meals for the week 11.4.12 through 11.11.12

hi everyone :)
sorry for the hiatus...  had company for about 1 1/2 weeks...a birthday party...computer issues.... :)  and even went to bed with the kids for 2 nights b/c i was tired :)  neglected blog....but i'm back :)

i have lots i could write about, but for today, i'm just going to get our meals for the week up and out there...  i haven't meal planned in the last few weeks since we've had company and we tend to eat out more to keep things a little more simple at the house... :)  i'm tired of eating out...i'm tired of food, actually, so i'm glad to get back to some "home cooked" meals... :) 

here's what we'll be eating for the week...

Sunday: breakfast for dinner :) chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and hash browns :)
Monday:  macaroni soup and grilled cheese
Tuesday: homemade pizzas with our friends, the Angottis :)
Wednesday: church meal - italian night :)
Thursday:  tacos
Friday:  leftovers
Saturday: probably dinner out
Sunday: crockpot meal - probably roasting a chicken and some fixins :)

i feel so blessed and thankful for the ability to make food for my family...as well as every "facet" of that process....  Hurricane Sandy's victims weigh heavily on my heart...  such devistation :(  lift them up in your prayers and thoughts, my friends...  they need a healing touch and comfort....
be blessed :)

meals for the week 10.14.12 through 10.21.12

quick and simple this week, my friends :) 
no words of advice...
no comments about the weather... :)
i have a few minutes...some banana muffins are in the oven...
so i thought i'd post :)

here's what's fillin' our bellies this week... :)

Sunday: whatevers - Ry has BETA ceremony, so the girls had mac n cheese and i had a fully belly from a late lunch with a friend :)
Monday: Ry has conferences, not home (again!)...  french toast (girls) and a ham, cheese, green pepper, and onion omelet :)
Tuesday: leftovers - pizza and pork tenderloin from lunch on Sunday
Wednesday:  fellowship meal with church :)
Thursday:  raviolis :)
Friday: grill out - hot dogs, mac n cheese, and veggie
Saturday:  out to eat
Sunday:  Salisbury Steak and au gratin potatoes (didn't get to it last week) :)

have a fabulous week :) 

meals for the week 10.8.12 through 10.15.12

well, last week i was praising the weather...this week, i'm freezing!  we've had a 20-30 degree change in temperature in the last few days...wowzers!!!!!!!!!  the mercury was hovering in the high 40s today at lunchtime...and with a cold rain making it feel even colder...i am wishing for the pretty fall days we were having! :)  i am going to be patient, though, because the weatherman reported that we'll warm up some in the next few days... :)

i don't have a lot to report...enjoying the every day as much as we can... :)  lots of playing, coloring, running around outside.... :)  of course, laundry, cleaning, and trying to keep up with other household duties.... :) 

we bought some items for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank...our church youth are looking to give at least 1,000 items in the next few weeks, and we were excited to give...  the area food banks, perhaps in your area, too, are in tremendous need...more families are in financial turmoil, and they need the basics so they can feed their family...  it's not just food, either...it's also personal care items that are needed - soap, shampoo, etc.  if you can, please considering throwing a few items into your cart this week so that you can also donate to the food bank around your house...  you can also go through your cabinets and get rid of things that you have in abundance or that you haven't used...  we are not rich people, but we never go without...we live in a more than abundant condition...  plenty of food passes into our mouths, and we could honestly cut back quick easily...and we should, too ('cause those numbers on that scale are creepin' up!!!)...  please consider donating!!

with all that being said, our menu looks like this for the week... :)

Sunday:  rotisserie chicken & TGIFriday's green beans... (kind of a random meal...we weren't that hungry :))
Monday: creamy chicken enchiladas
Tuesday:  leftover stuffed shells
Wednesday:  leftover chicken enchiladas
Thursday:  macaroni soup and grilled cheese
Friday: homemade pizza (as requested by Ry and K :))
Saturday: out to eat :)
Sunday: salisbury steak and potatoes au gratin

have a wonderful week, friends :)  enjoy yourselves and don't forget to look for the wonderful blessings around you... :)

meals for the week 9.30.12 through 10.7.12

i'm thinking about that Staples commercial that comes on in late July...you know, the one where the mom is dancing in the aisles as the kids sit, sad faced, in the cart, as they shop for school supplies...  and, blaring in the background is, "IT'S THE MOSTTTTT WONDERFULLLL TIME OF THE YEARRRR."  :)

i LOVE Fall...autumn...whatever you wanna call the season...it is an incredible time of beauty and peace for my soul...i'm starting to see the leaves change ever so slightly here...  one tree, only about 4 houses up the street, is already a beautiful shade of orange red....breathtaking...  (and don't you wonder how, a tree mere feet away from your tree, which is the very same species, has leaves changing where, your own tree, is still green?  hmmmm) 
anyway, i will probably have to load the kids up in the van and go for drives in the afternoon because i probably won't be able to get enough of the amazing views around me... :)  it's so easy to send praises up when i see the beauty that's around me...

last week, we had a really crazy week...and much of what was planned for meals fell by the wayside...  we had illnesses and concerts...birthday parties...an impromptu trip for Chinese with our friend....it was a week where, honestly, every day was spent doing something in the evening...  and, well, let's just say that the dogs and the outside kitties had some serious feasting on leftovers before they went bad...  *meow*woof* :)
so, the meal plan was not happening...  that means we hardly grocery shopped this week, though...so, as you will see below, much of what was on last week's menu will be seen again :)

Sunday: rotisserie chicken, rice, creamed corn, stuffing (hello, carbs)
Monday: tacos :)
Tuesday: chicken noodle soup :) 
Wednesday:  church meal - taking banana bread brownies (YUM!)
Thursday: leftovers (soup) and homemade french bread
Friday:  stuffed shells
Saturday: eating out, probably
Sunday: creamy chicken enchiladas

lots of things swirling around in this brain...so i can't leave this post with much depth, i am afraid... :)  but, i hope that you all have a wonderful week...one that's blessed and filled with reasons to be thankful... :) 
enjoy!! :) 

meals for the week 9.23.12 through 9.30

hope that you all have a wonderful week... 
heard a great sermon at church on Sunday...and while i try to be pretty conscious of this anyway, i am going to work extra hard to give praise about how much i have to be thankful for this week... 
like having the ability to buy food to make dinner...
like having the ability to get up in the morning...
like having two little girls to keep me busy all the time.....
like having seemingly endless loads of laundry to do for my family...and a washing machine and a dryer to do it in... and a clothes line, too!! :)

we really are blessed in ways that we don't even realize, often... 
so that's my goal for the week...
find the blessings and give praise for them...
:)

here are the fares for the week at chez Rakow :) 

Sunday: chicken fajitas (crockpot recipe...will post tomorrow :))
Monday: slow beef over egg noodles and a veggie
Tuesday:  pizza with the Angottis - celebrating Lil G's 9th birthday
Wednesday: out to eat with the Davis family - then off to the Fresh Beat Band concert!!! :)
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: stuffed shells
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: creamy chicken enchilladas

enjoy your week, Friends :)  and i hope your blessings abound  :)

meals for the week 9.10.12 through 9.16.12

here's what we're enjoying (or enjoyed :)) for meals this week :)

monday: leftover macaroni soup and grilled cheese
tuesday: dinner out with the Davis family - mexican :)
wednesday: hot dogs, mac n cheese, veggie
thursday: spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and italian bread
friday: homemade pizza
saturday: meatball sandwiches
sunday: crockpot something or other - maybe potato soup... :)



here are some shots from when we were still having warm, summer days...  we're still having summer, but the temperatures have cooled a bit, and we're not spending time playing in the pool or sprinkler right now :)  but, we haven't put the water stuff away....i have a feeling we're not finished with warmish weather yet :)

Hannah is not a water baby (yet), especially compared to Katherine...  she did come a long way from standing at the sprinkler with a leaf, just reaching in enough for the leaf to get wet.  that was early this summer...  :)  she is more mechanical and likes trying to take the sprinkler apart, spraying something with the hose or something like that.... :)  here, she probably sees a car coming...the town watch, without a doubt :)

 Katherine, of course, would probably try to become one with the water if she could...  she would play in a pool for hours... :)  while this picture looks a little pixelated, the joy on her face here says it all... :)  and, her sweet ears... :)  i love them :)

meals for the week 5.6.12 through 5.13.12

time to get back into posting the meal plan...  it helps keep me more organized... :) 
here's what we'll be eating this week... :)

• Sunday:  beef and potato boats, green beans, broccoli corn bread
• Monday: baked ziti
• Tuesday: pigs in a blanket, mac n cheese, veggie
• Wednesday: leftovers
• Thursday:  pancakes
• Friday: leftovers
• Saturday:  out to eat or scrounge at home :)
• Sunday:  chicken parmiginana and spaghetti

hope you all have a great week... :)  don't forget that Mother's Day is on Sunday :)

meals for the week: 2 weeks worth :) (3.18 through 3.31)

well, we're knocking on April's door...  hard to believe...  then again, we've had crazy hot weather for March, so maybe April will be cool and inviting :)  i don't have my fingers crossed, but i think i can dream a little :)
i didn't get a meal plan posted last week...  for a woman who doesn't run to a formal 9 to 5 job on a daily basis, i sure do feel like a chicken with her head cut off sometimes...  the weeks seem to be busier than usual...  no real reason...maybe it's the longer days and more time outside?  maybe it's just that i have more on my lists of "to do"...  i've stopped trying to figure it out and i'm just resigned to the fact that i'm busy or a poor planner of time...  i'm sure my two sweet kids don't have much to do with this fury of time that passes... :)

so, our eats of the week... :)  well, the last 2 weeks...  i do this more for my records...but if it inspires you, then so be it :)

3.18 through 3.24
Sunday: grilled out :)
Monday:  corned beef, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot
Tuesday:  homemade pizza
Wednesday:  spaghetti
Thursday:  sour cream pancakes
Friday:  dinner with the Davis' :)  taking dessert (tye-die cupcakes & ice cream)
Saturday:  out to eat - Vinny's Grill

and for this week... :) 

3.25 through 3.31
Sunday:  macaroni soup and grilled cheese
Monday: baked ziti
Tuesday: potato and onion omelets and toast
Wednesday:  leftovers
Thursday: Meg's BBQ meatballs, mashed potatoes, corn
Friday: leftovers
Saturday:  out to eat (probably)


deep thought of the week... 
i know i've mentioned it before, but we're very blessed to be going to a fantastic church... 
in today's sermon, our pastor talked about VISION and how one sees various challenges...  he spoke about Florence Chadwick, who attempted to swim 26 miles from Catalina Island to the coast of California.  After 15 hours of swimming, surrounded by boats with armed men to scare sharks away, a dense fog set it and she had to stop swimming by her own choice.  She said she lost sight of her destination...  how sad she was to know that she got into the boat a mere mile from the coastline... 
is there anything that's keeping you from achieving something?  have you lost your VISION? 
just as a side note, Florence swam her 26 mile journey, again, two months later...  she said she kept a mental image of the coastline as she swam...  she finished, and even beat the men's record by over 2 hours. :) 

meals for the week: 2.5.12 through 2.11.12

happy February... :)  i like the month of February for some reason... :)  lots seems to be going on during this month...it's short, it can add leap year fun every few years, Valentine's Day, our anniversary, Hannah's birthday...lots of fun things :)  sometimes, when it snows it can be a month of random days off that are like little unexpected gift wrapped packages of joy... :)  yep, i'm still longing for some white stuff around here... :)

so what are we eating this week?  a little boring, honestly...but it's a little more exciting than most weeks :)  when i shopped on sunday, i got to buy cooking wine...never have done that before!! :)  that's probably all the excitement, though... hahahaha...lots of leftovers... :)

sunday:  leftovers (stromboli, chicken pot pie, raviollis)
monday:  leftovers (pizza)
tuesday:  navajo soup :) 
wednesday:  leftovers
thursday: pasta carbonara
friday:  leftovers
saturday:  eat out or breakfast for dinner

can't believe it's already time to start a new week...  weekends go entirely too quickly, honestly...  :-\

enjoy your week...hopefully it will move quickly so we can relish some more weekend time :)

meals for the week: 1.29.12 through 2.4.12

happy end of June January...  while we've had a few chilly days, we've really been spoiled with some pretty weather...just ask the bulbs that are up in our front yard and the sweet little crocuses that are blooming their little heads off...  my hope, now, is one of two things...  1.  the weather stays nice for a few more weeks so that i can enjoy the gorgeous flowers that i love so much, or 2. they can survive cold weather.... 
i'm thinkin' my second wish is probably not going to happen...if it snows, those sweet little greens will probably die :(

it's also hard for me to see February there in the date...  Hannah's 1st birthday is so quickly approaching :(  so bittersweet...

last week's Beef Macaroni Soup  was pretty good...it was better as leftovers, i think...better taste!  it would be really good with some cheese -  maybe Velveeta?  it reminded me of something nacho-ish (mine wasn't too soupy), minus the cheese...and with veggies...  i added some garlic and onions to it, too...  not bad and will make it again.   :) 

so this week...  we're having some repeats from last week that we didn't get to...  we had a few changes in our plans for eating, so i'm glad to have them this week :)

Sunday:  scrounge...we had a big lunch at Hibachi (Chinese)...
Monday:  cube steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn
Tuesday:  BBQ out (supposed to be 62*) - hot dogs and homemade mac n cheese
Wednesday:  potato and onion omelets & toast
Thursday:  creamy chicken pot pie - crock pot (adapted from the new Real Simple magazine)
Friday:  leftovers or eating with friends
Saturday:  leftovers or eating with friends

a decent week of meals, for sure :)  looking forward to trying a new recipe while also eating some of my favorites, too :) 

hope you all are having a great week :)  enjoy the end of January...and just think:  this week, we'll hear what the Groundhog is going to say about winter/spring... what would YOU like?  snow?  the same warm weather???   :)  we shall see :)
:)

meals for the week: 1.22.12 through 1.28.12

seems like i just posted what we were eating last week... :)  time flies, i suppose...
it's a weird food week for us...  for some reason, nothing really "sounded" appealing as i was planning meals this week...  i'm such a "mood" person when it comes to eating...  :-\   ry is so good about things - he eats whatever is put in front of him, generally...  i'm thankful for that! :)

believe it or not, i meal planned this afternoon, went grocery shopping, and then changed what we were having tonight :)  figures, eh? :)  really, i changed things b/c it was around 7 when i got home from grocery shopping, and it was too late to have what i had planned (story of my life...big plans, time changes them :)) and my plan for tuesday was changed at the store b/c they didn't have what i needed... 
it's cold and icy/snowy today, too, and this week is going to be a bit warm...  so, these choices are based on my icy views... :) 

Sunday:  grilled cheese (girls)/Marty's egg sandwiches for ry and me
Monday:  beef stew
Tuesday:  beef macaroni soup (will post on Tuesday)
Wednesday:  pancakes
Thursday:  leftovers
Friday:  probably leftovers again
Saturday:  out to eat? 

sooo, there it goes :)  we'll see how things pan out...after today, who knows what we'll eat :)

enjoy your week! :)  hope that it's a good one for each of you :)

meals for the week: 1.16.12 through 1.21.12

we're trekking our way through the month of January.  doesn't January seem to last forever?  maybe it's the after-holiday slump?  i don't know...but i feel like we're kinda just trudging along through this month... it's OK...i often say that i wish time would slow down a bit...so i will welcome the slowness of January :)
i'm still waiting for some snow...  seriously, it was almost 60* here today...  mother nature is a little confused...  i'm beginning to wonder if it will get cold and snow, honestly, but i know we still have several more weeks left of "winter," so i will keep my fingers crossed for some fabulous white stuff SOON! :)
plus, having Ry off on Monday made us yearn for a little time off during the school week... :)

well, we're eating nicely this week...  found a fabulous deal on pork tenderloin (buy one, get one free) at a local grocery store, so that kind of dictated a bit of our menu this week... :)  plus, a mid- and end-of-the week meal with friends seems to chop things up a bit! :)  looking forward to a break from the kitchen... :)

here's what we're eatin' this week... :)

Monday:  pork tenderloin, potatoes, carrots
Tuesday:  blintzes and leftover french toast casserole
Wednesday:  open face pork tenderloin sandwiches & mashed potatoes, left over veggies
Thursday:  out to eat with friends :)  Mexican :)
Friday:  leftovers or cube steak
Saturday:  take out here with friends - Christmas with the Strongs
Sunday:  cube steak (if not on Friday) or soup

hope you have a great week... :)  it's almost half-over at this point...so enjoy the view from the "hill" as you slide down to the weekend! :) 

meals for the week 1.9.12 through 1.15.12

before we talk about food... :)

we had our first "real" snow of the season here...nothing that's sticking around for long (supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow!), but it snowed and sleeted for the better part of the day...and it sure was pretty to look at! :) so exciting to finally see some of the "white stuff" around here...now we'll just pray for a snow day sooner rather than later! :)
i guess, technically, it wasn't the FIRST snow of the season...we had snow at the end of October... couldn't believe it was snowing when i was icing K's cupcakes and cake for her 3rd birthday party :)
here's the little snow man we built out on the deck (my sister in law and me) that night in October... he was a cute little guy :) love his pepper corn eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons :D


well, i haven't been too good with posting meals for the week... last week, i meal planned and didn't post... but we had another "ham" themed week to get rid of our THIRD Christmas ham :) we had homemade fried rice, leftovers, a rotisserie chicken, and macaroni soup with grilled cheeses. :) we were going to have omelets, too, but we ran out of ham! :) on another note, we're on a serious grilled cheese kick around here... :)
i am not sure what meal will be eaten on which day... we have a few things going on this week (Dr.'s appt., me working after school, etc.), and we're kind of "punting" with the schedule... sometimes we need to make something quickly when we didn't expect it... :) but, for the sake of "organization," i will put the things down on days i think we'll be having on the given day...
Monday: bbq chicken in the crock pot, scalloped potatoes, and french bread

Tuesday: hot dogs & mac n cheese & baked beans (for ry :))

Wednesday: french toast casserole (Pioneer Woman) :)

Thursday: tacos

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: we'll be attending a birthday party; not sure if dinner is provided or not... :) we'll be having leftovers if need be, however...

Sunday: not sure yet - something yummy, i hope! :)

thankfully, Ry has off on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day :) so glad to have a "long" weekend...there are so many projects i need to get finished that can really only be accomplished on the weekend when Daddy's home to be on kid duty :)
hope you all have a wonderful and fabulous week :) enjoy each other and keep smiling... :)

meals for the week...12.11.11 through 12.18.11

Christmas is approaching faster and faster, it seems....kinda like that snowball traveling down a hill at record speed.... our spare room just keeps getting more bags of gifts... and yet, there are a few people on our lists that remain difficult to shop for... :)

none the less, we still have to eat :)
here's what on the plate on these chilly nights! :)
and yes, you'll notice a theme of chicken here...made a huge batch of chicken and noodles...we have to use them up! :)

Sunday: chicken and noodles (in the crock pot)
Monday: chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes
Tuesday: french toast casserole
Wednesday: chicken noodle soup :)
Thursday: out to eat with friends :)
Friday: church Christmas party
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: leftovers

we're also busy baking some cookies and sweets and getting fatter... gotta love the holidays... seriously... love that scale creeping up... ahhhh, who cares...the diet can start (again) in January... :) and, plus, with the almost 50ish temperatures, i can get out there and walk.... :) after i have another cookie, that is :D

hope you have a great week... take time to enjoy those twinkling lights of your Christmas tree in a dark room...lovely :)

:)