Wordless Wednesday

Big Kitty Kitty

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What Your Handbag Says About You

What Your Handbag Says About You

You tend to be relaxed but alert. You keep your eye out for anything unusual. You are a high maintenance person. You feel lost outside of your normal environment. You are practical and down to earth. You tend to be a rather reserved and quiet person.

What Does Your Handbag Say About You?

Grains of Gratitude

The"Feeling Sorry for Myself" Edition

I have a wonderful family, a fantastic church family, very good friends and so much stuff to be grateful for. So here I am sitting on Sunday evening pouting.

I have no idea how other families do it. I know that some families have Dad traveling for work all week, every week and Mom holds down the fort and they seem to survive just fine. That would be you, Christine!! I know you are often the first watch and with more kiddos than me. Send me your secret!

Some families deal with even more. Our military men and women are oceans away and their loved ones keep it together for truly long stretches. I am so grateful for them. I have so much respect for what they all do.

So here I am pouting that my husband will be on the road again tomorrow and I was blessed to have him at least for the weekend. It just wasn't long enough. We've done this before and I am sure we'll do it again. Oh wait!! We are!! Phhhhhbbbbbbbbttttt! I am really not in the mood to put my big girl panties on and be a grown-up. But I guess this isn't going to be about what I'm in the mood for, huh?

I am grateful I have a car that needs inspected and tagged this week. I am grateful the boys will start religion class this week--they will be so happy to see their wonderful teachers again & their friends. I am grateful for the little girls who ride with us during the week. They have provided us with a new dynamic for conversation. Girls totally put a new spin on our life. The boys have auditions this week for Nutcracker and Roo is taking an extra class. Guess once I hit the ground tomorrow I'm going to be too busy to pout a whole lot.

There's a lot to be grateful for & a whole lot to pray for. Maybe I can face the week after all. I'm grateful for the chance to vent a little. Movin' on!!

What are you grateful for?

Brady's Bunch is the home of Grains of Gratitude, started by sweet Christine.

Menu Plan Monday--Favorite Recipe Edition

The problem at my house in trying to share with you my favorite recipes is that I often don’t use recipes. I use the “dash, pinch and dump” method, fueled by whatever strikes my fancy (and what is in my cupboards at the time).

We also do things very simply around here most often; grilling a burger, chicken breast or steak is always a hit. Steam some rice, cook up some veggies and voila—dinner. Part of the simple thing is that my kids are not big sauce fans: no gravy, cheese sauce, or dipping sauce. The one exception is barbeque sauce—Roo would eat most everything with that if we’d let him. And top my week off with the fact my husband is visiting another time zone again, so I’m just cooking for the boys and I.

If I wasn't trying to diet I would make sour cream banana bars, two pepper corn bread and cheesecake. But those would be too tempting. Also I am in the mood for Elaine's Cabbage Salad--if you have a church potluck, this was always a hit.

That’s the long-winded introduction to my Menu Plan for this week.

Monday—Sandwiches and soup in the car. We have dance class followed shortly by religion class. It’ll be like a picnic!! Right? Humor me.
Tuesday—leftover lasagna (recipe below)
Wednesday—pancakes, eggs and turkey sausages. Maybe pumpkin pancakes for Boo.
Thursday—beef roast, steamed rice & veggies.
Friday—Sloppy Joes and hot dogs, cottage cheese, Fritos, and fruit

I’ve accumulated a lot of cookbooks over this last year, so hopefully I’ll be able to start expanding my repertoire. Have a tasty week everyone!!

Lasagna—
1½ lbs hamburger
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
3 small cans of tomato paste
9 lasagna noodles
1 large carton of cottage cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 cups parmesan cheese
2 pkg mozzarella cheese
Seasoning to taste

Brown hamburger, boil noodles
In a large bowl combine eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, ½ pkg mozzarella cheese. Add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt to taste
Combine crushed tomatoes and paste with hamburger, season if desired.
Layer noodles, cheese mixture and sauce, alternating layers in a prepared 9x13 casserole dish. Top with mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes covered with foil, uncover, cook until cheese is lightly browned around the edges.

Visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for more (and I'm sure better) menu planners!