Working On The Simple Life: 2012

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Menu Plan for the Week of May 21

Okay, this is the last week of school!! No more packing lunches for two whole months!! YAY!!!
Update on the freezer/pantry challenge: we are spending WAY less at the grocery store each week and we are using up some of our freezer stockpile--just seems like we have way more food than I ever realized!!!

Breakfast
peanut butter banana smoothies (freezer-still haven't used them)
pumpkin baked oatmeal
oatmeal
eggs and turkey sausage (freezer)

Lunch
turkey and cheese sandwiches
ham and cheese sandwiches
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
frozen meals
chicken noodle soup (pantry)

Dinner
grilled London broil (freezer), Normandy veggies (freezer), white rice (freezer)
spinach pizza (freezer)
grilled chicken breast (freezer), spinach artichoke pasta (freezer)
shredded bbq chicken (freezer), creamed corn (freezer), baked beans
baked tilapia (freezer), quinoa (pantry), Normandy veggies (freezer)
beef and bean burritos (all ingredients in the freezer except beans)

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mother's Day 2012

This is how I was greeted this morning: english muffin with an assortment of toppers and a banana. The coffee came right after this.

Happy Mother's Day!!

A Family 5k!

Yesterday, my kids and I ran (and walked) our first 5k together. Races are something my husband usually participates in, but I did this one. My girlies are a part of a girls on the run type program at school that I have been helping with (I am by no means an athlete!). Since I have been there, little man has been too (and I think he looked more forward to running practices than any of us!). He actually finished before any of the rest of us in our family. I was about 10 minutes behind the kiddos but not long ago I could never have imagined doing something like this!! DD10 actually ran this race last year. This was the first 5k for DD8 and DS7.
I am so proud of all of us!

Menu Plan for the Week of May 14

Well, the pantry challenge at my house is in full swing! I had to make a quick trip to Walmart to buy a few things yesterday and to Ingles earlier in the week to buy a few items. We've actually done a lot less grocery shopping than usual.
Here is what is on the menu for this week:

Breakfast
peanut butter banana smoothies (frozen)-didn't get to last week
eggs and turkey sausage (frozen)
waffles-bought this week for quick end-of-the-schoolyear breakfasts
oatmeal
peanut butter toast

Lunch
frozen lunches-some were bought this week
white chili (frozen)
taco soup (frozen)
chicken noodle soup (pantry)
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (pantry, bought some more bread for the week)

Dinner
turkey and black bean burritos (frozen and pantry)
shredded BBQ chicken, creamed corn, and black beans (frozen and pantry)
baked tilapia, rice, and Normandy veggies with pesto (frozen)
veggie burger and creamed corn and spinach cheese bites for the kids (frozen)
grilled London broil with creamed spinach and rice (frozen and pantry)
leftovers

Monday, May 7, 2012

Photography

I have been taking a digital photography class and had a blast! I had to chase this ant down to get this pic. Autofixed it on picasa and found a spider's web!

This one was super close-up. I think it is a leaf.

Look at the hairy leaf!

An awesome honeysuckle!

Notice the heart that the honeysuckles are making :)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Menu Plan for the Week of May 7

We are super busy this week. I am finishing up on a digital photography class, we are doing girls on the run, girl scouts, 4-H, and end of grade testing this week! Whew! It makes me tired just typing all of that!
I just finished inventorying our freezers and have decided that we can do a pantry challenge this month--freezers are full. I hadn't realized that we had so much food in there! It's been a while since I menu planned unfortunately.
So, here's the plan...

Breakfasts
oatmeal packets (pantry)
banana peanut butter smoothies (freezer)
whole wheat cranberry bread (freezer)
scrambled eggs (fridge) and turkey sausage links (freezer)
homemade waffles and biscuits with honey (freezer clean-out)
Ezekiel English muffins (freezer)

Lunch
various frozen lunch meals (freezer)
peanut butter sandwiches (pantry, might have to buy some bread)
chicken noodle soup (pantry)
taco soup (freezer)
garlic and olive oil pasta (pantry)
turkey and ham sandwiches with American cheese (fridge and pantry)

Dinner
turkey tacos, black beans (freezer and pantry)
chicken and rice bake (freezer) and sauteed spinach (fridge)
grilled tilapia and normandy veggies with pesto (freezer)
spinach and cheese bites (freezer), white rice (freezer), and green beans (pantry)
grilled London broil (freezer) and spinach artichoke pasta (freezer)
turkey burgers on flat bread rolls (freezer) and baked beans (pantry)

Snacks
pretzels (pantry)
protein bars (pantry)
go-gurts (freezer)
spinach artichoke dip with pita bread (freezer)
blueberries (freezer)
Kashi granola bars (pantry)
applesauce (fridge)
cheese sticks (fridge)
fruit leather strips (pantry)

Feeling good about this! :)