Friday, January 30, 2009

Honey Whole Wheat Bread (uses bread machine)

1 1/8 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
2 tablespoons melted butter (or vegetable oil)
1 packet active dry yeast

Option 1:
Add ingredients according to manufacturer's directions for your bread machine. Use the wheat bread cycle and light color setting.

Option 2:
Add ingredients according to manufacturer's directions for your bread machine. Use dough cycle. When machine is finished, punch down the down and transfer to a greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise (about 45 minutes). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. I like to brush the loaf with melted butter when it comes out of the oven.

I make this bread alot. This is my variation but you can click here for the original recipe.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Dinners this week

Monday - Pork roast in the crockpot; brown rice; green beans
Tuesday - Parmesan Chicken; whole wheat spaghetti; steamed veggies
Wednesday - Lasagna (South Beach Diet-legal)
Thursday - Whole chicken in the crockpot
Friday - Small Group meeting
Also making: Spaghetti sauce for crockpot

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Crockpot Chicken Recipe

Take a thawed whole chicken (like the ones that are around $5). Wash it off. Take aluminum foil and make balls with it - about the size of a softball. Line the bottom of your crockpot with the balls of aluminum foil. Put your chicken on top of the aluminum foil balls. Put any kind of herbs/spices you like on top of the chicken. You don't need to add any liquids or anything else. Cover and turn on low for about 7-8 hours.

I call this my "5 Minute Dinner". As long as my chicken is thawed, it is super fast and easy to make.

At the Beach...

I have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome with insulin resistance for many years. Since many doctors over the last few years have recommended the South Beach Diet for controlling my insulin resistance, I have finally decided to follow it. My husband and I are following it together. Phase 1 excludes all fruits and breads, etc. This phase lasts for 2 weeks then you start reintroducing some of the excluded foods back into your diet. There's alot more to it than that but so far, so good.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Peach Cobbler Dump Cake Recipe

Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

INGREDIENTS
2 (16 ounce) cans peaches in heavy syrup
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Empty peaches into the bottom of one 9x13 inch pan. Cover with the dry cake mix and press down firmly. Cut butter into small pieces and place on top of cake mix. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

Baked Potato Soup Recipe

Baked Potato Soup from Menus 4 Moms

4 large baking potatoes, baked and cooled
2/3 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions, chopped and divided
12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, and divided
1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out pulp and set aside. Discard skins. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly. (This will take some time.)
Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp green onions, 1/2 cup bacon, and 1 cup cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Stir in sour cream. Serve with remaining green onions, bacon and cheese as a garnish.

Rice Pilaf Recipe

Rice Pilaf Recipe from Menus 4 Moms

3 T. olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 green pepper chopped, seeded
1/2 red pepper chopped, seeded
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
1 c. long grain rice (or brown rice* for healthier version)
2 c. chicken broth (if you are using brown rice add extra water)
herbs of your choice (basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.)

Saute onion, garlic and peppers in oil until tender. Add rice and brown until lightly browned. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to pan. Cover and cook 20-25 minutes (longer - closer to 45 minutes - for brown rice).

We loved this! (I added more water/broth than what it calls for)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

You know you're a homeschooler if...

...you have administered a spelling test from the bathroom
...you have 2 maps hanging in your living room and a white board hanging in your dining room
...you have to explain to the park ranger that your children are not skipping school but are working on a hands-on nature study
...you actually LIKE your own children and couldn't imagine any other way of life than being able to spend as much time as possible with them and consider that a joy
...your bookcases look like the reference section of the library
...you load your dishwasher in between teaching fractions and geometry

Frugal Gift Ideas, Cafe Au Lait And Lots of Reader Tips and Recipes- HBHW Newsletter

Frugal Gift Ideas, Cafe Au Lait And Lots of Reader Tips and Recipes- HBHW Newsletter

Posted using ShareThis

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Menu plan for next week

Saturday - boys play Upward Football in the morning; I work & Jr has Youth Group in the evening- Spinach Cheese Manicotti
Sunday - church in the morning & I work in the evening - leftovers
Monday - Science lesson in the afternoon & JD's football practice in the evening - Homemade pizza
Tuesday - aaahhh, a free night!!! - grilled chicken
Wednesday - church for the boys in the evening - sloppy joes and macaroni and cheese
Thursday - co-op all day and JR has football practice in the evening - ???possibly go out for supper
Friday - small group meeting

Also I'll be making spaghetti sauce for the freezer

Friday, September 19, 2008

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 pkg taco seasoning
4 cups frozen tater tots
11 oz can nacho cheese soup

Prepare meat with taco seasoning as directed. Pour into a 2qt casserole dish (ungreased). Pour soup over top; add tater tots in a single layer. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I have been waiting to try this recipe...

What's cool about homeschool video

Meals for this week

This week: I'm working Saturday, Sunday, and Monday; JD has his first meeting for flag football on Monday; the boys have church on Wednesday; Thursday we have homeschool co-op and then I have a MD appointment right after. Plus, of course, we have our regular homeschool Mon, Tues, Wed, and Fri. I'm getting tired just thinking about it...

Well anyway, here's what the plan is for dinners this week:
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Spinach Cheese Manicotti
Sunday - leftover manicotti
Monday - sloppy joes & mac 'n cheese
Tuesday - homemade pizza & wings
Wednesday - tater tot casserole
Thursday - ?taco salads (we all love the bake at home taco salad bowls from Aztec)

Have a blessed week!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Homemade Pizza (uses bread machine)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet of yeast

Put all of the ingredients in a bread machine on the Dough cycle. We like a thick crust and we have an extra large round pizza pan, so we use 1 batch per pizza. The recipe says it makes two 12 inch regular crusts or one 16 inch deep dish crust. I put my toppings on - we like shredded at home mozzerella cheese and pepperoni (usually turkey pepperoni). We add a light sprinkle of dried oregano flakes and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes.

Pizza wins out for JD

JD has decided what he wants for his "Last Supper" (he gets his tonsils out in the morning). We are having homemade pizza, jello, and ice cream. He is putting on a brave face about the surgery.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Friday, September 12, 2008



My favorite bread recipe

1 cup warm water
3 tbsp sugar
1 packet yeast

Put these ingredients in a bread machine pan and let sit for about 5-10 minutes - until it gets a little foamy.

Then add:
3 cups flour (I use 3 cups bread flour or 2 cups bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp salt

You can bake this in your bread machine on the basic/white bread setting OR you can set you bread machine to the dough setting, then place in a greased loaf pan, let sit covered with cling wrap for about 30 minutes, and bake at 350 minutes for 18 - 20 minutes. I like to brush on a little melted butter with a pastry brush when it comes out of the oven.

Menu plan for next week

Saturday: Crockpot Chili
Sunday: Leftover Chili
Monday: Crockpot Meatloaf
Tuesday: JD gets to choose - he will have his tonsils out tomorrow; will also cook a whole turkey so we have it to eat from for the next few days
Wednesday: Turkey, mashed potatoes
Thursday: Turkey pot pie
Friday: Goulash or leftovers

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Howdy!

I am a Christian wife and homeschooling mom of 3(homeschooling the older 2-not the baby :-)). I also work part-time as an LPN at a nursing home. Our family consists of SR (Dad), JR (Oldest DS), JD (Youngest DS), Baby-girl, and me, of course. I am trying to get my life back on track after having my life turned upside down, inside out, and backwards over the past year. We have been absolutely blessed with a beautiful baby but we have had a multitude of medical issues going on with all of us, too.

May God bless you!