Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

April 18, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

My mother finally came home from the hospital last week! So I’ve been able to stay home more. I got quite a bit of work done in the kitchen last week.

I cooked up 5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast. I baked them with some salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I packaged them for the freezer with a little of the broth from the baking pan. I did bags of 1 and 2 pieces to make it easy to defrost just the amount I need. Some will be used for suppers, the 2 packs, some will be used for lunches, the single packs.

I cooked about 6 pounds of venison pieces in the slow cooker. I cooked them all night on low. The next day, I divided the meat into 4 freezer bags. Each bag holds enough meat for 2-3 lunches for my husband. He’ll either add this meat to rice or take as is along with a potato to bake in the microwave at work.

On Saturday, we had our first cook out of the season! We kicked off the season with packet meals. That’s where you put all your food in one foil packet and cook it in the camp fire. Beneath all the vegetables in the picture below, there is a hamburger patty. This is my packet meal. 🙂

We seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, burger seasoning, bbq sauce, and hot sauce. Not all in one packet! lol

Everyone gets to make their own packet. So, you guessed it, the kids didn’t add as many vegetables.

Then the packet meals are place over the hot coals and turned a couple of times until done. To test for doneness, you have to open a packet & check it. It’s very hot! But there really is no other good way to test for doneness. For hamburger patties, potatoes & carrots, it only takes 20-30 minutes, depending on how hot the coals are.

My husband wanted to have corn on the cob, too. He soaked the cobs, with the husks on, in a pan of water before placing over the fire. He turned them every couple of minutes for about 10 minutes. The time depends on how hot your coals are. So the time will vary each time.

All of our packet meals turned out great! This one is mine. Yum!

The corn on the cob came out great, too!

We are looking forward to many more cook outs this year! The next time we do packet meals I want to use chicken.

Have you cooked out yet 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- Cook out! Packet Meals with hamburgers, potatoes, carrots, onions, green peppers

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Fish fillets & tater tots, green beans

Monday – chicken or turkey – Baked Chicken, mashed potatoes, beets

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

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

Thursday – pork or beef – Skillet Sausage Pasta, salad

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner Recipe

April 15, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains affiliate links

I love skillet dinners! They are so quick & easy to make. All the ones that I have tried taste great, too!

I was looking for a way to use leftover Easter ham so I came up with this recipe.

This recipe, like all my skillet dinner recipes, is made in a 12″ cast iron skillet.

Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner Recipe

1 pound bite size pasta (my family prefers farfalle – bow tie pasta)

3 cups water

2 cups heavy cream

3 cups diced ham

1 12 oz bag frozen peas (no need to defrost first)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

4 oz cream cheese

Add everything to the skillet except the cream cheese.

Cover and bring to a boil. Stir and turn down to a simmer. Cook for 11-12 minutes until pasta is done.

Stir in cream cheese.

Serve with additional parmesan, if desired. I personally think you can’t have too much parmesan cheese!

I have served this Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner to my family twice now. Everyone loves it! Well, some of them don’t like the peas. lol You can leave the peas out if you prefer!

*Disclosure: 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

April 14, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I managed to fit in some real cooking last week! Real as in no convenience foods!

I made pan roasted asparagus. So good! I am really looking forward to cooking with the asparagus from our garden. Hope it hurries up & grows! lol

I made Skillet Sausage Pasta again last week. This is so easy, and so good! My family loves it. So do I!

After discovering that I could grind venison meat in the food processor last week, I have been experimenting with it. I made venison breakfast sausage. I used the same recipe that I use for homemade turkey sausage. It came out great! It passed the family taste test, and they want more!

I also used some of the ground venison in spaghetti sauce. Again, it was good!

We also had taco salads with some of the venison taco meat I had made and put in the freezer last week.

My mother is out of the hospital now (she was there for almost 4 months), so I will have more time for cooking!

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- Breakfast for dinner– eggs, venison breakfast sausage, toast, orange juice

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Fish fillets & tater tots

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken strips, macaroni & cheese, baked beans, corn

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti, venison steaks, green beans

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

Thursday – pork or beef – Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner, peas

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Give Kids The World 30th Anniversary

April 8, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Give Kids The World, a nonprofit organization that provides children with life-threatening illnesses and their families week long, fantasy vacations, celebrated its 30th anniversary in March, marking three decades of providing the happiness that inspires hope.

My family stayed at Give Kids the World in 2002 on my son’s wish trip. I wanted to be sure to share this with you since I have first hand experience in how awesome Give Kids the World really is!

Since 1986, the organization has hosted more than 143,000 children and their families. Give Kids The World partners with more than 240 wish-granting organizations from around the world to bring these families to Central Florida to experience the world’s most beloved theme parks. There is no cost for visiting families.

The inspiration for Give Kids The World was a wish that went unfulfilled. Thirty years ago, a 6-year-old girl named Amy wanted to visit Walt Disney World. But despite efforts to make that dream come true, Amy, who had leukemia, passed away before all of the pieces could come together. An Orlando hotelier and Holocaust survivor named Henri Landwirth was so moved by her story he pledged that no child’s wish would ever again come too late.

With the help of his friends and colleagues in the hospitality industry, his new venture could make a wish come true in as little as 24 hours. Give Kids The World started in 1986 as a few rooms spread out between several local hotels. Three years later, the whimsical Give Kids The World Village resort opened in Kissimmee, and has grown to encompass 79 acres with 144 two-bedroom villas.

The one-of-a-kind Village looks as if it leapt off the pages of a child’s storybook. It features the Castle of Miracles, where golden stars personalized with each wish child’s name twinkle on the ceiling. There’s a magical carousel, a child-size train, a dinosaur-themed mini golf course, two pools and a spectacular splash pad. Halloween and Christmas are celebrated every week, as is the birthday of Mayor Clayton, a six-foot rabbit who serves as honorary mayor of the Village. All the amenities are designed to help the children and their families forget – if only for a week – the challenges that living with a life-threatening illness present.

Today, the mission of the Village is fulfilled with the help of dozens of corporate partners and countless donors, including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, as well as Kennedy Space Center, LEGOLAND Florida Resort, and Gatorland, all of which provide admission tickets.

Visiting families enjoy complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner provided by Perkins Restaurants & Bakery, Boston Market and Papa John’s Pizza. Additional support comes from longtime partners such as Mears Transportation, InterContinental Hotels Group Owners Association and Orange Lake Resorts, Home to Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

“Over the last 30 years, we’ve welcomed thousands of children and their families into our Village home and into our hearts. Each one of them has made an indelible mark on our lives,” said Pamela Landwirth, President and CEO of Give Kids The World Village.

“As we look back through the years, we are so thankful for the incredible generosity of our corporate donors, our partners, and everyone who has helped support our mission,” she said. “They have shared their time, talents, and resources to ensure that our families leave the Village with memories they will cherish for a lifetime.”

Every wish kid gets a star on the ceiling of the Castle of Miracles, shown above. My son’s star is just inside the front door, on the ceiling right outside what used to be the Fe Fi Fo Fun Game Room. They’ve done a lot of changes since we’ve been there, so I’m not sure if that is still a game room, though.

In 2015, the Village welcomed more than 7,700 families, a number expected to grow in 2016. To accommodate the continuing growth, additional villas are under construction. The first phase of Banyan Park, which includes an additional 24 villas, is scheduled to open this fall.

Also this year, Give Kids The World is bringing memories of the Village to “alumni” families during “family reunions” to be held in cities throughout the country. These ice-cream socials will allow guests to reconnect, reminisce and rediscover the feeling they had at the Village while meeting other families with stories much like their own. The family reunions are scheduled in cities such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, and Philadelphia.

Our time at the Give Kids the World Village was amazing. The peace that you feel when you are in the village can not be felt any where else in the “real world”. It truly is an incredible place for the wish kids, and their whole families.

For more information on Give Kids The World Village’s mission, the resort or how to make a donation that will help provide the “Happiness that Inspires Hope,” please visit GiveKidsTheWorld.org.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

April 4, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

This was our supper on Saturday. Smoked Sausage sauteed with onions, macaroni & cheese, and baked beans. This is one of my favorite meals. The flavors just go together so well. And it’s easy, too! lol

We had ham leftover from Easter, so I came up with a skillet dinner to use some of it. This Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner was so good. Look for the recipe coming soon!

My major kitchen win last week was making my own ground venison in the food processor. I have a meat grinder that belonged to my father. I had never used it though. I went to clean it last week for use, but it must have been made out of aluminum as the insides were all corroded with white “stuff”.

So I tried using my food processor. I did about 6 pounds in small batches. It came out great. I used it all to make taco meat. We ate some that night, and I have 3 packages of it in the freezer ready to go for quick taco based meals.

This week, I’m grinding more to make spaghetti sauce with. I am so happy to be able to add meals made with ground venison to our menus!

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- Dinner out

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Smoked Sausage & Onions, macaroni & cheese, baked beans

Monday – chicken or turkey – Roasted Turkey, mashed potatoes, asparagus

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

Wednesday – Taco Night- Venison taco salad

Thursday – pork or beef – Skillet Sausage Pasta, corn

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

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Some Southern Gospel for Your Sunday Morning

April 3, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Some Southern Gospel for your Sunday morning.

The McKameys singing You’re Still God and The Barrett Family singing He’s Got a Miracle for You

Logic of English Essentials Homeschool Curriculum Review

March 31, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

For the past few weeks I’ve been using Logic of English Essentials 2nd Edition with my 9th grade son. I received the Essentials homeschool curriculum complete set, which sells for $198 on the website, to review.

The Logic of English homeschool reading and spelling curriculum uses a common sense, multi-sensory approach to learning. The Logic of English basis their method on the 74 basic phonograms and 31 spelling rules that together explain 98% of English words. The Logic of English approach doesn’t use any sight words, it teaches students why words are read and spelled the way they are.

The Logic of English has curriculum for all ages. From students just learning to read, struggling readers, poor spellers, and those students needing remedial help, all the way to adult learners.

Essentials, a multi level reading, spelling, grammar and vocabulary curriculum, is recommended for ages 8 – adult. It is a complete spelling, grammar, and vocabulary curriculum for grades 2-6.

Logic of English Essentials Homeschool Curriculum Review

The Essentials Volume 1 Complete Set includes all the components of Essentials needed to teach the first semester of the curriculum.
Essentials Teacher’s Guide, 2nd ed., Volume 1
Essentials Student Workbook, 2nd ed., Volume 1
Spelling Journal
Basic Phonogram Flash Cards
Spelling Rule Flash Cards
Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards
Grammar Flash Cards
Morpheme Flash Cards, Set 1
1 deck of Bookface Phonogram Game Cards
1 deck of either Cursive or Manuscript Phonogram Game Cards (choose Cursive or Manuscript in the dropdown menu above)
Phonogram Game Tiles
Phonogram and Spelling Rule Quick Reference
Spelling Analysis Card

The Student Workbook and the Spelling Journal are consumable. You will have to buy one of each of them for each student. When the student is ready for the second semester, you will only need to add the Volume 2 Teacher’s Guide, Workbook, and Morpheme Cards.

There is a lot included in the complete set. Don’t let that intimidate you, though. The Teacher’s Guide, with over 600 pages, lays it all out for you. Telling you what you need to do when. I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed by all the flash cards. The Teacher’s Guide takes care of that, though. It tells you what cards to use and when to use them.

There is a section in the Teacher’s Guide on how to create your schedule. There are 15 lessons included in Essentials 1. Each lesson is divided into 5 days. Each days lesson will take approximately 30-45 minutes. Depending on the age of the student and what level they are at, you may need to spend more, or less, time on each lesson.

There is little to no teacher prep involved before each lesson. If you keep all the books and flash cards together, you will have everything you need. You read through the lesson in the Teacher’s Guide as you go. It tells you what to say and when to say it.

I’ve used the term multi level a couple of times. The curriculum includes 3 different levels. Parts of each lesson are labeled “All”, “A”, “B”, “C”. These labels tell the teacher which concepts are taught to “All” the students, or students on each of the 3 levels. There is a placement test that tells you which level to start your student on. Then the lessons can be adjusted as your student grows and learns. For example, your student may go from level A to level B. If you have students on different levels, you can still teach them together for the “All” work, then they can work separately on whatever level they are one. This makes it great for homeschoolers that have more than one student. There are plenty of teacher tips throughout the book, helping you to ensure that your student gets the most out of the curriculum.

The Spelling Journal is a student created reference. It has a sound to spelling reference, a phonogram table, and spelling rules in the front. Those are followed by pages for the student to write their spelling words. These pages are organized by sound, not alphabetically.

The Student Workbook has over 300 pages. It contains activities to reinforce the lessons. There are different pages for each level. They are clearly labeled A, B, or C. Some pages are to be done by all levels, and these are not marked. The Teacher’s Guide tells you what page in the workbook to do when.

The Logic of English Essentials 1 is a thorough, teacher intensive multi level reading, spelling, grammar and vocabulary curriculum. It requires the teacher to be hands on through out the lesson. My 9th grade son did not like that, as he prefers to work independently. The intense teacher involvement works great for beginning readers, those needing remedial help, and adult learners.

To see what others had to say about Essentials, as well as reviews of other Logic of English curriculum, click the graphic below.

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