Menu Plan Monday - August 1st

This week is going to be CRAZY! We're having VBS at our church this week so we'll need to be out the door by 5:30pm. We'll eat dinner at home and take dads dinner to him so he can scarf it down before he goes to teach class! We're so looking forward to it...our kids all love to attend VBS. So...even though we'll be away from home each night this week, we'll still be able to have normal meals...except Monday because we are also having a bowling day with our homeschool group. :)

I'm also going to start planning our meals for Saturday and Sunday. In the past, I've kind of flew by the seat of my pants but that's clearly NOT working! Saturdays are usually pretty laid back so I'll plan a big pot of something and they eat on that throughout the day. Sunday afternoon is utter chaos, hungry children and having to stop by the store is NO fun so...we'll probably have a crockpot meal or something that can be popped into the oven. I really don't like stopping by the store on the way home to pick something up...it's simply too expensive.

So...here's what's on our menu:

Monday - meal out (between skating and VBS)
Tuesday - Scalloped potatoes with turkey ham (crockpot meal)
Wednesday - Cheesy Chicken enchiladas with green salad
Thursday - BBQ chicken sandwiches on homemade wheat buns
Friday - Family pizza night
Saturday - Italian Vegetable soup with wheat crackers (recipe to come)
Sunday - Beef stroganoff served over egg noodles

What's on your plate this week?

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

Tonight time sort of got away from me and before I knew it, it was dinner time and there was nothing to eat. The natives were restless and hungry! So I threw together my version of chicken cacciatore. It's super easy because I used pre-cooked, de-boned chicken. This works especially well since I don't really like the skin left on it and a lot of the recipes I've seen call for leaving the skin on. So...here's my version (photo coming soon!)

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

1-2 pounds cooked, skinless, de-boned chicken (any parts you like)
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid
2 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Put your chicken in a large skillet and brown it a little on medium heat. Add the peppers, onions and garlic...toss to mix. Pour diced tomatoes with liquid over the top and mix together. Add seasoning...simmer 10 minutes until heated through and veggies are tender. Serve over prepared pasta or rice.

This is a yummy quick meal and I make it even easier because I use pre-cooked chicken that I have ready in the freezer. I also use peppers and onions that are already diced and in the freezer. When I do that, I can make dinner from start to finish in about 15 minutes!

What meal do you have that can be made in 15 minutes that fills your hungry bunch? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Menu Plan Monday

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's our second week back to school and to keep things from getting crazier around here...I'm actually planning our meals! Oh yeah...it does make life easier! Also, we're having several of my older sons favorites because he's finally back from all his mission trips this summer! So, this is what we're having:

Monday - Spaghetti with Italian turkey sausage, green salad and garlic bread
Tuesday - Chicken Fajitas
Wednesday - Mexican Chicken Casserole and green beans
Thursday - Meatloaf, homemade mac and cheese and green peas
Friday - homemade pizza and green salad

Hopefully I'll be able to throw in a few fresh sliced veggies after our trip to a local farm on Tuesday. :) I'm not sure what they'll have available...it's pretty hot here in Arkansas and gardens are burning up.

Frustrated with Netflix Price Increase?

Are you frustrated with Netflix recent price increase? Many are. I've heard the complaints and well, we all get a little miffed when our bill increases but I still believe that Netflix is a good value. Here's why:

• Renting a movie...even the older titles would be at least $1 per movie, multiply that by 30 days in a month and you've already spent $30. If you choose the dvd/streaming combo, you'll pay bout $16 and you can watch more than one per day. This still fits in our $20 per month "entertainment" budget for our family.
• We haven't had cable in a LONG time but the lowest cost cable package I have seen is around $25 per month...not including fees. You can watch all you want but you'll pay extra for movie channels. 
• One of my favorite things about Netflix...NO COMMERCIALS! Oh yeah...this one is great! I can watch what I want without being bombarded by commercials every 5 minutes. This in itself saves me money and not just my spending but my kids won't be seeing all the stuff they don't have and screaming for me to buy it for them.

So...did you get miffed that they changed their pricing? Let me hear it.