31 Days of Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe 

I just did my monthly meal plan and a facebook friend asked me to share it.  In an attempt to not have to buy groceries this month I went through and inventoried everything I had in the house.  I did not inventory the flours, baking supplies, spices etc as those are staples and I usually always have those in my pantry.

Canning

Here is the list of what I had on hand and the quantities to work with in random order.  Well actually it is order of small freezer to garage pantry to large freezer but only I would know that.
Pepperoni
Mozarella
Bacon 3- half packages (I cut these in half and we only eat a half at a time)
Pasta Sauce-7 meals worth
Rice- Brown
Beans- Red, Pinto, White, Black
Lentils
Tortillas
Pasta- 6 packages
Tomato soup- 1
Hamburger- 15 (these are small little frozen rounds, 1 is a less meat meal and 2 is a large meat meal)
Cken breasts- 3
Rabbit- 1 whole
Chicken- 6 whole
Salmon- 4 meals worth
Oats
Applesauce and apple butter
Pears and pear butter and pear sauce
Frozen- strawberries, grn beans, corn, chicken broth 1, ham broth 1

My Go To Break Recipe for Loaf, Rolls, or Cinnamon Rolls

Breakfasts 

These will be the same 7 meals on a weekly rotation.  Sides will be whatever fruit, etc happens to be there.  I can all summer long so there is a lot of pear sauce, apple sauce, canned pears, and frozen fruits for smoothies, etc.

Oatmeal and Pears
Scrambled Eggs with toast
Pancakes and applesauce
Smoothies and Toast
Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal
Eggs and biscuits (eggs will be either flat eggs, scrambled, or omelets)
Leftover Pancakes (I make a quadruple batch and freeze the leftovers)

Carmel Pecan Sticky Rolls Recipe

Lunch

These will also be the same 7 meals on a weekly rotation.  Side will be vegis and dip, hummus.  Also I only make these if there are no dinner leftovers!

Sandwiches- PBJ, PBH, egg salad, tuna, whatever we have that week.
Potatoes with ranch, cheese, toppings
Sandwiches
Noodles (with butter and garlic, or with meatless sauce)
Leftover Day- This is all the leftovers in the fridge
Sandwiches
Leftover Soup or Chili- If I make a large pot once a week there will be lunch for all 6 of us as well

Pressure Canned Pinto Beans

Dinner 

I write out my dinners on a blank monthly calendar I printed off in word.  I fill my meals in making sure to note what days we are out late, Joe is not home, or we are out all morning/afternoon so I can use the crock pot.  I also do not pick a specific way to cook some items so that I can choose depening on what we feel like when the day comes.  For example a whole chicken will just say "whole chicken" and day of I may choose to crock pot it, bbq it, or roast it in the oven.  Sides for dinner are decided when that day depending on what I have on hand.  If I plan it right all breads, rolls, buns, etc will be made day before or that morning.  Meatless meals are marked with an *

Week 1
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Soup*
Whole Chicken
Pasta
Taco Pie
Black Bean Chili*
Salmon

Week 2
Bean Burgers*
White Bean Soup (made with Ham stock from the freezer)
Pizza
Chicken Pot Pie (in place of crust I put dumplings on top)
Sloppy Joes
Spicy Rice and Beans*
Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice*

Week 3
Tacos
Chili and Cornbread
Chili on Potatoes
Pasta
Taco Pie
Chili Casserole
Salmon

Week 4
Whole Chicken
Chicken and Rice Soup
Pasta
Chicken Pot Pie
Waffles and Bacon
Black Beans and Rice*
Lentil Sloppy Joes*

Week 5
Lentil Soup with bacon
Breakfast Burritos*
Polenta and Spicy Beans*
Pasta

Want to see another meal planning post?  Check out "A Month of Meals"

Canning Season 2011

We had a great canning season here.  You can see totals (though I lost count and completely forgot to tally some items) if you click on the Harvest Totals tab above.  We made pear sauce, apple sauce, lots of tomato sauce, jams, jellies, and more.

We had enough tomatoes from the garden every day to make
an entire canner full of sauce daily.

Because I thought it was funny that I took pictures of the mess.  Homeschool curriculum piled up, looks like some baking happened, and canning mess.

Did you get any canning done this year?  What was your favorite thing you put up?

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Was reading blogs the other night and came across this post over at Freedom Acres Farm the other night.  I love her blog and am in awe of her pantry.  As soon as I saw the recipe for Hamburger Buns I knew I had to try it.

 These are something I try but are never right.  Too crunchy, not fluffy, shape is off.

These homemade hamburger buns were perfect!  I did use regular whole wheat flour in place of fresh ground soft white flour and noticed no difference.  Though as I don't have a flour grinder I may not know what the awesomeness of fresh ground flour is.  :)

So head on over to her blog for the recipe and I'd love to know how 

they turn out for you!

P.S. The kids liked them, need I say more?

Finding Joy

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This is my focus lately.  I found this verse when searching for verses to string together for a homework project for women's group.  I need more joy, I need to give thanks.  I find myself feeling very ungrateful lately.  Not that I want more, cause I don't, I want less.  Less this, less that, less work, less laundry, less loneliness.  I am really struggling with this, finding joy in all things!

Instead of being thankful
I complain,
complain about the hours
grumble about the laundry
whine
moan
feel lonely in a house full of gifts from God
I get grumpy
yell
snap
lose my joy because I am not being thankful in ALL things.
I hide

I work on this.  Daily, hourly, every minute.

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

Do not fear; I will help you.

Isaiah 41:13

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30:11, 12

Couponing

I have been taking a couponing class at my church and it has been so exciting.  I had to share two transactions I did yesterday.

This is my 18 cent transaction!  So far the best I have ever done!

 This is my 99 cent transaction.  My calculations put it at free but I think I forgot about tax and something else happened.  Going to take the receipt to class next week so I can figure out how it worked the way it did.  Still though 99 cents is good in my book!

All right back to your regularly scheduled blogging.  I was so excited I had to share!  lol

Large Family Logistics - Book Review

I finished up Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman last month and thought it would review it here.  The first part of the book is about the Proverbs 31 Woman.  I didn't know this was in there and was almost giddy with excitement when I saw that.  Proverbs 31 is one of my favorite parts of the Bible.  I love reading about the Proverbs 31 woman and spent a good deal of time reading this section, taking notes, and reading in my Bible.

The remainder of the book is split into two parts.  Part one being more philosophical and offering encouragement.  Part two being the how to application of how she does things in her household.  I sat down with the book with the intention learning.  As I read I took notes and looked up any Biblical references or verses she noted.  Any ideas I thought would work for my family I wrote down in a notebook and ones I thought might work I noted and tweaked a bit.
  
There were some specific chapters and sections that I really enjoyed.   I started to implement some of her ideas right away, such as the office and paperwork ideas.  Others I have implemented over time.  I keep referencing this book which is a plus for me.  I like books that make me want to look at them again rather than just collecting dust on my shelf.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for practical ideas of how to handle the day to day in a house with lots of kids.  Though I think had I read this when I was a mother of one it would have made things a lot smoother going from one to two, to three, and then to four!  lol 

You can purchase the book at the above link or its also on Amazon.  Her blog Large Family Logistics has some good posts, though posts are more frequent on her facebook page which is linked on her blog.  If you have read this book or plan to I would love to hear what you thought about it!

I do not know the author and have not been given anything or asked to do this review.  This is just my thoughts.

Kitchen De-Cluttering and Reorganization

When we moved in I unpacked the kitchen by putting everything away where I thought it would eventually go.  I had the intention of later re-organizing and making the kitchen more functional.  Since then no one has known where anything goes so dishes and ingredients get randomly shoved in cupboards.  This has made cooking and baking hard.  For my family I believe that an unorganized kitchen definitely means and unorganized house.  We live in our house every day, all day.  Since we homeschool we use the kitchen 3 times a day for meals and more times for snacks.  Our dining room table is usually where we do projects or schoolwork so when its messy in there things slip and don't get done.  Eventually the clutter takes over and everything is a mess.  So last week I finally did it and re-organized the kitchen.  Here are some before pictures.

This is what you see when you walk in the front door.  I really like it when this area is tidy and neat.

 

Another area you see from the front door.  This unfortunately also becomes the catch all spot!

My largest counter

Bowls and Glass

Plates, cups, and weird corner cupboard

Coffee Mugs, Bread

Misc Baking/Cooking

Dresser and Garbage

Top half of Pantry

Bottom half of Pantry

View of the front door and living room

Corner Cabinet

What happens when you open the door to the corner cabinet.

Top of fridge and above cabinets

And the after photos:

No longer a catch all!

I reorganized cabinets, cleared counters, scrubbed drawers, and put everything back in order.  Then I proceeded to label each and every cabinet and drawer.  This is not something I have done before and Joe and the kids LOVE it!  I thought they were going to laugh but instead they said it makes putting everything away so much easier.  

My Go To Bread Recipe

We eat a lot of bread.  I have tried so many recipes and lately this one is the go to recipe for our family.  I have made it half whole wheat and 100% whole wheat (with a bit of added vital wheat gluten) but more often than not I just make it like it is.  Its a bread stick recipe but I use it for almost everything.  I am posting the original and you can alter as your heart desires.

Bread Sticks

2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)
4 1/4 cups flour
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt (I use kosher)

Topping
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8-1/4 tsp garlic powder (I use granulated garlic)
pinch of oregano

Put 1/4 cup warm water in a bowl and add yeast.  Set aside for 5 minutes.  Add flour, salt, sugar, butter, and 1 1/4 plus 2 Tbsp warm water.  Mix 5 minutes.  Knead 3 minutes.  Roll into 2 ft log and cut into 16 half inch pieces.  Knead each piece and roll into 7 inch long breadstick.  Cover and rise for 45 mins.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush with half the butter and  some of the salt, in seperate bowl combine remaining spices and salt for topping.  Bake 15 minutes or till golden, while warm brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with spices.
 


I make this into dinner rolls by shaping into a roll.  I have also made loaf bread, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon swirl bread, and pretzels with this dough.  Enjoy!

Our Urban Homestead Tour

I have pictures!  Thought I'd take you on a little tour.  I love being back in town though I do miss the wide open spaces of the middle of no where.  I am so excited to start my garden this year, I have plans for the raised beds, growing along the fences, as well as creating some micro climates with container gardening along the sides of the house.  The chickens seem to enjoy their little area as do the kids.  I don't know if Joe has fully realized we live in town as he keeps talking about a dairy goat!  lol  

  

Raised beds, you can also see the composter in the top bed.  We are going to save the end of each bed and just rotate it back and forth.  Since we don't own it will save us the hassle of having to "fix" the area where the composter is when we move.

Bantam Coop

My little greenhouse

East side of the yard

The treed area is the chicken coop/run

3 of the chickens

Naomi's birdhouse

You can see the red/white chicken coop back there behind the trees.

West side of the yard.  The kids have turned this into a sledding area, even when there's no snow. lol

View in the front.  That sliver of river is the Columbia and those hills are Oregon.

Front of the house

This was a few weeks back and it was the nicest sunny day we have had in a long, long time.  

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  I am so excited to have picture uploading back on the blog.  I have a lot I want to update from the last year as well as new stuff going on here.