Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

June 13, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Turns out, I was so busy last week that I only took one food picture! I need to start taking pictures before serving the meal. Since we don’t like the kids having cell phones at the table, it’s not fair for mom to have her phone. This would work good for the busy nights that dinner is served from the stove, too.

I made Hot Ham & Cheese sandwiches again yesterday. They are my families new favorite meal.

I made three different kinds of sandwiches yesterday. Ham & Provolone cheese, Ham & Pepper Jack cheese, and Turkey & Provolone. All on Hawaiian bread rolls. The family loved them all!

Some got a little too brown on the bottom. It didn’t matter, though. They ate them all.

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- Make your own! Some had leftovers & some had hot dogs

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot ham & cheese sandwiches, chips

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken Pasta Salad

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Take out pizza, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Granny’s cooking goulash

Thursday – pork or beef – Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, broccoli

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

The Glass Castle – A Schoolhouse Review Crew Book Review

June 10, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently received the book The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins from Shiloh Run Press for my 15 year old son to read and review. The Glass Castle is an adventure story written for ages 10-15. Girls and boys will enjoy reading this book. This age range is perfect for this book. I think The Glass Castle would make a great family read a loud, too.

The Glass Castle is a hardcover book 251 pages long. It has 41 chapters with most ranging from 2 to 10 pages long. It’s an easy read. My son, an avid reader, finished it in one day. You can read a 35 page sample of The Glass Castle on the website. The book is billed as having the setting of The Chronicles of Naria meets the action from Alice in Wonderland.

As soon as you start reading The Glass Castle you are thrown into the adventure. The first chapter opens with Avery, the main character, and her younger brother Henry being chased through the woods. This day happens to be Avery’s 13th birthday. She doesn’t make it home for her birthday dinner………. Avery and her brother were kidnapped!

In The Glass Castle, the king is worried about who will take over his throne when he dies. His new wife wants to produce an heir. The king’s first wife had a son, but no one, not even the king, knows where he is. His solution? Get rid of all the orphans.

Someone, though, has taken all the orphans and has hidden them from the king so he can’t kill them. Right under his nose in his castle. Where they are living and doing the work of the castle, while being held as prisoners.

Avery was surprised that new, pretty clothes were left for her to wear, just like all the other kids there wore. She had never seen so many well-dressed kids in one place before. They had plenty of food at every meal, fruit, meats, and milk to drink. It looked like a big feast to Avery. She was used to eating whatever they grew or caught at her house.

Avery was separated from her brother, as all the other 13 year old kids were separated from their siblings. Their siblings were being held somewhere else. If the 13 year olds escaped, they would never see their siblings again. The kids were marked with a black star, so if they escaped they would be returned. Or sent to the Forbidden City.

Here’s what Zach had to say about The Glass Castle: The kids are hiding from the adults, someone was hunting them. It’s set in a castle most of the time & in a forest. One of the kids is the heir. No one knows who it is, not even the kid. I liked the part where one kid left the others and didn’t come back. The book didn’t resolve the story, it left you wondering. I recommend this book.

The Glass Castle ends with Avery reading her mother’s travel journal. She is surprised to find a key hidden in the back of it. You can imagine how shocked Avery is to discover that the key she found actually fits the door to the tunnels below the castle. She doesn’t open the doors, though. Which leaves the reader anticipating book two of the series!

To see what other crew members have to say about The Glass Castle, click below!

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

June 6, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I didn’t write a menu last week, on or off line. And boy did I flounder last week! Trying to figure out what to make at 5 pm when you don’t feel like cooking anything in a hot kitchen is not fun!

All it takes is one week of skipping a menu to renew my commitment to writing one every week.

Before Memorial Day, I baked 20 pounds of chicken leg quarters. My husband helped by cutting the legs and thighs apart.

Once these were cooled, I bagged four meal size bags. Three bags went into the freezer. I love, love, love having prepared meals in the freezer! It is such a time and money saver.

We ate the fourth bag the next day, on Memorial Day. We finished cooking them over the fire. So good!

In fact, they were so good I couldn’t get a picture without someone’s hand in the picture taking chicken! This happens to be my mother’s hand. So it wasn’t just the kids! lol We had Macaroni Salad, and stuffed eggs to complete the meal.

We had make your own salads twice last week. It’s been so hot in Kentucky. I don’t feel like cooking. And move of the family doesn’t feel like a big meal. My husband likes to have a big salad, actually a couple of big platefuls of salad, on hot days. This picture was from one night. We had romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, grated carrots, shredded cheddar cheese, tuna, chicken breast, and cottage cheese. Another night, we had all that plus chopped green bell peppers.

We had fish filets one night with homemade tartar sauce. This was my plate. As you can tell, I love tartar sauce! lol I served them with mashed potatoes, and peas & carrots. I do admit that the mashed potatoes were from a box. I bought boxed potatoes for the first time when my mother was in the hospital. They were convenient for the kids to make when I wasn’t home. A kid, or two, have said they prefer them to mashed potatoes made from raw potatoes. My husband has even admitted that they taste okay. lol I don’t use them all the time, but they sure are convenient.

And, yes, I did read the ingredients. I buy the kind with very few added ingredients. I don’t like to sacrifice nutrition for convenience.

We always eat different in the summer than we do in the winter. In the winter we have soups, chilis, casseroles, and other things that have a long cooking or baking time. In the summer we try to turn the oven on as little as possible. So while I use my slowcooker in the winter, I will be using it more now. We will also be eating a lot more salads, too.

Do you cook differently during the summer?

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 from family reunion earlier in the day

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot ham & cheese sandwiches, chips

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken strips, salad

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Take out pizza, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s including homemade Taco Sauce , some of us will have Taco Salads

Thursday – pork or beef – Smoked sausage with onions, homemade mac & cheese, corn

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

It’s All Fun & Games Until Someone Gets Scared By a Paper Towel!

June 1, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I went to the dentist with my husband the other day. They put us in a little room, took xrays, then left us. In a tiny room. For an hour. Can you say bored?

Oh, to add to the fun, there was no chair for me to sit on! So there I was. Standing there bored. I had already read all the pamphlets. Played with the electric toothbrushes on display. And checked Facebook on my phone several times. Apparently, I don’t do bored well. lol

Then the paper towel dispenser caught my attention.

The paper towel is hanging out because I was trying to see how long I could it. For the record, you have to tug on the paper towel before it will dispense more.

So then I decided to see how close I had to walk to the paper towel dispenser before it would dispense. I was bored, remember? lol

I walked by, getting closer each time. Which was not easy, since the sink is right there next to the dispenser.

All this time, my husband was sitting in the cushy (ha!) dentist chair. Watching his crazy, bored out of her mind, wife.

After about 4 passes by the paper towel dispenser with my shoulder, I came to the conclusion that my shoulder was too short to set off the automatic dispenser. Short person problem #4,357

As I was telling that to my husband, with the dispenser behind my shoulder, it decide that I was indeed tall enough. And dispensed a paper towel onto my shoulder.

I, however, was not expecting it. So I jumped a mile. And jumped away from the dispenser. I may, or may not, have screamed a little. And had a funny, scared face.

Now my husbands boredom was relieved as he laughed his head off at me! I’m sure he wishes he had a video of it!

The moral of this story? Don’t leave me in little room with a paper towel dispenser. Unless you want a good laugh!

ChristianBook.com Spring Cyber Week Sale!

May 24, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains affiliate links

This is so great that I wanted to make sure you knew about it! This week, Christianbook.com is having the Spring Cyber Week Sale now thru June 1st!

You won’t want to miss this awesome sale. Check out some of the discounts being offered!

Bibles up to 92% off

Books up to 98% off

Fiction up to 96% off

Christian Living up to 97% off

Personal Growth up to 95% off

Devotionals up to 94% off

Kids’ Deals up to 92% off

30% off Melissa & Doug

Kids’ Bibles up to 78% off

Arts & Crafts up to 73% off

Toys under $10

DVDs up to 98% off

Movies up to 85% off

TV Series up to 82% off

Family Movies up to 88% off

Movies for Kids up to 88% off

Music up to 93% off

Homeschool Deals up to 30% off

Gifts up to 93% off

And speaking of gifts! Don’t forget to get Dad a Father’s Day gift. Gifts for Dad are on sale, too!

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

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

May 23, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link

So much happens in my kitchen on a daily/weekly basis. I can’t post pictures of everything, or we’d both be here all day! lol So here are a few highlights from my week.

I ground 4 more pounds of venison meat from my freezer in the food processor. It’s really very easy to do. I cooked it all at once with a couple of teaspoons of beef bouillon. I used half of it, or 2 pounds, to make Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti.

I haven’t made it in many months. It was a big hit. Like it usually is.

I put the other half of the meat in the fridge and used it to make Skillet Lasagna another night. This was the second time I made this recipe and it’s awesome! So quick, so easy. With all the great flavors of lasagna!

I really need to get that recipe written up and posted!

I made 20 pounds of mashed potatoes on Saturday for a church dinner on Sunday. Well, I used 20 pounds of potatoes. I didn’t weight the pans after. lol Somebody else made 20 pounds of potatoes, too. We had leftovers! I brought home one of these pans.

I have the mashed potatoes on the menu tonight. Then I think I’ll try to find something creative to do with the leftovers.

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- Take out Pizza

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Lunch at church, get your own supper 🙂

Monday – chicken or turkey – Oven roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Chicken Lo Mein

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s including homemade Taco Sauce , some of us will have Taco Salads

Thursday – pork or beef – Smoked sausage with onions, homemade mac & cheese, corn

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

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

Memoria Press Traditional Logic 1 Homeschool Review

May 19, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently received a Traditional Logic 1 Complete Set from Memoria Press to use with my 9th grade son. Traditional Logic 1 can be used for grades 7-12. This logic curriculum is perfect for adults to use, too.

Memoria Press is a family run business that produces classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. I have used several Memoria Press courses with my children. I love that their curriculum is affordable for homeschooling families.

Traditional Logic 1 Complete Set, $75, includes the Student Guide, a Teacher Guide, a set of 2 DVD’s and a Quizzes & Tests book. This course is designed to be used by a teacher with no logic background. It was prepared with homeschoolers in mind.

This course was designed to be a one semester course that can be completed in 15 weeks. There is a Note to the Teacher at the beginning of the student text that explains more about the course, and how to use the books. The Student Text is consumable. You will need to buy one for each of your students. These, as well as all the components of the set, can be purchased individually on the website.

You can view samples here:

Traditional Logic 1 Student Book Sample
Traditional Logic 1 Teacher Key Sample
Traditional Logic 1 Quizzes & Tests Sample

Traditional Logic 1 is a systematic course in formal logic. The student will learn the 4 logical statements, the 4 ways statements can be opposite, the 3 ways they can be equivalent, and the 7 rules for validity. Each of the 14 chapters has 5 pages of text, except Chapter 14 which is a review chapter. It has 7 pages of text. There are 14 quizzes and a final exam included. Each chapter features the text, followed by Exercises for Day 1 thru Day 4 and a Review Section. Each chapter can be completed in a week.

There is no Teacher’s Manual. The Teacher’s Key has the answers for each day’s exercises in the workbook, the quizzes, and the final exam. The student works independently through the book. The Instructional DVDs feature a teacher presenting the text of each chapter. Here’s a sample below.

Logic was not a topic I studied in school. So I don’t have very much to contribute to my sons daily work. I like that the video lessons do what I can not do. I think the instructor does a great job of explaining the lesson. The instructor uses graphic slides to illustrate the text. The lecture slides can be downloaded from the dvds so the student can access them as needed. My son has liked taking this course. He said he liked having the video to explain the lesson.

There really is no teacher prep needed with this curriculum. The teacher only needs to correct each day’s exercises, give the student the quiz after each chapter & correct it, as well as give and correct the final exam. I love that this encourages a student to work independently.

To see what other homeschool moms (and dads!) have to say about Traditional Logic 1 Complete Set, as well as other Memoria Press homeschool curriculum, click the banner below.

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