Why?

I have always been curious.  At this point in my life I still like to know how and why, but sometimes I really don't want to know why.  A few questions that have really been on my mind lately are:

Why do dogs mind better than teenagers?
How can teenagers hear a cellphone vibrate in another room, but can't hear a parent calling?
How can the sound of a refrigerator door opening wake a dog out of sound sleep when a thunderstorm doesn't?
Why do teenagers treat teachers with more respect than their own parents?
Why is it so hard to lose weight and so easy to gain weight?

If you have the answers, I would really  like to hear from you.

Menu plans

Well, I did not follow my plan last week, but I did make a couple of the new recipes I found.  Chicken Nachos and Simple Salisbury Steak.  Roger and the kids loved those meals and we had no leftovers.  I also made another new dish, Layered Enchilada Casserole, that was good, although next time I make it I am going to make some adjustments.  I will include the recipe later in this post.  Now I need to decide what to do this week.  I wish I could snap my fingers and have dinner on the table in a flash after working all day.  Sadly, I am not Barbara Eden in I Dream of Jeannie.  I really need quick and easy meals this week, as I know I am going to be exhausted when I get home  - getting to the end of one quarter and the beginning a new one.  I am going to do my best to stick with the plan for this week.

Monday: BBQ Country style ribs, potatoes, sweet peas

Tuesday:  Chicken Spaghetti and mexicorn

4-6 chicken breasts cooked, reserve broth

1 onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 pkg of spaghetti noodles

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti in broth.  Chop chicken and sautee with onion in large skillet until onions are soft.  Add soups, rotel and stewed tomatoes.  Cook on low until bubbling, then add spaghetti.  Transfer to casserole dish and cover with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Wednesday:  Wild card night

Thursday:  Beef Pot Pie Cups

3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped peeled onion
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 (17.3-oz.) can refrigerated biscuits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Brown ground beef, bell pepper and onion in a medium skillet; drain, Stir in barbecue sauce and brown sugar; mix until thoroughly combined. Remove from heat.  Separate refrigerated biscuits, placing one in each of 8 ungreased muffin cups, pressing the dough up the sides to the edge of the cup.  Spoon beef mixture into cups and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 12 minutes, or until biscuits are golden and cheese is melted.

Friday:  Pizza

Okay, here is the recipe I promised earlier:

Layered Enchilada Casserole

½ lb ground beef

1 cup oats

1 t garlic powder

1 can tomato sauce (next time I am using 2 cans of rotel)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 can diced green chilies

1 bag tortilla chips

1 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  In a skillet, brown the beef and drain well.  Blot with paper towels to remove some more of the grease.  Add oats and stir well to incorporate.   Add garlic powder, and tomato sauce.  In a bowl, mix together sour cream, ricotta cheese and green chilies.  Crush tortilla chips and place half of them on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Add half of the meat mixture and then half the sour cream mixture, and finally the cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Bake covered for 30-40 minutes.

Please share any recipes you have.  

Big Stone Gap

I finished reading the first two books in this series and really enjoyed both.  This series is so different than most of the books I enjoy reading.  I found myself carried away to "the Gap" while reading it.  I found it very easy to get lost in the life of the main character, Ave Maria.  I love how the author, Adriana Trigiani, lets you draw your own conclusions.  I could identify with Ave Maria's feelings, "if I can picture it, it will be real", one of the many guards I put around me too - to keep from feeling life's painful moments.  I cannot wait to read what happens next with Ave Maria!

My aching back

How in the world did I get to this point?  My body is not what it used to be.  At one time I could bend, reach, lift, etc and have no problems.  Last night I realized those times are over.  The heating pad has become my back's best friend.   After almost 24 hours of heating, and  some medication, I am finally feeling some relief.  I hope I never do what I did to make my back ache, ever again!

My daughter is growing up

A week from today my little girl will be 14 years old.  Where has time gone?  Why does it go so fast.  Her cute little girly face has transformed into the face of a beautiful young lady.  Now I am facing new worries - what kind of boys does she like?  What do the boys say to her?  Will she remember everything we  have tried to teach her about how special she is and not to let anyone treat her like she isn't.  Will she respect God, her parents and herself enough to remain a virgin until marriage?  I pray for her and my son everyday.  I worry more and more everyday as they know so much sexual information, more than I knew in my 20's.  How did it get to this point in the schools?  I will keep letting her know how much I love her and pray that she will seek God's will for her life.

Menu planning

I was so proud of my menu last week.  Now did I follow it - absolutely... NOT.  I forgot my plan and got home each day and threw a meal together.  Thankfully my family doesn't know that I did not stick to the plan for the week.  Most weeks I post my plan on the refrigerator, but I didn't this week.  My son likes to know the plan, so he nearly drove me crazy asking what was for supper each day.  My standard answer was - food.

Is it normal for a Mom to feel like she is in a state of confusion most of the time?  Some days my kids treat me like a queen, then other days a doormat.  Some days I feel like I can't give them enough and other days I feel like I give them too much.  One day I feel like I need to control everything and others I feel like it is time to start giving them some control.  I hope I am not the only Mom in the world that feels this way.

This weeks meal plan - March 6th - March 12th

Sunday - Going to spend the day in Nashville - yeah!!!  No cooking today.

Monday - Chicken Fried Rice: 
4 C cold cooked rice
1-1.5 C of chopped chicken breast
2 eggs (more if desired)
1 C frozen peas and carrots (make sure carrots are chopped into small cubes)
1 med. onion chopped
1 green onion chopped
seasonings to taste
soy sauce
oil - I use olive.

Stir fry your chicken in oil, add onions and then peas and carrots.  Continue to stir fry until onions are clear and carrots are tender.  In a separate pan scramble your eggs and add to chicken mixture.  Slowly add cold rice and soy sauce mixing well to ensure it is thoroughly mixed.  Serve immediatesly

Tuesday:  Hamburger Stroganoff, green beans and corn on cob
Hamburger Stroganoff
1 lb ground chuck
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 t salt
1/4 t paprika
1 c sour cream
warm cooked egg noodles

Cook beef, bacon and onions together in a large skillet over a medium heat, stirring until the beef crumbles and is not longer pink; drain.  Stir soup, salt and paprika into beef mixture.  Cook, uncovered  over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream; cook until thoroughly heated.  (do not boil)  Serve beef mixture over noodles.

Wednesday:  Creamy Chicken n Vegetable Chowder
Chowder recipe:
1 (11 oz) can mexicorn
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of potato soup
1 (4 1/2 oz) jar sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 (4 1/2 oz) can chopped green chilies, undrained
2-3 cups of cooked chicken (can use a rotisserie chicken from grocery)
1 1/2 c milk
1 c chicken broth
1/3 c sliced scallions
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients, except cheddar cheese, in dutch oven and cook over a medium heat at least 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.    Add cheddar cheese once removed from heat - stirring until cheese melts.

Thursday:  Salisbury Stead, mashed potatoes, green peas

Simple Salisbury Steak

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 can (10 1/4 ounces) Campbell's® Beef Gravy

Thoroughly mix the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg and water in a medium bowl and shape firmly into 4 oval patties, 1/2 inch thick.

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 10 minutes or until they're well browned on both sides. Pour off any fat.  Add the gravy and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the patties are cooked through.

Friday: Chicken Nachos

Chicken Nachos

1 pkg. Mexican cheese

¾ cup salsa

1 can black beans

2 cups chopped chicken breast

1 cup southwest ranch sour cream dip

Tortilla chips

Cook cheese, salsa, beans and chicken.  Stir in dip and continue to cook.  Serve on top of chips.

Saturday: Hamburger and fries/chips

Does anyone else make a weekly menu plan for their family?

A few weeks ago I decided I did not want to think about what I was going to make for dinner when I got home.  I wanted a plan made so all I had to do was put it together.  So far it is working like a dream.  My only problem now is creativity is running low and we are tending to eat the same meals week after week.  Being a working Mom is very difficult.  There are not enough hours in the day to take care of all of our family needs, much less my own.  I would be interested in learning what other moms do that works.  I am going to post my weekly menu for this week along with recipes.  I welcome any comments or recipe shares.  Thanks!

Why share some things?

I am always amazed at what people, total strangers, feel comfortable sharing with me.  While standing in line at Walmart, I saw lady get behind me with 2 items, I had about 10.  I suggested she move ahead of me.  She was thankful and then for some reason started talking to me.  As she was checking out she said she wasn't born in 1947 and asked me and I shared no, I was born in 1969.  It was downhill from the moment on.  She told me she had a daughter that was my age and had passed away.  I offer my condolences and she stated it was a freak accident over 20 years ago.  Then she stated she has a daughter in treatment for cancer right now and her Mother passed away last year.  At this point, the woman had completely checked out and paid and the cashier was ringing my items and I was ready to pay.  The grieving woman told me that people try to make her feel better by saying her loved ones are in a better place, but she doesn't feel good with that information as she wants them here with her.  I am trying my best to think of how to handle this in the most respectful way when suddenly the grieving woman looks at her watch and says, well, I am in a big hurry, gotta go.  The cashier and I just looked at each other and shook our heads.

Is the world spinning?

Have you ever had vertigo?  If you have, you know it can be like having a free ride at an amusement park.  Well, today has been one big spinning ride after another.  I have walked the walls to get anywhere in the house.  Being still is my only way to exit the ride.  I hope the amusement park closes soon.