Menu Plan Monday - April 16, 2012

Now that spring break is over, it's back to the grindstone here.  We're prepping for another birthday celebration weekend, returning to work and school, and I'm participating in a consignment sale - so I'll be making a few trips out of town.  It's going to be a busy one - so I'm planning carefully this week.

Breakfasts:

- Perfectly Pumpkin Pancakes
- Scrambled Eggs, fruit, toast
- Cinnamon Scones, fruit
- Spinach quiche, fruit

- Fruit and Cinnamon Almond Granola

Lunches will be our usual assortment of leftovers or sandwiches with yogurt or cheese and sliced fruits or veggies.

Dinner:

- Ham, green beans, and potatoes
- Grilled chicken wraps, pears
- Fish, scalloped potatoes, carrots
- Roasted turkey breast, roasted potatoes, limas, applesauce

- Quick and healthy stir fry

- Pizza, fruit, salad, ice cream
- Birthday Brunch out, cake and ice cream later

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie.

"Heart Echoes" by Sally John

Teal Adams is lost - and it's a first.  Usually very confident, since experiencing a horrible earthquake on her way home in LA, she's suffered from PTSD, and with her family members traumatized, as well, it takes little for her to run to her childhood home with her daughter, Maiya.  With Maiya wanting to find her biological father and Teal hoping to avoid any more of the verbal abuse heaped on her by her stepfather growing up, their visit doesn't promise to be rosy.  Can they find their way through this emotional mindfield and land on the same side of the fence?

Teal Adams was very appealing to me.  A no-nonsense kind of woman, she was beautiful and friendly, but she didn't let many people get close.  She was a hard worker and had transformed life from an unhappy childhood to being a successful lawyer, wife, and mother - maybe in that order.

Even with a new relationship blossoming with her sister, I found it curious that Teal wanted to return home to Oregon when disaster struck. In the midst of emotional chaos, why return to the scene of so much former pain - and add stress to a great marriage?  Yet facing her past burdens was exactly what Teal needed to do, and seeing the normally unflappable lawyer being tossed about made for a dramatic, draw-you-in read.

I couldn't wait to read the end of the story.  I so hoped that Teal resolved her past, was able to restore her relationship with her daughter, and save her marriage.  If you like books that do more than scratch the surface, the kind that make you really examine your own heart issues, then Heart Echoes is the perfect book for you.

I received a free copy of Heart Echoes from Tyndale House in exchange for an honest review.

Chicken Corn Soup

At home in Pennsylvania this soup is really popular, and whenever I'm hungry for home I make Chicken Corn Soup.  There isn't anything simpler, but it's sweet and comforting and hearty without being heavy.

As My Little Man moved from being a toddler into the preschool years, I began to make soup again (I unconsciously avoided them before that - maybe because it was just too difficult to feed to young children).   To my dismay, he abhorred soup and complained about each and every variety - except this one.  As a corn addict, he thought this soup was awesome.  I crushed crackers in it to make it easier for him to eat, and he cleaned his bowl each and every time.

So if you'd like to make your own Chicken Corn Soup, here's what you'll need:

• chicken - I like to use split chicken breasts
• several cups of corn - I use the corn that we bagged and froze last summer
• water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can of creamed corn (optional)

To make your soup, just:

1. Boil your chicken.  I put it in a Dutch oven and bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for an hour.  This will both cook your chicken and create yummy broth for your soup, all at the same time.
2. Remove the chieken from the broth.
3. Cool the chicken, then shred with forks.
4. Chill the broth.  I just put the whole pot in the fridge until the next day.
5. Skim the fat off the top of the broth.  This can be done easily with a slotted spoon or a spider.
6. Return the pot to the stovetop.  Add the chicken back into the broth, adding a cup or two of water if necessary.
7. Add the corn to the pot.  If you'd like it to be a bit thicker and sweeter, add canned creamed corn.  (My husband prefers it this way.)
8. Let your soup simmer for about ten minutes and serve with crackers.

I love to make this soup as we head into spring.  The sweet corn flavor just promises summer and warm days ahead!

What's your favorite meal for these back-and-forth spring days??

“The Homeschool Experiment” by Charity Hawkins & Giveaway!

****  Becky H, you're our winner!  Please check your inbox for an email about how to receive your book.  Congrats!

 

Julianne Miller and her husband John have agreed that homeschooling is the best way to educate their three little ones, and having survived the first year of kindergarten with a newborn, Julianne is ready to tackle Year Two: with one active son in first grade, a precocious four-year-old fashionista ready to learn, and toddler Michael, who just wants attention.  Between meltdowns and blow-ups, projects and housework and doubting relatives, is homeschooling really a viable option for this family?

I LOVED this book.

If you’ve ever homeschooled (I’ve only homeschooled for preschool thus far), thought about homeschooling, wondered what it might be like, then you MUST read this book.  Not only does Charity write about homeschooling adventures in a completely realistic (I’m assuming much of this was real) fashion, but she does so with humor and Biblical wisdom thrown in. 

It’s rare that I want to take notes when reading fiction, but this book made me want to pull out my highlighter.  Charity ponders the homeschool vs. public school vs. private school debate openly, honestly, and logically, giving fantastic advice to others who might be struggling with this decision.  The mentors from whom Julianne seeks advice do the same: they are able to help Julianne find strategies and resources to solve the problems that she’s having, providing valuable insights to any of us reading the book.

In the back Charity includes a study guide for homeschool groups, making this a fantastic possibility for your next book club meeting or Mom’s Night Out get together.  My favorite part of this was that along with questions, she includes resources relating to issues in the book, so if something resonates with you, you are then able to seek out more information on that topic easily.

Charity shares about how the decision to homeschool is about more than academia:

If I teach my children nothing else, I want to teach them to recognize true treasures – not jewels or palatial mansions, but this amazing world God created, the precious people around us, and His eternal Truth.  For where my children’s treasures are, there their hearts will be also.

Though this computer addict hates to admit it, technology now plays a major role in most people’s lives – and that’s drastically changed the way that families relate to each other and to the outside world.  After being around others who are more “connected” than her little family is, Julianne decides that:

I want to raise children who know how to be still, how to sit, how to think.  I want my children to have hearts for people, not things, and to live to serve, not to be entertained.  And, ultimately, I want them to learn to listen: to family and friends, to their own hearts, and to that Voice that doesn’t beep and flash, that doesn’t always thunder in a whirlwind or burn with fire, but that comes in a gentle Whisper. (p. 116)

Of course, along with being a voice of wisdom and experience, this book is flat out funny.  From fire trucks and hotel visits to who-can-amass-the-most-McD’s visits per month, Julianne’s story will definitely tickle your funny bone.

And who doesn’t need some more of that?

New author Charity Hawkins generously provided a second copy of this book for me to give away – for which I’m very happy, as I’m not ready to release my hold on my copy just yet.  If you want to win your own copy, signed by Charity Hawkins herself,  do any or all of the following by noon on April 24^th (leave a separate comment for each):

• Leave a comment on this post sharing whether you homeschool or not.
• Follow this blog in any form (GFC, Networked Blogs, etc.) and leave a comment for each.
• Share about this giveaway via your favorite social media.  Leave a comment for each.

 Please be sure leave a contact method.  Winner will be responsible for replying within 48 hours of contest ending or a new winner will be chosen.

I received a free copy of "The Homeschool Experiment" from Charity Hawkins in exchange for an honest review.

"River's Call" by Melody Carlson

Newlywed Anna Larsen is finally living her dream - when her college student daughter Lauren becomes pregnant.  Lauren marries and begins to raise her daughter Sarah while living with her husband and paternal grandmother.  Though only a few hours' from Anna, Lauren becomes distant and remote.  Anna develops a special bond with Sarah, however, during a rare summer visit, and it is strengthened during annual summer visits - until Lauren comes home in tears and Sarah subsequently disappears.  As Anna grows her riverside inn on inherited family land, can she become the strong matriarch of her family and support her lost family?

Honestly, I might have put this book down soon after beginning if it weren't for my commitment to this review; the characters' drama unfolded slowly at first, and I found it difficult to develop a personal connection to them - perhaps because this is the second in the series, and I have not read the first.

I kept reading, however, and it wasn't long until I couldn't wait to see how Anna would hold her family together.  I admire her strength, her conviction, her dedication to her family and her Native American roots.  Anna had a close relationship with her grandmother in her younger years, which I could identify with - I spent lots of time with my great-grandparents, learning the ways of their childhood, when I was a child myself.

But as much as I loved Anna, I couldn't stand Lauren.  She was selfish, self-centered, a disengaged mother, and I spent much of the book wanting to reach through the pages and shake her.  That type of self-absorption completely disgusts me, and I couldn't imagine having Anna's patience in dealing with her.  A desire to learn her trade secrets made me read faster, as did sorrow for Sarah.  I hoped that she wouldn't fall through the cracks of her unusual family and run into trouble.  

So by the time I finished the book, staying up too late to finish it, I was in love with the characters and fascinated by the plot.  Carlson wrote an epic story on a simple scale, and its sweetness despite hardship is inspiring.  

If you're looking for hardcore suspense or action, then this may not be the book for you.  However, if you're a fan of angst and drama, of epic works and seeing how decisions follow families through the ages, how culture and trends can play into family decisions, you shouldn't miss River's Call.

There is a third book in the Inn at Shining Waters series.  I can't wait to read it - and I'm definitely tracking down the first one.  

I received a free copy of River's Call from Glass Road in exchange for an honest review.

GratiTuesday - Learning to Ride

For several  months I've been asking My Big Helper about removing her training wheels.  Each time I'd mention it, she would stare at me and then flatly refuse.  Reading books about Franklin learning to ride and other favorite characters didn't help.  Sharing my favorite learning-to-ride stories didn't help.

I was starting to think she'd be riding to high school in training wheels.

Then Saturday, after the Easter egg hunt at church and before dying our eggs, I mentioned this to her daddy.  When he asked her to give it a try, she tentatively agreed.

Looking scared, she perched on the seat as Daddy pushed her across the yard.  Though she seemed to be balancing well, she was afraid to keep her feet on the pedals.

After a few attempts and her refusal to pedal, he pushed her across the street and into a yard, where she headed down a slight incline - and the momentum from the hill kept her upright.

She loved it!

Back on the street, she started to pedal as Daddy pushed - and within 30 minutes from start to finish, she was riding up and down the street, turning on her own and laughing happily.

She never did fall.  I've never seen a kid learn to ride a bike and not fall at least once.


What is better than hearing your child laugh happily?

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers.

Great Ways to Use Your Easter Ham

I love a good ham dinner, but I get tired of eating ham for days on end trying to use it all before it goes bad.  Besides, there are lots of pieces to a ham that just aren't as pretty as those first sliced on Easter Sunday - they're darker, a bit tougher, and not quite as juicy, but still good, not-fatty ham.  What do you do with those?

We like to save the best pieces of ham for dishes that feature ham as a key ingredient, and we use those less-than-pretty pieces as toppings or garnishes that will add lots of flavor.

When choosing which pieces will be used for what, cut the best-looking ones into bite-sized pieces immediately and separate from the rest.  Then they're ready to go.  With the rest of the ham, cut off the fat and chop semi-finely with a food processor.  You can do so much with these smaller pieces of ham, and the best part is that you can no longer tell they weren't so pretty to start with!

So here are our favorite go-to ham recipes:

1.Ham, green beans, and potatoes.  A simple dish, popular in the heavily-Amish populated area of Pennsylvania where I grew up.  This is our favorite recipe for using up pieces of "pretty" ham.  It's easy, filling, and fairly healthy, especially if you go heavy on the veggies.  You can make this on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.

2.  As a pizza topping.  Whether you grill or bake it, chopped ham seems to add tons of flavor to a pizza.  It's my husband's favorite way to eat a homemade pizza - with peppers and onions, too.  It takes your pizza experience to a different level as the small pieces of ham take on a new texture in the oven and add bursts of flavor without the added grease that you get from sausage or pepperoni.

3.  In Parmesan Potato Soup.  Here again the ham is just one player among many, but the recipe overall is fairly healthy, and the ham adds extra flavor.  While my family likes this soup as-is, my husband particularly appreciates the addition of meat, and the ham does not risk getting soggy or squishy as even crumbled bacon sometimes does.

4.  As a baked potato bar addition.  We love to make baked potatoes our way, throwing potatoes in the oven to roast and broccoli on to steam, you can have a filling, yummy dinner ready in minutes.  Set out dishes of diced ham and cheese, and you've got a complete meal.

5.  As a salad topping.  Most of us have dyed eggs and leftover ham, so de-shell and slice those eggs and run those ham bits through the processor.  Put both over romaine with some cheese, and you've got a yummy salad ready to go.

6.  For breakfast - try Hearty Breakfast Casserole.  You can make this casserole with any kind of meat you choose, but ham seems to be more widely accepted than sausage or bacon.  If that's the case with your family, or if you just want to try something different, go with ham.  It makes this dish seem a bit lighter but keeps the yummy elements of eggs, potatoes, meat, and cheese.  You definitely won't be hungry if you eat this for breakfast!

These are our favorite ways to use our leftover ham.  What are yours?