Happy Mother's Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful day with their families today. I woke up with a rather annoying cold, but still had a great day. The boys made breakfast for me, I got to read for a while, and I took a very long nap. I also got to see the new Star Trek movie, which was awesome! We were originally supposed to go on a float trip, but the nasty weather and my health kind of blew that activity.

I had a friend ask me this week if I would share an example of my weekly planning form. So, here is an example. I've been using this for a couple of years, and it works great for me. I start off by listing my family's activities so I know what kind of meal to plan. If it's a night where we won't be home until late, I know that I need to either plan a crockpot meal or have something made ahead of time. I then list my dinner menu, and as I look at the recipe, I make my list of items I need to get at the grocery store.



Here are links to my templates if you would like to use them. Feel free to modify them to fit your needs.

Weekly Menu Plan - Word doc
Weekly Menu Plan - pdf

On with this week's menu. We do have a crazy week, so you'll see that I kept it pretty simple. I didn't get to the spaghetti last week, so it's back on for this week. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Have a great week!

Sunday - Manicotti with Cheese, Broccoli, Salad
Monday - leftovers or eat out with author
Tuesday - Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing, Basil Green Beans, Peaches
Wednesday - Beef Enchiladas, Salad, Corn
Thursday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Salad, Cheese Garlic Bread
Friday - Homemeade Pizza, Salad
Saturday - Ultimate BBQ Chicken, Green Beans Almondine, Salad, Strawberries

This is my mother-in-law’s recipe, and it is simple and tastes great! It's also loaded with fiber - 9 grams per serving! I make a batch a freeze it in individual portions and bring it for lunch. :) There's no way to make pea soup look appetizing, but I went ahead and posted a picture anyway. It's an awesome soup.

Ingredients
1 pkg dried split peas
1 med. Onion, diced
9 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 pork hock

Directions
Rinse peas in colander. Put in soup pot with water, onion, salt, and hock. Cook covered several hours until peas are soft (mushy).

I have some new readers to my blog after sharing my computer mom geekiness (is that a word?) with a local MOPS group, so I thought I should explain the method to my madness. :-)

You might wonder why I start my menu posts each week with highlights from my family's life. I do it for a couple of reasons. First, my mom and my mother-in-law read this blog and it's a quick way to let them know what we've been up to during the week. ;-) But, I also do it to show that we are normal people with busy lives just like everyone else. I often have people ask me if I ever sleep or how I have time to do things like meal plan. I do realize I am obsessive things (not everyone gets a kick out of photographing their dinner every night ), but I hope that by recapping my week for you, it shows you that planning meals can actually save you time. I base my meals on the activities we have each week. I'll post an example of my planning form later in the week to give you an example. So, on with my normal recap.

Well, it was another great week for the Matzat family. We celebrated Eric's birthday on Wednesday, which meant we got eat the best cake in the world! Eric's parents came to visit this weekend to celebrate Corey's confirmation at church. It was nice to have some family here to celebrate his special day. Our friends the Hunsakers also came to church today to help us celebrate.



This week is a busy one for us. I have eMINTS training on Monday and Tuesday, Corey has a band concert, boy scouts, NJHS induction ceremony, and a school dance, so our evenings are quite busy. Therefore, the meal plan focuses on fast and easy meals, things that can be made ahead, and crockpot items. We do have to eat out on Monday. I do have a couple of fun, new recipes for Cinco de Mayo, so check them out. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com.

Sunday - Brunch at the Keeter Center to celebrate Corey's Confirmation
Monday - Eat out (band concert & eMINTS training)
Tuesday - Chicken Fajitas, Touchdown Taco Dip, Margarita Cupcakes
Wednesday - Crockpot Cowboy Stew, Savory Mexican Cornbread
Thursday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, Salad, Cheese Garlic Bread
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Hamburgers on the grill, Baked Beans, Salad

Well, even though last year's garden wasn't the most successful, we decided to give it a try again this year. We even expanded to another box. Last year the horribly rainy spring really hurt us, and unfortunately, it's been raining ever since we got our garden planted this year. Hopefully we will get some sunny days soon. Here are some pictures to document our garden attempt. Wish us luck!

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (I use 2% milk kind)
3/4 cup buttermilk (fat free)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 can (8.5 oz) cream-style corn
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles (I left these out as I did not want this to be spicy this time)
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional garnishes: Jalapenos, cilantro, honey and butter

In a large bowl mix cheese, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, corn and green chiles.

In another bowl mix cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to cheese mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Generously spray a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour mixture into casserole. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in a 375 degree oven or until cornbread is a deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cooking times are going to vary based on width and height of the pan you use.

Cool in the pan 10 minutes and slice into wedges. Serve warm.

Drench in honey and butter if you desire.

Recipe adapted from Noble Pig

I made these for a Cinco de Mayo dinner party. They are very tasty, but you have to like lime flavor.



Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix
1 cup margarita Mix , room temperature
1/4 tequila, room temperature
3 egg whites @ room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
zest of 3 small limes or 2 medium limes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers (recipe yields 24 small cupcakes)

3. In a glass or small bowl, mix together the margarita mix and tequila. Make sure both are at room temperature to ensure smooth mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

4. In medium bowl (preferably with a pouring spout) whisk together the margarita mixture, 3 egg whites (also at room temperature for the same reason) and vegetable oil.

5. In large bowl or standing mixer, place the white cake mix and lime zest. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients either with a hand mixer or standing mixer.

6. Beat mixture about 2-3 minutes. The batter will have a thick, tacky consistency.

7. Distribute the mixture evenly among the 24 cupcakes. Use a muffin scoop do so as pouring this thick batter might be a challenge.

8. Bake the cupcakes for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans to ensure even baking.

9. Bake at 350 an additional 8-10 minutes. Bake times can vary. They're done when you can pull out a clean toothpick from the center of a cupcake. To avoid over-baking, watch them carefully.

10. Remove from oven. Let sit in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled (1-2 hrs), ice with Lime Buttercream Frosting (see below).

Lime Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

3 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (be sure to measure it after sifting!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temp
1/2 cup (1 stick) UN-salted butter, room temp
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, room temp
green food coloring
a few pinches granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream the two sticks of butter together.

2. Add fresh lime juice.

3. Slowly incorporate the sifted confectioner's sugar.

4. Mix until the icing is smooth.

5. Add green food coloring to your liking until you achieve a "lime" hue.

6. Ice the cupcakes using a star tip or plain, old butter knife.

7. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of freshly iced cupcakes for a "salted rim" look. The sugar will also give them a nice sparkle.

Recipe adapted from Life of the Party

This is my adaptation of one of those Pampered Chef recipes you get when you host a party. It's pretty tasty, and my version is healthier than the original!





Ingredients:
1 can (16 ounces) fat free refried beans
1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat free sour cream
2 tablespoons low sodium taco seasoning mix
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup) (use the 2% milk kind)
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley, thinly sliced
Baked tortilla chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread refried beans over bottom of a 9 inch glass pie plate (or other similarly sized baking dish).

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning. Finely chop garlic. Add to bow and mix well.

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over beans. Grate cheese over top.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until hot.

To prepare toppings, dice tomato and thinly slice onions. Thinly slice cilantro. Sprinkle tomatoes, onions, and cilantro over dip. Garnish with additional sour cream, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.