Menu Plan (30th November 2015)

Well, I am actually getting this post up on the right day. I have got a really busy week ahead and I am away with work for three days this week. I am not planning for those days as Craig never sticks to them anyway. I am trying to get everything ready for tomorrow as I have advent stockings to complete that have taken longer than I thought. I am going to have to cheat to get them up in time and then finish them properly once they are taken down. we are also going to put the Christmas decorations up at the weekend.

I will be posting the crafts I have made for Christmas later this week but for now here is the menu plan.

Monday - Ham & Cheese Toasties
Tuesday - Chilli con Carne and Rice
Wednesday - Craig to sort out
Thursday- Craig to sort out
Friday - Ladies to Dine / Pizza for the kids
Saturday - Chicken and Bacon pie (did not get made last time)
Sunday - Beef and Ale Stew with vegetables and Dumplings.

As usual I am linking up with Organising Junkie and Mrs M to see what others are up to.

Have a good week, even if it is busy.

Deborah

Menu Plan (23rd November 2015)

I am really bad at remembering to post my menu plans every week. I really must try harder. Even having them written down hasn't reminded to post.

I made a special effort to remind myself to post this week's plan so here it is.

Monday- BLT sandwich
Tuesday - Chicken Kievs, Chips and Veg
Wednesday - Cheesy Chicken Pasta (normally would use spaghetti but have loads of pasta and no spaghetti)
Thursday - Sausage, Mashed potatoes and peas/beans
Friday - Take away
Saturday - Chicken and Bacon Pie
Sunday - Roast Beef Dinner.

Linking up with Mrs M and Organising Junkie

Hope everyone in America has a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Deborah

Planning for Christmas

There is now less than 2 months to go until Christmas. Has anyone started panicking  yet?

Over the years I have tried several strategies to try and make sure that I am not leaving things to the last minute. I also generally manage to take on too many projects and then find that I do not have time to do them all.

There are several websites that can help you get organised. My favourite has been www.organizedChristmas.com. They run two plans that will help you clean, organise and prepare for Christmas. They are the Christmas Countdown and the House & HolidaysPlan.  If you sign up for these then you will receive reminder emails to keep you on track.

If you don’t want to go that in depth then Real Simple have a simpler checklist which can be found at

http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas/ultimate-christmas-countdown-checklist.

Both of these sites are American based and also cover Thanksgiving. Alison May at Brocantehome has produced a Christmas Countdown which is available to purchase on her website. 

If like me you like making lists then there are plenty of example s of Christmas planners that are available to download, some  you have to pay for and some are free. I tend to download pages from Organized Christmas that I know I will use.

I personally have tried various ways of planning over the years and have developed my own plan.

October Half term – Make Christmas Cake

End of November- All presents bought.

First Weekend in December – put Christmas decorations up

First week in December – all cards written and posted.

Second week December- all presents wrapped.

The week leading up to Christmas (book off work)- Last minute things, food shopping if needed (every other year)

I don’t include deadlines for craft projects as I always try to do too much and invariably end up failing to complete them. This year I have almost managed to complete all the craft projects I have set for myself but that is only because of going to the WI craft club and working on them there. I will post pictures when they are all complete.

I have a calendar printed out and in my Christmas planner where I write in things we are doing and then in November and December I pin them up in the kitchen so everyone can see what is going on. This also avoids double booking which has happened in the past.

I don’t have set dates simply because lots of other things crop up last minute so I leave plenty of time just in case I don’t meet the original deadline.

How do you plan or organise Christmas.?  I am always looking for new tips to improve my own organisation.

Menu Plan (2nd November 2015)

Well as I expected we did not stick to the menu plan for last week. Craig decided to do hos own thing with the kids for most of the week and I was left to fend for myself. Back to normal this week however now they are back in school and college.

Autumn has now definitely kicked in and so more comfort meals are coming on board. Some new and some tried and tested. Thursday should be the only meal that we are eating out and Craig will have to cook on Sunday as Emma and I are going out to start the Christmas shopping with my Mum and Sister.

Monday - Slow cooked chicken in a mushroom sauce with rice
Tuesday - Quesadillas or Calzone (depending on who wants what)
Wednesday - Sloppy Joe Pasta Bake
Thursday - Bonfire Night Party at my Mother in Laws
Friday - Pan fried Jerk pork with vegetables
Saturday - Moussaka

Linking up with Organising Junkie and Mrs M.

Hope you have a good week.

Deborah

Packed Lunch Termly Plan

Matthew has been on packed lunches at school now for a couple of years and things can get repetitive as he is such a fussy eater. For this school year I decided to get him involved with deciding what he wants..  We looked at various websites for inspiration. Matthew thought most of them were a bit OTT and fussy but he got a couple of ideas (pitta pizzas and homemade lunchables) from them. My favourites were 100 Days of Real Food and The Kitchen Shed. Both these sites had some delicious looking lunches for children, but their children are obviously not as fussy as Matthew. 

I am also lucky in the fact that the school, although they encourage healthy eating, are not as strict as some when it comes to the content of lunchboxes. I know that there are things on this plan which would not be acceptable in some schools, but my philosophy towards food is everything in moderation.

This has been successful so I have decided to repeat  the plan below over the rest of the year and see whether he gets bored.

Week 1

Chicken wrap, carrot and yoghurt

Ritz crackers, cheese, cucumber, crepe

Pitta Pizza, squeezy yoghurt, cucumber

Chocolate spread sandwich, carrot, plain popcorn

Chicken paste sandwich,  grapes, carrot

Week 2

Chicken and rice, squeezy yoghurt, smoothie

Ham wrap, grapes, carrot

Crackers, cheese, crepe, smoothie

Beef paste sandwich, grapes, fruit string

Ham, carrots, grapes, cucumber, small bag crisps

Week 3

Pitta Pizza, Squeezy yoghurt, grapes

Hot Dog, cucumber, carrot, crepe

Roast Beef Sandwich, grapes, Aldi Groovy Bar

Rice with cucumber, carrot, smoothie

Chicken paste sandwich, small bag of crisps, smoothie

Week 4

Pasta and hotdog, grapes, smoothie

Ham Wrap, cucumber, biscuit

Carrots, Sweetcorn, cucumber, Brioche

Crackers, grapes, squeezy yoghurt

Chocolate spread sandwich, grapes

Week 5

Homemade Chicken Nuggets, grapes and carrots

Pancakes, carrot and cucumber

Chicken paste sandwich, Jelly, smoothie

Tortilla Chips, grated, cheese, sweetcorn, grapes, chocolate milk

Cooked chicken breast,  squeezy yoghurt, crepe

Week 6

Beef Paste sandwich, carrots, sweetcorn

Pasta and sweetcorn, squeezy yoghurt, grapes

Roast beef wrap, grapes, fruit strings

Chicken and rice, squeezy yoghurt, grapes

Chocolate spread sandwich, smoothie, sweetcorn

I know there are repeats but there is more variety than there has been in previous years. By using this plan it will also help with shopping and not panicking in the morning about what to give him for his lunch.

Menu Plan 26th October 2015

Another week where I am late posting a menu plan.  I really need to buck up and do better. I wouldn’t mind but I had everything planned over the weekend, so it wasn’t as if I was late thinking about what to have.

As it is half term then I have a feeling that we won’t stick to this menu plan as  Craig is off with then kids this week and if he doesn’t fancy doing what is on the plan, he won’t. Craig has mentioned taking the kids to the Pizza hut buffet or a local Chinese buffet at lunch time which means they probably won’t want to eat a lot in the evening. I guess I will just have to see what happens.

This week the plan is:

Monday- Spaghetti Bolognese and Garlic Bread

Tuesday – Bacon, Egg and Potato cake

Wednesday- Fish pie

Thursday – Curried Mince Beef and rice

Friday -  Chicken Wraps

Saturday – Halloween and we are out

Sunday – Chicken Katsu curry (which I saw in the latest Asda magazine)

Hope you all have a good half term.

Linking up with Mrs M and I'm an Organising Junkie as usual

Deborah

Lilabean- A storybook about Simplicity for Grown Up Girls by Kate Carpenter

I guess part of me is looking for a simpler (and less hectic) life and I found out about this book from Alison May at Brocantehome. After reading the blurb (as shown below) I  downloaded it out of curiosity to find out more about Lilabean and what she did.. The book is written almost like a poem and is extremely easy to read.

OMG  I am Lilabean, in the first couple of chapters at least - trying to do everything for everybody and not enough time for me.

I am looking to change and make things simpler in my life just as Lilabean. I guess I was hoping that there would be some ideas on how to simplify disguised in poetry. Unfortunately in that respect I was disappointed.  Apart from de-cluttering and changing where she shopped there was very little detail about how she changed her life. In fact, towards the end of the book it felt that either the author had run out of time and needed to finish the book as quickly as possible or just ran out of ideas.

However the story is beautifully written and I could not put it down. There were so many things I could relate to whilst reading and the thoughts and emotions that Lilabean experiences I can totally understand what she is going through. Her journey is one that I am just embarking on and I hope to experience some of the relevations that Lila did and end up with the life I want to lead not one that I feel I am expected to lead.