Meals, Aug 23-27

Sorry, I'm a little late with the menu for the week. The Louder household was busy this weekend enjoying the last moments of summer break and preparing for the first day of school. Shane left town yesterday afternoon so the girls and I relaxed around the house and did girly things like polish nails and put Landry's hair in rollers for today.

I used my lunch today to grocery shop for the week. Here is the plan:

Monday, 8/23: Pulled pork roast in the crock pot. (If you aren't using a crock pot you are missing out on super easy meals, ready when you get home!)
SUPER easy! McCormick's seasoning in a package for pulled pork. Add 1/2 C catchup, 1/2 C brown sugar and 1/3 C apple cider vinegar and pour over meat. Cook on low 8 hrs or high 4 hours.

Tuesday, 8/24: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, broccoli, garlic bread
Boil or grill chicken breast(You could buy Tyson Chicken already cooked) Boil fettuccine pasta, drain. Pour jar of fettuccine sauce over noodles and add chopped chicken.

Wednesday, 8/25: Beef and Bean Chalupas with Spanish rice
Buy chalupa shells. 1 can of refried beans spread over shells. Brown ground beef, I use Elk..it's what we have! Season with taco seasoning. Spread meat over beans, add shredded cheese. Put in 350 oven for about 10-15 minutes to heat beans and melt cheese. Cut up tomatoes and lettuce to top.
I use Spanish rice from a package.

Thursday, 8/26: Chicken Surprise Casserole, corn, fruit salad
Chicken Breasts with a can of Cream of Celery Soup(Reduced Fat) poured over it. Crush 1 sleeve Ritz crackers over. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Friday, 8/27: We are going out to eat to celebrate a successful 1st week of school!

Dinner 8/17 and beyond! Crazy week!

So it is the week before school starts and we are super busy this week with meet the teacher nights at both schools and starting back to swim practice. Tonight we have Landry first swim practice of the season from 5-6 and Reese's open house at pre school at 6:30. Hum, wonder what we will eat?

I honestly think tonight will either be a quick sandwich that I can shove down their throats in the car or possibly Taco Tuesday at Rosa's!! For those who do not live in West Texas, I am sorry for you! Rosa's is yummy, fast food style Mexican food that DOES NOT taste fast. On Tuesdays you can get a taco plate with rice and beans for $3.69. You can beef or chicken, soft or crispy. Yummo!

Wednesday will be a crock pot night as I have to go to San Angelo for work. I will post that recipes this evening after I see what is in the freezer.

Thursday is Meet the Teacher night at Landry's school. I am helping set up from 4:30-5:30 and actual event is from 5:30-7:00. Ugh! I really don't want to eat out this night, something quick like soup, salad and sandwich???

Friday we are having a neighborhood fish fry with our super, awesome neighbors! Oh what fun!! I promise the menu for next week will be more complete and normal next week when school starts back and we have met everyone and figured out school.

I cannot believe Landry will be in 4th grade! That sounds so old! Reese in Pre school will be interesting. I told her last night to not get any older. She said, "O.k, go ahead and cancel my birthday". Oh if I only could!

Dinner-8/16

So I don't have time this morning to post an entire week but I thought I'd at least post what we are having tonight. It sounded very summer like.

Cheesy Chicken With Tomatoes and Sunflower Seeds
　
5 Points Per Serving

1 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds, shelled
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 14-1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
4 oz reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded


1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Place the sunflower seeds in a small pan and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Watch carefully because they burn easily. 2. Place chicken in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish, sprinkle with lemon juice, pepper and salt. Cover and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 170º F and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and pour off any excess liquid. 3. Spoon the tomatoes over the chicken. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and the cheese. Increase the oven temperature to broil and place the dish under the broiler for about 1 minute or just until the cheese melts. Do not brown.
Makes 4 servings.

I found this on a Weight Watchers message board and it fit my dinner criteria. It needs to be done in an hour or less start to finish. Secondly, it must not have ingredients I have never heard of or that I have to buy for a one time use.
I'll probably serve it with a can of pinto beans and some fresh okra and tomatoes that I will boil together. (A summertime favorite thanks to our friends with gardens!)


Enjoy!

new idea, what do you think??

So I'm thinking that I may start posting a weekly menu for dinners. I tend to plan 2 weeks in advance. I cook dinner at least 4 nights a week and continually have friends ask how I manage it and what do I cook?

I wonder if anyone will read it? Will anyone care? I think I'll try it starting the week school starts, Aug 23. A Sunday post with recipes? Let's see what happens......

10 years!

Just as you read this pretend it is June 10, 2010...Today, Shane and I have been married 10 years! Some times it seem like FOREVER!!!! and other times I cannot believe how fast time has flown! Having a child so fast has really made the time fly I suppose.

I'd love to sit here and write a post about our love affair...yeah right! We are not romantic, we don't cuddle and we don't have pet names. That's just not us. What we do have is a great partnership. We are mature, responsible and logical. We are hard workers. All these traits have paid off in marriage. We come from a long line of people who stay married. They would all tell you it's hard and there were times they wanted to quit, but they didn't. That's not what you do. You get mad and get over it. Between our parents alone there are more than 70 years of marriage. If you include our grandparents, it easily gets up into the 100s.

We have a great life. We have great kids. Shane is a great provider. He is honest, hard working and ethical. He is a great role model for the girls. He is loyal and great at his job. He is the calm to my storm. He is the method to my madness.

Some funny things you might not know:

1. we had Landry 9 months after we were married! Yep, a honeymoon baby!

2. We don't sleep under the same comforter. He still uses his college one! I had to throw out my jr high one 2 years ago!

3. He has never slept at my parents' house.

4. Shane picked out all the wall colors in our house. He is WAY better than me.

5. He gave away the anniversary present I gave him-5th row Merle Haggard tickets!

6. I have lost my wedding ring----twice! Found both times!

Here is to 10 years of laughs, dead animals, hard work and fun!

4 Adults, 5 Kids, a hermit crab and many souvenirs!

Sunday, July 4th-Nothing says celebrate America like a 4 hr car trip with 5 children under 9! SO we packed up and drove to the beach, Port Aransas. We arrived at the house we rented for the week. We unpacked and sent the dads and kids to the beach and Moms headed to the grocery store, the Food Basket IGA. It is the only game in town. We were definitely over dressed for the occasion, by that we mean dressed and sober! 547.00 and 4 baskets later, we were ready for the week! We considered in the parking lot to rip the bottoms off our shirts, cut off our shorts so our cheeks showed and take some bong hits so we'd feel more like locals. . .but, instead, we hopped in our minivan and cruised home.

Monday, July 5th- Obviously, it was tough to top DAY 1, but we did our best by heading to the beach. We set up a redneck pavilion complete with cooler, washer pit, and 764 sand toys. We stayed on the beach for an eternity and then marched home for what way, hands down, the longest most brutal 30 minutes ever. (Please note: The kids had a blast on the beach and it was great but let's just be honest, that's a no-brainer and doesn't make for an interesting post. More on that later. . .) We are currently suffering from chub rub + sand. Now, if you don't know what chub rub is, you work out entirely too much. Chub rub is the phenomenon that occurs when your thighs rub together. And, more importantly, if you don't have this happen to you, how are we friends?

Tuesday, July 6th- Brad and Shane were up at 4:45 to head out for a day of fishing fun! I personally think this is the only reason they agreed to come on vacation was in order to fish! We did tell them to bring home dinner one way or another. This included stopping at HEB if need be! We loaded all five children for a day of sight seeing fun! This included a fancy lunch at Dairy Queen and a stop at the junk, er I mean, souvenir store next door. Our children enjoyed ice cream and cokes for lunch.

So Alison and I wrote this the evening of the 6th. That was as far as we got that night or any night the rest of the week.....

All in all we had a great time with great friends. It was so much fun to watch our husbands and children interact. Alison and I love each other, we've known that since English 3201, Women and Literature, Spring 1996. She is an amazing mother! She is patient and kind to her children. She embraces their differences and strives to make them happy, even if this means bringing Play doh along! Yes, my children thought Santa had been there since it is outlawed in my house! We had time to just sit and interact with our kids. They had a fashion show for us. I never sit and watch a fashion show at home. I should.

Too Long!

It's been too long! I know you've missed me. Honestly, the thought of uploading pictures and arranging them in the right order made me skip out on ya! I'm taking a clue from my friend Alison, and axing the pics for this post.
A lot has happened in the last 6 weeks. Reese and Landry both finished soccer. Landry's team did well and sadly, her coach is moving to Boston. We will see if she plays next season. Reese finished her first season and I really think her last season. She would cheer when her coach let her sit down and she has already informed me that she would like to take dance next year. She is definitely cut out of a different cloth!
Landry finished 3rd grade! I cannot believe that! She made all A's all year and got a trophy and shirt for that accomplishment. She tested and qualified for the GT program for 4th grade. She will go to a different school 2 days a week next year. She is excited. Most importantly, I am most proud of the person she is becoming. Her teacher wrote a note to us at the end of the year saying the she displays, "all the fruits of the Spirit." What a great compliment. She is hard working, caring and works really hard. We are so proud of her.
Reese is signed up for 3 day pre school next year. She is really excited as well.
Landry went to GA camp the first week school was out. She had a great time as our neighbor went as well as her cousins from Stanton.
Both girls went to VBS at our church the next week. They really enjoyed it. This was Reese's first year. She wants to become a habitual VBSer. She's gonna LOVE school!
Both girls are swimming again at our City swim facility. Landry is on the swim team and Reese is doing gymnastics as well.
We are taking a week off this next week and heading out on vacation. We are going down to Port Aransas with our friends the Romikes. 5 kids, 2 moms and 2 dads in one house should be fun! I LOVE that my kids are getting to go one trips with other families. I always think vacations with others are such fun! More to come on the Louder/Romike excursion!