Meet the family...

Monday, February 1, 2010

Caution! Under Construction!

Hi! Welcome back to my life!

I am in the process of rearranging my life, which has spilled over to rearranging my blogging.

This blog will house recipes, menus, and food-related musings. I will be moving my favorite old posts to my new blog, Not Just Any Old Momma. I also have a couple of neat new homes for home education related information. A Posse ad Esse is the place for our "big kid" school, and Busy Hands, Smiling Faces is all about "little kid" school.

I hope you like the new look of things. This year promises to be a great one for me, and I am excited to get a fresh start, here and everywhere!

I look forward to seeing you again soon,

Warm regards,

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Generally, I don't agree with these things, but...




You Are Traditional and Dependable



You are optimistic, friendly, and cheerful. People appreciate the hopefulness and good vibes you bring to any situation.



You are hungry. For food, yes. But more than anything, you are hungry for power.



You're easy going and easy to be around. You aren't picky or high maintenance.



You seek security in your life. Feeling safe is important to you.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

I don't even like ice cream sandwiches...




You Are an Ice Cream Sandwich



You are well grounded, reliable, and very balanced.

You love to work hard, but you also know how to take it easy.



People might be surprised to know you have a very goofy side to you.

You like to let loose and have fun. You just don't let yourself go too crazy!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Practically Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies


I have been searching for the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe, soft and chewy without being overly sweet. I haven't found it yet, but this one came pretty close. It originally came from All Recipes, but I had to change it quite a bit to make it the way I wanted it. The cookies were fairly devoured, so I think I'll stick with it, at least for this year.

Practically Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (or use part crunchy)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
In a large bowl, blend sugars, using an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add butter, and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla and mix at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed until just mixed. Chill for 30 minutes or so, and keep dough chilled between batches. This dough spreads a lot if it's not chilled.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (You can gently press cookies in a crisscrossed pattern with a wet fork, but they get REALLY flat. I left them as drop cookies) Bake for 15-18 minutes or until slightly brown along edges.

Makes approximately 6 dozen.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Menu Plan through January 31


The following is my menu plan through the end of the month. Much of the meat is coming from the freezer, as we need to get it emptied out. I will not be eating most of the carb selections, but try to fit my diet around what everyone else is eating. I didn't type in the days of the week, but the plans run Monday through Sunday.

Warm regards,
Shannon

Menu January 14-20

Breakfast


Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Cereal
Milk

Egg casserole
Toast
Juice

Lunch

Tuna salad sandwiches
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk

Lentil soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Raman noodles
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Pineapple
Milk

Bacon
Hash browns
Eggs to order
Juice

Cold meat sandwiches
Vegetables and dip

Dinner

Bean burritos
Spanish rice
Corn

Garlic chicken
Spinach salad
Noodles

Crock Mock Beef Bourguignon
Mashed cauliflower
Green beans
Crusty bread

Meatloaf
Peas and carrots
Roasted potatoes

Homemade pizza

Halibut nuggets
French fries
Carrots

Leftovers

January 21-27

Breakfast

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Cereal
Milk

Egg casserole
Toast
Juice

Lunch

Salmon patties
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk


Bean and vegetable soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Macaroni salad
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Pineapple
Milk

Sausage gravy
Biscuits
Eggs to order
Juice

Cold meat sandwiches
Vegetables and dip

Dinner

Cabbage roll soup
Brown rice
Crusty bread

Pepper stuffed herd chicken
Noodles
Broccoli

Mountain goat roast in the crock
Baked potatoes
Green beans
Corn on the cob

Salisbury steaks
Mashed cauliflower
Bussels sprouts

Homemade pizza

Halibut nuggets
French fries
Green beans

leftovers

January 28-31

Breakfast

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Lunch

Macaroni & tuna casserole
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk

Tomato soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Raman noodles
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Dinner

Turkey divan
Mashed cauliflower
Rolls

Moose burgers, grilled
French fries

Spaghetti with caribou sauce
Carrots
Garlic bread

Tacos
Corn
Rice

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Menu Planning Made Easy

I love it when someone makes my life just a little easier.

I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, A Happy Home, and came across a post recommending Menus 4 Moms. This is an awesome resource for inexperienced menu planners as well as us "old pros." If you are just beginning to plan menus, you can use her FREE menus, recipes, and shopping lists just the way they are. If you want, or need to, however, you can just use them as an outline. Even better news, as I looked over some of the menus, I saw that they would fit very well into a rather frugal grocery budget.

There are many terrific food related articles on the Menus 4 Mom website. I spent quite a while just exploring it. This site is going onto my sidebar as a really "Awesome Resource!"

Enjoy!

Warm regards,
Shannon

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Christmas Tea Party

Several days ago, my daughters hosted their annual Christmas Tea. We had 16 young ladies and 6 (old?!) ladies in attendance. Everyone said it was a smashing success.

The theme the girls chose was snow and snowmen. The invitations, which I neglected to photograph, were purchased as blank cards at Michael's for $1 for 10. We embellished them with scrapbook supplies and printed wording from the computer. For decorations, my husband, Mr. Christmas, strung white icicle lights from the ceiling, as well as his usual multi-colored lights around the edges of the ceiling. We also put icicle lights and white tulle across the hearth. As always, I placed about a dozen votives in the fireplace to give light, but not heat. We used Debbie Mumm paper plates from Jo Ann Fabric over heavy red octagonal styrofoam plates. I know, not fancy, but clean up after 16 little girls and you'll understand. After the first year, we switched to fancy disposable. The tables were covered in red cloths with squares of matching Debbie Mumm wrapping paper to accent. Centerpieces were red and green floral candle rings around candles floating in footed glass ice cream dishes. I wove a long strand of white snow flake garland around the centerpieces.

This is the bigger girls' table.

The little bags on the plates were little bead snowflake ornaments that we made together for the girls to take home.

This is the littler girls' table. No candles on it! Our menu was:

Tea sandwiches (chicken salad, turkey and spinach pinwheels)

Mini ham and cheese quiches

Fruit kabobs with vanilla yogurt dip

Mini muffins (strawberry cheesecake flavor)

Cookies (meringues, macaroons, white chocolate/dried cherry, lemon bars, peanut butter, gingerbread stars)

Scones with strawberry jam and mock Devonshire cream

Cranberry tea

I love our Christmas teas. I wish you all could have joined us!

I hope your Christmas was lovely!

Warm regards,

Shannon