What's Cookin'

Mon~Steak fajitas, spanish rice (from the freezer), salad
Tues~Beef stew, bread
Wed~Taco salad, watermelon
Thurs~Spaghetti, green beans
Fri~Asian barbecue chicken (this is so delicious!), sesame noodles, broccoli
Sat~Hamburgers, chips, veggies
Sun~???

Newfound Respect

I was pretty proud of myself this morning. I had a list of things to cook/bake in the kitchen and got started right away. A delicious strawberry pie, homemade cinnamon rolls, french bread, meatballs, potato salad and these cookies. I whipped out the cookie dough, baked my potatoes and had the cinnamon roll dough and french bread dough rising in no time. Took a break and ran around the corner to buy some fresh strawberries for my pie. Came home and rolled out the crust (from a box) and got that started. Baked cookies and bread, rolled out cinnamon rolls. Now I was getting tired. And then I started thinking, what if I tried to do this 125 years ago? How in the world did those women do it? They picked their own strawberries, made their own pie crust, didn't have the luxury of their husband handling the kids since he was busy with his own work, washed all the dishes by hand and cooked with a wood-burning stove. Plus they needed to make a hot meal for their families at noon, not just throwing sandwiches on the table. And all the other chores that needed to be done. Now I'm really tired!

What's Cookin'

Mon~My sis-in-law brought pizza over while we planned our vacation to the great metropolis of Detroit. Looking forward to it!
Tues~sandwiches and then a grad openhouse
Wed~Spicy pork chops, roasted potatoes, broccoli
Thurs~Asian Barbecue Chicken, rice, carrots, beans
Fri~Barbecue at friends-I'm making Roasted red potato salad (minus the rosemary) and Strawberry Dessert
Sat~Grilled cheese, salad
Sun~Meatball soup, bread

Southern Reflections

Just found this list. Meant to post it when I got back from South Carolina in March.

Things I learned in SC:
1. A Cracker Barrel is never more than a stone's throw away. In fact, there are a lot more Cracker Barrels than McDonalds. Shocking! And no, I did not try their grits. Don't think I'm a grits person.

2. Grand Rapids, or at least the western side of Michigan, needs a Chick-Fil-A. ASAP.

3. I may be a southerner at heart. I love hearing someone say ya'll and I'm a sucker for sweet tea.

4. Chris would love it if I made biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast every day.

What's Cookin'

I'm baack!!
Between Memorial Day and camping week, not much menu planning was done. So back at it!

Tues~Spaghetti, green beans
Wed~Steak, mashed potatoes, carrots
Thurs~Grilled chicken, rice, corn
Fri~Hamburgers, salad
Sat~Pizza, carrot sticks
Sun~Grilled chicken salad, rolls

Book Review: Gray Matter

I just finished reading this book. It was very interesting to read how this brain surgeon began to incorporate prayer and faith into his medical practice. We visited a different church yesterday and the pastor commented on how very few doctors believe in God, or acknowledge God in their work. I think it was a very brave thing this doctor did because he could have opened himself up to a lot of tension at work or even lawsuits from patients. Even when he had very tough surgeries that didn't turn out well, he chose to believe that God is good, which is exactly what he told his patients.

I might not understand what he (God) does or understand why he sometimes lets someone suffer or die - but that is his decision, not mine. ~David Levy
Dr. Levy came across as a very compassionate doctor who was genuinely concerned with the quality of life of his patients, not just getting the surgery done. Other doctors that he spoke about in the book did not have that quality in their practice. Chris and I have talked about our children's futures and sometimes we don't even consider suggesting they become doctors or some other highly educated job, but why not? What a better world this would be if we had many Christian doctors caring for us and fighting for Biblical lifestyles instead of the world's agenda.

Remember

Korean War Memorial

Track and Field 2011

May 18 was the 2011 homeschool track and field day. The weather was not as nice as last year, but the boys were super excited, especially since they both had new running shoes.

Noah was a year older and participated in all the events. Here he is running the 50 yard dash. Looks like he didn't place last.


2 third place ribbons, the long jump and the tennis ball throw.


Andrew running the 50 yard dash. Go here to see how he does.


Anxiously awaiting the results. He chattered to his coach nonstop.


The results are in! 2 third place finishes, tennis ball throw and long jump, just like Noah.

Next year Joel will be participating too. Fun!

Groupon: Mr. Burger

Have you ever used Groupon? Today's deal is for Mr. Burger, a favorite greasy burger joint around here. Go here to get started!
(referral link)

8 boxes of Kellogg's cereal + 8 Juicy Juice = $19.05 ($12 instant savings from Meijer plus $8.50 in coupons)

*Use the codes from the 4 boxes of Frosted Flakes to get a $5 gas card.
*Go here and enter 10 UPC codes from Kellogg's cereal and get a $10 gas card (Can be done 5x per household before 12/31/11)

Thanks Saving Addiction!

Free is always good

It was a very good week for me at Walgreen's. Everything in the above picture was free after coupons and register rewards.

What's Cookin'

So I was digging through my fridge's freezer yesterday looking for some frozen baked beans and realized I have a lot of odds and ends in there! So I will attempt to use them up in this week's menu.

Mon~Green chile enchiladas, green rice casserole (both from my freezer cooking), and salad
Tues~Chicken noodle soup, rolls (69 cents at Aunt Millie's bakery outlet!)
Wed~Church potluck, probably bringing Spaghetti Pie
Thurs~Pork barbecue, oven fries, veggies
Fri~Steak, baked potatoes in the crockpot, green beans
Sat~Brown rice cassserole, carrots
Sun~Something from the freezer, either Chili Verde or Oriental Chicken over rice

I totally fell off the wagon last week and caved to sweets. So instead of giving up, I'm starting over again and trying to make it two weeks. I lasted one week the first time.

Pictures from the week

Pic taken by Andrew. :-)

Found mommy's cell phone in her purse.

Andrew absolutely adores his baby brother and he is a big help to mommy.

And Aaron loves Andrew too!

Love Andrew's smile in this one.

Super easy, super simple granola

I made this Lazy Granola recipe yesterday. I put it in the oven Thursday night and Friday morning we woke up to perfect granola. I omitted the cinnamon and used coconut oil as the fat. This would taste great with some nuts and coconut added to it.

What's Cookin'

Mon~Smothered burritos (didn't get to these last week)

Tues~Chris's bday dinner (surprise)

Wed~Bangers and mash, carrots

Thurs~Lasagna buns, broccoli

Fri~Grilled hamburgers, baked beans, veggies, oven-baked fries

Sat~Frozen pizza, veggies

Sun~Pea soup, rolls

White Texas Sheet Cake

Pic from allrecipes.com

So yummy! I made this cake with the frosting recipe below.

Buttercream Frosting (from PCS Grandmother's Kitchen cookbook, vol. 3)

4 c powdered sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1/4 c Crisco (I used another 1/4 c butter.)

1/4 c milk

1 t vanilla

1/4 t almond extract (I think this is what made the frosting so great!)

Beat powdered sugar, butter, milk and extracts at low speed until well-blended. At med speed, beat until light and fluffy.

Since I've been making all these yummy treats lately, I've been eating too many of them so I challenged myself not to eat any cookies, cake, etc until our camping trip in June (hello, I'm not passing up smores!). I haven't even gotten through one day and its hard (especially with this leftover cake sitting on the counter!), but I'm thinking it'll get easier as I train myself not to reach for sweets. Heading to the grocery store tonight to pick up some healthier options.

Granola bars

I was looking for a bit healthier treat for our family and found this recipe.

Here's my adaptation based on some of the comments:

Gobble Up Granola Snacks (my version)

2 1/2 c crispy rice cereal

1 1/2 c old fashioned oats (you can use quick-cooking also)

1/2 c ground flax seed

1/2 c raisins (or a combo of raisins, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, etc.)

2/3 c packed brown sugar

2/3 c honey

2/3 c crunchy peanut butter

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1. Stir together rice cereal, oats, flax seed and raisins. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Combine br sugar and honey in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for ~1 minute or until just boiling. Stir in pb and vanilla until smooth. Pour over oat mixture and mix very well. Make sure everything is coated well.

3. Press into prepared pan using plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set and able to cut into bars or squares.

I individually wrapped a bunch for Chris to take to work and stored the rest in a tupperware in the fridge.

What's Cookin'...

good question!

Monday we ended up going to some friends' house for a delicious dinner. I still had not planned a menu yesterday and hadn't started anyting at 5 when Chris fixed the grill. By 5:30 we were dining on steak, baked potatoes and corn. Pretty good for not planning anything! But I won't plan on that every day. :-)

So...here's what the rest of the week looks like:

Wed~Grilled chicken, rice, green beans

Thurs~Smothered Beans and Rice Burritos, salad

Fri~Hamburgers, baked beans, chips, veggies

Sat~Frozen pizza, veggies

Sun~Meatball soup, buns

Aaron~11 months

Baby boy number 4 is now over 11 months old. A few more weeks and he will turn one. He is finally sitting by himself, but nowhere near crawling or even moving.

He loves the breeze in his face. He spent a lot of time outside the last couple days and actually got a sunburn yesterday. Mommy has to remember the sunscreen again.

I gave him some warm milk in a cup last week and he took a few swallows. I stopped nursing him yesterday and he is finally taking his bottles pretty well today. Sad to have that special time over, but mommy was ready to be done.

He loves baths in the sink!

A lot of water ends up on the floor.

Notice the hair? Does it remind you of anyone?

Group pics!

Our latest pic of all 4 boys~we took this outside Blodgett hospital.

This was Easter Sunday~I love Noah's expression in both these pics!

Crazy boy!