S'mores [Layer] Cake

My youngest two girls and I decided we wanted to try something new for dessert on Father's day this year so we came up with this recipe. I made it into a layer cake on the test run, but I would probably go with a simple 9x13, one layer version next time to save time. I may also come up with some other options to make it look a bit prettier in the future.
After making this, I searched online to see if I could put the whole cake under the broiler to give it that toasted look of a roasted marshmallow. I found that you need a cooking torch, but I also saw a s'mores cake recipe that used a graham cracker cake and added whipped chocolate ganache between the layers. I may have to come up with a recipe for graham cracker cake now... 😁

Peaches'n'Cream Tart

We made spinach, ham, turkey, egg, and cheese hand pies for brunch as a family yesterday. Since we're all "stuck" at home together with the "Safer at Home" order in place I figured that we might as well sleep in and then make brunch together. Jared made the filling because he's fantastic at making eggs. Each of the kids took turns helping fill, seal, and brush the pies with egg wash. Then we ate them together with the leftover filling.
Sorry for the rabbit trail. :D
While we were working on brunch, Miss E (my almost 12 yr old) decided that we needed a fruit version. I didn't have enough pie dough ready to make a bunch more hand pies so we decided to make a tart instead. Here's what we did.

Menu 2020: March 29-May 2

March was an interesting month to say the least! I am hopeful that April will be less crazy, or it will at least stay consistently warm enough to be outside more often than it was in March. This "Safer at Home" order is causing a bit of the (stir)crazies at our house. I am thankful that we have more square footage during this time than we did a couple of years ago or things would be much less manageable. :) How has the "quarantine" affected your family?

I didn't follow my menu plan very well after we returned from our mission trip with the kids as things were just starting to get crazy, so I will be using some of last month's ideas this month.

Menu 2020: February 1-March 28

February marks the end of the basketball season for our kids. It's been fun to see them learn a new sport and participate on a team, but I am definitely ready for a more open schedule! This month we are taking our oldest two kids on their first mission trip and my FIL is coming to stay with the youngest two. All four of the kids are incredibly excited about each of their adventures. I am including the menus for both February and March.

Menu 2020: January 1-31

I think that am finally settling in to being "back at work" outside the home. Our schedule is still more hectic than I would prefer but at least we're getting used to it.
Since our family word of the year is "Reset," I am going to attempt to do a better job at organizing a monthly menu in 2020. Writing and sticking to a menu plan helps me to stay on track with both calorie intake and budget, which both my bank account and clothing tell me are needed. :D Here is what I have for January.

Goals for 2020

I have been working on this post since the last week in December so I figured that I better get it finished and posted before the year gets away from me completely. Our dear elderly neighbor told me once that life is like a roll of toilet paper, it goes faster the closer it gets to the end. I would have to agree as time seems to fly by faster with each passing year. Every year my husband and I choose a word of the year to help us work on a specific set of goals. These were our previous "Word of the Year" choices: Focus (2019), Change (2018), Healthy (2017), Simple (2016), Relax (2015), and Better (2014). This year our word is... Drum roll, please........

[Instant Pot] Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

I got a phenomenal deal on chicken leg quarters and decided to make Mexican chicken and rice soup. It was perfect on this cold midwestern day. I used a recipe on Allrecipes as a base for my idea but tweaked it a bit for the Instant Pot. Here's what I did:

Menu 2019: July 1-28

We are settling into life in our new home slowly but surely. It's always interesting to see how long it takes to figure out a new normal. Since we have moved twice in the last year, I am hoping it doesn't take as long to get settled. There are still plenty of boxes to be unpacked and either put away or given away/sold. We are attempting to only keep what we need, love, and have space for. We're still working to get some final remodeling finished up, but I think that's normal for anyone who owns a home. :D
Anyway, here's the menu for July.

Moist and Flavorful Roast Chicken Leg Quarters

My kids LOVE chicken legs, but my hubby does not. I came up with this recipe so that we'd have legs for the kids and thighs for the hubby and me. It's super simple and very flavorful. You can make enough for your family, or mass quantities for a big group. I've had several requests from family and friends for this recipe so I figured that I should finally get it posted.

Menu 2019: June 3-30

Whew! We made it to June. It's been a crazy 10 months for our family, but we've finally settled all in the same place. The kids and I moved into our house completely the last week of May and I am thoroughly enjoying having my hubby and kids all under one roof. There is still going to be some adjustment time for everyone - new house, new schedule, new church, and new friends. We got a good deal of our unpacking done on weekends over the last couple of months but there are still boxes to go through and basement space to set up. Most of the remodeling has also been finished. We have a few projects left to finish, but they shouldn't take too long.
We were blessed by our new church family doing a "Pack the Pantry" project for us. It was a completely unexpected, but wonderful, thing. I was able to skip grocery shopping for the whole first week that we were in the house. It also helped get me further along on writing up my menu for June as I already had full cupboards to choose from. :D