Menu - 1st week of January

In addition to reducing our costs for groceries each week, we've been working on building up our 'emergency pantry.' We've stayed nearly right on with our monthly food/sundries budget and in the last month by shopping sales and using coupons have built up a months + worth of dried and canned goods. We also have enough meat in the freezer to last us at least 6 weeks, more if you take into consideration the dried beans.

While we're not expecting things to go south anytime soon, it feels nice to know that we are preparing for things that *could* come. Ultimately, I'd like to get to the point we have a good 3-4 months supply of basics in our emergency pantry. I believe that over the next 2 months we can get there. This weeks shopping trip alone added 12 boxes of cereal (at $1.05 or less each) to our emergency pantry and 12 cans of beans/soup at $50 - $55 each. Last week I found whole wheat pasta on sale for 10/$10 and combined with coupons to make it even cheaper... that added 20 boxes of pasta to our emergency pantry! We're also set (and rotating) through several types of dried beans, lentils and such. I'd like to try to sneak another $20 out of our budget to go back and purchase a few (18) more cans of soup I found on sale for $0.55....but we'll see. I found oatmeal on sale as well, just $0.88 per 42 ounce container, so I'll be stocking up on these as well.

My next job is to go to some of the bulk stores (URM/Cash n' Carry) to price out their bulk flours...maybe, just maybe they'll actually have a 100% whole wheat flour ???

Do you have an emergency food pantry? What's your method for rotating through foods, keeping track of what you have... and what do you keep in it?

We are installing a wood stove to reduce our absurd $500/month electricity bills from electric heating through the winter, so cooking will still be a viable option if we were to loose power. We'd also be able to boil water, etc.

~~~~~

Food Budget for week 1 of January: $150

*Fred Meyer - $46.01 spent ($26.37 in coupon/sale savings)

*Safeway - $41.43 spent ($41.58 in coupon/sale savings)

*Walgreens - $9.45 spent ($4.90 in coupon/sale savings)

*Albertsons - $9.25 spent $20.20 in coupon/sale savings)

*Target - haven't gone yet :)

Farm Eggs (3 dozen) - $10.50

TOTAL: $116.64

Milk directly from the farm (3 weeks worth, 18 gallons) - $60 *monthly milk budget $80*

MONDAY:

Breakfast - leftover whole wheat biscuits, bacon, eggs, applesauce

Lunch - nachos, yogurt

Snack - celery and peanut butter w/raisins

Dinner - Roasted Chicken, Corn Suffle *leftovers*, salad

To Do: boil eggs

TUESDAY:

Breakfast - cold cereal, yogurt, banana

Lunch - Hard boiled egg sands, carrot sticks, apple slices

Snack - Pretzels n' cheese w/oranges

Dinner - Dinner @ a friends house *or* Barley n' Beef w/veggies soup

To Do: take leftover noodles out of freezer

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast - Steel Cut Oats w/pears, eggs

Lunch - Cheese, Crackers, yogurt, apple slices, carrot sticks

Snack - cheese stick and popcorn

Dinner - Broccoli and Chicken *leftovers* Pesto over noodles *leftovers*

THURSDAY:

Breakfast - Egg, Bacon, Toast and bananas

Lunch - Ham sandwiches, cheese sticks, orange slices and celery sticks

Snack - Graham cracker w/yogurt and apple slices

Dinner - Taco Salad

FRIDAY:

Breakfast - Yogurt w/granola, egg, bananas

Lunch - Farmer's Market Soup, Tortillas w/cheese

Snack - hardboiled eggs and pears

Dinner - homemade pizza, salad and green beans

To Do: make yogurt and bread

SATURDAY:

Breakfast - (homemade) biscuits and gravy, eggs, and applesauce

Lunch - Leftover soup w/fresh bread

Snack - cheese sticks, pretzels and oranges

Dinner - Loaded Baked Potatoes, salad

SUNDAY:

Breakfast - hashbrowns, eggs, bacon/sausage and pineapple

Lunch - leftover soup w/grilled cheese

Snack - cheese w/crackers

Dinner - Lentil Shepherds Pie w/salad

To Do: menu plan for next week

Heard Him...loud and clear

The past 6 months have been rough with numerous 'hits' to our family, and it seems that God has been quiet. I realized not because of Him choosing to do so, but because my heart seems to have strayed further and further away.... a heart full of anger, resentment, disappointment, depression drowns out the voice of my Father. Taming my heart and placing it back in His hands has been hard. Constantly reminding myself that He holds a bigger understanding and picture than I, that I need to trust him solely as my navigator though life. That I don't need to understand now, I need to obey so that I can understand someday.

My prayers the last couple of months have simply been that I hear his wishes so that I know what He wants for my life. The past couple of weeks I've been hearing what I thought was Him...through things that happen, through the feeling in my stomach, through the kids. Tonight while driving home from minor emergency during the remainder of rush hour traffic - in the newly fallen 8" of snow, full of frustrated, tired drivers making stupid, risky choices - I said a prayer... simply "God, tell me which route to take to get us home safely."

"Go left." was clear as day

"Hmmm, you sure!? The radio says there's a jack knifed semi at that intersection down there."

"GO left"

I went left. No traffic, no danger, smooth sailing all the way home. Now, I'm not saying we wouldn't have been fine if I had gone straight, but my gut was clearly telling me that the voice I heard was dead on...I needed to go left to get my kids home safely.

I heard loud and clear and obeyed. Thank you God!

Menu - Week of December 27th

Weekly Grocery, Monthly Costco + Quarterly Sundries Budget $350

Order with Vitacost.com for household needs:

Groceries: $144.68

Costco (monthly visit, includes things like batteries, lightbulbs, food, ect.): $155.05

**we stocked up on the lightbulbs... they were 4/$2.99 and 6/$3.49 with instant rebates! and we found hamburger and chicken on sale at the grocery store so we're stocked up with meat for the next 3 weeks!

To Do for the Week: (many for snacks)

Make bread: (3 loaves made Sat, need 3 more for the week) - 2 cup unbleached, + 1/2 cup flax & 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (pg 29 Wholesome Junk Food)

Make Cranberry-Walnut-Blueberry Granola (pg. 37 Wholesome Junk Food)

Make Oat Crackers

MONDAY:

breakfast - steel cut oats w/pears, egg

lunch - lunch out

snack - yogurt and oranges

dinner - chicken enchiladas, corn

*desert* - lemon pudding

TUESDAY:

breakfast - cold cereal, bananas

lunch - PB&J Sand, yogurt, oranges, carrot sticks

snack - cheese and crackers

dinner - shrimp stir fry over quinoa

WEDNESDAY:

breakfast - pancakes, egg, turkey bacon, banana

lunch - leftovers, yogurt, oranges, cucumber slices

snack - apples and cheese

dinner - homemade chicken strips, sweet potato fries, broccoli, tom wedges

THURSDAY:

breakfast - yogurt w/granola, oranges

lunch - hardboiled egg sands, salad, apples

snack - peanut butter and celery w/raisins

dinner - NATHAN'S B-DAY! itailiano!

*Strawberry Rhubarb and Apple Pies*

FRIDAY:

breakfast - bagels w/peanut butter & cream cheese, banana

lunch - homemade whole grain mac n' cheese w/green beans and apples

snack - pretzels and pears

dinner - homemade pizza and salad

*desert* - baked apples (pg. 84 Wholesome Junk Food)

SATURDAY:

breakfast - pancakes, eggs and bacon, pineapple

lunch - lentil stew w/bread (Healthy Meals for less pg. 132)

snack - granola bars & apples

dinner - meatloaf, potatoes, carrots, spinach

SUNDAY:

breakfast - chocolate zucchini muffins, egg, oranges (pg. 65 Wholesome Junk Foods)

lunch - farmer's market soup w/grilled cheese

snack - granola bars & pears

dinner - tuna noodle casserole, grilled sweet potato, mashed cauliflower, salad

*desert* - cinnamon crispies (pg. 238 Healthy Meals for Less)

Christmas 2010

Today was the most amazing day! While Nathan and I opted out of gift exchange for one another due to finances, our kids were beyond blessed with gifts and the day couldn't have been better! Not only were the kids well behaved and we had NO major behavior issues they played together nicely (without constant prompting) today! I'm so proud of them! We even made it to and through a family dinner ... I couldn't have gotten anything better for Christmas! Thank you Jesus!!!

Homemade Yogurt!

Mom surprised me with a fantastic gift this morning... a yogurt maker and its already been put to work! In 30 minutes I'll move the yogurt to cool in the fridge overnight and tomorrow morning we'll have fresh yogurt topped with whatever our hearts may desire! Yum!

We used the whole milk we purchase from a local farm of course...so its sure to be nice and creamy! I'm so stoked!

For a great tutorial, check out this link!

http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/

Menu - week of December 19th - Nummy!

Last week we had several in our family down with the sickies, so most of our dinners weren't made as we stuck with homemade soups and bland, bland, bland meals... that means that most of the meals this week we already have the ingredients for!

Budget for the week $125

$21 - 6 dozen farm eggs (week & a half's worth)

$83.89 spent on groceries

Big Meal Plans this week:

1) Make Bread! This time I'm attempting a whole wheat sandwich type bread - wish me luck!

Monday -

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast w/banana

Lunch: Toasted Cheese w/soup

Dinner: Chili w/Cornbread

Tuesday -

Breakfast: Whole Grain Pancakes, yogurt, applesauce

Lunch: Hardboiled Egg Sandwiches, yogurt, pears

Dinner: Leftovers

Wednesday -

Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon and Toast w/Banana

Lunch: Leftover Chilli w/garlic bread

Dinner: Lentil Tacos

Thursday -

Breakfast: Whole Grain Waffles, Egg, Applesauce

Lunch: Mac n' cheese, assort. veggies and bananas

Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, Salad

Friday - Christmas Eve!!!

Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats w/fresh Pears

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Steamed Carrots, Zucchini and Snow Peas, Apple Pie

Saturday - Christmas Happy Birthday Jesus!

Birthday breakfast - blueberry breakfast cake, eggs, cantaloupe

Lunch/Dinner at Aunt Joyce's

Sunday -

Breakfast - Eggs, Bacon and Toast w/banana

Lunch - Farmer's Market Soup

Chicken n' Black Bean Enchiladas w/corn

Yummy Whole Grain Pancakes!

Surprisingly good! We've tried way too many whole grain pancake recipes and haven't really loved any of them...this one wins!

• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (blended in food processor)
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup applesauce or 1/3 cup sugar (we prefer the sugar, mainly for the texture of the pancakes)
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Christmas Tree Pizza - Countdown to Christmas - 7 Days to Go!

Fridays is movie night around here, which means that we also make up a nice homemade pizza and pair it with a salad. In the spirit of Christmas and to kick off our 7 days of decorating the tree we made our pizza tree shaped! They boys did a fabulous job 'decorating' the tree with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, star shaped green peppers and pepperoni! Baked on a well loved wheat crust - yum!

Movie: The Grinch that Stole Christmas

Tonights Story - The First Christmas Tree

Homemade Ornament - a Paper snowflake tree

Crust: (makes 2+ large pizzas)

2 cup unbleached flour

6 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup cold pressed flax seed

4.5 tsp quick active dry yeast

2 cups very warm water (130*)

Mix in mixure on Medium for 3 minutes

stir in another cup of unbleached flour

2.5-3 cups of whole wheat flour

mix until it pulls away from the bowl,

knead 6-8 minutes on a floured surface

let rise 30-45 minutes

Prebake this pizza dough for about 8 minutes prior to loading with toppings...num!

Menu - Week of December 12th

Grocery budget for the week $150 - I went over by nearly $60 this week, but I found many sales that I took advantage of - stock up week I guess... we won't need to buy milk for the remainder of the month though either.

How it was spent:

Farm fresh milk $40 (will get us through the rest of December as I froze most of it)

Farm fresh eggs $21 / 4 dozen

$147.74 Spent between three grocery stores

Between sale prices and coupons I saved $78.81! (and they were actually products we normally buy and use + a couple of Christmas treats (sparkling cider anyone!?) ...not just bought for the sake of a sale)

Monday - Chicken Soup w/grilled cheese

-remaining chicken from our roast last night

- 1 cup onion, finely chopped

- 2 potatoes chopped

-1 16oz bag frozen veggies

-alphabet noodles

-chicken base and water

+ grilled cheese for the non tummy flu-ers. :P

Tuesday - Spaghetti w/salad

1 pound ground turkey

• 1 minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 
  

Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie

2 lbs chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup corn

1 onion, chopped

butter, flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, milk, chicken base, + pie crust

Thursday - Lentil Tacos

1 onion, finely chopped

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 lb lentils (dried)

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup salsa

12 corn tortillas, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream

Saute onion, lentils and spices in oil then cook in the slow cooker on low for 5 hours

Friday - Homemade Pizza and Salad

Pepperoni and Olives

Saturday - Chili w/Cornbread

• 1 cup dried black beans (soaked overnight)
• 1 cup dried kidney beans (soaked overnight)
• 1 lb italian sausage
• 4 tomatoes chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup diced jalapeno peppers
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Sunday - Pot Roast, Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

~ veggies: broccoli, zucchini and baby carrots

Menu - Week of December 6th

Grocery funds Spent - $91.23 Food

Coupons used - $5.60

Super Exciting find - Mom's Best Cereal 10/$10 at Fred Meyers!

Milk - $40 for 12 gallons (1.5 - 2 weeks worth)

*BREAKFASTS*

In any order I feel like making them :)

- steel cut oats topped w/cut pears (normally requested by the kids 2-3 times/wk)

- oatmeal pancakes

- eggs and toast

- french toast and bacon

- cold cereal

- whole wheat waffles

*DINNERS*

Monday - Pizza Casserole

*******3 cups elbow macaroni

*******1 can spag sauce

*******1 cup chopped mushrooms

*******1 cup chopped tomatoes

*******season w/garlic and sea salt

*******top w/pepperoni and cheese and bake in the oven

Tuesday - Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas w/seasoned corn and broccoli

*******2-8-oz cream cheese, softened

*******1 cup sour cream

*******2-10 ounce cans mild green chile enchilada sauce

*******1/4 cup jalapenos, chopped

*******1 pounds shredded chicken

*******8 oz black beans (dried, soaked overnight)

*******2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

*******1 small sweet onion, chopped up farely fine

*******1/2 cup sliced black olives

*******12-14 corn tortillas

*******Garnish: sliced black olives, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, chopped green onion.

Wednesday - kidney bean soup w/quesidillas

*******lb ground turkey 15 oz tom sauce

*******1 chopped onion

*******1 cup chopped carrots

*******4 chopped potatoes

*******15 oz dried kidney beans

*******1 diced green pepper

*******beef base/chicken base to taste

*******6 cups water

*******salt/pepper

Thursday - Beans and Rice

*******2 cups uncooked brown rice

*******16 oz dried black beans

*******1 large onion, chopped

*******1 tablespoon olive oil

*******1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes and green chilies

*******2 teaspoons chili powder

*******1/4 teaspoon salt

*******1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Friday - Homemade Hawaiian Pizza w/salad

Saturday - Farmer's Market Soup

*******2 chicken breasts cooked/cubed

*******1 cup barley

*******1 cup chopped carrots

*******1 cup chopped green zucchini

*******1 cup chopped yellow zucchini

*******1/2 cup chopped onion

*******1 cup chopped tomatoes

*******3 sticks chopped celery

*******1 cup black eye peas

*******1/2 cup frozen corn

*******1/2 cup fresh green beans

*******1 jalepeno finely chopped

*******cover with water and season w/salt n' pepper and chicken base to taste

Sunday - Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes w/steamed veggies

*******whole roasted chicken

*******steamed broccoli, carrots and zucchini

What a difference a day can make.

Wow, first off let me start by saying I'm *really* glad we do not keep track of our age in hours. I am approx 246072 hours old...sounds horrid!

Back to the main point. The kids have been with grandparents for just 31 hours. A mear blip on 246072 hours of life, yet for some reason my heart is just hurting for them tonight.

Today was great. We slept in until 10am (haven't done that since college I'm quite sure), ate 2 *simple, easy clean up* meals, cleaned a bit, and got work done. In all that peace and quiet I find myself simply missing the chaos. The constant need, the loud laughter and noses to wipe.

Its only been a day. How is it that my heart can be so connected to something that after being without for a day I feel I'm missing a part of myself.

Pay Attention!!!

"Slow down!"..."Think before you do!"..."Pay Attention!"..."Are you here in the moment!?" All things I say to my children as I envision myself ripping my hair out of my head.

We'll see if I can get all of my thoughts typed out in a quasi-organized fashion here tonight. My mind is racing and while it appears that all of my thoughts are interconnected, they are all separate pieces to one very large puzzle.

Lets start at the beginning. The children are with grandparents for the weekend...meaning we are enjoying a nice and quiet evening at home. We opted out of an overnight hotel stay and theater, instead deciding upon carry out pizza, movie, wine and a bubble bath. Lovely choice by the way! With the movie done, we started talking....about memories.

In a 12+ year relationship we have very few distinct memories. How can this be!? We've been through so much together. High school, college, marriage, kids, 3 home remodels, family deaths, a divorce turned around. How is it that we struggle to remember our history?

We are going so fast through this life that we're just here, doing life. We're not slowing down, paying attention or really living it. This is completely not acceptable! I get frustrated at my 10 year old when he gets up from the dinner table and walks with his dirty dishes and all down to the living room, clearly on some sort of dazed auto pilot program, not at all living in the moment. Yet I, nearly 20 years his elder, do the same thing for most of the day...every day.

The first year we had the kids were filled with excursions, adventures, PHOTOS!, elaborate events, lavish home-made birthday cakes that took way too long to make. Suddenly its like all we know is the routine of each day. Up, breakfast, work/school, home, nap, pick-up, homework, dinner, bed. Rinse and Repeat! Seriously, thank goodness we have the same scrambled egg and turkey bacon burrito for breakfast each morning or we'd have no idea that we had had breakfast by the time lunch rolled around. We are on auto pilot. :(

So, how does one turn off the auto pilot? We rely so heavily on it. My to-do list is long and I'm juggling four kids, a home based business, a teaching career, a marriage, and a home to take care of. Auto pilot helps me to effectively and efficiently get through each day.

But that's the problem. I don't want to just get through each day. I want to live each day. I want memories from these years when my children are small, I want memories of my husband and I enjoying our lives.

For the next 12 weeks I'm vowing to get to a point where auto pilot is not my default. Where I'm really living my life again. Where laundry and dishes and even homework on occasion (oh yeah!!!) are pushed...no SHOVED aside so that the routine does not become us. I'm breaking this habit!

We were put on this earth for a reason, and just getting through life was not it.

So much to be thankful for this week!

Its been exhausting yet amazing all at the same time! Yeah, I'm going to take a moment and be all mushy and whatnot...there is much to be thankful for and sometimes you just need to sit for a moment, focus on all the good and put it all in writing.

I truly do adore teaching my 1st graders - I'm so thankful I've been put where I have!

And thankful doesn't even begin to describe my gratitude toward my gift of sewing. During a very tough financial time, my sewing business is helping to keep our household afloat.

We got news this week that we qualify for a refinance that will drop our mortgage payment by over $100/month!!

My main man (hubby) has really helped this week as I've been working longer shifts at work. He even took the toddler to her shot appointment today! Those are *the* worst appointments as parents and he took on the task voluntarily and very willingly. Not to mention all the dishes and laundry he's done this week, breakfasts he's cooked, and all that. ;0) Thanks love!

L's been healthy for over a week now!!! Woot! We went through a good 2 months of constant ear infection, stomach flu and so on. Poor kid lost weight and was just a perpetual crank ;P. Now she's back to her usual spunky, lively and lovely little self!

P had his reading assessments today and JUMPED an entire 4 levels in reading! I'm so proud of the little man for working so hard!

O had ALL assignments in school turned in *on time* this week (something that has been a horrible issue). He really is working so hard to become a responsible kid!

A got her little non-morning-loving buns out of bed the first time I asked her today! Normally its near death threat arguing to get her dressed and ready for school. She took the complete initiative today and I'm beyond impressed. You go little lady!

This week has been great all in all, even with the bouts of hair pulling behavior, an unexpected bill, and all that can bring you down. Always remember to try to find the positives!