Monday's Menu and Minte on the Mend

"...and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."
Acts 14:17

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We FINALLY, after weeks of rain (which we desperately needed) had some very welcomed SUNSHINE. Oh how I loved having my windows open, moderate temperatures and sunshine and breezes going through my house! Last week my sweet son Minte had his first illness since he's been home with us (adopted from Ethiopia a little over a year ago.) Poor thing! So, I got a chance to get in touch with my inner "germaphobe" and not only disinfected everything I saw, but used the "down time" to deep clean, move furniture, clean baseboards, etc. It feels so good... and now he does, too. He was much better by Saturday. I feel like we are ready to have a clean, healthy start to our week. At least I hope so.

With the onset of flu season, and especially the H1N1 strain, I have been reinforcing the hand-washing at our house big time. Even older kids need to be reminded! (The main two who need reminding are 11 and 13 year old boys. Need I say more?) I put a big pump bottle of hand cleaner gel in the kitchen and every. single. time. they enter the kitchen they have to "scrub in." Even if they just washed their hands a few minutes earlier in the restroom... I want them in the habit of cleaning their hands upon entering the kitchen. I know, this may be the start of some OCD-like tendencies for them, which I sincerely hope not, but I need visual confirmation that they've cleaned their hands before they start rooting through the fridge or pantry or touching utensils and cups. Hopefully we are keeping the flu virus at bay!!

With his first US illness (which is amazing considering he's been here a year) he got the full treatment... a "nest" on the couch, movies, card games, read alouds, lots of gatorade and juices, popsicles, and nonstop Mommy-love. Last week I shared a soup recipe I had made up on the spot, and that inspired me this week with a sick one. So, I did it again. SO simple! I know I'm the last one on the MPM list almost every week, and probably the last one reading this who has ever made up their own soups, but I'll share what I did... SO fast, and so much healthier than premade canned soup (less sodium, for sure).

1 boneless chicken breast
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup "rainbow rotini" (multi color spiral noodles)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

I just boiled the chicken until cooked, then removed the chicken to cool a bit on a plate. While the chicken was boiling I boiled the pasta. Once the chicken was removed from the pot I added the extra chicken broth for flavor, and also the vegetables. I brought those to a boil while I shredded the chicken I had removed. I added the shredded chicken back to the soup pot and added the pasta. He really liked it!

Here is our menu for the week:

Monday: Baked Pesto Chicken, Italian Pasta Stir Fry
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice, cornbread
Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Minchet Abishe (spicy beef) and Yeatakilt Wet (cabbage and potatoes)
Thursday: Southwestern Pumpkin Soup, crusty wheat rolls
Friday: Eating out at our church's fall festival

To share your menu or to see more menu plans and recipes (not to mention some wonderful organization tips from someone who really knows her stuff!) visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

Have a yummy week!