Menu Plan Monday 8.30.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie . I barely followed last week's menu plan. I know, that's unlike me, but this home building stuff is getting the better of my time spent in the kitchen. I did cook at home a most nights, and we did dine out on both nights I had planned to do so. I just didn't make what was planned. This week, we are all back to school. We have an Open House at ds's school and plans to begin painting. I'm sure I'll be passing out on the recliner at 9 on the nights I'm home. Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~Homemade Gnocchi with Marinara, Veal Parmesan and Italian Bread

Monday~Marinated Pork Loin, Rice Pilaf and Glazed Carrots

Tuesdsay~Tacos and all the Fixings

Wednesday~Linguine with Grilled Chicken and Vegetables in Olive Oil and Garlic, Salad

Thursday~Open House~Dinner Out

Friday~Bacon and Cheese Hot Dogs, Homemade Fries

Saturday~Ethnic Festival in our town---Pierogies, Haluski, Halupki and more!

Be sure to stop by Laura's to read more menu plans!

Have a week full of blessings!

Peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 8.23.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. A new school year begins tomorrow for me, so this week's menu will be simple and easy for me. These first few weeks back in school are exhausting for us all, along with painting, drywalling, insulating, packing and moving over the next few weeks, it will be extra exhausting this year. I just can't wait to be settled. I'm hoping for that to happen by November....I may have everything unpacked by then. ;0) Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken, Creamy Italian Pasta Salad, Garlic Toast

Monday~Bacon Cheese Hot Dogs, Homemade Fries, Corn on the Cob

Tuesday~Chicken Fajitas, Salsa Rice, Salad

Wednesday~Take Out~Kindergarten Orientation

Thursday~Beef Patties in Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans

Friday~Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~Grilled Chicken, Pasta with Olive Oil and Garlic, Salad

Have a week full of blessings,

Lisa

House Progress

The siding, soffit and fascia on the back of the house is now complete. The remaining work should be completed by Saturday. The inside work is going at full speed. We'll be moving in before we know it! Can't wait!

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 8.16.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I must share that I failed miserably at following the menu plan for last week. Our house was delivered and set last week, so things were a bit out of sorts for us. DH is working on the outside finish work, so I've been taking him lunch and dinner each day on site. We also had a family reunion on Saturday. I did try a new recipe: Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne. I made some changes to fit what I had in the pantry and fridge, and it was delicious! Defintely a keeper! Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~MIL made dinner for the crew on site

Monday~Ham Pot Pie

Tuesday~Grilled Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf, and Fried Zucchini

Wednesday~Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Beans

Thursday~Turkey Clubs,Chips, and Fruit

Friday~Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~Wedding (if we have a sitter) and it's my birthday!

Be sure to check out the other menus at http://orgjunkie.com

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Reunion 2010

Yesterday we hosted the annual family reunion. The scrapbook shows a few photos from the day. I didn't take as many as I had hoped, but at least I did get some of the kids!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Working on the Siding....

DH is working on the siding, soffit and fascia. The concrete work is completed. It's coming together day by day. It's very exciting!

peace and blessings,

Lisa

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

I found this recipe online at FrouFrou Britches. I adapted it to meet my needs last night. I made half the recipe for dinner. It was a hit with dh and the 11yo, too. I enjoyed it a lot too. I omitted the dried tomatoes. Next time, I will add about a 1/2 tsp of salt to the roux with the garlic. It seemed to be missing that to me.

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes

kosher salt and black pepper

1 pound penne rigate

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

6 cups whole milk

10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)

1 1/2 cups Italian Blend Cheese, reserve 1/2 cup for topping

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Use a little extra olive oil if needed.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer. Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms ; cook 1 minute.

Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in the Italian Cheese Blend. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.

If freezing, place remaining cheese in a zip-top baggie. If cooking, sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Freezer instructions:To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool. Cover pan well with plastic wrap. Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, preheat oven to 400. Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside. Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (I only did 10 minutes) or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Blessings,

Lisa

Kindergarten Boot Camp

Our Princess attended Kindergarten "Boot Camp" at her school today. She was so excited and dressed to go an hour before we had to leave to go to the school. I was nervous, but she did very well and is really looking forward to the first day of school in a few weeks.

Blessings,

Lisa

Our House

Our new home was delivered and set in the last two days. This is a pic of the front of the house before the roofing and other work was completed. We're siding it ourselves, so that should be done by Sunday.

This is a picture of the back of the house.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

House Delivery 08\10\2010

Here's a snapfish slideshow of the house delivery. For some reason, Smilebox wouldn't let me load the photos today. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!

Click here to view photos

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Visit with the Dairy Princess

On Friday evening, dh's employer had their annual picnic at a local park. The kids were thrilled to use this beautiful playground. Miss M had a great time on the slides and climbing the "rock" wall to get to the slides.

H had a proud moment showing how to cross the monkey bars with ease.

The Dairy Princess visited and brought us dessert. Of course, it was ice cream! We played a game of Dairy Jeopardy too. Our team came in second place. We had a nice evening with nice people.

Blessings,

Lisa

Reunion Centerpieces

This is the centerpiece I put together for the picnic tables at our annual reunion, that will be held this Saturday. It's a mason jar with red, white and blue paper shreds and mini American flags. I had hoped to find some red, white and blue candies for the filler, but had no luck with that this month.

I think they are casual and cute.

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 8.9.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. We did a very poor job of following a menu last week. Our foundation was finally installed, so we had spent the day there watching it. We went to dh's work picnic on Friday night, so I didn't cook then either. Life is happening and the cooking is falling to the wayside. I must admit that cooking in a tiny apartment kitchen, with a tiny apartment size stove, just isn't as enjoyable for me. The stove doesn't cook correctly and things burn (despite constant checking!) in seconds. This too shall pass, soon! Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~Dinner at mom's.....Homemade Spaghetti Sauce over spaghetti, homemade meatballs, hot sausage, salad from the garden and cheesy garlic bread.

Monday~Slow Cooker Ham, Parsleyed Potatoes and Green Beans

Tuesday~Sloppy Joes with Macaroni and Cheese

Wednesday~ House Setting Day! Chicken Fajitas with Salsa Rice

Thursday~BLT's with Chips and Fresh Fruit

Friday~Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne with Salad with ingredients from the garden

Saturday~Family Reunion

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great week!

Blessings,

Lisa

The Foundation Walls

Free slideshow design customized with Smilebox

The walls of the foundation were set today. There are about 29 photos in the slideshow, so please be patient with it loading. Here's a single photo of the completed project:

As of today, the house will be on site Tuesday. It will be attached to the walls on Wednesday. On Thursday, the outside finishing will begin.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday~August 3, 2010

I am taking part in Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays hosted by Lisa at Blessed With Grace. Be sure to visit there for more taste tempting recipes! Since my parents and in-laws have bumper crops of zucchini, I decided to make some Pineapple Zucchini Bread today. This recipe is a favorite and makes two loafs...one to eat and one to give away!

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend in pineapple and zucchini. Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Ready for the walls...

..after the final layer of gravel has been applied and is awaiting the arrival of the walls on Thursday. I don't think the house is as big as I thought. Of course, the square footage is more than our old house, but it's different. I'm sure it will be fine.

This shot is looking up the driveway from where the garage doors will be when the house is there. You can see our closest neighbor from here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

More Progress....

The large hole is now filled with layers of geotextile (fabric) and two sizes of stone. Another layer of smaller stone will be put on today. It will soon be ready for the walls. :0)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Completing Him Challenge~August 2, 2010

It's Week #8 in our marriage challenge and this challenge is straight from the Bible:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

No complaining, criticizing, rolling your eyes, nagging, or giving him any friction this week. Enjoy a week of peace in your home!

Ephesians 5:33 says "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband."

Courtney shared this list of ways a husband will feel disrespected by his wife:

1. The wife rolling her eyes at him.

2. The wife criticizing him.

3. The wife complaining to her mother or girlfriends about his flaws.

4. The wife not respecting his knowledge, opinions or decisions.

5. The wife nagging him or assuming the worst in his actions.

6. The wife using sarcasm to communicate bitterness.

7. The wife disrespecting his work, protection, provision or leadership.

8. The wife disrespecting his need for physical intimacy or his "manhood" (wink wink).

I do respect my husband immensely. I make a great effort to show him respect in our home, in family situations and when I'm not with him, as well. One area I do need to work on is sarcasm. It's part of my personality and I must make an effort to watch my use of it with my husband. I tend to display my frustration with sarcasm, in many situations, not just with my husband. I need to work on that!

I will discuss this with dh tonight and share his comments.

Please check out the other views on Respect at Courtney's blog.

Blessings and peace,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday 8.2.10

Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I'm looking forward to a busy week ahead. I like to be busy. Last week, we tried BBQ Chicken Quesadillas for the first time. They were delicious and well received by everyone in the family. This week, the Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Alfredo will be the new recipe of the week. Otherwise, we're counting on some standards.

Sunday~ Pizza on the way home from Camp at our favorite pizza shop

Monday~BBQ Boneless Pork Ribs, Cheesy Potatoes and Corn

Tuesday~Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Alfredo, Salad and Garlic Toast

Wednesday~Taco Bake

Thursday~BLT's, Chips, Fresh Fruit

Friday~DH's Work Picnic

Saturday~Grilled Italian BBQ Chicken, Pasta Salad and Grilled Veggies

Have a week full of blessings!

Peace,

Lisa