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Menu Plan Monday – August 23

08/23/2010
A review of last week’s meals:

A favorite was lemon-basil pasta. It was my favorite meal during the week. My hubby enjoyed it but not as much as I did. The boys were not so keen on it but it was because it had green in it.
My hubby’s favorites were the meatball, breakfast burrito, and barbecue ham. I was nervous about making the breakfast burritos for hubby because I didn’t know if he would like them. He ended up eating two of them!

This week’s meals

Monday – Primetime meatloaf (freezer), makeover macaroni and cheese, veggie

Tuesday – sloppy joes (freezer), chips, raw veggies

Wednesday – chicken cooked in the crockpot, mashed potato, green beans (Imaginative One’s first day back at school. He requested this meal because it’s one of his favorites.)

Thursday – pork chops, peas, applesauce

Friday – chicken and rice casserole, rolls, veggies

Saturday – left-overs

For other great menus, please visit I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.
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Lemon Basil Pasta

08/22/2010
I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s website. Since I had put some lemon chicken in the freezer, I decided this would complement the chicken. The pasta dish is pure heaven. Okay, maybe not pure heaven. However, it was delicious, and the smells coming from cooking it or heating it up made me happy. In fact, I took it to work for lunch, and one of my fellow teachers complimented me on the smell of the dish. If you get a chance, make this dish and escape to happiness from the taste and smell.

Stars of the Recipe
- 1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
- ½ sticks Butter
- 3 whole Lemons, Juiced (I also used some lemon rind to add another depth of flavor.)
- ¾ cups Heavy Cream (I used heavy whipping cream.)
- ¼ cups Half-and-half
- 1-½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
- Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
- 20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped (I used basil paste in a tube. It’s all I could find. I used maybe a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half. I didn’t measure.)
Directions
1. Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain.
2. Set pasta aside in a colander.
3. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat.
4. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. (Also, use a Microplane to grate some rind.)
5. Whisk together.
6. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot.
7. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted.
8. Add salt, pepper, and basil.
9. Check consistency, adding some hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. (I didn’t need to add that much.)
10. Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the remaining basil all over the top. (I skipped this step.)
11. Serve!
This recipe is great as a side dish or eaten by itself.

For other great recipes, Potluck Sundays, Delicious Dishes, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

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Wordless Wednesday #6 Adventures of the Scary Monkey (Part 2)

08/18/2010
The family and I went to a local historical park two weeks ago. The Wee One decided to bring along his stuffed monkey. We had a lot of fun posing with the monkey at various exhibits.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This post is linked to Wordless Wednesday at “And Miles to Go Before I Sleep.”
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Menu Plan Monday – Week of August 16

08/16/2010
The students are coming. The students are coming. Monday is the first day back for students. Since I teach special education and don’t have my schedule, I don’t start working with them until at least next week. I do know who my students are, though; of the 12 I have either worked with or know 8 of them.

I’m so glad I planned a simple meal on Friday. The Wee One woke me up at 3 am because he had a bad dream. He asked me to go lay with him in his bed. I lay there until 5 am when I had to get up for work. I was beaten when I got home at 3:30 in the afternoon between that and the heat. I crashed for 2 hours. Fortunately for me, my hubby wasn’t working, so he could watch the boys. I did make pancakes which were what was on the menu for supper. It was just later than expected.

On to this week’s plan:

Sunday – Spaghetti Carbonara, Cheddar Bay biscuits, Caesar’s salad, dessert (My mother-in-law is camping with her girl scouts, so I volunteered to cook Sunday’s dinner. Two of the people were in agreement about me making spaghetti carbonara for dinner.)

Monday – lemon chicken (freezer), lemon basil pasta, veggie rolls

Tuesday – homemade pizza

Wednesday – meatball subs, chips, veggie

Thursday – breakfast burritos, hashbrowns, muffins, or biscuits

Friday – bbq ham steak, make-over mac, and cheese, veggie

Saturday – leftovers

For more great menu plans visit Menu Planning Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.
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Dirt pudding

08/15/2010
Last weekend, we went to the zoo and COSI (a science museum). For a snack at both places, the Imaginative One tried dirt pudding. He loved it because it had gummy worms, Oreos, and chocolate pudding. Since he liked it, we decided to make some for dessert tonight.

Enjoy!

Stars of the recipe:
- 1 small box of chocolate pudding (We used milk chocolate flavor.)
- 2 cups milk
- 1 – 16 oz. container of Cool Whip
- 10 to 15 Oreos
- gummy worms
Steps:
1. Following the directions on the box, make the chocolate pudding. Place in fridge to set up.
2. Place Oreos in a Ziploc bag. Crush up the Oreos. (We used a meat tenderizer.)
3. After the pudding had set up, about 10 minutes or so, fold in the Cool Whip.
4. Place a third of the crushed Oreos and a few gummy worms on the bottom of a bowl. Top with half of the pudding/Cool whip.
5. Place another third of the crushed Oreos and a few gummy worms on the pudding/Cool whip.
6. Top with the rest of the pudding/Cool whip.
7. Place the rest of the crushed Oreos on top. Place some more gummy worms or sticking out of the top.
8. Enjoy!
For more great recipes, check out Potluck Sundays and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

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Wordless Wednesday #5 Adventures of the Scary Monkey (Part 1)

08/10/2010
Last week, the family and I went to a local historical park. The Wee One decided to bring along his stuffed monkey. We had a lot of fun posing with the monkey at various exhibits.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This post has been linked to Wordless Wednesday at “And Miles to Go Before I Sleep” and At Home with Auntie E.
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Two good fruit dips

08/10/2010
I have been transferred back to the middle school for this school year. Yesterday we had our first work meeting, and I got to talk with some of my co-workers I hadn’t worked with for a few years. As I was eating my lunch, one of them mentioned a fruit dip I used to make for carry-ins. She used to take the leftovers. For my life, I couldn’t remember what fruit dip she was talking about. Later that evening, it came back to me. It’s the heavy whipped cream with pudding. It’s so easy and very delicious.

Whipped Fruit Dip

From my mother-in-law
- 1 small container of heavy whipping cream (the smallest one)
- 1 small box of instant pudding, sugar-free or sugared (My favorites are cheesecake and white chocolate for this recipe.)
1. Pour the whipping cream into a mixing bowl.
2. Open the box of pudding and pour it over the whipping cream.
3. Using a hand mixer, whip the pudding and whipping cream until it is stiff. (I usually start at the lowest and gradually move toward the highest setting.)
4. Serve.
This is especially good with strawberries or even by itself!

For the Fourth of July, I made a fruit tray for a family get-together. My mother-in-law asked me what kind of fruit dip I was going to bring for the tray. I told her that I was probably going to get Marzetti’s fruit dip and call it a day. She gave me this recipe which turned out to be delicious.

Strawberry Fruit Dip

From my mother-in-law
- 1/2 of a container of marshmallow fluff
- 1 container of soft strawberry cream cheese
1. Place the marshmallow fluff in a bowl.
2. Fold in the cream cheese until it’s well incorporated.
3. Refrigerate or serve immediately.
This has been posted on Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.
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Menu Plan Monday – August 9

08/09/2010
This is a simple menu for this week because I start back to work on Thursday.

Monday – almost famous chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, fruit salad

Tuesday – homemade corn dogs (Food Network recipe), chips, veggie

Wednesday – Bowtie lasagna, garlic bread, salad or veggie

Thursday – Chicken cordon bleu (freezer), veggie, Easy Rolls

Friday – breakfast for dinner – waffles or pancakes, bacon or sausage, fruit

Saturday – left-overs

This post has been linked to Menu Planning Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week.
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Make Over Macaroni and Cheese

08/08/2010
Last week, I was looking through Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking Magazine when I saw a recipe for makeover macaroni and cheese that used no butter. It was also very simple to make because you make a roux of milk and flour and then add Velveeta (or a similar off-brand cheese) and cheddar cheese to make a cheese sauce. You then add that cheese sauce to cooked pasta, such as elbow macaroni. The texture reminds me of Kraft’s Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese with the cheese packet instead of the powdered cheese sauce. When I served it, my hubby and the Wee One loved it. Both of them went back for seconds.

I love having this in my arsenal of simple side dishes, especially when I’m in a time crunch.

Stars of the recipe:
- 1/2 package elbow macaroni or shells
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1/2 package (16 ounces) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product cubed or similar store brand
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Steps:
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine flour and milk until smooth.
3. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
4. Stir in processed cheese and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese until smooth.
5. Drain macaroni; stir into cheese sauce.
6. Remove from the heat; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
This recipe makes 4 servings.

This post has been linked to Mommy’s Kitchen for Potluck Monday and at Colleen’s Kitchen Recipe Swap.
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Aviation Tour – Carillon Park

08/06/2010
Our final stop on the Aviation Tour was Carillon Park. I had not been to Carillon Park since I was a child. Hubby hadn’t been there in years, either. So this was a fun trip for all of us. During the first half of the park, the Imaginative One and Wee One were very interested in the buildings. However, by the time they got to the Wright Cycle building, they were complaining about fatigue from all the walking. They regained their energy after we stopped at the Culp Diner for ice cream treats. The Imaginative One had a sundae with mint chip ice cream and chocolate sauce. The Wee One tried his first root beer float, which he loved.

While there, we had fun taking pictures of Will’s scary monkey and visiting different exhibits. (Those pictures will be featured in future Wordless Wednesday posts.)

The Imaginative One’s favorite exhibit was Wilbur and Orville Wright speaking to him at the beginning of the tour.

Here are pictures of our visit to Carillon Park:

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Here are links to our other adventures on the Aviation Tour: Air Force Museum, Wright Brother’s Interpretive Center, Wright B. Flyer, and Woodland Cemetry.
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