Category: Recipes

{Menu Plan Monday} Back in the Swing & Hello Mornings

{Menu Plan Monday} Back in the Swing & Hello Mornings

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

I’ve had a couple days of glorious alone time while Keith and Brooke took a Daddy/Daughter road trip to Michigan to visit family and go to Brooke’s first Tigers game!!

It was 2 days of doing whatever I wanted…breakfast while watching Saturday morning Food Network, caught up on episodes of Parenthood and Private Practice, spent Sunday morning serving with the church children’s ministry, fpKids. I watched movies that Keith would never want to watch with me!! Sidenote – Being Elmo was AMAZEBALLS! I am totally inspired by him!!

But its Sunday night and while my cuties are enjoying the last night of their trip, I’m giving in to the fact that real life starts again tomorrow. And as I’ve said before, one of the best ways for the workweek to feel less chaotic is to have a menu plan ready.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this one doesn’t completely change as the week goes on but its a starting point.

Monday: Crockpot Chicken & Rice ( a pinterest find)
Tuesday: Panini Night has been a good fit for Gymnastics nights so far
Wednesday: Beans n’ Rice Burritos
Thursday: Taco Night
Friday: Leaving this open
Saturday/Sunday: I think we have a party at Keith’s boss’ house one of these nights, the other night will be Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole.

I’m also trying to gain a little more control over my time and not always feel like either a chicken with my head cut off, a failure or both.

So I’ve accepted the Hello Mornings challenge for Fall.

HelloMornings
The basic premise for Hello Mornings is that you “wake up FOR your kids, not BY your kids”. Its really just about getting all your ducks in a row and taking care of you before the focus shifts to everyone else. For some, this time will be for bible study, exercise, or planning ahead for their day. While you don’t HAVE to participate, there is a Bible study offered with which everyone can follow along. For this challenge, the study is Kept: Secure in His Hands Whatever I Face (A “Quench” Bible Study)

For me, I plan to use this time to do the group Bible study and when classes start again, I will use this as study time as well.

One important part of this challenge is accountability. So teams are created and we will encourage each other and share what we are experiencing and learning throughout the challenge. We update on Twitter or Facebook and can also use Instagram to connect with other participants using the #hellomornings hashtag.

I’m really looking forward to this and it will be a challenge because getting up an earlier than I HAVE to is not my strong suit. Wish me luck!!!

Do you get up before your family? What kind of things do you try to accomplish before everyone is up?

{Menu Plan Monday} Taming the Chaos

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

Menu Plan Monday
Last week was pretty insane for me and I have vowed to do what I can to make nights a little easier for me. So I’m back to menu planning!! I’m hopeful that having a menu in mind and knowing that I have all the ingredients I need in the kitchen will bring the stress level down at 5:00 when I have schoolwork, Brooke’s new gymnastics class (!) and the gym on the agenda after dinner.

This week:

Monday: Crack Burgers (via Plain Chicken)
Tuesday: First Gymnastics Class – thinking a little snacky dinner before and another snack after
Wednesday: Meatballs over Noodles (via allrecipes)
Thursday: Taco Night!!!
Friday: Crockpot Lemon Chicken (again Plain Chicken)

Hopefully a little prior planning and prep will lead to a smoother week!!

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

If you’re taming the chaos that comes at back to school time, be sure to get your Back to School Boost for Moms eBook bundle. It’s only available until 8/8!!!

Macaroni & Cheese

Posted on by Sarah Marshall


For a long time, I thought being a working mom meant I had to rely on convenience foods. I remember when I was first back to work from maternity leave, Keith and I had chicken patty sandwiches probably 5 nights a week. I shudder now thinking about those little pucks of chicken mush…

As I become a more avid blog reader, I found sites like Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, Good Cheap Eats, Pioneer Woman and realized that it wasn’t *THAT* hard to make things from scratch. One of the first meals I wanted to master was macaroni and cheese. This recipe is adapted from a Kraft recipe that used Velveeta. I’m not a huge fan of Velveeta so I started by shredding up cheese and swapping that for the Velveeta. From there, the recipe evolved into this!

Macaroni & Cheese

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup flour I use whole wheat
  • 1 cup milk I use coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder we like garlic so you might adjust this
  • 8 oz shredded cheese
  • 2 cups elbow macaroni

Instructions
 

  • Cook macaroni according to the package.
  • Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook 2 min., stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add garlic powder. Add shredded cheese; cook 3 min. or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in macaroni.
Enjoy!!