Eat @HOME August Finale & September-Menu Planning

Well, it's official...we DID IT!  We ate at home for the entire month of August! (With the exception of Eli's Birthday Happy Meal!)  Anybody else out there try it?  I think the team's favorite new meal was the Baked Tacos followed closely by Chicken Rollatini.

It was a lot of cooking, but it was SO worth it.  So much in fact that we are doing it AGAIN!  Ahhh!  We are crazy! :)  We won't be AS strict this time.  We will allow ourselves a couple of times to go and grab something if we are in a pinch.  

Honestly it wasn't too bad!  True I did complain a few times, but those were times that I hadn't planned very well.  So that was my fault. :)

So here is my Eat @HOME September Menu!!  There are a few meals still left from August that I didn't get to.  You'll also see some repeats from August because they were so yummy.  I also added a couple of brand new ones to try out! (Those are noted by the *.)  I've also added a Snacks/breakfasts/Freezer category.  These are things I like to keep on hand at various times for the boys to either add to their school lunches or to take for snack.

Eat @ HOME September 2013 Menu

1. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos *
2. Chicken & Dumplings
3. Pancake Squares *, Eggs & Bacon
4. Navajo Tacos
5. Chicken Rollatini , Pasta, Salad
6. Crockpot Lemon Chicken *, Baked Potatoes
7. BBQ Pork Ribs, Potato Casserole, Corn on the Cob
8. Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Sea Shell Pasta Salad*
9. Baked Tacos
10. Chicken Parmesan Meatballs *, Pasta, Ratatouille *
11. Garlic Chicken with Orzo*, Roasted Carrots
12. Crockpot Rotisserie Style Chicken Breasts, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Corn
13. Shepherd's Pie
14. Meatloaf, Oven Roasted Potatoes
15. Meatball Subs, Caprese Pasta Salad*
16. Baked Chicken Taquitos, Rice, Black Beans
17. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Parmesan/Spinach Orzo
18. Chili, Cornbread
19. Pizza, Cheese Sticks, Salad
20. Spaghetti, Salad, Green Beans
21. Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken*, Rice
22. Crockpot Chicken Fajitas*
23. Pan-seared Chicken breasts, Baked Potatoes
24. Beef & Potato Hash
25. Hamburgers, French Fries
26. Pancakes, Eggs & Bacon
27. BBQ Chicken Legs, Oven Roasted Potatoes
28. Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Okra

Snacks/Breakfasts/Freezer

1. Hot Ham & Cheese Pinwheels*
2. Granola Bars
3. Poppy Seed Bread 
4. Banana Bread
5. Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
6. French Bread
7. Pizza Dough

Confession: I'm a Junk Hider!

I can't believe I'm posting this picture! :)  But, yes, that IS my floor!   

I was sweeping up the living room a couple of weeks ago and moved my couch!  BIG mistake!  And like a crazy woman, I HAD to take a picture!  (Someday I'll need evidence to prove to my boys all of the ways they have driven me crazy!)  I have thought about that picture a lot in the past couple of weeks.  And I wanted to share some thoughts with you about it.

You see, all of that "junk" was hiding out under my couch.  I'm not proud of this, but hey, just keepin' it real folks!  :)  

Let's play a quick game of I Spy, shall we?

I spy:

at least 3 dirty socks

a jolly rancher

a lollipop stick

a Gogurt Wrapper

Some Goldfish

A peanut butter cracker

Monopoly Money

A Dum-Dum wrapper

A Cheerio

A Cheeto

A headless Lego Man

A M&M

One goggle lens

An empty push pop container

A Straw wrapper

A bouncy ball

A wand

And countless other things that I can't even figure out what they are

You see, I am a junk-hider!

I promise you, I sweep my living room floor.  I know what you are thinking, "Yeah, OK!  Sure you do!"  I do sweep!  But let me tell you how I do it.  I do a quick sweep up around the furniture and in front of the door and through the doorway into the kitchen. 

So you may ask, "How in the world did you miss all of that junk?"

Well, I didn't dig into my couch.  I didn't do the heavy lifting of moving the couch out of the way to see what had accumulated under it. 

Why not?

Because sometimes it's just too much work and I'm tired! :)  Can I get an amen?   If I don't move my couch, I can't "see" the junk.  I MAY know it's there, but I know that no one else can see it.

You see, it's sooo much easier to do the work that people will notice.  Doing just enough to look good.  Doing just enough to get by.

I could try and argue that my floor is clean.  You can't see any of my "junk" so it has to be clean, right?

Nope, because I'm a junk-hider!

Junk...don't we all have junk?  We have junk hidden in our closets, our garages, some of us may even have a little "junk in our trunks!"  :)  But what about the junk that's hidden in our hearts?  What about the failures, the hurts, the pain, and the struggles that we hide deep within ourselves that we keep hidden from everyone else.  What about that "junk" that's weighing us down.  That "junk" that no one even knows is there because we present ourselves as "junk free"!

Guess what?  It doesn't work! We ALL have "junk".  

So what do we do with it?  I say we yank it out, dig it out, and deal with it!  God doesn't want us to live paralyzed by our past.  He wants us to live life abundantly!  He gave us Jesus so that we can live "junk free".  

Jesus said in John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God gave us Jesus so that we can give Jesus our "junk".  What a wonderful gift!  A trade that is in NO way even!  But God did it because He LOVES us, even in spite of our "junk".

Because of Jesus, our "junk" doesn't have to stay with us.
Because of Jesus, we can be forgiven of our "junk".
Because of Jesus, we can forgive others of their "junk".
Because of Jesus, there is NOTHING that can separate us from God love for us.

WHAT a GIFT!

So if you are a fellow "junk-hider" and are holding on to "junk", get in there and dig it out.  Deal with it!  Give if ALL up!  You don't need it!  Jesus can handle it!  What are you waiting for?

If you need guidance, see a counselor!
If you need prayer, call a prayer warrior!
If you need to know more about who Jesus is, ask!

Go and live your "life to the full"!  That's God's plan for you!

Do you need one more laugh for today?  

Here is what's under my couch this morning, August 31, 2013!

Yep, I still have a few things to learn! :)  So does my team! 

~Kristee

Eat @HOME August Day #27 Update-Baked Tacos

We are almost done!  It has been a long month!  As of today, the only money we have spent on eating out was about $4 for Eli's Happy Birthday Happy Meal!  For birthdays, we take them the lunch of their choice to school.  We couldn't skip Eli's special day! :)

Last night I made Baked Tacos.  They were really good!  Thumbs up from the whole team!  Well, Eli technically gave me a sideways thumb because I put too much meat in them and his fell apart! :)  Such a critic!

They were fairly easy to make.  I loved the idea of toasting them upside down on the oven rack!  Just be careful when toasting up your tortillas not to burn them.  I only burned one which is amazing!  I'm notorious for burning tortillas in my house!  I used both corn and flour tortillas.  They both turned out great.  By toasting the tortillas in the oven, it makes the base wide enough to fill them without them falling over, which is AWESOME!  

The meat mixture for this is amazing.  By adding the refried beans, you can make your meat mixture go farther.  It also bumped up the fiber and protein.  My boys didn't even know it had beans in it!  This is probably how I'll make my tacos from now on!  They are that good! :)  I highly recommend these!

Baked Tacos

Topped with some lettuce, tomato, salsa and fat free sour cream!  YUM!

Here is what my menu looks like.  I'm going to end up with some extra recipes, but that's OK.  We will just roll those over into September.

Eat @ HOME August 2013 Menu

1. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos *
2. Skillet Chili Mac *
3. Pancake Squares *, Eggs & Bacon
4. Pan Seared Chicken with Tomatoes *, Parmesan/Spinach Orzo*
5. Chicken Rollatini *, Pasta,
6. Crockpot Lemon Chicken *, Baked Potatoes
7. Pork Loin *, Potato Casserole
8. Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Sea Shell Pasta Salad*
9. Baked Tacos*
10. Chicken Parmesan Meatballs *, Pasta, Ratatouille *
11. Honey Lime Chicken Skewers *, Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Sauce*
12. Crockpot Rotisserie Style Chicken, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Corn
13. Shepherd's Pie
14. Meatloaf, Oven Roasted Potatoes
15. Meatball Subs, Salad
16. Baked Chicken Taquitos, Rice, Black Beans
17. BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie
18. Sloppy Joes, French Fries
19. Pizza, Cheese Sticks, Salad
20. Spaghetti, Salad, Green Beans
21. BBQ Pork Ribs, Baked Potatoes
22. Enchiladas, Rice, Black Beans
23. Beef & Potato Hash
24. Hamburgers, French Fries
25. French Toast, Eggs
26. BBQ Chicken Legs
27. Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Okra-Jeff's meal! :)

~Happy Cooking!

Kristee

Trainer Tips: Bible Printables

So a couple of weeks ago I went a little crazy on Pinterest.  I had seen free printables floating around Pinterest for some time.  I had never actually printed any of the ones I had "pinned".  And much to my excitement, I figured out just how easy it was.

For some time, Jeff & I had been trying to figure out a way to incorporate more Bible verses around the house.  In the past, we've just written them on note cards and have stuck them on the fridge, wall, and bathroom mirrors.  That works OK, but it really doesn't look "pretty".

So I ran across all of these printables and the light bulb came on.  I just printed them up on some card stock.  I'm not sure how long the will last without fading.  If you were concerned about them fading, you could print them out on photo paper or even send them to your favorite photo printing site.  I'm not too worried about that for now.  I hope to keep accumulating more so that I can rotate new ones in, if they begin to look too faded.  You can print them to any size you want.  Several of them had different color options as well.

As for the frames, I just went cheap.  I found so many verses to print, I knew I'd never be able to purchase expensive ones.  I opted for IKEA.  I was able to find some for $1.99 each.  Of course since they are from IKEA, they are a strange size, 8.5 X 11.  So keep that in mind when printing, if you opt to use them.  You will want to make sure your picture is centered for 8.5 X 11 rather than printing an 8 X 10.  Some of mine aren't exactly even, which I'm OK with.  :)

Here is what I came up with!   Did I mention they were all FREE?

If you'd like links to these freebies.  You can check the out HERE on my PRINTABLE Board on Pinterest.  I don't think that they are all on there.  Some of the sites that I pinned had multiple free printables, so you may just need to click around on their sites.  When I found more than more, I just printed it and didn't take the time to "pin" them all.

Now I just have to get them on the walls!  It certainly doesn't end with getting them put up.  We have to take the time to read them to the boys, and find ways to integrate them into day-to-day conversations.

Give these are try!  There are some really cute ones out there!  Let me know if you have any that you've found.  I was so surprised at how easy they were.  I'm also playing around with a couple of different sites to design my own.  Does anyone out there have experience with that?  I'd love some hints!!

~Kristee

Trainer Notes: Living Dangerously

This past weekend Jeff preached at all four services at our church.  He also had finals for a class he's taking for his Master's degree.  So it was a bit hectic around here.  We also had some friends here visiting from Indiana.  They were borrowing our van on Saturday to move their daughter into ASU.

So...funny story:

Since they were borrowing our van, Jeff had taken all four of the boys car seats out.  When did I remember this?  Yep, Sunday morning at 9:15, when I opened the van door, of course.  So I opened up the garage to get them out...not there!  :/  Jeff had put them in HIS van.  His van was at church!  He was on stage preaching at the 1st service!  Hmmm!?

Who could I call?  Nobody I know has four extra car seats laying around.  So I thought, "well bummer I guess we aren't going to church!"

Then I thought, "Forget that!  I have to go hear my man preach!"

I told the boys to get in and buckle up.  Eli was on the verge of a panic attack.  WHAT no car seats?  I stuck Micah's carrier on the seat and was able to use the seat belt to keep him stable without having the base.  Eli was concerned it was not safe.  So he said, "I'm gonna pray!"  LOVE him!

I got the other's all buckled in.  Jonah thought it was awesome.  He felt like a big boy.

We took off!  I was praying that I wouldn't get pulled over for some weird reason.

We made it.  It was a completely uneventful drive, aside from the giggling in the back!

As I pulled into the parking lot this song came on the radio.  Dangerous by Group 1 Crew
Take a listen it's a pretty catchy song!

The first line of the chorus says, "I want to live dangerous, risk it all for you Lord!"

It just cracked me up at God's timing!  I love it when He makes me laugh!  We lived "Dangerously" and made it on time.  

Jeff did great!  I always love getting to hear him speak!  If you want to watch Jeff's sermon you can check it out  HERE.

~Kristee

Eat @HOME August-Day #18 Update

We are still at it!  But boy I'm I tired! :)

 A few days ago we tried the Pan Seared Chicken with Tomatoes & the Parmesan/Spinach Orzo.

Turns out, the chicken is just pretty much grilled chicken with a tomato/olive relish.  I personally don't really care for olives.  I can eat them it they are thrown on a pizza or a Mexican dish, but that's about it.  I didn't realize the recipe included olives! :/  So I made the tomatoes and served it on the side.  Nobody like those but me.  It was just tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  I thought they added some flavor to the chicken.

I was worried about the Orzo.  All of that green spinach in there.  I wasn't sure how the boys would react.  I just told them it was a new recipe for Mac & Cheese.  Much to my surprise it worked! :)  Eli and Noah loved it.  Jonah wouldn't try it, which didn't surprise me.  Eli even took some in his lunch the next day.  It was really easy to make and the orzo cooked up really quick.  The ingredients were all what I would consider "normal", with the exception of the orzo.  I really like it as well.  The boys didn't complain about the spinach, so I'll be trying to sneak that into future meals! ;)  I think adding some artichokes and mozzarella cheese would be awesome!  I may try that next time.

I fear that I'm running out of motivation to cook!  I'm starting to dread fixing dinners now.  I'm praying that it passes and I get a second wind! :)

~Happy Cooking!
Kristee





Eat @ HOME August 2013 Menu

1. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos *
2. Skillet Chili Mac *
3. Pancake Squares *, Eggs & Bacon
4. Pan Seared Chicken with Tomatoes *, Parmesan/Spinach Orzo*
5. Chicken Rollatini *, Pasta,
6. Crockpot Lemon Chicken *, Baked Potatoes
7. Pork Loin *, Potato Casserole
8. Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Sea Shell Pasta Salad*
9. Baked Tacos*
10. Chicken Parmesan Meatballs *, Pasta, Ratatouille *
11. Honey Lime Chicken Skewers *, Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Sauce*
12. Crockpot Rotisserie Style Chicken, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Corn
13. Shepherd's Pie
14. Meatloaf, Oven Roasted Potatoes
15. Meatball Subs, Salad
16. Baked Chicken Taquitos, Rice, Black Beans
17. BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie
18. Sloppy Joes, French Fries
19. Pizza, Cheese Sticks, Salad
20. Spaghetti, Salad, Green Beans
21. BBQ Pork Ribs, Baked Potatoes
22. Enchiladas, Rice, Black Beans
23. Beef & Potato Hash
24. Hamburgers, French Fries
25. French Toast, Eggs
26. BBQ Chicken Legs
27. Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Okra-Jeff's meal! :)

Eat @HOME August Day #12 Update

Well Eat @HOME August is STILL going strong! :)  We haven't given into temptation, not even once!  No McDonald's sweet tea, no fast food, not even donuts and juice at church.  The boys have done really well.  They haven't really complained.  They did want Gatorade at the Bridge on Saturday, but they used their own money for it! :)  Eli keeps coming up with things that I should make instead of buying.  He told me yesterday we should get some chickens so we wouldn't have to buy eggs!  Really?  As if our neighbors need another reason to be annoyed with us!  :)

We are cooking our way through our menu.  We've eaten 10 meals off of the menu so far.  Not too bad for day #12! :)

Eat @ HOME August 2013 Menu

1. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos *
2. Skillet Chili Mac *
3. Pancake Squares *, Eggs & Bacon
4. Pan Seared Chicken with Tomatoes *, Parmesan/Spinach Orzo*
5. Chicken Rollatini *, Pasta, 
6. Crockpot Lemon Chicken *, Baked Potatoes
7. Pork Loin *, Potato Casserole
8. Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Sea Shell Pasta Salad*
9. Baked Tacos*
10. Chicken Parmesan Meatballs *, Pasta, Ratatouille *
11. Honey Lime Chicken Skewers *, Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Sauce*
12. Crockpot Rotisserie Style Chicken, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Corn
13. Shepherd's Pie
14. Meatloaf, Oven Roasted Potatoes
15. Meatball Subs, Salad
16. Baked Chicken Taquitos, Rice, Black Beans
17. BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie
18. Sloppy Joes, French Fries
19. Pizza, Cheese Sticks, Salad
20. Spaghetti, Salad, Green Beans
21. BBQ Pork Ribs, Baked Potatoes
22. Enchiladas, Rice, Black Beans
23. Beef & Potato Hash
24. Hamburgers, French Fries
25. French Toast, Eggs  
26. BBQ Chicken Legs
27. Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Okra-Jeff's meal! :)

Last night a made a meatloaf and some oven roasted potatoes.

I thought I'd share my potato recipe with you!  They are really easy and my team really likes them.

Oven Roasted Potatoes
*Potatoes
*Drizzle of Olive Oil
*Italian Seasoning
*Parmesan Cheese
*Salt and Pepper

Peel your potatoes, then slice thin on a mandolin slicer. (This is the one that I have.)-It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.
Put them in a Ziploc bag, drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Add other ingredients to your liking.  Shake it all up.  Spread them out evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes.

Give it a try!

Has anybody out there tried any new yummy recipes?

~Kristee