Monday, November 30, 2009

Menu Plan Monday




Menu Plan Monday has arrived once more and I have a plan! If you haven't tried menu planning, I encourage you to give it a try. Meal planning makes it easier to prepare healthy economical meals at home thus saving time and money. This is what we will be eating this week..... for more menu ideas visit organized junkie here



MONDAY- pan fried bluegill, roasted potatoes, peas


TUESDAY- chili and cornbread


WEDNESDAY- meatloaf ,corn mashed potatoes


THURSDAY- meatloaf sandwiches, tomato soup, canned pears


FRIDAY- spaghetti, green salad


SATURDAY- steamed cabbage and polish sausage, homemade bread




Friday, November 27, 2009

BEWARE

BEWARE: Possible side effects of eating turkey after one hour of consumption!






















Monday, November 23, 2009

Menu Plan Monday



I cannot believe Thanksgiving is upon us so soon. I mean really, where does the time go? It is going to be another busy week here. Almost all the kids and of course the grand kids will be here will be here for Thanksgiving. I am going to make 2 turkeys this year, one stuffed and one not. This however wasn't planned but, the reason behind it is that the hubby and I bought a turkey awhile back when Walmart had them really cheap. Last Friday I was given another turkey, which I am so ever grateful for but, there was this wee problem. I could not fit it in the freezer, between the turkey we bought and all the containers of pumpkin glop I froze, there was no way that turkey was going in! Two turkeys.....Lots of leftovers....That is my favorite part Thanksgiving! My menu looks like this for the week...
MONDAY- Pizza, green salad
TUESDAY- grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, fruit
WEDNESDAY-out!
THANKSGIVING- turkey and dressing,whole wheat dinner rolls, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied sweet potatoes, relish tray with pickles, olives, cheese, carrots, celery and deviled eggs, apple pie and pumpkin pie
FRIDAY-leftovers from Thanksgiving
SATURDAY- leftovers from Thanksgiving
SUNDAY- on our own!
For more menu ideas be sure to check out organizing junkie


Friday, November 20, 2009

Aloha Friday

Its Friday and I decided to take Fridays and join up with Kailani from an Island Life.



Add VideoThis is my first Aloha Friday. I think this will be fun. In Hawaii , Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. I will take it easy, relax, like they do in Hawaii and ask you one simple question. This doesn't require a lengthy response. Also be sure to visit an Island Life and check out other Aloha Friday participants. This is a great way to make some bloggy friends!



My question for you is.........Do you stuff the turkey or do you make stuffing in a separate pan?




I always stuff my turkey. I have done it this way for years!




Thursday, November 19, 2009

Thankful Thursday


These are difficult times for many people and on this Thanksgiving, for some, it may be difficult to find a reason to be thankful. For some of us there has been job loss, some are facing foreclosure on their homes for which they have worked and sacrificed, Some families just struggle to stay warm and fed. For some people they have seen their retirement savings diminish in the face of the meltdown on wall street. On this Thanksgiving coming up and Thankful Thursday I want to give thanks for faith, that faith, still despite the hard times sees us through those tough times. This Thanksgiving as you gather with family and friends, take time out to reflect, giving thanks for all things, no matter how small or trivial they may seem. Your friends, family, health, jobs, if we just look closely we can all find a reason to be thankful. i believe being thankful reminds me of whats important, for me its hard to complain about the little things, when I give thanks that our children and grandchildren are alive and healthy. It's hard to get stressed out over paying bills when I am grateful there is a roof over my head. I am grateful my hubby and I have challenges. Life isn't boring. I am grateful we learn from these challenges and am thankful they make me a stronger person and builds character. I am trying to be grateful for our car.It may be rusting out, we cannot open the door on the drivers side because the door handle fell off, it doesn't have an exhaust system or muffler because that fell off awhile back also. It has had several brake problems. I have to be thankful it gets us from point A to point B. We don't have the finances for a better car at the time But, I know some people who don't even have transportation. What are you giving thanks for this year? Head on over to Grace Alone Share your thoughts, leave your link.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Pumpkin pie from scratch and freezing pumpkin filling

Okay, I know it is sooooo much easier to open a can of pumpkin to make your pumpkin pie.* I was given 16 pie pumpkins! Gasp! What am I to do with so many of them? If anyone knows me at all I'm not going to let all these little pumpkins go to waste. Solution? Cook them up, scoop the pumpkin glop out of shell. Freeze the pumpkin glop for pies, muffins, bread ect. My DH has been after me for weeks about making a pumpkin pie* from total scratch, start to finish .He claims it is soooooo much tastier. Now, I'm not sure about that but, finally DH will be very happy with his pie I plan to make for Thanksgiving. I have 5 of the pumpkins cooked and 11 to go. I have enough pumpkin glop for 8 pies right now (1- 1/2 cups) makes 1 pie. Now that I've done this many so far. I realize it's really easy. It's just your time. To begin.... wash pumpkin, chop in half, scrape out all the seeds and stringy goodness. You can reserve the seeds for roasting, and even planting. My hope is to plant some next year, then I will have these beautiful pie pumpkins again. Plus, no pumpkin cost. Now, that's a deal! I then placed both pieces cut side down on a baking sheet and placed in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. You will know when it is done by sticking your fork in it. It needs to be very soft. The microwave works also. Microwave about 25-30 min. Once the pumpkin is done cooking it should fall right out of the skin. Using a spoon, scoop it all out into a large mixing bowl. Mix the pumpkin until it is smooth and creamy. Your pumpkin filling is ready to freeze or use right away.

* Pumpkin pie ( from scratch) makes 2 pies

First whip up your favorite crust ( or I guess you can use store bought) Gasp!
1- 9 inch pie pumpkin ( this will actually make enough pumpkin glop for 2 pies) or 1-1/2 cups pumpkin glop
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
18 oz or 1-1/2 cans of evaporated milk
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice ( if you do not have pumpkin pie spice, you can use allspice, ginger, ground clove)
2 tsp cinnamon
Add in all the ingredients and mix well. your final product will be very runny. Don't worry...it will thicken up in the cooking process. Put your pie crust in your pie pan, and pour in your pumpkin filling. Do not overfill..it makes a mess!
Bake for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then turn it down to 350 degrees and bake for 45-60 more minutes. It will be done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


It has been quite the week here, maybe a bit stressful as well. This week seems to also be starting out the same way, starting with being already somewhat late on my menu plan Monday. I will admit, I've just been too pooped to blog the past few days. I wish I could just get it into high gear! This week my menu is....





MONDAY- fried chicken legs, cheesy potatoes, green beans





TUESDAY- french toast, sausage





WEDNESDAY- goulash, garlic bread, fruit (not sure what kind yet)





THURSDAY- out





FRIDAY-meatloaf, baked potatoes, corn





SATURDAY-potato soup, meatloaf sandwiches



SUNDAY- On Our Own Today!





For more really good menu ideas check out organizing junkie here

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wordless Wednesday....PRICELESS!




Abby filling her Papa's hunting boots. PRICELESS!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Menu Plan Monday


This weeks menu is about ease and speed as I have tons to get done this week. Here's what we have cooking this week.......

MONDAY- omelets, ( I will be making a veggie omelet for me) fruit, pumpkin chip muffins

TUESDAY- cube steak, mashed potatoes, corn

WEDNESDAY- chili, homemade bread ( I cheat, the dough is frozen)

THURSDAY-OUT!

FRIDAY- crock pot chicken over noodles, green beans

SATURDAY- blueberry pancakes, smoky links, fruit

For more menu planning pay http://orgjunkie.com/ a visit. Some of the menus are amazing!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Great Meijer shopping trip!

I went to Meijer tonight mainly to use my free Purina dog food coupons and to do the I can't believe its not butter sticks for cooking and baking deal. The deal is you buy 1- 16oz I can't believe its not butter sticks for cooking and baking for $2.19, use $1.00/1 coupon = $1.19. Buy one or more, get a $2.00 catalina on your next shopping order. This is a 71 cents money maker. Then the idea is take the $2.00 catalina to pay for next transaction and just keep rolling your catalinas. Somehow it didn't go as planned. I rang up 1 package I can't believe it's not butter, used my $1.00/1 coupon, paid $1.19 and no catalina spit out so being me I asked the cashier standing there why it didn't go through, because it supposed to. She checked on it by asking the manager and checking the machine. They agreed, that it should of went through. The manager politely told me she didn't know what happened but, they would get in touch with the company that puts the catalina out and instead of the catalina she would just give me the money instead in cash. Let's see, I had 4 packages of butter so they gave me $8.00. I rang up the rest of my purchases.......
2 Beneful wet dog food at $1.70 each 1- 4.5 lbs Purina chef michaels dry dog food $8.99, 3- I cant believe its not butter sticks $6.57, 1 can of Campbells cream of mushroom soup 58 cents, 1 can of Campbells cream of chicken soup 58 cents, 2- packets of gravy mixes $2.28 Total of $22.40 minus coupons totaling $13.19 = $9.21 plus 87 cents tax= $10.08. I gave the $8.00 they gave me and $2.08 of my own money. HA Ha and what spit out?.........Yep, a $2.00 catalina good on my next shopping order. Now, how good is that?

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Processing our venison

Today I helped my dad process our deer. Hubby had to work and it is too hard for my dad to do alone. The really gross part was done the night before when hubby and dad cut up the meat in chunks so that dad and I could grind it up in burger today and put in freezer. Processing deer is not that hard but it sure is alot of work. My dad has a very bad back right now and unless he gets considerably better by the time we get another deer, We may find ourselves having it processed by someone else. Anyways, on to my dads basement........


First, We grind the meat chunks by an electric grinder that has been sterilized into these sterilized stainless steel pans
I then measure out 1 lb. of meat into a little cardboard tray thingy that is lined with saran wrap, unto this scale ( we use a baby scale)

It is then wrapped again in freezer paper. My dad uses an iron to seal it.

There you have it! All wrapped and sealed.....

Labeled and ready for the freezer.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


My dad and DH with the doe my DH shot with his bow!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Giveaway bug

You can win! This week has been my lucky week. I have won a elefan and friends gift set ( 2 games from Hasbro) and a set of CVS bags and tags. Since I have been blogging I have entered giveaways, surprisingly winning quite a few. There is alot of blog giveaways in bloggy land. These giveaways are awesome and has helped considerably around Christmas enabling me to give gifts for my family I otherwise can't afford. I rely on giveaways for this alot. Winning a blog giveaway or contest are definitely better than winning the lottery. With the lottery you basically throw your money down the toilet. Blog giveaways are free. You have nothing to lose but your time. It is time consuming. You have to take the time by visiting the Sponser's site and answering questions, think about a comment and then entering multiple ways by tweeting being a fan on facebook, being a follower on twitter and the blog, maybe subscribing, ect. all separate comments. This makes the odds greater. If it is something you are really wanting to win, making the effort to enter with bonus entries increase your odds. Go on a hunt for a contest that has great odds, enter and just wait for the win. Remember you can't win if you don't enter. This time of year I enter contest and giveaways like crazy. I guess I have more time to. After winning a few it is easy to catch the giveaway bug and start devoting alot of extra time entering. http://freebloggiveaways.com/ has post links to contests and giveaways all over the Internet. This list is updated everyday.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

It has been an exciting weekend here at the Herlan household. My hubby has been out bow hunting and got a really nice doe Sunday night. Needless to say, he is beaming. For awhile our only conversation is the story of his deer adventure. I am happy for him and so thankful for the venison we will have for this winter. This week I've decided to make the meals a little exciting and to try out some new recipes from my new kraft food & family magazine that I received in the mail earlier last week. Does anyone else get this magazine? I love it! Sadly to say it's my last issue for free as, they charge for the subscription now. Anyways, as for my menu this week....

MONDAY -*weeknight ravioli bake, garlic bread, tossed green salad

TUESDAY- pork chops, fried potatoes, peas

WEDNESDAY-ham and beans, corn bread

THURSDAY-* tuna cakes, corn, tossed green salad

FRIDAY-pancakes, sausage, fruit

SATURDAY-* saucy mexican chicken, corn casserole

SUNDAY- on our own today!

http://orgjunkie.com/ has some great menu ideas! Be sure to check it out!

* tuna cakes, page 57
*saucy mexican chicken page page 62
*weekend ravioli bake page 58
All from the Holiday 09 kraft food and family magazine