This week's insanity and menu!

Talk about a crazy week!! Three appointments, semester exams, and phase one of the house tiling project!

Pulling the old floor up was a group effort for sure!  On Saturday, the baby cooperated by taking a long nap and Austin helped daddy pull up the bamboo in the living room while I packed up the kid's bathroom and kitchen before the tile removal. We learned this the hard way when Ryan took all the old tile and hammered thin set out of the master bath, there was dust over EVERYTHING!  We had to wash all our clothes and wipe all the stuff down in the bathroom, closet and bedroom. So as much as taking every single thing out of the two rooms was a huge pain, it was worth it!  I also realized that we have enough towels and kitchen supplies to last us a lifetime and got rid of the things we don't use.

Even with all the craziness of the weekend,  I was able to watch the rest of Downton Abbey Season 4 and a few episodes of The Paradise (another excellent British period drama) and even took a nap on Sunday after church!

We had the day off for MLK day, so I entertained the kids while the old tile was removed from the bathroom, kitchen and entry way. We went out to breakfast and then to the Springs Preserve with our family membership. When we got home, the baby napped while the rest of us cleaned up the dust from the cabinets and fixtures. It was nice to do a good, deep cleaning before I start moving things back over next few nights. Train ride through the Las Vegas Springs

Waiting for the flash flood exhibit to start!

We ate out a few times this weekend simply because we didn't have access to cook at home, but I planned ahead enough to save for the rest of the week. 

Savings from last week:

*Waited to run an errand across town until Austin's Dr. appointment which was nearby so I could combine trips and save on gas

*Made breakfast muffins, pancakes, and granola bars

*I made enough white chili to freeze a quart for another meal this week and a pint for lunch 

*I made homemade corn bread to serve with the chili and froze the leftover pieces 

*I made two small pans of lasagna to freeze for quick weeknight dinners

*We used a gift card someone gave me for one of our meals out

This week's menu:

Tuesday: one of the freezer lasagnas with a salad  lasagna recipe 

Wednesday: leftover chili and cornbread 

Thursday: BBQ chicken sandwiches (2 frozen breasts with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low) serve with buns and veggie sticks

Friday: creamy one pot pasta  recipe here

Saturday:

Breakfast: pancakes 

Lunch: out

Dinner: crockpot chicken and dumplings

2-3 frozen breasts in crockpot, add 2 cups broth, 1 can cream of chicken soup (I make my own dry mix found here), sliced carrots and celery, dried onion and garlic powder.  Cook on low 6-8 hrs, 30 min before serving, stir the pot and break up the chicken and add a can of refrigerated biscuits (I slice each biscuit in 3 strips).  

Sunday:

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: leftover chicken and dumplings 

Dinner: at the in laws

Creamy One Pot Pasta

This is a recipe I tweaked from Pampered Chef.  It is a great option for a meatless meal or side dish, but you can add chunks of chicken or ham if you do want some meat in it.  This is my go-to meal when I'm craving something creamy and savory yet low in calories.

Creamy One Pot Pasta
Ingredients:
2 cups Penne pasta
2 cups chicken broth
dried onion
garlic powder
4 oz light cream cheese (half of an 8 oz block)
2 cups steamed vegetables (I usually used carrots and broccoli, but peas would be good too)
optional: cooked chicken or ham pieces

Directions:
Pour broth and pasta in a pot and bring to a boil.  Add a little dried onion and garlic to your liking.  While pasta is cooking, chop and steam vegetables.  When pasta is al dente or most of the liquid is absorbed, stir in  the cream cheese until creamy then add vegetables and meat.

Serves 4, approx 200 calories per serving

The most delicious lasagna you will ever eat!

Lasagna Recipe
My friend Candace made this for us while I was recovering from surgery last year.  It was so delicious, I asked her for the recipe and have been using this one ever since!  The recipe on the Ronzoni box just can't compare.  She used whole wheat lasagna noodles, which really makes the difference.
This recipe makes one 13X9 large pan, but I split it between 2 8X8 smaller pans so I can get two dinners out of it for a family of four.

1-lb. hamburger
1-lb. Italian Sausage
1-8oz. tomato sauce
1-6ox. tomato paste
1-can "Progresso" Italian Style Whole Peeled Tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 pkg. Ronsoni lasagna noodles
2 lb. cottage cheese
1 lb. mozzorella cheese
parmesaun cheese

DIRECTIONS...
1. Brown hamburger and Italian Sausage together.
2. Drain the grease off the meat with strainer and paper towels.
3. Add following: tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano.
4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
While simmering your meat cook the lasagna noodles. (about 6, use 12 if you are making 2 8X8 pans)
LAYERING...
SPRAY PAN WITH PAM
1. layer of noodles on bottom
2. sprinkle mozzorella cheese
3. half of cottage cheese
4. half of meat
REPEAT ONE MORE TIME.
BAKE 375 20-30 INUTES
(about ten minutes before it is done in the oven sprinkle parmesuan cheese on top and put back in the
oven for a few minutes)

Top of the World Savings and this week's Menu

It was a smooth week back to school! My students reviewed for finals last week and this week will be semester exams, so three days will be early student release days!  Another interesting thing that happened this week is my hair has become curlier.  I always let my hair air dry when I shower at night and I noticed one night it was curly all over not just underneath like usual.  This makes my hair styling time much shorter, so I hope it stays!  In other good news, I ate very well this week, walked 30 minutes each day and am already down 4 pounds from my holiday 10!

Savings this week:
* The Stratosphere is offering locals free tower rides every weekend this month, so I took the kids on Saturday.  Austin really wanted to ride the Big Shot, so I splurged and bought him a ticket.  Afterward, we had lunch at one of the cafes inside the casino that had a 20% off coupon for locals.  This was the only meal we ate out all week.

 At the top of the Statosphere

My fearless children looking down at the city

*I made banana breakfast muffins and pancakes to freeze.

*Ryan cut Austin's hair.

*I made two freezer meals for nights this coming week that I will not have time to cook.

*Made homemade chocolate pudding pops

YUM!! I love this popsicle mold set!  

*Ryan finished restoring the kitchen from our water damage in December.  We were able to order the tile for the rest of the house.

*I compared prices and found a great deal on cloth napkins on Amazon with free shipping and got them in three days.  

*I popped a few batches of popcorn with the air popper and put handfuls of popcorn in Ziploc bags for grab and go snacks for the kids.

*I brought water infused with DoTerra Lemon Oil in a reusable container to work each day. 

What's cooking? This week's meals:

*All recipes should feed a family of 4.  

Monday:  This is my monthly stamp club night and we do a potluck, so I shredded some crockpot chicken for Ryan to use for chicken tacos.

Tuesday:  Italian casserole with salad.  (Boil 2 cups penne, brown 1 lb of ground beef and drain fat.  I save 1/2 the meat to freeze for another meal and use the other half in the casserole mixed with 1 can of pasta sauce, 4 oz light cream cheese cut in small pieces.  Pour in baking dish, top with shredded mozzarella and bake 350 for 25 min.  If you freeze it, thaw in fridge the night before).  I made this over the weekend so Ryan can put it in the oven while I'm heading home from taking Austin to an appointment. 

Wednesday:  Crockpot Tangy Chicken (prepare the night before, 2-3 frozen breasts in bottom of crockpot, mix 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 T dried onion and pour over chicken, top with 4 peeled potatoes and 2 cups of carrots, refrigerate and put in crock on low for 8 hours in the morning)

Thursday:  hamburger stroganoff with egg noodles and salad (using the 1/2 lb frozen beef from earlier in the week, thaw and in a pan add 1/4 C melted butter, 1 T dried onion, a can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup sour cream, add a little milk for desired consitency, serve with cooked egg noodles)

Friday:  Baked chicken strips and sliced pan fried potatoes with veggie sticks (thaw chicken and cut in strips, dip in flour/egg/Panko bread crumbs, I like mine a little spicy so I add lemon pepper to the Panko for the last half of them, bake 350 for 25-30 min until cooked)

Saturday:  Breakfast:  oatmeal

Lunch: I will prepare sandwiches to take for a picnic lunch

Dinner:  White Chicken Chili  link to recipe

Sunday:  Breakfast: french toast
Lunch: leftover chili
Dinner at the in-laws

White Chicken Chili

This chili is SO GOOD!! A family made it at our church Chili Cook-Off a few months ago and I have made it several times ever since.  I made some adjustments to their recipe to make a smaller batch and utilize food storage items.  However, this batch still feeds us dinner and 2-3 lunches.  I put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours.

Ingredients:

1 29 oz can hominy drained

1 15 oz can white beans rinsed and drained

2 small 4 oz cans chopped green chilis

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

20 oz chicken broth (I use 2 tsp Better than Bouillon with 20 oz water)

2.5 cups milk (I use powdered milk with water)

2 tsp garlic powder

2 T dried onion

1 T ground cumin

1 lemon

1/4 C butter
1/2 C cornstarch

oregano/salt/pepper - a generous sprinkle of each

fresh cilantro

Melt butter and stir in cornstarch, dried onion and garlic powder to make a thick rue.  Put all other ingredients in large crockpot, add the rue and cut lemon, remove seeds, and squeeze in the juice.  Add the cilantro about 30-60 minutes before serving.  Top with shredded cheese.  The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets.

Enjoy!!

Weekend accomplishments and this week's dinner menu!

I spent most of Friday baking for the week and doing a massive kitchen cleaning which included going through all the cabinets and getting rid of what I don't use and moving some things around to maximize space.  Here's how I saved this week:

*I finally committed to stop buying paper towels and napkins.  I set up a basket by my sink for dish cloths and Ryan is going to install a towel bar close to the sink for towels.   I placed a decorative basket above the fridge for a convenient place to toss all the dirty towels.  *When I wash towels, I add a cup of white vinegar to the load.

*I baked a double batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins replacing the oil with applesauce and a batch of granola bars for our morning breakfasts on the go and treats.

*Made pancake mix and cooked a batch to freeze.  This is the mix I use Perfect Pancake Mix.  I love this blog and I am also going to try her Quick Mix

*Made a double batch of laundry soap.  Here's the link to my friend's recipe: The Prudent Homemaker laundry soap

*Recieved a box of hand-me-down clothes from my sister-in-law that my daughter can wear in the next year or two.

*Roasts were on sale at Smith's so I bought a few for double duty dinners.

*Signed up for the 30 day Amazon Prime trial.  I think the more online shopping we do, the better deals we can find and then we can save on shipping

*Took the kids to Home Depot on Saturday for the free kids workshop. My son made a cute desk calendar. 

Some other thoughts I have been thinking about are 1.  I'm pretty upset with the whole Target data breach thing as it affected us and we had to get a new debit card issued.  I will probably save money on unnecessary purchases (esp their dollar section) if I stop shopping there.  2.  I also really do not like going to Walmart, but it is the closest store to my house other than Costco, it's where I get my prescriptions, and there are a few things I do buy here that are hard to find elsewhere and a better price, so I may limit my Walmart shopping to once a month when I get my refills.

Weekly Menu:
I thought I would start sharing my weekly menu this year as well.  Hopefully you can get some ideas on how to maximize time and still cook delicious food so you don't have to eat out.  As you can see, I do crockpot meals multiple times per week and do double duty dinners often!

Weekday breakfasts are the baked goods I prepare and freeze, thawed the night before.
For weekday lunches, I eat leftovers or make a quick wrap and Ryan eats at his parent's house that is close to his office.  My son's school has awesome catered hot lunch, so I do pay for that 3 days a week and then make him a sack lunch the other days.  I send some things with my daughter to supplement her meals at the babysitter.

Monday:   crockpot beef rump roast and vegetables  (prep night before, refrigerate and put on low when you leave in the AM)  I add a little worscheshire and A1 to the top of the roast, vegetables on top and sprinkle garlic powder.  Leftover meat will be shredded after dinner and separated into two containers, one will go in the freezer.

Tuesday:  Leftover shredded beef taco salad

Wednesday:  crockpot pineapple teriyaki chicken with quinoa and steamed broccoli (night before, place 3 chicken breasts in pot, pour can of pineapple chunks and 1/2 cup Yoshida's teriyaki sauce, cook on low 8-10 hours in the AM)  15 minutes before dinner, boil quinoa and cut/steam veggies.

Thursday:  Lasagna and salad (When I make lasagna, I make it in two smaller pans and freeze one.  Tonight's dinner will be the frozen one from last week's cooking.  I love lasagna, but it's time consuming if you want to do it right, so I usually make them on school breaks)

Friday:  BBQ chicken pizza (I cook two chicken breasts in crockpot with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low all day
to use as my pizza topping then make the dough when I get home from work)

Saturday:
Breakfast:  Pancakes (extras will go in freezer)

Lunch:  I will probably take the kids on a morning outing, so this would be our one eat out meal for the week.

Dinner:  Beef Stew (using the leftover frozen beef from Monday's roast, I will cut up veggies and make a stock with water, Better than Bouillon, worscheshire, and seasonings in the morning and cook in the crockpot on low 8 hours)  I will experiment with the Quick Mix I posted above and make some biscuits.  Any leftover stew will be frozen in pint size Mason jars for lunches.

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Omelets

Lunch:  Leftover beef stew with toasted cheese sandwiches

Dinner:  Family Dinner with the in-laws

December savings and goals for the New Year!

We had a great week in Montana visiting my family for Christmas.  I still can't believe I was able to pack a family of four with everyone's gifts in one suitcase and three carry-on bags!  The kids loved their gifts from Santa.  They each got one gift along with a few stocking stuffers which were mostly candy (we did not need any more junk to add to the junk already at home).  They each got a few simple gifts from us, one of them was a hand kite I made for each of them which Austin was thrilled about because he watched me make them and hoped one would be for him!  Some of my family members gave the kids one small gift along with some money that I can put in their new Mutual Fund accounts.

Upon returning home, it was back to work on finishing the final touches to our master bedroom project.  Ryan finished putting the tile in our master bedroom We finally made up our minds about the wall unit we wanted for desk and storage.  We ordered the floating desk on overstock.com and then got the cabinets at Lowe's.  For the past three months, the stuff that is now nicely organized in the cabinets was all over the place in boxes while I waited for the floor to be finished and the time/money available to finish it.  So glad it's over!

Now you would think, after close to a year of house projects, we would be done for awhile.  But we've only just begun!  You see, a few weeks before Christmas, my grandma was over and when she was smoking behind my house (LOL), she noticed "my house was crying".  I don't go behind my house often, esp in winter and it would have taken awhile to notice the damage inside, which would have been worse, so gram really saved the day!  Apparently, a staple went into a water pipe when our house was constructed NINE YEARS AGO and just now started leaking!!

Yes, my house is very sad.

So homeowner's insurance covers the cost of the damage to the house and not to the cost of the plumbing repairs.  However, they were FREE because Ryan did it himself with tools and materials he already had from doing our master bath!  The insurance listed the things that need to be repaired which included new insulation, drywall, exterior paint and regrouting some of the tile and gave us a check for the estimated cost of materials and labor.  Well Ryan will be doing the labor so we can put this money toward painting the exterior of the house (since we are due to have it done anyway) and instead of regrouting tile, we are going to do the rest of the house in the same tile as our bedroom (which we love and it is gorgeous).  We will keep the kid's rooms in carpet.  I cannot emphasize enough how awesome my husband is and how often his skills have saved us money on home and car repairs!

After returning from Montana, I stocked up on groceries and had a baking marathon in preparation for returning to work/school.  I have also resisted the urge to shop the after Christmas clearances.  I downsized my holiday decorations this year so I don't need anything and I can't be sure of what size the kids will be next year so it is not worth it to buy and winter clearance clothes.  We have had such a mild winter that the kids have only needed a warm coat for just a few days.  Now I will confess that I bought myself a new dress to go with my cowboy boots and a cute cardigan at DownEast Basics.  I had to have a crown replaced at the dentist and it was miserable, so I needed to reward myself for being so brave!

What's in store for 2014?

I have all sorts of ideas for the new year!  First I'd like to lose the ten pounds I gained from Halloween to New Year's.  Then I'd like to lose at least 10-20 more, but that's getting a little ahead of myself.  Second, I want to continue to make healthier choices for my family which would include cutting out a majority of the refined/fast foods and reducing the chemicals used in my home.  I would also like to learn more about essential oils and eventually join as a DoTerra representative.  I have been using a few oils for the past six months and want to continue incorporating them into my daily life and learn how to make more personal products using the oils and natural ingredients.  I also love Stampin' Up products and making cards and other paper crafts, so becoming a demonstrator in the near future is also a possibility either this year or next. 

So we will see what ends up actually happening this year, but I am excited for all the possibilities that the future will hold!  Whatever your ambitions for the year may be, I wish you faith, health, and happiness!