Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

August 8, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

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My major kitchen accomplishment last week was canning peaches. These are so good!

A couple of months ago, I bought 20 pounds of chicken leg quarters, cut them up, and cooked them in bbq sauce. After cooling, I froze them in meal size bags. I have been enjoying the convenience of pulling those bags from the freezer. Just thaw and heat. Love it! Last week, I served it with crispy potato rounds from the store freezer, corn. and homemade applesauce from the pantry.

About 2 weeks ago, I ground a lot of venison meat in the food processor. I cooked it, and froze it. All I have to do is thaw and add to what ever I want. In this case, spaghetti sauce.

A favorite meal here is venison roast in the slow cooker. In this instance, I cooked it with carrots, and served it with rice. Which didn’t make the picture.

I went shopping at Aldi’s a week ago for school supplies. So of course I did some food shopping while there. I got some of their brand Italian Chicken Sausage to try. It was pretty good.

I served it with homemade mac and cheese, and peas.

A new family favorite is homemade trail mix. I bought a store bought mix a few times, but the family didn’t like it the way it was. It’s much easier to make my own, then try to find several different bags to meet my family’s likes. And it tastes better, too! At least we think so. In the batch below, I used honey roasted peanuts requested by my daughter, cashews, M & M’s, and in the container on the right, raisins.

For a snack during the opening night of the Olympics, I served cheese and salami. Extra sharp Cheddar cheese, Colby Jack, some salami stuff that I don’t eat, and multi grain crackers.

Not what I was planning on serving for the 1st night of the Olympics. I always try to serve food from the country that is hosting the Olympics that year. I can’t find my Not Just Tacos cookbook though!

I need to hurry up & find it so I can make some Brazilian recipes before the Olympics are over!

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

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

Saturday – quick & easy- Hot dogs & chips while watching the Olympics

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Oven fries, chicken strips, baked beans – Husband cooked!

Monday – chicken or turkey – Scalloped Pork Chops – Granny cooked!

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

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or beef – Beef Lo Mein

Friday – venison – Venison roast & potatoes in slow cooker, Basil Glazed Carrots

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

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

Canning Peaches

August 6, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

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It’s Georgia peach season!
Once a year, when the Georgia Peaches are ready, a grower comes to my tiny, rural town to sell them. We like to buy a whole case. My husband will usually eat a couple and I can the rest.

canning peaches
I get the family involved because, hello, that’s a lot of Peaches to peel! This time there were 4 out of 6 kids here to help! Many hands make light work!

canning peaches

Out of that case of Peaches, I got 6 quarts of halves and 9 quarts of slices. All of these will be so great to eat this winter! Whether we eat them straight out of the jar or turn them into something like peach cobbler. Yum!

canning peaches

(You can see real life happening in the background of this picture! Water bottles, even a laundry basket my son left out!)

I follow the directions in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. That is what I recommend. You can find all kinds of canning recipes on the internet. Not all of them are safe. I highly recommend you start with the directions and recipes in this canning guide.

Here’s a great water bath canning set to get started with.

Canning Peaches is fairly easy. If you get the chance to, you should try it!

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

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

August 1, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Well, I tried to take the week off while my youngest was at church camp last week. That didn’t work. I’m not sure why I thought that Mom would be able to take the week off from kitchen duties. Or any other duties for that matter! lol Oh well, I tried. lol

I always say that I want to serve salad on pizza night. Then I walk in the door with pizza and everyone starts eating. So I just forget the salad. I don’t usually like to make salad ahead of time, but I did last week. Then when I came home with the pizza, I put both of them on the table. Score one for mom! lol

I had to grind some more venison so I pulled out my food processor. It works pretty good. The texture is not the same as ground meat from the store. I need to get a meat grinder. But until then, this works.

I ground a few batches and ended up with all this cooked venison hamburger.

I froze 2 – 4 cup bags and one 1 1/2 cup bag. 2 cups of cooked hamburger is about 1 pound.

I used 4 cups to make Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes. They are really good! Look for the recipe coming soon!

We had some Oreo Churros for a snack one night recently They were good. I am giving away 2 boxes of Oreo Churros, so click on over and enter to win!

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

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

Saturday – quick & easy- – Leftovers and perogies

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Sandwiches, then a Fish Fry at church in the evening

Monday – chicken or turkey – BBQ Chicken, crispy potatoes, corn, homemade applesauce

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with venison meat sauce, broccoli

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or beef – Sausages with onions & peppers, homemade mac & cheese, green beans

Friday – venison – Venison roast, rice, Basil Glazed Carrots

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

July 25, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I’ve been plugging away in the kitchen. Nothing spectacular. Just food and dishes. sigh…..the dishes never end! lol

I found some boneless pork loin chops in the freezer I had forgotten about. So I cooked those last week.

I tried something new last week, Ranch Glazed Carrots. They come out great! Recipe coming soon!

I served both of those with some fried potatoes and homemade cinnamon applesauce. The family was very happy. lol

Saturday, after grocery shopping, I didn’t feel like cooking. So I quickly heated up some leftovers and boiled some water to cook these perogies. I served them with my favorite jarred spaghetti sauce and some parmesan cheese. Yum! My family really loves perogies. They very much dislike having to follow a serving size. lol

This week, my son is at church camp. Taking one person out of the house really makes a difference. Especially when it is a teenage boy that is always hungry! lol So I’m taking it a little easy this week in the kitchen. I sure would like to take a whole week off. That’s not going to happen, though! lol

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

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

Saturday – quick & easy- – Leftovers and perogies

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Chicken strips and homemade macaroni & cheese – My daughter cooked!

Monday – chicken or turkey – Venison, left over mac & cheese, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – pizza and salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Taco salads from the local restaurant

Thursday – pork or beef – Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes, glazed carrots

Friday – venison – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

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

The Writing in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School Review

July 21, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I have been using The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, 2nd Edition, $45, from Writing with Sharon Watson with my 10th grade son. The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School is a homeschool writing program for students in grades 9-12. It can be completed in 1, 2, or 3 years by following the instructions in the teachers manual, $20. You can view samples of both the student book and the teachers manual on the website linked above.

Sharon Watson homeschooled for 18 years. She taught several subjects to other homeschoolers during that time period, led a homeschool group, and started an educational homeschool group. She has several homeschool writing courses available on her website for both middle school and high school.

Three years ago, I reviewed the first edition of The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School.

What’s different between the 1st edition and the 2nd? The 2nd edition includes:

Newly numbered lessons to easily keep track of daily work
Students learn common grammar mistakes (7 lessons).
The emotional appeal speech is shorter and easier to understand.
Students can look up items in the new index.
Specific grading grids in the Teacher’s Guide make grading essays a lot easier
The chapter on the old SAT essay has been removed. There is a link to the content of this chapter on the website.

The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School features 23 student directed lessons with little to no prep for the teacher. There are 117 suggested daily lessons, with complete instructions for 21 essays, reports, articles, and narratives. This course begins with composition basics so it can be used with beginning writers, as well as more experienced writers.

In this high school writing course, students will learn brainstorming, how to organize their thoughts, use appropriate point orders, citing sources, introduction and conclusion know-how, proofreading, writing for a specific audience, and much more. There are many references in the back of the book the student book. Some of these are Be Your Own Editor, Paragraph Essentials, Do List for Persuasion, Don’t List for Persuasion, How to Write a How-To, and nine more.

The lessons vary in size , but always include at least a page or two of instruction for the student to read. The student does not write a complete essay in each lesson, especially in the beginning. While they are learning how to write non-fiction, the student will start with brainstorming, how to put their ideas in order, writing questions and statements, and more leading the student learning how to write a complete essay.

I like that the essay assignments include a writing checklist for the student. These checklists tell the student what they need to make sure they completed and what they will be graded on. This encourages the student to proofread their own work before turning in in to the teacher to be graded.

One of the hardest parts about teaching high school writing is the grading. Grading writing can be so subjective. And of course, we think what our beloved students write is brilliant. I love that the Teachers manual has a grading grid for each essay that is easy to use. You can see one of the the grading grids below. The grading grids are the only pages in the high school writing course that can be copied. These pages can be copied for each of the students in your homeschool, classroom, or co-op class.

I really like that there is room for the teacher to write comments, then give the page to the student. The student can plainly see how their essay was graded. I think this helps the student to take constructive criticism of something so personal as their writing. They can easily see what they did good at, and what they need to improve on. Without thinking that Mom is being too picky.

The one thing I wish the teachers manual included was some guidance on giving high school credit. Especially for those that take 2-3 years to complete the course.

Overall, The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School is a great home school high school writing course that will prepare your student for writing in high school and college.

Thursday’s Giveaway Linky

July 20, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Welcome to Thursday’s Giveaway Linky!

I love entering giveaways, and have even won a few things. I really love hosting giveaways on Linda’s Lunacy. It’s so much fun to give stuff away! Now, with the Thursday’s Giveaways Linky, you can find lots of great giveaways to enter!

While your here, enter my current giveaways!

Miracles from Heaven Movie Prize Pack 8/1 US

Automatic Touchless Soap Dispenser 8/1 US

Have fun, and I hope you win something!
Thursday’s Giveaways Linky Please, only link family friendly giveaways. My kids read here, and anything not family friendly, will be promptly deleted. Sorry, but it’s for my kids. 🙂

Help spread the word! Share about Thursday’s Giveaway Linky! Simply click the message below to tweet!

[Tweet “Thursday’s Giveaway Linky- Find great giveaways to enter & share your #giveaway in the #linky, too!”]

Miracles From Heaven Family Movie Night Prize Pack Giveaway

July 18, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

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Have you seen Miracles from Heaven yet? It looks like a great family movie. I haven’t seen it yet. I am looking forward to watching it with my family. Hopefully, soon!

About the Film

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY & DVD JULY 12

When Christy (Jennifer Garner) discovers her 10-year-old daughter Annabel (Kylie Rogers) has a rare, incurable disease, she becomes a ferocious advocate for her daughter’s healing as she searches for a solution. After Annabel has a freak accident and falls three stories, a miracle unfolds in the wake of her dramatic rescue that leaves medical specialists mystified, her family restored and their community inspired.

Bonus content on the MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN Blu-ray and DVD releases include two featurettes, as well as commentary. Join Jennifer Garner, Queen Latifah, their costars and crew for a behind the scenes look at the making of this very special film, in “Miracles Abound: The Making of Miracles From Heaven.” Viewers will also meet the real-life Beam family and Dr. Nurko, learn about the casting of the film and the challenge of “the tree.” Shot at the Beam family ranch in Burleson, TX, “Bearing Witness,” features the Beam Family, their pastor, friends, first-responders and community as they gather around the tree and celebrate their faith and the miracles that brought them together. In the “Your Words” montage, experience some of the film’s most touching and memorable moments set against Third Day’s powerful rendition of the inspirational song.

The Blu-ray release exclusively contains deleted scenes and the featurette “Accounts from Annabel,” where Christy and Anna reflect together on their past, present, future, faith and bonding over the past four years since the incident.

Official Websites – #MiraclesFromHeaven

Visit the Official Website

Like on Facebook, Follow on Twitter

Purchase your copy of the DVD at Walmart and on Amazon

Blu-ray & DVD Extras include:

Featurettes:

“Miracles Abound: The Making of Miracles From Heaven”
“Bearing Witness”
Creating Heaven: Concept Art Exploration
“Your Words” Music Montage

Commentary with Director Patricia Riggen and Screenwriter Randy Brown

Additional exclusive Extras to the Blu-ray include:

Deleted Scenes

Featurette:

“Accounts From Annabel”

Based on the memoir by Christy Beam

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, with Eugenio Derbez and Queen Latifah

Rated PG

Miracles From Heaven Family Movie Night Prize Pack Giveaway

Now for the best part! Together, Tales From A Southern Mom and Miracles from Heaven we are giving away a great prize pack so that you can enjoy this wonderful movie at home with your family! Giveaway ends on 8/1/16 Enter below and Good Luck!