Menu Plan Monday

We have been diligently doing our daily lessons for over a month now; 'textbook work' in full motion since Labor Day.  Chore charts need a little tweaking still, but overall most areas are covered and this makes for a clean home over the course of a week.  I still find some areas need more oversight with so many littles pulling things out and playing, but having a "home" for their things does make clean up easier and usually does not take too much time.  Our focus over the past few weeks has been:

Apologia's Human Anatomy and Physiology has provided some great hands-on learning activities this year.  This one is to show the molecular structure of a cell..."Edible Cell" activity.

1. staying on top of the daily lessons, grading and filing the completed work into their home school portfolios {makes for preparing their evaluation portfolio at the end of our "school year" so much easier!},
2. preparing our home for autumn {even if the weather in Florida doesn't reflect it!} by creating and decorating {see some of the ideas we used this year here},
3. music studies {hours spent in daily practice, private lessons [both giving and receiving] and weekly classes at our local youth orchestra}
4. trying some new recipes and preparing meals
5. celebrating birthdays and looking for ways to be a blessing to others
6. taking in some family field trips and community events {Two are below}

Visiting Fort Castillo de San Marcos on their National Park "Free" Day

The view of the inlet and the historic district is fabulous; a blessing to share with friends.

Lots of learning opportunities at the Creekside Festival...boarding a Coast Guard boat being the first one!

We attended a living history presentation and display titled "The Role of People of Color in the Civil War".  "Fredrick Douglas" spoke about his meeting with Abraham Lincoln.  This picture is of the children with a Civil War soldier who spoke about his weapon, life and clothing.

Alyssa has taken on the bread making as part of her weekly responsibilities this year {using the bread machine to make homemade whole wheat bread} and has been doing a great job!  Yesterday the house was filled with the aroma of homemade bread...yummm!

I tried a couple new recipes last night, tweaking them to fit our family's preferences.  Here's what was on the menu last night:

Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry

Taste of Home Recipe for Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry with Smith alterations

I altered the recipe to make it more of a beef gravy versus using the teriyaki sauce since, 1) I didn't have any teriyaki sauce and 2) the sodium content would have been outrageous.  I also omitted the green peppers but substituted them for yellow, orange and red peppers.  I served this over jasmine rice and with a nice side of Jarnette's Festive Greek Salad with homemade Greek Dressing.

Jarnette's Festive Greek Salad with Homemade Greek Dressings

The salad was full of flavor and nutrition.  Since, my husband does not like cheese I reserved the feta and just added to individual servings.

The menu for the rest of this week includes:

• Tuesday ~ Homemade Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
• Wednesday ~ Chicken and Rice Casserole {quick and easy with a nice crunch and color}
• Thursday ~ "Potato Bar Night"...pressure cooked potatoes topped with all the fixings from broccoli, bacon, cheeses, sour cream, herbs, etc.
• Friday ~ Quick and Easy Salisbury Steaks, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Dilly Carrots, Buttermilk Biscuits
• Saturday ~ Baked BBQ Chicken {I bake it in Pampered Chef Stoneware Baker for 1 - 1 1/2 hours on 350 degrees}, Homemade Rice Pilaf, Seasoned Mixed Veggies, Homemade Whole Wheat Bread w/Butter

So, what's for dinner at your home this week?  Leave a comment sharing something you have tried this season to make your home more festive or your meal table more inviting.  I'd love to visit and glean when time permits.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good;

His love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

Blessings,

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Visit Laura for more menu and recipe ideas