The Oklahoma Zoo

Last week we went to the Oklahoma Zoo and Aidan had one goal he wanted to see elephant's of course they were at the very back of the zoo. So we bought tram tickets and rode the tram to the back of the zoo, he was able to see his elephant's. 

The kids also loved seeing the snakes and lizards, and the monkeys.

We didn't realize how big their children's zoo was and it was our last stop before heading home as it was in the high 90's, so we didn't get to see the whole thing.

 But because this zoo offers military personal half price tickets we will be going back before we leave Oklahoma city just to spend a morning in the children's zoo.

Freezer Friday- Yummy Hamburgers

Last year I started making my own hamburgers, and they were ok to eat , but they fell apart when cooking and really didn't have much flavor. So this year it was time to experiment, I have gotten pretty good at making meatloaf so I knew that I could make edible hamburgers.


     Everything tastes better if you help make it.

I started with 6lbs of ground beef I think it 80/20, added 6 eggs, 6cups of  dry TVP ( rehydrate with water before using), and 1/2 cup of Kirkland Sweet Mesquite seasoning ( my oldest brings some home each time he heads west). Mixed it all together and formed patty's. I was able to make 40 hamburgers, which I froze by layering each one in between wax paper and then 12 to a Ziploc bag.

The first one I cooked up before freezing was a bit to spicy, and after freezing they were a bit less, but next time I will only add 1/4 cup of seasoning.

This recipe met my goals, it was cheaper then pre-made ( about 45 cents each) , stayed together on the grill, and were consumed by all the kids. I could get away with packaging 1 per person next time as they were a bit filling, when served with a pasta salad.

Note: We use TVP which is a soy product that we use to stretch ground beef. We have a local bulk food store that carries it cheaply. We also use it in meatloaf, meatballs, taco's and sloppy joes. It allows us to eat ground beef on my food budget and not the cheaper ground turkey.

Living with less

Being away from home with access to a minimum of our stuff, I have realized that we can live without alot of that stuff. If I still feel this way at the end of the month, then I have a large summer/ fall project ahead. I also did like the beige walls, but that only lasted for a day or two, but I do see maybe a bathroom being painted white.

I have 1/2 of my summer wardrobe here with me and it is working fine, I would like to have brought 1 or 2 more skirts and I don't have my gardening/ bleach cleaning day clothes with me. But other then that alot of what is in my closet for summer can go.

 The same for the kids, Kathryn has enough clothes at home that we can have a full bushel of clean clothes downstairs, a closet of clean stuff, and a bushel of dirty clothes all on the same day. She really only needs 7 bottoms and 10 tops.

 The older boys have closets full of clothes that they will not wear ( not their style, doesn't fit right), and my mission when I get home is to make them go through it all and get rid of what they don't wear. I have realized that they only need 2 sets of pj's, only 5 pair of shorts, and 7ish t-shirts and 3 Polo's.

I really need to make a list of what is needed and go through their clothes only keeping out what is on the list, boxes up a few extras in case of stains and the rest passing on.

Same with toys, I think that most of them are getting boxed up for the rest of the summer, and come winter doing a toy closet system for Kathryn and Aidan.

Books, that one is a bit harder for me to think about, but I can go through the little kid books keeping the classics and the picture books we do read.

Is doing this going to be easy for me, no way I am after all my mother's daughter and come from a long line of savers, but I can live with less, and I have more time to do other things.

So this month I will be making a plan to get it done, and in July start working on that plan.

Our Home away from Home

We are currently living in short term housing in Oklahoma City.

The living room

More of the living room and the door you see goes to the kids room

From the front door, the computer area, dining area, and kitchen

The hallway bathroom

Parents room we took the smaller room

Bathroom in the kids room

The kitchen and behiind that door is the washer and dryer

Washer

Dryer and I really like this set up, so easy to keep up on the wash

Conner and Nolan's bed

Since there were no 3 bedrooms availble we used camp cots for Kathryn and Aidan

Well that is our home away from home.

Garden Party - 6/7

I don't have a current picture of my garden as I am traveling and left the older kids in charge of my garden, hoping they remember what the weeds look like. But we did get all 4 raised beds planted this year in the top bed we have lettuce, spinach, and carrots. Bed number 2 has potatoes, something new I am trying this year. Bed number 3 has 40 corn which is also new to the garden and 8 pumpkin, bed number 4 has tomato's and cucumbers.

Picture from 2009 peppers, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli

Picture from 2009 tomatoes

Picture from 2009 the side garden with summer squash and pumpkins

This year I didn't plant any summer squash as that usually goes in the side garden and that one once again didn't get planted, next year I really will plant that garden space. Last year I was able to get enough for the freezer from others gardens. I also didn't plant peppers as I never do very well with them and over all it is cheaper to buy a bushel from the local produce stand for the freezer. Onions were also left out, but I do plan on trying garlic this fall. My strawberry bed was removed in the moving around, but this fall we are adding a 5th raised bed so there will be a new space for strawberries.

This post is linked up at an Oregon cottage

Menu Plan Monday - 6/6

We are currently in Oklahoma City for a month, living in temp housing while my husband goes to school here. I do have a full kitchen so a regular menu to share, I do not have all my favorite kitchen toys with me so the options are a bit limited.

Monday- Salisbury steak, mashed potato, salad, and green beans

Tuesday- Chicken Pot pie, rice, salad

Wednesday- sloppy Joe's, French Fries, veggie

Thursday- Chicken Nuggets, mashed potato, and veggie

Friday- Spaghetti with salad

Saturday- Dinner out

Sunday- Pasta Salad, with chicken

Breakfasts- are cearl, oatmeal, eggs

Lunches- are left overs, sandwiches, ramen noodle soup.

This entry is also Linked at Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday 5-2

I really need to get back to menu planning agian, so here we go.

Dinners:
Monday- chicken and bisquits with carrots and rice, fresh fruit for dessert ( pears and strawberries)

Tuesday- Stuffed Shells, w/ salad made with spinach, iceburg, chesse, tomato. Dessert - apple crumble

Wednesday- Beef Veggie Soup, bread, and salad made with spinach, romaine, feta cheese, cranberries, walnuts. Dessert - fresh fruit ( melon and blueberries)

Thursday- Hamburgers, w/ maconrini salad Dessert- cake

Friday- Chicken Taco's, with tomaoto, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and corn, Dessert- Icecream

Saturday- Kathryn's Un Birthday , bagel pizza w/ fresh veggies and dip

Sunday- Sweet and Sour chicken w/ rice w pinapple dessert- banana bread

Lunches are packed for the kids and husband and left overs for me.

Breakfasts are oatmeal packets, cearl, bagels w/ cream cheese for the kids, egg burttio for me.

Sat - brunch - Pancakes, sauage, eggs, and juice

Baking goals for the week:

Banana muffins, blueberry muffins, and peanut butter cookies

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday