Throughout the years, I have learned to sit down and take the time to plan out my menus 2 weeks in advance. By doing this, I am able to do several things at once:
Make a more accurate grocery list
Save money on my grocery budget by planning meals around the sales and what is available in my own pantry
Stay on track with my personal schedule by planning Crock-Pot meals, casseroles, and more formal dinners
Eliminate the neverending question of, "What's for dinner?"
Help plan each day early in the morning, thus avoiding the loss of valuable time and the last minute rush to figure out what to cook for supper
I have had many ladies who have asked me to share my menus, and so have decided to do so here on my kitchen blog. One key thing to keep in mind is to remain flexible, however. There are always the inevitable crises and emergencies that come up and when this happens, one needs to be able to adapt quickly in all areas, including the preparation of meals. With that in mind, here are my menus for the next 2 weeks:
Chicken & Stuffing Bake, Mixed Veggies, Fruit Salad
Tuesday 2/12/08
Broccoli Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Wednesday 2/13/08
Bacon & Eggs, Grits, Home Fries, Biscuits
Thursday 2/14/08
Chili, Cornbread
Friday 2/15/08
Hot Dogs with Chili, Potato Salad
Saturday 2/16/08
Chicken & Dumplings, Salad
As you can see, I plan nights specifically for leftovers, and this helps prevent things from going to waste in my refrigerator and enables me to make full use of everything I cook. I also try to have one night per week, at least, for a meatless meal, making sure to incorporate foods with plenty of protein in other forms. I rarely serve dessert after supper, but if I choose to do so, I try to make something that is appropriate for the meal. In other words, a *heavy* meal would call for a lighter dessert (such as a fruit parfait), whereas a meal that is simpler would allow for a dessert that is a bit more intense (such as puddings or cakes).
When I had my daycare, I also planned the breakfast, lunch, and snacks for each day, not only for the reasons listed above, but also to allow my daycare parents to be aware of what their children were eating and to plan their own meals accordingly.
I hope this menu and these tips/ideas help you with your own kitchen and time organization and budgeting!
I have really been wanting to update this blog, and it feels good to finally have it done! I hope you like the changes I've made here.
Life has been a bit busy this week, and I've accomplished much. I've taken down all of my Christmas decor and packed it up and put it away nice and tidy for the next 11 months. I've purged and organized my storage room, which was sorely in need of some attention (more so than this blog was!). I've done a lot of cleaning in my kitchen, but there's more that I want to do (the term "book shelf" comes to mind!). I've also redecorated the living room (somewhat), due to the gift of a sofa and recliner.
There's plenty left to do this week....a thorough cleaning of the bathroom, writing my newsletter, and thorough cleaning and organizing of my sewing room/office. Oh, and a load of laundry waiting to be done!
It's back to school next week for me, which is why I've worked so hard here at home this week. Besides that, I always have a sense of setting things in order for the new year, and this has surely been done. I've started my new journal for the year, as well, and am filling it with scriptures, thoughts, and wonderful ideas.
I pray your new year has gotten off to a wonderful start, and continues to be filled with His Word and many blessings!
Monday morn has dawned yet again, and as is normal, it has been a busy one for me. I have had that flu going around for the last week, and thankfully, I seem to be recovering from it at last! I missed my first day back to school for Winter Quarter last Thursday due to a 102° temperature , but Praise the Lord, my fever has broke, and the aches and pains are working their way out, as well! God is so good!
I've spent the morning doing quite a bit of cleaning and blessing my home. The Christmas decor was take down and put away Saturday (after which I cheerfully went to bed!), yesterday I spent resting, and now after this morning's work, my home is once again in order and clean! Praise God! He never ceases to amaze me...giving us just what we need when we need it the most - including physical strength and energy! Hallelujah!
I will be working on cleaning my desk this afternoon, pressing my clothes for school tomorrow, and loading up my book bag with the necessary supplies for yet another quarter of college. They're calling for some snow and possibly some showers tomorrow, so I'll be sure to tuck in my trusty umbrella.
Well, off to enjoy the cup of Vanilla Chai I just fixed.....
Fall, or Autumn as many of us choose to call this beautiful season, is upon us. I think the *official* time of it's beginning is tonight sometime, but for many areas of our country, it is already here! As I've gone through this week, the temperatures have dropped, I've seen the beautiful leaves changing, and the air just has a clean & crisp feel and scent to it.
This is the time when we need to turn the focus in our homes to cozying up for the upcoming colder months. Change out the wardrobes for warmer clothing and darker colors, pull out the afghans, blankets, and quilts, and change the very essence of our home.
I like to use different scented candles this time of year, in accordance with the season. Now, my favorite candles are the Yankee Candles, but I will use others. Some wonderful scents are on the grocer's shelves, and many candlemaker's live in my area and sell their wares at the local flea markets. Candy corn, coffee scents, apple and cinnamon scents, and of course, pumpkin scents, will all help to change the atmosphere in your home.
Lovely arrangements of foliage will also enable you to change the atmosphere of your home for the Autumn season. Sturdy wicker baskets of fall leaves with their resplendent colors, potted mums in their beautiful colors, spicy potpourri, pumpkins and gourds all work for the atmosphere intended. If you have small children, you can still decorate. Some of things I did when I had my daycare were wall hangings (think along the lines of wall quilts or quilted wall hangings), a display on the top of my entertainment center with fall leaves and gourds (there are some beautiful silk leaves that fit this purpose well), a change in my tablecloth, runner, and placemats, and even changing the pattern of your favorite paper towels will all add to your home decor.
Another way to bring the fall season indoors is to have a *Cocoa/Tea Basket* kept sitting on your kitchen counter or kitchen island. You know the spot - where everyone tends to congregate when coming home. Find a pretty basket and fill it with different cocoas and teas (your family's favorites), a bit of sugar or sweetener your family uses, some swizzle sticks (honey ones are great!), and even a small tin of cookies to enjoy with your beverages. There are also some delicious cider packs at the grocer's now that add just the right amount of spice to your life!
I hope these ideas have given you a start on celebrating this lovely time of the year. The time when we slow down a bit after a busy summer of fun and play, and get back into the business of family life at home more, learning, and loving.
Well, it's that time of the year again! Spring is just around the corner ~ yes, I realize it's still cold in many parts of our country, and it is here in West Virginia, too. But rest assured, Spring WILL come soon!
I remember back when I first started setting up housekeeping (back before I realized it wasn't just housekeeping, but *homemaking* that I needed to be doing), I would get all tensed up around this time of year. You know what I mean...all the media attention given to getting your house spotlessly clean and organized, having the right cleaning chemicals for the job, the right organizers, etc. In other words, spending money you couldn't afford to throw away on things that weren't really needed if you couldn't afford them. Besides, I had 3 sons in diapers and couldn't keep up with the day-to-day chores! How was I supposed to do even more?
Then I came to the realization that my day-to-day work wasn't really a *chore* after all! It was in reality a BLESSING to me! I had been blessed with a lovely and beautiful home, and wonderful family to live in my home with me, and enough food to feed everyone. What was I complaining about?
So I began to see those piles of dirty dishes as a blessing - the chance to clean them so I could refill them with delicious, nutritious, and satisfying food for my family to eat. The dirty floors? A blessing to wash so I could watch my babies taking their first steps on them! Those dirty diapers to be laundered? A blessing that would only last until they were potty-trained! (and they make wonderful cleaning and polishing rags afterward) Those unmade beds? A blessing to remake and fluff up for my family to lay down on and get their much needed rest that night. It became an honor for me to be the one to insure that all was being done to make my home a sanctuary for my family.
But still...what about all those expensive cleaners and organizers "they" said I needed? Well, not a problem. It wasn't something that I had the money for, so I figured I could make do without them.
Now mind you, this doesn't mean I jumped right in with glee on Spring Cleaning! Oh, no! Although homemaking was now a blessing to me, I still had those moments when I just couldn't keep up. But I figured if I took it a few minutes at a time, it was better than nothing. So I started out as my children did...with baby steps. I was still holding on to the edge of something, but making progress.
I started in the room that was usually the hardest for me to keep clean ~ the kitchen! And in the kitchen, I started in a cabinet at one end and worked on it. I took everything out, washed it with plain old soap and water, put some lovely shelf paper down (in those days, my shelf paper was usually something the children had colored and had on the refrigerator door - so I cleaned off that door at the same time to make room for more of their artwork), and then put things back in nice and neat and organized. I didn't have a lot back then, so it wasn't hard to organize it, but I did what I could. I made progress. After it was all back in I cleaned the front of the cabinet nice and clean. It took me a couple of weeks to get that whole kitchen Spring Cleaned, because I only spent a few minutes a day on it. But when it was done ~ oh, my! What a true blessing that was to me! It became even more of a joy to go in there and cook, and I think I became a better cook then, as I had more encouragement from my clean surroundings.
When I saw what a joy my nice clean kitchen was, I decided to move on to the next hardest room to keep clean - the Bathroom! Yikes! That room took a few days, yes. I tossed out old medicine, makeup that wasn't used any more, old razors and bottles of stuff with just a tiny bit left in the bottom. I became ruthless with it all. But you know what? It became clean...and organized! And I didn't need to spend $$$ on fancy chemicals and organizers to get it that way!
Another thing I did through all of this was to write down what I needed to do. This probably was the start of my *list making* habit! LOL Anyone who knows me well, knows I have lists for everything I do. But this was the beginning one. I listed everything that needed to be cleaned, where I wanted to put things, how I wanted to clean everything, and when I wanted to clean it. I planned, and then planned again, and then I planned some more. I set up a schedule. I had my plan. I knew what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and what my ultimate goals were with it. And then I worked my plan. And I stuck to my plan. Even when it become an act of perseverance, I continued on with it. It took me many weeks to get my home Spring Clean that year, and then Fall came. Remembering what all I put into it that Spring, I wasn't about to let it build up again for next Spring to be just as hard. So I pulled my Plan out again, and did it all over again. It didn't take me nearly as long that time!
I kept that Spring Cleaning Plan for many years. I reworked it a few times, in keeping with the different homes I lived in as we moved. But finally, I had it so fine-tuned, I didn't feel I needed it any more. I wish I had kept it though. Because although I don't need it personally now, I have reached the age in life where I'm blessed to tutor a couple of younger ladies that are where I was back then. So I'm making the Plan all over again to share with them. And they're understanding why I do things the way I do them. Why do I clean out a drawer here and there throughout the winter? Why do I routinely go through my closets and reorganize in bits and pieces? Because this way, the task of blessing my home isn't nearly as daunting to me. And have mercy, they're beginning to be list makers, too! Oh boy!
I'm so glad you've joined me here! Welcome to my little homestead here...please, have a cup of tea with me, and let's spend a while chatting here in my kitchen.
Homemaking is such a lovely, gentle, and necessary art form. Some look upon it as work, but I choose to look upon it as a privilege and a blessing. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing the fruits of my labors, and keeping my home is definitely *instant gratification*! As you bend over and scrub that bathtub one more time, look and see how shiny and spotless it's become. The germs are all gone, and it sits patiently waiting for a loved family member to step in and wash the dirt, grime, and worries of the day away. How rewarding this is!
There are so many wonderful aspects to keeping our homes. It involves more than just cleaning, per se, it involves blessing our home. Speak words of blessing as you clean, as you prepare meals to nourish your family's bodies, as well as their spirits. Put some lovely praise worship on, and give God all of the praise and glory for having a home to clean and the strength and knowledge to do so in a pleasing manner to Him.
I will be writing more about keeping our home in a little while. I hope you've enjoyed our little visit today....I look forward to seeing you again!
This weblog will be a compilation of happening's here in my home. I will be including homemaking tips, recipes, and encouragement for the homemaker who realizes she is a God-ordained Keeper of her Home.
You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals.
, but Praise the Lord, my fever has broke, and the aches and pains are working their way out, as well! God is so good! 
