Menu Plan Monday--ALREADY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

I have only a few words today: Corporate taxes are due 3/15...which means my accountant wants to see something before then. Which means I should have done more sooner; which means I am still procrastinating on SOME things, which was one of my New Year's resolutions.

Which means we are having PB&J for most of this week.

Thank you for your patience. We will commence planning again soon.

Feel free to send me your plan so I can sponge off your efforts. :)

Menu Plan Monday--ALREADY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

I'm not ready! I'm not buckled in yet!

Monday: Eating at MIL's house--THANK the merciful Lord.

Tuesday: Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. Cooking on the driveway again. Easy and everyone likes it.

Wednesday: Pizza Hut. Awana is back on after two missed weeks due to measles contamination. So we'll be hustling out the door.

Thursday: Handyman is in charge of dinner, because he was gone all week last week. And it's his turn.

Friday: Rueben casserole that I saw in the newspaper. Haven't figured out where I will bake it yet.

Sorry this isn't very helpful to you all. Can I just encourage you to put something down on paper. It makes all the difference in the world. Seriously. :)

Menu Plan Monday--on Tuesday, or Story of My Life

Yeah, yeah, it's Tuesday. So sue me! Just kidding...I can't remember what I was doing on Sunday afternoon. It might have had something to do with blowdrying a chicken, or cleaning up 3.5 gallons of dog barf underneath my office chair floor protector thingy. I am trying to blot out the entire evening really.

So here's my plan:

Monday: Ate at my MIL's. She roasted a giant chicken in the oven. We had salad, steamed baby carrots, (I added honey.) and baked potatoes. I haven't had a baked potato in about 6 months or more. (BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE AN OVEN.) I don't sound bitter, do I?

I did enter the Lowes Makeover $100,000 giveaway. The finalists will be announced on March 5--which isn't too far away. When I told Handyman, his first words were, "I wouldn't have to do the work." I am imagining what it would be like to go to Lowes with a gift card that has a $100,000 balance. I am sure I could apply some of that towards my favorite contractor...hmmmmm.

Oh! Back to: Menu Plan Monday

Tuesday: I will use some of the chicken meat sent home from MIL's, to make Chicken Taquitos (Whatever you do, don't skip the salt sprinkled on the taquitos before they're baked. Those bites were the very best!)


Wednesday: Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps, which I had posted last week and didn't use.

Thursday: Kung Pao chicken, which I added for last Sunday, but didn't use.

Friday: Spinach and Bacon Frittata and hash browns, which I made last week and enjoyed so much, we are having it again! Woot! Woot! The hens are laying.

Saturday: Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chili

Sunday: WHO KNOWS?!

Reviewing last week's recipes, I want to say that the Ravioli in Sage Cream Sauce was AWESOME! We all loved it. The pecans were the piece you shouldn't miss out on, although other nuts would probably do as well, if you have a preference. It was easy and quick and has already been added to our favorites folder!

Check out OrgJunkie today! She has a great post with linky for her favorite organizing links! It looks chock full of stuff we can all use. And, could I ask y'all to leave a comment? It is fun to write a blog, and more fun to see 50 views for the week; but a real bummer to get absolutely no comments...if you can't think of anything, just say hi! TYVM!

Menu Plan Monday---I think I can, I think I can

(There is a new post, a few days prior to this one. Because I started it back in January, it posted it chronologically to its start date, not post date. )

Let it be known that menu-planning doesn't even take that long. If left to my own devices, I would plan the same 14 things over and over again. But Handyman does not go there. This is a man who eats catered food, routinely, on the job. Sometimes that is good. Sometimes it is evil. But it definitely puts a little pressure on me, in a good way.

For the first time in ages, I will be linking this post to org junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Mostly because that's what makes my menu planning faster, and more fun. I just troll through the linky and steal other people's work. It's not cheating anymore Ladies! It's support!

Monday: Today is Westminster Kennel Club dog show, on USA Network or something we don't get. So we are heading to Grandma's house, to watch. We will be having a stroganoff made with a pre-cooked pot roast from Costco. We have eaten these several times and been very impressed. They cost about $12, which ain't cheap, but they are done after 10 min. in the microwave and fall apart tender on the plate. If I can track the recipe down, I will link later. Basically sour cream and noodles, parsley flakes. Maybe some cream soup.

Tuesday: Also Westminster Kennel Club night. So back to Grandma's Spinach/bacon frittata is the plan. I stole it from HERE. My hens have started laying again, and even though they are little bantam eggs, they are bright orange and full of good stuff. Buy organic, it's worth it.

Wednesday: Is Awana night at our house, which usually means Pizza Hut, which usually means $20. I'd like to reduce that, so I'm going to try Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps. I have some of those great flatbreads from Costco, in my freezer that I will probably use instead of tortillas. They are a lot more filling. Again, I am springing for organic beef. Costco has organic beef patties for less than $4/lb. I just thaw them and chunk them up for whatever I need. Otherwise I am paying about $5/lb. for Laura's lean at Kroger. I do not buy store ground beef, ever. We just don't eat ground beef a lot. Not that we don't want to, but it's more than I can tolerate on several levels.

Thursday: Handyman is home all week, so this sounds sophisticated without being difficult or expensive. And #2 loves ravioli. Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce


Friday: This recipe came from my BFF: Arni's salad with BBQ chicken. Fresh green salad with shredded BBQ chicken, black beans, corn, avocado, red onion, shredded cheese, and the tortilla strips you can get in the crouton section. I put a little ranch dressing mixed with Frank's on mine, as well. Awesome!

Saturday: LEFTOVERS, LEFTOVERS, or cold cereal.

Adding Sunday NOW: Kung Pao Chicken, only 500 calories, over brown rice. Yum!

There you have it: A week's menu for a home with little to no kitchen!

Menu Plan Meltdown: UPDATED WITH FREE STUFF!

Yes, it is past Monday. Yes, I made a menu plan. Yes, it gave me peace of mind. Yes, it is buried in my daytimer and has not seen the light of day. In fact, I admit, I did not even prepare a dinner on multiple evenings this week. Those darn kids, they snack all the time. And when they start thinking about dinner, I have barn chores to do.

I made all the dishes on my menu last week. Actually I had to skip one, because I had three different, very edible leftovers in my refrig and I refused to cook something else. I even gave food away to the neighbors--(it was good soup). I'm just sayin' the effort was there. But this week, I have failed.

Handyman is on a major network show for Superbowl and he isn't home any night for supper. Kids eat without ceasing all day. I feel responsible to feed horses, they can't use the can opener or microwave. So I go to barn, kids fend for themselves.

Here is a good example: Hummus, crackers, organic turkey slices, 2 kinds of kefir, walnuts, craisins and almonds, pomegranate, honey bell oranges, tomato soup, cottage cheese, pickled beets, salsa, chips, chicken nuggets, nitrite-free hot dogs, salad with croutons. There are all kinds of great combos there, for a perfectly satisfying meal.

Staple of choice here: Popcorn. Go figure. No stove, no oven, no problem!

As a special reward for reading all the way to the end: GO HERE to get some FREE printable worksheets to help you get organized! I'm downloading them now! You should too. :)

Menu Plan Monday

Okay, this is about my fifth week putting together a menu on Sunday afternoon. And it helps tremendously with my sanity, because I DONT HAVE A KITCHEN right now. Therefore, my meals need to involve NO ovens and very little stovetop, since I use one burner on my driveway.

So here it is:

Monday: Crock pot chicken with biscuits

Tuesday: Crock pot pizza

Wednesday is Awana--so grilled cheese and tomato soup

Thursday: Bacon Ranch Chicken over noodles

Friday: Jambalaya

Saturday: Pasta Fagioli soup

Sunday: Quiche, which I will bake at my mother'in'law's

Ahhh, I don't have to think about this again.

I am sad, though, that football season is drawing to a close. :*(

Menu Plan Monday--AGAIN!

Well, I'll keep it short...I did find the world's best Mac'n Cheese recipe, from Fine Cooking, and have made it twice. Not so hard and so rewarding to make something everyone ooh's over.

But today was Pancakes and Bacon! Costco has a new mix from Krusteze that is whole grain, with flax seeds. They were pretty darn good. Made a big batch and put some in the freezer.

Tuesday: I'm thinking Baked Potato Soup with Salad.

Wednesday: It is pizza night at Awana this week, so we'll be eating there! Yea.

Thursday: Salmon Patties and french fries

Friday: Chicken Parmigiana or Fettucini Alfredo from Pioneer Woman. Depends on whether I can find chicken in the freezer or not.

Gotta go watch the weather now, but at least I have a basic menu plan down for the week. What about you??

Menu Plan Monday--AGAIN!

In trying to upgrade my organization level this year, I am trying to stay on the wagon with Menu Plan Monday at the very helpful blog I'm An Organizing Junkie. She has product reviews, challenges, giveaways, ideas and encouragement. And I pretty much need all of it. Her links are pretty great as well.

I used a menu for the last two weeks and both of them were very modest--just little scraps of paper with two-word titles of recipes. But it made a big difference, no only in my stress level, but my demeanor throughout each day. Since I wasn't stressing about feeding my family at the end of each day, I had more energy to take on the big things, like chicken bathing and 47 doggie trips outside and shoveling horse manure!

Here's my plan for this week--gratefully, mostly stolen from OrgJunkie and her links:

Today, Monday: Pasta Fagioli soup with breadsticks--this is a very good Olive Garden knock-off recipe, pretty simple, great results.

Tuesday: Crock Pot Thai Chicken Never tried it, but it sounds good and my mom left me a bunch of frozen chicken legs when she left for FL last week.

Wednesday: Beef and Vegetable Noodle Bowl This is a link from Orgjunkie's Family Favorites list. Pasta makes the world go 'round, doesn't it? It helps a lot here. And I love the yellow box Barilla pasta, although my friend DF can't use it due to nut allergies, so beware.

Thursday: Mexican Lasagna My recipe came from the Saving Dinner cookbook by Leanne, at FlyLady. I do add some add'l stuff, like hominy or corn, if I have those. This makes a FULL lasagna, so be prepared for leftovers. There are a zillion variations, so you can make it however your family likes it. Just google Mexican Lasagna if you've never made one before...

Friday: Crockpot 40 Clove Garlic Chicken Once again, taken from Orgjunkie's family faves list. Worth a try--can't be worse than fish sticks and tater tots. And I got a new super dooper crockpot for Christmas! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Do yourself a favor, and put something down on paper, just a teeny step forward on the organizing path, and let me know how it works for you!

I had a wonderful weekend scrapbooking and being away from the grind for 48+ hours. Being away for even a little while always perks me up to dive back into the fray. I was sad to see Kurt Warner and the Cards go down in such an ugly way, but New Orleans is a worthy opponent to lose to. Won't surprise me if Kurt retires now.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Colts get their revenge on the Jets--who are only in it because they got a big fat gift on a silver platter, from the Colts!! Guess what?? We're taking it back! :)

Didn't remember how truly terrific this is...

I don't remember how we found this--I'm sure #1 could tell me. All my girls LOVE this video and after re-watching it today, I know why--it's GREAT!

Hope you enjoy it!

UPDATE!

Pencil drawing: red ribbon--glad to get something, actually.
Water color: Blue honor group!
Charcoal portrait: Blue honor group, reserve champion!

Dog Obedience: big beginner dog, blue ribbon
Little, experienced dog, blue honor group, champion in his division

Dog Agility: big beginner dog, red ribbon and red ribbon (after slipping free of the collar and gamboling around the ring until Mom had to enter the ring to tempt dog to stop humiliation of #2.)
Little, experienced dog, blue honor group, reserve champion in standard agility and GRAND CHAMPION overall of his agility division, AGAIN. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah-oh yeah-oh yeah!

:) Off to sell snow cones and cotton candy!!

I can't believe I ate this...

My mother, the health nut, the woman who started buying raw milk out the back door of a dairy back in 1979; the woman who started a cheese co-op for her friends and had cheese delivered in a semi; the one who planted a garden that was larger than the footprint of her house; the one who made her own tooth powder in the '70's and has never lived it down; that same woman made supper for us the other day--and thank heavens! because we were getting hay...

ANYWAY!--she showed up at my house with a bowl of her amazing potato salad and a big ole pile of chicken legs. Next thing I know, after we returned the hay elevator to its rightful home and I drove across the county to pick up #1 and a neighbor at the living history museum; and then I picked up #2 at a friend's house and then we ran out of gas right before a major intersection and the friend's mom brought us gas and it didn't help and she then drove us home; and I took the neighbor boy home (and saw a Percheron being ridden down the road); the house smelled so good and there was a glorious pile of golden, crispy chicken legs on the table.

We proceeded to reduce the pile at a rapid rate with everyone commenting on the yumminess and crunchiness and how great these were AND they were done in the oven, Wow! They had parmesan cheese in the crust, I knew, because she had used all of mine. But the mystery ingredient...the mystery ingredient from Mrs. Healthfood-Before-Healthfood-Was-Cool...are you ready for this???

Crushed pork rinds.

'nuff said.

P.S. If anyone's interested I'll post the recipe--I'm sure we'll be having it again--although I have never bought pork rinds before, honest.

This recipe can be found in "Back to Protein". The Low Carb, No Carb, Meat Cookbook by Barbara Doyen.

Oven Fried Chicken w/variations

Trace or no carbs 4 or 5 servings

Seasoned Pork Rind Coating (see below)
1/2 cup melted butter (or olive oil) I have used Smart Balance and all was well
1 large chicken, cut up, Or two smaller chickens, with our without skin (I use all legs or strips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg or a convention oven to 325 deg.
2. (See below) Mix together the pork rinds, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Place in a small pie pan.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30-40 seconds on high. Pour into another small pie pan.

4. Coat a rack in a baking pan or a foil-lined baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Or use a broiling pan, coated with vegetable oil spray.

5. Dip the chicken pieces in the butter, then in the pork rind mixture, and place the coated pieces on the rack or baking pan.

6. Leave the pan uncovered and bake for 75-90 minutes or convection bake for 60-75 minutes, or until well-done and serve.

OPTIONS:

Variation #1 If you want more spiciness use the barbecue variety
1 cup ground pork rinds (I just open the 5oz bag, hold closed loosely and smash with my fist or soup can or rolling pin)
1/3 grated Parmesan or Romano cheese or a combination of both
1 tablespoon parsley
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper

Variation #2
Follow above recipe, except make the pork rind mixture as follows:
1 cup ground pork rind
1 teaspoon summer savory OR substitute 1 tsp garlic powder OR 1 tsp paprika for the summer savory
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Sooooooooooeeeeeey!

Menu Plan Monday

Yeah, yeah, I'm at it again; hoping for better luck since MIL got 8-10 stones taken out of her common bile duct, even though they removed her gall bladder SIX YEARS AGO! So, now that the 4H Fair, Ryan's wedding and MIL's common bile duct are all taken care of and over with, I might be able to get my life on track again...

Before we left for the wedding-to-end-all-weddings (as my mother thought of it), I spent several Ulysses S. Grants at Costco on all sorts of good stuff, so I should be able to put it together. Handyman is gone tonight and I am just starting to feel the Ford logo leaving my behind; so tonight it's Personal Pizzas from Costco in the oven-o!

Tuesday: That old summer standby: Tuna Macaroni Salad with Ritz and Triscuits. Have I mentioned that my family, particularly Handyman and I are addicted to Triscuits, in all their glorious flavors? It is pretty common for me to spend $10+ on Triscuits at a time--this is when I can get them on sale. We particularly like SHARP cheddar cheese on Cracked Black Pepper Triscuits, or Fire-roasted Tomato Triscuits or Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits. #3 likes the Roasted Garlic. But I digress...

Wednesday: I'm guessing #2 and #1 will not eat Tuesday's supper, so I'll fix Salmon Patties and french Fries for Wednesday. They are quick, and I find it strange, but all my kids like them. I will throw in a product endorsement for Kirkland (Costco again!)brand Balsamic Vinegar. It is very superior to anything I've bought at the grocery. Of course, it comes in a vat (not really), so there's enough to feed a large Italian family for a decade.

Thursday: #1 will be at her 1836 interpretive post all day, so that means FAMISHED. I think I'll whip up one of her faves, Mexican Lasagna from Saving Dinner. I do add some stuff to it, like hominy. But now that #2 has decided that red spaghetti sauce is not poisonous, maybe she'll try it.

Friday: I'm going for something on the grill here. Handyman should be home, so think picnic food...

I picked several cherry tomatoes and one smallish tomato (THE FIRST ONE!) today! Hallelujah! I sliced it and had it on a bagel with bacon bits and Aunt Jane's Crazy Salt! Summer has officially begun! I wanted to take a picture of it to post, but I shot so many pictures at the wedding that my camera batteries gave up the ghost. I gotta get some batteries and upload to (sorry) Costco for printing.

My friend/housesitter's kids somehow missed the zucchini the size of a Prius in the garden. My kids were lauging because I like bigger zucchini--not those pansies they sell at the grocery. I slice them and fry them and I want them to be fairly sizeable, so I always say, "Let's leave it one more day." And by the next day, it requires a 4WD to haul it out of the garden.

Menu Plan Thursd.........

Wow! What a beautiful day! Oh, did I mention that I spent 8 hours yesterday in the hospital with my MIL while she barfed her brains out?? Perhaps not. Yep. She called at 1:30 or so and needed someone to take her to the ER. So, that was me. Note to self: Do NOT wear flip flops to hospital. Cold feet, sore feet from standing, holding barf pan.

Fortunately, my mom (11 years younger than MIL) made supper for my whole family and brought it to my house. Fortunately, I have a child old enough to hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive. My mom even made an awesome dessert.

Sooooo, menu plan Wednesday: Call mom--food on the fly, and it's good!

Menu Plan Thursday--we're supposed to go to Costco today, and Handyman did a grocery store shoot yesterday, so he came home with bags of free stuff, so there shouldn't be any issues tonight...we'll see

P.S. #3 seems completely fine. I think it was a God-thing. If she had been well yesterday morning, we would have been at the pool when MIL called, so it would have been a struggle to cover all those bases. PTL.

Menu Plan Wednesday NOT

Okay, the menu plan worked really well last week. This week is already a train-wreck headed for the terminus. Sunday morning I woke to that too-familiar sound, a low whuffing noise; I leaped from my bed to see what was the matter and stepped into warm dog barf! So began my day, which included taking three kids to church without their dad to ride shotgun, but it went well. We even got a parking spot in the shade! What a blessing.

Anyway, I tried not to do housework on Sunday, TRYING, STRUGGLING to have a shabbat, which somehow means that there are mountains of sweaty laundry for Monday morning. So, I'll just plan my menu on Monday, right?

On Monday, we were all scheduled to work the food booth at the 4H Fair in the evening. I had to leap out of bed to race to meet a friend of #1 before her mom took off for work. Then we all headed to the fair in the afternoon. We went a little early to walk around and see all the animals we could not see when we had two dogs with us earlier in the week. It was then I found out that my watch battery must be going, because it was 15 minutes slow. So, off to the food booth we went and only had to work a 2-hour shift. So supper was several varieties of fried, dipped, powdered stuff. Yum!

Okay, I'll do my menu planning on Tuesday. Tuesday morning was spent cleaning #2 and #3's landfill--I mean--room. Got that done before noon and issued proclamations that they were not to mess this room up the rest of the week, since we have friends coming to house-sit over the weekend. Of course that means that they will decimate several other rooms instead.

#1 got a ride to the historical museum where she is a costumed "interpreter", so she was gone all day. Then Tuesday evening I loaded #2 and #3 and their two friends into the car for a few errands on the way to pick up #1 and our neighbor's two children. We stopped at the library and the bank and made our way to the 4H Fairgrounds, where it was exhibit pick up night. That meant that every person who showed at the fair was there, in this two-hour window, to pick up their exhibit. Sooo, the parking lot was crammed. As I pulled in, a friend called to ask if I could pick up her daughter's exhibit--sure, no problem. First, I had to drag 2 four-year olds and 2 9 year-olds through the parking lot, find the right building, request the poster (didn't know the grade of the child, for sure and didn't know what the poster looked like--I did point to the 4 yr. old friend who was with me and said "It has three pictures of her on it.")

Found it, signed it out and headed to our food booth to buy leftovers at a bargain price. Got 15 lemons, 6 green peppers and 4 bags of 12 ct. hot dog buns for $11. Then passed another friend in another building who said #1's grand champion picture was available to be picked up in ANOTHER building. Dragged 4 kids, 4 packs of buns, 15 lemons, 6 green peppers and a photography poster across the grounds to another building where I deposited them all on a park bench outside said building and retrieved said pictures. Then back into the sea of parked cars, many with teen drivers and lots of big pick-up trucks, where we buckled in a headed down the road to pick up three more kids to begin our drive for home. Every seat belt taken with sweaty children, I was reminded of my dinner plans, or lack thereof...

Menu plan Tuesday--pancakes, with blueberries if desired. Then I harrassed everyone into bedclothes before sundown (which occurs somewhere around 10:45 pm) and read Journey to the Center of the Earth until I was hoarse.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the power went out in a storm on Monday night, around 2:30 am. I used my indiglo watch to find the electric bill, read the phone number and dial on our one corded phone, to report the outage. Usually when I do this, the computer "reads" my phone number and automatically records my outage, no big deal. That night, it said press one for power outage, which I did. Then we went to a new menu at the end of which it said, "If you are calling to report a power outage, hang up and dial blah blah blah blah blah." Now at 2:30 am, in the pitch black, on a phone with a really short cord, your options for writing this number are pretty limited. I praised God for my crazy talent for remembering numbers and dialed again by the light of my watch!

This time it said, "If you are calling about a power outage, please enter your ten-digit phone number." ?? What?! It never says that. So I entered it, by the LIGHT OF MY WATCH! (Note to self, get a phone with glowing numbers!) It said, "We're sorry, we cannot locate your file." WHAT?! WHAT is this all about??! So, I think to myself quickly "Did I enter my old number, from six years ago? Did I enter my cel phone number or Handyman's SSN? What is the deal??!?? So I re-enter the number I fully believe to be correct and it says "We're sorry, we cannot locate your file. Please hold for the next available operator."

You have got to be kidding me?! It is 2:40 in the morning; I am standing in the pitch black while the storm rolls on around me. Handyman has to be up at 5:30, if he's even sleeping now. So, I hold. And I hold and I hold more. I actually doze standing next to the desk, listening to music, thanking God that is not old Fleetwood Mac songs, repeatedly. After ten minutes of this, I want to scream, but I do not. I do call Handyman to find a flashlight, and find the phone book to make sure I have not dialed some outsourced number that is ringing in New Mexico or New Dehli, where one operator is on his/her donut break.

He bumbles around, trying to use his cel phone as a flash light, can't find the white pages, complaining that the office is a "pig sty", which it is not. We just do a lot of "business" in here. Finally, he finds the white pages, we look up the utility company and bingo! It is the same number where I have been holding now for 15 minutes because they "can't find my account." They don't have trouble finding my account when I send the money in...

An operator comes on the line; I try not to imagine her with powdered sugar all around her mouth. I try not to scream. I do say "Good grief!" at the beginning. She says over 1800 people are out of power and that's why the computer was unable to locate my account. Whatever! Takes my address. I fall back into bed, thanking God for my indiglo watch. (Note to self: Buy bigger watch.)

So, you can see how this, as the precursor to the trip to the fairgrounds with four children, buns, fruit, poster, etc, was a launch pad for pancakes for supper...

Menu Plan Wednesday: #3 woke up barfing at 5 am. Thankfully, it was not 2 am. It was only teeny barf, because I know the pancakes are far past her tummy. Maybe she caught something from the dog?? All I know is the farrier is coming at 8:30 (came at 8:10), so I have to get up and get dressed and find my check book. No swimming today after all.

#3 is supposed to be the flower girl in a wedding in St. Louis this weekend. She better buck up pretty quick...

Menu Plan Monday

I am trying something new--goodness knows, if I write it down, it tends to happen; so I'm making a plan for this week...

Monday: This will be EEEEEEEEEK! fast food of some sort because we will be at the dog agility show until who-knows-when tonight. The kids will love it--I'll be burping...

Tuesday: Fuss Free Ravioli and Cheese Bake that I got from The Organizing Junkie website. Doesn't look like it could be any easier, unless it came with a maitre'd. We'll have garlic bread, of course, and a salad.

Wednesday: 5 Minute Southwest Layered Salad, also from Organizing Junkie's list, served with guacamole.

Thursday: This is also a dog-show night for us, so I'm doing a homemade quiche and Spinach Salad, so we can eat early and head for the fairgrounds.

Friday: Broiled Tilapia with a parmesan/butter/mayo topping and fettucine. This is an old recipe that was intended for walleye. The recipe makes more than enough for fish fillets so awhile back, I spread the extra on pasta, and yum! A rare, successful culinary experiment. I'll probably be able to whip up a rhubarb pie tonight as well.

I also want to improve on our breakfasts, and our lunches for that matter, since my children do not eat sandwiches, other than peanut butter. But, that will be another day. I've had a horse with a teeny bit of colic this morning and been to the fairgrounds to set up the dog agility rings for tonight. I have grocery shopping to do and a shower to take.

Wish me luck! Need more coffee...

Bring my smelling salts!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Today, the sun shone the entire day and it was above 60 degrees. In fact, I sweated a little while cleaning stalls. I hung out laundry (which is still out there in the dark, now that I think about it). I planted a climbing rose. I washed a lot of dishes. I lunged horses--they were shocked. I saw old friends for a great dinner. And I think Handyman got a sunburn when he fell asleep on the driveway.

Yes, folks. We here at Netherfield work our butooties off. Handyman just finished a week of 3:30 am mornings, coupled with lots of driving. And he doesn't sit much while he's working. So today we made it to early church and then when I insisted he not take a nap inside, he laid down on the asphalt and fell asleep. Now that's tired...

I made ice tea for him and he recovered enough to make Pioneer Woman's bacon-wrapped jalapenos as our contribution for the supper with our old cronies. They were great, of course, as was the rest of the meal: butterflied pork loin in the big green egg smoker, an awesome salad with strawberries, almonds and fresh greens and an amazing coffee chocolate pastry with ice cream and homemade caramel sauce and toasted coconut. I see a stairmaster in my future--oh that's right, I have horses...

If the weather holds, we want to slice-seed our pasture this week. The horses will hate being kept off that for several weeks. When I lunged them today, Reno did his usual teeny western jog, breaking into teeny western canter. Princess did her usual, falling in on one side of the circle but then improved, but quickly tired. That happens when your belly is the size of a small hot tub!

I'm trying to apply some of the skills I'm learning from the 7 Habits books, and they seem to work pretty quickly. But you know why, because they are all about dying to self. I know someone who taught that before Mr. Covey. Not that the 7 Habits aren't worthwhile...he says himself that he did not invent them. He's organized them and explained them very well.

They were "invented" by a fisherman from Galilee, and His Father.

Gotta go hay.

Another entertaining meal with the inlaws

It was another fun time with the inlaws last night. MIL always has tasks that require Handyman's skills and sometimes she wanders into complaint territory, that he's not getting things done often/quickly enough to suit her. (She obviously has never lived in a fixer-upper like someone else we know.) Anyway, I encouraged her to sweeten the deal for him a little by offering him free supper with dessert. He always mentions her meatloaf, mostly because it is something he likes but also it can be relied upon to turn out pretty consistently, whereas many other meals there have more wildly divergent results.


So she had offered to make meatloaf and pecan pie if he would come do a few things for her. In the morning she said she had a very hectic day coming up and did not know if she could get it all done in time for us to eat before Awana. She said she would call us back and let us know whether to plan on it. I never heard back from her, so Handyman made a pot of chili for our supper.


At ten til five, she called to say it was all ready! So, we needed to drop everything and get down there so the girls could eat and get to Awana on time. Handyman gets a little brusque getting people out the door and I remind him that I was supposed to have more than 10 minutes notice (including travel time) and we still have lots of animals that have to be fed, etc. So he headed out the door with children and I soldiered on with livestock duties.


When I got down there to eat (quickly) and take the girls on to Awana, they were already eating and as is her habit, MIL opened the conversation with tonight's version of why the meal was a flop. Now you have to understand that I have been eating with MIL, fairly frequently for about 17 years and I have never been to a meal at her house without her beginning with something along these lines: "Well, I'm not sure it's fit to eat." That's actually the exact quote from about 82% of those meals. Every now and then there's a variation--like last night: "Well, this pie may be a complete failure..." Then she branches off into the pie crust issue. The pie crust issue is another ongoing disappointment.


MIL's mother was a farm wife, revered by all who knew her. Handyman and his brother loved her and so did FIL. I never got to meet her and I've always been sad about that. Anyway, apparently between all her farm chores and responsibilities, she never took any time to teach MIL how to cook. MIL laments, a lot, about how she cannot make a crust like her mother's, NO MATTER WHAT! She's tried lard and shortening and butter and cold water, warm water and pre-made. They are all disasters. She has called me and told me that she's made three complete batches of crust in one day and THROWN them all OUT, because they didn't please her. (How bad can pie crust be--it comes in a box for goodness sakes--I'll eat it.)


Well, last night's pie crust was another dismal debacle, in her opinion. Meanwhile I noticed my family shoving it down by the large forkfuls. No disappointment noted. Then she went on to explain that the pie had boiled over and the drippings had caught fire in the oven! There's a little excitement for your dining pleasure. She had thrown some baking soda on it--but missed the burning stuff and Handyman had thrown the entire boxful into the oven, saving the day and the new house. (Of course.)


So, flames are not something I have ever experienced while dining with the inlaws and I'm a little sad I can't add it to my repertoire. Handyman told me later that the reason the pie boiled over and then caught fire was because the baked potatoes weren't done. ?? He told her to put them in the microwave to finish them up, but she thought she'd just turn up the oven (to 500), thus causing the pie to boil over and the drippings to combust. Yee ha!


Another actual quote from MIL at another meal: "This meat smelled awful the whole time it was cooking." Then there was the fish-meatball episode, and the unidentifiable meat from the freezer and the whole price per pound issue. Fodder for another day...