Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

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.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

May 16, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

So I sent my husband shopping last week. There were 2 things on my list. He called from the store to say that they were out of one. So that left 1 thing on my list. Silly me. I thought that meant he would come home with 1 thing. Nope. He came home with 3 bags! lol

I sliced a beef roast from the freezer, that I had gotten on sale, to make fajitas. The secret to slicing meat is to have it partially frozen. It makes it so much easier to slice, or dice, or however you want to cut it.

Yum! We love fajitas. My youngest son just pulls the meat out. He hates onions if he can see them. lol

We had Sloppy Joes one night and I made Oven Fries to go with them. I used planned over baked potatoes. Planned overs are when you plan to have leftovers to use for another meal. I cut the cold baked potatoes, oiled seasoned, and baked them. The came out so tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. I liked them better than making oven fries with raw potatoes.

I tried a new recipe for Skillet Lasagna. It is now added to the favorite family meal list. So easy, and so good! So good it’s on this week menu, too! Look for the recipe coming soon!

On Sunday, I tried another new recipe. Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. They were a hit with the family. Look for how I made those, coming soon, too!

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 – Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches for lunch, get your own supper 🙂

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken strips, mac & cheese, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Cincinnati Style Chili, green beans

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

Thursday – pork or beef – Skillet Lasagna, peas

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

The Grocery Budget Makeover

May 13, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link.

I have two of the Five Dollar Dinner Cookbooks. My family has liked every recipe I have tried from them. The books also have money saving tips in them that I have found helpful.

Now Erin Chase is offering the Grocery Budget Makeover. A 10 week course sent to you by email. Each weekly email will contain videos, worksheets, resources, tips, tricks, and more. We will learn to change the way we shop so we can save as much as half off our grocery bills!

Here is the outline for the Grocery Budget Makeover course:

Week 1 – Setting the Table

Week 2 – Family Pow-Wow

Week 3 – The Art of the Creating a Shopping List

Week 4 – A 5 Dinner Meal Plan, not the $5 Dinner Meal Plan (Maybe)

Week 5 – Outsmarting Yourself, and Someone Else Too

Week 6 – Stockpiling for Normal People (Not for Hoarders)

Week 7 – Meal Planning 201

Week 8 – Stretching Your Coupon-Buck As Far As You Can

Week 9 – Time Saving Kitchen & Cooking Hacks

Week 10 – How to Score Freebies Every Week

Finale – Mantras & Report Your Savings Time!

I’m excited to see how much I can lower my grocery bill!

If your grocery bill needs help like mine does, check out the Grocery Budget Makeover!

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

ARTistic Pursuits High School Homeschool Art Review

May 11, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received ARTistic Pursuits Inc. High School Book One The Elements of Art and Composition homeschool art curriculum to review.

High School Book One The Elements of Art and Composition, $47, is for ages 14 and up. This course is designed to be a full year course earning the student 1 credit. There are instructions in the back of the book for using it as a one semester course, earning 1/2 credit. The book is not consumable, so you can use it for more than one student.

Topics covered in High School Book One The Elements of Art and Composition include space, line, texture, shape form, value, contrast & unity, composition, balance, rhythm, atmospheric perspective, proportion – of the face & figure, clothing the figure, and more.

The art supplies needed for High School Book One are easy to obtain.

Art supplies for the first semester are:
drawing pencil set – 2H – 4B
vinyl eraser
metal handheld sharpener
drawing pad

Art supplies for the second semester are:
vine charcoal sticks
jumbo nice charcoal stick
compressed charcoal
charcoal paper pad
paper blending stump
kneaded eraser
natural chamois leather, 4×4 inches

Additional supplies that you may already have on hand: drawing board, hairspray, cotton ball or cloth, ruler, x-acto knife or other cutting tool, 12″x 12″ cardboard box.

You can view the full Table of Contents, as well as sample pages from the book, on the website linked above. This video shows all of the ARTistic Pursuits curriculum available, including this high school book.

ARTistic Pursuits High School Homeschool Art Review

My 15 year old, 9th grade son, Zach, used this homeschool art curriculum. He hasn’t done any drawing since being a teenager. He didn’t think he had any interest in drawing. Since starting this course, he has discovered that he likes drawing.

Zach’s been using it for a few weeks now, a couple of lessons a week. He has been doing well with this course. He looks forward to it. He usually reaches for it first, before everything else. Zach said that some of the lessons have been easy, while others have been harder. He also said that he can draw better now than he could before starting this course. I can see that he is improving, and I like that he feels he is, too.

I like the way ARTistic Pursuits includes art appreciation in the lessons. As the student learns a technique, they also learn to see how that same element was used by some of the greatest artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Durer, Raphael, Tintoretto, and more. The students learn a technique, pick something from their own surroundings to draw, and learn how to apply what they have learned to their own drawings.

As a non-artistic parent, who can barely draw a straight line, I love that the course is designed for the student to work independently.

He wouldn’t let me share all of his drawings. He said they were personal. I did get permission to share these three.

I wish I had found this homeschool art curriculum earlier, so my older kids could have used it. ARTistic Pursuits Inc. High School Book One The Elements of Art and Composition is a great addition to our homeschool.

The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed other ARTistic Pursuits homeschool art curriculum as well. Click the graphic below to check out more reviews.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

May 9, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

We had Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner again last week. I used more leftovers from our Easter ham that I have in the freezer. I think I have one more package left. Plus the bone. This dish is so good!

On May the 4th, I helped my son make Blue Milk. If you are a Star Wars fan, then you know what I’m talking about. lol

We had Chicken Strips for lunch on Saturday. I only had one, but had a big salad with it.

I drink my Pink Drink every day! It’s helping me to get healthy!

We had taco salads last week, instead of just tacos. I made it with some of the venison I ground in the food processor.

I didn’t do anything major in the kitchen last week. As you can see, we ate pretty good last week, though. I don’t have anything major planned this week, either. Just the usual meals, and lots of dishes! I do need to make some healthy snacks. I never have enough snacks, according to my family, anyway. 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- Take out Pizza

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Sandwiches – Roast beef and cheddar, ham, with the choice of white bread, onion rolls. For supper, keilbasa & onions, mac & cheese, corn

Monday – chicken or turkey – Baked chicken, baked potato, corn, green beans

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Skillet Lasagna – trying a new recipe, peas

Wednesday – Taco Night- Beef fajitas

Thursday – pork or beef – Sloppy Joes, carrots, celery

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

In the Kitchen with Linda and Dinner Menu

May 2, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Oven Fries are a favorite with my family. The like all fries in any shape, size, or flavor. lol

I make mine by simply cutting the potatoes to the size I want. and placing them on cookie sheets. I then sprinkle with oil, and seasonings. I usually use chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper.

I use my hands to mix it all together, making sure to distribute all the seasonings well.

Bake until done. I usually take the pan out and flip them over halfway through the cooking time. They come out great every time. My family eats them all, anyway. lol

My daughter, 20, made Strawberry Shortcake the other day. It was so good!

Hopefully, we get a lot of strawberries in our garden this year!

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- Fish filets, homemade tartar sauce, baked beans, asparagus from our garden

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Sandwiches – Roast beef and cheddar, turkey, BLT, all with the choice of white bread, onion rolls, pita pockets

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken strips, mac & cheese, peas & carrots, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with venison meat sauce, green beans or asparagus from our garden

Wednesday – Taco Night- Venison tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or beef – Alfredo Ham Pasta Skillet Dinner, asparagus from the garden or broccoli

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

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