Well, I’m still not feeling much like cooking. I think I’m going to stop worrying about it, and keep the meals simple. The family likes simple, so I’m just going to go with it.

Saturday – Make your own night. I enjoyed make your own night…except for the mess…

Sunday – Sandwiches

Monday – Baked Chicken, Baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday – Lasagna, salad, garlic bread

Wednesday – Leftovers, salad

Thursday – Chicken Alfredo Pasta, broccoli

Friday – Hamburgers with all the fixings

For more Menu Plan Monday visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Even though I’ve had this recipe for a long time, I made these for the first time last week. They were delicious. The kids all loved them. I served them as a snack, but some of us ate some for breakfast the next morning.

This recipe is handwritten in my recipe binder, with no notes, so I have no idea where I got this at.

Apple Oatmeal Bars

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients and put half into an 8×8″ pan. Layer apples and sugar. Crumble remaining mixture on top. Bake for 35 minutes at 350.

This was a super simple recipe to make. I used apples that I had canned from our own apples. You could use whole wheat flour, instead of white, and a little honey, if you don’t want to use sugar. I used white sugar, but I think it would be great with brown sugar, also.

For more Tempt My Tummy Tuesday recipes, visit Blessed With Grace

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I love eating beans. I love them on salads as well as in recipes. Soups, rice dishes, Mexican dishes, just about anything.

My family will even eat them, yep, even the kids.

If I have to cook beans every time I want to serve them, it just doesn’t happen. Beans are so good for you, that I do like to serve them. But if I don’t have them prepared and ready to use, I just don’t use them. So I cook and freeze them now.

I prefer to use the over night soak for the beans. I have used the quick soak that is listed on the dried bean bags, where you bring them to a boil. Then let them sit for an hour, rinse, and then cook. If I decide to do a bean cooking session in the morning, instead of the night before, I will use this method.

Some people also like to cook the beans in the crockpot. They turn out nice that way also.

To freeze, I measure out the amount I want in each freezer bag. I freeze beans in 2 cup and 4 cup bags. 2 cups is a good amount for us for using in salads, or for some recipes. I use the 4 cup bags for making chili.

I like to make a lot of beans at one time.

I usually keep Great Northern, Kidney, and Pinto beans on hand in the freezer. I have found that in most recipes, you can use whatever beans you have on hand. I have even made refried beans with kidney beans. No one said a word about the different beans, and I liked the flavor.

I have also found that in recipes using ground meat, I can use more beans, and less meat, and no one notices. Since beans are cheap and nutritious, using more beans and less meat is a healthy alternative. For you and for your grocery budget.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes
Eat More Beans at Homestead Revival

I’m feeling very uninspired this week. No great ideas for cooking means no great menu plan. So I pulled out my $5. Dinner Mom Cookbook for inspiration. I found one recipe that we like, Beef Burrito Skillet and one new recipe to try, Chicken and Potato Pie. Which you don’t actually make into a pie. So it looks pretty easy.

Saturday – Spaghetti with meat sauce, beets


Sunday – Chicken, mashed potatoes, beets


Monday – Beef Burrito Skillet (from The $5. Dinner Mom Cookbook)


Tuesday – Roasted Chicken, baked potatoes, cauliflower


Wednesday – Lasagna, green beans


Thursday – Chicken and Potato Pie (from The $5. Dinner Mom Cookbook)


Friday – Hamburgers with all the fixings, hopefully over the fire, if the weather is nice.

We’ll also have salad most nights.

For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

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We could not find matza bread in any stores around here. We have been looking for about a month now, and there was none to be found. So I learned how to make it. We have been looking for lamb for several weeks, now also. My husband was able to find one piece that had the bone in it, Saturday. Let’s just say lamb is expensive!

Breakfasts this week will be: eggs, matza bread, fruit, yougurt, breakfast tacos, Fried Matza

Lunches this week will be: roll-ups with homemade tortillas, pasta, pizza made on tortillas, salad, fruit

Saturday – Dinner at Church

Sunday – Pizza

Monday – Matza Ball Soup, Roasted Lamb, salad,

Tuesday – Left-overs

Wednesday – Chicken Tacos, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions

Thursday – Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, broccoli, salad

Friday – Baked Chicken, Potato Knishes, salad

We will be having deserts, also.

We are celebrating Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the first time this year. So our menu reflects this.

Please note: We are not Jewish, and are not trying to be Jewish. We are trying to follow the Feasts that God has told us to follow in the Bible. I have removed all the leaven from the kitchen, as directed in the Bible, but I have not removed the flour. So I will be making tortillas (without leaven) and matza bread as we need them this week.

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Several years ago, I was on an email freezer cooking list. I learned a lot about freezing foods on that list.

One of the things that I learned about was the 2 week freezer test.

If you’re not sure if something that you made can be frozen, you test it.

Just wrap it accordingly, and place in the freezer for two weeks.

After 2 weeks, take it out and let it thaw. Then cook/re-heat as needed.

If you are happy with the quality and texture, then your item can be successfully frozen for a longer time period.

I have used this test several times. I have often been satisfied with the results, but sometimes you find out that a certain item can’t be frozen with good results. Like whole baked potatoes.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday ideas, visit Tammy’s Kitchen.

Saturday Digiorno Pizza from Houseparty.com We had so much fun!

If the weather is nice, we may end up cooking hamburgers outside, instead of making Salisbury Steak. We’ll have to wait and so how the weather is.

For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Don’t forget to enter this weeks giveaway Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs