Archive for the Category »Around the House «

I’d rather scrub toilets than actually menu plan.  I admit it time and time again, but I love the fact that we don’t scramble at dinner times.

We are going to return to OAMC using www.onceamonthmom.com and her off the hook, easy peasy OAMC (once a month cooking plans).  We divide the amounts in half and it will create for us 16 dinners, four different lunches and two different breakfast options.  Totally worth the effort.  However, we aren’t going to be doing one large cooking session.  I’ll be doing several small sessions over the course of the next week  We’re quite busy this month and Idon’t have an 8 hour span of time to devote to it.

ANYHOW….

Monday

Homemade corned beef hash, corn bread and fruit

(another easy peasy recipe if you have leftover corned beef and potatoes.  Dice them up and fry them until brown.  Delish!)

Tuesday

Catalina chicken, oven fries and veggies

Wednesday

Chicken pot pie and salad (veering away from once a month mom’s recipe on this one and recreating a dish from last week that we all loved and that should freeze well.

Thursday

Ravioli Lasagna, garlic bread and salad

Friday

Typically out

Saturday

Usually on the go.

Have you taken time to put together your menu plan for the week?  It’s a time and money saver!



This is my steamer. See?  It’s not pretty.  It’s kind of scuffed up, but that’s because it’s useful.  I use it.  For what?  What don’t I use it for.

Ugly, but good.

1) Cleaning glass.  Super easy.  Hose that glass down with steam and use the squeegee.   Your glass will be sparkling clean in minutes AND no chemicals.

2) All natural soap leave….um…chunks in your shower?  Steam if off.

3) Potty training children leave pee places you don’t want it?  Steam it off! (but, it stinks.  Just thought I should point that out)

4) Gunk around the shoe molding on your baseboards?  You get what I’m saying?

5) Dirty nasty sliding door track?  You guessed it.

It really REALLY does work.  It’s not a gimmick AND best of all?  It’s chemical free and does the job.  I’m all for spending money on products that make your housework easier and this is a biggie.  It really does work for me.

What one just like it?  You can find it at amazon.com (I don’t have to tell you that I don’t make any money from that link, right?)  Want to see what’s working for other people?  Check out WFMW at We are THAT family

It’s Monday again.  We had a busy week last week with the Princess’s birthday and an out of town trip to celebrate.  I love the estivities, but it means that my usual weekend tasks of menu planning and grocery shopping have been put off until today.

This week, I’m going to be cooking from “Dinner Made Easy”.  It’s a great service from Betty Crocker.com that focuses on getting dinner on the table quickly.  I’ve been getting their e-mail newsletter for a while, but thought that maybe it was time to give a few recipes a try.

Monday
Southwest Chicken Skillet

I might serve it with spanish rice or corn (Littlebit’s favorite) but it really is a fairly complete meal.
Tuesday

Slow cooker pork chops with cherry apple stuffing and veggies

Wednesday
Chicken breasts with creamy mushroom gravy, asparagus and fresh bread


Thursday

Tamale Pot pie and veggies
Friday

Bacon wrapped filet mignon, crash hot potatoes and veggies and onion rings.

Saturday

Pizza Night!

Since I’m done eating out of the freezer and haven’t yet decided when I’m going to undertake another Once a Month cooking session (You can follow the plan I do at onceamonthmom.com) we’re back to planning our menu around here.

Monday

Pasta bolognase recipe from the “Cook This not That” cookbook.

Garlic bread and salad

Tuesday

Trying a new recipe for Hamburger stroganoff (one of Big Daddy’s personal favorite) with veggies

Wednesday

Chicken Fried Rice, egg rolls and sugar snap peas

Thursday

Sweet Italian Chicken, crash hot potatoes and veggies

Friday

The Princess turns 10, so her choice.  YAY!

Saturday

Pizza for more Princess birthday festivities.

Sunday

Bacon wrapped fillet Mignon, potatoes and veggies.

So, I’m a messy person.  I admit it.  I can think of ten million things I’d rather do before I clean the house.     I agree that the house needs to be cleaned up and I hate living in disorder, but I hate cleaning the house SO MUCH.

Typically, I stay on top of things.  I do my chore list every day and while I grouse about it, it works out all right, but the weekends always seem to get a little crazy and come Monday I’m wondering WTH we did the the joint!!  Things are all over the place.  Like a bomb went off and it was loaded with toys and dishes and clothes and trash.

If you’re like me, that probably makes you feel not only overwhelmed but a little bit crazy too.  I would stare at the pile of work needing to be done and had no idea where to start, so I decided to use my OCD to my advantage.  I pick up the closet ten things.  ANY ten things and put them away.  I return to the scene of the crime and pick up another ten things  and within no time the chaos is beginning to make sense.  It really does work on the most frighteningly messy rooms.  And, there’s nothing to be overwhelmed about.  Just pick up ten.  Put them away.  Return and pick up another ten.  It works for me.  See?

Post-Weekend Dining Room Disaster

Post-Weekend Dining Room Disaster

After 10 things...

After 10 things...

After two more rounds of 10 things

After two more rounds of 10 things

Mischief Managed.

Mischief Managed.

Want to check out more short-cuts and tips from real people who actually do them?  Check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family