Meatloaf

This is the only Meatloaf recipe that I can make in my house! The boys don't like any other and to tell you the truth I've never been a big fan of meatloaf but I like this one... It is sweet.. we love sweet!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees


1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c ketchup
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 small onion
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 c oats

Mix some extra brown sugar and ketchup to make a glaze for on top.


I have made this with bread crumbs and rice and cracker crumbs and it just doesn't taste nearly as good!

Bake for about an hour! Enjoy

Meal Plan Monday!

I'm back after a couple of weeks of taking a break! I am sorry to all of my 9-10 readers! We had a couple of busy weekends and I just didn't have the motivation in me to pick of the computer and type a post. The snow is starting to fly, it's almost buck season and Thanksgiving. Have you started or even finished your Christmas shopping? I have seen a lot of trees up already! I guess even though I have the best of intentions I am still a procrastinator this year because I get really overwhelmed with things and put it off for as long as I can even if I have planned things out and made 5,000,000 lists throughout the year... It always sneaks right up on me!!

This week we are having

Monday: Meatloaf and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday: Philly Cheesesteak Hoagies
Wednesday: Chicken and Scalloped Potatoes
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Stuffed Pepper Soup
Saturday: Left over Stuffed Pepper Soup

We get to go to Sesame Street Live Saturday! We got tickets for Sister D's birthday!

Meal Plan Monday!

Last week I mentioned I really really really wanted Doritos and I didn't buy any. Well I wanted them ALL week! I finally bought a bag Saturday evening. I had them for breakfast Sunday morning and snack and with lunch and finished them off before bed... I didn't eat the whole bag I promise! I shared with the rest of the family!

But as I was eating I started thinking about the very disgusting things I ate as a child... I ate butter right out of the bowl.. I can remember just sneaking up to the table and digging in with my finger. I ate raw hotdogs, cornflakes with canned milk and water, bologna and ketchup sandwiches (with chips on top of course) - that part isn't so bad but thinking about eating a sandwich with ketchup on it now is just...eww. Did anyone else do this kind of stuff or was it just me? Then there was one delicious concoction we always ate and looked forward to every time we went to Mammaw and Pappaw's house! It was marshmallow cream, peanut butter and bananas all mixed up! We LOVED to make this ourselves and it was so... just yum!

Sister D's birthday party is coming up this weekend and I have procrastinated to the very last detail! I am still not sure what food I am serving! So this week is full of planning, lists, shopping (did I mention I haven't even gotten her a gift)! I will not be serving a bowl of cornflakes in canned milk and water that is for sure!

I also bought a number 2 candle instead of 3... I never even noticed.. Daddy D commented on how cute it was and never even noticed.... Brother D picks it up and says "Hey, Why'd you buy a 2" And it still didn't click for a couple of seconds... wishful thinking i guess!!

What's the deal for this week....

Monday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones (carried over)
Tuesday: Hamburgers and Fries
Wednesday: Chicken and Stuffing in the crockpot
Thursday and Friday: Stuffed Pepper Soup
Saturday........ (TBD)!

Meal Plan Monday!

It's another not so exciting week of meals this week at our house! Luckily I didn't have to cook 3 days in a row last week! WHAT?? Yeah you heard that right!! So I get to carry three meals over and kind of just winging it with the rest. I went to the store with OUT a list again... Nothing good ever happens with that... I didn't buy the Doritos :'( I don't know what I was thinking! All I've thought about since I went has been how much I wish I would've bought them!! I may have to make a second trip out for ingredients I may have forgotten too... and who likes to do that?

Anyways here it be...

Monday: Meatloaf and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday: Taco Soup
Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones
Thursday: Beans and Weenie Casserole
Friday: BBQ Chicken
Saturday: Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

Meal Plan Monday!

Howdy Ho Neighbor! How are you all on this beautiful morning! I have been sick for the past couple of days and feel like a new person today! 

Brother D and I went on a field trip with our co-op group yesterday to one of our local college's aquaculture facility. We got to learn about what they did there and also got to play with their fish. Some of the older kids got to weigh the fish. The largest was a 12 lb striped bass! That was Brother D's favorite part. All of the parents are standing around and the man in charge walks over with a basket of stergent and says "Here hold my fish for a minute". That was something no one has ever asked me before! 

Now on to what's for dinner!

Monday: Chicken Alfredo

Tuesday: Beef Stew (which I've never made before. I'm not even sure that I've actually eaten it before either)

Wednesday: Meatloaf and Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones

Saturday: Beans and  Weenie Casserole (similar to cowboy chili because I will bake the cornbread on top of the beans and weenies)

Chicken Fajita Pizza

I must say this is one of my favorites! My mom has made it for years but I've never seen it anywhere else so I don't know if she found the recipe somewhere or if she made it up but yummmmmmy!
I am not gonna lie, I've been looking forward to having this all week. We haven't had it in a very long time. It isn't one of Daddy D's favorites. If pizza dough doesn't look just right to him he'll gag and tell you it's disgusting even though you're eating the same thing and know it tastes absolutely amazing... Just gotta roll the eyes!

Let's start out with the ingredients.

*chicken breasts (I always use boneless skinless tenders because they are so easy and not thick)
*green pepper
*onion
*pizza dough
*shredded mozzarella cheese
*salsa
*sour cream
*salt, pepper, and taco seasoning

Now let's get cooking!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees...

Drizzle a little olive oil in a skillet and turn on medium. Add chicken and cover for about 8 minutes. While you're waiting to turn the chicken prepare your crust. I buy pizza crust mixes that you just add water. Any method will do I suppose. This is just what works best for me. After you mix the dough cover and let it sit for 5 minutes or more. I always use two bags for a 16 inch pan.. .I think it's 16 inches anyway... maybe 14 at least more than 12! 

Next cut up your veggies and then uncover the chicken and sprinkle with salt pepper and taco seasoning to taste, turn over and do the same to the other side. Cover it back up and let it cook for 3 more minutes and add veggies. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes as you take pieces of chicken out and cut them into pieces.

While this is cooking put your crust on the pizza pan and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes on the bottom rack.  Take the crust out and add your delicious fajita toppings!

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Now put it in the oven on the bottom rack for 7 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is deliciously melty!

Sorry I had to wipe a little drool off my mouth!

Set the table slice it up and top it with salsa and sour cream if you're cool enough for that!

Serve to all your friends and family and hope they don't get salmonella poisoning from your cooking!!! 

*Disclaimer: I know my photos are of poor quality and I apologize for my lack of caring! The food speaks for itself!

Meal Plan Monday!

If you all knew how little "planning" I actually do to come up with my meals for the week you would probably be impressed... or maybe not! I don't sit down with cook books, recipe cards and pinterest(I do look on pinterest but not during the planning session!). I have a page in the back of my notebook that I write all of the meals that we eat regularly. I just flip to the back and pick from that. If I find a new meal and we try it and like it, that's where it goes. That is as organized as I can get.

It got super cold super fast this weekend and I must say I'm not a fan! I've seen so many posts about people being excited that it's October and October is their favorite month. I think it's one of my least favorites! It's like Summer's death to me! It's really sneaky too! It starts to show off all of these beautiful, vibrant colors and the weather is usually tolerable and it's harvest time but..... what is it getting you ready for.... short days, no leaves, brown, soggy ground. SNOW.... layers of clothes that make you feel like you can't move!! Nope not a fan. My favorite part is the end! Sister D's birthday is at the end. That's all that is worth celebrating! Bring on November :)!

This weeeeeeekkkk *Drum Roll Please*


Monday- Bacon Cheeseburgers and Fries, May try some Asparagus Gratin
Tuesday- Potato Soup
Wednesday- Deer Meat and Fried Potatoes (can't put it off any longer eek!)
Thursday- Chicken and Scalloped Cheesy Potatoes
Friday- Calzones
Saturday- Chicken Fajita Pizza (I will post the recipe with pics after I make it!)


I also had a sweet tooth while at the grocery store this week so I came home with little pumpkin cookies that are already gone... a box of Hershey's cookies and cream cookies to try AND I might make traditional no bakes and try pumpkin no bakes!

Good Morning Good Shmorning!

 I have always been the mom who sleeps until the children wake me. This is usually around 9 o'clock or later. I have never been a morning person. I know moms are supposed to be up and ready and have their chores done and breakfast on the table by the time the kids are out of bed but what would I do for the rest of my day? Last year, I struggled to get up and get school started for the day so we usually didn't start until about 10 annnnnddd I had to fight every morning! So I did some research on how to become a morning person.

1. Go to bed early and at the same time every night (what about my shows???)
2. Make sure you're getting enough sleep ( I definitely had this down pat!)
3. Turn off ALL electronics at least an hour before bed
4. Don't eat too close to bedtime (oops)
5. Wake up an hour earlier than your children

There were a lot of other suggestions but these sounded pretty easy.... righhhhtttt. I didn't actually think I could pull it off. You see I have children. Children who know when you have five minutes of free time and steal it right away. None the less, I decided to try to incorporate "wake up an hour earlier than your children". I didn't do this exactly. You see, an hour early puts me at waking up .. well earlier than I want but none of that matters anyway. I set my alarm for 7:20 AM not PM. Which is around the time I had been waking up naturally toward the end of summer. Ahhh summer. Oops sorry back on track.

I get up every morning at 7:20 and immediately read my Bible. That was another thing I wanted to make sure I did, spend time in God's word first thing in the morning. The next step was getting my oldest up early enough for him to have enough time to himself in the morning so he wouldn't be grouchy about having to do school every day. I set his alarm to 7:45. The time between when I get up and he gets up is enough for me to get a little bit of peace that passes all understanding.

Then I developed a problem. Every morning when I got out of the shower my youngest would be awake. This is fine and all but no more peace. I can't even get dressed alone now. I proceed to have to lock myself in the bedroom long enough to find a clean pair of yoga pants and make my bed... alone because I don't need help with this. A normal mom probably wouldn't mind the help but remember this is still supposed to be my quiet time. And my youngest is the biggest chatterbox. I love it but did I mention not being a morning person?

Okay I am really fine with all of this. I still get enough time to center myself. It's when the following started happening... My oldest starts waking up earlier and earlier every day to the point that he is up when my alarm is going off. I really don't even mind this because he does his own thing and doesn't bother me. It does, however, when he is up and his game is on full blast five minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off. Or when my youngest starts waking up earlier and wanting to get in bed with me and NOT go back to sleep at 6 or 6:30. Then she wakes up at 6 and we go to pee and the oldest yells down "Hey, you know I'm not asleep". It's the domino effect. The next morning the youngest repeats the day before and the oldest runs down the stairs at 7:00. You see, I have kids. The kind that make it impossible to be awake and do anything alone before they wake up because THEY KEEP WAKING UP EARLIER AND EARLIER!

Yeah, Let's be a morning person. They are more positive and happier. It'll be easy!

Yes I locked myself in my bedroom until I heard the coffee pot finish this morning. No I am not a morning person today.

Meal Plan Monday!

The weather has still been warm but you can see and feel fall in the air. The leaves are changing and you can feel a warm breeze blowing! I've been holding on to summer by a thread. I love to see the beginnings of fall but I am not a fan of the dreary short days that come with it. 

What's up for this week?

Monday- Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Tuesday- Meatloaf and Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday- Pasta E Fajoili

Thursday- Chicken Fajitas

Friday- Lasagna

Saturday- Deer Meat and Fried Potatoes that I didn't make last week (and I will put off as long as I can)

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

This is a super simple meal to whip up. You could have it for lunch or dinner. We always do it for dinner mainly because I'm not too big on cooking lunches. We do sandwiches and such for that. I am sure this is self explanatory but I am going to share how I do it with you.

First gather all your supplies:
•About 8 Frozen chicken breast tenders
•Franks red hot wing sauce (make sure it's wings and not original)
•Shredded lettuce
•Banana peppers
•Ranch Dressing
•Flour Tortillas

Now lets get cooking!

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and heat. Add chicken and cover for about 8 minutes. Season how ever you prefer and flip them and cook for about 5 more minutes. Now cut up your chicken and drizzle with hot sauce.

Then let it saute a couple minutes until the flavor gets nice and incorporated.

Yummmmmmm!

While you're getting all that saucy goodness mixed together warm your flour tortillas and spread a little bit of ranch on them.

Now it's time to put it all together! Layer the chicken on the ranch then add the lettuce and banana peppers. Drizzle a little more hot sauce over top and wrap it up!

Voila! 15 minutes and you've got dinner!

I forgot to take a picture of it all wrapped up but I'm pretty sure you can imagine what that looks like! 

Meal Plan Monday!!

Last week's "new recipes" were refreshing. I got mixed reviews on most of them though. There wasn't one that everybody loved or even liked. Needless to say, Daddy D picked out the meals this week! We're also on a new work schedule for the next four weeks so I don't have to cook "dinner lunches" anymore! Which means on some nights I will actually have to spend more than 20 minutes slaving over a hot stove. *tears*



Monday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread and Salad (No one but I will eat it but I am offering it!)
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken
Wednesday: Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls (I think the recipe is in a previous post)
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Deer Meat and Fried Potatoes
Saturday:Maybe Chicken Fajitas if not Chicken of some sort :)

Meal Plan Monday!

Let's call this week "New Recipe Week". I get so tired of eating the same foods all the time. Unfortunately for me, Daddy D doesn't like a wide variety of food. I pretty much have to stick with beef, pork chops, and he has finally agreed to eat chicken more often (without complaining)! Sometimes he just has to suck it up! :)


Today I made my first new recipe and I didn't get amazing reviews. I think it's very good and you should try it! My family is overly critical :)

I found all of these on Pinterest of course!

Monday: One Pot Taco Pasta Recipe
                the next time I make this I will probably add taco seasoning to my ground beef! And if I wouldn't had some of the ingredients already on hand I probably wouldn't have made it.
Tuesday: Crockpot Lemon Chicken, Fried Zucchini (if it's not rotten) and broccoli Recipe
                whether I make this in a crockpot or fry it in a skillet is undecided!
Wednesday: Mini Meatloaf Muffins.... don't know what sides
                I am just using my regular meatloaf recipe and filling up my muffin pan because the                             cooking time is cut in half.
Thursday: Pulled Pork Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes and maybe sauerkraut Recipe
                Daddy D already said he would try this but not mixed together
Friday: Stuffed Pepper Soup
                because the weather says it's time to break out the soups!
Saturday: Crockpot Chicken Philly Cheesesteaks and fries Recipe


What are y'all having?!

Meal Plan Monday

Sometimes planning my menu for the week is one of the most difficult tasks I face.I know I'm not alone here! Am I right? No one ever gives suggestions of what they would like. The kids only ask for Meatloaf or Lasagna or Nothing every single time! This was one of those weeks. I went to the store unprepared. The Mr. is on afternoon shift this month so I like to keep things really easy. I can't pick things that take an hour to bake and 20 minutes to prepare. I just don't have time for that when it has to be ready before 2:00!!

If it seems like we have been eating a lot of the same meals every week it isn't because we are... It's because I have picked something easier to make than what I originally planned for!


Monday: Italian Sausage Pasta in Oliverios Peppers in Sauce
Tuesday: Chili and Cornbread (If I'm not too lazy to mix it up)
Wednesday: Chicken, Stuffing, and Broccoli (My family -not including me- lacks a good veggie palate)
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Hamburgers and Fries (We didn't have this last week... That turned into sloppy joes)
Saturday: Sausage Gravy and Biscuits (I've been craving this!!! I  don't know if anyone else will be happy but I will be looking forward to it allllll week)

Meal Plan Monday on Tuesday

A day late and a dollar short?! Hey at least I did it! We were on vacation last week and I didn't have to cook dinner one time! Seems like the definition of vacation to me! Although I couldn't help but think about how much money I would save if I would've cooked!! We are getting back on track today. It was our official first day of homeschool and the hubby's first day back to work so goodby sweet summer time. I will savor what I have left of you!

Let's get down to business

Monday- mmhmm I mean
Tuesday- Spaghetti and Garlic toast
Wednesday- Chicken Fajitas
Thursday- Pork Chops, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli
Friday- Hamburgers, Curly Fries and Watermelon
Saturday- BBQ Chicken and Homemade Mac n Cheese


Have an amazing week!
Happy September

Meal Plan Monday!

I'm just sitting down with my grocery list.. I honestly dread writing it. Luckily, this week my most wonderful husband in the world picked all the meals so I didn't have to!!!

For this week we are having

Monday- Chicken Stirfry
Tuesday- Hamburgers and Broccoli
Wednesday- Unstuffed Cabbage RollsThursday- Buffalo Chicken Calzones
Friday- Italian Chicken and Green Beans
Saturday- Lazy Stuffed Peppers

I also hope to can some salsa because I have tomatoes "out my ears"!

Plus I have more still on the vine!!! 

Happy Eating :)))))

Meal Plan Monday!

Look at me!!! I said I was going to start this and I couldn't even follow through!!!! No.. Really I have been busy the past couple weeks celebrating birthdays and family visiting. I just haven't even planned meals for my week! Let me tell you... It's been tough figuring out what to eat every night.. Especially for the extra mouths we had! That decision is so hard if it's not planned! We did our grocery shopping and planned as we shopped.. Not my idea of meal planning but you gotta do what you gotta do. So for this week we are having...


Monday: Spaghetti and Garlic Toast
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Wednesday: Meatloaf and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Thursday: Cowboy Chili Bake
Friday: Tacos and Refried Beans
Saturday: Chicken and a Vegetable


We also have a ton of left over birthday cake!

My first Meal Plan Monday!!!!

Well Hello!!!!!
I have decided to try this whole blogging thing again!! I thought I would start out with something simple and know that I can do because whether I post it on here or not I still have to eat!!! 

I really enjoy seeing what other people are having for dinner at their house! It helps me out sometimes in my own planning and gives me new things to try! So I thought I would join the bandwagon! I very rarely make anything that isn't simple! So lets get to it!

Monday - Chicken and fresh green beans and cabbage from the garden
Tuesday - Calzones (pizza or buffalo chicken I haven't decided yet)
Wednesday - Lazy Stuffed Peppers
Thursday - Chicken Fajitas
Friday - Hamburgers and I haven't decided on a side dish
Saturday - We have a birthday party so we won't have to eat at home :)