We have some meals that didn't get eaten last week that have been moved to this weeks menu. It's just me and the kids this week so our menu has lots of kid approved meals.
Monday- Sloppy Joes's w/ fried potato - this is a easy meal using up left over baked potatoes, and ground beef that was precooked before being frozen.
Tuesday-Cranberry Chicken w/ rice - this is a freezer meal that only needs to be dumped into the crock pot, and a reason to use my new rice cooker.
Wednesday- Spaghetti w/ meat sauce
Thursday- Grilled tuna and soup ( yet to be decided)
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Hot turkey Sandwich w/ Mashed potato
Sunday- Ham/ crock pot baked potato
Plus each meal gets a veggie added, and fruit for dessert. The kids have been eyeing the bananas on top of the fridge but I don't think they are ever going to turn yellow.
This post is linked at : menu-plan-monday
Yesterday my husband was able to give me some of my food budget early, normally I wouldn't have gone shopping until next Friday. But since he was leaving on a trip he was able to give me some of it upfront. I was very thankful because this week my favorite store had chicken on sale. So a case of chicken breasts was 63 dollars for 40 lbs. Out of this I made 15 meals for the freezer each made for 8 servings.
I ended up with 3 trays of lightened-up-crispy-cheddar-chicken but I used the regular not lite products as I was using what I had on hand, 3 trays of chicken-parmigiana which are still in the fridge I was to tried last night to finish them, 2 trays of cranberry-chicken , 2 trays of teriyaki-honey-chicken , 3 trays of grilled-chicken-cheese-enchiladas , and 2 bags of chicken cut up and ready for sweet and sour chicken.. Not bad for 3 hours of work in the kitchen.
And the only thing I had to buy at the store was chicken, the rest was already in my pantry.
We have done many different things as far as chores over the years including cleaning as a group, chore charts, pick a chore and so on. Different methods for different stages, the group cleaning worked well when they were all little. We would all be in the same room cleaning together, and this was a great way to get them to help clean.
Then we did chore charts as they were able to do things on their own, each child had jobs to do and most of them could be done on their own. Then we tried pick a chore , that lasted the shortest amount of time to many not fairs on picking the chores.
Today with the kids all having crazy schedules and never knowing really to far ahead of time who will be home when, who is going to have a ton of homework, and so on. We have gone to a very different method of chores, the mom method. What I do is many times a day I look at what needs to be done, who is around to do it, and I assign the chore. For example it's after school and 3 kids are home, I might ask Nolan to unload the dishwasher ( he is very good at this chore and needs no help), Kathryn to clean the upstairs bathroom, and Aidan to sweep the stairs.
Then lets say that Aidan has to be somewhere after dinner, so I will not be home to supervise dinner chores. So that night Aidan gets set table, Nolan gets load dishwasher, Conner gets trash and sweep, Kathryn gets table, and Sarah has put away leftovers and kitchen counters. I pick the best kid for the job, a night I will be home I might have Kathryn load the dishwasher as she still needs help on doing it right.
On weekends or days the kids are home I will assign rooms to clean and time to have it done. For example Nolan- living room and dining room, Conner - outside chore, Kathryn - bathroom, Sarah- Kitchen. Each child is responsible for keeping their room clean, and Conner and Sarah do their own laundry, Nolan and Kathryn will be doing there own soon.
The one thing I do have on my to-get list to make this method easier is a white board for the kitchen. That way when something is assigned it's right there in black and white.
Linked at we are that family
This weeks household project is the kids clothes, some kids have received clothes for Christmas, and others have been blessed by cousins cleaning out their closets. I also have at least 3 kids who have grown taller since September. Plus the kids still have Christmas money and since they have already bought new games, the rest mom says can go toward clothing needs.
My husband also had mentioned to me the our favorite thrift store is having a 1/2 off sale this month. The best way to take advantage of this sale is to have a list of what is really needed for each person. So this week I get to tackle the younger 4 kids closets, sorting out what is to small, to worn, what they won't wear and what still fits. Some will be boxed up for cousins, others bagged up for the thrift store, and some passed on to another sibling.
As I sort out their clothes I will be making a list of things that are needed, and their measurements. I have learned over the years which kids to take with me on these trips and that would not be all of them. On these big sale days the store is packed and the lines are long, so some kids are much happier left at home. As long as I have a list, a measuring tape and there measurements this is not a problem.
I will post some photo's next week when this project is over.
Monday-
Hot dogs and mac and cheese w/ veggies and dip
We are traveling home this day and needed a simple easy to make meal.
Tuesday-
meatloaf and Crock pot Baked Potato w/ veggie
Meatloaf is a freezer meal ready to be placed in the oven and the crock pot baked potatoes are so yummy and easy to make.
Wednesday-
Turkey w/ mashed potato stuffing and peas
Thursday-
Potato Soup, turkey sandwiches
I will make enough potato soup to be able to frezze some for another day.
Friday
Sloppy Joes w/ rice and green beans
Saturday
Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, bread and salad.
Sunday
Chicken Enchiladas
This meal I will also make extra for the frezzer.
This linked up at Menu Plan Monday
In the past I have made a list, sometimes written, other times only in my head of goals for the year. It is pretty safe to say that most of those goals have not been met. So this year I am still making a list but of things that I really can do.
1- I will give up diet coke for the next 3 months, and after that I might make another goal.
2- I will read to Aidan and any other child who wants to join each night. This is something I did in the past with the other kids, when they were younger but have gotten out of lately.
3- I will each morning get at least my morning to do list done. I battle badly with a case of the lazzies.
4- I will add to this list as the year goes on.
So do you have goals for the New Year ?
