Weekly Menu, 6/28 - 7/4

Monday: (Zac @ work) The neighbor fed my kids! LOL Mac 'n cheese & hot dogs

Tuesday: (Zac @ work) Pineapple glazed ham, carrot sticks, Pasta-roni

Wednesday: (Zac @ scouts) Sloppy Joes, silver dollars, corn

Thursday: (Nolan's 5th birthday!) Honey French Toast, sausage, strawberries

Friday: Chicken Penne Alfredo w/ broccoli, peaches & peas

Saturday: Cranberry catalina chicken (fell off ... again!), garlic green beans, cheese & garlic biscuits

Sunday: (Zac @ work) Tuna Helper - yep, the Betty Crocker kind! - with toast/butter

Bought a New Camera Today

Sorry for the slow posting lately. As you know, my camera disappeared & I've been trying to find it for the past week & a half with no luck. So today I dropped another chunk of change and got a new one. I hated spending that money - and Murphy's Law says I'll find it tomottow, now that I spent it! But I just CANNOT be without a camera! It was driving me crazy! So - coming soon - a new post! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Weekly Menu, 6/21 - 6/27

Monday: Brown sugar meatloaf (We've been trying to have this for 3 weeks now!), Pasta-roni, steamed broccoli

Tuesday: (Zac @ work) BBQ with some family out at SIL's house

Wednesday: (Zac @ work) Grilled cheese & applesauce

Thursday: Cranberry Catalina chicken (another one that fell off last week's menu!), Steamed green beans, fruit salad

Friday: (Family night @ the city pool) Taking sandwiches, chips & apples to the pool

Saturday: Meatball subs, Cesar salad, carrot sticks

Sunday: BBQ'd Balsamic chicken, macaroni salad, watermelon, biscuits

My Camera is MISSING! :o(

I've made a couple of yummy things over the past few days, but my kids were playing with my camera (they had permission - that's the beauty of digital cameras... they can go on photo shoots, taking pictures of anything & EVERYTHING they want - and no wasted film. I just delete them later) BUT!! They swear up & down that they left it on the kitchen table - and it's not there. It's not anywhere. I have searched every little nook & cranny of my home - all the little hiding spots that a 3-footer might think would be cool to store a camera as well as all the obvious spots. Empty handed. I had a hard time making dinner yesterday because I kept stopping to grab my camera for a pic - but it wasn't there! *sigh* Didn't want to just post a boring black & white recipe - I love pictures - so I'm trying to not go crazy (or through withdrawals!) as I patiently continue the search for my elusive camera. Thanks for your patience!

Weekly Menu, 6/14 - 6/20

Monday: (car shopping all day, then feeding missionaries) Pizza & watermelon

Tuesday: (Farmer's market/Zac at a meeting) Fruit at the market & then topped off with some McD's nuggets.

Wednesday: (Z @ work - taking dinner to a friend) Poppyseed chicken, brown rice, carrot sticks

Thursday: (Z @ work) Baked spaghetti, broiled toast, peas

Friday: Brown sugar meatloaf, steamed green beans, onion roasted potatoes

Saturday: Crockpot porkchops, baked potatoes/gravy, steamed broccoli

Sunday: Cranberry Catalina chicken, corn on the cob, Pasta-roni, salad

Brownies... the homemade kind!

Betty Crocker does a good job. Pillsbury has a good thing going. And Ghiradelli!?? Oh goodness, those are some fantastic brownies! And what about Michelle Pedersen? Ya. She has some pretty Bombshell Brownies, too! Wanna try 'em!? Here you go! Don't be afraid! Scratch brownies are easy! And DELICIOUS!

Take 2 sticks of butter. STOP NOW - if you're getting nervous about that just let me remind you - we're making BROWNIES!! These aren't health bars. They're brownies. Ooey, gooey, terrible for you brownies! Ready! OK - let's try that again! Get 2 sticks of butter (or margarine) and melt them in the microwave. Not 'softened' butter. Melted. Add it to a mixer with 1 1/2 cups of white sugar, 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar & 1 tablespoon of vanilla (not teaspoon!)


Give it a good whirl until it's creamed together well. Now we're gonna add 4 eggs - 1 at a time, mixing well after each one.


In a separate bowl whisk together 1 1/2 cup of flour, 1 cup of cocoa & 1 tsp of salt. Slowly add it to the mixer & blend into the sugar/butter/egg mixture.


Once that's all mixed up add 1 cup of chocolate chips (it just keeps getting better, right!!!?)


This is a thick batter. Don't think you did something wrong. It's supposed to be like that. Now pour it into a 9 x 13 pan that you've sprayed with PAM. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool them for a while before you dig in - if you try to cut them when they're still hot they'll crumble apart. I know - it's SO hard to be patient. But you'll be glad you waited. And once the wait is up I definitely won't judge you if you have 2 or 3. Of 1/4 of the pan. ENJOY!!!

  

Brownies:

1 cup butter/margarine (2 sticks), melted

1 1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 TBsp vanilla (not teaspoon!)

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.

Combine melted butter, sugars and vanilla in a mixer. Add eggs, mix well.

In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder & salt.  Slowly add it to the creamed mixture in the mixer.  Add chocolate chips.

Pour [thick] batter into sprayed 9x13.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Allow to cool before cutting or they will crumble.

Silver Dollar Potatoes

This is a side dish we make often around our house. Somehow, I ended up with a bunch of kids that HATE potatoes. Yes - really! My kids do not like potatoes. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, hash browns, roasted potatoes, tater tots - they won't touch them. But these? Ohhhhh ya. They love 'em!

Start out by taking a few Russet potatoes, scrub them up to get the dirt off. Then slice them into about 1/4" circles. Don't go any bigger than that or they'll take too long to cook. Just go for uniformity. Melt 1/2 a stick of butter (that's how much I used for 4 mid-sized Russets) in a bowl & then toss the sliced potatoes in & stir them around to coat them in the butter. Do not be alarmed by the amount of butter - a lot of it will be left behind in the bowl.



Then lay them out on a cookie sheet & pop them into a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes. Get a little color on them.


About half way through flip them over (or get your hubby to do it if you're busy doing something more important than making dinner .... like making brownies!! LOL)

(Isn't he hot!?)

Once they come out of the oven give them a sprinkling of salt & enjoy! We had them with some pan-fried ham steaks & watermelon tonight - 2 large pink triangles side by side. Not the most eye-pleasing photo.... but our tummies sure did love it!


Good stuff!