My Monthly Meal Plan

Life got crazy busy (in a good way) after having baby boy #5 and I failed to keep up with my menu planning for awhile. Not only did it drive me nuts trying to figure out what to make for dinner at the last minute, but I felt so much more stress and we started eating more unhealthy because I didn't have as much time to plan or prepare our meals anymore. I'm so done with last minute dinner planning. It's time to break out my menu plan again!

I finally took the time to plan out our menus for the whole month so I could do my shopping trip to many different stores (to get the best prices available) over a two day period. It was fun, but very exhausting. This is the first time I have ever done something like that. We will see at the months end if it was worth doing it or just plan for 2 weeks like I previously did. I'm thinking it will all be worth it since our weeks just keep getting busier and busier with 5 boys. The older they get, the more activities keep coming! SO, here it goes...... 

My Monthly Meal Planning

Monday (Jan. 27th): Black & Blue Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Broccoli Au Gratin Rice

Tuesday: Taco Salad with Southwestern Chicken with a Ranch Bacon Dressing

Wednesday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Homemade Tomato Soup & Orange Slices

Thursday: Tilapia with a Mushroom Cream Sauce, Roasted Asparagus & Red Lobster Biscuits

Friday: Grand Parisian Salad with Breaded Chicken & Homemade Breadsticks

Saturday: Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches & Fresh Fruit

Sunday: Superbowl Party with Friends= Lots of yummy appetizers & food ;)
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Monday (Feb. 3rd): Meatloaf Parmigiana, Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Sweet Corn

Tuesday: Homemade Chicken Pot Pies

Wednesday: Tri-Tip & Potatoes in the Crock Pot, Rice Pilaf & Sauteed Mushrooms

Thursday: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Garlic Bread & Sauteed Zucchini

Friday: Turkey Burgers, Tator Tots & Fresh Fruit

Saturday: Garlic Rosemary Chicken, Sauteed Green Beans & Roasted Ranch Potatoes w/ Bacon & Cheese

Sunday: Fish Tacos with a Cilantro Ranch Dressing and Fish Sticks for the Kiddos, Applesauce & Steamed Mixed Veggies
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Monday (Feb. 10th) Ground Turkey Tostadas, Refried Beans, Chips, Salsa & Guacamole

Tuesday: Homemade Orange Chicken, Fried Rice & Mixed Veggies

Wednesday: Cobb Salad with Ham & Homemade Breadsticks

Thursday: Ranch Pork Chops in the Crock Pot, Baked Potatoes & Corn

Friday: Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole, Corn Bread Muffins & Fresh Fruit

Saturday: Broccoli, Chicken Cheese Bake & Fresh Fruit

Sunday:  Tacos, Chips, Salsa & Guacamole
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Monday (17th): Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Rice & Corn

Tuesday: Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup in the Crock-Pot, Melted Mozzarella Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Salad & Garlic Bread

Thursday: Fish Stick Sandwiches & Fresh Fruit

Friday: Salmon, Green Beans & Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Chicken Alfredo, Broccoli & Rolls

Sunday: Tri-Tip in the Crock-Pot, Rice Pilaf & Beef Bouillon
 Green Beans

Delicious Sweet & Sour Chicken

As I was searching the internet for a good orange chicken recipe a few months back, I came across this one (I can't remember where I found it) and it has become one of our all time favorite meals. Even my kids LOVE it and they have been known to be pretty picky.

I've been asked for this recipe from several of you so here it is........

Sweet & Sour Chicken
Chicken breading:
3-5 chicken breasts
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup canola oil

Rinse chicken & cut into 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet. Dip chicken into the cornstarch and coat well. Then dip it into the egg and place it in the skillet. Cook chicken until lightly browned on each side. Then place the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. Time to prepare the sauce!

Sauce
3/4 cup white sugar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt

Add all the sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over the chicken. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Take the chicken out and turn it over so both sides will be well coated. Bake for another 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! :)

Baby Shower Fun!

I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for a good friend that's pregnant with twin boys this past weekend. The decorations turned out fabulous, the food was great and the company was fantastic. These babies sure got spoiled and are very LOVED already!

With the help of my talented friend Laurie, she made these adorable sugar cookies that were handed out to each guest as baby shower favors.

What a perfect idea to hang these cute monkey cookies from the tree for decoration. Monkey see, monkey do!

This cupcake pick design came with the invitation package I bought, so I printed these out at home and used a 2" scallop craft punch and made these cupcake picks myself. Not only did they turn out super cute, but it was much cheaper to make myself then to order some I didn't like as well. 

The cupcakes displayed in the baby shower colors green & brown. I got them from Sam's Club & they were delicious!

Diaper cakes can be pretty expensive, so what better way to save money and make one yourself. This was my most favorite homemade baby gift  (other than the sugar cookies of course). I haven't made a diaper cake in years, but I think it turned out FABULOUS!

We decorated in lime green & brown. Adding in polka dots just totally spruced it up. :)

My friends sister-in-law Jennifer made these super cute monkey clothespins that were used for our baby shower game & a take home token as well. She did a fabulous job.

We can't wait for these baby boys to arrive soon!

Addicting Homemade Caramel Popcorn

Ok.......I'm warning you all right now. This Caramel Popcorn is very addicting!!! I was given this recipe from a good friend several years ago and this has become our all time favorite. I make this every year around Christmas Time and all my family & friends look forward to it every year. It's super easy to make & it doesn't require much time either.

Many of my friends have requested this recipe, so here it is below:

Caramel Popcorn

10-12 cups airpopped popcorn
2 cups rice krispies
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. vanilla

Pop popcorn. Measure out the popcorn & add it to your bowl. Mix in rice krispies. In saucepan, melt butter and all ingredients except vanilla on medium to med-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes until it reaches the hardball stage. Pour in vanilla and stir. Dump mixture over popcorn & mix well until all popcorn is covered. Place on wax paper for about 20 minutes or longer. Store in zip-lock bags or an airtight container. Enjoy!

"Germs are Scary" Soap Dispenser

Every Holiday, I usually try to find a fun craft idea the boys can make for our family and close friends.We have made soap bottles in the past, but I came across this cute idea on Pinterest (yes, another Pinterest project) that works perfect for Halloween/Fall Decor. The boys and I made some this afternoon and they turned out so cute!

We got our soap bottles at Walmart (Equate orange soap .88 cents each) and peeled off the labels (goo-gone works fabulous). I printed out "Germs are Scary" label from here and I took it into Kinko's and had them copy it onto Transparency paper. Once you cut out the labels, I opened the top of the hand soap and rolled my label into a scroll then inserted it down into the soap.  I used a skewer to move my transparency label into place inside of the soap. I added a sparkly cool spider (hot glue gun) with some black tulle for ribbon and Walaaaa.....a perfect gift to giveaway for our loved ones!

Handmade Soap With a Toy Surprise Inside

The boys and I had fun making glycerin soap bars with toy trinkets inside for their friends that will be coming over later this week. It was super easy and the boys just got a kick out of it once the soap was finished. We put plastic spiders in the round ones and 3 bouncy balls (the clear balls are glow in the dark) in the oval ones.  

I thought this was a cool idea I found on Pinterest (have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest!) and something that is totally different than what kids normally get. It will be fun to watch my boys see how long the soap will last until it's used enough to get the toy out! :)

We put the toy trinkets inside the soap molds and poured the liquid soap over top.

The soap set and we took them out of the molds. How fun!

We wrapped them up to look pretty and festive.

Happy Fall everyone!

4th of July Food

 We had a wonderful 4th of July this year celebrating with good friends, good food & good fun! In honor of 4th of July, I thought I would make some fun food to go along with all the festivities!

 

White Chocolate Covered Strawberries with blue sprinkles. These were delicious!

  

Star Shaped Watermelon with Blueberries. Perfect bite size pieces!

Rice Krispie Treats dipped in white chocolate with red & blue sprinkles. These were oh so good! :)

I also made fruit skewers with grapes, strawberries & blueberries poking into the watermelon for a fun & easy way for a BBQ style picnic with everyone (I forgot to take a picture of that though).

We are very blessed to have good friends we can celebrate with, laugh with and just have good ole fashion fun with! My kids also had such a great time, they asked if they could go sit in the van when it was time to go & they fell asleep immediately before we even hit the road back home.