We're baaaack!!! End of August menu

We did eat last week.
I did make a plan.
I just did not have time to post our menu on the first day of school!
I made chicken breasts in mushroom gravy with whole wheat linguine for Sunday.  On Monday, we had tacos and a layered bean dip similar to this one. Tuesday, we had beef tips with mushrooms.  Wednesday turned into a fend-for-yourself night; hubs went to bowl with some friends so ds#3 and I munched on whatever we could find in the kitchen.  Thursday and Friday, we went out to eat.
So you see, everyone has been fed.

This week, I'm attempting to plan earlier, so that it's all ready to go!
Sunday~ I made lasagna on Saturday, so we'll have it with a big tossed salad. YUM!
Monday~ Hubs & I have joined a bowling league.  I'm not sure what we'll do for dinner.
Tuesday~Breakfast for dinner.  Planned to do this last week, but it never materialized.
Wednesday~ Hubs will bowl - he is bowling on a team with some teachers from school, so they are practicing.  We'll wing it.
Thursday~ Chicken in the crockpot.  Roasted new potatoes and either green beans or broccoli from the freezer.
Friday~ Hallelujah, it's PAYDAY!!! We will probably go out to eat.
Saturday~ Hubs has been wanting to try his hand at smoking a brisket, so this will probably be the weekend to do it.

And there you have it!  The second-week-of-school and last-week-of-August menu.  Share yours at Menu Plan Monday!

The End of Summer.

Sometimes life is just hard.
There's no way around it, and you just have to trudge through until you come to the other side of whatever it is.
And it gets a little easier, and the road is a little less bumpy.
And that's the way this summer has been.

I have been working hard to get myself mentally and emotionally prepared to go back to school - back to work - after the very unexpected death of my brother.
My baby brother.
The one I was always responsible for, who grew to be taller than any of us.
The one that always came up with the ideas that got us into trouble, but he got away with it because we "were older and should know better".
The one with a ready smile and a friendly hug.
He is gone...
and my heart aches for what I've lost, for what we've all lost.  What heaven has gained.  But I have lost.
My heart hurts when I see my parents struggle.
What mama should see her baby die????

Life is so hard.
I hate feeling this way, but I know that in order to get over it, I have to go through it.
And I guess that's what makes it so hard.
There is no getting around it, no short cut to take.  Oh, how I wish there was.  How I cry out that this would be a bad dream, and I could wake up.
But I wake up, and it's real, and I take a deep breath, pray for help, and go on.

I want to quit.
OH, how I want to quit.  But I can't.  I can't, for the sake of my mother, who still sobs every time she sees his baby picture.  I can't, for the sake of my twelve year old son who worries so much about me when he sees me tear up.  I can't quit.  So I take a deep breath.
I pray for help.
I go on.

Getting back into a routine

This summer, it seems, has been full of interruptions to any kind of routine.
Some of these, like vacation, were planned for and welcomed and anticipated.
Some, like the death of a close family member, were not.
And as much as I'd like a couple more weeks to deal with these things, I don't have them, so we've got to get ourselves back into a routine before school begins.

I was out of town for most of last week, so my guys were on their own for meals - they had plenty of food in the house to eat if they chose, but also had the freedom to go out to their favorite restaurants that I do not enjoy.  This week, we're all at home.

So, here goes!

Sunday~ hubs bought some lovely steaks that he grilled, and we had salad and green beans fresh from the garden to go with them.  Alas, the steaks were enormous and we could not eat even half of them, which brings us to...
Monday~ said steaks, along with new potatoes, tossed salad, and leftover green beans.
Tuesday~ Penne with chicken and pesto, cucumber salad.  I've got tons of basil in my garden, so I will make homemade pesto for this dish.  Yum!
Wednesday~ BBQ chicken sandwiches, grilled sausage, homemade pasta salad
Thursday~ Leftovers or some other magic I dream up...
Friday~ Pasta with sauteed veggies, tossed salad
Saturday~ Breakfast for dinner

Please join Menu Plan Monday to share your ideas and get tons of inspiration!

Travelin' Woman menu

This week is more of a non-menu than anything else... I'm traveling to attend a conference from Tuesday-Saturday, which means that, for 5 days, my guys will be fending for themselves.

They enjoy this, because they go out for Chinese (which I cannot do) and 'man food'.  We have plenty of lunchmeat and cheese for sandwiches, along with spaghetti, grilled hotdogs and sausages, and a myriad of side dishes to satisfy.

Here's what we do have planned:

Sunday~ my parents are over for dinner.  Grilled burgers, mushrooms, sausages and hotdogs, along with cucumber salad, homemade baked beans, and a family recipe for Cheese & Cracker Salad.  Homemade chocolate cake (made with whole wheat flour to try to make it a little healthier!), homemade vanilla ice cream, and honey pecans for dessert.  YUM!

Monday~ out to eat for a family birthday celebration

Tuesday~ Mom's traveling, and the boys will play...

We'll see what I find when I get home on Saturday!

Stop by Menu Plan Monday to share...

The week after the funeral, a menu and the Pantry Challenge

What an awful week last week.
On Monday, I received news of a devastating death in our family, so the whole plan was off.  On Monday evening, the entire family gathered at our house and I spent $50 to pull together hamburgers, hotdogs, baked beans, corn on the cob, fried okra, and ice cream pie for dessert.  The rest of the week, food was delivered to our family and no one has cooked.  Which was really nice, because quite frankly, no one wanted to cook.

Flowers from the family at my brother's memorial service

So this week's menu will be lots of repeats from last week.
Sunday~ food provided for the family after the service
Monday~ probably the last family dinner with extended relatives
Tuesday~ The Pioneer Woman's simple perfect chili that I made last week and froze when it became evident we would not be eating it any time soon
Wednesday~ Roast chicken, roasted new potatoes, green beans from the garden, we also have some cucumbers in the garden that need to be used, so we'll also have cucumber salad with this meal.
Thursday~ miscellaneous leftovers that have accumulated and need to be eaten - also known as "Must-Goes"
Friday~ Breakfast for dinner
Saturday~ planning to go to the Farmer's Market and find some lovely stuff!

Take the opportunity this week to tell people you love them, to let them know that they matter in your life.  You never know how short the time will be...

Check in on the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats

and

Get some menu inspiration at Menu Plan Monday.

Fruits and veggies, oh my! July Menu #2

UPDATE on our Pantry Challenge:
This week, we returned to some semblance of normal after our almost two-week vacation.  We didn't have much in the fridge, but the pantry looked okay.  I started off the week at the grocery store and bought milk, yogurt, ricotta (I wanted to make lasagna), cheese, eggs, and some other miscellaneous items.  I spent $70.19 at Publix.

We got a freebie coupon for Coke in the mail, so I went back to Publix to buy 2 and get 2 with their sale (using my coupon, I actually bought one and got three free!).  I spent $6.82.

Saturday morning, in the pouring rain, hubs & I went to the local Farmer's Market.  We bought a dozen ears of corn ($4), a nice fat watermelon ($7), 2 pints of blackberries ($7), homemade ricotta and homemade mozzarella ($12), artisan bread ($5 - yes I know I can make this, but hubs knew the vendor and I don't feel bad supporting local business), local honey ($8), and some local bacon and sausage ($21).  Total spent at the market: $64.

Then I went back to Publix on Saturday to get things I didn't get at the Farmer's Market:  beef broth/chicken broth (B1G1), organic milk, organic cream, and organic butter.  I had some coupons for the organics and I spent $15.41.

Which brings the total spending for the week to $156.42.

I've not tracked my spending like this before (I know....yikes!) so this will be eye-opening for everybody.

We have been trying to eat fruits & veggies with every single meal, which we're not very good at.  And we ran out of fruit fast, so I tried to buy more this week.  Last week, I made lasagna on Monday, and we ate the last piece on Thursday for lunch, so I guess we stretched that!  Tuesday, we ate leftovers for dinner. Friday, we ate at a friend's birthday party so Mom didn't have to cook.  Saturday, I re-purposed leftover roast and added some mushrooms, made gravy & mashed potatoes, and green beans to go along with the meal.

Hubs has a workshop to attend all week this coming week, and he has already agreed to take his lunch, which will save us some dough.  I made the veggie tart pictured here from last week's eggplant, tomatoes from the garden, and zucchini from our friend.  I'll eat this for lunch during the week.  Ds#3 is a pasta lover, and his teeth have been sore from braces, so that's probably what he will be eating.

Breakfast is usually our time to incorporate fruit; I'm experimenting with all kinds of smoothies in my Nutri-Bullet (Mother's Day present).  I'd love to hear your successes!  I usually fix a bowl of cut-up fruit for hubs before he eats his eggs & bacon.  Ds#3 has been sleeping late, so he's been missing breakfast (but hasn't been too hungry because his teeth hurt).  I'm trying to find a smoothie he'll love so I can get some fruit in him.

And now.... for the Weekly Dinner Menu!
Sunday~ Mexican Rice Casserole, Taco Salad
Monday~ Roast chicken, roasted new potatoes, green beans or broccoli (both in the freezer, from the garden), zucchini 'fries'  edited to add: had some cucumbers in the garden that needed to be used, so we'll have cucumber salad with this meal.
Tuesday~ Breakfast: scrambled eggs, local sausage, grits, fruit
Wednesday~ Depending on how much is left, Leftover beef from Sunday's Taco Salad morphs into the Pioneer Woman's Simple Perfect Chili.  Or nachos.  Just depends on how much there is.  My guys love this.  edited to add: the verdict is chili.
Thursday~ We may have my parents over for dinner; waiting for confirmation and then I'll make a plan.
Friday~ Ds#3 goes camping for the weekend, so I'm leaving it open for Hubs & I
Saturday~ Parents Choice night (the kid's gone camping)

Join in the Pantry Challenge with Fish Mama at Good Cheap Eats.  

And jump into Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

It's July, and we are home!

Where we've been:

Scenes from a luau

Dancing on the beach

Climbing a coconut tree and showering the audience with flowers

Our view, almost every day

Hawaii was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing our Marine Son, but you know there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed!  We spent a TON of money there - to eat out, it cost us twice what we would spend at home.  And on vacation, our opportunities to cook in were limited.

So this will be a belt-tightening month for us.  We're also trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our meals (I will report our progress next week). We hiked a mountain with our son in Hawaii, and it was bitterly obvious that we need to do something.  So here we go!

Sunday~ Eggplant parmesan with homemade tomato sauce and noodles.  I scored a big, beautiful eggplant at the farmer's market on Saturday for $1.50, and we've got more than half left!  I will make a roasted veggie tart with the remainder.

Monday~ Lasagna with tossed salad.  Grass-fed, locally raised ground beef, homemade tomato sauce to make lasagna healthier; tomatoes & cucumbers in the salad are from our garden.

Tuesday~ Chef salads with ham, turkey, cheese, hardboiled egg.  Off to Scouts tonight.

Wednesday~ Out to dinner with a friend for Mexican.

Thursday~ HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, USA! We are going to a local baseball game, with fireworks after.  We'll eat ballpark food. :)

Friday~ Roast chicken, roasted new potatoes, green beans, zucchini.  New potatoes & free-range chicken from farmer's market, green beans from our garden, zuke from a friend.

Saturday~ Burgers with homemade baked beans and homemade coleslaw.  Or homemade chili.  We'll have to see what I'm in the mood for. :)

For lunches this week, we'll do leftovers from dinner, sandwiches, and salads.

For breakfast, hubs eats farm eggs, bacon & fruit (right now it's pineapple and blackberries).  Ds#3 & I usually eat something a little less conventional.  I'm working on getting him to try different varieties of smoothies to try to get some fruit in him.  He's pretty picky, so if you've got any winners, I'd love to hear!

Pineapples everywhere!  Love them.

The world's biggest sno-cone.  Couldn't finish it.

Worth waking up for.

Check out Menu Plan Monday and share your menu marvels!