Menu Plan Monday–January 24th

The Italian Wedding Soup was delicious, but I’ll need to make a few modifications if I expect hubs to eat the leftovers. He didn’t like the soggy noodles the next day, hmmm. The meatballs were delicious though, made a double batch and froze the extras after cooking them for an easy meal later.

No chicken pox, instead we all have a cold with a lovely cough. Nate is trying to get an ear infection, and I’m trying to prevent that. Went to doc yesterday so we have antibiotics on hand in case it gets worse.

Still plugging along. I’m 36 1/2 weeks now, so sticking to simpler foods. Standing in the kitchen for long amounts of time is not very appealing these days.

Mix-it up Monday (something new) ~ Food rom stepmom (Have I mentioned how much I really like having family close??)
Taco Tuesday (Mexican or Oriental) ~ Tacos
Wow Wednesday (Date night or something like restaurant food) ~Cheater Pot Pie – going to try again, found out that hubby doesn’t really like this recipe, so I’m going to modify a bit and see what he thinks. Again, it’s about soggy food, veggies this time.
Simple Thursday (Crockpot or less than 30 min prep) ~ Family night with fellowship team. We’re having a baked potato bar, I’m bringing steamed broccoli and cheese dip (found a recipe in my Food Network Magazine) 
Favorite Friday (A family favorite) ~ Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Lazy Saturday (leftover buffet) ~ Leftovers
Saucy Sunday (Italian) ~ Spaghetti and Sauce and probably some leftover meatballs

I’m also making a batch of Breakfast Burritos this week, and hopefully some Crackers too.

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

I have a recipe index, just for recipes that you can find on my blog. You can also get to it by going to the food tab above.

~S

Wordless Wednesday–Washing Dishes–January 18

~S

Linking up at:

Menu Plan Monday–January 16

Sort of stuck to the meal plan, sort of. Kept forgetting to make the Slow Cooker Lasagna, so we didn’t have that. AND Saturday we went to the in-laws for the Broncos game so I made Shepherd’s Pie for all of us instead of making Pot Pie on Friday. 

Hoping to not be as busy this week as I was last week, but we’ll see. Thursday we’re either going on a date with three other couples OR my kids will have chicken pox. I exposed them on purpose, hoping they’ll get it, but still, having sick kids is no fun for anyone. I honestly can’t say which one I’m hoping for. Now would be better for them to get the pox than later, like a month from now, but it’s not like I’m looking forward to them being sick. Time will tell…

Mix-it up Monday (something new) ~ Italian Wedding Soup. New recipe, I asked hubby if he would eat soup this week, he jokingly said, “what kind? Italian sausage?” not knowing a thing about Wedding Soup. Hoping it’s as good as it sounds. 
Taco Tuesday (Mexican or Oriental) ~ Southwest Chicken Burritos 
Wow Wednesday (Date night or something like restaurant food) ~ Lentil stew with turkey ham 
Simple Thursday (Crockpot or less than 30 min prep) ~ Date Night with friends or spaghetti and meat sauce
Favorite Friday (A family favorite) ~ Cheater Pot Pie – going to try again :) 
Lazy Saturday (leftover buffet) ~ Leftovers
Saucy Sunday (Italian) ~ Baked Pasta Casserole

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

I have a recipe index, just for recipes that you can find on my blog. You can also get to it by going to the food tab above.

~S

Speak Up Saturday–Alienation by Jon S. Lewis

It’s Speak Up Saturday!

From the publisher:

Earth’s last line of defense against the coming alien invasion is 16-year-old surfer Colt McAlister. But before he can save the world, he has to survive the day.

All Colt wants to do is return to his old life . . . where aliens don’t exist . . . where mankind hasn’t been targeted for destruction . . . and where his parents are still alive. Unfortunately life doesn’t work that way.

The United States government believes Colt holds the key to our survival, so they’re sending him to the CHAOS Military Academy along with his best friends Oz and Danielle. There they’ll be trained to defend Earth against a swarm of alien shapeshifters known as the Thule. But someone is trying to eliminate Colt before he can lead that charge. Shocked to learn about key events in his past and unsure who he can trust, Colt is alienated and on the run.

In a world of high-tech gear, shape-shifting aliens, simulated reality, and hoverboards, Colt must step into his true destiny before our world falls in chaos.

I read the first one in this series, Invasion, and liked it enough to want to read the second one too. This one was a good sequel, and I’m hoping there’s more to come.

The book picked up right where the other one left off, so I would definitely say read them in order. The plot was simple enough to follow and engaging too. The characters continued to develop in a logical progression from the first book. The Christian emphasis was a little more in this book, but still light enough to not be overbearing.

I enjoyed this book, it was a fun easy read. I look forward to more of his writing.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–Gabby, God’s Little Angel by Sheila Walsh

It’s Speak Up Saturday! My computer was down all day yesterday with a virus, boo. I had to reinstall everything. Good thing I backed up my data as soon as I noticed something fishy going on. All’s well, just a pain to through all that.

 

Buy		Read

From the Publisher:

This first book in a delightful new series offers a comforting message for young readers—God loves you very much and is always watching over you!

What little girl wouldn’t love her very own guardian angel? Parents and children alike will be won over by this humorous tale of Gabby, a guardian angel in training who has much to learn about taking care of God’s little ones. Her new assignment is to protect a young girl named Sophie, but Gabby soon realizes that watching after Sophie is a bigger challenge than she had expected! After a close call while riding her pony, Sophie learns what the Bible says about guardian angels: “He will put his angels in charge of you. They will watch over you wherever you go” (Psalm 91:11 ICB).

You may recall my review from last week about Gabby’s Stick-To-It Day. After I posted it to the NetGalley site, I saw they also had the first book in this series, Gabby, God’s Little Angel, available for review.

This book did not disappoint. The illustrations were sweet and the point well made. Kahlen and I enjoyed this one too. It is actually quite amazing to think that God loves each of us so much that He sends his angels to watch over us wherever we go. Kahlen’s angel must be just as busy as Gabby these days keeping her out of harm’s way. So, thank you NetGalley for providing the book for review, thank you Sheila Walsh for writing the truth in a way that is relevant to me AND my daughter, and most of all, thank you God for protecting us from ourselves and life!

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The links to products are just links, I do not receive any compensation for you clicking or purchasing items though my links.

Tasty Tuesday–Breakfast Burritos

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

A few weeks months ago, I posted that I was going to make breakfast burritos. I then got a bunch of requests for my recipe and never did get around to posting it, oops. Sooooo, here it is! Simple, adaptable to your family, filling, delicious, the perfect freezer meal!

Sela’s Breakfast Burritos

{Ingredients}

• 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes
• 2 tbsp butter flavored shortening
• 1 pound turkey breakfast sausage
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
• 18 large flour tortillas
• salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

{Directions}

• Peel and cube potatoes. In a large nonstick skillet or wok or whatever you have, melt shortening over medium heat. When hot, add potatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then stir/flip, and cook for another 5 minutes. Continue cooking until potatoes are cooked but not too mushy. They should get a little browned too. Dump in huge bowl when done cooking.
• Scramble eggs in a large pan. I usually add a bit of milk to my eggs, but that’s completely up to you. Dump cooked eggs in huge bowl.
• Cook sausage, either in same pan or a different one. If you do it in the same one, the pan is hard to clean later, but only makes one pan dirty for this part. Dump sausage in same huge bowl.
• Add cheese and seasonings. Stir well.
• Place 1/2 cup filling in each tortilla. Fold over ends and roll into burrito. Place on cookie sheet and freeze until completely frozen. Store in gallon ziplocks in freezer.
• When you’re ready to eat one, microwave for about 1 minute on 60% power, then turn over and microwave for another minute. Typically, the middle of mine is still cold, but I would rather reheat that part than have crispy ends on my tortilla, so you pick. Hubs likes his to be hot all the way through the first time, so he cooks his for longer. IF you plan ahead and actually defrost one, it works much better :)

~S

Menu Plan Monday–January 9th

The Sweet Chicky Nuggets from last week were delicious! They were a medium amount of work because I had to break out the deep fryer and you can only do so many at a time, but they were worth it :)

I’m really starting to slow down, being 35 weeks and all that. So I’m trying to make things that are either big enough to last a few days or easy enough that I don’t have to stand in the kitchen for very long. Can’t believe I’m getting so close to meeting little Roo!

Mix-it up Monday (something new) ~ Dinner from dad and stepmom – Barley Mushroom Soup
Taco Tuesday (Mexican or Oriental) ~ Mexican Lasagna – Made two pans, one for us, one t take to a friend who just had a baby 
Wow Wednesday (Date night or something like restaurant food) ~ Slow Cooker Lasagna – Having a garage sale at my house all day, so I needed something easy that I could start early.
Simple Thursday (Crockpot or less than 30 min prep) ~ Lentil Stew and Turkey Ham 
Favorite Friday (A family favorite) ~ Cheater Pot Pie
Lazy Saturday (leftover buffet) ~ Leftovers
Saucy Sunday (Italian) ~ Noodles and Meat Sauce

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

I have a recipe index, just for recipes that you can find on my blog. You can also get to it by going to the food tab above.

~S