In Module three, the math about wave lengths and frequency has us working with dividing scientific notation. I wanted to make sure that I had my math facts correct for that. I thought this video helped sum up the refresher that I needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbcua9twIRc
I have been following along on the tests as I've prepared for class to make sure that the material is covered appropriately. For this test, I felt that one of the questions about the Rutherford experiment was not as clear in the text as it could have been. Rutherford discovered protons - this is mentioned in the text prior to his experiment being discussed. The discussion on the experiment focused around protons being in a nucleus. The test question asked about the experiment but didn't mention nucleus only that he discovered protons.
I did contact the publisher and they gave me links to back up that Rutherford discovered protons. I'm not disputing that, I just don't like the wording of the question based on the text that was presented. I will make sure I emphasize in class today that Rutherford's EXPERIMENT is how he discovered protons.
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Apologia Chemistry 3rd Edition - Note 1
This year I'm leading Chemistry at our co-op. We chose Exploring Creation through Chemistry 3rd Edition.
I have 100 minutes with my students once a week. The goal is to work on a module for two weeks together in class.
This week is our 5th meeting which means we are on week one of module 3.
(I lead Chemistry at our co-op two years ago. We used the 2nd Edition that year and we only had 50 minutes together.)
The students take tests at home, they grade at home and their parents assign the grades. I am helping to facilitate some lecture and provide a time to do the experiments together.
For the first test, most of the students did very poorly on the test including my very mathy child. The material wasn't that hard, but you definitely had to pay attention to the details. Those significant digit rules were followed to a T and probably even a little too far in my opinion. https://www.apologia.com/faqs/
As I was preparing my lecture notes for module three, I had the test open as well. I'm going to ask the publisher about question 12 on the module 13 test. The answer isn't directly stated in the text as simplistically as the question is asked.
Module 3 Crash Course videos:
37-0 History of Atomic Theory
1-0 The Nucleus
I have 100 minutes with my students once a week. The goal is to work on a module for two weeks together in class.
This week is our 5th meeting which means we are on week one of module 3.
(I lead Chemistry at our co-op two years ago. We used the 2nd Edition that year and we only had 50 minutes together.)
The students take tests at home, they grade at home and their parents assign the grades. I am helping to facilitate some lecture and provide a time to do the experiments together.
For the first test, most of the students did very poorly on the test including my very mathy child. The material wasn't that hard, but you definitely had to pay attention to the details. Those significant digit rules were followed to a T and probably even a little too far in my opinion. https://www.apologia.com/faqs/
As I was preparing my lecture notes for module three, I had the test open as well. I'm going to ask the publisher about question 12 on the module 13 test. The answer isn't directly stated in the text as simplistically as the question is asked.
Module 3 Crash Course videos:
37-0 History of Atomic Theory
1-0 The Nucleus
Monday, March 14, 2016
Where I buy food
Living in a small town there are not limitless places to purchase high quality or unusual food.
I've found some out of the norm ways to get some good quality food at good prices.
First I typically shop at Aldi. We have not converted to eating organic fruits and veggies though I am seriously considering reworking our budget to include more organic fresh fruits and veggies.
Second I like Kroger over all of the other grocery stores in town. (I don't shop at Wal-Mart.) I like their e-coupons on their app and I tend to find that they have good prices for the things that I buy.
Non-grocery stores that I buy items from: (These may be referral links.).
Zaycon Fresh. We've only purchase chicken so far, but I know that other people are happy with other meat they have purchased. The chicken breasts are so huge! With Zaycon, you order online and pick up at their designated time (usually a 30 minute window) and location which has been the Church of Christ on Hwy E. When you order you see the delivery dates that are available. I think chicken comes about once a quarter. You have to buy a 40 pound box.
Azure Standard. Azure delivers about once a month. They have lots of organic fruits and vegetables and other non-perishables. I have really liked their apples in the fall. We use route P1. The delivery is at Love's Truck Stop. You have to have a minimum order of $50 without an extra surcharge. I've definitely shared with other people before and shared on pick-up as well.
UNFI. UNFI is a warehouse that delivers in Rolla once a month. If you are interested in this option, I can give you the contact person. As it is warehouse ordering, you have to order cases of things. I have typically purchased spices from this avenue. I really like Frontier Herb spices and get those from UNFI. I will buy wheat berries from here as well as Azure Standard depending on the prices. Most recently I purchased olive oil.
Amazon. I also use Subscribe and Save from Amazon. If you schedule five items listed under Subscribe and Save for the same date (month), then you can get 15% off each item. You can cancel any order after the first delivery. Some items may be cheaper from Azure or UNFI, but I have a small order and so I'll pay a little extra from Amazon and then it's delivered to my door! I have purchased nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, spices and different oils as well as paper towels and toilet paper from Amazon. Using Subscribe and Save, the items take about a week to arrive depending on when you schedule your group order.
I have not tried Thrive Market yet though I hear good things about this website. I have also found good prices for some items from VitaCost.com in the past as they had better prices than other websites. VitaCost will generally have promotions to watch for to get a percentage off or free shipping.
I've found some out of the norm ways to get some good quality food at good prices.
First I typically shop at Aldi. We have not converted to eating organic fruits and veggies though I am seriously considering reworking our budget to include more organic fresh fruits and veggies.
Second I like Kroger over all of the other grocery stores in town. (I don't shop at Wal-Mart.) I like their e-coupons on their app and I tend to find that they have good prices for the things that I buy.
Non-grocery stores that I buy items from: (These may be referral links.).
Zaycon Fresh. We've only purchase chicken so far, but I know that other people are happy with other meat they have purchased. The chicken breasts are so huge! With Zaycon, you order online and pick up at their designated time (usually a 30 minute window) and location which has been the Church of Christ on Hwy E. When you order you see the delivery dates that are available. I think chicken comes about once a quarter. You have to buy a 40 pound box.
Azure Standard. Azure delivers about once a month. They have lots of organic fruits and vegetables and other non-perishables. I have really liked their apples in the fall. We use route P1. The delivery is at Love's Truck Stop. You have to have a minimum order of $50 without an extra surcharge. I've definitely shared with other people before and shared on pick-up as well.
UNFI. UNFI is a warehouse that delivers in Rolla once a month. If you are interested in this option, I can give you the contact person. As it is warehouse ordering, you have to order cases of things. I have typically purchased spices from this avenue. I really like Frontier Herb spices and get those from UNFI. I will buy wheat berries from here as well as Azure Standard depending on the prices. Most recently I purchased olive oil.
Amazon. I also use Subscribe and Save from Amazon. If you schedule five items listed under Subscribe and Save for the same date (month), then you can get 15% off each item. You can cancel any order after the first delivery. Some items may be cheaper from Azure or UNFI, but I have a small order and so I'll pay a little extra from Amazon and then it's delivered to my door! I have purchased nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, spices and different oils as well as paper towels and toilet paper from Amazon. Using Subscribe and Save, the items take about a week to arrive depending on when you schedule your group order.
I have not tried Thrive Market yet though I hear good things about this website. I have also found good prices for some items from VitaCost.com in the past as they had better prices than other websites. VitaCost will generally have promotions to watch for to get a percentage off or free shipping.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
The Good Table Sauce & Crust Mix Review
The other day I realized that there was an Ibotta rebate and I had a coupon for The Good Table Sauce & Crust Mix. I checked it out in the aisle with the bread crumbs. I appreciated that they are trying to make a wholesome and convenient product.
The package wasn't on sale at my Kroger, but with a coupon and rebate, I thought it was worth a try. I selected the Parmesan and Herb flavor. The website features four flavors but I'm pretty sure that my store didn't have all of the flavors on the shelf.
So the grocery store price was 2.99. I had a .75 e-coupon and Ibotta also featured a .75 rebate.
I had thawed two large boneless skinless chicken breasts that I had purchased from Zaycon Fresh. The package says that it's for 3 to 4 chicken breasts, but there were pretty big breasts so I figured two would be good. I did use most of the sauce and bread crumbs on these two very large breasts.
The package directions were very clear and I had chicken in the oven coated in a sauce and then bread crumbs very quickly.
My family was very pleased with the smells wafting from the oven and were anxious to try it!
High remarks from the chicken lovers of the family! The comment though was that it tasted a lot like a tilapia recipe that we make from AllRecipes.com. (We will add bread crumbs to the original recipe.)
Without the great deal, I don't know that I will purchase The Good Table Sauce & Crust Mix again, at least not in Parmesan and Herb flavor. I appreciate the idea of adapting a current recipe to use with chicken. I like using the recipe because I tend to have those pantry staples on hand already.
With a coupon and rebate again, I may try another flavor. Who knows, we may even try it on fish instead of chicken!
*Referral links...some of the links are referral links that if you sign-up under those links, I may receive a bonus from that company. I was not asked or given any compensation by The Good Table for this review.
So the grocery store price was 2.99. I had a .75 e-coupon and Ibotta also featured a .75 rebate.
I had thawed two large boneless skinless chicken breasts that I had purchased from Zaycon Fresh. The package says that it's for 3 to 4 chicken breasts, but there were pretty big breasts so I figured two would be good. I did use most of the sauce and bread crumbs on these two very large breasts.
The package directions were very clear and I had chicken in the oven coated in a sauce and then bread crumbs very quickly.
My family was very pleased with the smells wafting from the oven and were anxious to try it!
High remarks from the chicken lovers of the family! The comment though was that it tasted a lot like a tilapia recipe that we make from AllRecipes.com. (We will add bread crumbs to the original recipe.)
Without the great deal, I don't know that I will purchase The Good Table Sauce & Crust Mix again, at least not in Parmesan and Herb flavor. I appreciate the idea of adapting a current recipe to use with chicken. I like using the recipe because I tend to have those pantry staples on hand already.
With a coupon and rebate again, I may try another flavor. Who knows, we may even try it on fish instead of chicken!
*Referral links...some of the links are referral links that if you sign-up under those links, I may receive a bonus from that company. I was not asked or given any compensation by The Good Table for this review.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Science in the Beginning by Dr. Jay L. Wile Review
Today my 12 year old son and I finished Science in the Beginning by Jay L. Wile published by Berean Builders. www.bereanbuilders.com
The curriculum was advertised for K to 6th and my son is 6th graders so my review will be based on being at the very high end of the age range.
We really enjoyed the curriculum and I would highly recommend it for families for kids probably 2nd grade and higher but if you have younger ones as well listening is is great! The book is broken up into 90 different lessons with some that are considered challenge lessons only for older students.
Every lesson contains an experiment. I believe that the experiments are very well thought out and demonstrate the concepts being taught very well. Generally they use household items. There is a list in the book so you can be prepared for each week. We chose to do 2-3 lessons in a setting and worked on science twice a week and we finished at the beginning of February after a little bit of a rocky start in the fall. (Initially my son wanted to do this on his own, but he changed his mind.)
Every lesson has questions for students to complete in their science notebooks as well. There are three levels of questions for each lessons. Oldest students generally do the "older students" questions as well as an additional question that is applying the concept outside of the exact text of the lesson. There are simple questions for the younger students.
We really enjoyed learning about the amazing creation that God created in 6 days and all of the details that are in our wonderful creation!
A supplemental book, Helps & Hints for Science in the Beginning is available with answers to questions. This book also contains tests. The tests were not my favorite. They cover 7 lessons not including the optional lessons. We probably should have broken our schedule down more by the testing schedule and it may have worked better. I thought the tests asked some very basic questions and then some really specific questions. I don't keep grades for my son so it wasn't that big of a deal but generally he did not ace the tests with no review. A review of the lessons before the test would been a good move on my part, but we didn't do that.
Summary - I would highly recommend this science curriculum. For 6th grade, I don't think it's enough for an entire year. If we would have started this when my students were younger, I can see spending an entire year or more in one of the three books of the series and then cycling through them again when they are older.
We will start Science in the Ancient World next week.
The curriculum was advertised for K to 6th and my son is 6th graders so my review will be based on being at the very high end of the age range.
We really enjoyed the curriculum and I would highly recommend it for families for kids probably 2nd grade and higher but if you have younger ones as well listening is is great! The book is broken up into 90 different lessons with some that are considered challenge lessons only for older students.
Every lesson contains an experiment. I believe that the experiments are very well thought out and demonstrate the concepts being taught very well. Generally they use household items. There is a list in the book so you can be prepared for each week. We chose to do 2-3 lessons in a setting and worked on science twice a week and we finished at the beginning of February after a little bit of a rocky start in the fall. (Initially my son wanted to do this on his own, but he changed his mind.)
Every lesson has questions for students to complete in their science notebooks as well. There are three levels of questions for each lessons. Oldest students generally do the "older students" questions as well as an additional question that is applying the concept outside of the exact text of the lesson. There are simple questions for the younger students.
We really enjoyed learning about the amazing creation that God created in 6 days and all of the details that are in our wonderful creation!
A supplemental book, Helps & Hints for Science in the Beginning is available with answers to questions. This book also contains tests. The tests were not my favorite. They cover 7 lessons not including the optional lessons. We probably should have broken our schedule down more by the testing schedule and it may have worked better. I thought the tests asked some very basic questions and then some really specific questions. I don't keep grades for my son so it wasn't that big of a deal but generally he did not ace the tests with no review. A review of the lessons before the test would been a good move on my part, but we didn't do that.
Summary - I would highly recommend this science curriculum. For 6th grade, I don't think it's enough for an entire year. If we would have started this when my students were younger, I can see spending an entire year or more in one of the three books of the series and then cycling through them again when they are older.
We will start Science in the Ancient World next week.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Links for FLL
Videos from Saturday
https://goo.gl/photos/1X1A7arDrvhi7p1T6
https://goo.gl/photos/ccGi51DePKPrKbZj6
https://goo.gl/photos/PNudvCKqstjGmf2u8
I didn't get a video of their project skit.
We are Scrapbusters! Best score of three counts.
https://goo.gl/photos/1X1A7arDrvhi7p1T6
https://goo.gl/photos/ccGi51DePKPrKbZj6
https://goo.gl/photos/PNudvCKqstjGmf2u8
I didn't get a video of their project skit.
We are Scrapbusters! Best score of three counts.
Our giveaway is pig erasers and fast food erasers. Our problem we identified was waste from buffets and our solution was to have restaurants collect the food waste and have pig farmers pick it up!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
This week's menu with recipes
So a friend was looking for suggestions for her menu this week. I shared our menu and am now sharing the recipes.
Monday - Pork Steaks, baked potatoes, cooked carrots, raw cauliflower
(Sorry no recipes - I boiled the carrots and then put olive oil, garlic salt and salt and pepper on them and then put then in the crock pot. They are good roasted in the oven too. My husband cooked the meat.) We found it actually a little odd last night that we were having a meat, potato, veggie meal. The traditional "American meal" doesn't really happen very often in our house.
Tuesday - Roasted Tomato Pasta
(adding artichoke is really yummy too)
We will be eating this with the person whose recipe card I took a picture of!
As a side note - we don't like this soup frozen and then thawed. I will make twice the veggies and then freeze the veggies alone and make the cheese sauce to mix with the thawed veggies. The potatoes do fall apart some more, but it's soup. (This week I will be using veggies that are in the freezer.)
Monday - Pork Steaks, baked potatoes, cooked carrots, raw cauliflower
(Sorry no recipes - I boiled the carrots and then put olive oil, garlic salt and salt and pepper on them and then put then in the crock pot. They are good roasted in the oven too. My husband cooked the meat.) We found it actually a little odd last night that we were having a meat, potato, veggie meal. The traditional "American meal" doesn't really happen very often in our house.
Tuesday - Roasted Tomato Pasta
(adding artichoke is really yummy too)
We will be eating this with the person whose recipe card I took a picture of!
Wednesday - Vegetarian Tortilla Stew (doubled)
Red enchilada sauce works just as well as the green called for in the recipe. I make my own beans from dried and will use what I have either pinto or black or a combo. (My family will probably put in some real chicken too left over from Sunday.)
Thursday - Frittata
(using extra baked potatoes from Monday instead of hashbrowns)
I'll vary the veggies/toppings that I use based on what is in the frig! I use this as a guide. I put in as many eggs that I think we will eat (or have) and use what potatoes I have on hand. We like the left over sliced baked potatoes.
Friday - Potato Curry Soup
This is from an old cooking magazine that I will need to add later. It's made with potatoes and evaporated milk, ginger and curry powder. A friend made it with coconut milk and said it was delicious.
Saturday - Cheddar Chowder with Wild Rice
Here is the family favorite recipe and I will add wild rice because I was given some wild rice. The rice gives it a nice texture.
Cheddar Chowder
2 cups Water
2 cups chopped potatoes
½ cups chopped carrots
½ cups chopped celery
¼ cups chopped onion
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can whole kernel corn
1 cup cooked ground beef or sausage (optional)
Cheese Sauce
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
4 ounces Velvetta cheese
4 ounces cheddar cheese
Bring water to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender, do not drain. In a separate pot, melt butter. Add flour to butter mixing well. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly until think. Add cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted. Combine all ingredients and add corn. Add meat if desired as well.
Makes 4 to 6 large servings.
Friday, February 20, 2015
T-shirt Yarn Rug
Where to put those shoes when you come in from the snow? A T-shirt yarn rug.
We also use one as a bathroom rug. Because it's made with t-shirt yarn, it's absorbent, warm and very washable!
To make this knitted rug
I used The Addictive Baby Blanket pattern from Ribbed for Your Pleasure. (The pattern does make a beautiful baby blanket.)
Cut strips of 1in t-shirt yarn. The knitting needles that I used are 1/2in diameter.
Cast on 38 stitches (if using the Anne's Decorative Edge Edit). The pattern can be done in any multiple of 6 with an added stitch on each end.
About 80 rows total from the pattern.
Depending on the size of the t-shirts, one rug takes about 8 shirts.
We also use one as a bathroom rug. Because it's made with t-shirt yarn, it's absorbent, warm and very washable!
To make this knitted rug
I used The Addictive Baby Blanket pattern from Ribbed for Your Pleasure. (The pattern does make a beautiful baby blanket.)
Cut strips of 1in t-shirt yarn. The knitting needles that I used are 1/2in diameter.
Cast on 38 stitches (if using the Anne's Decorative Edge Edit). The pattern can be done in any multiple of 6 with an added stitch on each end.
About 80 rows total from the pattern.
Depending on the size of the t-shirts, one rug takes about 8 shirts.
Finished dimensions (after being walked on) approximately 25x20inches.
I feel like the photo shows more variance in the colors between the shirts than we see in natural light.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
1 week post menu challenge
I declare the challenge a success!
So, we easily made it through the three weeks of the planned menu. Last week I was kind of bummed that I actually had to plan a menu again. I did a weeks worth and now I need to do that again. I think the longer range menu plan is worth the effort!
I have a few things that I will want to schedule into meals.
- Soup mix that was a Christmas gift - planned for tomorrow (Sunday) lunch. (I picked up some ground beef on sale and using homemade turkey broth instead of beef broth because that's what I have.)
- Wild Rice - after reading some recipes, I'm going to make some and add to one of our favorites - Cheddar Chowder
- Navy Beans - I will plan to make "picnic beans" soon
The freezer is still looking pretty full. I hate to plan frozen pizza unless I know it's going to be a crazy day. (If there's a plan, the less likely it will be crazy!)
The pantry is definitely looking emptier except for the baking corner. Baking challenge next?
Menu Plan
Sunday (15th) - Gift Soup, Salad, Banana Bread (from freezer)
Monday (16th) - Bean Burritos (pinto beans in frig)
Tuesday (17th) - Cheddar Chowder with Wild Rice
Wednesday (18th) - Chili with Meat (on the side) - will use black and garbanzo beans that i have in bulk
Thursday (19th) - Everyday Lentils with Naan (?attempt to make my own)
Friday (20th) - Spinach Artichoke Dip (spinach in freezer)
Saturday (21st) - Salmon Burgers, Balsamic Onions (cheap onions recently), Tater Tots, Lemon Cake (Mix)
Sunday (22nd) - Taquitos (freezer), stuffing (freezer)
Monday (23rd) - Mexican Spinach Lasagna
Tuesday (24th) - Pizza
Wednesday (25th) - Eggs
Thursday (26th) - Turkey (freezer), Green Bean Casserole, Potatoes
Friday (27th) - Fruit Salad for Spelling Bee Lunch, ?Dinner
So, we easily made it through the three weeks of the planned menu. Last week I was kind of bummed that I actually had to plan a menu again. I did a weeks worth and now I need to do that again. I think the longer range menu plan is worth the effort!
I have a few things that I will want to schedule into meals.
- Soup mix that was a Christmas gift - planned for tomorrow (Sunday) lunch. (I picked up some ground beef on sale and using homemade turkey broth instead of beef broth because that's what I have.)
- Wild Rice - after reading some recipes, I'm going to make some and add to one of our favorites - Cheddar Chowder
- Navy Beans - I will plan to make "picnic beans" soon
The freezer is still looking pretty full. I hate to plan frozen pizza unless I know it's going to be a crazy day. (If there's a plan, the less likely it will be crazy!)
The pantry is definitely looking emptier except for the baking corner. Baking challenge next?
Menu Plan
Sunday (15th) - Gift Soup, Salad, Banana Bread (from freezer)
Monday (16th) - Bean Burritos (pinto beans in frig)
Tuesday (17th) - Cheddar Chowder with Wild Rice
Wednesday (18th) - Chili with Meat (on the side) - will use black and garbanzo beans that i have in bulk
Thursday (19th) - Everyday Lentils with Naan (?attempt to make my own)
Friday (20th) - Spinach Artichoke Dip (spinach in freezer)
Saturday (21st) - Salmon Burgers, Balsamic Onions (cheap onions recently), Tater Tots, Lemon Cake (Mix)
Sunday (22nd) - Taquitos (freezer), stuffing (freezer)
Monday (23rd) - Mexican Spinach Lasagna
Tuesday (24th) - Pizza
Wednesday (25th) - Eggs
Thursday (26th) - Turkey (freezer), Green Bean Casserole, Potatoes
Friday (27th) - Fruit Salad for Spelling Bee Lunch, ?Dinner
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Tuesday, 19th day of menu plan
Wow, I can't believe that it's been 19 days since I have menu planned!
Tonight's dinner is a combination stuff that was purchased for "sometime" or frozen for later and will come together tonight.
The meatballs were from a sale/coupon at Kroger at some point. We made vodka sauce (doctored from a jar) and froze what we didn't eat. The regular pasta was from some sale and the Gnocchi was given to me at some point.
We are short on fresh vegetables because I've been trying to stay out of the grocery store, so I'll pull out a frozen one and maybe some 5 minute a day bread.
Looks like a pretty good meal for cleaning out the freezer/pantry!
Update on past days -
Friday - we ended up eating leftover Tortilla Stew and did not make a new soup
Saturday - I didn't make a meal at all in the evening. We snacked through the day and my husband make pancakes in the morning
Sunday - For church we brought salad (from the neighbor), curried yellow split peas with potatoes and carrots with rice and cookies (which were both made by someone else but ended up at our house)
Monday - I gave my children the choice of Red Lentil Curry (on the menu) or potato curry soup and they chose potato curry. I had thawed a tenderloin and roasted it to go with the other vegetarian meals this week. (I had thought that we would eat this on Saturday, but didn't.)
I'm surprised at how some food supplies are lasting. The 10 pound bag of potatoes has now been used for multiple meals and there are still some there.
Yesterday the lack of left overs and some other convenience foods for lunch was evident, but no one went hungry! The pantry is definitely starting to look a little more bare which is good. The freezer still seems pretty full. We need to eat some more peaches. I need to not buy fresh fruit so we eat the peaches in the freezer and the applesauce in the pantry.
Tonight's dinner is a combination stuff that was purchased for "sometime" or frozen for later and will come together tonight.
The meatballs were from a sale/coupon at Kroger at some point. We made vodka sauce (doctored from a jar) and froze what we didn't eat. The regular pasta was from some sale and the Gnocchi was given to me at some point.
We are short on fresh vegetables because I've been trying to stay out of the grocery store, so I'll pull out a frozen one and maybe some 5 minute a day bread.
Looks like a pretty good meal for cleaning out the freezer/pantry!
Update on past days -
Friday - we ended up eating leftover Tortilla Stew and did not make a new soup
Saturday - I didn't make a meal at all in the evening. We snacked through the day and my husband make pancakes in the morning
Sunday - For church we brought salad (from the neighbor), curried yellow split peas with potatoes and carrots with rice and cookies (which were both made by someone else but ended up at our house)
Monday - I gave my children the choice of Red Lentil Curry (on the menu) or potato curry soup and they chose potato curry. I had thawed a tenderloin and roasted it to go with the other vegetarian meals this week. (I had thought that we would eat this on Saturday, but didn't.)
I'm surprised at how some food supplies are lasting. The 10 pound bag of potatoes has now been used for multiple meals and there are still some there.
Yesterday the lack of left overs and some other convenience foods for lunch was evident, but no one went hungry! The pantry is definitely starting to look a little more bare which is good. The freezer still seems pretty full. We need to eat some more peaches. I need to not buy fresh fruit so we eat the peaches in the freezer and the applesauce in the pantry.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Thursday 14th Day Menu Plan Update
It's Thursday and the 14th day of my menu plan to use up food in our house.
We are diverting from the menu today and just going with frozen pizza and cheese sticks and some salad. Today was supposed to be Pancakes and Eggs and Sausage. The sausage had already been eaten which was the main item to use up...though I do have quite a bit of pancake mix on hand. In the end, I didn't go to the store to buy the pizza or the cheese sticks, they were already there. So, I don't feel I'm cheating too much.
This past Sunday I made lots of things from boxes to use up stuff according to plan. I had baked the turkey in my freezer since November earlier in the week. I had a box of Stove Top and I had a box of cheesy potatoes and a jar of gravy. At potluck I served turkey with the potatoes and stuffing and gravy! Someone else brought corn - it was a prefect bland colored from a box/bag kind of meal.
Soon after I started my clean out the frig/freezer/pantry campaign, I did go to Aldi and ended up spending $80...so I think I need to continue with the menu planning beyond next Sunday because I still have lots of food in my house. I even found a few things in my pantry that I had forgotten about.
Here's my Aldi cart from the other day.
So I think that the best way for me to save money on groceries is to make a plan and then stay out of the grocery store! If I don't go, we eat the food in the house.
I did run into Aldi today and bought 5 things, only 5 things and I had enough cash in my food money stash to cover it! I am proud of myself for doing the minimalist shopping!
We are diverting from the menu today and just going with frozen pizza and cheese sticks and some salad. Today was supposed to be Pancakes and Eggs and Sausage. The sausage had already been eaten which was the main item to use up...though I do have quite a bit of pancake mix on hand. In the end, I didn't go to the store to buy the pizza or the cheese sticks, they were already there. So, I don't feel I'm cheating too much.
This past Sunday I made lots of things from boxes to use up stuff according to plan. I had baked the turkey in my freezer since November earlier in the week. I had a box of Stove Top and I had a box of cheesy potatoes and a jar of gravy. At potluck I served turkey with the potatoes and stuffing and gravy! Someone else brought corn - it was a prefect bland colored from a box/bag kind of meal.
Soon after I started my clean out the frig/freezer/pantry campaign, I did go to Aldi and ended up spending $80...so I think I need to continue with the menu planning beyond next Sunday because I still have lots of food in my house. I even found a few things in my pantry that I had forgotten about.
Here's my Aldi cart from the other day.
So I think that the best way for me to save money on groceries is to make a plan and then stay out of the grocery store! If I don't go, we eat the food in the house.
I did run into Aldi today and bought 5 things, only 5 things and I had enough cash in my food money stash to cover it! I am proud of myself for doing the minimalist shopping!
Monday, January 19, 2015
Update on Saturday, Sunday & Monday
Saturday night
I did make homemade pizza.
The funny thing is that I put more in the freezer than took out!
I made enough crust to freeze some for the next pizza night. I also make enough sauce for our next pizza night too!
I used up mozzarella cheese that I have bought to make pizza "sometime".
I didn't end up cutting up the fresh veggies though which is pretty unusual. We had some drama happening that night and I think we were just ready to eat.
Chocolate Cream Pie was made by my younger son earlier in the day, but no one ate any on Saturday.
Sunday
Because there was a whole lasagna left over from Friday night, I just warmed that up for Sunday. I didn't end up getting any peaches out of the freezer. I used up some of the food that I got from our neighbor for salad, but there were two other salads there too so not much was eaten. It was not the best anymore so what didn't get eaten went to the compost pile.
We did serve the chocolate pie and most of it was enjoyed.
So, in reality I could add one meal to the end of the list since three days in we skipped a meal!
Monday
We cooked the bacon that has been in the frig for a few weeks. (I can't believe that my carnivore men did not consume it earlier.)
We ate the menu that we planned!
I had rice in the frig that was planned for Sunday that I made fried rice with for lunch today. Other people ate left over pizza.
The turkey is pretty much thawed for tomorrow. (Yes, this was a Thanksgiving purchase. This is why I made the plan.)
I did make homemade pizza.
The funny thing is that I put more in the freezer than took out!
I made enough crust to freeze some for the next pizza night. I also make enough sauce for our next pizza night too!
I used up mozzarella cheese that I have bought to make pizza "sometime".
I didn't end up cutting up the fresh veggies though which is pretty unusual. We had some drama happening that night and I think we were just ready to eat.
Chocolate Cream Pie was made by my younger son earlier in the day, but no one ate any on Saturday.
Sunday
Because there was a whole lasagna left over from Friday night, I just warmed that up for Sunday. I didn't end up getting any peaches out of the freezer. I used up some of the food that I got from our neighbor for salad, but there were two other salads there too so not much was eaten. It was not the best anymore so what didn't get eaten went to the compost pile.
We did serve the chocolate pie and most of it was enjoyed.
So, in reality I could add one meal to the end of the list since three days in we skipped a meal!
Monday
We cooked the bacon that has been in the frig for a few weeks. (I can't believe that my carnivore men did not consume it earlier.)
We ate the menu that we planned!
I had rice in the frig that was planned for Sunday that I made fried rice with for lunch today. Other people ate left over pizza.
The turkey is pretty much thawed for tomorrow. (Yes, this was a Thanksgiving purchase. This is why I made the plan.)
Menu Plan Update for Friday the 16th and a little about our eating habits
So, I started on a three week (or so) menu plan to use up stuff in our house.
A little about our eating habits...
We are family of four with one pre-teen boy and one early teen boy that is growing like crazy. Generally all four of us eat three meals and snacks at home a day. Mom is a vegetarian though the rest of the family is not.
I generally plan out a weeks worth of dinner meals and grocery shop for those meals and pick up items that are on-sale/have great coupons for beyond the list. I do not specifically plan breakfast and lunch.
Everyone makes their own breakfast which is usually cold cereal, oatmeal, homemade granola and yogurt, homemade bread/toast or fruit or whatever seems interesting. Lunch is "from the frig" with left overs. Mom and Dad are usually good about eating left overs and I try to have salad in the frig too. Older son prefers to have sandwich and yogurt but younger son does like to make a box of mac and cheese. Both will eat lots of cut-up fresh vegetables at lunch.
Sunday we participate in a potluck meal at church so the meal plan is for lunch and not dinner like the rest of the week. Sunday night is popcorn and whatever else you find in the frig or what friends may bring when they come over to play games.
Update for Friday, January 16th
I had picked up two containers of ricotta cheese at Aldi. They don't always have this at my Aldi and my family likes dishes with ricotta cheese.
I had about 8 manicotti shells and a package of lasagna noodles that I picked up with a coupon or Ibotta rebate or something awhile ago so that was the inspiration for this evenings meal.
I had planned to pick up some sauce, but Friday morning I found myself with a tray of sliced tomatoes that needed to be dealt with immediately. So I make a sauce in the pressure cooker with the tomatoes, some frozen red onion, frozen chopped celery and some spices (including basil from the summer).
The cheese filling consisted of ricotta cheese, a box of frozen spinach, egg, garlic salt and a jar of marinated artichokes. I had enough filling and sauce for the manicotti, a pan of lasagna and then four lasagna noodle "roll-ups". Only a few noodles left over!
My family enjoyed it! Almost the entire lasagna was left over.
A little about our eating habits...
We are family of four with one pre-teen boy and one early teen boy that is growing like crazy. Generally all four of us eat three meals and snacks at home a day. Mom is a vegetarian though the rest of the family is not.
I generally plan out a weeks worth of dinner meals and grocery shop for those meals and pick up items that are on-sale/have great coupons for beyond the list. I do not specifically plan breakfast and lunch.
Everyone makes their own breakfast which is usually cold cereal, oatmeal, homemade granola and yogurt, homemade bread/toast or fruit or whatever seems interesting. Lunch is "from the frig" with left overs. Mom and Dad are usually good about eating left overs and I try to have salad in the frig too. Older son prefers to have sandwich and yogurt but younger son does like to make a box of mac and cheese. Both will eat lots of cut-up fresh vegetables at lunch.
Sunday we participate in a potluck meal at church so the meal plan is for lunch and not dinner like the rest of the week. Sunday night is popcorn and whatever else you find in the frig or what friends may bring when they come over to play games.
Update for Friday, January 16th
I had picked up two containers of ricotta cheese at Aldi. They don't always have this at my Aldi and my family likes dishes with ricotta cheese.
I had about 8 manicotti shells and a package of lasagna noodles that I picked up with a coupon or Ibotta rebate or something awhile ago so that was the inspiration for this evenings meal.
I had planned to pick up some sauce, but Friday morning I found myself with a tray of sliced tomatoes that needed to be dealt with immediately. So I make a sauce in the pressure cooker with the tomatoes, some frozen red onion, frozen chopped celery and some spices (including basil from the summer).
The cheese filling consisted of ricotta cheese, a box of frozen spinach, egg, garlic salt and a jar of marinated artichokes. I had enough filling and sauce for the manicotti, a pan of lasagna and then four lasagna noodle "roll-ups". Only a few noodles left over!
My family enjoyed it! Almost the entire lasagna was left over.
Using up stuff dinner menu plan
Our pantry, frig and freezer are not over-stuffed, but we do have quite a bit of food in the house. When I make our weekly menu plan, I do try and use what we have on hand, but I decided to think about this for about three weeks instead of just one.
My goal is to "use up" stuff that we have frozen and maybe save up some of our grocery budget for later months. I also want to blog about how well we stuck with the menu plan.
Green items were in the pantry/freezer/frig that were not previously designated for a meal. I do buy in bulk for dried beans and rice, so there are large bags of those sitting around which will be replaced when they are used. I froze or canned a few vegetables from our summer garden and froze some fresh fruit that we bought in season. We will eat more vegetables than what is listed. I will buy what is on sale at the grocery store and make an attempt to use what we have frozen, I just didn't plan all of this out.
Friday, January 16th
Manicotti, lasagna
- manicotti noodles
- lasagna noodles
- parm cheese
- moz cheese
- ricotta cheese
Saturday, January 17th
- homemade pizza
(make extra dough for freezer)
Chocolate cream pie box mix
Sunday, January 18th
Black Beans/Rice
- can of tomatoes w/ chilies
- black beans in freezer
- rice in frig
Peaches
Salad
Monday, 19th
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon
Tuesday, 20th
Roast Turkey (thawed since Sunday)
Roasted Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
- French Fried Onions
Wednesday, 21st
Lentil Tacos
- Red Lentils
- Soft Tortillas
- Fajita Veggies (freezer)
Salsa
Thursday, 22nd
Nachos
- pinto beans in freezer
- tomatoes with chilis for cheese sauce
- Salsa
- Black Olives
Friday, 23rd
Stir-fry w/ Tofu
- Sesame Ginger sauce in frig
Saturday, 24th
Pork Tenderloin
Mashed Potatoes
Veggie TBD
Sunday, 25th
Turkey (Left over from Tuesday)
Stove Top Stuffing
Gravy
Potatoes (?Box)
Monday 26th
Falafel
- Pita
- hummus
Tuesday, 27th
Cheddar Chowder Soup
- Celery (frozen)
Wednesday, 28th
Tortilla Stew
- Enchilada Sauce
- Pinto Beans
- Corn Tortillas
Thursday, 29th
Pancakes
Eggs
Chicken Sausage
Make Gooey Butter Cake
- Cream Cheese
- Cake Mix
Friday, 30th
Potato Curry Soup
- Evaporated Milk
Saturday 31st
Left-overs or a meal that we skipped
Sunday, Feb 1st
Salad
Dal
- yellow split peas
Rice
Peaches (frozen)
Monday, Feb 2nd
Red Lentil Curry
- Red Lentils
Rice
Tuesday, 3rd
Gnochi
Pasta
Vodka Sauce
Meatballs
Wednesday, 4th
Black Beans/Rice
- Black Beans dry
- Rice
- Celery (frozen)
?Tenderloin
Thursday, 5th
Lentil Tacos
- Hard Taco Shells
Friday, 6th
Pizza
- Crust (from 1/17)
- Sauce (from 1/17)
Saturday, 7th
Chili
- Kidney Beans (freezer)
- Chickpeas (freezer)
- Celery (freezer)
Corn Bread
- Buttermilk
- Corn Meal
Sunday, 8th
Ham Slices
Mexican Rice
- Rice
Corn Bread
- Buttermilk
- Corn Meal
My goal is to "use up" stuff that we have frozen and maybe save up some of our grocery budget for later months. I also want to blog about how well we stuck with the menu plan.
Green items were in the pantry/freezer/frig that were not previously designated for a meal. I do buy in bulk for dried beans and rice, so there are large bags of those sitting around which will be replaced when they are used. I froze or canned a few vegetables from our summer garden and froze some fresh fruit that we bought in season. We will eat more vegetables than what is listed. I will buy what is on sale at the grocery store and make an attempt to use what we have frozen, I just didn't plan all of this out.
Friday, January 16th
Manicotti, lasagna
- manicotti noodles
- lasagna noodles
- parm cheese
- moz cheese
- ricotta cheese
Saturday, January 17th
- homemade pizza
(make extra dough for freezer)
Chocolate cream pie box mix
Sunday, January 18th
Black Beans/Rice
- can of tomatoes w/ chilies
- black beans in freezer
- rice in frig
Peaches
Salad
Monday, 19th
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon
Tuesday, 20th
Roast Turkey (thawed since Sunday)
Roasted Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
- French Fried Onions
Wednesday, 21st
Lentil Tacos
- Red Lentils
- Soft Tortillas
- Fajita Veggies (freezer)
Salsa
Thursday, 22nd
Nachos
- pinto beans in freezer
- tomatoes with chilis for cheese sauce
- Salsa
- Black Olives
Friday, 23rd
Stir-fry w/ Tofu
- Sesame Ginger sauce in frig
Saturday, 24th
Pork Tenderloin
Mashed Potatoes
Veggie TBD
Sunday, 25th
Turkey (Left over from Tuesday)
Stove Top Stuffing
Gravy
Potatoes (?Box)
Monday 26th
Falafel
- Pita
- hummus
Tuesday, 27th
Cheddar Chowder Soup
- Celery (frozen)
Wednesday, 28th
Tortilla Stew
- Enchilada Sauce
- Pinto Beans
- Corn Tortillas
Thursday, 29th
Pancakes
Eggs
Chicken Sausage
Make Gooey Butter Cake
- Cream Cheese
- Cake Mix
Friday, 30th
Potato Curry Soup
- Evaporated Milk
Saturday 31st
Left-overs or a meal that we skipped
Sunday, Feb 1st
Salad
Dal
- yellow split peas
Rice
Peaches (frozen)
Monday, Feb 2nd
Red Lentil Curry
- Red Lentils
Rice
Tuesday, 3rd
Gnochi
Pasta
Vodka Sauce
Meatballs
Wednesday, 4th
Black Beans/Rice
- Black Beans dry
- Rice
- Celery (frozen)
?Tenderloin
Thursday, 5th
Lentil Tacos
- Hard Taco Shells
Friday, 6th
Pizza
- Crust (from 1/17)
- Sauce (from 1/17)
Saturday, 7th
Chili
- Kidney Beans (freezer)
- Chickpeas (freezer)
- Celery (freezer)
Corn Bread
- Buttermilk
- Corn Meal
Sunday, 8th
Ham Slices
Mexican Rice
- Rice
Corn Bread
- Buttermilk
- Corn Meal
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Yummy Spiced Apples
Yummy Spiced Apples based on the recipe from Ransom Cakes.
We canned these last year and wanted to do them again this year with our free apples. Last year we used Gala apples because we had purchased a box and no one wanted to eat them.
This year we were blessed with some free apples. I won't be as stingy with the apples this winter as I was last winter. The entire family helped getting the apples ready and I really appreciate that.
Today's canning totals are: 9 quarts applesauce, 2 pints applesauce, 10 quarts spiced apples and 1 pint spiced apples.
Looking forward to making some quick yummy apple crisp when the fresh fruit isn't quite as fresh (and cheap).
We canned these last year and wanted to do them again this year with our free apples. Last year we used Gala apples because we had purchased a box and no one wanted to eat them.
This year we were blessed with some free apples. I won't be as stingy with the apples this winter as I was last winter. The entire family helped getting the apples ready and I really appreciate that.
Today's canning totals are: 9 quarts applesauce, 2 pints applesauce, 10 quarts spiced apples and 1 pint spiced apples.
Looking forward to making some quick yummy apple crisp when the fresh fruit isn't quite as fresh (and cheap).
Friday, September 5, 2014
Driscoll's Advisory Panel - worth the effort!
I've seen info about the Driscoll's Advisory Panel before, but this summer I got serious about it. I knew that I received a coupon with each survey, but hadn't paid too close of attention. The .50 coupon wasn't as enticing when my store didn't double coupons any more.
My local Kroger had raspberries on sale this summer...we love raspberries and haven't been successful in growing any. At .50 a package (after the coupon), I was excited for the treat. I've noticed this a couple of times this year at a dollar or $1.25 per package.
So I started completing the surveys with the product code on the back of the package. I advanced from .50 coupons to .75 coupons.
With enough surveys I am now a "Gold" member and for every survey I get a $1 off coupon. You can print each coupon twice.
This week at Kroger raspberries are on sale for $.99!
We will be Krogering for sure this week :) The berries freeze well. I won't say that we will enjoy them all winter because they just won't keep that long!
(My Kroger's coupon policy is to only use 5 of the same coupon per day. So we will have to make multiple trips this week.)
My local Kroger had raspberries on sale this summer...we love raspberries and haven't been successful in growing any. At .50 a package (after the coupon), I was excited for the treat. I've noticed this a couple of times this year at a dollar or $1.25 per package.
So I started completing the surveys with the product code on the back of the package. I advanced from .50 coupons to .75 coupons.
With enough surveys I am now a "Gold" member and for every survey I get a $1 off coupon. You can print each coupon twice.
This week at Kroger raspberries are on sale for $.99!
We will be Krogering for sure this week :) The berries freeze well. I won't say that we will enjoy them all winter because they just won't keep that long!
(My Kroger's coupon policy is to only use 5 of the same coupon per day. So we will have to make multiple trips this week.)
Thursday, September 4, 2014
End of a good back to school day!
The annual CHESS back to school picnic finished off our evening! It was a fun back to school kind of day.
This morning I decided not to run which I typically do on Thursday, but I ran Tuesday's run on Wednesday and I have a few aches and pains.
Drove over to my friend's house to find her electric kettle for hot water for science experiments...forgot to go pick up drinks for lunch while I was out.
Around 9 the three year old and 7 month old arrived so mom could do something important. I didn't have my stuffed peppers dish made yet though it was in process at this point.
We attempt to get my food made while two little ones are around and get some schooling done. I don't know how those with small children do it!
11am the little kids are picked up. I print off some of the last things needed for co-op. Pick up friends and get the kids to Student Council meeting at co-op. Run some errands to get for co-op....(Two grocery stores did not have a non-carbonated option in 2 liter!)
12:45 Co-op begins! So fun to see all of the kids and families :)
Felt great to sit down for a few minutes between classes with some other moms.
Science Experiments went well :) Grapes float on top of corn syrup!
Kids to MEGSSS...actually talk with my husband face to face before he substitute teaches for MEGSSS.
Come home and finish my dish for the night. (Postpunkballads is my favorite station on Pandora!) Load up tables and water cooler.
Arrive at CHESS Picnic and visit. Go pick up my boys...husband off to volleyball. Back to picnic. Enjoy hanging out with different people. We help clean up and bring home a worn out bunch!
A good day indeed. I feel like school has really started now!
This morning I decided not to run which I typically do on Thursday, but I ran Tuesday's run on Wednesday and I have a few aches and pains.
Drove over to my friend's house to find her electric kettle for hot water for science experiments...forgot to go pick up drinks for lunch while I was out.
Around 9 the three year old and 7 month old arrived so mom could do something important. I didn't have my stuffed peppers dish made yet though it was in process at this point.
We attempt to get my food made while two little ones are around and get some schooling done. I don't know how those with small children do it!
11am the little kids are picked up. I print off some of the last things needed for co-op. Pick up friends and get the kids to Student Council meeting at co-op. Run some errands to get for co-op....(Two grocery stores did not have a non-carbonated option in 2 liter!)
12:45 Co-op begins! So fun to see all of the kids and families :)
Felt great to sit down for a few minutes between classes with some other moms.
Science Experiments went well :) Grapes float on top of corn syrup!
Kids to MEGSSS...actually talk with my husband face to face before he substitute teaches for MEGSSS.
Come home and finish my dish for the night. (Postpunkballads is my favorite station on Pandora!) Load up tables and water cooler.
Arrive at CHESS Picnic and visit. Go pick up my boys...husband off to volleyball. Back to picnic. Enjoy hanging out with different people. We help clean up and bring home a worn out bunch!
A good day indeed. I feel like school has really started now!
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
School is starting once again!
No school today! My little guy turns 11 today and his request was to NOT do school on his birthday...the good mom that I am has mostly agreed.
My older guy is being challenged to set up a blog this year as part of his school so we are working on that right now next to each other.
But our school year has officially begun! Sonlight Core W is the base curriculum that we are using. For math, both boys are enrolled in the new MEGSSS program being offered locally for the first time. They both have some goals in Khan Academy as well. They both chose to learn German this year through Duolingo. We have some other assorted subjects as well, but today is a play day :)
My older guy is being challenged to set up a blog this year as part of his school so we are working on that right now next to each other.
But our school year has officially begun! Sonlight Core W is the base curriculum that we are using. For math, both boys are enrolled in the new MEGSSS program being offered locally for the first time. They both have some goals in Khan Academy as well. They both chose to learn German this year through Duolingo. We have some other assorted subjects as well, but today is a play day :)
Monday, June 16, 2014
Used Book and Curriculum Fair
It was a fun day. I got rid of quite a bit of stuff, and found a book that I wanted for next year!
As an organizer I ended up with four boxes off of the "free" table that I sorted through - recycle, trash, donate.
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