What's Cookin'

Maybe I won't need this week's plans, but better make them just in case.  :-)

Mon~Chix broc rice (freezer), rolls, spinach

Tues~Lasagne, carrots, garlic bread

Wed~Chicken and dumplings in the crockpot, applesauce

Thurs~Mexican chicken in crockpot, brown rice, corn

Source: chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Fri~Pancakes or eggs

Sat~Pizza

Sun~Chix noodle soup, bread

Our Valentine's tradition

Neither Chris or I are big on celebrating Valentine's day in the traditional buying gifts/cards and going out for dinner without the kids, so we started a tradition a couple years back of putting the kids to bed and then sitting down just the two of us for a nice dinner.  Didn't quite work out that way this year, but we still shooed them downstairs for 15 min. while we ate dinner.

The boys enjoyed pizza lunchables (less than a dollar at Meijer last week):







Our menu (a little simpler this year due to my, ahem, condition):
Pork chops
Orzo with spinach
salad
bread
ice cream




Woohoo!  Good dishes!  :-)

Aaronism

The side roads around here have been pretty rough with frozen snow lately.  Chris likes to drive fast over the bumps while I complain he's hurting my belly.  So on the way home tonight, Aaron says, "Stop, Dad!  You're hurtin' my bewwy!"

What's Cookin'

Mon~Cheesy Ham Tortellini, roasted cauliflower, applesauce

Source: tasteofhome.com via Heather on Pinterest

Tues~Pork roast, mashed taters, green beans
Wed~Church dinner
Thurs~Valentine's dinner.  Will involve pork chops, not sure what else.
Fri~Chix broccoli rice (freezer), corn
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Veggie beef soup, bread

Considering upcoming childbirth

From 52home

Freezer cooking~Getting ready for baby

For the past 3 weeks or so I've been stocking our freezer with meals for before and after baby.  I don't have the energy for a monster all day session so I've done smaller chunks once or twice a week and that's been a great way to fill my freezer.  I've found in the past that we don't like casseroles too much and tortillas don't freeze the best, so I tried make things I knew we would enjoy eating.  Here's a few pics:

               
Chix broc rice, Chix spaghetti, Chix ench lasagna                    

 
 San Francisco pork chops

   
Pork enchilada filling                                                


Chocolate cake
 (a necessity!)

 
Mountain meaballs, brown rice


Baked Chix Penne, Sloppy Joes, Taco Meat
           
             
Spaghetti sauce and meatballs

  
 Farmer's Casserole

 
Beef Goulash, Beef and mushrooms (both crockpot meals)

I definitely prefer this way of freezer cooking.  No monster clean up and most of the time, I just doubled whatever we were having for dinner and put the extra in the freezer.  And I made my crockpot work for me A LOT!  Spaghetti sauce, chili, sloppy joes, taco meat, and pork filling were all made in the crockpot (plus I browned all the ground beef in it).  I have about 30 meals in my freezer now.  Yay!

Around here

Yesterday we drove past Panera and Andrew commented that we hadn't been there in a long time.  He loves their cinnamon crunch bagels (Don't we all?).  I said, "Maybe we can go sometime next week and do our Bible story and reading there while we have bagels."  Andrew wasn't too sure about this.  He didn't think it was ok to talk about the Bible or to pray in public.  I assured him that it was right and good to talk about God and to pray in public, and he said, "But Mom, the Bible says we are supposed to go into our closet and pray in secret!"

He wanted to have his cousin, Adrienne, over on Saturday so he wrote her a note.  He even wrote some instructions for the mailman:



He also had a thank-you note from his birthday to give to her.  After she read it, she said, "You forgot a lot of punctuation!"




We've had a very large box that the boys have been playing with for the last few weeks.  Aaron asked me to help him climb in this morning.  I gave him some books and he was happy for quite a while.



Just up from his nap.

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Chili, bread

Source: food.com via Heather on Pinterest

Tues~Out

Wed~Firehouse Chicken Cordon Bleu, green beans

Source: amysnewkitchen.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Thurs~Chipotle Beef Taquitos, Cilantro Lime brown rice, black beans

Fri~Pizza, cold veggies

Sat~Breakfast for dinner

Sun~Beef veggie soup, bread

Reading

Andrew reading Richard Scarry to his brother at Aunt Andrea's.

Aaron's prayer

Daddy:  Lord bless...
Aaron:  Lord bless...
Daddy:  my meat...
Aaron (hesitating):  my fruit snacks...

I guess he knows what's important!

Wisdom from Ryle

"Do not wait, because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing: wait for nobody. Waiting comes from the devil. Just as we are, go to Christ. The worse you are, the more need you have to go to Him. You will never mend yourself by staying away."

- J.C. Ryle

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Enchiladas, salad, chips n salsa
Tues~Mom has girls night, french toast and eggs for boys and dad
Wed~Overnight chicken, brown rice, green beans

Source: bakedbree.com via Heather on Pinterest

Thurs~Ham and Cheese potato skins, applesauce, veggies

Source: tastykitchen.com via Heather on Pinterest

Fri~Chili, brown rice, cornbread
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, rolls


And here's a couple pictures of my two babies.  I'm starting to find them together more and more.



Aaron likes to tattle on Joel (and the other boys).  Say this in a voice filled with 2 year old indignation:  "Bommy, Do-do gwabbed fwum me!"



Yup, behind the couch is a good place to eat our bananas.  Monkeys!  :-)

Our Fun Friday

Yesterday the boys had a field trip for the first time in a long time.  We met some friends at the museum.  The boys were so excited to go to "the city!"  I ended up getting a membership pass so I'm sure we'll be going lots more.

Noah and his friend Stuart.  Noah said this was his favorite part of the museum.

Watching the player piano in Gaslight Village.

The print shop was open for business.  Everyone got a printed bookmark on the way out.

 

Probably the biggest perk with the membership pass is unlimited carousel rides.  :-)

Vivian and Andrew in the Civil War camp.

Astronauts.

Friday evening we went to the gym for pizza and some volleyball.  Here are some fine volleyball forms:

Aunt Aimee trying to save the game by kicking the ball.

Aunt Ang

Look closely at the next two photos of Chris.  There's some shenanigans going on in the background!

Cousin Corinna

What's Cookin'

I didn't get to any of the chicken meals last week because we ended up having no chicken in the house.  Good thing it was on sale Fri and Sat at Meijer.

Mon~Baked chicken penne pasta, carrots
Tues~Spaghetti and meatballs, green beans

Source: lisaroy.ca via Heather on Pinterest

Wed~Chili, corn bread
Thurs~Dinner with friends
Fri~Potluck: Chicken Enchiladas (a variation of these) with this sauce, Cranberry Cake
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Beef vegetable soup, rolls

Kitchen tip: Cooking Bulk Ground Beef

I bought 10 lbs of ground beef at Aldi last week and I was really looking up against browning it all.  So I googled "browning ground beef crockpot" and found a really easy way to do it.

I was able to put 5 lbs at a time in my crockpot.  I crumbled it up, added about a cup of water and turned it on high.  I tried to mix it up with my Pampered Chef Mix n Chop every 45 min to an hour because it would start to really brown around the edges.

About 3 hours later, I had 5 lbs of browned beef with no splatters on my stove!  I stuck the beef in a colander to drain and then added my other 5 lbs to the crockpot.  It takes longer than browning it on the stove, but I think there is less mess and I don't have to stand and watch it, just stir it occasionally.  Today I've made 6 lbs into taco meat and sloppy joes (all in the crockpot!) and am going to make chili and shepherd's pie with the rest. 

Overnight Apple Pie Oatmeal in the Crockpot

I saw this recipe on pinterest awhile ago and have wanted to try it.  I happened to come across steel cut oats at Aldi last week so I tried it out Friday night.  Andrew didn't like it because of the apples in it (He says he likes raw apples, not cooked apples.)  Chris didn't like it because he says he was forced to eat too much oatmeal in his youth.  :-)  But I thought it was great and it keeps in the fridge so I will be able to have a quick, healthy breakfast for a few mornings.

Here's the recipe with my changes:

Apple Pie Breakfast

Cooking With Jax

Ingredients

- 1 cup of steel cut oats*

- 3 diced apples (I had some frozen ones in the freezer.  I don't think mine totaled 3 apples, I probably used about a cup and a half of sliced apples.)

- 1 cup apple juice 

- 3 cups water 

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

(I added 1 cup of skim milk, 4-5 T of brown sugar, and a dash of salt also.)

Directions - Slow Cooker

For Best Results:  Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like.  Be sure to stir every hour or so.

* You can also cook longer without stirring, but you have to add more water liquid and it does come out a bit mushier.  Add an extra cup of liquid for 7-8 hours in the slow cooker.

Here's what it looked like before it was cooked.

The whole reason I was attracted to this recipe was because I could do it overnight.  So I added the extra liquid (milk) and set my crockpot on low.  I happened to be awake at 5 in the morning so I went to check it and it was done, so I just set my crockpot to warm and it was perfect when I went to eat it at 8 AM.  Next time, I think I will make the recipe x 1.5.  I only have a 6 qt crockpot.  A smaller one may be better for this recipe if you want to do it overnight.

Here's what it looked like when we ate it in the morning.  Looks like the edges got a little overdone.

Yum!  I think it would be good with peaches or cherries too.

Some pics from last week

We laid pretty low last week due to sick kids.

Aaron, wrapped up after his bath and in his favorite chair.

Aaron's new trick:  Holding food he doesn't like in his mouth until its finally bed time and he has to spit it out.

Noah pretending to be asleep.  I checked on him during quiet time and I think he actually was about to sleep in this position.  So I went to get the camera and as I'm taking his pic, he kept grinning with his eyes closed.

 

 Aaron helped me unload the whole dishwasher the other morning.