Menu for June 15-23, 2017

Thursday, June 15-- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Friday, June 16-- One Pot Enchilada Bowl using this Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce recipe 

Saturday, June 17-- Burgers, fries, fresh veggies and fruit

Sunday, June 18-- Steaks, baked potato, broccoli salad

Monday, June 19-- "Regular Red" Spaghetti and salad

Tuesday, June 20--

Wednesday, June 21--

Thursday, June 22--

Friday, June 23--

Menu for April 30- May 6

Sunday-- Instant Pot Roast, zucchini and squash, baked potatoes

Monday-- Zesty Italian Chicken (Instant Pot freezer meal), organic corn, green beans
(This recipe calls for putting a bag of frozen veggies in the pot when you cook it... I don't do that.)

Tuesday-- Instant Pot Chicken Pesto Pasta, salad

Wednesday-- Cheeseburger wraps, fries, raw veggies

Thursday-- Sandwich, fruit, veggies

Friday-- ?

Saturday-- ?

Menu for March 19-25 with the Instant Pot!!

We are so over Crock Pot meals.  However, our insanely, busy, chaotic schedule still doesn't allow anybody at home to cook dinner.  Introducing... the Instant Pot!  I'm hoping this is going to be as amazing as everyone claims!  Supposedly, I can "convert" some of my crock pot meals to Instant Pot meals, which kinda defeats the purpose of wanting new recipes... so I'm also going to try some new ones, too.

Honey Bourbon Chicken

Chili Lime Chicken

Red Beans and Rice

Zesty Italian Chicken

Hawaiian Chicken

One Pot Pesto Chicken Pasta

One Pot Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Fingers crossed!

Menu for February 5-11, 2017

Sunday-- Chicken Noodle Soup

Monday (dance)-- Chicken Stir Fry with broccoli and whole grain rice

Tuesday (voice lesson)--  Chicken Wraps with veggies and fruit

Wednesday (Tech Club)-- Baked Ravioli and salad

Thursday (Gymnastics)--  Sandwiches and whatever else I can find

Friday (Mock Trial)-- Frozen pizza

Saturday-- ??

Menu for December 31- January 6

December 31-- Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs, Veggie Quiche

Sunday, January 1--Pork Chops, Black Eyed Peas, Collards, Corn Bread  (Adam makes this Southern New Year's Day meal every year.  My parents are from Maryland--we didn't/ don't eat like this! haha)

Monday-- January 2-- Yummy Italian Chicken over spaghetti squash noodles

Tuesday, January 3-- Crockpot Salsa Beef over rice

Wednesday, January 4-- Paleo Chicken Curry Stir Fry

Thursday, January 5-- Oven Fajitas  with rice

Friday, January 6-- Leftovers, salad



Breakfast options:
Overnight oats with strawberries and banana 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

Thanksgiving Lunch/ Dinner

My parents are coming down again for Thanksgiving!  Yay!  Mama and I will share the cooking, which is my favorite part of Thanksgiving.  I love to cook and I don't really have the chance to share the kitchen with her very often.  So, here's our plan....

Herb Roasted Turkey (I'm in charge of the turkey because they drive down Thanksgiving morning.)

Ham (We get a Honey-Baked ham every year--this is Harp's favorite thing in the world.)

Slow Cooker Dressing (Grandma Davis makes the best dressing.  However, getting her to write a recipe down is almost impossible because I honestly think she makes it up as she goes! However, this recipe is the closest that I've found to Grandma's texture and taste.  AND using the crock pot makes life a little bit easier.)

Green Bean Casserole (Just the regular recipe, but we use 1/2 cup of milk instead of 3/4.)

Corn (just a bag of frozen corn--We've done creamed corn recipes over the years, but it doesn't get eaten as well as just regular corn does. And sometimes we don't have corn at all.  It's a lot of food!)

Cranberry Sauce (I don't really know if anyone ever eats this.  But it's pretty and I want to make it!)

Rolls (We always get the Sister Schubert's brand.)

Macaroni and Cheese (Mama has a baked mac and cheese recipe that she makes every year.)

Mashed Potatoes (Mama's job!)

Watergate Salad (I don't like this.  And it's probably the most random thing ever.  However, my mom's mom, Grammie, has it at every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal and now Adam insists on having it, too.)

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Adam makes this one)

Red Velvet Cake (My dad's birthday is around Thanksgiving time and this is his favorite cake.  So, this is always one of the desserts.)

Chocolate Satin Pie (I've never made this before.  But it looks easy, and I need chocolate.)

November 13-19

Sunday--Chicken Stir fry with this as the sauce

Monday-- Baked spaghetti

Tuesday-- ?

Wednesday-- White Chicken Chili 

Thursday-- Roasted peppers, chicken sausage, and potatoes, salad

Friday--frozen pizza

Menu Nov. 6-11

Sunday-- Stouffer's lasagna

Monday--Paleo Tex Mex Casserole, whole grain rice, raw veggies

Tuesday--Beef stroganoff, salad

Wednesday-- Clean Eating Crock Pot Chili 

Thursday-- pancakes, bacon, eggs

Friday-- pigs in blanket, pizza rolls, fruit, veggies

Back to School Meals for 2016

It's that time again.  Back to life... back to reality...
I can't even.  Seriously

However, there's nothing I can do.. so.. to make the transition back to reality go a little bit smoother... it's freezer meal time!

Honey and Spice Glazed Pork Chops

Crockpot Salsa Beef

Clean Eating Thai Chicken

Carne Asada Lettuce Wraps 

Crock Pot Garlic Honey Chicken

Cheeseburger Wrap Meat

Chicken Philly

Sloppy Joes

Uncrustables 

Beef and Broccoli

Sausage and Peppers

Click here to look at last year's list of recipes.
Click here for last year's Back to School Organization tips and tricks.

Have fun with your meals!  As always, let me know if you have questions!

How a Normal(ish) Person Uses Essential Oils

Whenever my use of essential oils comes up in conversation, I get either looks of genuine curiosity or, "Girl, you crazy."  However, I'm not going to get into all the reasons why I started using essential oils.  Not today.  But, I will tell you some of my favs and how/ why I use them.  

Lavender--Helps with sleep.  

• I put some on the bottom of my feet before bed every night.  
• Carter puts two drops in his diffuser every night.  

Peppermint

• One drop makes oil pulling so much easier!  (Which I so haven't done since school got out!  Oops!)
• Harp kept a roller bottle in her classroom last year to help with headaches.  She also uses it when she gets car sick. 
• Paired with Wild Orange in our diffuser in the morning, it helps you focus and wake up! 

Lavender and Melaleuca

• I keep these two in a roller bottle mixed with fractionated coconut oil and use it on different skin irritations.... ok.. fine... under my arms after I shave.  That's what I mostly use it for.  There.  I said it. 
• I also make my own deodorant and use these two oils in the recipe.  (I'm gonna have to save my whole deodorant drama later.  That's definitely a different post.) 

Cypress--Used to "beautify skin"

• I mix this with lotion and put it on my legs to help with my spider and varicose veins.  (Thanks a lot, Harper.)

Lemon--So many uses for this one!!

• We put some in our water
• Mix it with baking soda for an all natural carpet deodorizer.
• Also removes sticky residue off of anything!

Focus blend*

• Carter uses this on a leather bracelet to help him focus during the day at school.

Grounding blend*

• Originally, Carter started using this blend (along with peppermint) on a bracelet to help with anxiety (the peppermint was to help him focus).  He eventually stopped using it.  

Respiratory blend*

• Harper uses this in her diffuser every night.  She doesn't need her allergy medicine anymore... and she stopped snoring!

Anti-Aging blend*

• I use this roller bottle every night as part of my nighttime facial routine.

Calming blend*

• My FAV!  I love to diffuse this at night, after dinner,
• I also diffused it last year before my last class of the day.  Just sayin'
• I also wore it a lot on my diffuser necklace to help with anxiety.  

Metabolic blend*

• I mix this with lotion and put it on my stomach and legs after I shower.

*I can't give you the real name of these blends.  But, if you want to know more about them, or more about my favorite essential oil brand, click here... or just ask me! 

Ok, friends!  I personally love my oils.  It was overwhelming at first, but so worth the effort to learn more and research.  Let me know if you have any questions.  

Maybe next time I will tell you the deodorant drama.... omg... my life is so weird sometimes...  

Menu for May 7-May 14

Saturday-- Grilled chicken, baked potato, roasted veggies

Sunday-- Lasagna, salad

Monday-- (last dance class for Harp) One Pot Chicken Enchilada Bowl

Tuesday-- Paleo Chicken Curry Stir Fry

Wednesday-- (Harp has a softball game) Hot dogs, veggies (like raw carrots, cucumbers, and peppers) and fruit

Thursday-- (Harp has another softball game, Carter has gymnastics) Regular Red Spaghetti, salad

Friday-- ?? Depends on what the night brings! :)

Saturday-- Harp's dance recital.... probably go out to eat