Menu Plan Monday: March 1-7, 2010 and A Thought About MPM

I'll tell you up front that this post is going to be way too long. It has four parts. I creatively labeled them Part One, Two, Three and Four. That way, if you are only here to use me for my delicious menu, and have no interest in my really well written review of last week's menu or my informative preview to this week's menu, including some provocative thoughts I have on Menu Plan Monday, you can scroll down to Part Four to see my menu with lots of links (without which, I personally find MPM to be useful only for the writer of a menu).

PART ONE: Thoughts on MPM, Part One (Part One suspensefully hints that I may have other thoughts on MPM and may share them at some later date)

I love menu planning for my own sake. As I have said before, it gets me started on the right foot to be organized for the new week. And I am always hopelessly striving to be more organized. So I encourage all of my friends to do it, whether you do it on a blog, or on your own computer, or on a scrap of paper on the fridge.

I participate in Menu Plan Monday. MPM is the brilliant idea of Laura at

Orgjunkie. com, where bloggers can post their menu plans for the upcoming week, then link their blog post so other people, bloggers or not, can see what other people are making and get good ideas for their own menu planning.

There are literally hundreds of links (last week 479 people linked) and I can never get to them all. Time is money. Well, in my case, not really, because I am not paid in money. But still. My time is valuable. So most weeks I come up with a way to choose like "every 12th link", or "Blog Names That Sound Cute". Then I start clicking. And I pray that the blog I am headed to has at least one recipe or link posted and not just a stranger's menu plan for the week with the names of what they are making.

I understand why people post their menus, but I don't really understand why they link their post if they only provide a list of menu items and do not include links or recipes. Because I don't know them and this does not help me.

Just thought I'd mention.

PART TWO: Last week's menu

~At the suggestion of Laura from Orgjunkie, I made Chicken Spaghetti, which she found at Pioneer Woman. I think PW (or someone) adapted it from this recipe, and I made a few changes of my own, which I will note at the bottom of this post. Simple to make and my whole family loved it.

~1 Dish Taco Bake was also a hit. I doubled the recipe and cooked it in this little beauty (12" Le Creuset Skillet) rather than in two pie plates. This was a mistake. And I knew it as soon as I had all of the ingredients layered in it. Because the recipe uses quick rising yeast, and the food was already at the top of the skillet. So I placed a cookie sheet under the skillet in the oven and waited for the majik, which soon followed. Next time I will double the recipe, put half or two-thirds in the skillet and the rest on a small pie plate. Because there is something so cozy about serving supper out of a genu-wine cast iron skillet.

Part Three: About this week's menu
Last week I explained about why our "Valentine's Dinner" was late. Well, now it is later still. Because we planned to share it with friends, one of whom has a somewhat fragile immune system, and we still have coughers around here, especially my oldest and my youngest (one of my aunts thinks we should go on Juice Plus. I have heard good things and have considered it for years but just haven't spent the money. Do any of you have any thoughts about JP?). Now that it is so far past February 14th, I have decided I am calling that particular menu simply Who Needs February 14th Traditional and Special Show My Love For My Family Menu. You will see it tentatively planned for Wednesday.

The rest of the week you will see me using that wonderful invention called a crockpot and also trying to force myself to make pork or beef, which are not my favorites but my family enjoys.

Part Four: The Menu WITH Links

Monday: Sloppy Joes on Homemade Buns

Tuesday: Honey-Pecan Pork Chops

Wednesday: Nacho Spuds (Or last Wednesday's meal which I have explained above).

Thursday: Taco Soup (crockpot, from my Older and Wiser Sis)

Friday: Salsa Chicken over Rice (crockpot!)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Eat Out

Have a genu-winely wonderful week!

My take on Chicken Spaghetti


Cut Up Cooked Chicken (instead of PW's whole chicken I used pieces)
Dry cappellini pasta (angel hair), broken into little pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Costco Grated Mixed Cheese
Olive Oil
½ diced red pepper
½ diced yellow pepper
¼ cups diced onion (I sauteed all of my veggies)
1 jar (4 Ounce) diced pimentos
2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
Lawry's Seasoned Salt, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Additional Grated Cheese

Instructions
Cook desired chicken in about 6 cups of water. I used 2 bone in breasts and 2 boneless thighs.

Remove chicken and 2 cups broth from pan, use to cook cappellini until al dente (I used 1.5 pounds and it made a ton). Do not overcook.

Debone chicken and cut meat into small pieces.

Saute peppers and onion in olive oil until tender.

When spaghetti is cooked, combine with all ingredients except the additional cheese, including the 2 cups of broth (start out using less to desired consistency but I used it all).

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar.

Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Menu Plan Monday: February 22-28, 2010

(For tons more menu and recipe ideas, go to OrgJunkie.com)

Since I have such a wide variety of ages of children we are often not all at home for dinner. As a result, this week is the week we will finally be having our Valentine's Day dinner. I am not attached to that day, but I am attached to establishing and maintaining traditions and memories for my family. Wednesday is the day I will make our traditional love dinner. We will also be having company for dinner this year so I am even more excited.

I like to try one new recipe at least every couple of weeks. This week, upon the suggestion of OrgJunkie, I am trying Chicken Spaghetti from Pioneer Woman. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am also trying Buttermilk Pot Roast. My friend who is studying Judaism informed me last week it is not Kosher to cook meat and dairy at once. So if I ever decide to try to be Kosher, well, this recipe is out. But I really want to try it because I don't like chewy meat and I know that milk tenderizes meat.

Enough already. I gotta get this posted or I am going to be number 436 on the link up and no one will look at my menu.

Have a great week!

Monday: Chicken Spaghetti

Tuesday: Buttermilk Pot Roast

Wednesday: Brass Horn Chicken Pasta, Cranberry and Sugared Walnut Salad with Feta, Fresh Bread with real butter, Heart's Delight Eclair, Shirley Temples, Sparkling Cider

Thursday: 1 Dish Taco Bake

Friday: Spud Nachos

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Eat Out

You're Late! You're Late!

This morning I watched a piece on T.V. about why people are late. For my church-going friends, I thought this morning would be great timing to write about it because, no matter how well you think you have prepared, there's always that rush to get out the door on a Sunday morning!

There were many reasons they presented for why people are late including procrastination and people thinking they need to squeeze out every last minute of busy-ness. I was informed there are counselors specifically for helping people figure out why they are always late. It sort of amused me. I wonder how long it takes, if the counselor schedules them for an exact time and, if they do, if they tell the counselee a time that is 15 minutes earlier than what they write in their appointment book?

Like the weather, time always seems to be an issue and a topic of conversation:"Better late than never" contradicts "Better an hour too soon than a minute too late". "Do you know what time it is?" is a well known pick-up line. "I just haven't had time" is a commonly heard excuse phrase. The official trailer of the new movie "Alice In Wonderland" even includes a line about being late (I know there is a famous line in that book, but this is slightly different).

I was always taught that people who are perpetually late think their time is more important than everyone else's. I think there is some truth to this, even just in perception, but I don't think it is the answer.

I have friends who are perpetually late. And I have friends who hate being late. I can't think of a friend I have about whom I would say they would never be late. Some people don't even notice when you are late. Some people are really bothered by it. And some people never forget. Based on me being late about twice or three times in over 25 years, one of my friends has indicated several times that I am "always late".

I would definitely not say I am "always late". But it isn't unheard of, that's for sure. I don't like being late, but there is also a difference between being late for, say, a wedding, vs. a casual appointment with a friend. With a friend, it is usually something like "Let's meet around 10" or, "I'll probably be there around 10", rather than "It starts at 10".

If one of my friends is 5 minutes late, give or take a couple of minutes, I don't really consider it as late. Probably because, living in the country myself, it takes longer to get everywhere and I understand that it is difficult to anticipate traffic and road construction.



It's all about that pesky clock that just keep ticking. If I am late, it is usually because I have overestimated time -- either how much time has passed or how long a certain activity will take and how much I can fit in. Sometimes I just lose track of time then suddenly it dawns on me. I look at my watch and start that scramble we all know all too well. Time just gets away from me!





Are you a late person? How do you feel when others are late to a meeting with you? If you are late, why would you usually say that is?


Have a punctual week,

Never Too Late
It is never too late to be happy;
It is never too late to smile;
It is never too late to extend a hand
With a cheering word once in a while.
For there's never a sorrow or worry
In all this green-covered earth
But is followed soon by a gladsome joy
And a generous measure of mirth.
~ Jeanette H. Carey

Haiti in '80

I first remember hearing of Haiti in 1980. It was the year St. Helens blew it's top in our neck of the woods. It's the year my brother Josh was born. It's the year my sister went to Haiti.

Haiti in '80.

To this day, this is how I remember when St. Helens exploded and also when each of my siblings were born (I have alot of them).

I know my sister went to Haiti in '80.

I know my little brother Josh was born the year my sister went to Haiti.

I know how much older/younger each sibling is in relation to another, so this little rhyme works well.

My Older and Wiser Sister is on the bottom row, second from the right, in a blue top.

They were constructing a building with Teen Missions International in a little mission called Christianville.

I think I'll change my rhyme, for now, to

80 FOR Haiti

$80.00?

80 praying friends?

Actively doing something for Haiti for 80 days?

If you could dream anything, what kind of 80 would you give to Haiti?

Orphans In Their Distress

I don't know if it is the fact that I have lost a child. Or the fact that I have lived the miracle of adoption.

It could be my age. Maybe the fact that I am a woman.

But I think it is just that I am a human. Humans feel things for each other.

This week my heart is fixed for hours every day -- on the TV, online or in conversations.

Haiti. Beautiful island nation.

Beautiful people. Determined faces, elegant high cheekbones. Skin just a shade or two lighter than ebony. My children have three beautiful friends who were born there. And they are stunning.

Strong people. You know, they were cruelly enslaved for years in their own country. And, as slaves, they won their independence through a slave rebellion.

Today they are enslaved by debris, by lack of water and shelter, by the presence and smell, everywhere they look, of death. They are at risk of falling prey to diseases.

To add to the misfortune of the Haitian people, in more recent years they have been enslaved by the lack of infrastructure and leadership and the country is rife with corruption. I have learned from my friends in the Dominican Republic that even now, in this time of crisis, port authorities cannot be trusted to get relief supplies where they are needed.

To add to an already overwhelming burden on caretakers, there will be even more orphans now. I'm watching their innocent faces, many bleeding, with no caring parent standing nearby the comfort them. I saw one little boy laying on a makeshift bed who said both feet hurt very bad and that his little brother is dead. He nods to another bed near him at another severely wounded sibling.

And he is there, in the midst of the medical professionals around him having to go to the most serious first,
bearing all of this
Alone
(insert mind's eye picture of your child here in his stead).

There are hundreds of waiting adoptive families here in the U.S. who have already gone through the red tape and know who their Haitian child is. The wait has probably already been too long. Will this cause their wait to be even longer? Where are their dossiers and all of the other paperwork they have already finished? CALL YOUR LOCAL LAWMAKERS and ask them to help with this issue. Please tell them to facilitate "humanitarian parole" for these children. Their parents have already had home studies, much or all paperwork is done but may be lost for an undetermined time, or permanently. This will get the kids here while all of the paperwork is sorted out and it will make room for other orphans who will be needing somewhere to live and be loved.

Have you ever thought about adoption? Are you willing to give up your empty nest or your perfect life or your kid's private school or lessons, or your big chain coffee drinks and brand name clothing, or your skimped-for retirement for a child?

ADOPTION IS A MIRACLE. Even if you have never considered it before, please open your heart today and ask God if this is something new He will do in your lives. We need to get ready. In the next few years, the need for adoptions will increase.

Please keep your eyes on this effort to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of Haitian orphans to this country. They may eventually need adoptive homes, will likely need foster homes.

Here are some agencies where you can get started on your adoption research:
Holt International (Long standing, reputable agency)
New Life Link (Two families we know have adopted through the gentleman who runs this

This poem was written by a lady upon her return home from her first missions trip to Haiti several years ago. It paints such a thought provoking picture. I thought it said alot.

May God enable you to go beyond your comfort zone.

The Call of a Distant Land by Laura Gleaton

The people of this distant land had seemed so far away,
Their needs, their strife, their poverty ... “Not our problem,” I’d say.
“We have our own needy people, our hungry, our poor.”
“Why, they’re right here in our own backyard, Why should we take on more?”
But God had other plans for me. He was working on my heart.
He put me on a plane and made me listen from the start.
You see, my idea of poverty had been really misconstrued,
For here in this great land of ours, it’s a matter of asking ... and the hungry receive food.
But oh, how my eyes were opened to the ultimate despair.
These people whose whole lives are consumed with mere survival, how unfair ...
That they drink infested water, sometimes from puddles on the street.
They have few clothes; they have no shoes to wear upon their feet.
They swim and bathe amidst sludge and mud along with hogs and sow,
And why they were not all diseased I could only wonder how.
Day in, day out, they walk, they search, just trying to survive.
They try to sell their wares to those who’ll buy – to stay alive.
A simple shack they call their home, no electricity or plumbing,
With only the bare necessities, and no other resources coming.
The men, they toil, they labor, their sweat pouring from their brow,
To earn a wage ... mere dollars a week ... again, I wondered “How?”
The women struggle from dawn to dusk, their wash upon their head,
Journey to the rivers and streams, by donkeys they were led.
But the children, oh the children ... to see them told it all.
Their toys were rocks and animal bones, tattered cloth wrapped into a ball.
Some wore simple rags of old, some not a stitch in sight,
Their shoeless feet, their unkempt hair, told of their endless plight.
But yet, their eyes were not filled with tears, but with innocence and joy,
For a smile, or a hug, or a touch from us, would bring them so much joy.
And though not a word was understood between us, the language barrier in the way,
The language of love spoke loud and clear between us every day.
And I knew then what I was meant to see in this land so far from here,
A message that had eluded me was now so very clear,
That ‘cause even though these people lack things that we have come to know,
Their faith is strong; their love runs deep; they’re grateful to us so.
They had nothing, yet had it all, through God’s unconditional love.
From within shackled walls of worship, they praised Him up above.
We have so much, yet take for granted, things they’ll never know.
But God’s enabled us to reach out beyond our comfort zone.

Poof!

Ugh. When my new laptop crashed I lost my offline writing program. I need to have it reinstalled from where I hope I saved it but I haven't taken the time.

This morning I got all ready and got the kids situated doing their school assignments. I got my cup of delicious tea and sat down to write a post.

And write I did! I wrote a post I was really feeling.

An entire post.

Then, when I went to publish it, I saw the words "blogger could not save"...

I tried to reconnect but my (not very good) AT&T air card would not.

I had to restart. When I came back on, NONE of my work had successfully saved.

Now my kids are done with their assignments. My tea is about gone.

So this is my post.

"This Is It", My Thoughts

Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.


We went to see the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It" tonight, which was the first night it was open in my area. I know many of you are planning to see it and I am not going to give anything away!



I went more out of nostalgia, and maybe a little curiosity, than as a crazed fan. In fact, I wasn't really even allowed to listen to Michael Jackson when I was growing up. But come on -- even I knew most of his songs by heart. They have become part of our very culture.


As I watched I was reminded of what a great talent MJ was. Unbelievable talent that I can't imagine having been bestowed all on one person. I had feared that two whole hours was too long to watch and that I might get bored. But it was truly captivating to watch and to listen. And I don't know if I could have seen the beauty I saw in it if I hadn't also felt the sadness. Disclaimer: There were definitely at least two parts that made me feel uncomfortable (a scene where girls are dressed and dancing provocatively and the scenes for Thriller).

Despite all of the questions about him, and all of the debate about who he was, if he was a bad or a good person, discussion about how strange people would say he was, etc. I felt sad. Because from the very beginning of the movie, I began to have a feeling I couldn't shake for the whole movie. I think maybe my eyes were opened to a truth I had not grasped before.

Before I can get to that, let me explain...

When I think about our desires as people, and what we have difficulties with, I have to go back to reminding myself what we were created for.

Isaiah 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.

So I am reminded that we were created to love and worship our Creator. And we were designed to share that Love.

We were not designed to be adulated. We were designed to adore.

So as I watched I was so impressed with how sad it was that every time Michael tried to show love, people acted like they were not worthy of his love and deflected it all back on him. People literally worshipped him, a human being, and did not allow him to really give love in return. At one point in the movie someone even verbalized it by saying it was like church.

It truly even frustrated me as I watched. It's kind of like that compliment you give that your friend never really receives.

"You are so beautiful."

"You nut. No I'm not. So sweet of you to say though."

"No, really! You are beautiful!".

"No, YOU are."

"You are gorgeous inside and out and I love you."

"NO, YOU are gorgeous and I LOVE YOU MORE."

It's like they are saying "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever love you give bounces off of me and sticks to you."

... makes me feel sad and tired just pretending I am having that conversation. "Just acccept my compliment already, and accept my love...PLEASE!"

What a sad and frustrating thing, probably even confusing, to never really be allowed to give love but to continually receive the worship of people, when you yourself are a person, and you also were created to worship and to praise and to love.

It seems with any gift, any strength we are given by God, there is a weakness. I often think artistic people feel things more deeply. So when someone feels deeply, when they love deeply, and they cannot find a way to either express their love, or find a way that they can get others to receive that love, it makes perfect sense to me that they would be perceived as strange. In fact, I think it would be miraculous if they were not weird.

It reminds me of that song "Starry, Starry Night" about Vincent Van Gogh, who was also very artistic. Seeing beauty and trying to share it. Feeling like no one will listen, really listen, to your heart. Everyone exalts you when you know intrinsically that you should not be exalted. And they turn all of your love back onto you. So really, they never truly even LOVE you, they just adulate you.

What pain we go through when we are not what we are created to be.