Meal Plan: Part 3 - and more!

I’m back!

I broke one of my “rules” and took a mini-vacation from blogging. Not because I wanted to or because I didn’t have anything to write, but because I don’t have three arms and two heads (but imagine what I could do if I did!). Actually, most of October was a wash due to allergies, colds, and stomach bugs…and all the chaos that life threw at us in-between. But, I’m ready to get back on track!

For starters, here’s my meal plan this week. It’s going to be another hectic week (the reason this is going up mid-week instead of on Monday) so I’m relying on Mr. Crockpot to save the day!

Crockpot Recipes:

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Salsa Chicken

And some good ol’ comfort food...

Easy French Bread Pizza

4-6 French bread sandwich rolls

shredded Mozzarella and/or Colby Jack cheese

sliced salami

sliced pepperoni

jar of pasta sauce

Preheat oven or broiler to 425-degrees. Slice sandwich rolls and lay halves on a cookie sheet. Top with pasta sauce, cheese, meats and any other topping you prefer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is slightly bubbly and golden. Serve with salad.

A side note, we all need a dose of encouragement now and again. Especially when you hold a somewhat thankless and unglamorous position of stay-at-home Mom. It's easy to get discouraged and frustrated. Thankfully, I was given the dose my heart was needing. I was flipping through Sienna's Awanas book and reviewing her work when I saw this note she had written:

  

Well, golly gee! I saw this and ruffled up my feathers. In Sienna’s eyes, I’m right up there with the best of ‘em. If that’s where I rank on her list, then I might be doing something (slightly) right and at the same time will continue to do my best to keep my rank. It was a small note that provided a big dose of encouragement!

It seems those doses of encouragement come when you need them the most, even if you have to look hard for them.

Meal Plan: Part 2

Here’s what I learned about meal planning this week: It’s filling! Our fridge was stocked all week with food, leftovers and snacks…and the meals kept on coming! 

The benefits of meal planning were well worth it. Here are the kiddos enjoying family dinnertime…

This week, we have a super busy week ahead of us. There is something going on every night so I’m keeping it easy. Here’s the plan:

1) Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 can Cheese Soup

1 8oz container of sour cream

Place chicken breast in crockpot. Pour the three cans of soup over the top. Cook on low 6-8 hours. One hour before you are ready to eat, shred the chicken and add the sour cream. Stir well. Cook an additional hour.

Serve over rice and pair with sautéed zucchini.

2) Skillet Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

One package of thin-sliced chicken breasts

1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (not Kraft)

One egg, slightly beaten

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl or plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip chicken in egg and then coat with bread and cheese mixture. Add chicken to skillet and cook for about 10-15 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. 

You can serve with any pasta of your choice. I will probably pair with Pasta Roni Shells & White Cheddar (one of Sienna’s favorites!) and these delicious marinated tomatoes.

  

3) “Fácil” (that’s Spanish for easy) Tacos

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef

Old El Paso Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit

Toppings: Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa and sour cream

Follow the directions on the box and enjoy!

Have a great week!

Meal Plan: Part 1

I’ve decided to start meal planning for our week. I’ll be the first to admit that meal planning has not been my strong suit in the past. Generally, I grocery shop by memory, a.k.a. a jumbled messy list in my brain, or by what sounds good to me at that moment. But, I feel the need to be more organized, hope to save money by only buying what I need, and plus, it gives me an opportunity to try all the recipes that I have flagged in magazines or from other blogs. This past week was my first “go” at it and it worked out really well and I tried THREE new recipes! Variety is the spice of life, right? I’m only ambitious enough to meal plan for one week, and I’m not being a stickler about what day we eat what. This is a flexible working plan. And I’m only planning a few recipes because I know I won’t actually cook every night. Some nights are too hectic - or I’m too tired - and frozen pizza is our pinch hitter.

The good news is, I’ve decided to share my meal plan with YOU. In fact, I’m hoping to post my meal plan every Monday. It’ll keep me accountable, and who knows, maybe it’ll inspire you, too!

I’ll link recipes when available or I’ll type them out for you. So, here goes…this is what we’ll be eating this week:

Meal One

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Coleslaw

Place 2-3 chicken breasts in the crockpot with Buffalo or BBQ sauce and sprinkle a ranch dressing season packet on top. Cook for at least 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Shred the chicken, spread on rolls with cheddar cheese slices and, if to your taste, sliced onions. Serve with coleslaw. For the coleslaw, I buy pre-shredded cabbage and mix with either Lighthouse or Marie’s coleslaw salad dressing (in refrigerated section at the grocery store).

Meal Two

Pumpkin Patch Pasta

Meal Three

Chicken Marsala (thanks, Andrea, for this recipe!)

1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breasts

½ cup chicken broth*

½ cup marsala wine

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic

flour for dredging

Directions:

1. Melt 1 tbsp. of butter with 1 tbsp. of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic to skillet.

2. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour and add to skillet and brown on both sides.

3. Add chicken broth, marsala wine and other 1 tbsp. butter to skillet and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens.

4. Serve with pasta.

*Since we’re a “saucy” family, lately, I’ve been doubling the marsala wine and chicken broth. You decide what works best for you.

Last but not least, dessert!

Pumpkin Blondie Bars

And finally, a Honorable Mention....

I tried this recipe last week, the preparation is a bit messy but SO worth the mess! They are delicious. The moistest scones I’ve ever met and the maple icing is heavenly. A perfect fall breakfast! Give ‘em a try!

Maple Pecan Scones

Ok, I’m off to the grocery store! Ciao!

This Week Around Our House

I’ve been at home sick most of this week while the kids and Bill have had a busy week. As most of us know, life doesn't stop just because Momma gets sick. Actually, it’s been somewhat of a blessing because I’ve enjoyed my “down time” at home, trying out new recipes and catching up on my readings. I should make more time for lazy days at home, even when I’m not sick. 

So, big news, Sienna lost her other front tooth last night and I think she looks so cute with those holes in her smile. I asked her why she keeps losing teeth, expecting her to say it’s because she’s growing up, instead she said she wants her money from the tooth fairy. Then I asked her to make the “th” sound and she started giggling. Yep, still the heart of a kid with the brains of an adult. 

It’s “School Spirit” week at Sienna’s school - they are having “spirit” assemblies, rallies and parades all week long - and today the school was encouraging the kids to wear their favorite college team’s jersey. Can you guess what initials Sienna was sporting to school today? I’ll give you a hint…starts with U, ends with an SC.

It was also picture day at school for Grant. Aren’t they just too cute (even when I have them facing the sun and they're making their squinty faces)?!

In other news, for a couple of years we’ve been talking about creating a mission statement for our family and the topic has come up again lately. Bill’s favorite word right now is “deliberate.” In the past, I’ve been discouraged because Sargento already took the motto I wanted to pick.

I haven’t figured out our exact mission statement yet but I know it’ll go something along these lines: Follow God’s will for our lives, have a servant heart towards others, and eat a lot of cheese and chocolate. I can’t think of what else is missing?!  

In all honesty, I want my mission statement to capture some of the thoughts and feelings conveyed here. Obviously a more eloquent writer than myself (maybe one day?!), she brought me to tears and nailed exactly how I feel about our life, my kiddos and our relationship. 

My question to you is, have you created a mission statement for yourself or your family?

Fallin' For Pumpkins

It’s officially the first day of fall. Which is good news because I’m already in full fall mode. Pumpkin and scarecrow decorations are out. I’ve stocked up on my canned pumpkin puree. And everything from breakfast to hand soap is inspired by pumpkin scents and flavors.

If you’re in the market, here are my top five favorite pumpkin treats:

1)    Pumpkin Caramel Latte antibacterial hand soap from Bath and Body Works (pair with #2)

2)    World Market Pumpkin Spice hand lotion from Cost Plus World Market (try to resist the temptation to lick your hands after you put this lotion on…yes, it smells that good.)

3)    Stinky Fingers Bakeries Pumpkin Spice scone mix (I make mine with chocolate chips, of course)

4)    World Market Pumpkin Spice coffee (pair with #5)

5)    Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer

Geesh, I should be getting paid for these endorsements! ;) 

Speaking of endorsements, did I mention that the Scentsy Scent of the Month is Pumpkin Marshmallow? Yum! 

And recipes, recipes, recipes!  There are so many delicious pumpkin-inspired recipes but these are my two favorites. I dust these recipes off every October and get cookin’.  Give ‘em a try and let me know what you think.

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

(Kraftrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 pkg. (16 oz.) penne pasta

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup  (1 stick) butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk

1 cup  canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)

 Ground nutmeg to taste

COOK pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook cream cheese, Parmesan, butter and milk in large saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently. Add pumpkin and seasonings; stir. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; place in large bowl. Add cream cheese sauce; toss to coat.

** Can also add 2 cups sliced zucchini to the boiling water the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time.  I always do.

****Click here for Rachael Ray’s version. I always mean to try this recipe but then I kinda fall into the comfort of a recipe I already know. Maybe this year. And, speaking of RR, I’d also recommend picking up her magazine this month, there are lots of fun ideas for Halloween. She loves fall, too!

Pumpkin Dip

(This was posted on Facebook by a friend a few years ago…thanks, Melanie B.)

Ingredients

15 oz. canned pumpkin

8 oz. cream cheese

3 oz. box of vanilla pudding

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

MIX the above. You’re done! Yep, that easy!

Eat dip using graham crackers, gingerbread cookies (my personal favorite..tee hee), bananas, marshmallows, strawberries, Nilla wafers, apple slices, etc. This makes a ton, so it’s best to make for a group (unless you’re a piggy like me).

Happy Harvest! 

Super Six

This week Sienna turns six years old! Six doesn’t seem to convey her independence, smarts, and spirit. She must be six going on sixteen, or beyond. Not surprising, she’s hitting new milestones weekly. Last week she went to her first school dance (a fundraiser event held during school hours) and her recap was, “it was really loud and there was a rock star named Michael Jackson.” (My goodness, he's alive! But, keep him away from the children!) This past weekend she lost her fifth tooth, leaving her smile with a big hole in the front. I have a feeling she’ll be singing “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” by December. As cute as she is, she’s – still – equally stubborn. And she's very, very cute. It’s fun to watch the “battle of the wills” between Bill and Sienna. I don’t even try, I already know she can out “will” me with her stubbornness. Mostly, I try to reason with her…and even more likely, I rely heavily on bribing her. If I had to pick one word to describe her, it would be “strong.” (Just like her Daddy) 

One step closer to taking over the world.

I know six will usher in a new set of challenges, milestones and wonderful memories. I can’t wait! I enjoy watching her spread her wings and fly, still, there is a part of my that can't help but to think of these lyrics with some sadness and longing for how quickly the time goes. Every day is a fresh vow to cherish every minute. And a reminder to pick my battles. 

“Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time”

- ABBA “Slipping Through My Fingers”

 Happy 6th Birthday Sienna!

30 Years Ago Today

You've come a long way, baby....