Menu Plan Monday - November 16, 2009

I'm watching the Colts vs. Patriots game on Sunday Night Football right now. I haven't been very emotionally involved in the Colts undefeated season thus far. Haven't even caught too many games. But I must admit that tonight I'm nervous. I'm pretty sure that it will be through my sheer will and concentration that they trounce New England (apologies to any Patriot fans).

Yesterday we groceried for nine weeks. Our total was around $740 which included some of our Thanksgiving fixins, food to donate to a local food pantry, and supplies for oil changes for Bryan's car and motorcycle. We will naturally have milk and produce runs, plus I'll hit a sale on meat this week (using my Mom's senior citizen discount) for another $40 or so.

Since the pantry is stocked, this is what's on the menu this week:

Monday - Sweet & Sour Sausage, White Rice

Tuesday (Field Trip, Horse Judging) - Spaghetti & Meatballs (crockpot), Salad, Garlic Bread

Wednesday (AWANA) - Cold Cut Sandwiches, Popcorn

Thursday - Cranberry Baked Beans, Steamed Brown Brown

Friday (Bible Study) - Tacos, Homemade Tortillas, Black Beans

Saturday - Fried Rice, Chinese Salad

Find more menus at orgjunkie.com. Our menus for the year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; Lunch is here. What's on your menu this week?

Dust Bunnies in Your Day

Bryan and I just moved our bedroom around to accommodate some lovely, new-to-us bookcases from Jamers. We haven't rearranged our furniture in the four years we've lived in this home. Let's just say that the dust bunnies under our bed were impressive.

Our daily schedules and routines can be like that. We must be willing to be willing to move things around as our situations change or, instead of finding dust bunnies, we feel stressed.

If you notice the tension starting to build at the same point each day, step back and reevaluate. I find it helpful to go to Bryan with what's bothering me. His perspective is usually objective enough to see a new solution to the problem.

Next semester we're departing from our normal routine to do a semester study on Indiana State History. Our standard routine won't work with the curriculum layout. At this point I don't know what our day will look like, but I know it will need to be different! Stay tuned...

Pressure Cooker

Last week I talked about (again!) my affinity for my Crockpot. One of my other "go-to" kitchen tools is my Pressure Cooker. I don't have a new-fangled fancy model. Actually, mine was my grandmother's. Probably circa 1960 or so.

I use it mainly to cook chicken breast that I've forgotten to thaw ahead of time. With only about 10 minutes of cook time, a frozen hunk of chicken is falling-apart tender. It's also great for turning stew meat into melt-in-your-mouth morsels. I've cooked beans in it, but since I like to check on their progress, it's not my favorite method.

I must admit that every time I use it, I think about it blowing up on me. That actually happened to Jamers (gotta blog about that, girl!). So far, so good for me. Just always remember to check the seals and vent pipe.

Here are some links to get you started:

Miss Vickie's Guide To Modern Pressure Cookery

Fast Cooking

Mom's Menu

Diana's Kitchen

"Hey, Mom! I Need Help!"

How many times a day are those words spoken (at a loud volume, from another room) around here? More than I can keep up with or have patience for! It's usually a math problem that is giving trouble. Or a question on SOS that is "obviously wrong."

We have a schedule for our school day, and I can't jump up from the child that I'm working with to run to someone else. I would be doing that all day and end up with little to show for it except gray hair.

When the children get stumped while I'm having "school with mom" time with someone else, I ask them to please re-read the lesson. Since they do a couple subjects with Switched-On Schoolhouse, they are all guilty of skipping straight to the questions without reading the lesson. If they are still stumped, they should ask one of their siblings (and not the one I'm working with!).

If the above attempts at enlightenment fail, enter the new, handy dandy "Hey, Mom! I Need Help!" chart. They jot down what's troubling them on the easy-to-use form. We keep it taped right next to the computer so they don't even have to get up to fill it out. When their "school with mom" time rolls around, I scan the chart for their name and we cover their questions.

This has been especially helpful in reducing the amnesia that seems to occur between the time when the lesson was attempted and when I ask them if they have any questions.

Delegating the dishes

Several years ago, we revamped where we kept our dishes in order to make it easier for the children to unload the dishwasher and set the table. I'm all about working myself out of a job; if there's a child that can do it, great!

We keep all of the children's plastic cups, bowls and plates in a bottom cupboard next to the dishwasher. (Side note: This is the only cupboard that the toddlers and babies are allowed into. They can play to their heart's content, but it's usually in a frightening state of disarray.)

We keep all the other plates and bowls on a buffet that we purchased from IKEA. An unused dresser would work just as well. This is right next to the dining room table to make table setting easy. The silverware is kept in restaurant-style containers (also from IKEA) on the buffet.

The children start setting the table at around 4 years-old with some help. They start unloading the dishwasher at around 6 years. They unload all but the glasses and glass containers which are too high for them to reach.

Here is our buffet complete with our books and Bibles ready for Cocoa Time!

Breakfast Fail

This morning I thought I'd break from our traditional "Muffin Monday" breakfast and make up a big pan of Baked Oatmeal. In the mixing process, I noticed that our Baking Powder tub was almost empty. While Meg was chattering away, I went into the pantry to grab a new bag.

As she explained her latest project, I opened the 1 pound bag...right into the bowl of Baked Oatmeal goo. I looked up at her, horrified, and explained my mistake. She showed her support of me by bursting into laughter.

I scooped out as much as I could since it was already starting to bubble and foam. I should have tossed the rest and started over. But being the frugal gal I am, I decided that a little too much baking powder would just make our breakfast lighter and fluffier.

It did bubble over the pan a little in the baking, but otherwise looked great. Then came that sit-com moment when everyone took a bite and got an "I just ate a dill pickle" face. Rather tangy. And the milk turned into a foamy, ooblik-like goo.

My sweet children choked down their bowls and, surprisingly, no one went for seconds. The chickens got the rest and they were thoughtful enough not cluck their complaints.

We'll be having an early lunch!

Menu Plan Monday - November 9, 2009

I just sent Emelie off to take some photos for some posts I'm working on. That mean girl just took some seriously unflattering photos of me. Not cool! Gotta love the delete button!

We're jumping back into the weekly routine of 4-H Horse Judging Team. Soon 4-H will be back in full swing. A blessing but at the cost of time. But it's a good kind of busy, right?

This week we'll be enjoying:

Monday (Bryan Night Meeting) - Cheesy Beef Macaroni

Tuesday (Homeschool Group, Horse Judging) - Deanna's Meatloaf (crockpot), Massive quantities of Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday (AWANA) - Mac 'n Cheese, Hot Dogs

Thursday - Potato Chowder (from those Mashed Potatoes on Tuesday)

Friday - Bible Study

Saturday - Big Grocery & 4-H Achievement Banquet

Don't forget to check out our breakfast and lunch plans. Find more menus at orgjunkie.com.