Six Weeks of Dinner Menu Ideas

Several months ago my dad shared his frustration with that problem called, "What to have for dinner". (or supper as it's called where I grew up) He said he now understands why mom would come home from work and say, "What you would you like for supper?" That's half the battle right there! So I told him that I would sit down and hammer out some menus using a lot of mom's old standby's. So Dad, here's a series of six weeks worth of menus that I kept track of over the summer. Some of them aren't mom's but most of them are or are a spin-off. If there are any recipes that you'd like just let me know.

Week One

Monday - Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Green Beans
Tuesday - Enchiladas, Tossed Salad
Wednesday - Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni and Cheese, Lima Beans
Thursday- Baked fish, Baked  Sweet Potatoe with Cinnamon Butter, Peas, Applesauce
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday -  Philly Steak sandwiches, French Fries
Sunday - Baked Chicken (cornflakes/rice crispies), Sweet Potato Fries, Corn, Jello salad

Week Two

Monday - Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday - Marinated Grilled Chicken (Italian Dressing), Noodles, Squash, Applesauce

Wednesday -  Tacos

Thursday - Grilled Salmon, Seasoned Rice, Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Gorgonzola Cheese and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - BBQ Grilled Chicken, Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Broccoli

Sunday - Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Green Bean Casserole, Deviled Eggs

Week Three

Monday - Sloppy Joes, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans and Kidney beans dressed with milk and butter

Tuesday -  Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice

Wednesday - Hamburg Gravy and Mashed Potatoes, Cracker Barrel Green Beans

Thursday -  Ziti, Garlic Bread, Peas

Friday- Pizza Night

Saturday - Grilled Fish, Parsley Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Applesauce

Sunday -  Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Carrots, Green Beans, Corn, Orange Jello Salad

Week Four

Monday - Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Baked Apples

Tuesday - BBQ Grilled Pork Chops, Mrs. Z's Rice, Stir Fried Green Beans

Wednesday - Beef Sandwiches, Potato Chips

Thursday - Salmon Cakes, Stewed Tomatoes, Baked Potatoes, Peas

Friday -  Pizza Night

Saturday - Hamburgers

Sunday -  Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Filling, Corn, Green Jello Salad

Week Five

Monday - Goulash, potato wedges, Lima Beans/Brussel Sprouts

Tuesday -  Taco Salads

Wednesday - Chinese chicken, rice, eggs and mushrooms

Thursday - Hamburger, green bean, potato and carrot packets - baked corn

Friday - Pizza night

Saturday - Grilled Cheese and soup night

Sunday -  Poor Man's Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole, Orange Jello Salad

Week Six

Monday - Stuffed peppers, Sweet Potato Fries, Applesauce

Tuesday - Creamed chipped beef gravy over biscuits, roasted asparagus

Wednesday -  Reuben Sandwiches, Potato chips

Thursday - Salmon soup, oyster crackers, Salad

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - Breakfast for supper 

Sunday -  Ham, Hashbrown Casserole, Candied Carrots, Cauliflower, Seven Layer Salad

In the freezer I try to keep a batch of frozen Vegetable Soup, Broccoli Soup, Ham and Green Bean Soup, White Chili and Regular Chili in addition to some casseroles in case some of these fall through. It also gives me a stash to run to when someone else might have need. 

Wrapping up summer

Now that summer is winding down, I'm getting my kitchen window sills back!

We harvested the apples last week and they were beautiful and delicious. I'm very impressed with the size and quantity on just a three year tree.

Earlier in the summer I redid the ironing room painting it a light tan and putting up a picture and one of my favorite scripture verses.

The jury is still out from what I might do with this Stella Cherry Tree. Last year I posted about it's weirdness and after some research I lopped the entire thing off at 5 feet tall. This year it started branching out really nice and then the deer came up and ate almost all the branches off from 2 feet - 4 feet. So once again it looks very lopsided! I may just whack it off at 5 feet again this year and see what happens. Cherry trees have to be pruned vigorously but as of yet, I'm not sure I've been doing it correctly - we've not had any fruit off of it - not even a blossom. After the deer ate the bottom branches off the boys thought it looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

New Look

Several months ago I tackled redecorating our guest room. Two and a half years ago I used a small fund to get this room ready for my dad and mom who were coming for Allan's kindergarten graduation. We purchased furniture, bedspread, curtains, lamp, etc. and it worked for the time being. But the quality of things I purchased was very poor and so very quickly the comforter started bunching, threads came out, and the curtains faded until they looked horrible. This was what it looked like then:

We didn't know that this would be the last time my mom would be visiting us and that visit doesn't have very good memories attached. (I had just come through surgery, after the graduation party we all got food poisoning - except my mom- and this was when she had just started with the infection in her legs). Several months later I would spend weeks in this room going through drug withdraw and watch little green men riding purple butterflies down the wall. So many painful memories that just made this room very uninviting. I wanted it to have a light, airy, restful feel to it.

In September Philip went away for a few days and I decided to tackle the project (this allows me to have the house torn apart but not have to put it back together right away) and the end result was what I was looking for. There is a very hilarious story that happened during the dismantling process that perhaps I'll write up someday - but hopefully Gail and Denise Harmon will come back and see the final result sometimes!

 I wanted the scripture art to reflect some of the lessons that I learned in this room and so chose John 14:27.

For those who are interested in the specific specs:
Paint color: Sherwin Williams Aviary Blue (Colors go on darker than the swatch - if I had it to do over again, I'd go one or two steps lighter)
Bedspread - Overstock.com
Shelf - Target
Accessories - Hobby Lobby
Faux Wood Blinds - Select Blinds.com
Wreath - Expressions Catalog
Wall Mural - LTL Prints
Scripture Wall Art - there are a lot of places that do this -  I have a friend who did it for us. 

I watched sales on these items for about 5 months. The mural was from a Groupon I used, I watched for B1G1 80% on the blinds, and kept an eye for the other things to go on sale or run a free shipping deal. And I also used a coupon for the paint at Sherwin Williams. They often run very good sales on their paint. The lamp shade and shelf were purchased at Target with a gift card I got by filling out a survey. If you're willing to wait awhile, there are usually great deals to be had. At Hobby Lobby I had to go several different times with several different coupons but the result was very little out of pocket. Oh, and the seashells on the tray around the candles were from my mother-in-laws treasures gathered over her years of living by the ocean.

"Write them on the door posts and on the gates"

Deuteronomy 6:9 says, "Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (NIV).

A plaque given to us last year for Christmas

Several years ago when Philip and I began thinking of concrete ways of implementing Deut 6: 7-9 we starting trying to find ways to implement the principles found in verse 9. Traditionally in Jewish culture,  a mezuzah accomplishes this command. The idea is that scripture is to be used in the home in such a way as to bring to mind and aid in the memorization of Scripture. With the explosion of vinyl wall art this is becoming much easier!

Taken from Deut 6 this is right above the main staircase (we live in a second and third floor apt) done in vinyl. It's not finished yet -I'd like to somehow make it look like it's in a large picture frame but still uncertain of how I want to accomplish this to make it more attractive. This is what everyone sees when they are sitting in our living room.

Several years ago we went to the P.Graham Dunn studio here in Ohio and visited their "second hand" section. These were relatively inexpensive.

These are at the bottom of the landing between second and third floors.

The plaques are of Psalm 37:4 and Phil 4:4. I purchased the frames at Walmart and took some mark-down fabric scraps to make the background and match the color scheme for this area.

This plaque of Deut. 6 was also from P. Graham Dunn and placed in a frame  over the main bathroom sink. This protects the wood from getting wet  and the boys can see it every time they wash their hands and brush their  teeth.

Home Interiors used to carry some Scripture decorations (though I've not checked recently). I purchased this heart with Matthew 5:8 above my kitchen sink. The notecards are my memory verses that I'm currently working on - I can wash dishes and work on memorizing them at the same time.

More recently, Philip has begun saying the Hebrew blessing over our family in the mornings after breakfast. When he's done we respond with this verse that I just printed from Word,  put in a frame and placed on the hutch (china cabinet).

In the upstairs bathroom we have 1 John 1:5 above a Thomas Kincaid picture.

This hangs above my ironing board as I'm working (given to me by my brother, Jonathan Slagenweit).

Our goal has been:

1. Keep scripture in front of them that will remind them of principle truths of God's Word.
2. Make it attractive - I'll have to admit when Philip first mentioned implementing this principle (I'm ashamed to admit it!) I thought, "How tacky! It's going to ruin my whole decorating style!" What I learned is - "my style" isn't as important as  A. following the commands of Scripture and B. doing what is going to impact my children for good and eternity. This was before wall art and doing a Google search on "Scripture wall art" produced a million results!
3. Stay within the budget! There are lots of creative ideas for implementing this principle using just a computer and a pretty frame. 

If you're needing some more ideas you might be able to find some at Doorposts (which is a favorite resource of mine!) since they're running a contest with this theme of implementing Scripture into our homes. I'm anxious to see some more ideas that might work for our family.

How do you implement Deut 6:9? I'd love to hear/see your ideas!

Finished

In November I finished the wall grouping when we had Stephen's first picture taken. I love this wall!

Thursday

Today was the day to finish the processing of the cinnamon pickles so they were canned and they made 11 pint jars. Allan ate almost one whole one himself and then we took some to the Brown's Friday night so I don't think they'll last long. Thursday morning I had some business to take care of so the boys and I did some running around and then went to WalMart. Alex took his nap here and I caught up on some housework that I'd been neglecting.





 Oh, it's been a long process but I'm still trying to get pictures on the walls and curtains hung. The sway I got on e-bay arrived today so I did a grouping at the bottom of the stairs leading to third floor using some of my P. Graham Dunn pieces. It turned out nice (much nicer than the pictures!)

Happenings

It has been a whirlwind month at the Brown residence. The short news is: 1. Philip has completed the RHB (Reader's Hebrew Bible) dubbed "The Project" by Allan. YEA!!! It's in China waiting to be printed and should be released next spring. This allows for some extra family time which we have all loved.

2. Daniel has 4 teeth, seasonal allergies, double ear infection, and we're weaning him off the bottle - not an overly happy camper but it will get better.
 
A cake done for a church's pastor appreciation.
3. Allan has been enjoying the fall leaves, campfires, poking dragons (this one I don't totally understand), and taking advantage of the last few warm days to play in the sandbox.
4. I've been trying to keep the normal working machinery of a home working smoothly while starting fall housecleaning and canning some apple pie filling. Throw in GBS Homecoming, revival, Pastor Appreciation, Dr.'s appointments, the never ending laundry pile and you have very full days! But we love the fall and are starting to think about Christmas...Philip even suggested that we start playing some Christmas music. That was a surprise! (he's the one who slept until 8:00 the morning of our first Christmas! Never in my life had a met someone who slept in CHRISTMAS morning.) I think perhaps I'm having a good influence on him :o) Have a great week!

For my sister Jennifer Part 2

How could I have forgotten?! My "ducky" bathroom which my wonderful husband has said he will allow until the boys get older and then the ducks have to go. Until then they make me smile :o

For my sister Jennifer

This is Daniel's section of the room. The door at the head of his bed leads into the stairwell.


















The little niche where I put the changing table.
















The kitchen - my favorite part of the house! I love my cupboards and dishwasher. Bless the GBS maintenance team!












And Allan's corner...I'll try to get more pictures later but this gives you a little idea of what our little spot looks like.