Menu Plan Monday 7/12/10

Here we go again, another Monday and another menu plan already. I hope all of you had a great week and weekend. Mine was a busy one for sure. As always, this time of year will do that to you. My garden is doing an amazing job of supplying us with plenty of fresh green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash at the moment. Yummy! However, I am having a bit of problem with some kind of animal, woodchuck.....maybe?....eating my beans and just leaving the end snip on the plant. Grrrrrrr......my squash seems to have some evidence of squash bugs also pooh! Anyone else having any problems with such pests? Friday I went to the blueberry farm and picked blueberries. I made a blueberry pie and blueberry zucchini bread after freezing 8- 1 1/2 pint and 3 quart containers of blueberries. This will be more than enough for DH and I considering we still have some left from last year. I also had an abundance of zucchini so I made 48 *whole wheat chocolate zucchini muffins in which I saved a few out for eating now and gave some away. I froze the rest for later. I was pooped after all that! Even though I was tired that didn't stop me from going fishing later that evening with DH. We caught 13 nice bluegill. This was good considering the fish here at the lake has had some kind of lockjaw lately. Saturday afternoon my dad joined us on the pontoon for a little fishing. We caught 38 nice ones. As for my menu this week it looks like it will have to be easy and simple. This is pretty much what I try to do every week anyways. Looks like another busy week ahead planned! Stop by orgjunkie for more menus!

MONDAY

BLT's

fresh cucumber slices

blueberry pie

TUESDAY

*summer stew ( This is very delicious and l look forward to this every year with my fresh green beans)

watermelon

WEDNESDAY

grilled pork chops

corn on the cob

garlic potatoes

THURSDAY

We will be going out

FRIDAY

grilled salmon with zucchini

brown rice

SATURDAY

chef salads

SUNDAY

On our own today!

SATURDAY

* Summer stew

This is something I basically made up consisting of fresh green beans, sliced onion, kielbasa sausage, bacon and red potatoes ( I leave the skin on and cut into bite size chunks) salt, pepper and all cooked together in fair amount of water until tender. Yum! Yum!

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday. Lynn over at spiritually unequal marriage is hosting this month., so be sure to visit her and be blessed! As for myself I could write a book on all the things I am thankful for. But, for Today I will make this Thankful Thursday simple and brief. The Lord has been there for my DH and I every day, every moment. He continues to bless us. Today was no exception. My DH got hurt at work. For 7 years he has never had any accidents or major sickness. Today he happened to be working with his boss cutting a piece of steel with the sawall and in a split second his boss slipped and DH's middle finger on his right hand was literally split wide open. He was rushed to the doctor and had 13 stitches, 3 inside and 10 outside. I cannot thank the Lord enough for sparing DH's finger as it just missed his tendon .It was an accident that could of been alot worse than it was. I thank the Lord everyday for my husband. DH's blood pressure was a bit high and the doctor suggested to cease the smoking. I am thinking this is going to take alot of prayer.

I am also thankful I still have my father. The time I spend with him is amazing. We have had a couple of great times fishing on the pond this past week.

I am thankful for our garden and how well it's growing this year and the food it provides for our table, the full freezer of meat and the good stockpile on the shelves.

So what are you thankful for this week? Remember, In all things give thanks!

A llittle of this and that

If I am not posting as much anymore during the week, It is because I have been extremely busy like tending my garden, Oh my....with all the rain and warm weather the garden is growing crazy and so are the weeds. I have been trying to stay on top of it all which is a tackle in itself these days. Oh..how embarrassing to have a weedy garden. Weeds are a fact of life with a garden and they need to be pulled. Seriously, I have to be attentive to them. Turn your back on them and they are back in your garden! When I am not tending the garden I have been fishing and having coffee with my Dad. In fact, I went again this morning with him and we reeled in 47 beautiful bluegill. The rest of the day was spent helping clean fish dividing the bluegill between us. I put 4 containers full in the freezer for this winter. We had so much fun that we fished again early this evening. This time, DH went with us. We took home 50 fish. HA! This time DH received the honors of cleaning them. I put 4 more containers in the freezer. We are ever so thankful the Lord has blessed us once again with a mess of fish. I must not forget the quality time spent with my father. Oh yes, and then there is our pet rabbit. Why have a pet if you never spend any time caring for it? I got this hair brained idea a couple of days ago to let little Bunny Boo in the house. I carefully spread newspapers all over the floor in one room. I can't trust the little guy after he peed on my friend from down the road. Okay, I am so glad this lady has a sense of humour! Anyways Bunny Boo and our little Yorkie/shitzu played and played...chasing each other like they were playing tag and were best buddies. It was hilarious! Now, I am not making a habit of bringing my rabbit in the house all the time. I have however have been making a habit of spoiling the little guy. Okay, No more excuses. I promise to get on the bandwagon here soon. Just know I am okay. Maybe you can relate?

Wordless Wednesday...New addition to our family

Meet Bunny Boo Rockstar! He is the new addition to the family. I am already spoiling the little guy. ummmm...I think he is a boy. I suppose it doesn't really matter considering it is the only bunny and no plans for more. He loves to be held and has a problem wanting to go back to his cage afterwards.

Fishing with my Dad

I went fishing with my Dad yesterday morning. We have been talking about going fishing on the pond by his place for quite awhile. Yep, just my Dad and I. The pond seems so different than the lake when it comes to fishing. My thinking is that the fish are dumber. Really, some of the best bluegill fishing can be found in ponds. Remember always ask permission to fish on private ponds. If you are simply wanting to catch alot of fish regardless of size, most ponds will provide ample bluegill action. I grew up fishing from a small farm pond located close enough to my house that we could walk to it. I remember many times fishing with my mom, my dad and grandma. Ponds are still a great place to catch fish! Dad and I caught 38 nice bluegill in a couple of hours in the morning. I hooked a small bass and a few young ones that were too small to keep. My DH bought me a really cute lightweight 12 ft. cane pole awhile back. I love that pole! I have hooked more large bluegill with that little gem. I gave my dad the exact same pole for fathers day. He also hooked more fish with that little gem! Bluegill spawn in spring and early summer and this is a good time to catch them. When the water exceeds 70 degrees, begin looking for spawning bluegill in shallow water on their beds. Which explains why so many large bluegill we caught were females loaded with eggs. We cleaned all 38 fish. Dad filleted with his electric knife and I cut out the ribs. As a team it seemed like we had the fish cleaned in no time! Here's a picture of my dad cleaning the fish.





All in all, It was a great way to spend the day and be rewarded with some tasty eating!

What to do if you lock your keys in the car

Have you ever locked your keys in the car? and you don't have a spare key? If so, what did you do? Now, chances are most of us have locked our keys in the car at one time or another. For me..ahem..it happened one day last week or so in the Meier parking lot. Yes, it was just one of those things that happened. Yesterday DH and I were at the bank and this poor young woman had done the same thing. Yep, locked those darn keys in the car. Did she have a spare key? nope! This obviously was not her first time doing this neither. I am sure she felt like I did, like an idiot! I was frustrated, embarrassed and mad at myself, and like a dummy no spare key! Now, it was just one of those things I put off because, I never thought this would happen. So, what did I do? Well, I had to call my DH from work and wait by the car until he arrived. He somehow found a piece of very thin metal at work and was able to somehow trigger the lock switch. This was kinda embarrassing since my car's anti theft system alarm blared throughout the parking lot until I could stop it! Anyways, Don't panic or flip out. There is some solutions we can all do. Well, just in case this ever happens to you.

1. Get a spare key or two made. For just a few dollars, you've got real peace of mind. This has to be the most simple solution to a relatively simple problem. After this incident I go three extra keys made at Menards.
2. Keep your spare key in a secure location. Place the other one in maybe a magnetic key case which can be hidden along a metal surface of your vehicle. Give a key to a trusted family member. I now keep an extra key in my purse, I also keep a spare key at home and gave a key to DH.
3. If you have On Star you can call the helpline. They remotely send a signal to your vehicle and unlock your door. Since DH and I drive older vehicles and this can cost about $200 a year this option is a no go for us!
4. Talk to your insurance company. If your vehicle is on warranty, you can call the roadside assistance line. They will open your car for free. Again not an option for us.


Don't panic! There are solutions and there are preventable solutions. The biggest mistake we can make is flipping out! Have you ever locked your keys accidentally in the car?

Menu Plan Monday

Is it Monday again already? My, how these weeks fly. I have been trying to catch up on a few things around the house and yard. The weather has been very warm and very humid, rains about every day and not to mention I don't know about anywhere else but, here at the lake the mosquitoes are many and hungry! which makes this whole working in the yard or garden difficult. In my garden my veggies are growing fast and so are the weeds. We have been eating fresh lettuce, spinach, Green onions, radishes. I planted lots of the stuff and therefor eating many green salads. But, that's okay because its all low in calories and very good for you. So, unto the menu for this week...

MONDAY

On our own! A little of this and a little of that from the weekend that needs to be eaten!

TUESDAY

chef salads, berry smoothies

WEDNESDAY

baked chicken w/cornbread dressing, green beans

THURSDAY

cabbage w/kielbasa

FRIDAY

stuffed green peppers, corn muffins

SATURDAY

grilled salmon, tossed green salad, brown rice

SUNDAY

On our own!

For more meal planning ideas visit organizing junkie!

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