Hi. It's Me.
Popping in for a visit at least.
Not making any promises.
We'll see.
I miss you.
Much to my delight, I/we went hiking three times this week. Spring has definitely sprung here in green Oregon. I would have gone a couple more times but it was just too wet to risk one of my kids falling. I am thankful this long winter is past and we have the next 6 or 7 months of being-outdoors-kind-of-weather to look forward to. I can't wait to get our first camping trip in!
Spring also means some shifting around for our last term of school. My girl's math is wonderful, but I have switched her to Aleks for now just to make sure she is ready for the same language and styles she will see on her first achievement testing coming up in May. I also started a couple of the kids in 4H for goats last fall so they are working on getting the goats used to being handled the same way they will be when they are shown. Two of my kids are just about to start play practice for Cinderella, and three of them are practicing, practicing, practicing for their voice recital in early summer. We have decided to drop our full day of outside classes, leaving only one morning per week for a P.E. class, so we can tie up some loose ends scholastically, work on "perfecting" our character
I am also trying to get back into a routine for meal planning and more purposeful in our traditional style food habits. I have been spoiled with the meals I made when I ordered from Zaycon Foods. They have been so helpful during some tough times when meal planning was not on the top of my agenda, but I knew that telling the kids to "throw a Cheese Quesadilla on the George Foreman and grab a few baby carrots or an orange" should not be a daily happening.
This week I started a new batch of Kombucha and I am very much looking forward to the results. I also made Kefir and have yogurt and chevre multiplying their bacteria as we speak. I have a few other things burning in my mind that I'd like to make this week too, so we'll just see.
I am working on a compilation of the chicken recipes I used when I ordered 120 pounds of chicken breast the first time and 80 pounds the second time so my friends and family who ask will have one tidy place to refer to. I will be using my blog as the posting place so my faithful blog readers will see it first;).
Unfortunately, one of my main freezer shelves is broken and the food slides off each time I open the door and I have to be careful and strategic when trying to pile it back on so the door will close. I have nowhere else to put it, so I am going to have to plan to eat the things that take up the most freezer space first in order to get to the shelf and figure out what needs to be done to make it right again.
Well there's my blippet about life today.
Here's some of what we are planning to eat this week:
BREAKFAST:
Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal Pancakes (if I can locate the cord to my griddle. Urgh.) These babies are so filling that my big boys can usually only eat 2 or 3!
My Favorite Muffins
Baked Oatmeal baked in crockpot (using alternative sweetener, probably real maple syrup which is our favorite sweetener of choice) Baked Oatmeal was one of my favorites growing up and I have made it for my family from the beginning. But I have not tried making it in the crockpot, so this will be a tester.
Migas using truly free-range eggs . I might throw in some basil because I just love basil.
DINNER: (most of the links are the basic recipe, which I adapted so I could make them as freezer meals)
~ Enchiladas using the frozen Mole Chicken Burritos I made previously
~ Buffalo Chicken Mounds served on homemade buns (I have to let them raise longer where I live)
~ Praline Chicken
~Butterflied Whole Chicken Breast cooked on the grill, with mushrooms and asparagus
~ Chicken Marbella
(For tons more recipe links and menu ideas, visit www.orgjunkie.com, where lots of ladies like me link up every week to share ideas)
