Oh it feels good to make a menu plan again!  Yay for getting organized again in the new year!

We spent the weekend continuing to catch up on things around the house…organizing and cleaning.  And cooking. 

We live in a college town..and the York College wrestling team has been hanging around getting ready for (meets? matches?) what do you call it when wrestlers compete?  (yes, I’m a soccer mom.)  Anyway…we helped feed the team since the college cafeteria is closed for Christmas break.  Hey, the way I figure it…I already cook all the time for a group of boys who love to wrestle around all day on the floor.  Why not feed 12 more wrestlers?  :)  It was tons of fun.

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week (along with lots and lots of carrots!):

Sunday, Jan. 4
Oatmeal, apples
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Nachos, fruit

Monday, Jan. 5
Whole wheat waffles
Cheese quesadillas, strawberry-peach slushies (it’s kinda cold to eat slushies…but we NEED the spinach…maybe we’ll eat them around the fireplace?!)
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, Jan. 6
Mini breakfast pizzas, clementines
Tuna salad on toast, applesauce
BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, Jan. 7
Orange muffins, bananas
Beef and cheese burritoes, home canned peaches
Lentils, fruit salad

Thursday, Jan. 8
Sourdough biscuits with butter and honey, pears
Alphabet soup, homemade soft pretzels
Chicken enchiladas, tossed salad

Friday, Jan. 9
Peanut butter-honey toast, apples
Beans and rice with salsa and kreme fresh
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, Jan. 10
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Fish and chips, tossed salad

On the blogging menu:

I’ll share a couple of simple homemaking tips…

I’m planning to start a new series of posts about women’s ministries, which I am very excited about! 

Also…I need to get my sourdough bread going again (it is the healthiest bread you can make because it digests more easily!).  So, I’ll be getting my sourdough starter going on Monday.  It takes seven consecutive days (5-10 minutes per day) to get the starter going…and each day I’ll share the steps with you along with pictures of the process.  Then of course, I’ll walk you through making sourdough bread.  It’s SO easy to make a sourdough starter…so if you’d like to get some going right along with me, here are the supplies you’ll need to get ready:

whole wheat or rye flour, 8 cups total for the week (freshly ground if you have a grinder)
2 large jars (I’ll be using my half gallon jars.  If you don’t have jars big enough, you can use large glass bowls)
cheesecloth
rubberbands
cold water

I hope you’ll join me for this week’s posts!  And…I really hope you’ll get a sourdough bread start going with me too!  If NOTHING else…it’s a great science experiment for the kids to watch and participate in! 
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Find more menu plans at Organizing Junkie.

Suddenly, I’m realizing that there are just a few days left before we leave for our big California trip.  (Breathe…breathe…)  I’m working on staying calm and keeping things simple…but we’re talking about a HUGE trip across the country with four kids and well…it takes a lot of work to get ready for it. 

This week, I’ll be making simple meals so that I can focus on finishing up laundry and packing.  I am happy to say that gifts are made/purchased and wrapped…and the house is sort of, mostly clean.  I’m going to settle for “sort of/mostly”…I think that’s as good as it’s going to get!

Here’s our menu:

Sunday, Dec. 14
Oatmeal, bananas
Company over:  Beef stew, corn, green beans, cornbread, fudgie brownies
Nachos, fruit

Monday, Dec. 15
Whole wheat waffles (already made and in the freezer)
Hamburgers and onion rings
Turkey and noodles, carrots

Tuesday, Dec. 16
Scrambled eggs, clementines
Baked potatoes with butter and kreme fresh, cottage cheese and peaches
Stir fried rice and veggies

Wednesday, Dec. 17
Applesauce bread, pears
Clean out the fridge
Clean out the fridge (in other words…a piece of meat, a pickle, two lemons, whatever that is in that jar back there, and a glass of milk)

Thursday, Dec. 18
Breakfast cookies
Quesadillas on the road
Sandwiches on the road
(I can’t very well pack meals for our entire trip, but I can pack it at least for our first day!!)

We’ll get a few hours down the road on Thursday night and stay with friends…then get a lot of hours down the road on Friday and stay with friends…then go the rest of the way on Saturday.  That’s the plan anyway.  We felt like breaking it up like this would make it quite a bit easier on the kids…plus…it’s a great way to see friends we don’t get to see very often!

Here’s what I’ve been working on for the blog this week…

One more Christmas cookie recipe:  Peanut Butter and Honey Reindeer Cuties….More Food Gift Ideas….Fun Gift Wrap ideas…..and be sure to join us for Gratituesday!!

How’s everyone doing on your final pre-Christmas activities?  Are you staying calm and enjoying the season?!  :)  Have any great ideas for activities to do with your kids while you’re traveling in a van for 4536 hours?! (Okay, I’m exaggerating…but it will be something like 24 hours one way.)
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

I’m finally feeling more like my energetic self after spending several days in bed sick.  There’s NOTHING like being sick to make you appreciate being not sick.  I’m very thankful to be not sick. 

With my energy being back, I spent a good part of the weekend cooking and baking.  (And doing dishes.)  What a big floury mess I was.  I even went a little over-crazy and made this snowman when I was making whole wheat donuts Saturday morning. 

He needs eyes and a nose…
but the kids thought he was pretty cute anyway. 

Here’s what’s on our menu this week:

Sunday, Dec. 7
Applesauce bread, clemintines (we’ve all been addicted to clemintines lately!)
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Veggie soup, bread and butter

Monday, Dec. 8
Whole wheat pancakes
Grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade potato chips, tomato soup
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Tuesday, Dec. 9
Breakfast cake, applesauce
Beef and cheese burritoes, cantaloupe
Soccer banquet (A night of NO cooking!  Whatever shall I do?)

Wednesday, Dec. 10
Cinnamon swirl bread, bananas
Beans and rice with salsa and kreme fresh
Turkey, stuffing, gravy, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Thursday, Dec. 11
Sourdough biscuits, canned peaches
Turkey roll-ups, pears
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, corn

Friday, Dec. 12
Peanut butter honey toast, clemintines
Taco potatoes, fruit and kefir smoothies
Homemade pizza

Saturday, Dec. 13
Giant breakfast cookies, hot cocoa!
Homemade chicken nuggets and fries, raw veggies
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

On the blogging menu this week:

Fun ideas for using your Christmas cookie cutters creatively…Chocolate Snowball Cookie recipe…More inexpensive gift making ideas…and a GIVEAWAY!!

Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!

We had a very productive weekend, cleaning our house and putting up our Christmas tree!!  Yes, I know it’s a little early to put up the tree, but I kinda feel like if we’re going to go to this kind of trouble to put something up, I’d like us to be able to enjoy it for a while.  Thus, the tree. 

After reading this post, Donna asked if I was planning to make a menu planner for these special holidays ahead.  I couldn’t let her down!!  I made a Turkey Menu Planner, just for Donna.  I like it call it…”Just for Donna”.  (Oh, if you aren’t Donna, and you’d like to use it too, please do help yourself!!  It’s not really just for Donna…it’s just called that because she requested it and I think Donna is awesome.  If you want me to name a menu planner after you, it can be arranged.) 

Download Just For Donna Menu Planner

Here’s our short menu for the week: 

Sunday, Nov. 23
Oatmeal, apples
Company coming over:  Homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, homemade bread with butter, cookie platter
Leftovers

Monday, Nov. 24
Whole wheat pancakes, milk
Alphabet soup, homemade pretzels 
Homemade chicken nuggets and french fries, carrot sticks

Tuesday, Nov. 25
Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins, milk
Alphabet casserole, green beans
Chicken alfredo, steamed broccoli

Wednesday, Nov. 26
Orange muffins, bananas
BBQ chicken, potato pancakes, peas
Sandwiches on the road to KS, homemade graham crackers  and fruit leather for snacking

Thursday - Saturday
Thanksgiving time with our Kansas family. 
I’m taking:  Homemade rolls
                   Monkey Bread
                   My dad’s favorite lemon pound cake

This week on the blogging menu:

I’ll share 20 things to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey…plus I’m starting a series called “It’s Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas…Cookies”.  (Can you guess what that’s going to be about?)  And, I can’t think of a better week to join Gratituesday, can you?! 
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Find more menu planning ideas at Organizing Junkie.

I survived the big shopping trip!!  I loved all the guesses you made about what my “exciting purchase” was going to be…and NO it wasn’t maternity clothes.  :)  Guess I set myself up for that one!!  As a matter of fact, none of you got it right.  No, what I’ve been needing for a while and finally found the chance to buy…was SOCKS.  I know, how pitiful am I?  Are you feeling terribly let down and disappointed?  They are very nice socks.  In a variety of colors.  It made me very happy.  Really, rejoice with me over my socks.  I did get a few other fun things too for Christmas presents. 

Here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Sunday, Nov. 16
Oatmeal, apples
Beef stew with carrots, potatoes and gravy (This almost turned out to be a disaster this morning…wanna hear about it?)  (Okay, maybe later this week, if you’re good.)
*Help with Sunday Night Suppers!  See question below. 

Monday, Nov. 17
Whole wheat waffles
Hamburger patties, stir fried rice and veggies
Chicken noodle soup, carrot sticks

Tuesday, Nov. 18
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, oranges
Homemade pizza pockets, peaches
Veggie soup, cornbread muffins

Wednesday, Nov. 19
Homemade granola, fruit and kefir smoothies
Spanish rice with meat, pineapple-orange slushies
Chicken enchiladas, tossed salad

Thursday, Nov. 20
Peanut butter honey toast, applesauce
Baked potatoes, cottage cheese and peaches
Beans and rice with salsa and kreme fresh

Friday, Nov. 21
Cream cheese pastries, apples
Homemade mac and cheese, lima beans
Homemade pizza

Saturday, Nov. 22
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls
Bean dip with chips, pears
Spaghetti squash with chicken in cream sauce

On the blogging menu this week:  I’ll answer some of your questions about rapadura…share more about our schedule (specifically homeschooling)…and I am planning to share a new recipe with you (I just have to figure out which one first!!).

*Okay, so here’s what I need your help with.  I never feel like cooking on Sunday nights (yes, this from the girl who loves to cook).  We need something quick so that we can rush out the door to our small group fellowship time.  What do you feed your families on Sunday nights?  Have some good ideas for me?  Matt and the boys would really appreciate it. 
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Thanks everyone for making my Website-aversary week SO much FUN!!  Of course, it’s not quite over yet!  There’s still a few more days to take advantage of this ebook sale, and this one.  And sign up for this great giveaway!

This weekend was busy and fun.  We went to Kansas to help my dad at an auction (which was a good excuse to go see family!).  We were able to go to my nephew’s fifth birthday party…clean out some more of my mom’s things from the house (since my dad remarried about a year ago and the two of them combined households…shew there’s a LOT of stuff!)…and my favorite part of the weekend:  I got to meet Amy of The Finer Things in Life…FINALLY!  She and I have been cyber friends for a while, and we were finally able to connect Friday night.  It was SO much fun…and now I need to work out a time to meet the rest of you in person.  Really.  Anyone coming to Nebraska anytime soon?

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, Nov. 9
Oatmeal, apples
Baked spaghetti, tossed salad, corn
Going to a surprise birthday party for our friend (sh!)

Monday, Nov. 10
Whole wheat pancakes
Cheesy quesadillas, pineapple
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Tuesday, Nov. 11
Scrambled eggs, oranges
Cheesy potato soup, homemade pretzels, carrot sticks
Hearty bean casserole, tossed salad

Wednesday, Nov. 12
French toast
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Chicken pot pie, fruit salad

Thursday, Nov. 13
Chocolate Swirl Muffins
Chicken legs, peas, potato pancakes
Beefy Enchilada Bake, taco salad

Friday, Nov. 14
Giant breakfast cookies, bananas
Beef and cheese burritoes, canteloupe
Homemade pizza, pears

Saturday, Nov. 15
This mama has BIG plans for the day with some friends!!  I can’t wait to tell you about it!  I really can’t wait to execute the plan!!  So….Daddy will be in charge of meals all day!  I’ll probably be real nice and leave some easy things for him to make.  Ooh, my day will be so much fun!!  You wanna come?

This week on the blogging menu…

I’ll share about Matt’s work changes on Gratituesday…share a bit of our family’s homeschooling philosophy….plus…I’ve got a few silly (or not so silly, depending on how you look at it) things to share with you about our trip to KS.  See ya soon!

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

Oh how much FUN this week full of Website-Aversary celebrating is going to be!  (Did you have a slice of cake yet?)  Just wait till the end of this post.  There’s an awesome freebie waiting for you!

In other news, our friends who were here visiting last week have gone home.  Our time with them was filled with blessing..and CRAZINESS!!   My friend Deb is very…full of energy and spontaneous ideas.  We were home very little during the week…and off having fun and excitement instead!  Shew!  It’s a good thing I’m so good at being flexible <cough>. 

With all of our gallivanting around…I hardly followed my menu plan last week.  I know… shocking.  Somehow with several rounds of concentrated controlled breathing exercises (breathe in , exhale, breathe in…) I survived the lack of schedule.  Really…it was so much fun and I loved it all!

This week…we’ll be boring and stick to the menu!  Oh wait…there’s nothing boring about this week!!  It’s our Website-Aversary Week!!  (Oh, and Matt’s birthday…I’d best not forget to also celebrate Matt’s birthday!  He’s been around longer than my website.  I’d like to point out that he is now as old as I am.  Not that it matters or anything for you to know that.  It’s not like he usually gives me a hard time about being three months older than him.) 

Sunday, Nov. 2
Oatmeal, fruit
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Whatever we can find in the fridge

Monday, Nov. 3
Whole wheat waffles
Homemade chicken nuggets and fries, carrots
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, Nov. 4
Fruit and kefir smoothies, toast
Taco potatoes, pineapple
BBQ beef, stir fried rice and veggies

Wednesday, Nov. 5
Orange muffins, bananas
Veggie soup, cornbread
Lamb chops, cheesy potatoes, green beans

Thursday, Nov 6 (Matt’s B-day!  I’ll fix some of his favorites!)
Biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs
Cheesy Turkey Sausage Stromboli, fruit salad
Chicken Fajitas, peach cobbler

Friday, Nov. 7 - Saturday Nov. 8 - We’re heading to Kansas for a quick trip to help my dad with an auction!  FUN!! 

And now what you’ve all been waiting for!!!  Your special Website-Aversary Gift for today!!  And it’s all about menu planning and being organized!!!

My friend Char who blogs over at DigiScrapChat is a very talented designer and has made - JUST FOR YOU - a whole packet of wintertime planning fun for you to download…FOR FREE!!!  Isn’t she nice?  Check out all this neat stuff:

She put them each in pdf format…and word format…AND jpgs…so you can do with them whatever is easiest for you!!!  Here’s the link to go get the whole package.  Just click on “download now” once you’re there and it’ll all be yours.

Told ya she was nice.  Be sure to go check out all the other great things she has in her DelightDesign Etsy Shop too!  She custom designs Christmas cards and birth announcements and all KINDS of great things!

If you haven’t grabbed your FREE Pie ebook…you can read all about that here!  And be sure to take advantage of the 6 ebooks for $6 sale going on right now too!!

Stay tuned for more fun Website-Aversary Celebration!  There’s a giveaway coming up next.  AND…I’m going to be sharing one of my absolute favorite dessert recipes!!!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

We have house guests staying with us this week…some friends of ours from Colorado are visiting! 

Can you believe it?  I actually have a little girl in my house for seven days!!!  There are purses and little hair bow thingies all over the place.  How fun!  (Of course, I’m having to keep my boys from shooting little hair thingies at each other now, but whatever.)

Here’s what’s on the menu:

Sunday, Oct 26
Oatmeal, toast, fruit
Potluck - I took sweet potato muffins, apple pie and hearty bean casserole
Cream cheese salsa dip with chips, grapes

Monday, Oct 27
Whole wheat pancakes
Potato soup, whole wheat pretzels, carrot sticks
Chicken fajitas, pineapple

Tuesday, Oct. 28
Scrambled eggs, orange slices
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy

Wednesday, Oct. 29
Orange muffins, fruit and kefir smoothies
Hamburgers on homemade buns, homemade potato chips
Chicken alfredo, tossed salad, steamed veggies

Thursday, Oct. 30
Apricot Breakfast Bars, bananas
Turkey and cheese tortilla roll-ups, cantaloupe
Lasagna, tossed salad, corn

Friday, Oct. 31
Omelets, pears
Homemade pizza, apples
Fall Party - take baked beans and fudge brownies

Saturday, Nov. 1 - My Website-Aversary Celebration begins!!!
Whole wheat donuts
Homemade pizza rolls, peaches
Beans and rice with salsa

This week on the blogging menu:

I’ll tell you everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about my whole wheat flour.  And I’ll share a new recipe I found for Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins!

And DON’T forget that my Website-Aversary is coming up at the end of the week!!  (Yes, how could you forget with me talking about it all the time?  I’m  just excited, okay?)  You won’t want to miss all of the sales, freebies and giveaways!!  And don’t forget the Free Pie Ebook which will make it’s debut in just a few days!!!!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas!

I’ve never needed a menu plan more than I’ve needed one this week.  My brain is a little bonkers.  (Yes, more than usual.)

You see…I’ve been pretty pre-occupied as I’ve been working on all kinds of surprises for you during my Website-aversary which is in less than two weeks! 

Not to mention all the pie recipes flooding my inbox for our FREE Heavenly Homemakers Pie Ebook which will debut during the Website-aversary!!  You’ve done yourselves proud fellow homemakers!  None of us shall ever have to search for a delicious pie recipe again. 

I’ve loved putting all of your recipes into an ebook.  In fact…I’ve loved it so much and have spent so much time formatting and cutting and pasting and inserting tables and highlighting texts…that I am seriously dreaming about ebooks.  And pies.  I cut and paste pies all night long. 

I seriously have pie on the brain.  My poor children.  (Do I have children?)  (They must love it when I work on finalizing ebooks…the poor neglected souls.)

Just last week we were in the van heading somewhere, and Justus launched into a story about…something.  I absentmindedly responded with, “Oh, that sounds yummy.”

The van suddenly got quiet.  (The van is never quiet.)  Asa said, “Did you just say, That sounds yummy?“  I then snapped out of my pie brain mode and realized that indeed, I had just said that his super hero story sounded yummy. 

I explained to the boys more about the pie ebook I’m putting together and how all those pie recipes I’ve been reading are so yummy and that I was distracted with thinking about it…and we all had a big round of giggles.  Oh what all these boys have to put up with.  (Hey, I put up with my share of stuff too I’ll have you know.)

All that to say…if I didn’t have a menu plan this week…there is no chance we’d actually eat anything edible this week.  I’d probably get up from the computer, walk into the kitchen, look starry-eyed at the dirty dishwater and say, “Oh, that sounds yummy…”

Here to save the day from my pie brain is our menu plan for the week:

Sunday, Oct. 19
Breakfast burritoes
Tacos, pineapple
Leftovers

Monday, Oct. 20
Gingerbread, pears
Oven fried chicken legs, peas, pineapple orange slushies
Lentils, cornbread

Tuesday, Oct. 21
Whole wheat pancakes
Cheese quesadillas, peaches
Honey mustard chicken, broccoli and cauliflower

Wednesday, Oct. 22
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Thursday, Oct. 23
Applesauce muffins, bananas
Chicken and noodles, carrot sticks
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Friday, Oct. 24
Peanut butter honey toast, apples
Taco potatoes, strawberry-peach slushies
Homemade pizza

Saturday, Oct. 25
Mom is Great! Breakfast Cake
Clean out the fridge
BBQ chicken, potato wedges, mixed veggies

If you haven’t voted for your favorite title for our Pie Ebook…hurry and do that here!  I’ll close the poll Monday night and our title will be decided!

And guess what?  If I can possibly pull it off…I plan to blog about things other than pies all week.  I have a product review for you with some yummy recipes…a crazy tomato idea to share…and a sweet friend to tell you about on Gratituesday.  And probably some other stuff here and there.  Doesn’t that just sound…yummy?

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu plans! 

What a weekend! We had a great time with our houseguests and got to see several people we hadn’t seen for a long time.  I’ll share more and show you pictures on Gratituesday!

Now…we’re putting our house back together and working to get things back to normal.  (normal?)

Here’s our menu for the week…

Sunday, Oct. 12
Breakfast Cake (recipe coming this week!)
Beef stew
Leftovers

Monday, Oct. 13
Sourdough biscuits, peaches
Grilled cheese, tomato soup
Thanksgiving celebration with our Canadian friends!!  I can’t WAIT!!

Tuesday, Oct. 14
Scrambled eggs, oranges
Bean dip with tortilla chips, strawberry-peach slushies
BBQ beef, potato wedges, peas

Wednesday Oct. 15
Orange muffins, bananas
Tuna topped tomatoes, cottage cheese with peaches
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Thursday, Oct. 16
French toast
Alphabet soup (an experiment that hopefully I’ll have a good report on soon!),  homemade soft pretzels (because if the Alphabet Soup experiment doesn’t turn out to be a happy thing, at least we’ll have pretzels)
Beef enchiladas, taco salad

Friday, Oct. 17
Peanut butter honey toast, pears
Lentils and cornbread, fruit salad
Hamburgers on homemade buns and onion rings

Saturday, Oct. 18
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls
Homemade pizza
Potato soup, carrot sticks

Snacks I’ll make this week:
Mudballs
Whole wheat graham crackers
Trail mix

Are you working on your pie recipes for the ebook we’re putting together???!!!  Only a few more days left!  Read the details here!  Everyone join in!

You need to start getting excited, by the way!  My Website-Aversary is coming up in just a few weeks…and besides having that great new FREE pie ebook ready for you…we’re going to be having a week or two full of giveaways and free stuff and special sales!  It’s going to be SO MUCH FUN.  I can hardly sleep thinking about it!

But don’t you lose sleep over it too.  I mean, it’s exciting…really exciting.  But I’d hate for you to lie awake wondering and dreaming about all the fun that’s to be had at Heavenly Homemaker’s Website-Aversary.  Leave that part up to me.  Really.   We don’t all need to be so excited that we can’t sleep.  Some of us should really be getting sleep.  Really.

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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!