Menu 2017: August 13-September 2

It has been a crazy, busy summer here and I can hardly believe that another school year is upon us already. We had lots going on from church stuff to family stuff. Our youngest broke her arm the middle of July and our oldest daughter had some major issues with her asthma and allergies, which means I've done more daily posting on Facebook about my menu than here. I will try to get back on track with it as we settle into another school year. So without further adieu, here are the menus for the next few weeks.

To love their children...

Several weeks back I was reminded of this Facebook post from eight years ago when I had a 2 year old, almost 1 year old, and was 5 months pregnant with our 3rd child. Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, I thought I should share.

To love their children...

April 13, 2009 at 3:44pm

Today has just been "one of those days". You know the ones I'm talking about - your son is being a stereotypical 2 year old boy and has been awake since 6:30am. You are trying to catch up on some much needed rest, but now know that won't happen. Your almost 1 year old is very cranky because she is teething and her 2 year old brother woke her up much earlier than she likes to be awake. You finally get a break to take a VERY quick shower so you can feel ready for the day. Then a minute into your shower, your 2 year old decides to keep turning the sink water on and off and then on again, causing your shower temp to go from warm to freezing to scalding and then back to warm. You try to finish your shower even faster. Then you hear the almost 1 year old start to fuss, so you quick peek around the shower curtain to see the 2 year old "jumping" over the 1 year old who really isn't in a mood to be messed around with. You quickly rinse any remaining soap off and jump out of the shower to deal with the 2 year old who just as quickly runs out of the bathroom toward the big picture window in the living room, knowing that you will not follow until you are wearing something more than just a bath towel.

And on I could go about the reasons for today being "one of those days" but I need to get to my point - "To love their children..." While having "one of those day," I have been reminded of some verses in Titus 2 that I now understand more fully.

Titus 2:1-5:
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

When hearing or reading these verses, I never fully understood why the older women were to teach the younger women to love their husbands and their children. I always thought, "Why would anyone need to be taught HOW to this? Doesn't love just come naturally?" After being married for a few years, I understood that loving your husband does not always come naturally, but until today I really hadn't thought about how mothers need to be taught "to love their children." I now realize that I must work at loving my children and seek the Lord's help in this area.

I wanted to share my "Duh" moment with you for a couple of reasons:
1. I wanted to let all of you veterans of motherhood, a.k.a. aged women, know how much I appreciate your examples and words of encouragement, they have been a great blessing to me!
2. I wanted to help any other young moms realize they aren't the only ones who may struggle with loving their children on a daily basis. If you're struggling, seek the counsel of the "aged women" and the strength of the Lord because you just can't do it on your own!

Menu 2017: May 14-20

How is it the middle of May already?! As my sweet elderly neighbor used to say, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. It goes quicker the closer it gets to the end." I know I'm only 34, but that's still halfway to the end according to Psalm 90:10, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

We are done with school for the year (Praise the Lord!!!!) and tomorrow is Mother's Day. It is also my oldest daughter's 9th birthday. I vividly remember celebrating her 1st birthday just a short while ago so it's hard for me to reconcile the fact mentally that 8 years have passed since that day.

But, I digress, here is the menu for next week. :)

Menu 2017: January 30-March 5

This year is clipping right along and we are halfway done with school for the year, which EVERYONE is excited about.
February is an especially busy month for us. It's got Valentine's Day. We get to watch some friends' two littles while they get some time away together. We have our church's annual International Dinner, where everyone brings different ethnic food and then we either hear a missions presentation or watch a Bible archaeology movie. My hubby goes on a mission trip to PR while we visit with family. So it's going to be packed, which means easy meals are on the menu.

Pork Schnitzel à la Holstein

A few years ago, my hubby and I tried a new restaurant out for Valentine's Day. The restaurant was fantastic, but then, I've come to expect nothing less than that from a Bartolotta restaurant. My hubby had pork schnitzel with arugula, shaved mushrooms, a fried egg, and Foenegreek gouda for his entree and it was delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I had to work at recreating it so we could have it at home with the kids. Here is my version of the Rumpus Room's pork schnitzel.

Texas Caviar Casserole

Tex-Mex is a favorite cuisine in our family. Rice, beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic, cilantro, cheese, etc., it's all good. I love how this recipe combines all those flavors into one big dish. This dish is inexpensive, versatile, full of flavor, and contains a variety of textures. It can be used as a main dish by adding meat to it, a side with or without meat, an appetizer with tortilla chips, breakfast (leftovers topped with eggs and hot sauce), or maybe even a bedtime snack. The vinaigrette can also be used as a marinade or salad dressing for other dishes. It easily feeds 6-8 people.

Menu 2017: January 2-29

Happy New Year to everyone! We are working to get everything back to normal after the holidays, which means doing a better job of planning out meals ahead of time and sticking to grocery lists. I find that I spend less on groceries when I have a set menu in place. Life also seems a little less chaotic when I know ahead of time what we're having for supper. I also shop better when I can easily see what groceries I need to pick up each week. With that in mind, I am making a 4 week menu plan.

Menu 2016: December 26-January 1

WOW! Has 2016 really come and gone this fast?!?!
This year has just flown by for us. I know menus were a real hit or miss for me so I plan to do better next year. Here is my last menu post for 2016.

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Soup

My husband and I spent 10 days in Israel and Jordan with a group from our church at the end of September. While we were away, two of our kids stayed with my parents and the other two stayed with my oldest sister. The two that stayed with my sister came back with raving reviews of her broccoli soup and begged for me to get the recipe. I finally got the recipe and attempted it tonight with leftover turkey from our Christmas dinner. It was a hit and incredibly easy to throw together!

Menu 2016: October 31-November 20

October was a very busy (and interesting) month. My husband and I were still struggling with jet lag, and the kids were adjusting to being back home and on a regular schedule. We finished our first quarter of school so there are only three more to go till summer break. Can you tell I'm excited about that?! We are looking forward to November and the fun things it brings - my husband's birthday, deer hunting weekend spent at a water park with my husband's brother's family, and Thanksgiving spent with my side of the family. Do you have any special traditions for your family in November?