Menu Plan 4/23-4/28

We are still eating from our pantry this week! It's amazing me that we are still having pretty decent meals -didn't realize we had so much food in our kitchen. We did have to go buy milk, bread, and cereal last week and I'm sure we will have to buy a few things this week too!

Breakfast
Cereal
Toast
Oatmeal

Lunch
Leftovers
Sandwiches  

Dinner
Waffles, sausage, pineapple chunks
Tacos, refried beans
Biscuits, hamburger(out of ground sausage) gravy, pineapple chunks
Homemade Pizza, salad
Beans and rice, salad
YOYO (You're on your own)

This week I will be adding recipes as I get photos taken and edited!! No one likes a plain text recipe right??   

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Menu Plan Monday

I've been slacking when it comes to planning out my weekly menus and it's hectic at 4 pm when I'm trying to run around to find what is for dinner! I'm trying to be more intentional in all areas of my life and this is no exception. Meal planning is a great way to save money at the grocery store and time at home!


Breakfast
Cereal
Toast
Shake (Slim Fast)

Lunch
Leftovers
Sandwich
Shake

Dinner
Pinto Beans and Rice
Waffles and Sausage
Chicken Fried Rice
Grilled Steak and Baked Potatoes
Eggs and Gravy over Toast and Bacon

Snacks
Homemade Granola Bars
Pineapple Chunks
Jello
Popcorn

This week we are eating from the pantry. No trips to the grocery store unless we need milk or bread...that is ALL! I'm trying to completely clean out our pantry, fridge, and freezer so we can start new building a healthy home.

Linking up at: OrgJunkie

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Homemade Frappucino

When I worked outside the home I would stop at Starbucks every morning and order a Grande Caramel Frappucino. Seriously that was the highlight of my day. Obviously the cost really added up with each drink ranging in price from $4-$5...I don't remember the exact price.

Becoming at stay-at-home mom meant no more quick trips through Starbucks because not only is the nearest store almost 30 minutes away but it's also not in our budget. So to still get my fix of that delicious iced coffee I decided to make my own homemade. I knew the price would be considerably lower and that made me happy!

So here is my recipe...I hope you enjoy it!

Homemade Caramel Frapp

Ingredients
1 cup strong coffee
3/4 milk
3 Tbsp. sugar
2-4 cups ice
Caramel, to taste
Blender

Here are all of my needed ingredients. Look away from the ugly yellow counter tops and brown paneling. 

Its probably a crime or something to use Dunkin Donuts coffee when making a Starbucks drink but well...It is what it is and that's what was in my cabinet. 

When Drew bought me the Keurig he also got the filter that you could use your own coffee with. Huge money saver when K-Cups cost $10 for 12. I can buy a bag of good coffee for that price and make it last a lot longer than 12 cups of coffee.

So anyways, brew your coffee according to how you like it. The stronger the better is what works for me!

Start with 2 cups of ice and add it to your blender

Then add your milk

-followed by your sugar.

Next add your coffee

and a squeeze or 10 of caramel (or chocolate) syrup.

Then blend your mixture, adding more ice as necessary, until you get the desired consistency. I added 4 cups of ice. Add some whipped cream with another squeeze or two of  caramel syrup to the top and enjoy!!

I was out of whipped cream today...bummer...

But this was a nice change from regular coffee in the morning. It takes a few minutes more than just brewing coffee but it sure is yummy!!

How do you like your coffee? What do you add into it?  

Linking up at the following places:

Monday

The Better Mom

The Straightened Path
These 5 of Mine PLUS TWO

Tuesday


Wednesday
Deep Roots at Home
Raising Homemakers
Women Living Well
Our Simple Farm
Grateful for Grace

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All content © My Blessings at Home 2012.

Menu Plan Monday

I write out our menus usually for two weeks at a time since that is how our income is brought in. Somehow this morning I can not seem to find my plan. This does not work well for me.

I vaguely remember what was on the list so we'll just work with that and pray that I find my actually list!

Breakfasts
Cereal
Oatmeal
Toast

Lunch
Sandwiches
Salad
Tuna Wraps

Dinner
Chili, Cornbread
Pop Up Pancakes, Bacon
Cheesy Cheeseburger Rice, Zipper Peas  {I'm going to add a can of Cheese Soup to that also)
BBQ Sausage*, Mashed Potatoes, Purple Hull Peas
Sandwiches, Chips
Parmesan and Chicken Pasta*
Leftovers, Whatever you want!

Snacks
Homemade Rice Krispy Treats*

*Indicate recipe is coming soon.



Have a great day,

Ashley

{{{This post is linked up at I'm an Organizing Junkie }}}
 

Italian Beef Sandwiches

This is beginning to look like a cooking blog! While I will be posting lots of recipes to get them on the site that's definitely not all I have in store here!

I've had this recipe waiting patiently on my computer for over a year now. I don't know why I haven't tried it before because it is a-maz-ing! Really....it is good! I don't remember where I found it so as of now I can't give credit where it is due...but I'm looking for it!

This morning before church I pulled out the ole Crockpot and put it to work! My roast was still half way frozen but I figured all day in the Crockpot would get the job done. After 3 hours of cooking it was starting to make the whole house smell wonderful. I knew then it had to taste great!

Here's what you need:

Roast - I think mine was around 3 pounds.
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
1 pkg. Brown Gravy Mix
1 can Chicken Broth
1 jar Pepperoncini Peppers and Juice
1/4 c. Vinegar
Garlic Powder (I just kind of threw some on top of the roast)

Place your roast in the crockpot and mix everything else in a medium sized bowl. Pour mixture on top of roast and sprinkle garlic powder over it.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. I actually cooked mine on low for 3 hours then turned it to high when we got him for about 4 hours. It just fell apart and was melt-in-your-mouth good!!

After it's done cooking, use 2 forks and shred the meat. Serve on hoagie buns!

Hope you like it!

Ashley

Grilled Cheese Rolls

I didn't think I was ever going to be able to get this written tonight. I probably shouldn't decide to publish a new recipe post the same night we actually tried the recipe. Jaxon has 3...yes THREE....teeth coming in right now and he is not a happy camper...which means Mom is not a happy camper...

Anyways...

These Grilled Cheese Rolls were super simple to make and take very little time. These could be a great last minute dinner idea or possibly a quick after school snack. The kids loved these more than the Mini Taco Bites and asked could we eat them again tomorrow night too.

For these picky eaters to love 2 new recipes this week means I'm feeling like a million bucks!

True story....if only I had a million bucks...ah dreams...

So back to the recipe...

You will need:

Bread and Cheese (1 piece for each roll - don't be tempted to fit more cheese in there)
Vegetable Oil

Ok so here it is. It's not rocket science and I'm sure even the mini cooks out there would love to get their hands on these...other than the whole frying part.

Cut the crust off all of the bread slices. I saved all of mine and threw them in a bag in the freezer to make bread crumbs another night. Take a rolling pin and flatten the bread. Lay your cheese slices on each piece of bread and roll them up. I kind of flattened mine to make them stay together before throwing them in the pan. My first batch of these I had the heat around med-high and they were done pretty quick...too quick. They didn't burn but it was just quicker than I expected. The next go-around I turned the heat down some. The next batch was beautiful. Fry them until golden brown on both sides. Really it does not take long so do not walk away from them.

Once they are done cooking place them on a few paper towels to catch the grease and that.is.it. Really...

I also fried french fries to go with it and warmed some marinara sauce to dip them in!

This is their best "we are a happy family" picture.

They just didn't understand why I was taking a picture when they wanted to dig into the food. Maybe one day they will understand...

He was watching the food close mad because he can't eat it. 

He is allergic to milk, eggs, and wheat....since he isn't one yet we haven't been buying a ton of the allergen friendly foods out there...it's still baby food for him...mostly...

 

Sister loves to make faces for the camera. She definitely loved supper tonight!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Ashley

Mini Taco Bites

Let me start by saying that these were pretty cool to make and fun to eat!

I found this little recipe on Pinterest. Right off the bat I knew our kids would totally love it and I definitely had to try my hand at making them. I'm so glad that I did and these little bite size goodies will definitely be making their appearance at our house again! The recipe I looked at came from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour.

You should definitely try these in your home...like yesterday!

Mini Taco Bites

Wonton wrappers

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 package taco seasoning

Shredded Cheese

Muffin tin(s)

Non-Stick cooking spray

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, taco sauce...

Before beginning anything, liberally spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. This will keep the wonton wrappers from sticking to the pan and messing your pretty little taco bites all up!

Please excuse my ugly muffin tin. It's been around for years. It was my mother's. 

After spraying the muffin tin, I started browning the ground beef in a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat. At this point I had a little mini-cook approach wanting to get her hands dirty. 

 She didn't actually help in this part because that is a hot stove and she is accident prone. She held the spoon long enough for me to get a picture then we backed her chair up. Notice my dirty kitchen/clean clothes on the dryer...ok don't notice it...actually pretend you didn't see it.

Next, we drained the ground beef and added the taco seasoning and water as the pkg directs. While that was cooking we started pressing the wonton wrappers into the muffin tins. That was the fun part and Mini Cook liked it! 

It doesn't have to look perfect...you are just making a little taco shell. 

Once the ground beef mixture is done cooking spoon 1 Tbsp of it into each muffin cup and top with amount of cheese to your liking! We actually made 18 mini cups and were able to put slightly more than 1 Tbsp. into each cup...just eye ball it.

After the cups are filled pop these lovely things into a preheated oven of 425 degrees. Let them cook 8-10 minutes but keep an eye on them once they get around the 8 minute mark.

These are straight out of the oven and boy did they smell good!! 

Drew and I added jalapeno peppers and taco sauce to ours and we served them with yellow rice. 

It was a simple meal that was fun to make! Start to finish it might have taken 30 minutes give or take a few. By myself I probably could have done it faster but it isn't as fun as when Mini Cook helps!!

P.S. These could be served as little party appetizers as well! 

Enjoy,

Ashley