Monday, August 30, 2010

Menu Week of August 29th

Last week of summer vacation!! It was definitely closer to fall this morning, cool, foggy and the sun rise was later. I LOVE IT! Fall is one of my favorite times of year!

This weeks menu has more convenience foods than normally for lunches. I thought I would treat the kids to some of their favorites. I did things backwards this week as well. I shopped without a menu or list. I happened to be going past Super Walmart on Friday and decided to take advantage of the low prices. Here is what I came up with while I shopped (Note, I will NOT do this again it was too hard to shop this way LOL)

Breakfast Options:
eggs/bacon/toast
eggs/bacon/hashbrowns
cinnamon rolls
french toast
pancakes
cereal

Lunches:
corndogs/fries
chicken nuggets/fries
spaghettios
leftovers
sandwiches/chips

DINNER:
S-roasted chicken, baked potatoes, green beans and garlic/sourdough bread
M- enchiladas, Mexican rice
T- Pork tenderloin, cheesy rice and veggies
W- White chicken chili, cornbread muffins
T- Spaghetti, french bread and Cesar salad
F- Leftovers
S- Subway after church ($5 footlongs)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Grocery Cart Challenge Week of August 22nd

No picture again this week. Most meals are from whats on hand or from our garden! :)

Food Pavillion- $33.35
2 loaves wheat bread $1.98
paper towels .85
spaghetti .99
2 pkg bacon $4.00
veg oil $3.49
spaghetti sauce .99
alfredo sauce .99
shredded cheese 2.49
tortilla chips 1.99
10# potatoes 3.79
tea .99
lactose free milk 1.50
2 gallons milk 4.78
3.77# bananas 2.22
garlic .79
2 ltr dr pepper $1.25

To see how others have done check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Menu Week of August 22nd

This weeks menu is mostly from whats on hand.

S- roasted chicken with veggies, homemade bread and salad
M- chicken corn chowder and homeade biscuits
T- spaghetti, homemade french bread and salad
W- Hamburgers, roasted potato wedges, broccoli/carrots with ranch
Th- Fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and veggies
F- Pizza night

Breakfast options:
cereal
waffles
pancakes
muffins
eggs/toast

Lunch options:
sandwiches/chips
soup
cord
hot dogs/mac & cheese

Snacks:
I am baking this week so there will be lots of options:
fruit
cookies
muffins

Sunday August 22nd

The days seem to be flying by! We had a great and busy week. For the most part stuck to the menu. Our only "fail" was Wednesday night. We ended up at the county fair MUCH longer than I anticipated. I ended up caving and getting pizza on the way home. The kids were thrilled!

Our exciting news of the week is adding chickens to our little "farm". Some friends are moving and we inherited their chicken coop and 13 chickens! We got them all moved last night and they are happily eating cucumbers and bean ends from our garden this morning.

Today we are finishing up a large to do list around home and the afternoon is going to be "each to their own" fun time. I plan on spending that time sewing and stamping. FINALLY!!!

We also did some canning this week and put up:
6 quarts of green beans
8 quarts and 2 pints of dill pickles

Here are a few pictures from the week!





Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Monday August 16th

As with many other Washington State residents, I am ready for some cooler temperatures! We have had several days of high temperatures. That's a rare occurrence here so not many have A/C in their homes. We finally figured out the system of the windows/blinds/fans to keep the house cool YEAH!

This week is the county fair. My oldest daughter went with friends today and came back tired and sunburned but had a great time. We are heading to the fair on Wednesday as a family and I cannot wait! Growing up my grandparents camped at the Skagit County fairgrounds with the Grange. We spent so much time there and formed great memories. While we have switched "counties" it still brings back some great times!

My oldest son got a 2nd farm job this week (just temporary) working for a farmer up the street. He is doing property clean up (weed eating etc) for them that they just don't have time to do. He loves having the ability to earn his own money and is saving up for when he starts to drive next year EEEK!

I thought I would do a recap of the recipe I tried today the Crock pot Fajitas. The link to the original website/recipe posting is in my MENU post below. It was a HUGE hit! Our grocery store was out of flank steak so I purchased Carne Asada meat. It was melt in your mouth tender by dinner time! I will definitely make this again but only when the meat is on sale. It was a little pricier than I like to pay but well worth it!

I also wanted to share one of my FAVORITE websites!! www.frugal-families.com it has an annual membership but well worth the $$. I have been a member on the site for many years and have learned so much about how to be frugal, save in so many areas of our budget etc. Its a group of amazing women who will love to hear your thrills of garage sale finds or FREE toilet paper :)

Grocery Shopping Week of Aug 15th

No picture this week. I was in a rush to get things put away due to the heat on Sunday and preparing for the girls baptism and BBQ afterwards. I only shopped one store this week Cost Cutter/Food Pavillion and the rest is from whats on hand. My mom was up this weekend and supplied us with Costco muffins the kids are thrilled! Those will be used for breakfast this week.

tomato sauce .99
pork roast 4.86
carne asada meat 8.92
2 shredded cheese 1.98
meatballs 6.48
5 limes 1.00
dry white beans 1.85
lettuce 1.28
2 tortilla chips $3.98
2 wheat bread 1.98
dr pepper 4.50
beef patties 8.68 (for BBQ)
onions 3.84
2 diced green chilis 1.35
2 refried beans 2.38
2 whole peeled tomatoes 1.30
2 ketchup 1.54
rice 1.89
parmesan cheese 3.99 (for BBQ)
gallon milk 2.39
freezer pops 1.50
Frozen OJ 1.49
sour cream 2.49
2 green bell peppers 1.36
tomatoes 1.51

TOTAL: $75.26

To see how others did this week check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

Monday, August 16, 2010

Menu Week of August 15



I am going to use my crockpot every day this week (except Sunday) for dinner. My poor crockpot has been somewhat neglected this summer and I need to fix that!

For other great menu ideas check out: Menu Plan Monday

This weeks dinner menu:
Sunday- BBQ celebrating the girls baptism
Monday- Slow Cooker Fajitas, rice and beans
Tuesday- Cranberry Roast, Mashed potatoes and green beans
Wednesday- White Chicken Chili, Homemade biscuits
Thursday- Spaghetti, homemade french bread and salad
Friday- Orange chicken, rice and stiry fry veggies
Saturday- BBQ at my parents house I am going to take Buffalo Chicken Dip with veggies and tortilla chips

July/August Catch Up

I cannot believe I didn't get on here to post at all in July! It was a crazy busy but oh so fun month for us!

I took a weeks vacation the first part of July. We went camping with my parents in Eastern WA over the 4th of July weekend.


We came home to find our mama kitty had her babies! 4 kittens (1-Gray, 1-white, 1-black and 1 black/white). Sadly, 2 weeks later our mama kitty was hit by a hay truck and killed. We had to take on the role of mama bottle feeding the kittens. A friend adopted 2 of them and the other 2 have become a big part of our family! Their names are Houdini and Blackjack!



We also came back and spent 2 days at home (Just enough time to get caught up on laundry) and packed up to go camping at the beach! The beach is one of our favorite places to be and to be able to camp there for 4 days with amazing friends was just awesome.

That camping trip was full of laughs and great memories! My mom came up and joined us along with Jodi and her family, Lisa and Zack! We spent time in the ocean, on the beach, playing games, working on puzzles and making some memories none of us will ever forget.




We worked on our garden which is doing amazingly well! We spent time at parks, swimming, on the slip & slide. Making the most of the summer!

Towards the end of the month we had some amazing family pictures taken. If you live in the area (Skagit/Whatcom County) check her out! Sweetpea Memories Photography



The first week of August brought Family Camp at Warm Beach Christian Camp. A week of family time, worship and relaxation! I was able to teach the college group again this year which is always a blessing! The kids had a blast with their friends old and new. We made some more great memories with the Davis family :). If you are looking for something to do during the summer with your family, check out Warm Beach Christian Camp !!



This weekend brought back to school shopping (woohoo we are done and got it all done in one trip!).

The best part is that our church Cornwall Church held a lake baptism. 170 dedicated their lives yesterday with hundreds along the shore praying for them and cheering them on. Among those 170 were both of my daughters. When they announced earlier in the summer that this lake baptism was going to take place, they both approached me and said they were ready, they wanted to take this step in their lives. I was so proud and felt so blessed! Not only that they wanted to take this step in their lives but that they wanted to do it TOGETHER!




I am setting a goal for myself to get back to regular postings. School is just around the corner and menu planning and budgeting are going to be key this year with our schedule.