meal plan monday

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

I'm enjoying this beautiful snowfall...I'm one of the few who actually LOVE winter :)

I'm spending this cold and blustery evening with this adorable munchkin who's obsessed with babies and kisses! A perfect combination for a soon-to-be big sister!

Here's what's for dinner in our house the next two weeks! Just a note...don't be afraid to plan on having left-overs! Our family loves left-overs. We use them for lunches and easy supper nights!

Don't forget to adapt the grocery list to meet your family's needs!

GROCERY LIST

RECIPE CARDS

Happy Meal Planning!

help me find it

Don’t you just love those moments when you hear something you so desperately needed to hear!

Recently, I was driving home from the grocery store…alone…doesn’t happen often…and the song, Help Me Find It, by Sidewalk Prophets came on the radio. I was immediately drawn into worship!

Take a minute and listen to the song if you haven’t heard it before! It’s great! (Side note: if there is a commercial for the "Plan B" contraceptive before the video...please know I do not support or agree with this product at all). 

 Did you just have a great worship experience or what?!? :)

In my own walk with Christ, I’ve often viewed finding God’s will as a daunting, intimidating, and overwhelming task. That’s all a result of my sinful pride getting in the way, thinking that I need to find His will on my own.  How the heck am I supposed to know what God’s will for my life is? Am I the only one who’s struggled with this? :)

This song was the reminder that I needed…that I don’t have to seek God’s will on my own. He will help me find it, if I trust in Him. 

I love the line- “You’ve never failed before!” PRAISE GOD!! Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever heard?! I’m sure you’re thinking…duh Debi, of course God hasn’t failed…but that reminder just nailed my heart! Why would I trust myself, the failure, when our perfect unfailing Creator is willing to guide us!

I love the chorus – 

“If there’s a road I should walk, Help me find it.

 If I need to be still, give me peace for the moment.

Whatever Your will

Whatever Your will

Can You help me find it?”

I don’t know if it’s the go-getter personality I have, but I typically assume when I’m seeking God’s will, I need to be DOING something. This chorus reminds me that there will be times when I should be active, and times when I need to be still.

I hope you’re blessed by this song!

Thank you Jesus for sending this gentle reminder.  Help me to trust in you, even when it hurts, help me wait for you. Thank you for your grace.

meal plan monday

What a gorgeous weekend!! Sunshine...colors changing...ahh it was glorious!

My hubby and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this weekend with a night out! Thanks to my parents for keeping Lenna over night. It's definitely a treat waking up on my own time and sipping coffee on the couch with just Terry in the morning!

We had a fun time at our Fall Family Fun day on Saturday at my Aunt and Uncle's farm. It's always refreshing having a fun day with family!

This bi-weekly meal plan is compiled of family recipes and ideas from the blog 100 Days of Real Food.

If you've never checked out that blog - DO IT! Lisa, the originator of the blog, is dedicated to feeding her family tasty meals made without processed ingredients. Just a warning...you will spend HOURS looking through her recipes. Everything we've tried has been delicious!

Happy Meal - Planning :) Leave a comment and let me know if you tried any of the recipes!

 Click on the picture to download!

Don't forget the GROCERY LIST

Just a reminder that the grocery list does not include all of the pantry ingredients needed for these meals. Be sure to check your pantry after looking through the recipe cards and make adjustments.

This week's RECIPES

The recipes featured from 100 Days of Real Food are below! 

Quiche w/ Whole-Wheat Crust 

Pork Carnitas Tacos 

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

happy eating!

meal plan monday

This weekend, we had our Fall Women's Retreat here at Camp. It was so great - perfect weather, amazing speakers, fellowship, and delicious food! A big thank-you to my hubby for spending the weekend with Lenna, so I could be a part of the retreat!

I got to talking with one of our speakers, Sherene McHenry, about life and I started telling her about this new blogging adventure I've started. Did I mention that she's a life coach!?! She was so encouraging and uplifting and got me even more excited about meal planning! She was on a roll, planning a meal-planning book I could publish...oh the possibilities :) You can find one of Sherene's amazing books here! I'm so thankful I had to the chance to chat with her...she's one of those people who give off energy and joy. I want to be more like that!

The next two weeks are sure going to be tasty! You can download the menus, grocery list, and recipes below!

MENU #1

 

MENU #2

The grocery list includes all necessary ingredients for each of these meals planned, minus staples we all generally keep in our pantry or baking cupboard.

Take a look at what your family might need for breakfasts, lunches or snacks and be sure to add those to your list before shopping!

GROCERY LIST

Let me know how you like the recipes this week! You can download all of the recipes for the next two weeks by clicking below!

RECIPES

You can find the recipe for the Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza over on 100 Days of Real Food Blog!

happy meal-planning :)

diy wreath

I'm a sucker for easy projects :) I'm not a creative person - It's so hard for me to come up with original ideas. If you give me a prototype, I can create anything!  I found this adorable idea on Pinterest, see the pin here, and decided to give it a whirl!

I grabbed all of my supplies from Walmart - a plain brown wreath, spray paint, piece of white felt and a roll of burlap garland. The garland was 10 yards for only 5 bucks and I know I'll use it for a lot of other things as well.

I started with a plain jane wreath. I chose a plum color spray paint, thinking I could use this wreath throughout the year!

My yard and dining room table were my project spaces for this one, because my hubby was hogging the garage while cutting up his deer!

Just lay the wreath face down on your surface and spray away! Because of all the vines twisted and tangled, you really have to spray from all directions. I wasn't too picky about the back side. Flip it over and spray the front. I did a very heavy first coat, and that's all it took!

While the wreath was drying, I went to work on the burlap flowers. There are a million tutorials on how to make burlap flowers, but to be honest...it's all trial and error!

I started by cutting my burlap garland in half because it was 6'' wide. I cut strips about 18'' long.

 Fold the strip in half...I dotted glue along the bottom half, then folded it over so it would stay while I was working with it!

You're GLUE GUN is your best friend for this project!

Next, start at one end and roll a few times and glue to hold it together.

From here - you just need to go for it. I rolled and twisted, and unrolled and untwisted until I got it how I wanted. There is more than one way to do this. I kept rolling and twist the burlap as I went. Use your glue gun frequently to help keep the rolls together and it will help you form it better!

I tried to keep the fraying edge down, and if I couldn't, I used the glue gun to tuck some loose strands in. Keep twisting, rolling and gluing until you run out of burlap. Glue the very end. If you need to trim off a little bit, that's fine.

I wasn't in love with my flowers at first, they aren't exactly alike...but that's fine :) Cut a round piece of felt, smaller than your flower and hot glue it to the back of your flower. This will help stick your flowers to the wreath better (sorry I didn't take a pic of this)!

You can spruce up the flowers by adding beads, buttons, etc. I found a random plastic pearl necklace and some old buttons that were in my great-grandma's sewing box.

I made 5 flowers total - 3 smaller ones (18'' long) and 2 bigger ones (24'' long). The great thing about a project like this, is you can do as many or as few as you want. I didn't have a wooden letter to add to my wreath, so I did a few more flowers.

Next, you need to make a big bow. THIS IS SO HARD :) Thank goodness my super-crafty Mother-in-law was over and helped made one for me :)

I'm happy with the finished product! I hope you craft away and get even more creative than I!

happy crafting :)

Friday Freebie

On this drab Friday, I'm tackling loads...and loads...and loads of laundry. I normally don't mind my weekly chore, but this week I couldn't do it on my usual laundry day (Monday) so it had to wait until today - meaning LOTS OF LOADS!

To make the day not so drab, I'm putting out some of my fall decor! The rest will have to wait until my wonderful hubby gets home from work and can get my tubs down from the garage!

I scored these gorgeous mums this week for $2.99 each! I bought 6 plants!

I'm sure all of you have seen or even printed those adorable chalkboard signs that are all over creation! I've been having lots of fun playing around with different fonts making them.

Just choose your favorite frame - I love to spray paint my frames to match our decor! Add the frame to your fall decor and smile :)

happy friday freebie :) 

Click to Download!

Give Thanks Sign     Gratitude Sign

What's for Dinner this Week?!

Next to my husband & daughter, FALL is my favorite thing in this world! The fall-like weather this past week inspired my meal planning for the next two weeks! I'm excited to taste some of our cool weather favorites...it's been way too long!

I'll get into my step-by-step meal planning details later, but for now I've posted this bi-weekly meal plan!

Feel free to copy the menus, grocery list, and recipes for your use! Note**this grocery list is specific to our family - what I already have in the pantry, cupboards, fridge etc. I don't include on the list, so make sure you adjust it!

DOWNLOAD MENUS, GROCERY LIST, & RECIPES BELOW

Here's our menu for this week. I generally stick to the menu because that's easiest for me, but there's always room for flexibility! You can get some of these tasty recipes below!

My amazing Mom taught me how to meal plan for 2 weeks at a time! This helps for SO MANY REASONS! 1. Cuts planning time in half 2. If you want to have flexible meal options it gives you 14 options already available 3. Reduces grocery budget...everyone knows the more times you go to the grocery store, the more you spend because it's SO HARD to stick to your list! 4. You only have to grocery shop once every two weeks (Occasionally a 2nd stop is necessary for fresh produce)!

I always start by picking meals, and compile my grocery list based on needed ingredients. I don't include breakfasts or lunches on my menus, but I plan for them on my grocery list by adding things beyond our dinner items that we're going to need!

Here are some of the tasty recipes! Let me know how you like them!

This hubby favorite recipe is from my "Aunt" Beth! We love it!

I found this recipe in my 2009 edition of Good Housekeeping Comfort Food magazine!

DOWNLOADS
Click on the links below!

Menu #1     Menu #2     Grocery List     Tortilla Pie     Baked Penne     Crockpot Roast

Easy Chicken Pot Pie     Taco Chicken Bowls     White Chicken Chili

Happy Planning!

Getting Started

Well, hello! Thanks for visiting my new blog. "Why do I think people will read this?" you ask! Well, I don't know if they will, but I hope those who do will find it helpful! Let me explain why it exists:

I have one of THE best Moms in the world. She was and still is one of the world's best home-makers. She taught my sister and I how to love God, respect her husband, love her 4 kiddos, and manage a home! We learned valuable lessons in laundry, cooking, thrifting, sewing, and one of the biggest MEAL PLANNING. I have learned a few things since being married, but most of what I know in the areas of home-making are compliments of my mother! This blog will focus on meal planning, recipes, and grocery lists, but will also highlight pieces of my home-making life!

I have the privilege of being a stay-at-home Mommy and I love it! I applaud working Mom's because I have NO idea how you work, raise your kiddos and manage a home. I'm tired just thinking about it! I applaud the stay at home Mommy, who has committed herself to raising and teaching her kiddos at home, rarely getting breaks from tiny humans :) This blog is for all of you!

I was challenged by a recent message in church about doing "Good". Hebrews 13:15-16, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is please." I hope this blog will be just one avenue in my life in which I can "do good". If my weekly meal plans help just one working mom spend less time in the kitchen when she gets home and more time with their precious kiddos, then it's worth it. If my grocery lists or recipe cards help one person save money on their food budget, so they can go on a special date with their hubby, then it's worth it!

I am not a professional cook, meal planner, or anyone special. I'm just one home-maker letting life happen and finding joy along the way! I don't cook with all organic foods (though I am trying to work on eating more whole foods), I love simple recipes that taste great and that provide leftovers for lunch!

I'm excited to hear comments from you all and I hope just a little bit of good comes from "all things debi jo".