Quick and Easy Life Skills Summer Camp (At Home)

This time of year gets crazy around here, and sometimes I feel like I can’t sign up for one. more. thing! I did however just sign up for these workshops. I can fit them into our school schedule, as we are schooling year-round, to help keep things fun and interesting.

I’m all about the quick and easy. I also think that it might come in handy to have the kids be a little more independent around the house as I am scheduled to be out of commission for a bit toward the end of summer… more on that later.

That’s why I’m loving these 3 video workshops from #LifeSkillsNow summer camp

  • They’re available right NOW!
  • I don’t have to wait for anything on my calendar
  • They’re super short, about 10 minutes each
  • I don’t have to go anywhere!
  • Kids ages 5-18 are ALL covered! (When is the last time you saw something online that was a good fit for teens??)
Continue reading “Quick and Easy Life Skills Summer Camp (At Home)”

Meal on the Go Breakfast Sandwiches

Some days are just a little crazy and we need something super simple to make for breakfast. Sandwiches are always a hit and they are usually pretty simple to through together.

These can be served as is or with fruit, they can also be eaten on the go and made ahead of time!

If you have some leftover pancakes or French Toast then these will help use that up and keep them from going to waste!

Meal on the Go Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Use any combination of the following to create your own breakfast sandwich creation.

  • Bread:
    • Sandwich bread, toasted or plain
    • French Toast
    • English Muffins
    • Pancakes
    • Croissants
    • tortillas
    • Bagels
  • Eggs, cooked however you like them
  • Meat:
    • Bacon
    • Ham
    • Sausage
    • Lunchmeats
  • Cheese, your favorite
    • American
    • Swiss
    • provolone
    • pepper jack
    • farmers cheese
    • cream cheese
  • Condiments
    • Syrup
    • jelly
    • mayo
    • ketchup
    • mustard
    • hot sauce
    • salt and pepper
  • Veggies:
    • tomato
    • lettuce
    • onion
    • spinach
    • peppers

Directions:

Continue reading “Meal on the Go Breakfast Sandwiches”

Homemade Sourdough English Muffins

We’ve been experimenting with sourdough recipes for a while now and this one has been a favorite of ours. It’s super easy to make but does have a bit of time required for rising so we usually start these the evening before we need them.

You can mix them by hand, use a stand mixer with a dough hook, or even mix them up in your breadmaker… we’ve tried them each way and they all turn out great. I like to put the dough in the oven for its long rise… be sure to leave the light on for it to keep it comfy!

These work great for breakfast sandwiches, mini pizzas, or with a bit of butter and jelly… yum!

This recipe may look a little tricky but once you made it a time a two you could probably do it in your sleep! If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can find tons of easy recipes online to start your own or you can buy some starter like we did HERE.** (Yes, that’s an affiliate link but it won’t cost you a penny more to use it.)

Homemade Sourdough English Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c. active sourdough starter
  • 1 T. sugar or honey (we prefer to use local honey but that’s not really necessary)
  • 1 c. milk (I haven’t tried using milk kefir but it would probably work as well)
  • 1 t. salt
  • 3 c. all-purpose flour (may need a little more or less depending on the climate)
  • a bit of cornmeal of flour for dusting

Directions:

Continue reading “Homemade Sourdough English Muffins”

31 Ways To Go Plastic Free

I read about this Plastic-Free Challenge earlier this week but haven’t had a chance to post about it until now… If you’ve been following the blog you’ll know that I’ve mentioned that we’ve been extraordinarily busy this past couple of months and hopefully we’ll be able to share what we’ve been up to sometime later this month… it’s really exciting!

Back to the post though… part of my New Year’s goal was to start using less plastic and disposable items in our house. I know we probably won’t be a zero waste household anytime soon but I know that we can have really cut back on single-use plastic items in our home.

Just the other day I realized that our plastic storage containers have been disappearing. Where have they gone? Well, that’s a question that may never be answered but I do know that I really need to replace them. I’ve been looking at a few Plastic-Free options on Amazon and Walmart but haven’t decided what to get yet but I will need to find something soon.

I know that some things will not be replaced soon like our favorite lunch boxes but I have found some replacements for some time in the future. I have also been looking for non-plastic/non-glass replacements to the kids’ water bottles that they use at home. We do try our best to use reusable shopping bags when we go for groceries.

Here are a few ideas of things we’ve replaced recently:

I know that there are some items that might hard to replace but there are new solutions coming out every day. Making these changes one at a time will make a difference and you may find that it saves you money as well!

Join the Plastic Free Challenge Today!

So many places around us are putting bans on plastics as well so this is something that everyone really needs to adjust to. It’s crazy to see the numbers on the plastic pollution crisis and our family wants to do our part to help out with this. With the Plastic Free Challenge, you can choose where you will be going plastic free, what you choose to refuse, and how long you choose to go plastic free.

This week I got an email from Life Without Plastic about their Plastic-Free Tooth Tabs which can replace those plastic toothpaste tubes and are packaged in a paper box. They also talked about their new Plastic-Free Lunch Boxes which were funded on Kickstarter. They also have a wide variety of Plastic-Free Containers for packing those delicious lunches in.

Take the Plastic Free July Challenge with www.goingzerowaste.com

Take the Plastic Free July Challenge with www.goingzerowaste.com

Here are a few more interesting articles I’ve found about this topic:

It’s not too late to join the Plastic Free Challenge Today!


**This post does contain affiliate links to products and/or services that we use. We may earn a teensy weensy small commission (at NO EXTRA cost to you) if a purchase is made through these links. These links help to support our family, our blog, and our homeschooling mission.

 –Thank you!

December 2022 Menu

I know I haven’t posted a menu in a while but I figured I could post the one I just made up. This was made using the free printable meal planner I have HERE. You will see that we have certain things that rotate on a set schedule but we do try to keep our dinners a little varied to keep everyone happy.

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/4
Eggs, hash browns, sausage, English muffins Fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans  Fruit 
Monday    Cereal/Oatmeal scrambled egg sandwichesSteak/Sweet N Sour Meatballs, Mac N Cheese, Baked Potato Fruit 
Tuesday
St. Nicholas Day
  Santa Pancakes  PB&J sandwiches, fruit  Leftovers Fruit 
Wednesday FULL MOON Muffins, Bagels, or Toast W/Eggs and Cheesy Gritssoup, grilled cheese, fruit slices, rice pudding  Homemade pizzas Fruit 
Thursday  French Toast, FruitChicken Salad, sliced tomatoes & cucumbers, lettuce  Loaded potato soup, crackers Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  LeftoversSalmon/Chicken Patties, Mashed Caulitaters, Creamed Peas, pineapple slices Fruit   
Saturday   Make Sourdough Donuts or English Muffins Chicken Stir Fry, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, steamed veggies, sauce Fruit 

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday 12/11  Monkey Bread, Eggs & Grits   Cheddar Chicken, potatoes, veggies Fruit 
Monday   Cereal/Oatmeal  egg salad sandwiches, veggies  Homemade pizzas Fruit 
TuesdayFrench Toast, Fruit  PB&J sandwiches, fruitTaco ring, salad  Fruit 
Wednesday  Blueberry Oatmeal Bread, scrambled eggs  Soup,
Grilled Cheese
Sandwiches, french fries Fruit 
Thursday  Pancakes, Fruit  tuna salad sandwiches, fresh veggies  Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Cheesy pull-apart bread Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  LeftoversBacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, mashed potatoes, veggies Fruit 
Saturday POLAR EXPRESS!  Waffles, Eggs, Bacon SEE MENUFruitFudge
Cookies

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/18
  Biscuits n gravy/Sausage/Eggs   Breakfast for Dinner Fruit 
Monday   Cereal/Oatmeal  scrambled egg sandwiches  Tortellini Soup, buttered bread Fruit 
Tuesday  French Toast, Fruit  PB&J sandwiches, fruit  Easy Bean Tostadas, Rice, Salad Fruit 
Wednesday  Muffins, Bagels, or Toast W/Eggs and Cheesy Gritssoup, grilled cheese, fruit slices, rice puddingShepherd’s pie, fried cabbage, beer bread, fried apples Fruit 
ThursdayPancakes, FruitChicken Salad, sliced tomatoes & cucumbers, lettuce  Homemade Pizzas Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  Leftovers  Alice Springs Chicken, salad, baked potatoes Fruit 
Saturday Christmas Eve  Make Sourdough Donuts or English Muffins   Fruit 

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/25 CHRISTMAS
Cinnamon Rolls, SCRAMBLED EGGS, SAUSAGE, OR BACON   SEE MENU  
Monday
  Cereal/Oatmeal egg salad sandwiches, veggiesLeftovers Fruit 
Tuesday French Toast, FruitPB&J sandwiches, fruitTacos or Taco Soup, Rice, Chips Fruit 
Wednesday  Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread, scrambled eggs  LeftoversMississippi Pot Roast, mashed potatoes or egg noodles, veggies, milk Fruit 
ThursdayPancakes, Fruit  tuna salad sandwiches, fresh veggiesCreamed Spinach & Bacon-Smothered Chicken, salad, garlic bread Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  Leftovers  Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Slaw Fruit 
Saturday
NEW YEARS EVE
  Cheese Danish, eggs, bacon Crunchy Chicken, Squash Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, or potato cakes Fruit 

Notes:

Some days are left blank to allow us to use up some of our pantry and freezer supplies. You can check out some other meal-planning posts HERE and HERE.