Thursday, May 28, 2009

Summer Fun Ideas

Here is a list of thing me and my family can do this summer:

1. Go for walks
2. Vacation Bible School
3. Swimming (at Aunt Pat's)
4. Summer Tech Camp-Robyn
5. B.B.Q.
6. Bake Cookies
7. Watch DVD movies
8. Crafts-crochet, potholder weaving, etc.
9. Board Games-Sorry Madagascar, Scrabble, Sequence, Parcheesi, etc.
10. Picnic
11. Go to the Park
12. Make homemade popsicles
13. Free Regal Cinema movies-yah!
14. Bowling
15. Putt-Putt golf
16. Museums
17. Library
18. Ice Cream Night
19. Play in the sprinkler
20. Homemade Pizza Party
21. Go to Dollywood-many times!
22. Visit Aunt Pat's Lakehouse
23. Bake cupcakes
24. Play outside with chalk
25. Garden-watch our veggies grow
26. Scrapbook
27. Wii
28. Bible Study together
29. Make S'mores
30. Sit together in the swing talking
31. Read out loud together
32. Visit grandparents
33. Go to the bookstore(s)
34. Sleepovers
35. Hold a yard sale (this is questionable as to whether this is fun)
36. Play dates
37. Badminton

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Check out this beautiful blog.


Sunday, May 24, 2009

My Menu this week:





Monday: Pinto Beans, Leftover Bacon Squash Saute, Fried Potatoes, Cornbread

Tuesday: Chicken Tacos, Spanish Rice, leftover pintos

Wednesday: Stuffed Bell Peppers, Macaroni and Cheese

Thursday: Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday: Ritzy Chicken, Noodles, Roasted Asparagus

Saturday: Leftover Buffet

Sunday: Herb Grilled Chicken on Salad Greens, Homemade bread, Cheesecake with sliced strawberries

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Tomorrow is the last day of school

This school year has just flown by. Today, Robyn is having field day. Her daddy is there snapping pictures left and right. Tomorrow we are going in to school with her in the morning for breakfast. I am making my sausage and cheese muffins in my mini muffin pans. After that they are free to say their goodbyes and go home. It is almost impossible to me that she will be a 5th grader this fall. She is even getting promoted at church this fall to "the bridge". She will no longer be doing children's church but sitting with her mommy and daddy in the sanctuary. Wow, my little one is growing up.

Tonight, we go to have dinner with friends and Robyn is staying to spend the night with her best little friend, Lindsey. She is such a sweetheart. Those two have loads of fun together.

Last night, Robert finally went to see Star Trek with his friend, Gads. They went to see it on the IMAX before it is replaced with the Terminator. I am so glad he got to go see it and have some male/treker bonding time! lol

Upwards Soccer for Robyn is winding down too. Soon, we will have the summer free to ourselves to vacation, visit Dollywood, attend the Regal free movies and other fun places this summer. She is so excited.

Well, I am going to sit down and peruse some of my cookbooks. I am going through my many (count 'em, hundreds?) cookbooks and seeing which ones I can resale at McKays. If they only have a few recipes that I think I will ever make, I am writing them down to put into my computer and then I can sell the book. I'm sure I won't miss a few books. But many of them are like babies to me. I could never part with them. I read cookbooks like novels. lol

Monday, May 18, 2009

My menu this week:





Today: Lovely Leftover Buffet (pork chops, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese and sweet potato biscuits-thank you Paula Deen!)

Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Wednesday: Quiche, Cantaloupe, Blueberry Muffins

Thursday: Southwest Chicken and Bean Soup, Cheese Quesadillas, Chocolate Pie

Friday: Dinner with Friends

Saturday: Lunch: The World's Best Potato Soup-a hubby fav!; Dinner: Oven Fried Chicken, Steak Fries, Salad

Sunday: "Cook-out" Meat, Bacon Sausage Saute, Potato Salad, No Bake Cookies

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I couldn't help it, it's so funny!

It feels like a Monday.

Today feels like a Monday to me. I think it is because I substituted at Robyn's school on Monday and had small group that night. Then yesterday we let Robyn ditch school for a family outing, so that made yesterday feel like a weekend day. Oh, and by the way, we went to Dollywood and it was closed. It was just like a scene out of the movie, Vacation. It was really weird to see it closed like that. So, anyway, we drove up to the Smoky Mountains and all the way up to Newfound Gap. Robyn liked being where FDR stood and opened the park in 1940. Robert took about 400 photos. He is busy working on those today. After the drive in the mountains, we came down to Pigeon Forge and ate at the Old Grist Mill Restaurant. I hadn't been there in a long, long time. The food was very good. Robyn and I stopped at the gift store next door and Robert went out to take pictures of the pretty waterfall, grist mill and various ducks and birds. He likes his camera! Today I am doing laundry, putzing about in the kitchen, have bread dough making in the bread machine, and housewifey things like that. Now you know why it feels like Monday to me.

Robert and Robyn are going to work on Robyn's school lesson for tomorrow. She gets to teach her class about a subject she likes. She chose Virginia presidents. She did that because we have been to visit so many of their homes. She also likes history. She has a test prepared to give "her" students. I think she will enjoy being a little teacher. I told Robert that I think we ought to visit the homes of Tennessee's presidents. What do you think? Hmmmmmm?

Well, I'm off to reboot the laundry and start the dishwasher and check on the bread dough. I love my "servants". They make my housework much easier! lol

Monday, May 11, 2009

What's on my menu this week:






A few days we changed our plans and I didn't get to everything I had on my menu last week so some of those have been brought over to this week:

Monday: Parcheesy Spaghetti Pie, Spaghetti Bread, Salad (edit-going to small group and having a cook-out, this meal will be moved to Tuesday)

Tuesday: See Monday

Wednesday: Crock Pot Easy Veggie Chili, Cornbread

Thursday: Easy Turkey Club Bake, Salad

Friday: Grilled Dawgs, Potato Salad, Chips, Strawberry Shortcake

Saturday: Chicken Spaghetti, Spinach Salad, Garlic Bread

Sunday: Pork Chops, Brussel Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, Impossible Cheesecake

Friday, May 8, 2009

It's Friday!

Right now it's not raining either. Who hoo! I told Robert yesterday that I felt like I lived in the tropics or Seattle, Washington because it was always raining. But I know we need it. It has just hampered our gardening and hedge trimming and mulching plans. Oh, and Dollywood. We want to go so badly. I love going in the spring before it gets so hot. But all it has done is rain on the days we are able to go. Boo hoo. I may actually take Robyn out of school one day just so we can go when it's not raining. Don't tell anyone.

Tonight, Robyn's third through fifth graders are putting on a production of the Jungle Book. I can't wait to see it. Her school's productions are always top notch! We didn't do anything like that when I was a kid, especially in elementary school.

I'm doing a switcharoo with my menu plan and fixing the homemade pizza tonight. It will be quick plus I'm not wanting pasta yet since having the lasagna Sunday and Monday. I'll probably fix that Saturday or Sunday evening. My menu plans are never set in stone. Sometimes things come up, sometimes I haven't made it to the store to get a certain ingredient, and sometimes what I have planned doesn't sound so good to me at the time.

Yesterday a friend of mine came over to "borrow" my oven. She bakes cakes and this one was for a wedding. She had already baked the smaller layers but needed a larger oven for the two bigger layers. It was so nice to visit with her and chat while she did her baking. She is a good cake decorator. I need to remember that next time Robyn has a birthday.

Robert is still job hunting and went to apply at a staffing agency yesterday that places people in accounting/financial type positions. He has applied for a teaching job at a local university as well. Today he has gone to his office to retrieve his old computer that he used there. The owner said he could have it. That's a good thing since the one we use in my craft room and that I share with Robyn is broken. Now I can get back to scanning my old photos and working on my scrapbooks. Yeah, that's it. That's why I haven't been scrap booking. NOT...I can't even get in the room. It is so piled up with boxes and Robyn's things. Seriously, I need Clean House over here to help me unload this stuff. I know we could make some serious money in a yard sale. Oh, speaking of yard sales, our neighborhood annual yard sale is June 6th. That's the next item on our "to do" list. I told Robert I would actually give up my garage bay for a staging area to get ready for this. We have a ton of stuff we can sell. It's hard work but worth it.

Well, I need to go and "reboot" the laundry and unload the dishwasher. A woman's work is never done!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A couple of new recipes

Crockpot Lasagna
servings | 10
estimated POINTS per serving | 7

1 lb of lean ground turkey
1 onion chopped
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2-15oz cans tomato sauce
1-6 oz can tomato paste
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1-12 oz carton of fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
12 oz lasagna noodles - uncooked
12 oz shredded non-fat mozzarella cheese

Brown ground turkey and onions in a skillet. Add garlic powder, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and oregano. Cook long enough to get it warm.

In a bowl mix the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Spoon a layer of meat sauce onto the bottom of the crockpot. Add a double layer of uncooked lasagna noodle (break to fit) and top with cheese mixture (you may have to use a knife to spread it). Repeat layers two more times.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Now as you probably already know, I am the queen of tweaking recipes. So I tweaked this one. I didn't use the turkey. I used a roll of reduced fat sausage. I didn't make my own sauce but used a can of Hunt's tomato sauce. Boy was this good! Dh and I enjoyed the leftovers just as much. Oh, and I only had 6 whole wheat lasagna noodles. But guess what, it still worked. Less carbs, more meaty goodness!

White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

1 frozen pie crust, thawed (I use Mrs. Smith's 9" Deep Dish Shortbread Crust)
2 1 oz packages fat-free, sugar-free, instant white chocolate pudding
2¾ cups cold fat-free milk
2-3 bananas, sliced thin on an angle
1 8 oz tub lite or fat-free Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 375. Carefully line thawed pie crust with foil and fill with dry beans or rice. Bake on middle oven rack for 15 minutes. Discard foil, dry beans or rice. Cool crust completely. Beat pudding mix into milk in bowl with wire whisk for 2 minutes.

Fold in 1/2 tub of Cool Whip. Line the baked and cooled pie shell with 1/2 the prepared pudding. Add a layer of bananas. Repeat layers with remaining pudding and bananas.

Top with remaining Cool Whip. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, until set.

Now, I didn't like how this crust turned out. It wasn't baked long enough, a little undercooked. So, next time I am forgoing the foil and beans and just pricking the crust and baking. Just my 2 cents! Oh and I also used Sugar Free Cool Whip. It's good.

Monday, May 4, 2009

My menu this week







Today: Lovely Leftovers (crock pot lasagna and for dessert, White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie)

Tuesday: Tuna Macaroni and Cheese, Salad, Rolls, Cantaloupe

Wednesday: Creamy Black Bean Soup, Cornbread

Thursday: Homemade Pizza, Veggies and Dip

Friday: Parcheezy Spaghetti, Salad, Spaghetti Bread

Saturday: Chicken Picadillo, Tortillas

Sunday: Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Biscuits and Impossible Cheesecake with Strawberries