Menu Planning

So every Sunday I sit down and menu plan. It's not an option, it helps both our budget and my sanity! If I don't have much time I will just pick some of the old faithful recipes we tend to have frequently. If I have more time I will look for some new recipes in magazines or online.

I've gotten into the rhythm of cooking with 3 little ones, however my mornings are much more rushed than they used to be so if something needs started early in the day or thawed I often don't even give it a thought until the kiddos are down for their naps at 1. So I'm going to try to type out my menu plan on Sundays and type in some notes of when to start thawing or soaking something. We will see how this goes!

Monday - Cobb Salads
Notes: Start hard boiled eggs and chicken broth at lunch time

Tuesday - Chicken, rice and veggie in crock pot
Notes: Put dinner in crock pot in the am
Grind and soak flour for muffins

Wednesday -Chicken salad sandwiches and pasta salad (from Kiwi Mag.)


Thursday - Garlic lime shrimp with corn and black bean salad (from Kiwi Mag)
Notes: Grind and soak flour for pancakes

Friday - Tacos
Notes: Thaw beef in the am

Helpful Hands

How many people does it take to change the diaper of a 1 week old?

In our house, a minimum of 3 :)

Jack gets the wipes, Soraya gets the diaper, mommy gets the baby.
Soraya undoes the tabs, Jack hands mommy a wipe, mommy has clean up duty.
Soraya opens the new diaper, mommy places under baby, Soraya secures the new diaper in place.
Jack throws away the dirty diaper and runs back in the room yelling "I did it!"

I'm loving everyone's willingness to help and the joy it brings them to help take care of their baby sister.

My little underwear model

Jack was wearing some Spiderman undies the other day and he looked so cute I thought I'd take a few pics. Who knew he would be such the underwear model :)

Macaroni and Cheese to Feed a Crowd

Macaroni and Cheese
From Maureen Diaz in Wholesome Home Cooking

2 lbs brown rice elbow macaroni, cooked
1 c. soft butter
1 c. arrowroot flour
1/4 c. dry mustard
2 Tbs sea salt
1/2 gallon raw milk
40 oz raw milk cheese, Shredded

Drain the pasta and put in large bowl. Add soft butter, mix well. Combine arrowroot, mustard, salt and 2 cups milk. Add rest of milk, then pour into the pasta. Mix together well, then add cheese. Divide into pans, freeze in portions or bake at 350 for 35 minutes. (It is recommended to to half bake what will be frozen.)

I'm posting this for my sister who is searching for a good homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. This is a fabulous meal to make just before having a baby as it makes 4 9x13 pans of mac and cheese! So eat one and freeze 3 for post baby meals.

Thinking of...

Warmth ~Sunshine~ Backyard

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

Sometimes in the midst of a snow storm you just feel like baking. Why is that? My mother called me for a healthier blueberry muffin recipe. So I thought I would share it with everyone, incase someone else feels like making blueberry muffins too! I'm now thinking about whipping up a batch myself!

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

Beat in a large bowl:
2 eggs
1/2 c olive oil

Add in and beat:
1 1/4 c sucanat
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c sour cream or plain yogurt

Slowly add in and beat:
2 c spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Stir in:
1 c blueberries

Bake on 375 for:
25 minutes - frozen berries
20 minutes - fresh berries

Yield:12 Muffins

Christmas Morning

This Christmas was the first year we woke up in our own home on Christmas morning! So I thought I should at least document with some pictures :) We had a lovely quite morning where Soraya enjoyed opening presents and getting things out of her stocking. Jack was pretty busy and preoccupied with other things...so Soraya got to open his presents as well :)