Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

August 3, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Last week, our youngest had his 20th birthday. Hard to believe, but true!

I ended up going out of town that day. I hurried and made the cake before I left, and made the frosting when I returned at about 8 pm. I got the frosting made, and the cake frosted by 8:30 when he got off work.

Then I went to get the candles. And discovered that I had only 2 PINK candles in the house. lol

Oh well, he didn’t seem too upset about the candles. lol

I worked on getting the freezer stocked with snacks. The family love snacks. And I don’t like the expense of store bought snacks. Not to mention all the garbage in most of them. While the snacks I made this week have sugar, they don’t have a lot of the other bad stuff. So while not perfect, they are better and cheaper than store bought versions.

I made brownies using my Brownies for a Crowd recipe. I gave half away, and individually wrapped the rest, then froze in a bag.

I also made chocolate chip cookie bars. I can’t believe I haven’t shared my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe yet! I’ll have to do that soon!

I cut the bars into squares, wrapped individually, and froze in a bag.

Individually wrapped, they defrost quickly when you remove them from the freezer. You can take them out one at a time, as needed, or how ever many you need. So convenient. And they taste like they were just made. I think the brownies come out fudgier then they went in.

If you like your cookies or brownies warm, simply remove the plastic wrap, and heat in the microwave for a few seconds. It takes very little time to warm, so don’t over cook them!

Dinner Menu

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – pizza

Monday – chicken or turkey – Burgers with all the fixings, squash from my daughters garden

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Chicken Alfredo, green beans

Wednesday – Taco Night- taco salad with all the fixings, homemade taco sauce

Thursday – pork or venison – Jag

Friday – venison – Cookout – hot dogs, baked beans, homemade potato salad

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

In The Kitchen With Linda & Dinner Menu

July 27, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link

Here’e a few pictures from the last week or so of some of our dinners. The ones I remembered to take pictures of. lol

I made a Frittata to use up the left over veggies in the fridge.

I recently got this hand held meat chopper. This was the first time I used it. It worked so good to chop up the sausage I used in the frittata. I should have bought one sooner!

https://amzn.to/2Xh4oPR

My family loves the Easy Chicken Parmesan that I make. I had some leftover chicken breasts in the fridge, so I used those to make Lazy Chicken Parmesan. lol I cut the chicken breasts to the size I wanted, and warmed it in the sauce. Then spooned it over the spaghetti. And added copious amounts of parmesan cheese.

If you think you can’t get any easier than easy, I just proved you can. lol

I don’t miss the breaded coating that is usually on chicken parm, and my family doesn’t, either. If you would, then you probably don’t want to try this.

Last night, we had “homemade” meatball subs. In this case homemade means I assembled at home. lol Frozen meatballs, jarred sauce in the slow cooker. When your ready to eat, spoon into sub rolls with your cheese of choice. We like provolone with ours. And Parm.

Yes, we go through a lot of parmesan cheese at our house. lol

Dinner Menu

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Homemade Meatball subs, homemade cole slaw

Monday – chicken or turkey – Herb Chicken Tenders, stuffing, corn

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with meat sauce, green beans

Wednesday – Taco Night- taco salad with all the fixings, homemade taco sauce

Thursday – pork or venison – Kielbasa with peppers and onions, rice, peas

Friday – venison – Cookout – hot dogs, baked beans, homemade potato salad

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

*Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

A Few of NEW My Favorite Things – Books & Snacks!

July 25, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains affiliate links

I’ve discovered a few new favorites things recently.

And replaced a well worn favorite.

A Few of My Favorite Things – Books & Snacks!

The Piggy in the Puddle has been a favorite of mine for years. I love reading it out loud. It is so much fun! As you can tell by the book on the right in this picture, it didn’t really survive my kids. lol

Now that we are fostering, and have grandkids, I need a new book to share with them! If you’ve never read this book with your kids, you really must!

If you like to try new snacks, then Snack Nation just might be your new BFF. lol You pick how many snacks you want, if you want it one time or every month. Then enjoy your snacks!

A fun way to try new products and enjoy some you already love. Makes for an easy family movie or game night. The snacks are delivered for you!

If you’ve never seen a National Geographic book, you have been missing out! The quality is top notch. Here are my two newest books.

The Treasury of Bible Stories includes stories from Genesis to Daniel.

The illustrations in this book are amazing. I’m excited to share this book with my grandkids. They will love it! I know I do.

Among the stories are sections that cover Bible facts, and some science. Like the one below about rainbows.

The Encyclopedia of American Indian History & Culture is an amazing book! I wish I had had it when we were homeschooling and my kids were learning about Native Americans.

The contents are divided according to the regions of the country. Making it easy to find exactly what you are looking for.

The pictures and information are combined in a way to make it easy to read and learn.

Timelines are included, making this a great reference book, too.

That may have been picture over load, lol, but I wanted you to see how awesome these books are!

Hopefully, some of my new favorites become some of your new favorites!

*Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” My opinions are my own.

*This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

Tweethearts Wall Hanging DIY

July 24, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains affiliate links

A friend posted a picture on social media that said “Grandma’s Tweet Hearts”.

It featured kids footprints turned into birds.

I fell in love with it!

And the first chance I got I made one myself with my grandkids.

It’s pretty easy to do. And I’m not an artist. lol

The first step is to paint the kids feet with craft paint and put foot prints on a canvas. I used one foot from each of my grandchildren.

Make sure you have help for that step! At least 2 people are needed. 3 would be even better. It depends on how cooperative your babies and toddlers are. Some freak out when you paint their feet. lol

After that’s dry, add bird bellies, feet, beaks, and eyes.

I outlined the belly and beak, then filled in with yellow. I added a few paint brush strokes of brown and white for highlights.

I painted the little feet with yellow on a small brush. Then added just a few highlights in brown.

For the eyes, I put a dot of white, with a dot of black inside.

I printed “MiMi’s Tweet Hearts” on mine, but you can use whatever name your kids or grandkids call you.

I added their names, but you don’t have to. Then I thought it needed a little something something extra, so I added a few little hearts.

I think it came out soooooo cute! It’s hanging in my living room!

These would make great gifts, too!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of the links, and make a purchase, I will received a small commission.

Jeremy Camp – Ask Me Anything

July 22, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link.

Back in May, I had a review and giveaway of the movie I Still Believe. (Giveaway now over)

If you remember, I Still Believe (available on Amazon) is the story of Jeremy Camp and his first wife, Melissa. if you still haven’t seen the movie, check out my review.

Part of that giveaway, was the chance for you to send Jeremy Camp a question. Now that Ask Me Anything video is available!

**Did your Ask me Anything question to Jeremy Camp get answered? Let me know!!**

*This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

The Day the Snake Came to Dinner

July 17, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Ok, so this happened a few months ago. I’m just now getting around to sharing. I blame the trauma of having a snake in my dining room!

My mother and I were the only ones having dinner this particular night. We were sitting at the dining room table, eating and chatting.

When I looked up, screamed “It’s a snake!!!” and ran out the front door.

This is what this section of my dining room looks like.

And this is what I saw. Except it was a real snake! Not my sub standard drawing of a snake!!

Back to the story. My mother heard me scream, but she didn’t understand what I said. She just knew I screamed and ran. So she’s still sitting at the table asking what’s going on? What are you doing?

So I had to yell back in the door about the snake. She’s hard of hearing, so I really did have to yell. lol She finally saw it and came outside.

Then I discovered that I had left my cell phone on the table!! Well, I wasn’t about to go back in there and get it! So my mother did. lol Which I couldn’t believe! lol

Shortly after that, my husband came home from work. He went in, caught it with no problem. Bare handed. And triumphantly carried it outside. lol

“It’s a black snake. It’s the good one! They eat poisonous snakes!”

Ok fine but not in my house! lol So he took it to the field out back and set it free.

Where hopefully, he (or she!) really is eating all the poisonous snakes!

Vitamin D – What It Is and Why You Need It

July 14, 2020 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Since I have experienced low Vitamin D myself, I have done some research.

So I decided to share what I have learned with you!

Vitamin D – What It Is and Why You Need It

Your body can not survive without Vitamin D. Vitamin D promotes cell growth, immune function, and it reduces inflammation, and along with calcium, it is important for your bones.

Your immune system is directly affected by low Vitamin D.

Low Vitamin D equals low immune system.

That fact is extremely important to know concerning the virus we are dealing with right now.

Some signs of low Vitamin D are

fatigue
you get sick all the time, or have repeated infections
poor wound healing
bone pain
muscle pain
hair loss
depression

Now obviously, those signs can come from numerous things.

So it’s important to go see your doctor about your symptoms.

Vitamin D is the only nutrient that your body can make when it is exposed to the sun. Pretty cool, huh?

It can take as little as 15-20 minutes a day of sun, exposing your arms, legs, abdomen, and back. You will need at least double that if you are exposing only your arms and legs. Which brings you to an amount of time that is next to impossible to achieve during the winter in the majority of the United States.

You may get enough vitamin D from your diet and the sun during the summer. In the winter, however, many people need to take a supplement.

Good sources of Vitamin D include:

salmon
tuna, and other wild caught fish
beef or calf liver
egg yolks
dairy products – milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

To name a few.

Doctors don’t always order a Vitamin D test when you are having lab work done. You may have to ask.

You can get too much Vitamin D. And too much can lead to health problems.

You can’t get too much by eating foods with Vitamin D and from the sun.

You can get too much from taking supplements.

That’s why it’s important to get your vitamin D level checked regularly.

I have experienced low vitamin D myself. I know how awful it can make you feel. If you are trying to eat right and take care of yourself, but still feel bad and have some or all of the symptoms listed above, check with your doctor!

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