Menus 1/24/11 - 1/30/11

 Monday 1/24: Tangerine Rosemary Chicken (from the freezer), couscous, green salad.

Tuesday 1/25: Cheesy Pasta Dinner (making two, freezing the second), Italian Cheese Bread, green salad.

Wednesday 1/26: Chicken Enchilada Soup, Mexican Cornbread, green salad.

Thursday 1/27: Crunchy beef tacos (freezing extra taco filling).

Friday 1/28: Lemon Chicken (made in advance and frozen in a Ziploc) [without the rice mentioned in the recipe], Garlic Pasta, green salad.

Saturday 1/29: Beef and Bean Enchiladas, Lundberg Organic Brown Rice - Spanish-style.

Sunday 1/30: Breakfast for Dinner - Sausage Breakfast Muffins (freezing extras), eggs, potatoes.

A note about veggies: You don't see a lot of fruit/vegetable sides listed on the menu plan. We DO eat green salad almost every night (and usually at lunchtime as well), and the salads are topped with a variety of raw vegetables. We also have fruits/vegetables as sides pretty regularly, but they tend to be mostly un-planned - that is, they consist of whatever we have received in our produce co-op box that week (if we ordered one), or whatever looked good/is in season/was inexpensive when we did our weekly produce/perishables grocery run.  But since I plan the menus a month in advance and prepare the blog posts in advance as well, the fruits/vegetables generally don't make it into the post.

All the best menu plans are posted at www.orgjunkie.com!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Six Word Saturday 1/22/11

Library, chores, apple pie, dinner guests!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe Review: Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup

Nooooooo, that's NOT a picture of Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup! Hahahaha! It IS a picutre of the breakfast I made for Mr. Mamie on the day we had the soup. Of COURSE I didn't manage to get a soup picture.  But see, Mr. Mamie was sick all last week with a HIDEOUS respiratory infection that gave him a terrible sore throat. Hence, the vitamin C-loaded breakfast and the soup for dinner along with a whole lotta lemon-honey tea and other special attention.

 I have made Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup at least once a month for the last year. We LOVE this soup.  The combination of turkey (or chicken), cumin, diced green chilies, vegetables, cheese, creamy sauce.... YUM!

This soup is very easy to pull together using cooked turkey or chicken from the freezer. There is a bit of chopping involved with the veggies, but it really isn't much. If you're planning ahead you can chop some extra onion, celery, and carrot on another night and save them for soup night. I always double or triple the carrot and celery, by the way.  I've made this with both jack and cheddar cheese, and with fresh, frozen, and canned corn. ANY option works!

I served this in bread bowls one evening a few months ago, and Niece just flipped - she's been asking for bread bowls again ever since.

Try this soup soon - you'll love it!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 1/19/11

 Cute flannel sheets... essential!

(Mr. Mamie turns the bed down for us every night - how awesome is that?!)

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe Review: Western Casserole

Here are the pantry staples used to make Western Casserole:

 

The recipe also called for Minute Rice, which I don't typically have, but I subbed regular white rice and it turned out fine. I think you could also use brown rice, though you might need to bake the casserole a bit longer to make sure that the rice is fully cooked.

We liked this casserole a lot. The beans and rice were a nice change from the casserole staple of pasta, and the dish had a good southwest flavor.  I used two pounds of ground beef and doubled the other ingredients (as pictured above) in order to have extra for the freezer. I was able to make three 8" x 8" casseroles, which gave us a meal for the night this was scheduled plus TWO additional dinners to stash in the freezer - awesome!

We enjoyed this casserole, and found the meat/beans/rice combo to be hearty and filling.  It held up well in my lunch at school the next day. This is on my "recommended" list for freezer cooking - enjoy!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Menus 1/17/11 - 1/23/11

Monday 1/17: No school today, so I can make things that require a little extra preparation -  Mom's Stuffed Bell Peppers (using ground turkey), Rosemary Focaccia, green salad.

Tuesday 1/18: Taco Mac, Buttery Breadsticks, green salad.

Wednesday 1/19: Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup, Grammie Rolls (from the freezer), green salad.

Thursday 1/20: Curry Glazed Chicken (prepared in advance and frozen in a Ziploc), Curry Couscous (Near East brand box mix), green salad.

Friday 1/21: Navajo Tacos.

Saturday 1/22: Chicken Pasta Casserole (making two - freezing the second), green salad.

Sunday 1/23: Breakfast for Dinner - French Toast Sticks (making extra for the freezer), Bacon and Onion Pan-Fried Potatoes.

A note about veggies: You don't see a lot of fruit/vegetable sides listed on the menu plan. We DO eat green salad almost every night (and usually at lunchtime as well), and the salads are topped with a variety of raw vegetables. We also have fruits/vegetables as sides pretty regularly, but they tend to be mostly un-planned - that is, they consist of whatever we have received in our produce co-op box that week (if we ordered one), or whatever looked good/is in season/was inexpensive when we did our weekly produce/perishables grocery run.  But since I plan the menus a month in advance and prepare the blog posts in advance as well, the fruits/vegetables generally don't make it into the post.

Need more ideas? Check out all the menu plans at www.orgjunkie.com!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

More Sunrise

Another sunrise series, from January 11, 2011. All taken looking over our back fence toward the southeast. That large, triangular thing is a volcano, by the way.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Six Word Saturday 1/15/11

Holiday weekend, friends visiting, fun planned!

 (This is where the fun will be had.)

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

This week in first grade: 1/10 - 1/14, 2011

Here's what was happening this week in our first grade classroom:

There's still quite a bit of snow in the surroundings, which we can see when out at recess.

 Looking to the east. See the snow?

 Facing northeast, snow in the distance.

 Looking toward the northwest.

 Icy crud embedded in the wood chips on the playground. At least it's not like a skating rink anymore, the way it was at the beginning of the week.

 Oh, how we like to play chase games!

 Banging a frozen chunk of wood chips against the play structure.

Wow, look at that!

 Jumping on the bridge part of the play structure.

We did some problem-solving activities this week.

 These are the steps and procedure we used.

 We solved some together on the SMARTBoard, with me modeling the procedure.

 

Our finished work was hung in the hallway in our "STAR Gallery!"

During Morning Message this week we practiced contractions, and also did some mini-data charts.

 

Bar graph: "Do you like to eat fish?"

 Tally chart: "Do you like to sing?"

We also worked with data in larger formats.

 Venn diagram about winter fun activities (no, I can't draw a decent circle to save my life!).

 Inside-outside circle (or single Venn diagram) - "Do you like oatmeal?"

A picture of a balance scale activity - "Do you like apples?"

 

We made paper fish, stuffed them with pattern blocks, and weighed them.  Then we made a bar graph showing the results.

 The end of the week...

 Friday is spelling test day!

 

One of the content rotation studies  this month is about dental health. There was a little poster contest and the winners are on display for all to see!

 Our new behavior clip chart.

 Next week's spelling and sight words, all ready for Tuesday.

 The reading pocket chart is ready, too.

So is the schedule... except I just realized that this is our Monday schedule (with P.E.), and we don't go to school on Monday! Gotta change that first thing on Tuesday.

Hope your week was a great as ours!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Happy Feet Friday 1-14-11

Yay, it's the Friday before a three-day weekend! And we have fun friends coming to visit for a day at Zion! And I only have to give ONE spelling test today (review week - everyone had the same oft-missed high frequency words)! And we're having enchiladas for dinner! And the antibiotics are starting to work and Mr. Mamie is finally starting to feel a tiny bit better after fighting with a hideous upper-respiratory infection! With all that goodness, my feet are VERY happy today!

First, we got some nice stripe-y socks:

 

And then some super-comfy Nikes, 'cause I'm sticking to my resolution of only wearing  super-comfy shoes to school:

Hope your Friday WAS great - that's WAS because I started this post before school this morning, got distracted while the photos loaded, and realized as I was driving home AFTER school tat I never finished and posted.... hahahahahahaha!!!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Frugal Fix

I've had the same re-usable hot drink mug for 7 years, and it's gets near-daily use. It's a double-walled, vacuum-insulated stainless mug made by Contigo and sold by St*rbucks (well, sold by St*rbucks in 2003, which is when I bought it). THIS is the model sold on Amazon. Mine is an older model with a metal pull-ring for the drink opening, which is very sturdy. We bought one for Mr. Mamie and the pull-ring, which is now plastic, broke in less than a year. Bummer. It keeps drinks hot for HOURS, the lid doesn't leak, and the handle has build in carabiner for attaching to your backpack.

Imagine my dismay  when it started leaking from the bottom! I'm not sure what caused it - perhaps simply age, the occasional run through the dishwasher, the occasional drop on a hard tile floor/asphalt of the playground/giant rock at Zion... anyway, it was tragic.

But then, Mr. Mamie glued it. Just a line across the area that seemed to be leaky. And now it's perfect again! I still have MY mug, and didn't have to pay $29.99 to replace it.

Boo-boo all better!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 1/12/11

The tree stands alone.

Zion, 1-1-11

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Book Tease Tuesday 1/11/11

Who else will I fail to save from the Capitol's vengeance? Who else will be dead if I don't satisfy President Snow?

~ Page 42, Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

YES! I'm finally getting to read it! I wouldn't pay for the hardback, and I've been reading other things when hanging out in Barnsie lately. But my request copy just became available from the library, yippee!

Wanna play?

The rules are:

    •    Grab your current read
    •    Open to a random page
    •    Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
    •    BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
    •    Share the title and author, too.

Head over to "Should Be Reading" on Tuesdays for some more book teases!


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Kitchen Tip Tuesday 1/11/11

I print most of my recipes from the internet. They get put into clear plastic sheet protectors and then stored in binders according to type ("Beef," "Soups and Stews," "Cookies," etc.).  Yes, it would be great if I just kept them all on the computer, but I like to be able to browse my binders for ideas, so whatever!

When I am using a recipe from one of the binders, I like to have it right in front of my face. This is where the KITCHEN TIP finally comes in: I use a plastic paper stand designed for computer work as my recipe holder. I can actually have several pages in their sheet protectors stacked on the stand at once (handy for freezer cooking days or for a dinner that's using several recipes), with the recipe in use at the top. This keeps the recipe page from getting lost in the kitchen or spilled on, and for times when I'm making multiple items, all the recipes are in one place.

Plastic stands are available from The Walmartz, Tar-jay, office stores, etc. and aren't very expensive. Of course, being a perpetual student AND an elementary teacher, I happened to have a few around the house. I simply appropriated one and re-purposed it for kitchen use.


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe Review: Ranch Macaroni and Cheese

There are sooooooo many good macaroni and cheese recipes out there on the interwebz, in cookbooks, in people's ratty-but-loved recipe files... how do you pick one to make? We've certainly tried our fair share, and most of them have something special to draw you in, depending on your mood: Gourmet? There are lots of recipes for mac and cheese made with smoked Gouda and other fancy cheeses. Want an ethnic take on an American classic? You can find mac and cheese that mimics or complements almost any cuisine.

And then there's Ranch Macaroni and Cheese.   Now THAT'S American - macaroni and cheese meets ranch dressing, what could be better? Not much, as it turns out!

Maybe it sounds weird to you, maybe you avoid processed ranch dressing mix (the powdered stuff), maybe you're in the smoked Gouda crowd. But I'm telling you, this is GOOD! The combination of the ranch dressing mix, garlic, lemon pepper, and sour cream give this dish a tang and a depth that is amazingly delicious. It's easy too, as there is no baking time - you make the sauce while the pasta is boiling and then stir it all together. Really, not much harder than the scary orange stuff from the blue box, but sooooooo much yummier!

I've made this twice, and the second time it wasn't even on our menu plan - I was just CRAVING it! The recipe makes plenty to serve as a pasta side to protein and veggies at dinner with a good amount left over for lunches the next day (or two). The first time I made this Niece and Nephew happily ate the previous night's leftovers with hot dogs at lunch, so it's clearly kid-friendly as well. 

Try this, it'll make you go "nom nom nom!"

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)