Menu Monday

Things have been crazy here lately.  I did not feel good last week, and we had a death in our family.  These things made meal planning hard to do.  However, I am feeling better and hoping to get back into a routine on my meals this week.  I also plan on starting to look into meals for March.  If you have any suggestions, shoot them my way.  I am always up for a good recipe!

Look Back at New Things on Last Week's Menu (Week Before)

Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan Crescents - These were pretty good.  I did use two crescent rolls per chicken, because my chicken was so big.  Therefore, I had to use tubes of crescent rolls.  

Wednesday: Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin - I tried this again.  This time it turned out pretty good.  The tenderloin had a good taste without the sauce on top.  I was not a big fan of the sauce.

Thursday: Crock Pot Soup - This was really good and a great spin off of Taco Soup.  

Friday: Slow Cooker Breakfast - We actually didn't have this on Friday, because Kevin ended up fixing steaks.  We had it Saturday night, though.  It was very dry.  I will not be making this again.

This Week's Menu - 

Monday: 

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna

This spin-off of the traditional lasagna looks like it may be really good.  I am excited to try it and see how it is.  I hope it meets my expectations.

Tuesday:

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Mashed Potatoes

Peas

Rolls

I have a pork tenderloin in the freezer that I want to use up, and this looks like the perfect new recipe to try.  It is similar to others that I have made, but it has a few different ingredients.  

Wednesday:

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

I am always up for trying a crockpot meal.  This looks like it would be good with egg noodles!

Thursday: 

Leftovers

I have a feeling by this point in the week there will be plenty of leftovers to choose from in the fridge.     This will give me a night off from cooking in the kitchen.

Friday:

Weight Watchers Taco Casserole

I hope you have a blessed week!

Elizabeth

Photography - Week 5

I did not put much time in my pictures this past week, but I did get them taken.  I plan on really studying some more this coming up weekend.  We will see what I learn.

"Up Top"

Someone got "up top" the fridge!

"Story"

Story time with Dad!

Extra for the Week

I just had to share this extra picture from last week.  Someone loves bath time!

Elizabeth

Menu Monday

Thank you to everyone about your sweet comments about Menu Monday.  I will keep them going for at least February, and then we will see what comes next. :)

Look Back at New Things on Last Week's Menu

Monday: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta - My absolutely new favorite!  It was delicious!  Everyone who loves pasta, bacon, chicken, and ranch must try this!

Tuesday: Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Rice - I was not a fan.  Kevin said they were good.  However since I didn't like them, I won't be making this again.  

Wednesday: Crockpot Lasagna - Threw this in the crockpot at the last minute, because I forgot to leave the ground beef out to thaw.  However, it turned out really good.  If you want the recipe, just shoot me a message.

Friday: Ultimate Nachos - I actually didn't make this again. :(  I have everything for it, but just haven't done it.

This Week's Menu - 

Monday: 

Grilled Chicken

Salad

I absolutely love salads, and I can practically eat them all the time.  I bought a big bag of lettuce at Sam's so I will have plenty for the month.  I have Bible study this night so I needed something fast and easy.

Tuesday:

Chicken Parmesan Crescents

Side Salad

This recipe seems fairly easy and yummy.  This will allow me to use the lettuce from Monday night, too.

Wednesday:

Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin

Baked Potato

I want to retry this pork tenderloin recipe that I did last month and cooked too long.  I also need to use up two baked potatoes so this will make the perfect combination.

Thursday: 

Crock Pot Soup

I am teaching piano till 5, and I have ADK at 6.  Therefore, there won't be any time to cook anything.  

I got this recipe from a friend a few years ago, but I never tried it.  It is similar to taco soup, but it uses dry ranch dressing instead.  

Friday:

Slow Cooker Breakfast

It's Valentine's Day, and I have Parent-Teacher Conferences until 5.  I can run home during the lunch hour and put this on.  Hopefully, it will be good, and we can have leftovers for breakfast Saturday morning!

I hope you have a great week!

Elizabeth

Crazy Mode Be Gone

I am joining again on an online Bible study through Proverbs 31 Ministries.  This study is based on Lysa TerKeurst's Made to Crave book.  They are having a blog hop each week to help women join together through the process.

This week the topic I chose to write about is how my insecurities have often pushed me into crazy modes.

First, my main insecurity has always been to fail in whatever I am doing.  That includes trying to lose weight, learning something new, doing the best I can at work, and so much more.  So when I hit these insecurities, I sometimes go into a crazy mode.

Kevin (my husband) would be the first one to testify about my crazy mode.  He laughs, because he knows that if I have something big going on that I am going to stress myself out by doing everything to make it great.  He always dreads when I have something at the house.  I keep our house fairly clean all the time, but when people are coming over I want to make sure I have touched every last space of our house.  I know it's crazy.  I know our house has to be lived in, but I like for it to be clean.

I am the same way when it goes to weight loss.  When I decide that I am going to work on losing weight, I plan the extreme workouts.  I do them for awhile, but there is no way I can keep them up.

My insecurity of failing causes me to work and work.  However at some point, I always reach a breaking point in which I can't continue.  I have been praying and working on finding a balance with everything so I don't reach a breaking point, because when I reach the point I feel like a complete failure.  I know this is so not true, but this is just how it feels.  Instead of trying to do everything, I am picking a couple of areas and concentrating on being successful with them.

Can you relate?

Elizabeth

Photography - Week 4

Kevin was out of town for some of last week so I was busy keeping everything going.  However, I was able to get some pictures on Sunday when he got home.

"Chill"

There might have been a "chill" in the air, 

but Adelaide was ready to go see Tripp and Anabeth for Super Bowl Sunday!

"Busy"

Little Miss "Busy Body" took a break from her adventures 

to check out the score of the Super Bowl!

Elizabeth

Menu Monday

We made it through January!  This weekend I planned our meals out for February.  Kevin was out of town so this little cutie made her first trip out with me to the grocery store.

She actually did really good.  I only had problems when the buggy got full, and she was able to reach things from within the buggy.  Let's just say the packs of cheese got thrown on the floor and my French Bread is now in half.  However, I can't complain, because she didn't cry the entire time.

I have debated on whether to keep these posts going in February.  I decided to keep doing them, because they hold me accountable to planning ahead of time.  My shopping trip this weekend totaled less than what I spent early January.  I hope this continues.  I can actually say my fridge, freezer, and cabinets are full!

Look Back at New Things on Last Week's Menu

Monday: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti - I have grown to like this recipe.  When I first had it Monday night, I was unsure about it.  However, I was in a hurry to eat and didn't let the cheese melt in it.  I had it again as a leftover within the week, and I really liked it.  It is different that Chicken Spaghetti, because the cheese is not as strong.  It's one of those you just have to try it.

Wednesday: Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin - I have made this before so I knew I liked it.  It is really good!

Thursday: Baked Sausage and Tortellini - This is another recipe that I have had before, but I knew we liked it.  Kevin ended up going out of town so I made it for myself.  I almost decided not to cook it, in the oven but I ended up doing it anyways.  Either way is good, but I definitely think cooking it gives it a little extra.

Friday: Ultimate Nachos - Since Kevin was not home, I decided not to make this.  My fridge was already overflowing with leftovers so I knew I would not run out of things to eat.

I actually did not eat out at all for lunch or dinner this weekend.  I did meet up with my parents on Saturday for breakfast.  We made a few snacks for a Super Bowl party on Sunday night, too. :)

This Week's Menu - This week is devoted to recipes that were leftover from January. :)

Monday: 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

This looks really good and easy!  I hope it turns out to be a new favorite!

Tuesday:

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Rice

This recipe comes from 10 Easy Crockpot Freezer Meals.  I do not have enough room to do freezer meals right now, but I would love to try this one day.

Wednesday:

Crockpot Lasagna

This is a recipe that I have had for a long time.  It is really good and easy!  If you want it, let me know, and I will get you a copy of it.

Thursday: 

Leftovers

I have Bunco this night so I will be eating there, but Kevin will have a wide variety of leftovers to pick from. :)

Friday:

Ultimate Nachos

I am going to try this again this Friday night.  Maybe this time, things won't change. :)  

Here's to a great week!

Elizabeth