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Meal Plan Monday

This week feels like it will be a laid back one, and I am looking forward to a normal routine.  I am also looking forward to a week filled with time with my kids and hoping to get some projects done in the kitchen with Val.

Monday ~ Goulash, broccoli, and garlic bread.

Tuesday ~ Pasty

Wednesday ~ Tacos, chips and salsa, and movie night.

Thursday ~ Ribs, baked potatoes, green beans

Friday ~ Grandma’s burial – potluck at my Parent’s house

Saturday ~ Pepperoni pizza and salads

Sunday ~ Tuna noodle casserole

Are you stuck in a planning rut?  I just posted yesterday about 5 easy meal planning tips!  Also visit The Organizing Junkie for lots of ideas!

5 Steps to Menu Planning

Have you ever attempted menu planning, but had it blow up in your face?  I’m here to give you 5 steps that I have found to be the keys to successful menu planning.

1. Check your freezer and pantry. 

Take an inventory of your freezer and pantry because the things you have extras of or leftover from last month, you can incorporate into your upcoming meal plan.  Be sure to check the dates so that they are all still good, and if you have things you don’t know how to use pass them along or find way to use them up.  Planning this way will also save you some money!

{Photo Credit of my dream pantry}

2.  Get recipe ideas.

I use my cookbooks, pulled pages from magazines or my recent favorite Pinterest for recipe ideas.  I usually use some of the same meals each month because they are our favorites – enchiladas, spaghetti, pizza….

3. Write a menu.

{Photo Credit}

Write a menu on your calendar while thinking about what you have planned for the week.  If you have church on Wednesday nights and don’t have a lot of time to eat at home, plan for something easy like tomato soup and grilled cheese.  If you have a night at home with the whole family, plan a big meal and maybe a fun activity to do together like the kids favorite meal and games.  Be creative and realistic about planning meals or it just won’t work.

4. Buy your food and staples.

I, personally, buy in bulk and most of our non-perishable items online because I have found I save a lot of time and money doing it this way.  Then I visit the grocery store once a week for produce and other things I couldn’t get online (or I just forgot about). :)   I use VitaCost, Soap.com, Wag.com, Diapers.com for the majority of my shopping.

5. Check your menu each day.

This is the deal breaker!  Now you have a menu, recipes, and the kitchen stocked – don’t let it slide because you don’t check your calendar.  Look at it right before bed or when you wake up in the morning, so you know if you should thaw any meat, soak beans, or pick up any last (forgotten) ingredient at the store before dinner.

Here is a sample of my weekly meal plan, and check back tomorrow because my new one will be up for you to get ideas for your menu!

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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Category: Moments  2 Comments

Meal Plan Monday

After quite a busy weekend going to a fur and feather swap, hosting a birthday party at our house, and then meeting family for a dinner out 2 hours away I am actually looking forward to a regular week.  Well, it’s not quite so regular but definitely not as hectic.  I have a friend visiting me and our farm with her girls.  So exciting!

Here is our menu for the week:

Monday ~ Chicken stirfry

Tuesday ~ Minestrone soup, salad, and crusty bread

Wednesday ~ Venison steaks, roasted potatoes, and grilled pineapple

Thursday ~ Primal meatloaf, home fries, and broccoli

Friday ~ Pizza

Saturday ~ Quinoa wraps

Sunday ~ Out, leftovers, or pantry challenge night :)

What are you eating this week?

If you need more ideas, visit The Organizing Junkie’s link up!

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

20120420-072909.jpg

Category: Moments  One Comment

Introducting our Homestead Livestock

I have wanted to write this post FOREVER, and now it’s finally here. An introduction to our animals on the farm where we have 3 dogs, 3 cats (Barnella that came with our homestead isn’t pictured because she was hiding), 4 ducks, 4 goats, and 30 or so chickens.

As you will see from the pictures we will have more introductions to make as the Spring moves along. We also plan on raising pastured chickens for meat and raising and releasing pheasants for the DNR.

Foghorn, the rooster with his hens.  This group visits my porch often expecting scraps.

Kona, the Seal-point Siamese

The big white puffy puppy is Gandalf our Great Pyrenees.  He likes to pull our half-blind Beagle, Lizzy off her rope so they can run wild together.  As in, run a mile away to our neighbors house.  I guess it’s a good way to meet people around here!

Tripod, the three legged Beagle.  True story!  He’s a sweet heart, but he wouldn’t look up at me for a picture.  He usually doesn’t look sad.

A nest of duck eggs awaiting the mama to lay them all so she can start sitting on them.

Left to right: Fawna the Mama, Juno the Trouble Maker, one month old twins – Gregory and Mecca

Juno actually not causing trouble.  Gregory and Mecca look on.

Our first babies birthed on the farm – the best gift of spring!

This is Minka, our female Muscovy sitting on a nest of about 18 eggs.

Gandalf protecting us from…..our Lilac-point Siamese cat named Wheezer

Left to right: Our “teenagers” Nancy and Donald and our big male named Draco in our swamp

Val says, “There they go!”

My farm hands – AJ and Val

One of Val’s favorite Spring hobbies lately

Beautiful buds in our orchard.  I hope the next homestead post is full of seed starts and green leaves!

Our homestead seems to be filling out nicely with the livestock and the products we are getting from it.  I can’t wait to see how it evolves.  I hope you check back in to see what Summer has to bring.

Meal Plan Monday

I have been slacking with my meal plan, I admit it.  But it was so much so that my hubby has even mentioned it.  Err….  So, I am going to do better this week so that my family feels nourished and I feel more productive.  You heard it here, folks! :)

Monday ~ BBQ chicken, homemade fries, steamed carrots

Tuesday ~ Chili

Wednesday ~ Enchiladas and kale salad

Thursday ~ Meatcups, mashed potatoes, and green beans

Friday ~ Veggie pizza with fruit and veggies on the side

Saturday ~ Steaks on the grill (party with friends)

Sunday ~ Red Lobster for father-in-law’s birthday and/or Earth Day potluck

What are you eating this week?  Do you need help planning a menu?  Visit The Organizing Junkie for some great ideas!

Sunday Inspiration

I’ve been so inspired lately but the words and love of others as we are growing and digging deeper within ourselves.  I’ve been reading Radical Acceptance and processing a lot of it with my friend at Wellness Hammock – what a blessing!  I’ve been given many gifts this week in the form of motivation, beautiful words, learning to PAUSE, and my mantra: “What would happen if I accepted my life just as it is in this moment?”  That’s SO BIG for me!!!

Inspirational Links from my week-

::15 things to give up to be happy

::Your children want YOU.  A MOM MUST READ!

::10 life changing tips from Rumi

::How to meditate daily

::42 flowers you can eat

 

Sunday Inspiration

18 Muscovy duck eggs in our barn.

Whether you are celebrating Easter or the new life of Spring, I hope your day is filled with sunshine, family, and some good real food!

Sunday Inspiration Links ~

::5 Regrets of Dying

::Recipe for Spoon Bread that I’m making for Easter dinner

::Shaving cream eggs - we love the results of ours

20 Spring Activities for the Whole Family

It’s Spring time and the weather is changing!  It’s time to shift our time from spending most of the day inside to spending most of our days outside.

{Photo Credit}

Here are 20 fun family ideas to do this Spring!

  1. Go for a nature hike.  Collect some of nature’s goodies and decorate your home with them.
  2. Plant seeds inside to start for your garden.
  3. Paint rocks for your garden.  Maybe as labels so you know what you planted where.
  4. Make bird feeders.
  5. Bird watch and figure out what birds visit your home.  Do you have any visiting Robins?  Can you find a nest of blue eggs?
  6. Go to a local farm to look at the new chicks, lambs, kids, calves, etc.
  7. Color Easter eggs.  We’re going to try these this year.
  8. Have a picnic.
  9. Play games outsides – kickball, softball, fetch with the dog.
  10. Fly kites, but I leave my husband in charge of this because I have a block with flying kites.  Ask my Mom! :)
  11. Make pretty floral arrangements with the spring blooms.
  12. Jump in the puddles!
  13. Go to the playground.  Pack a snack and stay just a little longer than planned. ;)
  14. Blow bubbles.  Try to make your own.
  15. Make a rain gauge.
  16. Look at the stars or maybe an iridium flare or the Northern Lights.
  17. Pick dandelions together.  You can paint with them, make tea, jelly, or even salad with the greens.
  18. Have a fire with friends and make s’mores and roasted hot dogs.
  19. Make supper on the grill for the first time of the season.
  20. Wash your pedal bikes and go for a ride.

How will you be celebrating the Spring weather with your family this year?