Recipes for Your Next Potluck

I don't want to mislead my readers into thinking that I've been keeping my regular list of recipes in rotation over and over again without adding any new ones. So, here are a few more recipes for those that don't find cooking up dinner to be a natural instinct! These recipes are simple to make, yet very tasty and especially fantastic for pot luck dinners.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This recipe is from the infamous Ree Drummond (a.k.a., The Pioneer Woman). I can always count on her recipes to be wonderful and tasty. I love Panera Bread's Broccoli and Cheddar Soup and have been wanting to make it on my own. With the help of the Pioneer Woman, I was successful in whipping up a crock pot of soup that was delish!

Ingredients:

4 heads broccoli, cut into 1-inch florets

Olive oil, for drizzling

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

1 whole onion, diced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk

2 cups half-and-half

Pinch nutmeg

3 cups grated cheese (mild Cheddar, sharp Cheddar, Jack, etc.), plus more for garnish, optional

1 cup chicken broth, optional

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove 2 cups of the broccoli florets, cut in half, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet cut-side down and bake until the florets begin to crisp and turn slightly brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top. Stir to combine and cook until the flour is absorbed and smells lightly toasted, 1 minute or so. Add the milk and half-and half. Add the nutmeg, then the broccoli, a small dash of salt and plenty of black pepper. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the broccoli is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the cheese and allow to melt.
Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the soup as is, mash with a potato masher to break up the broccoli a bit, or transfer to a blender in two batches and puree completely. (If you puree in a blender, return the soup to the heat to heat back up. Splash in some chicken broth if needed for thinning.) Garnish with the toasted broccoli or grated cheese and serve.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=broccoli+cheddar+soup+recipe+and+pioneer+woman

Ramen Noodle Slaw

I received this recipe from a good friend that would always make it for gatherings. When I first saw it, I asked, "What is in this salad?" It looked familiar, but I just couldn't put my taste buds on exactly I was crunching on because its an odd ingredient. Ramen Noodles in a salad? Yeah, it sounds weird, but let me tell its yummy!

Ingredients:
2 (3 ounce) packages beef-flavor ramen noodles 
2 (8 1/2 ounce) packages broccoli coleslaw mix
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 bunch green onion, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/3 cup white vinegar

Directions:                                                                                                                                                                                             

Before opening noodles, crush into 1 inch pieces. Open packages and set aside flavor packets.

Place noodles in bottom of large serving bowl. Top noodles with broccoli slaw, then sprinkle with almonds and sunflower kernels, and green onions.

In a separate bowl combine sugar, oil, vinegar, and flavor packets from noodles. Pour over slaw, cover and chill up to 24 hours.

Toss before serving.

http://www.food.com/recipe/oriental-ramen-broccoli-coleslaw-281644

Cream Cheese Sausage Dip

This dip can look a little nasty when you make it, but it was REALLY good! It will not let you down. Grab some tortilla chips and go to work on this dip.

Ingredients:
4 (8 ounce) packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese

2 (16 ounce) packages jimmy dean original breakfast sausage

2 (10 ounce) can original Rotel tomatoes & chilies (use a can of hot rotel if you want it to be spicy)                                                                                                                                                                         

tortilla chips

 

Directions:

Brown both packages of sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Drain the sausage in a colander. Cube the cream cheese into a crock pot. Add the sausage to the cream cheese in the crock pot. Add both cans of rotel (with the juice) to the crock pot. Heat the mixture in the crock pot on high heat for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the dip is well mixed. Reduce heat to warm/low and serve with torilla chips.

 

bon appetit!

Turning One Page after Another

I'm over the moon excited about the girl's school year thus far and their learning experiences through books. Its amazing the places that you can go in a book. In regards to homeschooling and teaching history, what's just as neat about journeying through a book is when its based on true, historical events and you're able to grasp what it might have been like for people in history to experience life as it was in varying times throughout history. The sights, the music, the government, and the culture, all from a different time period that we can never experience for our self. When you read about history in a textbook and are made to memorize and then regurgitate dates and facts, you lose the enjoyment of what history is all about. History isn't just facts and dates, the events of history help explain the "why's" surrounding the people and cultures of today. The saying, "You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been" might be said too much and very cliche, but the saying is true.

As the kids read books about early American History and we discuss them and they write their thoughts about life in the past, it puts the world around them into a perspective that a date alone isn't able to do. In the books that they're reading they have been exposed to journeys from the past. They've chartered along with characters across the Atlantic to the New World as they read the journals of seafaring men and they get a chance to be a juror in a witch trial during the time of the Puritans. These experiences along with so many others are difficult to grasp solely reading through a textbook. I can relate because after having the textbook education as a child, to now participate in my kid's education through the reading and discussion of books, I'm seeing what a difference this style of learning can make.

While the girls have enjoyed individually reading their own assigned "readers", collectively we use the technique of "reading aloud" for the more challenging, historical books. The Read Aloud books that the girls are to listen to as I read them aloud have a more challenging vocabulary and so they are challenged to understand the stories in context as they listen and form in their minds a visualization of what is actually happening in the book. As they listen, they are transported back into time. It's a gift to be able to learn in this way. From an educational perspective to enhance, promote, and encourage children to read one author put it this way,
 

"Reading aloud is a commercial for reading. ...Think of it this way: McDonald's doesn't stop advertising just because the vast majority of Americans know about its restaurants. Each year it spends more money on ads to remind people how good its products taste. Don't cut your reading advertising budget as children grow older." 

-- Jim Trelease in his book The Read Aloud Handbook

(See more here)

I can't help but get excited about many of the books that we've read so far into the school year, so in many ways Mommy's excitement about reading becomes contagious. I find myself tearing up as we turn the corner and head into the final chapters of books. I've said it many times before as I've journaled about our homeschooling experiences that being a homeschooling parent opens up the door of learning again in ways that I didn't experience as a child. There is a freedom that the homeschooling community has access to as they teach their children. There is the option of teaching in a similar fashion with textbooks and multiple choice tests to assess how well a child has learned, but there is also the opportunity to challenge the status quo of educational techniques by allowing children to simply learn and their comprehension be assessed through conversation and written expression or creative writing. There's something unique about being able to "experience" history through the journeys and life experiences of characters that come to life in an era far ago.

For this little guy, we'll simply start with ABCs

Oh, the places we will go...

 

In a Book!

 

According to Plan - Basement

We praise God that He is working things out according to His plan with the house construction. This entry marks the second blog entry in a new series, according to His plan. Its refreshing to see things change before our eyes. The basement has been dug out, the footers have been poured, and the basement walls have been poured.

You can go here to read about the house construction process from the first, initial stages.




Basement Dug Out

Footers being dug out

Footers Poured with Concrete

Forms in place for concrete walls to be poured

Walls being poured

Basement Walls Unveiled

We've been making daily field trips to the property as work is being done. Our homeschool schedule affords us the opportunity to halt our regular school schedule at a moment's notice so that we can extend the school day over at the property and get an up close and personal lesson in building a house. As the girls ask question after question, I can tell that they are soaking the process all in. Its been a family affair as we all lend a hand wherever we can, seeding the grass and spreading the straw in areas for grass to grow.



Our muscle girl

Hubby laying the grass seed

Trey hanging out on my back giving orders

 

Laying Straw Out to grow grass

Trey giving the Truck a try

 

The Lord is doing Great Things for Us

It's Good To Be Useful

This new thing called knitting has sort of gotten me all in knots. Before knitting if someone asked me if I had a hobby, I'd say "reading". There was nothing more enjoyable to me when I had spare time than to curl up with a good book. Now, I have something else that curls me up. Yarn!

It's the neatest thing to take a simple ball of yarn and turn it into something useful. I think that is what amazes me about the ability to follow a pattern and create something. I can actually make use of it. To create something that you would otherwise purchase from a store excites me! Here's a look at my projects thus far.



My first project was this basket weaved blue scarf and then came the hats!
This hat is for my 8 yr old, "Rainbow" 

 

My First Hat - The Hubby

My Second Hat - Pinkie



My I'm Now on a Roll... Hat for my 10 yr old

After making my first hat with my first pattern that I learned to read, I started making one hat after another. I'm trying my hand at slippers now...

 

 

Time Did Fly By

Where did the time go? My little guy turned one year old in October and it seems as though I blinked my eyes and he grew up overnight. He's the sweetest little boy that melts my heart with his big baby browns. My son is a testament to the fact that God knows what we need when we need it. If I think back to when I first found out that I was expecting him, I have to be honest that I wasn't thrilled with God's timing. I was still working at the time and the thought of being pregnant while in a managerial position that carried huge responsibilities didn't thrill me. While my heart had been pining for years for another child, if I had the choice I would've picked a time that was a year or so after leaving the workplace and after being settled into homeschool with the kids. I praise God that He's God and He doesn't operate under the control of man, and He's sovereign over everything. His timing was just perfect. He orchestrated the life of my son into our lives just in time to usher me out of the workplace. As my belly swelled in my office just before leaving my career behind, I believe that God used the gift of motherhood to show others that it's okay to make a sacrifice for the family when you're following your heart.  

He has sort of flown into our hearts and we're silly as ever in love.

 



For his big day he showcased his new, big boy haircut and dawned his superman costume. 

 

I can't NOT blog about my boy turning one without reminiscing through pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Plan

Approximately one year, 2 months, and two days after selling our first home last year and making the decision to downsize and prepare to start over again with planning, organizing, and working towards building our next home, it became official today after we went to closing that we’re now entering the construction phase of our second home.
 
I could bore you to tears with the process that we’ve been through in the previous months. I could detail the red tape, the paperwork, the waiting process, and unexpected events that have resulted in the timing of how things have played out, but I will spare you the story and just use this blog entry to reflect on God’s provision, His timing, and His Will.

God’s timing is perfect.

While life may not always play out in the timeline that suits our personal wishes, from God’s perspective its going just according to plan. His plan. I’m thankful for His provision for our family and His guidance as we’ve asked for wisdom. He is slow to anger and quick to shower His mercy upon us. I am looking forward to the journey as it continues now into a phase of His blessings that will result in a visualization of God’s provision as our home is built. There is never a need to hurry the plans of God (if you try, you'll just burn useless energy).

He takes care of His children His way, in His time, and according to His plan.

Keeping my Promise

I mentioned many blog entries ago that one day I'd blog a little about meal planning. I keep my promise.

I love to plan. Not just meals. I love to plan anything. I get excited when I plan my day and get to cross things off the list that I accomplished that day. In the midst of my planning though, I have to stay reminded that while a man plans his way, its the Lord who directs his steps.

With that said, let's talk about planning meals and the benefits that you can realize in your life when you plan meals for you and your family ahead of time. Careful pre-planning for meals can save you lots of time and in the long run it can save you money.

There are different types of shoppers out there. There are some that keep their pantry stocked with all of the staple items that they cook with on a weekly basis and additional items that they may occasionally use for varying recipes, items they see while perusing the grocery aisle and want to try at some point. Because they keep their pantry stocked with an array of items, they cut down on the numbers of times that they have to run out to the store to purchase items. They may grocery shop 2-3 times per month (or even less), purchasing the items that they need to maintain a well-stocked pantry for a variety of recipes and meals that they want to cook. Frequently you'll find multiple bottles of the same item in their pantry as they find certain items on sale and use those opportunities to stock up. We'll call them "Stockpilers".

Then there are the "Minimalists". That's me. I purchase just what we need for the specific meals that I've selected for my family each week. I have not done any research to see who saves the most money in the long run, but minimalist shopping works for our family's budget. It allows us to easily assess how much we're spending on groceries from one month to the next. Some pros to being a minimalist shopper is being able to account for just about everything in the pantry and we find that we rarely have waste. Some cons are not having those extra ingredients on the shelf when my family wants to splurge and make an impromptu meal.

My approach to meal planning is very simple. I maintain a list of my family's "favorite meals" along with a list of ingredients for each meal categorized ingredients for Chicken, Pork, Red Meat, Fish, Pastas, Comfort Foods, etc.

One entry on my family's "favorite meals" list may say,
Under the Heading Chicken:
Homemade Chipotle Night (Chicken Breasts, Black Beans, Mozarella Cheese, Tomatoes, lettuce, Pico De Gallo, Canned Corn, Cilantro, Tortilla Bread)

One day out of each week (usually a Saturday), I pull out my family's favorite meals list, our family calendar and a sticky note and list the meals that I'd like to prepare each day for the upcoming week. This list will become my Meal list for the upcoming week. The reason I pull out our calendar is because there are many times in the week that we have an evening activity out as a family (i.e., recital, dentist appointment, baseball game, etc.) and it could be wise from a time perspective on a specific night to grab dinner while we're out. On those specific days, I make a "no meal to plan" note for myself.

My weekly Meal List may look something like this,
Monday - Buttermilk Chicken Fingers, Fries, and Corn
Tuesday - Baked Spaghetti & Italian Bread
Wednesday - Baseball Game (No Meal to Prepare)
Thursday - Chicken Barbecue Turnovers
Friday - Homemade Chipotle Night

After I make my Meal List for the week, I'll grab a piece of notepad paper and copy down the list of ingredients from my family's favorite meals list. This list becomes my grocery store shopping list for the coming week. After I've listed out all of the ingredients that I need, I go to the pantry and then to the refrigerator and freezer and mark off all of the ingredients that I already have in-house. Whatever is left on my list becomes my grocery store shopping list for that week.

Because we are minimalist shoppers, we maintain the ingredients and food items that we need for our weekly meals. This results in us grocery shopping at a large wholesale store 1-2 times per month for our meats and at our local grocery store once a week for pantry-type items. By shopping each week using my Meal List, any additional trips to the store in the week are minimized.

Other times that I find myself adding items to my Meal List for the week are when I've run out of a pantry, meat, or refrigerator items. Whenever something is running low or has been used up, it gets added to my weekly Meal List to be replenished. 

Since coming home from the workforce, I've enjoyed meal planning and preparing meals for my family so much more. When I worked, I planned meals but the meals were not as unique, creative, and tasty as they are now. I would actually plan by the month when I worked outside the home, printing off a month-view from a calendar and filling in meals for the entire month. My goal while working outside of the home was, "pick a quick & simple meal and get it on the table!" There wasn't much time to peruse for recipes that my family actually enjoyed. I kept our meals simple and quick.

I now have time to read and review varying recipes before preparing them and selecting meals that interest my family and have the time to make them. I also have time now to experiment with new flavors and ingredients and if my family receives them well, I add them to our favorite meal listing. This seems to keep my family excited about coming to the dinner table each week. I get the "What's Mom making for dinner?" look every evening after school and when my hubby comes home from work. Sometimes a dish turns out to be a flop, but thankfully I get more thumbs up than thumbs down.

So, what are the benefits to doing all of this?
Well, it saves you time. How can this save time you may ask? If you spend time during the week sitting and pondering over what to cook every day, you can cut that time out by meal planning. If you roam the grocery store aisles wondering what to buy, only to find yourself eating out 3-4 times each week because you're tired of spaghetti, taco, and hotdog night meals, you may want to consider planning out your meals! Meal planning can also save you money if you set a budget on what you want to spend on groceries. Once you setup a budget you can apply this to your weekly meal list, ensuring that your stay within your budget as you shop each month (and, monthly if you do wholesale shopping).

Purchasing what you need versus what you want because you see it on the grocery aisle, results in extra money in your pocket that wasn't spent frivolously. If you have extra weight that you're trying to lose, planning your meals will enable you to discipline yourself to eat what you've planned instead of grabbing food from the drive through.

Will it take time? Yes, but the benefits are endless and your may win some brownie points with the fam!

So, just to recap... Make some lists & start enjoying making meals for your family!
1) Favorite Meal List (one that you can maintain a compilation of the meals & ingredients that your family enjoys). Sit down and brainstorm a list of meals that your family enjoys and as you find new recipes, add them to this list.
2) Meal List - Generate this weekly at the beginning of each week 
3) Grocery Store Shopping List - Generate this weekly at the beginning of each week as you take an inventory of the items from your Meal List before you head off to the grocery store.
If you're a minimalist, only pick up the items that you need to prepare your meals and/or to replenish your refrigerator and pantry.

One last thought for meal planning... take time to read some recipes! I used to be terribly afraid of trying any recipes that didn't include chicken, salt, and pepper. It wasn't until a friend challenged me to search online for a recipe and just go for it, that I became courageous in the kitchen using my family members as guinea pigs. What I've found is the more that you experiment, your cooking skills become refined and you grow to learn what seasonings work good in difference recipes. And, you'll discover what meals match your family's tastebuds and you can search out recipes that include the ingredients that your family enjoys. Doing this will diversify your family's favorite meal list so that there is more than spaghetti, tacos, and hot dogs on it.

Happy Planning.....and, happy eating!