Monday
shake and bake chicken
mashed potatoes
green beans
corn on the cob
cole slaw with peanuts and raisins

Tuesday
enchiladas
cornbread
tortilla chips
red grapes

Wednesday
eat out

Thursday
tacos

Friday
ham
macaroni and cheese
homemade rolls
lima beans
corn
crock pot apples

Saturday
chicken and noodles
green salad

Sunday
beef tips in the crock pot
rice
biscuits
corn
asparagus

You will find many more menu ideas and recipe links at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

Monday
sloppy joes / buns
tomatoes / sweet and sour cucumber slices
chips / dip

Tuesday
chicken fajitas

Wednesday
leftovers

Thursday
country pork chops in crock pot
rice with summer squash
green salad
corn / peas

Friday
four cheese spinach pizza

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
turkey
mashed potatoes
corn
green beans
tomatoes
spinach salad

There are more menu ideas at Menu Plan Monday on Laura’s site.

~~Rhonda

Those busy things add up, though. This week we have softball, piano and guitar lessons, a visit planned to a daylily farm, a retirement party to attend, and lots of cleaning up to do because our church family is invited over for Sunday dinner. Here’s the plan:

Monday / softball
hamburgers / buns
sweet and sour cucumbers
tomatoes

Tuesday
chicken stir-fry
rice with summer squash
tomatoes

Wednesday / daylily shopping
eat out

Thursday
crispy baked chicken
steamed green beans
corn on the cob
spinach salad with strawberries

Friday
four cheese spinach pizza

Saturday / retirement party for a gardening friend
leftovers

Sunday / Church dinner at our house
sausage and potatoes in the crockpot
Alton Brown’s pot roast
spinach / strawberry salad
cookie bars

I have to say…I made Alton Brown’s pot roast for company at Christmastime and they practically licked the platter clean.

More menu ideas on Laura’s site.

~~Rhonda

Monday lunch
turkey or ham sandwiches
chips / veggies / dip

Monday supper
Fuss-Free Ravioli and Cheese Bake
garlic bread
corn
Snappy Green Beans
salad

Tuesday lunch
pizza

Tuesday supper
sloppy joes / buns
corn
chips
celery / carrots

Wednesday lunch
zoo trip

Wednesday supper
roasted hotdogs / buns
veggies / chips / dip
S’mores

Thursday lunch
Dairy Queen

Thursday supper
fried chicken
Crash Hot Potatoes
biscuits
corn on the cob
asparagus
spinach salad

Friday lunch
parade / lunch at the park

Friday supper
potluck with friends
potato / sausage casserole
2 apple pies

Saturday / Family Potluck at our house
BBQ ribs / BBQ chicken
hotdogs / hamburgers / buns
pickles
Cowboy Beans
2 cookie sheet pies (apple / peach)

Sunday
roast beef
mashed potatoes
green beans
corn
salad

I made the baked ravioli for supper Monday evening, but used tortellini instead of ravioli. The store we shopped had no ravioli, fresh or frozen. Everyone liked the tortellini and I will be making it again, though I will make a few changes. I’ll mix in some cheese before it’s baked and I made my own sauce instead of using store-bought. It’s too easy not to. I may just leave out the can of diced tomatoes altogether because I used crushed tomatoes in my sauce.

You can find more menu ideas and recipes here.

~~Rhonda ::who is having great fun with babies in the house::

Monday
sloppy joes
veggies / chips / dip

Tuesday
chicken / noodles
green salad
corn / peas

Wednesday
leftovers

Thursday
turkey sandwiches
veggies / chips / dip

Friday
spaghetti
garlic bread
green salad
corn
zucchini / yellow squash stir-fry

Saturday lunch
BBQ beef / buns
chips / veggies / dip
We tried this BBQ beef recipe last week and everyone loved it. Gonna have it again.

Saturday supper
brats / hotdogs
buns / pickles / mustard / ketchup / relish
Cowboy Beans
coleslaw
chips / veggies / dip

Sunday
pork chops
mashed potatoes
salad
corn on the cob
sugar snap peas / cherry tomatoes

On Saturday, DS and his family arrive for a week, so it will be a big week, menu-wise. I’m giving it some thought ahead of time. I’ll need to include some lunch ideas, which I usually don’t do as we just have leftovers or a sandwich, etc. But we’ll have five extra people in the house, as well as DD who is home for two weeks, so lunch needs to be planned for and not “catch as catch can.” But more about that next week.

More menu ideas here.

~~Rhonda

Monday
Sloppy Joes / buns
veggies / chips / dip

Tuesday
spaghetti
garlic bread
sauted peapods
corn
spinach salad

Wednesday
leftovers

Thursday
Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu
steamed broccoli
corn
spinach salad

Friday
BBQ Beef / buns
veggies / chips / dip

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
turkey in the crockpot
mashed potatoes
carrots
peas
salad

“Turkey in the crockpot” is a frozen boneless turkey (thawed) with a can of cream of chicken soup over it. So good. Tender and moist. I use the leftover liquid to add to the gravy packet for flavorful gravy. It’s a great dish for Sunday as I can put it on early and it’s ready when we get home from church.

More menu ideas here.

~~Rhonda

Mary arranged for the cakes and they were lovely! One chocolate, one vanilla…delicious! And look at those cute little booties!

I made a variation of Daniel’s Cookie Bar Bites for this party.

And here’s how they’re made…

After baking and cooling the cookie bars, I used a small 1 1/4″ heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the cookies. Next time, I won’t cut the edges off the cookie bars before cutting the hearts. That would have given more stability to cutting near the edge of the cookie bars.

Years ago (while in college), I found this little heart cookie cutter at a yard sale in a tin with lots of other cookie cutters. I use it every year at Christmas when making Sour Cream Sugar Cookies.

Cut, dip, sprinkle…cut, dip, sprinkle.

A helpful tip…when dipping these, I turn the heart over and make the bottom of the cookie bar the top of the heart. The heart on the left is bottoms up. You can see how uneven the top of the cookie is on the heart to the right.

The heart on the left was dipped with the top of the cookie bar up. The one on the right was dipped with the bottom of the cookie bar up. Dipping with the bottom up gives a more defined shape and a much smoother coating.

I used almond bark for dipping the cookies. I melt it in the microwave for 3 minutes at 50% power, then stir to melt any remaining lumps. If the coating gets too hot, it will sag on the cookies and have a rough uneven finish.

Cute and easy. They just take a little time to make. I watched Dr. Who and a little of “Ghandi” while I made these.

~~Rhonda

• crackers and cheese spread (I left out the chicken.)
• pear/walnut salad
• roast beef (Delicious! Got rave reviews.)
• boiled red potatoes
• carrots and parsnips
• stir-fried sugar snap peas with cherry tomatoes
• almond cake for dessert

Three of the guests came at 7:00, and the others about 7:30, after other obligations. Everyone congregates in the kitchen at our house, so the first three were treated to crackers and cheese spread at the kitchen table, served with kalamata olives. Yummy. DH and I joined them and enjoyed it, too. After our pre-dinner snack, we were surprised by carolers, young people from church. It started our evening with a special Christmas treat.

Lot of chatting, stories, laughter, and good times with these dear friends.

The above punch is one of my favorite punch recipes. It can be served hot or cold. I served it hot at the home extension party last week and served it cold at this one. Our weather has been warmer this week than last and cold punch sounded better than hot.

Spiced Punch

The base:

• 4 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 4 three-inch cinnamon sticks
• 12 whole cloves
• 2 T. minced fresh ginger root

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for one hour. Strain. The base can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Add:

• 8 c. of apple juice
• 8 c. of cranberry juice
• 2 c. orange juice
• 1 c. lemon juice

Makes 16 servings. May be served hot from a crock-pot or cold, over ice.
From “McCall’s Favorite Christmas Ideas” magazine. 1992, p. 108.

I’m working on a post with the Petit Four recipe and will post the recipes for the other dishes I served last night, as well. Enjoy! ~~Rhonda

After the concert, everyone stayed to talk, eat, purchase albums, and tour the house. DD#3 has heard Nathan in concert at youth camp three years in a row, and was very excited about having him perform in our home. She wore her “nathan clark george” T-shirt and she asked him to autograph it for her.

Did I mention the totally yummy food??

Cheese spread on bagel chips and cocktail bread, meat and cheese sticks, meatballs in spicy cranberry sauce, veggie tray and dip, sugarplums, and truffles…what’s not to like!

We have known Nathan for a long time. His father is the pastor of a nearby PCA church, the denomination of which we are members. DH is the presbytery youth camp director and has invited Nathan to do a concert at camp each summer. DD#3 has enjoyed Nathan’s camp concerts for three years and was SO happy to have him come to our home for the house concert. We enjoyed meeting Nathan’s friends, and hearing the three of them in concert was a privilege. We are planning to have them back for next Christmas!

~~Rhonda