Menu Monday- My Menu Planning Binder

March 1st! How can it be? Another month beginning already! It seems we were just packing away our Christmas decorations.

We have been so busy with our kids' basketball teams and activities lately. It's been so good to have an "anchor"- AKA, my menu plan! Today it was time to turn to a new month and so it was time to plan out the month's menu. I know that sounds like a lot (well, it used to to me before I started menu planning) but now it's really not hard at all. And it makes it so easy to go through our days and weeks, knowing what I need to shop for and prepare.

I've shared here and here about how menu planning has become such a sanity saver for me. I was not always organized in this very important area. It continues to be a journey for me (as all areas of organization are for this natural-born procrastinator!) This week I thought I'd share how I do my menu planning binder. It keep it right in my kitchen on my island/bar, propped up on an iron cookbook holder. It's so helpful, always accessible, an invaluable resource to me, and it was really easy to put together!

First of all, don't be impressed with the cover (or the pages.) I have found that a cheap package of pretty paper from the dollar store or the sale table at the office store and some cheap page protectors makes even the most boring print-outs look "fun." A few years ago when I put this binder together, we had purchased this "bamboo" looking paper for some letters we were sending out for a mission trip to China. The green matched my kitchen so I used a couple of sheets. :)

At the beginning of the year I printed out monthly calendar pages from donnayoung.org (Oh, if you haven't been to her site GO THERE. Forms for EVERYTHING!!) I printed all 12 months at once on some dollar store paper, three-hole punched them and wah-lah. They were ready for the binder. So. On the right I've got my monthly pages and on the left are the recipes I'll be needing for the current week.
This particular photo was taken at the end of January, so you can see my checkmarks for the meals that actually happened. If they don't, then I know I can bump that recipe to another night the next week/month/ whenever.
The current month stays in the very front, but the other months' pages go behind this sheet, one of my favorite resources I created. This is a "quick reference" I typed up of my family's favorite recipes. (You can click to enlarge.) Again, it's really not rocket surgery, and it looks like a bigger deal than it is because it's on pretty paper and in a page protector. I simply categorized my family's favorites and beside each one put where the recipe is located. So when I sit to plan my month, if I'm not cooking from a new book or trying some ground-breaking new recipe, I can scan this list easily and plan a chicken, a beef, a meatless, an Ethiopian dish and a soup. There. It's all listed. Each week I try to do that type of variety, so I can simply choose from each category of "tried and true" recipes. It's so helpful, and it really didn't take that long to type up.
This particular list continues on a "page 2" which is on the other side of the page protector. At the end of this year I'll add new recipes to the list that we enjoyed during the year, since I'll have my year's worth of monthly pages. If we love a recipe I'll put a star on it, or I'll notice as I go through the pages to make my binder in January if I kept making something repeatedly, it'll get bumped to "favorite" status.

So, there it is, one of my most helpful resources in my monthly menu planning. There are many (and better!) ways to do this, but this has helped me tremendously. I'd love to know what works for you, as I'm always looking for ways to improve. If you have something, please let me know!

And now for our menu for this week:

Monday: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, rolls

Tuesday: Mini Meatloaves, baked sweet potatoes, green beans

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Ye Doro Alicha Wet (mild chicken), chick pea paste (yummy and so healthy!) and injera bread

Thursday: Senior Night at the basketball game, and out to eat with the team afterwards

Friday: YO-YO (you're on your own!) leftovers, etc.

Please, please if you have a menu planning binder idea do share it with me! If you have a menu you'd like to share, or want to visit more weekly plans to get some ideas, hop on over to Laura's at Orgjunkie.com. She's such a great resource for getting organized (one of my major endeavors at the moment.)

Have a yummy week!

Monday's Menu Tuesday

I often think of Tuesday as Monday's "do-over." That's because many weeks I need it to be! So, it's not at all unusual for me to do my Menu Monday post on Tuesdays when I need to. :)

I figured since it's Valentine's week and this is a kitchen-y post, I'd snap a quick photo of my kitchen table this morning. Yes, those are our baskets of books in the background. In fact, just after I took this picture with my phone, my sweet Ethiopian son and I sat down for breakfast together and as we were chatting we went through some of the "Planet Earth" geography flashcards over breakfast. Some of those photos are fascinating! He has never seen those things, and it's also really fostering more English vocabulary. So, there's my kitchen... as theme-y as I can make it, but mostly very utilitarian!

Before I share this week's menu I have to tell you about a fun idea we did for my sister-in-law's baby shower this weekend. We made brownie sundaes in big martini glasses. They turned out so cute! So cute that I don't even have a picture! However, I did find these Grasshopper Sundaes on Rachel Ray's site, and there is a photo. Instead of crumbling the brownies I made them into small muffins that fit right in the bottom of the glass. They turned out great! Oh, and the cooking time for "mini brownie muffins" using just boxed brownie mix is exactly 20 minutes on 350. My family was happy to be the brownie testers for me last week as I experimented with cooking times. :)

A meatless recipe I made last week that turned out great was this Enchilada Casserole. But OH my GOODNESS I didn't think it was going to be good at all! When it came time to put the cornbread batter on top, it immediately sank down into the mixture (which had been in the crock pot for about 4 hours). I thought it was the worst looking conglomeration I'd ever put in the crock pot. I was already mentally planning "breakfast for dinner" as a back up. It was awful-looking! But after awhile, the cornbread cooked up and it turned out really yummy! So, I encourage you to try it!

This week I only need to make one "portable dinner" for a basketball game. I'm trying some calzones tonight. We'll see how they turn out!

Monday: Out-to-eat for a missions fundraiser at a fun hamburger place in town

Tuesday: Calzones, fruit

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Yetekekele Enqual be Misr (boiled egg and spicy lentil stew), Yeatakilt Wet (cabbage and potatoes)

Thursday: Crock Pot ham, green beans, roasted carrots

Friday: Tomato Barley Soup, Cheese Paninis (<--- you know this is a fancy way of saying "grilled cheese" right? LOL)

I hope you have a Valentines week filled with love! For more menus or to share yours, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

Menu Monday

Brrrr!! It's downright cold outside!! I know for those of you north and east of Texas, who are buried in snow right now, this is no newsflash. In fact, some of you are without power, you are not even reading this right now. I'm so sorry! I'm praying you are keeping warm! This is a pic of my kids back in December when we went to see the "ICE!" exhibit. It was just starting to snow on us when we left, so I snapped this photo of them all bundled up. I posted this today for those of you who are freeeezing so you would know we are with you in spirit and praying you thaw out soon!

Well, we are in the thick of basketball season. While I am a major fan of climate controlled sports, I am not a fan of being out of the house multiple evenings per week. Eating dinner as a family, and eating home cooked food remains a priority for our family, but during certain seasons it gets challenging! I've had to plan and make more foods that are "portable" that we can eat on-the-run or in between games. I thought about this last week, as the five of us were sitting outside the gym in the hallway, eating our Whole Foods market healthy hot dogs and homemade dessert... at least we're eating together! It's a really fun time for all of us, but with two of them finishing up busy basketball seasons it's a nutty time. I'm hanging on until the middle of March!

I've been really trying to not only make sure we eat home-cooked food during this busy time, but also trying to make it as healthy as possible. I made several recipes out of Fix It and Enjoy It last week that turned out great. I encourage you to pick up that book. (I got mine at Wal Mart.) It has some easy and healthful recipes. The fact that I'm cooking out of it during this action-packed time in our schedule ought to tell you that it's not that hard! Last week I made Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies which everyone liked. I also made a wonderful fruit cobbler recipe for dessert one night (using whole wheat pastry flour and frozen fruit... really good). This weekend I made Pumkin and Ginger pancakes that were so good as well- using whole wheat pastry flour, yogurt, cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin. Perfect with a dusting of powdered sugar on top and served with homemade syrup. Great recipes!

So, here's my menu with 3 dinners "on the go" and two in the slow cooker, as we will be at various gyms this week finishing up our active and fun basketball season!

Monday: tuna salad "jellyroll" sandwiches, pita bread chips and fruit

Tuesday: Crock Pot Enchilada Casserole (from Cooking Light), spanish rice, baked apples

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Ye' Assa Wet (spicy fish- one of our family's favorites!), split peas, ayb (cottage cheese), injera bread

Thursday: Paula Deans's BBQ pork sandwiches (made in the crock pot), sweet potato fries, fruit

Friday: grilled chicken pita sandwiches, baked zucchini chips

To share your menu or to get some great ideas, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!

Monday's Menu... Making Level Paths

I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised,
and I will bring you home again.
Jeremiah 12:10

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
Proverbs 4:26

Happy Monday! Aren't those two verses above so good? I love them. As a mom and a homemaker, they mean so much to me. God is doing some good things in our family throughout each day, and I love how He leads us home each night, around our table. Some nights it's later than others, and it takes a bit of effort, but God honors my efforts to have everyone around the table together. The second one has turned out to be one of my verses for 2010. I am trying so hard (with God's help!) to make "level paths for my feet." So many things become stumbling blocks for me, and disorder is one of them. Menu planning is one way I can make a level path through my week before I even get going on it. Unexpected things happen... life happens, but with a plan in place, especially in this important area, I seem to be able to handle it better.

I have some other posts "brewing" about how, specifically, I am making level paths for my feet in other areas of my home and life. God is so good to continue teaching me!

I read a book last week called "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. It was so good and such a quick read, I assigned it to my high school daughter as part of her health curriculum. It has 64 "rules" for, well... food. Here are a couple that caught my eye:

• "Eat food." "Duh?" Not really. Pollan says (and I agree) that most food we eat isn't really food, it's really "edible foodlike substances. They're highly-processed concoctions designed by food scientists, consisting mostly of ingredients ... that no normal person keeps in the pantry, and they contain chemical additives with which the human body has not been long acquainted." Hm. So, eat food.

• "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." This one cracked me up. He uses the example of standing with your great-grandmother at the grocery store, and her picking up a tube of Gogurt. What would she think that is? Toothpaste? LOL

Anyway, I encourage you to pick this book up. Right now it's only $5 on Amazon.com! The kids and I enjoyed reading through it and it's got some great tips!

Another tip in the book, which I've tried (inconsistently) to do over the years, is to serve fruit with every meal. Every meal. Every. Meal. If I'm honest, I haven't really been doing that, so that is my goal this week. So below, beside each dinner item, mentally insert the word "fruit." Because it will be there. :)

Monday: Black Bean Lasagne Rolls and Mediterranean Fruit Salad (From Fix It and Enjoy It)

Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos, black beans, corn casserole, and Fruit Cobbler (also from FIEI)

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Minchet Abishe (spicy beef), Fosoleay (carrots and green beans), Gommen (spicy collard greens), and Ayb (cottage cheese)

Thursday: Grilled chicken wraps on our way to a basketball game. I'm also planning to make cupcakes using the Honey-Sweetened Spice Cake recipe from FIEI to take along.

Friday: Crock Pot French Onion Soup, salad

For more menu ideas and some great organizational tips (and photos!) to help you make "level paths" in your home, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

MPM, MLK, and a Family Favorite

Wow, the weeks are already starting to fly by! I simply cannot believe it's already the last half of January! I wonder if the February "time warp" will start (that weird way that February always seems to d-r-a-g on forever, even though it's the shortest month, because by that time I'm really ready for March, and spring, and Spring Break, and sunshine, and Easter... I'm a flip flop girl at heart, stuck in my Ugg boots for another few weeks!

Today in the U.S. it's Martin Luther King Day. I love this holiday, I really do. Each year we read about him, discuss the Civil Rights Movement and watch footage of the "I Have A Dream" speech, but if I'm honest, last year and this year it's harder for me. Now I have a black son. And truthfully, he has no idea that there was a time in this country where he couldn't have taken a drink out of the same water fountain or gone to the same school as his brother and sister or have us as parents. I know it's time to begin talking about it, and we will. Up until now I haven't discussed it with him simply because he lacked the English necessary to have it fully explained to him. Now he's got the English, only I don't have the words. I'm praying they will come.

I'm so glad that Ethiopian culture is now interwoven with our family's traditions. Just this weekend we took down the last of our Christmas decorations because we left them up for Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) which was on Jan. 7. This week we will celebrate "Timkat", another Ethiopian holiday! This celebration commemorates Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. I want to talk more with Minte this week about his own baptism. He's been showing an interest at church and has mentioned in the past that he would like to be baptized. Along with our weekly Ethiopian meal, we will hopefully have some meaningful discussions.

Speaking of family traditions, here's a recipe that means so much to our family. Laura asked us to share (and link) some of our "Family Favorite Recipes." Here is one of my very favorites, and was in fact the subject of my first-ever blog post, where I shared about my grandmother's tube pan going on an interesting journey and making its way back to me.

Nana's Banana Nut Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. baking soda

4 cups flour

3 mashed ripe bananas

1 cup chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts, but frequently leave them out or just sprinkle them on top right before I put it in the oven, in case someone is allergic or doesn't prefer nuts)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well. Add vanilla. In a separate measuring cup, combine baking soda and buttermilk. Add flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Add bananas and nuts. Bake in a well-greased and floured tube pan or large bundt pan at 300 degrees for 1 hour 55 min. or two 8" loaf pans for 1 hour 15 min.

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So here's what we've got cookin' for dinner this week:

Monday: YO-YO (You're On Your Own)- I actually cooked over the weekend, so we have plenty of leftovers and a basketball game. Mom's out of the kitchen. :)

Tuesday: Chicken n' Dumplings, carrots, and (don't judge me) fried okra

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Yekik Wet Besiga (spicy beef with split peas) Yebesele Dinich (potatoes), injera bread

Thursday: YO-YO again... another basketball game

Friday: Savory Cheese Soup, salad, wheat rolls

To read more recipes or to link your own, visit OrgJunkie.com.

MPM- Back to a Routine

Well, a new week is beginning. Now that my sweet daughter is back from China and our outside classes are all beginning, it's time to get back into our routine. I actually spent part of New Year's Eve day and New Year's Day organizing my Menu Planning and recipe binders. I know that doesn't seem like a very festive thing to be doing, but my daughter was packing and then en route to China, the mess from all of Christmas seemed to still be everywhere, and that was one way I could get some control. What a great feeling it is! My binders are straight and my menu is planned for January.

I know it sounds like I'm really organized. That's because if you're reading this like I tend to do when I read blogs, you may be envisioning my above-mentioned menu planning binders, but also assuming that I also have a clean house decorated with all of the most current colors and trends, my dog is well-groomed, my photos are all scrapbooked, and I am at my ideal weight. (WHY do we blog readers so often do that to ourselves?) Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, decluttering, getting organized, and staying that way is one of my BHAG's (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) for 2010. Menu planning is a great way to start!

Last week we had a couple of things that were really good, and I want to pass on the recipes. I found a recipe for a really good Black Eyed Pea Gumbo that I made with some of our New Years Day black eyed peas that I'd saved. (I added some Healthy Choice sausage to it for flavor and "oomph" and it turned out great!) Another night we had yummy tostadas made with Crock Pot Mexican Style Pulled Pork. SO good!

Here's what we've got cookin' this week:

Monday: Hawaiian Meatballs, rice, stir fry
Tuesday: YO-YO (You're On Your Own) leftovers or cook-it-yourself
Wednesday: Ethiopian Food Night! Yetekekele Enqual be Misr (spicy stew with boiled egg and lentils), injera bread
Thursday: Baked Pesto Chicken, green beans, roasted carrots
Friday: Flatbread sandwiches on the way to a basketball game

For more recipes and some great organizing tips (including this post about making "decluttering" decisions- SO helpful!) visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

Monday's Meanderings and Menu

It's the holiday season!! A wonderful season, to be sure, but such a busy one! I'm certainly not a social butterfly, or a person who's "in demand," but I've been receiving invitations regularly for various gatherings, putting them on our calendar and figuring out what I need to bring. This morning I received an invitation I simply cannot refuse. In fact, it's one I've received before and accepted, only to find it buried again under a pile... the invitation is found in 1 Peter 5:7. In this scripture I am invited to "cast all [my] anxieties on Him, for He cares for [me.]" Did you know you're invited, too? Here is it for YOU: "...cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you."

And, as with many invitations during this holiday season, there is something to bring to the occasion. It sounds so simple: bring your anxieties. But truly, it would be easier to prepare an appetizer for a party than to REALLY bring my anxieties to Him. When we bring food to a party, presumably all we bring home is an empty (or almost empty!) dish. How is it that when I "cast" (literally "throw") my anxieties onto Him, I either take them all back or go get new ones?? So it's an invitation, but I do need to bring something. It's an invitation I'd be crazy to refuse! And it's one I'm not letting get buried in the busy-ness this season. So, I accepted it this morning and brought to him my school anxiety, my oldest-son-with-a-broken-finger worries, my traveling-husband fears, my driving-teenager angst... all of it.

[You can scroll down for Menu Plan Monday... sorry for the marathon post!]

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Here's what we've been up to in recent days. I'm starting with my older two kids, as they get VERY little "press time" here on the blawg. That's as they want it, of course, being teenagers. I've often said I would've simply DIED if my mom would've had a blog when I was a teenager! So, I try to give them their space, and let them live "unpublished" and unblogged lives. But, sometimes I just can't help it. :)

Our sweet daughter Bethany was named "Player of the Week" on her varsity basketball team. The coach told her it was for her great defense, guarding their best player, and spurring this week's "come-from-behind" win. She has only recently gotten back into basketball, which was the sport she first fell in love with in elementary/middle school. By 6th grade or so, she had moved on to gymnastics, but that became too all-consuming. So, we're back in basketball and loving it! She is such an amazing young woman, and her new teammates are just as fantastic. They are precious young women of God from wonderful families, with hearts for the Lord and for the nations, and have welcomed her right in. We are so blessed!


My sweet oldest son was part of a production of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" this weekend. He's never been part of any theatrical production, so I was very proud that he decided to try this. He was Assistant Stage Mgr., part of the set crew, Prop Master, as well as on the grip crew. I love how he worked behind the scenes to help other people be seen and succeed, and to help serve others. I think that is very Christ-like of him!


And while Dad and Bethany were at a basketball game, here was my handsome "date" to the play performance this weekend. He came to me and asked if he could wear a "jacket" to the play. Well, since it was below freezing outside, I told him a jacket would be a great idea. Then he explained that he meant a "soup jacket." Which, of course, means "suit jacket." Absolutely! I love it when my young men dress like civilized young men, so I thought he looked very handsome when he came downstairs dressed in his button-down shirt and soup jacket. Very, very nice!

Another precious thing happened this weekend. Our church collects shoe boxes, similar to Samaritan's Purse, but specifically for Mexico. We have several members with private planes who volunteer their planes and fuel to pilot the boxes down to Mexico. It's a wonderful ministry, and each year our church sends around 3,000 boxes. Last weekend it was reported that they only had received 900 or so boxes. Well, this bothered Minte greatly. He came to me Saturday with a Wal Mart gift card he had received a couple of months ago for his birthday and insisted that he go put together a box for a boy. So, bright and early yesterday morning he and I headed out to Wal Mart and he filled up a box. I asked him if it would've made him happy to receive such a box when he lived in Ethiopia. His response was, "I did. From you."

Last year it was ALL so new to him, and he didn't even speak the language yet, so he is experiencing Christmas in yet another way this year. He has wanted to send shoe boxes and get an angel off of every tree (church, restaurants, etc.) I just love it! And yesterday , he insisted on using his own money. It's especially poignant to me, given his background. And seeing a little Ethiopian boy buying presents for a little Mexican boy this morning was just the thing I needed to warm my heart on a cold, drizzly morning. God is just so good.

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And finally, our menu. Why am including this? Who really cares? I realized this weekend it is such a gift. In this season of gift-giving, I'm scrambling to find the perfect gifts for those I love and came to the realization that menu-planning (and, really, all planning that I do for a smoothly-running household) is a gift to MYSELF. Of course, it spills right over onto my family, but it is such a gift to me! Just as with a gift, you choose what that person will like or need in a given moment in the future. Well, menu-planning goes ahead of you, visits say, next Tuesday, decides what will help you or bless you that day, purchases what will be needed, and... there it is. Tuesday (or whatever day you've planned for) you've received a gift! And in turn, your family has received a gift of a meal. We go to such lengths to give gifts to others this season, as we should, but shouldn't we put that kind of effort into our planning? It is a gift for you!

So, here's what's cooking in my kitchen this week. Keeping in mind there are 3 basketball games and a traveling husband, dinner is a priority!!


Monday: Crock Pot Pork Chops and Stuffing, green beans, carrots, yeast rolls
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos (one of my favorite things to have on hand for dinners and lunches... great nachos, too!) We will be eating these rolled up in tortillas en route or at a basketball game. :)
Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Minchet Abishe (beef), spicy peas and potatoes
Thursday: Black bean burritos (portable... going to a basketball tournament. May also stuff these with Mexican rice)
Friday: Turkey hot dogs (again... portable, see above. ;)

For more menus, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

I hope you have a blessed, wonderful week!

Monday Menu and an Ethiopian Recipe

Happy Monday!! Has it really been a week already since last Monday? Time really does fly when you're having fun. Yes, it is fun raising kids and all that it entails!

Speaking of "flying" that's what I'll be doing Friday. My husband and I are leaving for Ethiopia for a wonderful missions opportunity with our non-profit! Isn't that amazing? SO, since I'll be away from my kitchen for over a week and won't be here to deal with leftovers, I am only cooking for two nights this week. Then it's "YO YO" ("You're On Your Own") nights for two nights so we can eat all the food and clean out the fridge. The kids love YO YO nights. They can eat whatever - leftovers, sandwiches, breakfast for dinner... anything they want to make and clean up after. (Having a posted menu helps on nights like this, so everyone knows what leftovers are available.) I'm also planning on how brain-tired I'll be when we get home from a week in Africa, so I'm making extra enchiladas and putting them in the freezer. This serves a double purpose: it helps me when I get back and also satisfies our desire for Tex Mex which we always get when we travel to other parts of the world. Like, outside Texas, LOL.

Since we'll be apart for a few days, I decided to cook two of our family favorites this week, one from each continent.

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, corn casserole
Tuesday: Y'Assa Wet (Spicy Ethiopian Fish Stew) <-- and="" below="" lentils="" recipe="" see="" span="" spicy="" style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: YO YO
Thursday:YO YO
Friday: Ciao! Off to Ethiopia! (Kids to their fun friends' and aunt's houses)

Here is the recipe for the Ethiopian dish I'm making this week. ALL of the Ethiopian food I make (which I try to do weekly, you can read more about why here) is with ingredients that can be purchased at Wal Mart or any grocery store. The only things that can't are the bere bere spice, and the injera bread with which you scoop up each bite. We don't even use utensils on Ethiopian food night. Isn't that fun? So, please be encouraged! If you can find an Ethiopian market somewhere to purchase the bere bere and injera, the rest you can do yourself. I know some who make their own injera, something I want to tackle someday! If you don't have access to bere bere spice, you can order some online at a site like this one.

So, here's my recipe, which is adapted from the book Exotic Ethiopian Cooking.

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Ye' Assa Wet (Spicy Fish Stew)

3-6 medium fish fillets (I typically use frozen tilapia)
2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup water
3 TBSP bere bere spice (or 4 if you're feeling brave)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 tsp. black pepper
sea salt to taste

Cut the fish into small pieces and place into grill pan. I use my kitchen scissors (like I do for everything!) and this is super easy! You can also use a small skillet. Brown the fish without oil.


While the fish is browning, brown the onions in the 1 cup of oil in another larger skillet.
Once onions begin to brown, add bere bere.
Once bere bere is stirred through, the onions begin to shrink up a little.
Then add the wine, a little at a time, continuing to stir so it does not burn. Alternate adding water a little at a time.
Once fish has cooked for awhile, it will become white and flaky.
Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes to let the wine and spices blend.
Add cooked fish to the spicy stew mixture.
Once fish is added to to the spicy sauce, here is what it looks like. This has become one of our favorites, and it is very quick to put together. It is light, spicy and a wonderful taste of Ethiopia!

Serve with rolled up injera bread. An easy side dish with this is boiled lentils with a dash of bere bere spice in them and maybe a few red onions as well. I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cooking books in my sidebar for lots more recipes and side dishes that compliment this recipe.


For more menus and recipes, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!

Menu Monday

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. We did. Our first one without basketball games in awhile, a break from Saturday sports until soccer starts. We enjoyed leisurely mornings both Saturday and Sunday (we attend church on Saturday nights) so we had big breakfasts both mornings... biscuits and gravy Saturday morning and pancakes on Sunday. What a treat! (Not sure why I shared that, but this is a food-related post and that was fresh on my mind.) This weekend I added 2 TBS of sugar and a tsp of vanilla to the pancake batter and it made them *so* good. Served with homemade syrup, they were very "yahmmy" as our newest son would say.

I have been taking a break from blogging as much in recent weeks, but not taking a break from menu planning! It's one thing that helps keep me sane! And the new "MPM" graphic at the top reminds me of the Grocery Gadget application I got for my phone. I am a list girl, so this app has been helpful. I'm still figuring it out, though, so if you use it and have any tips, please share!

One thing we had in the past couple of weeks was this Honey Dijon Pork Chops recipe that everyone really liked. Another was an impromptu combination of this Baked Pesto Chicken recipe and this recipe for a simple bruschetta. Dinner was running later than usual one evening last week, so I toasted some bread and made the bruschetta for an appetizer. In the pesto chicken recipe, I substituted bruschetta for the chopped tomatoes. The result was really good! So, it turned into "Baked Pesto Bruschetta Chicken." I halved the chicken breasts and baked them at 400 degrees on foil on a baking sheet, and they were done and perfect in 25 minutes. I think I will always bake chicken that way.
I served it with some pasta with tomato alfredo sauce, peas, caesar salad, and the toasted batard bread we had with the bruschetta. It turned out to be one of everyone's favorite dinners last week. I love it when recipes come together that way! And so easy!

We have a fundraiser at a local hamburger place for my daughter's upcoming mission trip to Mexico, so we have one night out. I've been keeping up my weekly menu planning routine of cooking Monday through Wednesday, leftovers on Thursday, then an easy homemade soup on Friday. Front-loading the week this way really helps me. This way we have left-overs for a YOYO ("You're On Your Own") night and then I don't cook dinners on the weekends (except Ethiopian spicy pasta on Sunday nights!) We go out at least once every weekend after church and the rest of the time we have soup and leftovers.

Here's our week in food:

Monday~ EZ Chicken (Cooking with 4 Ingredients cookbook), rice, stir-fry
Tuesday~ chicken fried steak (Judge me if you must... I haven't made these in just forever, one of my sweet husband's favorites!), mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, peas
Wednesday~ out
Thursday~ leftovers
Friday~ baked potato soup, salad, garlic bread

For more recipes and some great menu links, visit Laura at Orgjunkie. Have a yummy week!

Mistletoe Monday and Menu

So.

I hopped online this morning to get caught up on some of my favorite blogs, and to post my always-fascinating menu, and came across some great stuff. It all started with this post at Laura's which was a follow-up to this post about not being "enough." Not getting "it all" done. Wow, that's a biggie for me. I am currently in a season of not getting it all done... of feeling like I'm not enough. I've even wondered if I'm somehow suffering a mild form of Post Adoption Depression. (But, that's another post! :) It was interesting that I happened upon those posts this morning after kissing my husband goodbye for work, then walking with my coffee past all piles which are waiting to be tackled... Gifts waiting to be wrapped reminded me of the beautiful gifts and wrapping techniques I've seen on blogs. The Christmas card pile reminds me we have yet to even take our picture, muchless mail them. The tub of decorations on the stairs reminded me that I haven't finished decorating the house. (So much for the Christmas Tour of Homes!) Yes, as I padded my way through the house on my way to the computer, I was mentally imagining how "together" everyone else must be compared to me and really doing a bang-up job of #17 on my list of Ways to Make Yourself Miserable.

Which made those posts I read all the more timely.

Laura's first post addresses being "intimidated" by reading certain blogs. I call this "blog intimidation." As I read through some of the comments and the excellent links she posted, I was reminded of something I wrote back in July of 2007 for Christian Women Online. As we begin the Monday of the last week before Christmas (gasp!) I thought it was worth a re-post. I know I needed it! So, here it is...

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Sometimes Good Enough is Good Enough

Reading blogs can be so inspiring, can't it? It can also be thought-provoking, relaxing, entertaining, and even... intimidating. Yes, intimidating! It's easy to read blogs from so many different women, each expressing one or more of her gifts, and come away from it feeling like you're not doing enough. Your closets are not as clean as hers. Your weekly menu (if you even know what it is yet!) is not as creative as hers. Your scrapbook pages (okay, you don't scrapbook, but even if you did) don't look like hers. Just look at how many pounds she's lost! Oh, my goodness, she's read that many books this year? I've never read that many in my life! Oh, and she sings. Of course she does. And on and on it goes. Different blogs, different women, but it's so easy to make it into one Composite Super Woman to whom we just don't measure up! We do it in real life ("irl") too, don't we? (Sometimes I think we put the "irl" in "girlfriends!") I've fallen victim countless times to one of my biggest enemies- comparison. I think all women are prone to it at one time or another.

I'd like to share with you something I read this week from the book I Can't Do It all! Breaking Free From the Lies That Control Us by authors Tracie Peterson, Allison Bottke, and Diane O'Brian. (This excerpt is written by O'Brian):

"You see, I made the decision some years ago that I would spend my housekeeping time more profitably if I concentrated on things I did well- cleaning, organizing, sewing, washing, mowing, shoveling, ironing, mending, and repairing. Cooking wasn't my strong suit, so I kept that at a minimum. My family has been great about it. It's not like we live on fast food. We eat well even though I don't make big efforts in that direction. Realizing that it's not one of my gifts, I released myself from the expectation of being a great cook. We just don't have time to do everything with excellence. The sooner we learn that, the sooner we can break free from the lie."
"We all must make our individual decisions based on God's leading for each of us. Not only should we not attempt to do it all, but we should not feel a sense of guilt when we can't do what others expect of us. Sometimes we put those expectations on ourselves. The truth is, many of our friends would trade a skill they have for one of ours." (emphasis added)

We don't have to be good at it all. Sometimes good enough is good enough in certain areas. We can choose to focus on what we do best and release ourselves from unrealistic expectations. Let's lighten up on ourselves and be who God created and gifted us to be!

God, thank you for the ways in which you have gifted me. Forgive me for envying the gifts of others. If there are any areas in which you want to grow or increase my gifts, I invite you to do so, for Your glory. But, help me not to neglect the gifts I have and waste the moments available for me to use them by spending unnecessary time feeling guilty or inadequate. I can do all things through Christ... all the good works You prepared in advance for me to do, with the set of gifts You have so graciously given me. Thank You, Father. Amen.

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We have some mistletoe hanging in the arch in our entryway (sometimes I like to call it the "foyer." It makes it seem so faincy.) I've decided to let it remind me of KISS. Yes, I know we've all heard it: "Keep It Simple Stupid." Only, I'm not stupid, and neither are you! Keeping it simple is one of the smartest things we can do! So, I've decided it stands for "Keep It Simple Sister." What is "simple?" To me, it means releasing myself from the expectation of doing some of those things that I'm not good at or simply don't have the inclination to do right now. To focus on what my gifts are, what energizes me, and do those things with excellence like the quote above says.

That's my new reminder for this week. For this Christmas season. For 2009. This could be Freak Out week. Or it could be KISS week. I can decide that right now, on this Monday morning.

So, here's my "Mistletoe Menu" for this week:

Monday: leftover fajitas from yesterday
Tuesday: baked chicken (baked with Ginger Sesame dressing- yummo!)
Wednesday: dinner at a friend's house- can't wait!
Thursday: adoption ministry Christmas party- fun!
Friday: baked potato soup


To share your menu, or to be inspired like I was today, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

Make it a "Mistletoe Monday" and remember to Keep It Simple Sister!

Monday Musings, "Minte's-Eye-View" and Menu

Well, it's the start of another week. It's hard to believe it's Monday again!

Last week my daughter and I began the week with a lovely stomach virus. I spent the whole week feeling "meh" so I didn't get time to blog and I spent most of the week feeling like I wasn't getting much done. I think I felt that way primarily because, well, I didn't get much done. But, we're both much better now and hoping for a great week ahead.

Over the course of last week, while I physically had to have more "down time," I spent some time praying for some dear friends and family. One night, in the space of an hour, we received two pieces of news. The first was from our friends in China who had lost their beloved dog. We love that dog, too! And I knew how important that sweet dog was to them, while living a world away from friends and family. So, I prayed. A few moments later, a family member called to let me know that they were experiencing a miscarriage. We have been so excited about this precious baby and so prayerful for this pregnancy, and this was devastating news. So, I prayed. Also in recent days, our refrigerator stopped working. So, I prayed. Praying about all of those things felt odd at first. Is it okay to pray for a lost dog, the loss of a child, and a misplaced refrigerator warranty all at the same time? I was reminded of something I read recently in Grace-Based Parenting:

"The Bible says, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). It's amazing how inclusive the word all is. It doesn't say that we are to cast only our legitimate cares on Him."

His point in the chapter was that we need to treat our kids the way God treats us in this way. If it matters to them, it needs to matter to us. All of these things I was bringing to Him matter to me, His child, and to my friends and family who are his beloved children as well. Therefore, it mattered to Him. ALL of it. As I prayed over the course of the week, I was struck again by how He is concerned with what concerns me. The dog was returned. My family member is healing physically and is at peace spiritually. We are using our "old faithful" fridge in the garage while we locate our warranty for this one. No matter what happens, I can take it all to Him. I even found myself last week thanking Him for anxiety over certain issues, because it prompts me to pray for them. If I were completely calm or unmoved by circumstances, I wouldn't necessarily think to take it before the throne of grace and get a front row seat to watch Him work. It's all such a gift! Anyway, these are a few of my "musings" from recent days.

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Yesterday we went with our fun in-laws and cousins to the Happiest Place On Earth (Bass Pro Shop, of course) and talked to Santa. Minte is used to calling him "Father Christmas," and according to him, in Ethiopia Father Christmas brings candy and tells everyone about Jesus. Isn't that cool? He's getting used to the fact that in America Father Christmas is Santa Claus (or "Santa Clock" as Minte says it) and brings you toys. He's liking that idea, in fact. So, yesterday he decided to ask Santa Clock for an RC monster truck. We had a great time with family, doing the activities at Bass Pro, then going out for pizza and then to see a wonderful light display at a house nearby where the homeowners have coordinated their lights to music, dress as Santa and Mrs. Claus and give out candy. So far Minte is really enjoying the Christmas season!



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I have some other fun pictures of what we've been up to lately, but I want to save them for a separate post. So, today I decided to post some of what was on Minte's memory card in his camera. One fun thing we did when he came home was give him one of our unused digital cameras and let him take photos of his life. He snaps photos every day! You never know when the flash of a camera will greet you around here. As a result, it's been fun to see what he decides to capture on film! This morning I dumped his memory card into my computer and decided to share a bit of Minte's life through his eyes...


Uno. A favorite game of his. LOVES this game. We play it just about every day, multiple times per day. This is the one where it shoots out lots of cards at you. When he doesn't want it to shoot cards at him, he acts like he is zipping it shut ("zeepehr") and locking it with a key ("kulfoche")... then shuts his eyes and gingerly pushes the button. When the cards spew out he screams, "Ahhhh nahhh!" Very fun!

Mom and Kyle working on some schoolwork in the kitchen.

One of his favorite shows, "Zack and Cody." There were a bazillion photographs of the TV screen on his memory card! We DVR the shows, and when he wants to watch the older shows he calls it "Zack and Cody House ("how-oose") and the new ones ("Suite Life on Deck") he calls "Zack and Cody Boat." Through such educational programming he has learned such phrases as, "Awesome!" "Ahh, man!" "Dude, check this out!" and "Absolutely not." He also will now laugh his head off hysterically and then get really straight-faced and say, "No funny."

This would be a hawk in our back yard, eating something. That was fascinating for both boys for most of a morning. It was a pretty big hawk, and we figured out it was eating a bird. I was hoping it wasn't a rabbit or a squirrel, and that it would take the remains of the carcass with it when it was finished. Which it did, thankfully. That was icky-virus week and I wasn't in a place to make it into a science lesson.





There is a whole series of these pictures of all different expressions. The funniest thing to me about them is that it looks like a "mini-Kyle" is sitting on his head. Kyle was on a bar stool behind him videoing him taking all of these pictures of himself and hamming it up.

He beeg-loves anything to do with the dogs, and he takes many pictures of them. The dogs feel famous now.
When I got to this one, I think I literally spewed coffee out of my nose. Yes, those would be Minte's sunglasses on Haley's backside. He thinks her tail looks like a long elephant nose.

Well, there you have it... a little bit of our life through Minte's eyes! There will be more to come, I'm sure!

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And now our menu for the week...

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos, black beans, corn
Tuesday: Four Bean Medley (Fix-it-and Forget It cookbook), cornbread, salad
Wednesday: Halibut with Corn Gravy and Chive Mashed Potatoes
Thursday: YOYO (You're on your own/ leftovers)
Friday: Turkey Monte Cristos, homemade tomato soup

For more menus, or to share yours, visit Laura at Org Junkie.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and have a blessed, blessed week.

Maybe We've Been Missing Something

"Oh, wait! Stop!!"

I think I startled him.

My 10 year old Ethiopian son jolted a bit, his hands poised holding the mustard over the sandwich he was making. The peanut butter sandwich he was making. (Or "sandoosh" as he pronounces it. Yes, I know what it sounds like.)

"Whaht???"

"Um, you're going to put mustard on a peanut butter sandwich?"

"Minte lahve mahstard."

"I don't think it's going to taste good with peanut butter, though."

"Check." (A new word he learned in math last week.)

So, he proceeded to squirt mustard over both peanut butter sandwiches he had carefully crafted for himself. I winced as he placed the top piece of bread over each, and watched with interest as he took his first bite. I wondered if he would make a face and say, "No... no Minte," his usual response to food that doesn't taste the way he thought it would.

Instead, his face broke into a big grin and he exclaimed, "S'goood! Minte lahves zees!"









As you can see, he "beeg-lahves" his new creation. And nothing beautifully blends the colors of autumn like peanut butter and mustard on wheat! Move over PB & J, and make room for PB & M!

Who knows? Maybe we've been missing something all of these years!


Here's what we'll be having for dinner this week:

Monday: Coca Cola Pork Chops, steamed veggies, rice
Tuesday: Pumpkin Chili, cornbread
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!!!! We'll be eating TWO big meals, one at each of our mothers' houses. Yummo!
Friday: Turkey Divan Croissants

For more recipes, or to share your own, visit Laura at Org Junkie. I hope you have a wonderful, set-apart week of thankfulness and time with those you love!