember where I got it, but I think it was www.recipezaar.com)
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Ingredients:
Chicken (again, use however much you will need for your family)
Asian vegetable mix (mine was a steal for $1 at Albertsons!)
Homemade sweet and sour sauce:
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. brown sugar plus 1 1/2 T. brown sugar
1 c. water
1/8 c. vinegar
1/4 c. ketchup
1/8-1/4 t. soy sauce
For the sauce, mix all ingredients together well and cook until sauce starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Your sauce will start to bubble up in dark patches, this is okay, it is starting to carmelize into that wonderful delicious blend of flavors! Wait until most of it has been turned darker. Stir often to prevent burning. Once most of it is a darker shade, remove it from heat and let it sit and thicken some more.
Cook up your chicken. For some color, I like to add a bit paprika.
Steam your veggies until they turn a delicious shade of vibrant green.
Don't forget your rice..cook according to directions on the box or bag. If you want my secret ingredient for rice cooking, just look back here.
Combine all ingredients on your plate, drizzle liberally with the sauce and enjoy!
(I have no idea how much sauce this makes, but it is never enough for my family. This recipe is already doubled. For bigger families you might want to quadruple to ensure everyone gets a big serving of sauce on their plate!)
For zingier sauce you can up the level of vinegar. For sweeter, decrease the level of vinegar.
One thing I really enjoy about this meal is it is so fast to put together. I think total I spent maybe 25 minutes preparing my entire dish, from start to finish. And the results are so satisfying!
Getting Back To Normal...
Whew! What a week I have had! First the boys got the flu. And then on top of that Miss Precious was very ill all this week. We had to take her to ER twice last week. First she caught the nasty flu bug that was going around. Then it morphed into a horrible mouth/tongue/throat infection. Poor little girl had awful sores all over her mouth and in her throat. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. She really scared me and Mr.Q. We did a lot of praying over her! But praise the Lord she is back to her regular happy, hungry self! :) So we thought once she had recovered that all was back to normal. The very next day (Sunday) I started throwing up. Oh joy. I had caught the flu bug that had made its way through ALL of my children. I spent the night mostly in the bathroom. It was great.
I feel much better today though. Praise the Lord it was only a 24-hour flu!
So I am looking forward to returning to our regular routines.
Because of all of this sickness, I have not been able to respond to questions that some of you have posed. Please check back tomorrow for your answers. I apologize for not responding more quickly, but life got in the way!
I feel much better today though. Praise the Lord it was only a 24-hour flu!
So I am looking forward to returning to our regular routines.
Because of all of this sickness, I have not been able to respond to questions that some of you have posed. Please check back tomorrow for your answers. I apologize for not responding more quickly, but life got in the way!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Chicken With Sweet Red Chili Sauce Glaze on Rice
Okay, so here is where I bare my culinary soul and severe lack of cooking skill...lol!
Ingredients:
Chicken, boneless/skinless, diced (I have no idea how much...use an amount you think will be adequate for your family's hungry mouths)
Sweet red chili sauce (I just bought a bottle of it at the store. I found it in the Oriental cooking section)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Rice
Chicken bouillon
For really mouth-satisfying flavor marinate your chicken in the sweet red chili sauce overnight.
Heat the frying pan over medium heat and put a little oil in it to keep the chicken from sticking and burning. Dump the chicken in and cook until almost done (10 minutes?), while it is cooking sprinkle with onion and garlic powder (disburse according to penchant for that particular seasoning, I LOVE garlic so I pile it on!). When the chicken doesn't look pink anymore, dump a bit of the sweet red chili sauce on. Again, amounts are at your discretion. If you like it with a bit of zing, pile more on. Less, for those with the more sensitive taste buds out there. Sprinkle pepper on to taste.
While chicken is cooking prepare your rice. I use plain old long-grain rice. So according to the directions on the package 1 cup water to 1 cup rice. Boil water and add rice. Now here is the secret ingredient for really yummy white rice....add a half of chicken bouillon cube to the water as it boils. As the rice cooks it will soak up that delicious flavor and you will never have bland rice again! I cannot take credit for this tip, I got it from my mom :)
Okay, so your chicken has been sizzling away for a while now. Be sure to turn it to promote even cooking. The chili sauce should be thickening a bit by now. Let it cook over a lower heat so it starts to turn into a glaze for the chicken.
When it looks done to you, dump the glazed chicken over your rice.
Enjoy with vegetable of your choice. You could even add a stirfry veggie mix to to the pan and let it soak up the red chili sauce too!
Ingredients:
Chicken, boneless/skinless, diced (I have no idea how much...use an amount you think will be adequate for your family's hungry mouths)
Sweet red chili sauce (I just bought a bottle of it at the store. I found it in the Oriental cooking section)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Rice
Chicken bouillon
For really mouth-satisfying flavor marinate your chicken in the sweet red chili sauce overnight.
Heat the frying pan over medium heat and put a little oil in it to keep the chicken from sticking and burning. Dump the chicken in and cook until almost done (10 minutes?), while it is cooking sprinkle with onion and garlic powder (disburse according to penchant for that particular seasoning, I LOVE garlic so I pile it on!). When the chicken doesn't look pink anymore, dump a bit of the sweet red chili sauce on. Again, amounts are at your discretion. If you like it with a bit of zing, pile more on. Less, for those with the more sensitive taste buds out there. Sprinkle pepper on to taste.
While chicken is cooking prepare your rice. I use plain old long-grain rice. So according to the directions on the package 1 cup water to 1 cup rice. Boil water and add rice. Now here is the secret ingredient for really yummy white rice....add a half of chicken bouillon cube to the water as it boils. As the rice cooks it will soak up that delicious flavor and you will never have bland rice again! I cannot take credit for this tip, I got it from my mom :)
Okay, so your chicken has been sizzling away for a while now. Be sure to turn it to promote even cooking. The chili sauce should be thickening a bit by now. Let it cook over a lower heat so it starts to turn into a glaze for the chicken.
When it looks done to you, dump the glazed chicken over your rice.
Enjoy with vegetable of your choice. You could even add a stirfry veggie mix to to the pan and let it soak up the red chili sauce too!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Our Gastronomic Diary for the Week
The illustrious and industrious Meal Planner, has persuaded me to post what my family eats in a week. As breakfast and lunch aren't anything special and are pretty haphazardly created, dinner will be the only meal I share here.
I have no idea what each meals costs, maybe that will be something I try out after I get meal planning down pat. And most of these dishes have no recipes. I usually just throw stuff together. Because I am so creative (read: short on time and lacking in a lengthy attention span for recipes with a large number of ingredients and steps to follow.) and I follow the FBTSOYP method of cooking. (That's Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants to all you gourmet chefs out there!) Or is that more like Iron Chef?
Whatever it is, I try to create dinners that don't go over like a lead balloon...lol! This can be an exercise in extreme creativity and patience as I have picky eaters.
I am not a vegetable fan. However, I do try to incorporate vegetables into our diet. This usually takes the form of salad, broccoli, corn, tomatoes, and black beans. Yes, we are a diverse palate over here in the FITPH household...lol. I imagine that the people who dreamed up the Food Pyramid would be appalled, but it works for us. We eat a lot of fruit to compensate.
We also don't do desserts. There is no money-saving rationale behind this, just laziness. After I have prepared dinner, all I want to do is relax. Perhaps if I were a tad more organized (something my husband tells me a lot....and he is) I could get the meal AND the dessert done at the same time. Something to try!
(And because I have been so sleep deprived as of late, I will just be telling you what we had for dinner, but not what day we ate it because all the days meld into one zombie-esque blur!)
Chicken with Sweet Red Chili Sauce Glaze on Rice
Shredded Beef Tacos with Black Beans
Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans
Fried Potatoes and Cheese
Creamy Chicken Cheese Rice with Salad
All right, my memory is a bit fuzzier than I thought. I can't remember what we ate for the remaining two days of the week. My guess, with the way things were going this week, would be some sort of sandwich and probably scrambled eggs with cheese for the other day.
And unlike the Meal Planner, I don't have yummy looking photos of my dinner fare. Too busy taking care of my sick little baby for that.
So there it is in all its simple glory...our unadorned, un-gourmet and mostly Hispanic meal plan :)
I have no idea what each meals costs, maybe that will be something I try out after I get meal planning down pat. And most of these dishes have no recipes. I usually just throw stuff together. Because I am so creative (read: short on time and lacking in a lengthy attention span for recipes with a large number of ingredients and steps to follow.) and I follow the FBTSOYP method of cooking. (That's Fly By The Seat Of Your Pants to all you gourmet chefs out there!) Or is that more like Iron Chef?
Whatever it is, I try to create dinners that don't go over like a lead balloon...lol! This can be an exercise in extreme creativity and patience as I have picky eaters.
I am not a vegetable fan. However, I do try to incorporate vegetables into our diet. This usually takes the form of salad, broccoli, corn, tomatoes, and black beans. Yes, we are a diverse palate over here in the FITPH household...lol. I imagine that the people who dreamed up the Food Pyramid would be appalled, but it works for us. We eat a lot of fruit to compensate.
We also don't do desserts. There is no money-saving rationale behind this, just laziness. After I have prepared dinner, all I want to do is relax. Perhaps if I were a tad more organized (something my husband tells me a lot....and he is) I could get the meal AND the dessert done at the same time. Something to try!
(And because I have been so sleep deprived as of late, I will just be telling you what we had for dinner, but not what day we ate it because all the days meld into one zombie-esque blur!)
Chicken with Sweet Red Chili Sauce Glaze on Rice
Shredded Beef Tacos with Black Beans
Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans
Fried Potatoes and Cheese
Creamy Chicken Cheese Rice with Salad
All right, my memory is a bit fuzzier than I thought. I can't remember what we ate for the remaining two days of the week. My guess, with the way things were going this week, would be some sort of sandwich and probably scrambled eggs with cheese for the other day.
And unlike the Meal Planner, I don't have yummy looking photos of my dinner fare. Too busy taking care of my sick little baby for that.
So there it is in all its simple glory...our unadorned, un-gourmet and mostly Hispanic meal plan :)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
When Life Gets In The Way...
Miss Precious has been very ill this whole week. Not too mention, her brothers had the flu as well. Three sick kiddos, not much fun. These are the kind of weeks that make you want to take a vacation from your normal career as mother! But, I signed a lifetime contract on that vocation. No sick days, no vacation, what kind of a racket did I get myself into???
I jest. Truly, I love my choice as a SAHM. It satisfies a desire that resides deep within me. My family is my life.
That being said, my life often gets in the way of my planned out life. Like my plan for a $200 grocery budget this month. This budget didn't include trips to the store for Motrin and anything that will entice my baby to eat. There is no monetary limit I can place on my baby girl's health and comfort. There is a limit to our checkbook though. And we are fast approaching this budget-barrier.
Still, God is faithful in this all. He will provide and He is healing my baby.
So please accept this apology in advance. Those of you who wait with baited breath for my end of the month totals, please don't hold your breath for this month's. I have a really good excuse though...if I you need proof, I'll show you the two ER bills we will be getting!
I jest. Truly, I love my choice as a SAHM. It satisfies a desire that resides deep within me. My family is my life.
That being said, my life often gets in the way of my planned out life. Like my plan for a $200 grocery budget this month. This budget didn't include trips to the store for Motrin and anything that will entice my baby to eat. There is no monetary limit I can place on my baby girl's health and comfort. There is a limit to our checkbook though. And we are fast approaching this budget-barrier.
Still, God is faithful in this all. He will provide and He is healing my baby.
So please accept this apology in advance. Those of you who wait with baited breath for my end of the month totals, please don't hold your breath for this month's. I have a really good excuse though...if I you need proof, I'll show you the two ER bills we will be getting!
Recovering...
Sorry I haven't been posting as of late. My baby girl got really sick. She was in ER twice this week and had to have an IV to rehydrate her. She started off with the typical vomiting flu which morphed into a mouth/tongue/throat infection. It is painful and keeps her from eating or drinking very much. I am sooo grateful that I am still able to nurse her. So far it is the only thing that she consistently wants. They gave us a medicated mouthwash to help the sores heal faster. It is a viral infection, so there aren't any antibiotics she can take.
She isn't sleeping at night because of the pain :(
I am exhausted.
I'll post more later...
She isn't sleeping at night because of the pain :(
I am exhausted.
I'll post more later...
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