Mealplan Monday #21 with Super Seasoning blend

Last week I cleaned all of the counters off in the kitchen, scrubbed them, and re-arranged them according to what I absolutely needed to store there.  Gone is the wooden spice rack that I paid $1 for, and meant to paint, but never did.  Gone, too, are the cheapie spices I bought at Big Lots - sorta. 

 I combined what was left of them with some extra salt and made a spice jar with the lid from a Parmesan cheese container.

It smells pretty good! 

Monday - Sausage and Peppers crock, rice, corn
Tuesday - Calamity Anne's  Meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans (all from freezer)
Wednesday - BBQ chicken (freezer), Tomato Basil Pasta Salad
Thursday - Mexican Pinto Bean Casserole, salad
Friday - Freezer Clean out!  Whatever is left, with maybe a loaf of hot bread
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Shredded pork tacos (crockpot), toppings, Spanish rice

I think it will work quite nicely on the Lazy Susan that I keep on the island, and the spices will actually get used.

Gina

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The sock method

By my calculations, I have purchased over 850 pairs of socks for my kids over the years.  That doesn't include the millions of baby socks, the boys' dress socks, the athletic socks, or the slipper socks.   

At the end of each Summer I take stock.  Scout and Bubbie end up getting new back to school socks, so I have a plan for the old ones.  I pull each sock basket out.

 The ones that still fit and are in reasonable shape go into a large ziploc for them to pack when they go camping.  I would rather they not take their school socks only to ruin them. So this labeled bag lives in the sock drawer with instructions and a reminder.

The way I can tell them apart in the laundry?  I write on the soles with a sharpie.  They know when putting away their own laundry that these are the ones that go in the camping socks bag.  If they get destroyed during camping, they know to toss them.  That only happens every now and then!

The new ones get their initial written on them so they can keep up with which socks belong to whom.  And now the sock drawer is all ready for back to school!

Gina

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Mealplan Monday #20 with the boys

We'd been having to brave the heat for all of our "field trips" since Scout didn't get out of summer school class until 1:45.  Consequently, we only stayed out and about a couple of hours, then home to pass out.

 We climbed to the top of Mt. Bonnell and enjoyed a picnic lunch and views.

Monday - Green Chile Enchiladas, no fat refrieds, corn
Tuesday - Pasta Bake (freezer), broccoli/cauliflower
Wednesday - Taco Salads
Thursday - Brown Sugar Chicken, carrots, brown rice
Friday - Payday - Mom will pick up pizza*
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Jude's Chicken Casserole (freezer), green beans

 *this might continue for a while on paydays!

Lately every time I point the camera at Bubbie and ask him to smile, he says "this better not end up on Facebook".  Ha!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #19 on my new cooktop!

The new cooktop arrived and Hubby spent the better part of last Saturday installing it.  5 gas burners, with a cast iron grate - we love it!

Monday - Crock pot burgers, sweet potato tots, olives and pickles

Tuesday - Tilapia/Chicken strips, mac and cheese, salad
Wednesday - Omelette Night with home fries and toast
Thursday - Sketti and meatsauce, salad, French bread and garlic butter
Friday - Teriyaki Chicken crock pot, rice
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Lentil soup, quesadillas

One of these days we will replace those counters, but I'm pretty happy with the updated cooktop!

Gina

Lazy Daisy Meatballs

Right after Hubby and I married, I petitioned my new in-laws for family recipes that would be easy enough for a beginner homebody and my shiny new SIL gave me this treasure.  I have made it for years and it's been well received by my peeps.  Easy and tasty and pretty frugal to boot!

Here's what you need:

Lazy Daisy Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef (you could also use pork or turkey)
1 t. salt
1/8 t. each ground pepper, celery salt, garlic powder
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs*
1/2 c. water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 soup can water

Mix meat, seasonings, crumbs, 1/2 c. water and onions.  Form into small meatballs.  Roll them in flour and brown them in hot oil.   Drain them and return to covered skillet.  Mix soup with  1/4 can of water and pour over meatballs.  Cover and simmer on low 30 minutes while you fix rice and a salad or veggie.

 

 Serve the meatballs over rice.

*Breadcrumbs are easy and frugal to do - this container has been refilled many times.  I save the ends of the loaf of bread, toast 'til very dry, then crush them in a big bowl, or sometimes even use the blender.  You can pre-season them, or leave them plain.

Gina

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Mealplan Monday #18 with Brownie Trifle

Summer is coming along; Firstborn has a new girlfriend and has signed up for Fall classes, The Girl is done apartment-sitting and now we get to actually see her leave in the morning and hear her come in late at night, Scout is going to Summer school so that pesky English II class can go away forever, and Bubbie is g-r-o-w-i-n-g, having gained 8 pounds since January.  In other words, nothing exciting is happening here, ha!

Monday - Chicken and sausage stew, carrots
Tuesday -Beef stir fry, ramen noodles, crab rangoon takey-outey
Wednesday - Chicken mole crock pot, flour tortillas, pico, salad
Thursday - Lazy Daisy Meatballs*, rice, peas
Friday - order pizza!
Saturday - Dad grills 
Sunday - Leftover Chicken Tater Tot Casserole from freezer, veggie
*recipe coming soon

People here love their desserts. I mean really love them.  We're kind of burnt out on ice cream, but still love chilled desserts.  Enter the Brownie Pudding Trifle in a cup!

Start with one small and one large instant pudding mixes in 2 different flavors. Cook and cool a package of fudgey brownies.  (I like the Betty Crocker ones that are less than $1 and make a 8x8 pan in about 25 minutes.)  Prepare the pudding mixes separately, then layer spoonfuls of them in a pretty glass dish with chunks of  brownie until you end up with this:

Refrigerate 'til well-chilled, then serve. 

Gina

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Tourist in our town: UT, Amy's, Terra Toys

Bubbie and I killed some time waiting on Scout one day.  We wanted to see an exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center on the UT campus.  In all my time at UT, I had never done more than walk past that building.  Its a beautiful free museum and had an exhibit about the history of the King James Bible.  First things first:  we had to eat lunch.

We parked at a garage across the street from Dobie Dorm/Mall.  They have an awesome food court with student friendly prices.  The pizza place was calling our names.

 I had a Big as Yo Face spinach calzone with homemade marinara that was yum.

 Bubbie chose pizza.  I can tell you right now that he will not be able to eat all of that in one sitting and some of it will get stashed in my purse.

 

It was an overcast day, but even so, the UT campus always impresses me.  Not quite as perfectly landscaped as Baylor, a little more intimidating than Texas State,  but there's something about all the statues and giant oaks. 

The HRC is awesome.  Investigate it here.  

They have the Guttenberg Bible and the world's first photograph.

And it is located on the southernmost edge of the campus.

 Inside, I was surprised at how interested Bubbie was - he spent a lot of time reading.

The building has a wall of windows etched with famous scenes  - one of them is that haunting photo of the migrant family during the time of the Great Depression.

We waited to hear the Westminster chimes, but for some reason, the bells never pealed.  We walked up to the Tower and looked back at the Capitol.  I remember seeing this view as a 20 year old and feeling goosebumps. 

 It had begun raining, so we headed back towards our own neck of the woods and might have stopped at Amy's on the way.

 

 I had to get the Strawberry Basil Pistachio ice cream - sounded too weirdly wonderful.  Bubbie stuck with Belgian chocolate with Oreo's and Junior Mints.

One more stop - Terra Toys.  Bubbie is too old for toys, but it was fun to get in out of the rain and just look at everything.  

Chandys in a toy store is so Austin. 

 OK, time to go pick up Scout. Ever go exploring in your own town?

Gina