January 7, 2017

Well today has been a day. Oh, what a day!

Full of tons of excitement as the boys have been pretending to be super heroes for the past two days. Which means that they have been dragging blankets around, tucked into the back of their shirts, everywhere they go. They eat with their capes, their sleep with their capes (using them as blankets), and they play with their capes.

Jacob has been getting up super early and this morning was no exception. He wanted peanut butter apples first thing this morning.

For breakfast we had Dutch Puff with applesauce. Joey has decided this is his new favorite food and has requested it for his birthday dinner next week. Not so sure that is going to happen but we’ll see.


The kids saw the how windy it was and decided that today would be a good day to fly a kite. Well, it’s cold and rainy so we agreed that we would wait for another day and then one of them suggested we should have a ‘kite day’ in March. So I will try to put that on the calendar for then.

The kids were cleaning up the playroom and I was fixing them some lunch when Joey asked me if his sister was still coming today. He says, ‘Remember Momma, she wants some mollies’. I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about until I glanced at the calendar, which I should’ve looked at this morning, and saw that I was supposed to make tamales!


This threw me into a bit of panic mode but everything was OK. (Yes, those are bananas in my mixer bowl. I have been buying more fruit and just use the bowl to store the extras when I am not using the mixer.)

So I scurried around a few minutes and got everything together and set to work putting together the tamales. The kids were down for naps so they didn’t get to help me this time around.

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After putting together a big plate of tamales it was time to cook them.

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While they were cooking I cleaned up a bit and snacked on some of the leftover chicken and salsa mixture.


Then I got to work on the Hot Fudge Sundae Cake for dessert. All the while Joey, who was supposed to be napping, kept coming up with ideas for his upcoming birthday. He wants an ‘Indominus Rex’  cake. Hmmmm…. not so sure that I can pull that off but we’ll see.

I finished up dinner around 5:00. We had yellow rice and black beans to complete the meal. Everything tasted so good!

It always amazes me how I can spend hours making a meal and then they can scarf it down in a matter of minutes!

We had a good visit with my oldest daughter. The kids watched ‘The Good Dinosaur’ and had lots of fun. 

Then bedtime came around and Jacob was crying for his ‘friend’. His new friend is ‘Silly Raptor’. (I think this is an imaginary friend.) We finally got him settled in bed with the promise that we would try to find her in the morning. 

I am headed to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is another day and another start but I know I’ll need as much energy as I can get. 

 

January 8-14, 2017 Meal Plan

This is our basic meal plan for the week. Sometimes we will switch the days around if I forgot to set something out or put something in the crock pot. Please feel free to use this or change it around to suit your family’s needs.

I do have ‘Snacks/Desserts’ listed as well. I always try to keep a bowl of fresh fruit out on the counter or table for the kids to snack on. Sometimes I will make a special snack or treat for us to enjoy.

Sunday

Breakfast:

Pancake Poppers, applesauce

Lunch:

PB & J sandwiches, fresh fruit

Dinner:

Meatball Sandwich Casserole, French Fries, Salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Peanut Butter Crackers


Monday

Breakfast:

Cereal/Oatmeal

Lunch:

Leftovers

Dinner:

Chicken in a Biscuit, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies

Snacks/Desserts:

Cinnamon Toast


Tuesday

Breakfast:

French Toast

Lunch:

hot dogs, mac n cheese

Dinner:

Pintos, Hoe Cakes, greens

Snacks/Desserts:

Rice Pudding


Wednesday

Breakfast:

Muffins

Lunch:

Egg Salad Sandwiches, veggies

Dinner:

Easy Bean Tostadas, rice, salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Muffins


Thursday

Breakfast:

Pancakes

Lunch:

PB&J, fruit

Dinner:

Taco Ring, salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Fruit


Friday

Breakfast:

Cereal/Oatmeal

Lunch:

Scrambled Egg Sandwiches, fresh veggies w/ranch

Dinner:

Fix It and Forget It Crockpot Chicken, 30 minute rolls

Snacks/Desserts:

Popcorn


Saturday

Breakfast:

Monkey Bread, Eggs & Grits

Lunch:

Leftovers

Dinner:

Tomato Gravy7up Biscuits, Scrambled Eggs

Snacks/Desserts:

Peanut Butter Bites

Poppy Seed Chicken

This is a recipe from the Real Mom Kitchen Cook Book although we have made some slight alterations to it, This is so easy to make and everyone really loves it. I normally double the recipe for my family and we rarely have leftovers! We usually eat it over a bed of rice with a side of green beans. Continue reading “Poppy Seed Chicken”

Taco Ring

This is a great meal that works well for parties and get togethers as well. I need to start making two of these as it disappears really quickly around here.

There is a link to the original recipe below.

Taco Ring

Ingredients:

Taco Ring:

  • 1 lb lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork
  • 1 package taco seasoning mix
  • 1 c shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 T water
  • 2 – 8ct packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Optional ingredients:

  • 1 medium bell pepper
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 3 cups lettuce, shredded
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1/4 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pitted ripe black olives
  • sour cream
  • avocado, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cook ground meat in large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Remove pan from heat.Stir in taco seasoning mix, cheese and water.
Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles.
Arrange triangles in a circle on pizza pan or cookie sheet with wide ends overlapping in center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5 inch diameter opening in center.)
Scoop meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered).
Bake at 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

If you want to do something fancy, scoop out a bell pepper and fill with salsa and put into center of ring.
Add your toppings to top of ring and finish with more shredded cheese and sour cream.

Rice Pudding

This has been a favorite of mine since I was little. It is a great way to use up leftover white rice also. Some of my kids don’t like the raisins so I usually divide the batch in half and leave one part plain.

This could also be served for breakfast if you like. Continue reading “Rice Pudding”