Home Sweet Home Team

Over the weekend I found great sale on chicken at Stop and Shop, $.88/lb.  I also managed to get a great deal on frozen turkey breast, $ .99/lb. It may sound strange, but I have never actually made roast chicken before. I usually just buy the frozen chicken breasts.  I hope it turns out well, and the family likes it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Here is my plan of action for dinner this week. I’m hoping to score some favorites this week.   Dinner Plan Monday- Roast Chicken and Vegetables Tuesday- Spaghetti and meatballs and salad Wednesday- Chicken quesadillas and corn Thursday- Sandwiches (made to order) Friday- Goulash Saturday-  Pizza -------------------- Goulash 1 pound ground beef 1 small onion chopped  1 can diced tomatoes drained 1lb box macaroni cooked Sauté onion, brown ground beef, combines with macaroni, and diced tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste. Yield 6-8 servings --------------------- After School

Snacks ***(Includes 3 children/  plus mom’s vote) Likes Dislikes 3 0 Tuesday: Banana bread 3 1 Wednesday: Popcorn 1 3 Thursday: “Pantry Trail Mix" (a mixture of oat cereals, peanuts, walnuts, chocolate candies, and dried fruit) 2 2 Friday: Jell-O and fruit The fan favorite of the week was the banana bread.   The least favorite snack of the week was the “pantry trail mix” because it was mostly cheerios, and needed some more variety. If I were to make it again I would add some pretzels, goldfish crackers, and possibly raisins or dried cranberries. The kids preferred the Jell-O without the bananas. ---------------------------- Dinner Menu (Includes 3 older children, Mom and Dad) Likes Dislikes 4 1 Tuesday: Lasagna and salad (my picky eater liked this- who knew?) 5 0 Wednesday: Slow cooker P

I am in love with this banana bread. The recipe comes from my grandmother. I substituted regular milk instead of sour milk, but if you want to do the sour milk add 1/2 tsp lemon juice to your recipe. My goal for the week was to bake at  least one thing from scratch. I ended up making this again because I have so many bananas. Banana Bread 1 tbsp butter 2 eggs 3 tbsp sour milk 1 level tsp baking soda 2 cups flour 3 mashed bananas 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) 1 cup sugar Mix together dry then wet ingredients.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 in a greased pan, .

My grandparents farm When I was young, I never fully appreciated the lessons in frugality that my parents and grandparents practiced. My grandparents owned a dairy farm, always had  large garden, and had their own pigs and chickens.  Up until I was a teenager we ended up getting all of our meat, and milk from them.  I never thought of meat or milk as something that comes from  a grocery store. My mom, except for a short time when we were young was a stay at home mom. She baked everyday, and for  a few years even baked all of our bread. She taught me how to pinch pennies both directly and indirectly.  She allowed me to watch her put together a budget, pay bills, and grocery shop with her. There was six of us in our family and she had  forty dollar weekly grocery budget. This was super difficult even though this happened over twenty years ago. Yet she made it work. Twenty years later, I am the one with a family of six. My challenges are that I do not live close by to my

Follow my blog with Bloglovin The lightning flashed, and thunder crashed as it poured . I was trying to help my oldest daughter finish her homework assignment. My four year old, who was supposed to be sleeping, came running back out to the living room. "Will the lights go out," she wondered. My oldest daughter chimed in, what if one of our trees falls down? What if it falls on the house? " I prayed for them, for safety in the storm, and gave them a flashlight. After  while the storm dissipated enough and I was able to get them to go to sleep. After they went to bed, I thought about the storms in my life and how I often react to them in  similar way with anxiety and worry. I know that Jesus has the ability to control the storm, it is that I need to trust Him more fully in every area of my life. ~Cast all of your care upon Him for  H e cares for you. I Peter 5:7.

It's four o'clock and time to make dinner. At my house this is also the time when my two year old gets up from his nap, and my oldest gets home from school. It can become rather stressful with a hungry child repeatedly asking for a cookie, a toddler trying to help himself to snack (or having a meltdown), and perhaps  a crying baby.  Cue the music to "Jaws", because this has been the theme at my house recently.  Does this scene sound familiar to anyone else?  I have had some success with meal planning and freezer cooking in the past when my two oldest children were younger.  However, this was when I only had to think of my husband and myself while the child or children ate baby food. A few years, and two more children later this has proved to be difficult to return to. I have at least one child whom is a picky eater which tends to cause me to stare blankly into my pantry when it is time to make dinner.  Today I was prepared. At 4 pm I was ready with some

It finally snowed in our little corner of the Northeast today, and my kids were chomping at the bit to get outside.  School was on two hour delay again, so once again my own plans were put on hold.  I can easily say that the only major thing I accomplished today is helping my four year old daughter build a snowman.  My plans to get things done around the house did not happen again, and the laundry and dishes have started piling up, but I can say I haven’t had that much fun in quite a while.  It reminds me how fast my children are growing up, and as a mom I need to spend more quality time with them. As a mom I tend to get caught up in the day to day, but need to remember the real reason I do what I do. That does not mean it’s not important to do work around the house, but I need keep flexible enough to enjoy those little moments that are so special. 

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!  An important aspect of managing a successful team whether in the NFL or Pee Wee League is the strategy or the game plan.   I have found that in fulfilling my role as family manager of this to be very true.   We as humans are creatures of habit and thrive on structure. Obviously it is not possible or practical to write out a detailed schedule, but it serves as a guide. I love a perfectly executed plan, and one of my goals for this year is to organize my time more efficiently and therefore my home run more efficiently. It is a work in progress. My tendency is to jump into things full force, and the results aren’t always successful.  So I’m going to try to take this one step at a time. In order to be successful in getting back on track this week, one of my goals is to get up earlier so I can get into a morning routine. Goal number one for this week is to get up each morning and get my day started at a good time.  I have a list of items that I would