Menu Plan 8-15 to 8-21

It’s Back to School time again, and time for me to get back into my routines. The biggest one I have missed is my Menu Planning. I’m tired of pulling something frozen out of the freezer and thawing it 30 minutes before I want to eat. I have drawn up a monthly game plan and have decided to add themed days. ..Crock Pot Sunday, Meatless Friday (because I can’t do it on Monday like the rest of the world lest I make something that would trigger DH’s stomach issues), Pasta Wednesday, Pizza Night, and Fish Thursday. I also would like to send the kids off to school with a warm breakfast daily, so will be researching some recipes for that to keep some variety. And I’m sorely in need of lunch inspiration. We’ll see what I can come up with for that. Here’s what I‘ve Planned for this week.

Monday:

Dinner: Spaghetti, Italian Sausage, and Salad

Tuesday:

Lunch: English Muffin Pizzas, fruit

Dinner: Mediterranean Quinoa Skillet derived from this recipe from the $5 Dollar Dinner Mom ( for my meatless meal of the week)

Wednesday:

Lunch: Peanut butter and Jelly, fruit or veggie sticks

Dinner: Steak with all the trimmings…baked potatoes, Salad,

Thursday:

Lunch :Quesidillas, veggies

Dinner:

Friday:

Lunch:Salami Sandwiches, fruit or veggie stix

Dinner: Whatever my mom makes…we’ll be going down home for the weekend.

Saturday:

Lunch: Bug’s Birthday Party.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, coleslaw, rolls

Hot Dogs, Buns

Broccoli Salad

Jello Salad

Chips and pretzels

Grandma Eva’s Baked Beans

Fruit

Cake & Ice Cream

Dinner: Green beans & Potatoes & Lunch leftovers

Next week I’ll try to plan a Breakfast schedule to and practice that with dh being off to school again.

Happy Birthday Bug!!

As I sit here and type this, it's hard for me to believe that 6 years ago, I was siting in a hospital bed waiting for my labor to progress so I could meet Bug for the first time. Today, Bug turns 6. We celebrated with our families several weeks ago. I always have the party before the start of school since it's less stressful for me and DH is around to help with the kids while I'm cleaning.

I did have one minor "mishap" with the party. The cake completely did not turn out as I planned. Thankfully none of the mishaps with the cake effected the flavor. My mother in law dubbed it the best cake she'd ever eaten. Here's the recipe.

ICE CREAM CAKE

1 7/8 cup Cake Flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 small box of instant pudding mix

3/4 cups milk

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 gallon of ice cream

1 small tub of cool whip

1. Combine first 6 ingredients. Add milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed with a mixer. Add 2 eggs mix for another 1 minute.

2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan. Pour in the batter and spread it to the edges. The batter will be thicker than boxed cake mix.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees F. Or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Cool completely. Invert on a wire rack to remove from pan. Clean out the pan and line with plastic wrap.

5. Split cake into 2 layers, or crumble into pieces like for a trifle. Line the bottom of the pan with cake pieces.

6. Top the cake layer with ice cream, then freeze for 30 min. to allow the ice cream to set. Add another layer of cake then ice cream and return to the freezer until ready to serve.

7. Just before serving, ice/cover with whipped cream. Delicious! Not bad for a complete failure hunh?

So here's what actually went wrong from the plan. First, it was supposed to be a "funfetti" cake with red sprinkles in it. The batter turned it pink. Next, the cake never rose in the center. I have no idea why. I never opened the oven or anything that should cause it to fall. Then, when I inverted the cake, the middle stuck and only the edges. That's why I crumbled it like a Trifle. I had originally planned on cutting it in two and having an ice cream layer between two cake layers like a traditional layer cake.

Here are a few pictures of the Birthday Girl.

All she really wanted was a Silvermist costume from the Tinkerbell Movie.

Independence

It's been a busy week here. Monday we started re-shingling the roof on our house. My dad and mom were over. Dad to help Hubby, and Mom to help me :-D Progress was good for the first day, then Tuesday we (okay Dad and Hubby) ran into some trouble. Our roof had 4 layers of asphalt shingles, PLUS the cedar shakes from the last time it had been done. It's interesting what you find in 100+ yr old houses, isn't it. Wednesday had the previous day's section shingled. Now we're waiting to do the leaky part until Dad gets back from his missions trip to Mexico.


The boy went home with Grammy & Papa Wednesday to stay for a few nights. It's his first time away from home with out any of his sisters. I don't think he misses us too much from what Grammy says. I'm missing him a lot and so is everyone else. We're looking forward to his return tomorrow. Bean talked to him on the phone and said "I miss You Boy." I know he's having a blast on the farm. He's helping Papa build a chicken coop, and playing with Harrison the rooster (who is more like a pet dog than a farm animal). I can't wait for Auntie Kristin to post pictures. While he's gone, I've been busy getting ready for Bean's birthday. She is 2 today. We're having the family party tomorrow. Boy have I been cooking like crazy today. I even put the Bear and Bug to work while Bean was napping. I also let all the girls help me make rolls. Our menu for the party is:

Hot dogs and Hamburgers with Homemade Buns
Broccoli Salad(my mom & gram's recipe)
Grandma Eva's Baked Beans (Hubby's Gram)
Jello Salad (my gram's recipe)
Veggie Tray
Cake & Ice Cream

Everything is prepped except the veggie tray and the cake. I still need to cook that. I take the easy way out though with decorating. I bought a Blue's Clues cake topper set from the grocery store. Nice professional toppers for much less than the store bought cake. I love looking at my menu and seeing the "scrapbook" of recipes and our family's special dishes in it. It's like we have all of the members with us even though some of them have passed. Usually my parties are a group effort. This time I'm proud to say I've done almost all of it by myself. Grandma Wilda is bringing the Jello Salad, and that is the only dish I did not prepare. I'm quite proud of myself.