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It’s been a while. A very long while.

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2019, Week 9 (we start our week on Sunday)

I don’t even know what I’m making for dinner tonight, and it’s 2:00 pm (when I started writing this post). Who knows what time it will be when it gets published.

Menu planning has *got* to make a comeback in this house. Since August 2018, my menu planning has taken a back seat while selling our house and moving (we moved last month), and all the chaos it brings has taken a very prominent front seat. We are now settled in a temporary living space while our permanent living space takes shape.. aka construction.

So what do I have in my pantry, freezer, or refrigerator.

I have meatballs, bratwurst, roast, chicken (I think), hamburger, and an abundance of hot dogs. Let’s get to work on a simple meal plan. Family activities and the weather can often influence our menu. Simplest meals are made on the busiest days of the week. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday will all be quite full this week. By Pacific Northwest standards, it’s going to be a cooler week, so some “warmer” comfort foods may make an appearance.

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of any brand or product. If I mention a product/brand, it’s simply a personal/dietary preference.

Sunday (today): Chicken & Dumplings – from The Novice Chef

Monday: Bratwurst with Broccoli and Potatoes. I’ll be making this up as we go along. I’ve got all three that need to be used. If it turns out well, I might post a picture or recipe (note to self).

Tuesday: Tacos – I am a firm believer in having a few staple/weekly meals. Taco Tuesday lives on. Some weeks are beef tacos, others may include chicken or fish. We’ve also been known to make this a meatless meal by incorporating TVP, inspired by The Spruce Eats.

Wednesday:  Meatballs & mashed potatoes. Easy meal that everyone loves. When I have time to make the meatballs from scratch, “Someone Pasta the Meatballs” from Janet and Greta Podlaski’s cookbook “Looneyspoons Collection” is my favorite. When time is not on my side, I use Cooked Perfect All Natural Chicken Meatballs, in the crock pot or in the oven with a little water (1/2 cup) thrown in the baking dish to keep them moist.

Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast). This is another weekly/staple meal. Will be sharing my favorite crispy oven potatoes recipe soon (note to self).

Friday: Hot Dogs – incredibly busy day will call for an incredibly simple dinner.

Saturday: Hamburgers – the weather looks decent (finally!), so grilling is an option.

It’s now just after 3:00 pm, and I have a plan for the week. The load of things that I need to remember has just been lightened a bit!

What are some of your “go to” meals?

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catching up… finally

deannak360Leave a comment

It’s been a good, long while since I’ve posted anything. Part of that is laziness, part of that is a “dry spell,” and part of it is just being plain busy with “real life.”

I had a mom tell me I needed to start blogging more. That was several months ago, and it has been nagging at the corners of my mind. What do I have to say that would inspire anyone? Maybe nothing.. maybe something. So I do this now for mainly selfish reasons. To keep track of our busy life, the comings and goings, the seasons, and wanting to remember. Some things practical, some not.

So where are we at right now?

Homeschooling? Yes. We are entering our 5th year of homeschooling (Wow.. really?!). Our curriculum isn’t changing as drastically as some years, but our schedule is. More on that later.

Still hosting international students? YES! We are just hosting one at a time right now, and I will write more on this later. Positives and “challenges” to both sides of this coin (singles vs. multiples). Way more positives though. Seriously. We are blessed.

Still menu planning a month at a time? You bet! I tried not to do too much planning this summer since we had a lot of coming and going. I thought that maybe it would be better to just ‘go with the flow.’ Umm. Not doing that next year. Note to self.

Still working from home? Yes. In a nutshell, I do email marketing and website maintenance for a couple businesses. Also building a WordPress site for a local construction company, and a couple other “rebuilds” in the works.

Today’s #onegoodthing: This year, I discovered Daily Audio Bible. I’ll probably bring it up a lot, because it’s played a huge part in my spiritual growth this year. I expect that it will play a big part in the year to come as well.

You are going to find that I am pretty random, but I like a schedule.. how is that for a combination? So while I’ll be blogging about anything and everything, I’ll try to do it regularly.. ha ha!