Meal Plans Oct 31st- Nov 6th

Watch for some Halloween fun!

Monday: Spiderweb Pumpkin Pancakes & Mummy hotdogs
Pumpkin pancakes
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pie mix)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Maple syrup

In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, milk, oil and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in remaining ingredients except syrup just until mixed.
Line 1-quart pitcher or bowl with gallon-size resealable plastic bag.  Pour batter into bag;seal bag, pressing out air.
Heat griddle or 12-inch skillet to 375 or over medium heat.
Oil hot griddle.  Cut 1/4 inch hole in one bottom corner of bag.  For each pancake pipe out a 4 inch spider web shape.  Cook 1-2 minutes until pancakes are puffed and dry around the edges.  Turn pancakes; cook about 1 minute longer or until other side is golden brown. 

Mummy Wrapped Hot Dogs:
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/crescent-mummy-dogs/d52a57d7-ab8a-4a1c-8dae-f9f90d03b912/


Tuesday: Left over meatloaf and potatoes


Wednesday: CP Pulled meat left overs
(this will be a mystery until it's cooked, either tacos or bbq)

Thursday: Pizza by the Yard
1 bag (16oz) frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs (about 32)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 loaf french bread
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook meatballs in microwavable bowl for 3 minutes.  Cut meatballs in half; return to bowl.  Stir in pasta sauce.  Cover and microwave on high 6-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until hot.
Set oven to broil.  Cut bread in half crosswise; cut each in half lengthwise; making 4 pieces.  Place bread, cut side up, on ungreased large cookie sheet.  Toast lightly under broiler.
Spoon hot meatballs and sauce evenly onto bread.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Broil 4-6 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Cut each piece in half to serve. 


Friday: Hot dogs with Mac and Cheese


Saturday Family Dinner

Sunday Mac and Cheese

All ready for school...

It was like Christmas at our house today!  Our school books and supplies arrived from K12! 

The FedEx truck stopped first and delivered our computer.  

Then UPS stopped by and left us these....

 So excited to have a computer for both of them.  We've had a lot of times this week when they both could have been working if we'd had two.  Plus it came with a microphone and a microphone/headset combo so we can join in on the chats during our online class with the lead teachers. 

Here's Tyler's set of things...

 Workbooks for all our classes, including Handwriting Without Tears which I think will be great, videos for music class and history, math shapes and blocks, a phonics kit, maps, globes, science supplies, art supplies and a nice library of reading books.  

Cody's kit...

 His included much of the same, with a bit more for science. 

I did pretty well and it almost all fit on the two shelves we had left. 

(Tyler's phonics box is on the floor)

 Here's all their subject books and workbooks...

 All the reading books for language arts and history...

 Our DVD's & CD's for Music and our one for History. 

They also received slide whistles and tambourines for music class.

 All of our science items for experiments and hands-on learning.

 Art kits included a full rainbow of tempera paints, brushes, modeling clay and pastels. 

 Just like Christmas morning, all the wrapping to recycle.

 LOTS of empty boxes!  We have to send a good portion of these things back at the end of the school year, so most of these will be sticking around.

So far, homeschooling has been going well.  We've done our best this week just working off of the computer, but have had to skip lessons because we were missing books and such.  So happy to have everything here so we can really dive in! 

Skate Night and the Fish Hatchery....

Last Tuesday was skate night for Pershing, a favorite at our house. 

 They were one of the first ones on the floor, and pretty close to the last to leave! 

 Tyler was a speed skater this time!  He held my hand for a bit in the beginning to remember how to balance, then he was off.  He had a few friends from class there and I hardly saw him!  Cody was the same.  They both had a great time as always.  

On Sunday we took a break in our organizing day and headed over to the fish hatchery.  It's been a really long time since we've been, so it was fun.  

Watching the little Steelhead

 We walked down to the bottom of the fish latter and watched the fish jumping upstream. 

 Handsome boys...

 We were there in time to watch them feed the fish.

 Then we watched the fish go nuts!

 Dropping bits of food to make the fish jump.

 We walked over to the edge of the cliff to watch the fish jump up river a bit more and saw the fisherman as high up as they could go.  Judging by all the fish we saw, that was probably some good fishing! 

Room for School...

Monday marks the start of our homeschooling adventure. 
After looking around the house, I finally settled on re-arranging the office to make room for the  boys' school area.  It took lot of moving, re-organizing the shelves and borrowing a table for a few weeks until we can pick up another one from Ikea to match the set. 

SO, the bookshelf was moved into the closet and the computer moved out.  

Now they have a small work table by the window. 

 Where the bookcase was, now stands the new computer table.  This is the borrowed table that will be replaced.  We should be getting a computer from the new online school, so it will also fit on this table. 

The boys each have their own school supply jar, nice and portable as we need to move around the house.  

 They each have a magazine file that will hold their finished school work.

(we have to turn in work samples each quarter to their teacher) 

The three drawer has some of our art supplies that we might need.

 A major project was re-organizing this shelf.  Now there is room (hopefully enough room) for our school supplies and books that should arrive on Thursday. 

 I still have my crafty corner opposite the school area. 

We are excited to get started, and I'm a little nervous trying to figure out what our new routines will be. 

Meal Plan Oct 24th-30th

The spooks come out at the end of the week, meal plans will hopefully make it less scary!
We are also working on eating out of the freezer/pantry the next couple of weeks, so not as many new recipes.

Monday: CP left over BBQ meat for sandwiches


Tuesday: Tacos


Wednesday: CP Lasagna
(Look back in September for this recipe)

Thursday:Skillet Herb Chicken (posted before I think)
4 chicken breasts
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves minced garlic
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup water
4 cups cooked rice

Cook chicken in a skillet sprinkled with sage and thyme, until no longer pink.
Remove chicken, then spray the same pan with cooking spray and brown garlic.  Return chicken to pan, add soup and water, reduce heat to low and heat through.  Serve chicken and soup over rice.


Friday: Calzone Pinwheels
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup diced pepperoni
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chooped fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 jar (14 oz) pizza sauce, warmed

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, Italian seasoning and salt.  Stir in mozzarella, pepperoni, Parmesan, mushrooms, green pepper and onion.  Separate crescent dough into four rectangles; seal perforations. 
Spread cheese mix over each rectangle to within 1/4 inch of edges.  Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seams to seal.  Cut each into four slices.
Place cut side down on greased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm with pizza sauce.

 
Saturday: family dinner


Sunday: Boxed dinner.

Jog-a-Thon

Friday the boys had their Jog-A-Thon at school to raise money for their classes.  It ended up being a warm day, but everyone did great!

Cody's group went first.

Ready to run!

 There they go!

 Cody started out strong.

 He was really good at sprinting past the parents and around the corner before walking the rest of the way around.  He didn't quite take to the "jog" part very well. 

 After 30 minutes, he was done.

 

He did make it around the loop a bunch of times and earned his juice pop!

 Kindergarten was the last group to go.

Tyler with his soccer friends plus one.

 He smiled the whole time, and went around a bunch of times. 

 Still smiling! 

 Smirky smile...

Another well earned juice pop!

Meal Plans Oct 17th-23rd

Copy and paste away ladies!

Monday: CP Root Beer BBQ Beef Sandwiches
1 boneless beef rump roast (4lb)
2 cups bbq sauce
1 cup root beer
16 sandwiches buns (WOW!  I guess everyone's coming to our place.)

Place beef in crock.  In a medium bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups bbq with root beer; poor over beef.
Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours (more like 8 for my crock)
About 20 minutes before serving, remove beef from crock and place on a large plate.  Pour juice from crock into 12" skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juices are thickened and reduced to about 3 cups.  Meanwhile, shred beef with 2 forks; return to crock.
Stir remaining 1/2 cup bbq sauce into reduced juices in skillet; pour over shredded beef in crock.  Salt and pepper to taste if desired.  1/2 cup serving of meat per bun. 

Tuesday: Skillet Herb Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/4 tsp ground sage & dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
4 cups of cooked rice

Cook chicken in a skillet sprinkled with sage and thyme, about 15 minutes or until no longer pink.
Remove chicken, then spray the same skillet with non stick spray and brown the garlic.  Add chicken back to pan.  Mix soup and water in a bowl, then add to skillet.   Turn down to low and heat through. 
Serve chicken and soup over rice.

Wednesday: CP Tacos (pulling together all the left over meats)
Cleaning out the freezer of all the left over taco meats. 

Thursday: Beefy Italian Ramen Skillet
2 packs of beef-flavored ramen noodles
1 lb lean ground beef
24 slices pepperoni
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano; undrained
1 cup water
1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces (1/2 cup)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Break blocks of noodles in half, reserve on packet of season and discard the other.  Set aside.
In a 10" skillet, cook beef and pepperoni over med-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
Stir in tomatoes, water and reserved season packet.  Heat to boiling, stir in noodles and bell pepper.  Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until noodles are tender.  Remove skillet from heat. 
Sprinkle cheese around edge of noodle mixture.  Cover; let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Friday: Cheesy Mini Meat Loaves
1lb ground beef (90% lean)
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
3 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 slices bacon, cut in half, crosswise

These are meant to be grilled on a Forman style grill, I will probably use a skillet. 
In a large bowl mix all ingredients except bacon.  On a work surface, pat mixture into 7" square; cut into 4 (3 1/2") squares.
Place beef squares on heated grill/skillet.  Top each square with 2 half slices of bacon, cook for 6-10 minutes, or until squares are cooked through and no longer pink.  

Saturday: Family Dinner


Sunday: Short Cut Sloppy Joes
1 lb ground beef
1 can Campbell's Italian Tomato Soup
1/4 cup water
2 tsp Worcestershire
1/8 tsp pepper
6 hamburger buns

Cook meat until browned and no longer pink, drain. 
Add soup, water, Worcestershire and pepper.  Reduce heat to low and heat through.  Serve on rolls. 

Meal Plans Oct 10th - 16th

Alright, another week planned and ready!

Monday: CP Pulled Pork Tacos
Cook pork in root beer (1 can, I usually stop and get a can from the vending machine outside of Winco) for 6 hours.  Then pull it out and shred, drain the crock and put back into crock.  Add about 2/3 cup of water and a packet of taco seasoning.  Heat it back through for about an hour or so.  Dress tacos as you like.  

Tuesday: Easy Calzone Rolls
2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 lb sliced ham
1/2 lb salami
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup spaghetti sauce

Roll each dough loaf into a 8x12" rectangle.  Layer meat down the center, lengthwise.  Top with 1 cup of cheese per roll.  Fold short sides in 1/2"to seal, then roll long sides into a long loaf.  Pinch to seal.  Bake at 375 with seam side down on a greased sheet for 20 minutes or until golden. 
Cut and serve with warm spaghetti sauce

Wednesday: CP Bacon Wrapped Potatoes and Easy Turkey
1 lb fingerling potatoes, washed, dried and stem ends trimmed
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 lb fatty bacon strips
1/4 cup chicken broth

Toss Potatoes with olive oil, thyme and spices in a large bowl; set aside.
Cut each bacon slice in half lengthwise, wrap half slice bacon tightly around each potato.
Heat large skillet over medium heat; add potatoes.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until lightly browned and some bacon fat has rendered out.  Bacon should sear "shut" around potatoes.
Place potatoes in crockpot.  Add chicken broth, cover and cook on high 3 hours. 

Easy Turkey is simply the microwave turkey meals (the ones that cost me $1 a few weeks back!)


Thursday: Burgers
Fire up the grill and let them sizzle!

Friday: Mac & Cheese
Yep, the classic blue box.

Saturday: Family Dinner


Sunday: Italian Patty Melts
1lb lean ground beef
2 tsp oil for the pan
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning
4 slices mozzarella cheese
4 buns

In a medium bowl combine meat, Parmesan, and seasoning; mix until combined.  Form into 4 patties.
Heat oil in skillet, cook patties 10-12 minutes until cooked through. 
Cover with mozzarella and cook until melted. 
Serve on a bun, garnish as you please. 

Meal Plan Oct 3rd-9th

A little late this week, but it's all good!

Monday: CP Provolone / Swiss Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
4-6 slices of provolone &/or Swiss cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (mine has herbs in it)
1/4 cup milk
2 cups Stovetop
1/2 stick of butter, melted

Spray crock with cooking spray (or use a liner).  Place chicken on the bottom and cover with cheese slices.  In a bowl mix the soup and milk together, then pour over chicken.  Mix the butter with the Stovetop and spread over the top.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.


Tuesday: Steak Tacos
I buy the carne asada from Winco, usually not seasoned and throw it in the crock pot for half the day on low with about 1/2 cup of water and 1 1/2 packets of taco seasoning.   Yum!


Wednesday: CP Breakfast Casserole
32oz bag of hashbrowns or country style potatoes
1 dozen eggs
1 1lb cooked bacon, diced
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Spray or line crock.  Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, then bacon, & cheese.  Repeat 2-3 more times.  Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Pour egg mix over the potatoes, cook on low 10-12 hours.  (I'm pretty sure mine would be a crispy, burned mess if I let it cook that long, so mine will cook maybe 8hrs or so)


Thursday: CP Chicken and Noodles (I will only cooking half of the listed recipe)
3 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of Cream of chicken soup
1 stick of butter
4 chicken breasts
24 oz egg noodles, uncooked

Place everything except the noodles into the crock and cook on low for 7 hours.  Take out the chicken and shred, then return it to the crock.  Add in the noodles, season with salt and pepper.  Cook on high for an hour, or until noodles are cooked.


Friday: Pot luck dinner for Cody's Class

Saturday: Family dinner

Sunday: Lasagna Rolls
6 lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef (I will add turkey sausage and chopped meatballs as well)
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian mix cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to their package.  Meanwhile, cook beef in a skillet until no longer pink, drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce (and other meats); heat through.
Drain noodles.   Spread 1/4 cup of meat sauce over each noodle, sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp of cheese.  Carefully roll up noodles and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Once all your noodles are arranged, top with remaining meat sauce and cheese.
Bake, uncovered at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Supposed to serve 6, everyone with one roll. (adjust to your needs)


Bonus, it's October Recipe!
CP Pumpkin Spice Lattes
1 1/2 -2 cups brewed strong coffee
4 cups milk
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbsp canned pureed pumpkin
3 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Whipped cream (optional)

Add coffee and milk to crock. Whisk in pumpkin, spices, sugar and vanilla.  Cook on high for 2 hours.  Whisk again and ladle into mugs.  Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon.

(hmm, thinking I need to round up the ladies for coffee and give this one a try!)

Halloween Craft Exchange

A mom friend from school and soccer organized a 5 person craft exchange for Halloween home decor.  It's such a cool idea!  You make 5 of the same craft, then exchange them and you come out with 5 new decorations for the season.

For my craft I decided to do stacked word blocks.  They can be separated and placed around the room, or all kept together.  They are also double sided, so you can flip them around and have a November/Harvest decoration as well.

In general I like how they turned out. 

The middle one says Witches, it's better in person. 

 The top one says Autumn, and it turned out a bit too dark.

 Rachael made a Halloween tree.  It's fun to stop and look at all the leaves and their cool colors. 

 One of ladies made apothecary jars...

 Another one made this beautiful table runner, it hangs over both sides of my table. 

"Something wicked this way come!" Love this!

 Charlene made these cute rag wreaths...

Here's how I have them displayed. 

I love decorating for the seasons; this was such a cool way to acquire some new things! 

Now to start thinking of what to do for Christmas....