Christmas Fun List 2013

A Letter from Santa - Keyes the Elf

I have a pdf that I can email to anyone who wants to use this and personalize it to fit your family!

Summer Fun List

Spring Fun List

March Meals

March Meals

1. Lemon Feta Chicken & Rice
2. Honey Garlic Chicken & Broccoli
3. Spaghetti
4. Beefy Pasta Bake
5. Chicken Pie
6. Potato Soup
7. Betty Chili
8. Orange Balsamic Pork Chops, Rice & Carrots
9. Taco Soup
10. Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy
11. Chicken Parm
12. Oven Tacos
13. Vegetable Soup & Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
14. Brats & Fries
15. BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
16. Santa Fe Salad
17. Meatball Subs
18. Jambalaya
19. Mexican Pizza
20. Crockpot Mac 'n Cheese & Sauteed Cabbage
21. Pancakes & Bacon
22. Sloppy Joe Turnovers & Salad
23. Shamrock Pizza
24. Quesadillas
25. Salmon, Roasted Tomato Garlic & Asparagus Cous Cous
26. Egg Noddle Casserole
27. Chicken, Green Bean & Potato Bake

Month of Meals - February

I realize I still need to do my January Midmonth Meal Review. I haven't forgotten. Just going to the store tonight and needed to go ahead and get my new list of meals up. I rely on this list for my husband to pick from when he's at work.

I made it over a month with my plan last time so I am cutting back just a tad this go round. Plus we will be out of town for the long Prez Day weekend, so I won't be cooking for several nights. 

Here goes...

1. Lemon Feta Chicken & Rice
2. Salmon, Cous Cous & Asparagus
3. Oven Tacos
4. Honey Garlic Chicken & Broccoli
5. Valentine Pizza
6. Orange Balsamic Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf & Sweet Carrots
7. Grilled Hot Pepper & Pimiento Cheese Sammies with Corn Feta Dip
8. Pancakes & Bacon
9. Quesadillas
10. Rammer Jammer Chili
11. Chicken & Strawberry Spinach Salad
12. Chicken, Green Beans & Roasted Potatoes
13. Romano Pasta
14. Chicken Pie & Butter Beans
15. Crockpot Salsa Chicken Burritos
16. Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy with Bacon (that's right, for dinner)
17. Stuffed Potatoes and Cabbage
18. Beans & Cornbread
19. Potato Soup
    

Some additional festive treats on the list to make:

• Cupid Crunch 
• Heart shaped Cinnamon Rolls & Heart shaped Bacon for V-Day breakfast
• Oatmeal Cookies (can't wait to try Haley's recipe!)
• Chocolate Butter Cookies
• Valentine Buttons
• Valentine Treat Bags for Asher's little school friends
• Rotel Dip

January Month of Meals - Midmonth Review

Here is the first half of my month of meals in review. Recipes are linked where possible.

January 2:
Grandma Angel's Vegetable Soup with Crackers

January 3:
Leftovers (the soup was that good)

January 4:
My Semi-Homemade Sweet Spaghetti with Garlic Bread
This is one of Ben's favorites. I think he married me for it. He requests it every month.

Sauce Recipe:
1 lb ground beef
Hunt's Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (comes in a can)
Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
One packet spaghetti seasoning mix (found with other packets mixes, like taco mix, gravy mix, etc.)
Onion Powder
Garlic Salt
I'd say about 1/3 cup brown sugar

Brown ground beef. Add remaining ingredients. Cook a while and serve over pasta. Easy peasy.

January 5:
Orange Balsamic Pork Chops with Rice Pilaf
This is our go-to meal. We always have the fixin's handy. Plus it's super easy and very yummy.

Recipe

1. Season porkchops with S&P. Fry up in a little bit of oil until done. 
2. Sprinkle with rosemary.
3. Deglaze the pan with some chicken broth.
4. Add about, oh I'd say maybe 1/4-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar.
5. Add approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of orange marmalade.
6. Let the porkchops simmer in the gravy mix while it reduces.
7. Serve when ready.

Helpful Tips:
I usually have to cook my porkchops in 2 batches. I will remove the first batch and cover with foil to keep them warm. I don't make the gravy until the second batch is cooked. Then I add the first batch back in so they can all hang out in the yummy balsamic goodness together.
You canNOT make too much gravy. When in doubt - make more. It is delicious.
I usually serve this with rice pilaf (recipe below) and steamed broccoli.

Rice Pilaf
Instant Rice cooked according to directions on package.
When cooked, stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, cranberries, almonds or pecans and parsley. I just do all of this to taste.

January 6:
Pizza Crescents This is about as easy at it gets, folks. And very kid friendly.

January 7:

Honey Garlic Chicken & Steamed Broccoli

A huge thank you to Amy B. for sharing this one! It is so yummy!

January 8:
Marzetti - This is probably my strangest recipe. If I were going thru a cookbook looking for something good, this would have been about the LAST thing in the world I would have picked. It's a strange combo of ingredients and it uses cream of mushroom soup. I always use cream of chicken when a recipe calls for cream of mushroom. I hate mushrooms. But a friend of mine, Katie G, brought this to us when Audrey was born and I loved it. She was kind enough the text me the recipe. I made it exactly like the recipes says to and love it.

January 9:
Crockpot Salsa Chicken Burritos

I used the leftovers from this to make quesadillas. I layered it with refried beans and topped with cheese.

January 10:
Brats & Fries
No picture, sorry. This one is pretty self explanatory.

January 11:
Pizzadillas - My wonderful husband was kind enough to cook dinner this night. And he even broke out the fancy china. That is the beauty of this one - even husbands can handle it. And they love it too. So does my 2 year old.

Make this one like you would any other quesadilla just fill it with pizza sauce, mozzerella, pepperoni, banana peppers, whatever pizza toppings you prefer.

January 12:
We had a fun filled day of birthday parties and topped it off with a family night at Donato's. Asher LOVES their pizza. So do his mama and dadda.

January 13:
Taco Pizza


I thought for sure I took a picture of mine but I can't locate it. I don't use olives and I garnish with fresh tomatoes and sour cream. You do whatever you like. Either way, it will be super yummy and reheats beautifully.

January 14:
Crockpot Potato Soup & Crescent Rolls
I have made many a potato soup recipe. This one is broth based so it's not quite as fattening or heavy as most. I love that about it. I usually make real bacon bits to put on top but I guess I forgot this time around. Trust me, the bacon a nice touch. It's still delicious without.

January 15:
Ghoulash 

I make my mom's recipe for ghoulash a lot. I tried this one just for kicks. It tasted quite a bit different and was really good. But I don't think it replaces my mom's recipe which is much easier and tastes better.



January 16:
Leftovers Nights

January 17:
Sweet & Sour Sausage, Baked Potato & Veggies

I saute a polish sausage and then add equal parts grape jelly and BBQ sauce. Add a chopped green pepper and simmer until ready to eat.

January 18:
Herb Crusted Basil Cream Chicken
PLEASE do your self a favor and make this one soon. Very, very soon. It is amazing.

Snowman Pancakes

Some missionary friends of mine made these. And I can't stop thinking about them. So cute! And I am sure yummy as well. Asher saw this photo and said, "Ashie eat snowman pancakes?". Can't wait to make them!

Once a Month Grocery Shopping

OK, I have some non-believers out there (Martina). And have had questions on how I do this. Today I spent $244.42 for a month of groceries. I will need to buy more fresh fruit and milk as the month goes on and still have a few items to pick up at Publix that aren't stocked at Aldi. I buy everything. Cleaning stuff, dinners, lunches, breakfast food, snacks.

Here is exactly what I bought on my trip - straight from my receipt.
Hash Brown Patties (pack of 20)
Frozen Chicken Breasts - 3 bags
Shredded Hash Browns - 2 bags
Cream of Chicken Soup
Mini Raviolis - 4 cans
Chicken Broth - 4 cans
Manicotti (frozen)
Italian Sausage
Frozen Waffles
Pepperoni
Pork Chops
Ground Beef - 5 lbs
Deli Ham - 2 lbs
Deli Chicken - 2 lbs
String Cheese
Cheese Cubes
Shredded Cheese
Sliced American Cheese
Mandarin Oranges - 6 cans
Pumpkin Puree (for Audrey)
Easy Mac - 8 ready to go cups
Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan Cheese (fresh grated) - 2 tubs
Romano Cheese (fresh grated) - 1 tub
Garlic & Olive Oil Cous Cous - 3 boxes
Angel Hair
Macaroni
Farfalle (bowtie pasta)
Penne
Saltines
Green Peppers - 3
Bananas
Red Grapes
Grape Tomatoes
BBQ Sauce
Black Beans
Refried Beans
Diced Tomatoes
Mixed Vegetables - 2 cans
Carrots
Corn
Artichoke Hearts
Tomato Sauce - 2 cans
Tomato Juice - 1 large can
Stewed Tomatoes
Potatoes
Wide Egg Noodles
Heavy Whipping Cream - 2 pints
Orange Juice
Milk - 2 gallons
Apple sauce - 6 pack x 2
Fiber bars
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apricots
Raisins
Pistachios
Kerrygold Cheese (that's the good cheese, y'all. This was a splurge.)
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese
Shredded Cheese
Smoked Sausage
Breakfast Sausage
Brats
Bacon
Granola Bars - 4 boxes
Stuffing Mix
Salsa
Pringles - 3 canisters
Spaghetti Sauce - 2 jars
Goldfish crackers
Teabags (100)
Taco Seasoning mix
Chili Seasoning mix
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
Flour Tortillas - 2 bags
Hot Dog Buns
Hawaiian Bread
Sandwich Bread
Toilet Paper
Sponges
Oyster Crackers
Fabric Softener
Disinfectant Wipes - 2 containers
Paper Plates

Butternut Squash Sauce (this wasn't on my list, but was on clearance in the seasonal section and I wanted to try it. I had gnocchi already at home and decided to use it on that.)

Here is what I still need from Publix:
Basil
Cilantro
Chives
Ground Turkey
Sundried Tomatoes
Onions - 1 red, 1 yellow
Italian Diced Tomatoes
Potatoes: Baking - 2
               Sweet - 2
               Fingerlings

This is a photo of the pantry before my trip.

And after.

This doesn't include all the stuff that I had used to make vegetable soup that was already cooking on the stove.

Fridge - Before

Fridge - After

I forgot to take a photo of my freezer before. Which is a shame because it is probably the most different. It was BARE. Oh well. Here is the after anyway.

I also amended my menu. Once I got to Aldi, I bought some stuff that was on sale and used it to replace a couple of meals and even added 6 new meals. Changes are listed in the previous post.