Meals on the Go

My dad is temporarily staying with my mom since they have been seperated for almost 20 years. I wanted to do something to help out so when I visited them on Tuesday I brought meals, washed dishes, and visited with my dad so my mom could run arrends. I bought plastic containers at the Dollar Tree in sets of 2. I made them Zitti with Smoked Sausage , Black Bean & Smoked Sausage Soup, Oriental Beef Noodles, Oatmeal Cake and Chocolate Mint & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.

January 2010 Reading List

This is my reading list for the month of January. I have already finished reading the Cowboy Christmas Series and the Tucker Mills Trilogy this month. I started A Town Called Hope Series
yesterday and so far the first book in the series Praire Rose is pretty good. I hope I am able to finish my list for the month. I have my list of books picked for February but if I don't finish I will just carry this months list over to the next.


Cowboy Christmas Series
A Rancher’s Heart by Catherine Palmer
Undercover Cowboy by Lisa Harris
The Outlaws Gift by Linda Goodnight

Tucker Mills Trilogy by Lori Wick
Moonlight on the Mill Pond
Just Above a Whisper
Leave a Candle Burning

A Town Called Hope Series by Catherine Palmer
Prairie Rose
Prairie Fire
Prairie Storm

Four Seasons Series by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman
It Happens every Spring
Summer Breeze
Falling for You Again
Winter turns to Spring

Submitted to:
Life As Mom I’m Booking It in 2010!

January 11-17 Menu Plan

We are participating in the Eat From the Pantry Challenge this week that is being hosted by Crystal and FishMama. This could prove to be difficult because I was already feeling like I was low on meat at the beginning of the month. I do have 2 turkey's, and a ham in the freezer so they will probably save our menu and that is why their is turkey on the menu for Sunday.

Our menu this week:

Monday:
Pot Roast, Scalloped Potatoes, and Corn

Tuesday:
Potato Soup, Ham & Cheese filled Biscuits

Wednesday:
Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms
Fluffy Cheesecake

Thursday:
Minestrone Soup, and Buttery Rolls

Friday:
Mexican Pot Roast, White Rice, and Broccoli

Saturday:
Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, and Garden Salad

Sunday:
Roasted Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, Herbed Broccoli w/ Mushrooms
Pumpkin Pie

So, what's on your menu this week?
Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie to see more menu ideas.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

I found out Thursday that Crystal and FishMama are hosting an Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

We are a family of 6 my husband and I have 4 children 20, 18, 17 , and 13 years old so that’s 3 Adults & 3 Teenagers.

So here are our family's goals for the Eat From The Pantry Challenge:

1) I grocery shop on Wednesday’s but sometimes we pick up forgotten items at our local Steve’s Market we will be resisting going there during the challenge.

2) Only buy dairy (milk, eggs, cheese, etc.) and produce (fruits/vegetables).

3) Our family’s grocery budget is $80 per week so we will be trying to see how little can be spend on groceries this month while using as much as we can from the pantry or freezer. I wonder how much money we will have saved at the end of the month.

4) We mostly eat leftovers for lunch and quick breads for breakfast. I will be looking for new ways to use up what I have for these meals.

I bought 3 gallons of milk on Wednesday the 6th and a dozen donuts for a total of $10. I didn’t know about the Pantry Challenge until Thursday or I would have resisted the donuts.

January 1
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- We had my sister Chrissy's family for Dinner so that is 4 extra people.
Soft Tacos- I made a big batch of Seasoned Beef Chuck (5 lbs.)W/ Rice (4 cups) for Taco’s and served it with Tortillas, Refried Beans, Sour Cream, Salsa, Mozzarella Cheese, and Lettuce.
Black Bean & Smoked Sausage Soup- I made the soup without the sausage and I soaked 1lb. of black beans and precooked it before I put it in my Crockpot.

January 2
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Leftovers

January 3
Breakfast- Cold Cereal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Leftovers

January 4
Breakfast- Cold Cereal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Macaroni & Cheese and Hotdogs

January 5
Breakfast- Cold Cereal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Beef Roast w/ potatoes and carrots

January 6
Breakfast- Cold Cereal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Leftovers

January 7
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- BBQ Beef Sandwiches- I put a bottle of BBQ Sauce in the Crockpot with the leftover beef.

I baked cakes today for my husband’s Birthday to take to our friends this weekend. I made Apple Loaf Cake which I doubled and made in a spring form pan. I also made Oatmeal Cake and had to make a second because I burnt it a little so now we will have one for breakfast.

January 8
Breakfast- Oatmeal Cake

Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner- Out to dinner

January 9
We are out of town eating at Friend’s House.

January 10
We are out of town eating at Friend’s House.

Apple Loaf Cake

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter, cut up
1/2 pound cooking apples, peeled, cored, & finely chopped (1 1/4 cups)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk


Butter and flour an 8.5 x 4.5 x 3.75 -inch loaf pan; butter & flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, sugar & baking powder into large bowl. With pastry blender or knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine meal. Toss chopped apple in flour mixture. Set aside.

In small bowl, whisk together egg & milk until blended. Stir into apple mixture until mixed. (Batter will be stiff.) Spread batter evenly in dish.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Remove from dish. Cool on rack. Yield: 12 servings

Black Bean & Smoked Sausage Soup

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
4 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 pound diced smoked sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
salt and black pepper, season to taste

In a slow cooker, combine beans, broth, tomatoes, sausage, onion, celery, carrots, cumin, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Mix well. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Submitted to:

Ultimate Recipe Swap

Oatmeal Cake

1 cup oatmeal
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 stick butter (room temp)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup raisins

Pour boiling water over oatmeal, let stand 20 minutes.Cream sugar, butter, eggs. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add oatmeal mix and raisins.Pour into 9 x 13 pan (well greased) and bake 30 minutes. Frost while warm.


Frosting Recipe

½ cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
½ cup coconut

Mix together and spread on baked warm cake...carefully. May have to spoon it on at first. Place under broiler until it starts to bubble and gets ever so lightly browned. Watch carefully or it will BURN! Let cool before eating.