Menu in Weeks

I tried to blog my menu an entire month in advance. I am not sure what I was thinking. There is no way I know what I am doing or what will sound good a month from now. So instead, I will plan the next two weeks. This makes more sense with our budget because my small, part-time paycheck is what we eat off of, so my hours reflect in the level of gourmet my food is :)

Asian BBQ Chicken with Fried Rice. The fried rice recipe takes a lot of things I don't have in my kitchen, but hopefully since I stock most of the tings in the chicken recipe, it will balance out budget wise.

Bacon Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken. I am thinking some steamed brown rice on the side. Something healthy for my husband.

Round Steak (recipe below)

Roman Chicken

Buffalo BBQ Chicken

Slow Cooker Beef Tips (recipe below)

In between we are going to eat leftovers and see how far that gets up. One of our bad habits is making too much food and then throwing it away when we get tired of it the leftovers. That wastes money, which we can't afford to do! So these next few weeks are an experiment.

Round Steak

2 lbs Round Steak

2 can green beans (whichever style you like the best)

2-3 potatoes (however many you think you will want)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup diluted with milk. This step is not an exact science. start with a cup of milk and figure out if you like that consistency.

Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

Beef Tips

2 lbs lean stew meat

1 dry onion soup packet

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (diluted with milk. start with a cup again)

1 cup fresh mushrooms (I don't use many and I keep them big because John picks them out)

1 bag of egg noodles

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over Egg Noodles or Rice.

I will let you know how this new 'experiment' goes with our budget and our appetites :)

Creative Outlet

I thrive better as a person when I can be creative. That is a very true statement. For some reason I have gotten away from this and I am not sure why I did that to myself! Now I have the time and nothing to use as an excuse as to why I can't create. So, my first official project was turning an 80s headboard into a shelf for my entry way. I did not take pictures of it before I added the shelves, but I think you can get the idea from this picture. Please excuse the fact that I took it with my phone.

You can see the two white shelves that we added to turn it into a shelf and a kick board on the bottom. Then I sanded it, painted it and tried an aging technique. This is something I will keep trying to perfect ;)

For my first project I am pretty proud. I need to fill the shelves, but that will come with time. A friend of mine and myself have been spending a lot of time on Ana White's website. She posts free plans for building furniture and we are going to take on some of the projects. At least creative outlet is cheap will benefit my house :)

Mommy Confession: Discipline

Emily is finally entering the terrible twos. I thought she had reached this stage a while back, laughing that my daughter was 'ahead of the curve'. Little did I know what the terrible twos actually meant. Emily is beginning to exhibit the characteristics that I want her to have... when she is in middle school and being hit from every side with peer pressure and temptations. Not when she isn't quite two and learning things for the first time. I feel like everything I say to her is 'No!' or do you want to go to timeout? She is so stubborn and honest and independent... and an exact replica of both of her parents. I definitely want Emily to have some independence from us and that ability to learn mistakes on her own, but I want her to know what is okay and what is not. I want to teach her right and wrong now and not let it get out of hand for later. But my worry is I say too many negative things to her and not enough positive. So when she does something over and over that she knows is wrong, I have to be consistent. But I also start to wonder if I am fighting battles that I shouldn't have engaged in in the first place. But if I stop now, will I be inconsistent. How do I be a good mom that shows constant love and deal with a strong-willed child? How do I teach her what is right and wrong and be consistent when she repeatedly does that wrong thing and still be the person she wants to run to for comfort? How do I discipline well and love intensely?

May Menu

I have several friends who have inspired me to start planning yummy meals in advance. Since I am going back to graduate school in the fall and have a part time job, eating a budget is something I am having to learn, but I am up for the challenge. Being prepared and planned as far as meals go is the first step. I try to use ingredients over and over. For example, I made rice and beans to go with the Chicken Enchilada Casserole, so I planned Mexican later that week to use the left overs of the sides with. Along with the homemade salsa. The corn tortillas the taquito recipe calls for I will reuse when I make the tacos. I make sure not to waste any ingredient I purchase and stretch it.

So this month we are going to eat:

Crock pot santa fe chicken

Sesame Beef

Creamy chicken taquitos

Beef tacos in fried corn tortillas (using the rest of the corn tortillas from the taquitos)

Turkey Stuffed Zucchini

Creamy Chicken Tacos

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (recipe below) with Spanish Rice

General Tso's Chicken

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair

Pot Roast

BBQ Chicken Pizza with homemade dough (recipe below)

Buffalo BBQ Shredded Chicken (served on hamburger buns) so that way we have lots of leftovers and quick meals.

Meatball Subs

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (received this recipe from a family member during my bridal shower - Thanks Aunt Cathy!)

1 1/2 cups tortilla chips lightly crushed

1 7oz can chopped green chilies

1 onion chopped

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

2 cups shredded chicken. I use a whole chicken fryer... however much meat it puts off

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can diced tomoatoes

1/4 cups cream or whole milk - whatever you have

cilantro

Lightly grease baking dish. Line the bottoms with half of the chips. Place the chicken, onion, chilies, tomatoes, rest of chips and cheese in layers in that order. Mix the soup, sour cream and cream/milk. Pour over top. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 lb chicken

Small bottle Head Country BBQ Sauce

1 small red onion

3 T butter

1 t of garlic

Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Pizza dough - I have a recipe to make my own, but lately I have just been buying the package of frozen dough and seasoning it myself to match the kind of pizza I am making.

Cook chicken in crock pot for 4 hours on low. Put BBQ sauce, garlic, butter and onion in with it. Take chicken out of crock pot and shred. Roll dough out. Spread mixture over dough and spread cheese over top. I didn't put an amount of cheese because I leave that up to your tastes. I use lots of cheese, always. Bake in oven at 425 for 15 minutes. Keep an eyes on the pizza. All doughs cook differently. Wait for cheese to bubble.