Weekly Menu March 27

I did a better job at sticking to the menu last week. We had a weak night that I almost changed the plans, but it messed me up so much the week before that I stopped myself and got back on track. Our date night got bumped so we improvised and will try again next week.

Now that everyone will be back in school, I will try to get things whipped back into shape around here. The last couple of days have been, "Oh man, I forgot... (fill in the blank)...". For some things I've been able to improvise (this mornings biscuits were made with Crisco sticks instead of butter). For other things I have sent hubby to the store on his way home to pick things up.

So let's see how this week goes.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	biscuits eggs	Lunch/Dinner Combo for Easter	Turkey Stuffing Potatoes Peas
Monday	Zucchini Muffins Sausage	PBJ sandwich Carrots Apple Slices	Spaghetti & Meatballs green beans
Tuesday	Roll-up pancakes	CC & strawberry bagel crackers yogurt	leftover turkey dinner with all the fixings
Wednesday	oatmeal	PB-N sandwich oranges fruit cup pretzel sticks	Mac n Cheese broccoli
Thursday	Waffles eggs	Biscuits w/turkey and cheese grapes carrots	Beef Stew egg noodles
Friday	Toast sausage	Ham & Cheese skewers crackers apple sauce	Date Night
Saturday	Pancakes bacon	hot dogs chips grapes	Pizza salad

After several weeks of experimenting at least one meal a week, everyone was growing a little weary. Last weeks experiment went so well, I will definitely be making it again. However, for ease of meal planning and getting back into routine we won't push the envelop. The only thing I am going to try is zucchini muffins. I don't have a specific recipe to try; I'm going to wing it. Let's see how it all goes.

Broccoli Coleslaw

I have been making this recipe for a long time. It was a "wander the isles" discovery at the store. I needed coleslaw and was looking for a good bag mix. At that time, it was just me and the hubby so I didn't like making bag stuff because it felt wasteful. We couldn't eat it all at once. Enter Broccoli Mix.  I had never heard of this before and was curious how it would be received at home.

The bag was smaller than the others, which meant there would be less waste. I brought it home and the rest is history. We loved it! I've spent the last few years adjusting and perfecting the sauce for it, and now I have a few more around to help eat it up. It's a great alternative to my Creamy Potato Salad; much faster and just as tasty a side. We like to have it with dishes like Crispy Chicken, Hamburgers, and so much more. Super awesome quick side that everyone will love.





Broccoli Coleslaw

4 c broccoli coleslaw

½ c mayonnaise

1 Tbs cider vinegar

1 Tbs sugar

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar.  Adjust to your taste preferences by adding more sugar and/or vinegar.  Don’t worry if you go too far with one or the other, simply add more mayonnaise and continue to adjust.

Add the coleslaw. Start with 3 cups and then add the 4th cup to reach the desired dressing-to-vegetable balance. Again, adjust to your preferences. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set. Serve cold.

Weekly Menu March 20

Last week was a little rough. I was able to cook all of the things on the menu, but the order got a little  mixed up. Pizza went from Tuesday to Wednesday to Thursday. It almost got bumped again but I convinced myself to do it, and was so glad I did.

The only real fail I had last week was the donut recipe. Some things just really need to be unhealthy. Baked donuts weren't working for us. I made up for it with biscuits and jam, so it's all good. This week, one child goes back to school after a week off for Spring Break and the other will now be home for the week for her Spring Break. I don't think it will mess with our meal plans too much.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Bacon Pancakes	Nutella & Crackers Strawberries	BBQ chicken Broccoli Coleslaw
Monday	Banana Muffins Eggs	PBJ Cheetos Fruitcup	Chicken Enchilada Pasta(pin) green beans salad
Tuesday	Oatmeal Banana	Cream cheese & Jam Sandwich Chips Applesauce	Crockpot: shredded beef Burritos Corn
Wednesday	Pancakes Sausage	PB-N sandwich Pretzel sticks Strawberries	Mac N Beef Green Beans
Thursday	Toast Hard Boiled Eggs	Cream Cheese & Jam Bagel Goldfish Yogurt	Parmesan Chicken Spaghetti Broccoli
Friday	Biscuit sandwich	Ham & Cheese skewers Crackers Apple slices	Date Night – pizza
Saturday	Roll-Up Pancakes Banana	Grilled Cheese Carrots Chips	Mac N Cheese Carrots Fish/Chicken

Let's see if this week goes a little smoother. Here's hoping.

Shooting Stars

This was a quilt-in-the-making for years, almost 11 years to be exact. You see, I bought a quilt kit to make a simple quilt for a friend 11 years ago. It was one of my first quilts, and I was so happy with it. Being new to the quilting gig, I wasn't sure what to do with the scraps, so I set them aside and continued on my quilting journey to learn technique and skill.

Last year I really wanted to clean out some of my scraps. I saw these and just couldn't separate them to put into the general scrap piles, it felt like they needed to be on their own. I decided to try making stars with them.

I was able to make 8 1/2 - 6" stars but there was still some fabric left. I measured and decided to make 6 1/2 - 4" stars. At that point, I really only had a few squares left...just enough to make some floating orbs with a snowball pattern. On the smaller ones, the white corners on the snowballs are 3/4" squares... sewn, trimmed and pressed to make the mini block.

Now that I had all of the blocks completed, I had to figure out layout. I really liked the idea of making them look like a streak. In hindsight, this quilt would have looked really cool set on black. Oh well, maybe the next one.

The next step then is the quilting. Things really got held up here because I was so afraid of messing it up. I kept thinking and thinking about what to do. I finally came to the conclusion that my machine and I are at such an impasse that I need to just get it done.

Clearly I was reluctant for a reason. I was not happy with the turn out. It feels like there's too much open space that is void of quilting, and I don't know what I was thinking doing the circle-swirls. I have never felt good about that stitch.

I kept telling myself once the binding was on and it was all finished I'd feel better. Not so much. Part of me wishes I could go back and change it, the other half says to move on and let it go. That side seems to be winning...today.

I did finish the binding by hand, again I was hoping it would make me feel better. It helped; I love the hand-finished binding look.

The backing is a piece I bought years ago with visions of making an easter quilt. This is the 2nd or 3rd quilt I have put a backing on with it. I think I might have bought a little too much.

Overall, this quilt was a lot of fun from a piecework perspective. I really enjoyed figuring out the measurements to make the different stars and orbs. I wish the quilting had gone better. Someday I'll get my long arm machine and just tear things up in here.

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts. Let's go see what everyone else is finishing up!

Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs

I mentioned in my weekly menu post that I had great crockpot recipe to share this week. We had a couple of disappointments and my husband was very weary of yet another experiment meal. I was on it this time though. I made sure everything was timed out and ready to go so we wouldn't have burning, drying, or general flavor loss.

The other bonus... I found a great teriyaki sauce to use in other recipes. I am already having visions of teriyaki chicken skewers and teriyaki beef strips with this awesome teriyaki sauce. I am pretty confident it will be my new go-to sauce for asian stir fry's as well.

In all honesty, this recipe is not your typical "throw it in and go" crockpot recipe. There are things you can do though to make it easier for the day-of, and if you have a start-time timer on your crockpot you might be able to delay the start so it's ready for you when you get home (I don't have this super cool function on mine, so I don't know how it all works).

The ease for me was that I could put it together around 2pm before I go to get everyone from school and then it's ready when we get home after gymnastics class in the evening. I also made the rice just before leaving and left it on the stove top to "rest". Worked great! Light, fluffy rice warm and ready to eat with this awesome meal!

Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbs EVOO
1 1/2 c water
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c honey
1/2 c lite soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp canola oil
green onion for garnish

In a bowl, mix together the beef, pork, bread crumbs and egg. Roll into 1-inch meatballs. Heat a sauté pan with the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to med-high heat. brown the meatballs on all sides. Careful not to let your pan get too hot as it will burn the meatballs unevenly. Once browned (but not cooked all the way thru), set them aside on a paper towel to drain and cool.
***This is something you can do ahead of time in many different ways. You can do it the day before and save them in the refrigerator, you can make them a few weeks in advance and keep them in the freezer, or you can buy pre-made frozen meatballs to use. ***

Meanwhile, in a saucepan. Pour water and cornstarch in and turn on the heat to med-high. Add the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, garlic, and canola oil. Heat to a simmer and allow to simmer while stirring for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place the meatballs in the crockpot, placing them evenly across the bottom. Pour the sauce over them, making sure to cover all of them. Cook for 2 hours on high, 4 hours on low (depending on your crockpot).

**This recipe was adapted from The Kitchen Wife. I found it on Pinterest, and highly recommend you check it out.**