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.