Menu Plan Monday - June 13, 2011

Summer vacation has begun!  We're looking forward to some time in the pool this week, as well as a field trip to a museum and some extra baking for the freezer with the forecasted cooler-than-normal temps, so it's going to be a doozy!

Breakfasts:

Cereal and fruit X2

Yogurt parfaits with fruit and homemade granola

Scrambled eggs and toast

Amish baked oatmeal and fruit X2

Lunches will be our usual assortment of leftovers, sliced veggies, and sandwiches ....

Supper:

Appelfpannkuchen for our unit about Germany - recipe from Emeril's Around the World kids' cookbook - more about this unit coming later today

Dinner out for our field trip

Grilled chicken, grilled new potatoes, baked corn

Grilled brats, leftover corn, carmelized peppers and onions, salad

Leaving for vacation!  The rest of our meals this week will be on the road.  :-)

I'm planning to make these things to take along with us:

Giant breakfast cookies

Chocolate chocolate chip muffins

Applesauce Bread

And for my dad for Father's Day, so that he has some quick and healthy breakfasts and lunches in the freezer (sshhh, don't tell him!):

Breakfast Burritos

Chicken enchiladas

Rice and bean burritos

The kids and I make an ice cream cake for my husband for Father's Day every year.  I'll post the recipe for that when we return from our trip!

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit OrgJunkie!

PS - Enter here to win a copy of Kristen Heitzmann's newest work, Indelible.

Monkey See, Monkey Do ... Banana Cream Pie

Tuesday was our anniversary, and the kids were very excited about the whole thing.  My Wonderful Husband had recently asked for a banana cream pie, and we decided to surprise him with one after dinner that night.

Generally speaking, I like to make things from scratch, but it's always helpful to have a few shortcut-ready items around the house.  I never cheat on real piecrust, but on the graham cracker kind ... I can't tell the difference between the from-scratch and ready-made varieties.  With a pudding base, that makes this a perfect pie for kids to make!

I showed my Big Girl how to hold a knife and slice a banana.  (Before you panic, this was a special table/butter knife designed for kids that had absolutely no sharp edges or serrated pieces anywhere.  She couldn't have cut herself unless she fell off the roof and landed on it.)  She was so proud of herself for learning how to do this!  One banana is usually enough to cover the bottom crust, but if you like lots of 'naners, do another!

Next, my Little Man used a short-handled whisk to stir up the pudding.  We used your basic sugar-free banana cream flavor.  He loves doing this!

Tip for making pudding with younger children:  Put the pudding mix and milk in a small, lightweight bowl with a tighth-sealing lid.  While standing over a non-carpeted floor, allow them to dance and shake the container.  You'll soon have pudding, and they'll have helped without the stress of trying to keep it in the bowl!


After the pudding begins to thicken, I poured it gently over the bananas and we chilled it for a few minutes before moving on.

My Big Girl then smoothed on some whipped cream, and voila!  You've got fresh-tasting banana cream pie without the fuss - and it's kid-friendly to boot.  With knives, wire tools, and mounds of fluffy white goodness, what kid wouldn't want to help make this??

"Money Secrets of the Amish" by Lorilee Craker

Lorilee Craker was your typical Michigan soccer mom until the recession hit - and it hit her family.  During a period of Extreme Thrift, as she calls it, she learned that the Amish were thriving financially despite the poor economy, and she determined to learn their secrets.  This book details what she learned and how she's applying it in her own family.

Craker's writing style is simple and humorous.  She sketches word pictures in your mind that are just plain funny and adds asides to point them out.  While I feared that a money book would be monotonous and boring, this book was anything but - I couldn't wait to finish it!  As a girl who grew up in a frugal farming family and in an Amish area, I felt that many of the tips Craker shared were basic, but they were explained well.  The examples she told of her Englischer friends using these tips detail how we can make these work in our lives, even in a more secular society.  Really, who wouldn't want to know how a farmer with 14 children is able to bank $400,000?

The best part of this book is that it's not meant to be a quick-fix-then-forget-about it-solution to your current money issues, but a way of life that's honoring to both God and His creation.  That message stands out in each chapter.  Need to get your family on board with that idea, too?  Read Chapter 7 - Craker plans for everything.

For anyone wanting to simplify their lifestyle and focus on what is really important in life, Money Secrets of the Amish is a must-read.

I received this book free from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

GratiTuesday - A Short Walk

Eight years ago today, on a rainy day in Ferguson Valley, I went for a little walk with my dad.  It looked something like this ...

and ended here ...

It wasn't very long before we had moved to make room for this gift ...

and then only 25 months later,

we had a pair.

Since then, there have been times when we feel like this ...

and others when it seems like life has thrown a few sweet potatoes our way ...

but, as God promises, He is working all things together for our good.

Now, we're more like this ...

and like this, and that keeps us pretty busy.  We're okay with that.

(But this past weekend, to celebrate this eight-year anniversary, my husband surprised me with a child-free weekend at the beach.  I'm okay with that, too.)

So today, I'm grateful for my husband, who still looks for little ways to surprise me.  I'm grateful for eight years with him and all that it's brought us.  I'm grateful for the time that we still have - may it be lots and lots more eights - and all that those years will bring, good times and not-so-good, because we grow closer together through it all.  I'm grateful for that little walk I went on eight years ago that so changed my life - I can't imagine life without my Wonderful Husband beside me.

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers!

Menu Plan Monday - June 6, 2011

We've been away away for the past two weekends, and so we've missed the produce stand at the local flea market.  Without this source of fresh, inexpensive produce, I've decided to avoid buying any produce this week and use what I can find left in the pantry and freezer.  I'll tuck aside any extra money I can save for food on an upcoming trip.  :-)

Breakfasts:

cereal and bananas (fruit already on hand)

yogurt parfaits with homemade granola and blueberries

applesauce bread X 2

scrambled eggs and toast X2

pancakes, fruit, and whipped cream

Lunches will be our usual sandwiches and leftovers.

Suppers:

Grab it and Growl (Whatever You can Find)

Chicken parmesan and noodles with spinach

Meatball subs in homemade rolls with Guilty Good Green Beans and applesauce

Pizza

Hamburgers, steamed carrots and broccoli

Mac'n'cheese and cucumbers

Chicken fajitias with grilled chicken and carmelized peppers and onions, rice

For extras, and to celebrate the end of the school year:

popcorn

ice cream sandwiches (see pic above)

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie!

Check out my latest giveaway here!

Quick and Healthy Stir Fry

This stir fry is something that our whole family enjoys.  With whole grain rice and lots of veggies, it's very healthy and low in fat.  My Little Man, who is not yet a Chinese food fan, can eat this and not be overwhelmed by strong flavors (that's his bowl in the picture - mine had more in it!).  Best of all, it comes together very quickly.

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 lb. lean meat - chicken or steak, cut into strips or bite-sized pieces
4 c. prepared whole grain rice
2 bags of Birds' Eye Steamfresh Asian medley veggies
a few tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
dash of olive oil

1.  Prepare rice according to package directions.
2.  Cook the meat in a hot pan with just a dash of olive oil.  Stir until cooked through, then sprinkle liberally with teriyaki sauce.  Reduce heat and cover.
3.  While the meat is working, pop one bag of veggies in the microwave at a time to steam.  (While I usually prefer to prep my own veggies, I tried these once after stumbling upon an amazing sale - and they're really good!  Now, when the price drops, I stock up - and when life gets crazy and I need a veggie for dinner, I have a variety of quick options.)  Leave closed until ready to serve.
4.  Add rice to the meat and toss to add a light coating of teriyaki to the veggies.
5.  To serve, add some rice to each plate and spoon meat and veggies overtop.  Voila!

We like to serve this with egg rolls - yum!

**Be sure to check out my latest giveaway!

"Indelible" by Kristen Heitzmann - and a GIVEAWAY!

Trevor McDaniel is a former Olympian who risked his life to save a toddler from a mountain lion - and gained an unlikely admirer in the process.  A prodigious artist, Natalie deals with her eidetic mind the best way she knows how - even though it puts her life in danger - and is the toddler's aunt.  Trevor and Natalie see sparks when thrown together - but will things change when Natalie suddenly is given care of her still-recovering nephew?  When pictures of children in danger from across the nation begin showing up in Trevor's mailbox - and then mysterious dangers show up in Redford - can police chief Jonah Westfall piece together the connection to Trevor before a child - or someone Trevor loves - ends up dead?

Indelible is a fantastic suspense that explores the mysteries of the mind while surviving real life in the physical world.  Heitzmann draws the reader in and keeps them engaged through an ever-expanding cast of characters, each with a curious role in the plot.  Indelible follows Indivisible, another book set in Redford, but is not a typical sequel.  Both books could be read independently with no problems, but because the character set overlaps, a depth is added to the story that would be difficult to add otherwise.

Heitzmann writes from the perspective of both admirer and Trevor, demon and archangel.  She explores perspective in an interesting way - are things ever what they seem?  Is anyone absolutely anything?  Can people be black and white?  How much of a role do circumstances play in what we become, and how can we overcome them?

I've read many of Heitzmann's other books, and I've loved them all.  Indelible did not disappoint.  Once begun, I could not put it down - and so I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next.

Shall we see more of Redford?  I hope so.

*I received a free copy of Indelible from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Want to read an excerpt of Indelible?  Find one here.  For other information or to order this book, click here.

Giveaway News ...


I have an extra copy of Indelible that I'll send out to someone ready delve into the minds of Trevor, Natalie, and their nemesis.  Want to win it?  Here's what you do.  You can earn one entry into the drawing for each step below; please leave a separate comment telling me what you've done.  The drawing will close on Tuesday, June 29th.


1.  Rate this review.  
2.  Become a follower of A Nest in the Rocks and leave a comment saying you've done so.
3.  Share about this giveaway on Facebook.


Books won can be mailed to addresses within the United States only.  I'm sorry for any inconvenience.



**  My Big Helper chose a comment number for this giveaway, and she chose #3.  Congratulations, Tonya!