2nd Week of July Menu Plan

Some weeks these are hard to make up. I just lack inspiration or can not see a meal in the ingredients I have. This was one of those weeks. After having to clean out the cabinets I had decided to try to use up some of that stuff and limit purchases from the grocery store. I have a bunch of staples and a freezer full and I was still having a hard time thinking of a week of dinners. This is what we have ended up with.

Sun Jul 10th: I had a zucchini someone at church passed on from their garden but an end of it was bad. I went ahead and cut up the good portion and browned it with some diced onion in olive oil. I then put in all the mushrooms I had left from the co-op basket and sweated it all down. Once that was done I added it to the leftover spaghetti noodles I had on hand from the Chicken Parmesan Casserole meal. I mixed this all with some Spinach, Parmesan marinara sauce and then topped with all the shredded mozzarella I had left. It was my version of a heartier baked spaghetti

Mon Jul 11th:
lunch- (forgot my bread at home) ate out with coworker
dinner-  steak quesadillas were a quick and tasty dinner. I cut up the leftover steak and rib meat into bite sized bits, threw a tortilla on my griddle pan, covered in meat and shredded cheese. A second tortilla and a couple of flips and dinner was served. I had enough leftover steak for 4 quesadillas.

Tue Jul 12th:
lunch- coworker forgot her lunch so I went out to eat with her....I lack willpower sometimes.
dinner- We ended up not going to Taco Tuesday so I moved Thursday's meal up to Tuesday. We had fish sticks and yellow rice which Logan LOVES.

Wed Jul 13th:
lunch- out with former coworkers after being out all morning at the doctor
dinner- I had put a pork butt in the slow cooker following the seasoning from this recipe from memory. The proportions were not the same as I did not measure but it still turned out amazing. I served this with black beans and this recipe for potatoes. I am sure my potatoes were not small enough for this application but they were also just not good. The center of the potatoes were flavorless and my house still smells like I burned dinner in it even though it has been over 12 hours since dinner. 

Thur Jul 14th:
lunch- post office run and fast food
dinner- frozen pizza

Fri Jul 15th:
lunch- lunch out with former and current coworkers
dinner- Pulled Pork Enchiladas, I halved the recipe and still had left over filling to use in another meal. These were really good and something I will make again. I used the leftover pork from earlier in the week. 

Sat Jul 16th:  Phillip requested  grilled hot dogs so that is what we had

Side Yard Flowerbeds

The side yards should be a quick project as they are planted the way I want already, just need to clean up and mulch. I am also looking for something interesting to trellis my grape vines on.

Front Flower Beds are Complete and I Am Celebrating!!!!

This week marks the completion of the front flower beds!!!! It took some time out to mow one night and working until dark after a day on the paying job to get it done but I was determined. I had already really overestimated how much I could get done on a nightly basis and was tired of it dragging out. I was also getting excited that we were nearly done.

Clark was a great help at faux mowing.

The pile of leaves in the picture went to the curb today. I am planning on letting the plants spread and see how it fills out over the summer. Other than aesthetically looking better it should be a good home for wildlife and a pleasant place to be.

Of course I could not rest too long the side and back yards still need to be finished.

Insects that I Want Out of the House

We have taken the organic approach to pest control over the last few years only spraying the yard with cedar oil a couple of years ago when the chiggers were eating us up.  I almost changed my tune recently and have no shame in it. We have been invaded by pantry moths and I am beside myself.  I have 2 pantries in the house and the originally invaded one held cereal and snack foods. I went through everything and threw out a bunch of stuff that appeared contaminated. I then scrubbed the shelves and decided not to buy any more stuff until what was left was consumed. I only had a couple of moths after that and thought we were past it....until yesterday. I opened up the pantry where I keep my staples and canned goods and there were about 10 moths on the roof of the cabinet. I went crazy smashing them all and pulling out everything. The only thing I could find them in was some risotto that I received in trade and I hope that is not what brought them in the house. The container they were in was also a sealed canister so not sure how they started. The 2 moths that were in there could not get back out.  I left them in the canister until Phillip made it back home with pheromone traps as this is what the pest control guy at my work recommended. As of this morning the traps were still empty. The pheromone disc is supposed to last for 1 month and I am tempted to leave them in the cabinets that long to make sure I catch every last one of them. In the mean time I have cleaned out all the pantries and washed the shelves. I also washed the shelf liner and have not put it back in yet.

This drama has also led me to do another pantry challenge as I was getting a bit overstocked anyway.  I took pictures of the staples and canned goods all over the counter yesterday, it is amazing how much I had in there.

Holiday Week Menu AKA the 1st Week of July

I have been overwhelmed at the house over the last few days and so our dinners are reflecting that.  Here is the current menu plan:

Sun Jul 3rd: sandwiches after a late evening with family

Mon Jul 4th: I got up and fixed pancakes for the boys! Dinner ended up being leftover pancakes for the munchkins. Phillip was out so he ate on the run. I had another sandwich.

Tue Jul 5th:
lunch- coworker wanted out of the building so went out to eat
dinner- Chicken Parmesan Casserole over spaghetti noodles with garlic bread. It was good, not exactly what I was expecting. For us it would not make a good stand alone dish. I served it over spaghetti and felt it was a mix of chicken spaghetti and baked spaghetti. Not sure when I will make it again as it was extra work for a dish not that different than something we already eat.

Wed Jul 6th:
lunch- sandwich with turkey and white cheddar. Served with chips and a nectarine.
Dinner- Hot dogs!

Thur Jul 7th:
lunch- went out with coworkers
dinner- Baked potatoes served with green side salad

Fri Jul 8th:
lunch- went out with coworkers
dinner- Steak cooked in my cast iron grill pan with fresh shelled peas and snaps.

Sat Jul 9th:  Grilled Flanken ribs with steamed broccoli

Farmer's Market and Co-Op Pick Up

I did my co-op pick up this morning and wanted to run by the farmer's market and pick up some eggs. Turns out everyone had the same idea and eggs were sold out. I will have to see if anyone I know with backyard chickens has any eggs available.

"pie" pack extra I purchased

contents of pie pack

Contents on co-op basket 

Co-op contribution

Regular basket $15.00
"pie" pack extra  $18.50
pick up fee $3.50
total:   $37.00

Farmer's Market purchase

garlic  $3.00


Sub Total for July:  $102.51

Another Quick Trip for Groceries

I needed to pick up milk and wanted to make a quick grocery run before picking the kids from the sitter last night but ended up on the phone with grandma and did not want to rush her off so I just picked up the kids. I brought Logan home and took Clark with me as Phillip was trying to finish up some homework.  I was hungry and bought a couple of things I really should not have but overall did not overdo it much.

Winco purchase

2 gallons whole milk  $2.54
1 container Tropicana   $0.25
1 Dublin Root Beer  $1.18
1 box nature valley biscuits  $0.25
1 container sour cream $ 0.96
~1/4 lb banana chips  $0.27
~1/32lb cinnamon pecans  $0.48 (not pictured as I ate them in the car on the way home)
1 loaf bread $0.88
~2 lbs bananas  $0.90
1 pkg pecan rolls $1.28

Total   $9.09

Running Total for July $ 62.51

Groceries for July

I have not posted my grocery lists or totals for over a month and need to get back to it.  I am also trying to remember to get pictures of the purchases this month.  Yesterday's grocery purchases will mark the beginning of totals for July and below are the photos and totals. Forgive the bad photos, I was taking these late last night when I thought about it.

Farmer's Market purchase

Yellow Meat Watermelon   $7.00
Mess of fresh Black-Eyed Peas   $6.00
Pluots  $5.00

Total: $18.00



Sprouts purchase

~ 1lb peaches  $0.52
2 pints blueberries $1.76
~1lb nectarines $0.97
~3/4lbs cheddar cheese $2.38
~1/2lb turkey breast $1.88
2 containers muffins $5.98
4 pkgs ball canning lids ( 2 wide mouth, 2 regular) $3.96
Dr.Bronner's Liquid castile soap (citrus) $13.49
Dr. Bronner's bar castile soap $2.99
Bag credit for bringing my own ($0.15)

Total   $35.42


I was mad at myself once I got home and remembered there was a $5.00 of $30.00 purchase in the Sprout's ad. Weighing needs to see if I should go back and do more grocery shopping and use the coupon.  I also have a real problem resisting the muffins. Every single time I go in sprouts I come out with at least 1 muffin, might have to have an intervention.

running total for July:  $53.42

More On the Back Yard

The back yard projects have been going slower because I am trying to finish the visible front yard.  A few more days with no rain and I think I can have the front yard completed and start in earnest on the back yard.

I had to stop when I ran out of mulch. Hoping to at least complete this section by the end of the week as well as the front bed.

Final batch of Letters- First Round

I will be dropping the last batch of letters at the post office tonight. The last of the first batch that is which is to say I made it through mailing a letter to everyone that I know personally in my address book.  I plan on going back through and writing more personal notes to some people and cards for the kids in my life. I especially like to mail letters/notes/cards/post cards to all the kids I know as I loved mail when I was a child. I have been messaged a couple of times by those who received their letters but as of today I have not received any notes back in the mail.

Menu for the 4th Week of June

I made a decision this week to go ahead and post at the beginning of the week and then just edit it with updates instead of waiting until the end of the week.

I made a menu up yesterday and then scrapped it and started over. Below is the plan, we shall see how it goes.

Sun June 26th:  homemade shells and cheese.

Mon Jun 27th:
lunch- plain bagel with turkey and cheese. A banana and a peach.
dinner- smoked sausage and corn on the cob

Tue Jun 28th:
lunch- last plain bagel with turkey and cheese. A banana and a peach
dinner- tostadas

Wed Jun 29th:
lunch- out to eat with friends and coworkers
dinner- after some extended family drama I took the boys and a friend to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. I had a whole chicken in the crock pot so I just deboned it when we came home and put the meat away for meals later this week. I started some stock right away.

Thur Jun 30th:
lunch- went out to eat with coworker
dinner- Jolean's Cheese, Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole using up leftover smoked sausage and some of the potatoes I bought through the co-op.

Fri Jul 1st:
lunch- annual cook out at work
dinner-Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne dish which turned out to not be good. It started out looking and smelling wonderful but ended up tasting not great.

Sat Jul 2nd: I put the leftover ground beef from Tuesday and the leftover half can of tomatoes from Friday in the crockpot along with canned pinto, kidney and black beans and corn I took off the cob for taco soup. I used a Zesty Ranch packet instead of both a ranch packet and taco seasoning. That along with a can of mild Ro-tel and the soup was still spicy.

Continuation of Front Bed Project

The path portion of this project is finished!!!!

The area after clean up but before path. 

Half way there

This in itself was so exciting but then the rest of the bed was there looking crazy so the next night it was on to more projects. I was over confident when I thought I could get it done in a week.....week 2 started and I might get it done this week and I might not since we are expecting some rain.

The rest of the area by the path. I am going to let the plants fill in before putting anything else here.

now I need something to hang my hose on....

Menu for the 3rd week of June

This is our post company menu! Phillip picked up the produce co-op offerings for me over the weekend. I did not get a picture since my mom was still here and I was just trying to get it put up. Tons of veggies to use over the next couple of weeks so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Sun June 19th: Turkey, cheese and lettuce sandwiches

Mon June 20th:
lunch- split pizza with a coworker in celebration of first day back to work
dinner- Logan's request of pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs

Tue Jun 21st:
lunch-plain bagel left from mom's visit with turkey, cheese and lettuce. Fresh pineapple and some goldfish crackers.
dinner- Pork stir fry made with leftover pork chops, ends of some carrot sticks, rest of some sliced mushrooms from a salad, all of the frozen chopped broccoli I had left, the last nest of noodles I had as well as some onion, garlic and asparagus.

Wed June 22nd:
lunch- ate wings out to celebrate a friend's birthday
dinner- Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Carbonara which used up the rest of the asparagus, some mushrooms I had sliced as well the leftover bacon.

Thur June 23rd:
lunch- plain bagel with turkey, cheese and lettuce. Fresh pineapple and goldfish crackers.
dinner- roast from the slow cooker with baked potatoes, creamed corn using up the leftover corn on the cob and garlic toast.

Fri June 23rd:
lunch- ate out with a former coworker
dinner- leftover roast chopped and reheated in BBQ sauce served with a side salad and sliced bread.

Sat June 24th: I picked up a pizza while out running evening errands