monday meal plan

MONDAY
Breakfast: yogurt and granola
Lunch: French dip sandwiches, veggies for dipping
Dinner: farfalle with zucchini and chicken, salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs in a nest
Lunch: soup, veggies for dipping
Dinner: out

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: chicken nuggets, fruit, veggies
Dinner: BBQ meatballs and spaghetti, broccoli

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: granola and yogurt
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: cheesy brown rice and bean casserole, salad

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: muffins, smoothies
Lunch: beans and cornbread
Dinner: playgroup potluck

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: baked oatmeal
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: pumpkin spice waffles, sausage, homemade applesauce

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: waffles
Lunch: sandwiches, veggies for dipping
Dinner: loaded baked potato soup, veggies and fruit

Extras:
Zucchini brownies, French breakfast muffins, cornbread

moderation, shmoderation

I made a pan of pumpkin bars to bring to our morning MOMS Club play date...everyone asked for the recipe, so here it is! I frosted mine with cream cheese frosting, but you could also just dust them with powdered sugar.

Classic Pumpkin Bars

2 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

4 eggs

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

1 2/3 c sugar

1 c cooking oil

¾ c chopped pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Pecan Halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil with an electric mixer until combined. Add the flour mixture; beat until well combined. If desired, stir in chopped pecans. Spread batter in an ungreased 15x10x1 inch pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Frost. Cut into squares. Cover and refrigerate to store.

***you could certainly substitute unsweetened applesauce for the oil and half of the sugar. It changes the texture ever so slightly, but not enough to really matter***

wordless wednesday

yep, those bears are her audience. I thought maybe they were supposed to be stage lights.

meal plan monday

MONDAY
Breakfast: zucchini bread, yogurt, fruit
Lunch: leftover soup, sandwiches
Dinner: Israeli couscous with basil roasted eggplant

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: sandwiches
Dinner: creamy crescent casserole, salad

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: tuna melts
Dinner: veggie quesadillas, black beans and rice

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: granola and yogurt
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: white chicken chili, cornbread, veggies for dipping

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: muffins, smoothies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: steaks, roasted potatoes, gorgonzola sauce, salad

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: baked oatmeal
Lunch: out
Dinner: leftovers

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: waffles
Lunch: pita pizzas, fruit
Dinner leftovers: pepperoncini beef sandwiches, veggies for dipping

Extras:
Applesauce oatmeal muffins, pumpkin bread, granola

there will be days like this...

is it fall yet??

Well, I'm pretending that it is!

Our fantasy football draft is Saturday night (here's hoping that we fight less this year!), the first Ducks game is tomorrow, and we're meeting some friends to go apple picking next week. I love fall. I love red and orange leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, apples, pies, casseroles, stews, football, baseball, tailgates, hot chocolate, and crisp, sunny days.

Tonight my book club is meeting (we read Julie and Julia. Yes, I saw the movie, and the book is different. But the blog is the best!), so I made Julia Child's Tarte Tatin to bring with me. YUM. Well, how can it not be yummy with 2 sticks of butter and crisp fall apples? I made a pate brisee and then quartered my apples, let them boil with butter and sugar for about 20 minutes, and then baked the whole thing together. I'm not going to put the recipe here because it's lengthy, but it's in The Way to Cook. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy! The best pumpkin pie recipe in the whole world also resides in that book (and bonus: it makes two pies!). Yum. Yum. Butter.

Apples, sugar, and butter all swimming together in perfect harmony:

Holy caramelized goodness...

I think I'll be going for a nice long jog in the morning...

reason #156 why I like homeschooling

Mama/daughter embroidery time!

Today Ava finished her first project. I drew a simple shape on some muslin, gave her a blunt needle and some floss, and let her go to town. It helped that I was working on my own project so she watched me stitch and then copied what I was doing. This is such a fun, inexpensive activity to do with kids. I found a great idea in Amanda Blake Soule's new book to make bookmarks out of children's artwork that has been embroidered. I can't wait to try that out!


I hung Ava's finished embroidery in her room. She's so proud of her handiwork, and I'm so proud of her!