Menu Plan Monday April 6th 2009

I'm glad I waited until Sunday night to post this as my plan for the week has already changed at least three times. For example, tonight we were going to have Monday's pork chops. But the weather was so nice, we ended up grilling the first time this season. My husband is in charge of the grill and he does an excellent job!

(I remembered to take a picture....I'm improving as a blogger! :) )

Anyway, here is the menu...for now at least :)

Monday: Cumin Rubbed Pork Chops with leftover mashed potatoes and green salad.
Tuesday: I'm cooking for home group. Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup with all the toppings, corn bread (from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook) and I'll bring corn chips too.
Wednesday: Twice Baked Potatoes with Ham. I'll probably serve cut up fruit and a green salad.
Thursday: Taco Night!
Friday: Probably grill again, but I am not sure what yet.
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Hosting Easter Dinner. We're having Rosemary and Garlic Simmered Pork Chops (except I don't have rosemary, so I'll use sage, or marjoram), with baked rice, candied carrots and possibly rolls.

For more yummy meal plans, make sure to visit Laura's Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Sunday Morning Praise

My favorite Lenten Hymn....

What Wondrous Love is This
American Folk Hymn

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
to lay aside his crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing,
to God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
while millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free I'll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
and through eternity I'll sing on.

Sunday Morning Praise

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Be Uncommon!

"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity." Rollo May

I don't follow football, but I am a fan of the work of former Indianapolis Head Coach Tony Dungy. Not only does he teach his players self discipline and integrity, but as co-founder of All Pro Dad, Dungy seeks to instill men with the skills necessary to be responsible, attentive fathers.

I just finished reading his latest book Uncommon: Finding a Path to Significance. It was excellent! In between taking copious notes, two things kept crossing my mind: every young man (and woman, for that matter) should read this book, and please Lord give me the wisdom to instill these characteristics in our future children.

Dungy impresses the importance of understanding confidence vs. pride......

"Pride is all about me, but confidence is a realization that God has given me abilities and created me to fill a unique role that no one else is called to fill..and it's not just using the gifts to benefit me, but to help my team and impact others." (pg 19)

Modesty is good, but avoid false modesty......

"Don't be falsely modest, you have amazing gifts. Just recognize that others do too." (pg. 35).

Respecting others....

"Rather than insisting that others respect us, we need to make sure that we are respecting others, holding others in proper esteem." (pg 21).

And this is all in the first chapter!

Throughout the book he teaches men how to love their wife, be better fathers, handle conflict, choose the company you keep, and much more. Each word of wisdom is couched in Judeo-Christian values.

One of my favorite lines was when Dungy mentions the importance of leaving work at work, and spending time with your family when you were home. To paraphrase, he shared that when his team looses the big game in the last 20 seconds, he doesn't really feel like going home and playing Candy Land with his kids, but he does it because that is family time.

I had to return the book to the library, but I am certain it will find a place on our bookshelf so I can refer to it again. I hope you will find time to read it as well.

While You're Waiting.....

I didn't post a meal plan last week because we ate out too much to make a plan necessary. This week I forgot to post it in time.....hopefully, I will get back to blogging soon. In the meanwhile, I've updated my blog roll to the left. Check out the many sites I follow! The crafty sites are great destinations for kids crafts! Later this week, I'll get caught up on sharing a couple of recipes. Plus, I hope to share my new clean closet soon! Thanks for your patience!

Menu Plan Monday March 9, 2009

I planned my menu out this week, went to the grocery store and realized I forgot to plan something for Thursday. My hubby saved me by suggesting we have leftovers for dinner tonight, and move my plan to make potato soup to Thursday! Perfect!

Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini with homemade applesauce, and maybe a carrot/veggie side dish (ideas anyone?)
Tuesday: Home Group. I'll bring carrot cake. I need to use up some crushed pineapple from when I made it last time. (Do you know if crushed pineapple freezes?) This is a great recipe that Ben loves! When I make it, I omit the nuts and instead substitute 1/4 cup dark raisins. This adds extra sweetness, so I reduced the amount of white sugar by 2T. This week, I think I'll reduce it by two more Tblsps.
Wednesday: Church Group. I ended up not using the half of cabbage for ramen noodle salad last week, so I am going to make a simple coleslaw out of it this week.
Thursday: Homemade potato soup with the rest of the apple sauce and salad.
Friday: Sonshine's Saucy Chicken. I know I asked for help last week with a chicken dinner. We ended up not going to our friend's house, so I moved Saturday's meal to Fridays, and we went out with Ben's folks on Saturday! I will serve the chicken with salad, and possibly make an apple crisp for dessert.

FYI, Freddys has a great sale on Bandon cheddar cheese this week: 3.99 for two pounds. You need a coupon.

Please go visit Org. Junkie's Menu Plan Monday for many more great ideas! I really love her site. She posts organizational tips all week long.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Once again, my beef stew was a hit!! It is so simple and quick to prepare. I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com, but I made a few changes to it.

• I omitted the celery and onion due to preference. (I also forgot the paprika.)
• Like some of the other reviewers, I found 1.5 lbs of stew meet to be plenty.
• I didn't find low sodium beef broth, so I reduced the amount of salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
• I also double the worcestershire sauce.
• During the last 30 minutes, I stirred in about 1/2 cup frozen corn and 1/2 cup peas. (I got that tip from the reviewers too).
• If I want a thicker stew, I find it helps to turn the heat up to high during that time too.
• My stew typically takes 10-11 hours in the slow cooker.
  

Make sure to add a the bay leaf. It adds such a unique taste. I have made this stew 4 times. The third time I forgot the bay leaf, and I figured it probably didn't matter. I had one this past Monday, and it made such a difference!

Let me know if you make it! Enjoy!