Meatballs...It's what's for Dinner!

This is a plate full of comfort food! If your family likes meatballs, this meatball recipe will soon be the favorite. The recipe came from a dear friend of mine, and the dad and the daughter of this house love to see this meal on the monthly meal plan. This recipe makes A LOT of meatballs, so if you have a large family this recipe is a no-brainer...however, if you have a flock of three like me, you will love the recipe because it is a make once, freeze many. Leftovers make great meatball subs too :)

MEATBALLS:                              SAUCE:
3 pounds ground beef                    4 cups ketchup
1 can evaporated milk                   1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 cups quick oats                       4 tbl Liquid smoke
1 cup chopped onion                     1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt                              1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp chili powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

• Mix meatball ingredients and shape into walnut size meatballs...an ice cream scooper is the perfect size. 
• Place meatballs in two 9x13 pans. 
• Thoroughly mix sauce ingredients. Pour sauce over meatballs and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 
• If not cooking the entire batch, place the ones you want to freeze on a lined cookie sheet. Let freeze for a few hours and then place into freezer bags...freezing on cookie sheet keeps the meatballs from sticking together when bagging them later. If freezing, the extra sauce can be equally divided into freezer bags as well.

Pretzel Rod Treats

Pretzel rod treats are always a hit in my neck of the woods. I can't even count how many years I have been making these and giving them to friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, hair dressers, elderly church members...you get the idea. I usually spend one afternoon and make a huge batch, that way I can throw a few in a small bag or tin at a moments notice. The pretzel rods are super easy to make, just a little time consuming. So here is how I do it!

Have on hand:

• Pretzel rods-I use Snyders brand
• Almond Bark or Baker's Chocolate
• Decorative sprinkles or colored sugar
• Parchment paper
• 2-3 Cookie sheets

The almond bark package has directions for microwaving the bark to melt, however, I have tried this method and the texture of the bark was not appealing. If you choose to microwave, I hope it works for you, it just didn't work for me. I choose to melt the bark on the stove top. Not having a double broiler on hand, I use a small sauce pan and place a Pyrex bowl over boiling water. Steam does escape around the sides of the bowl, SO BE CAREFUL if you choose this method.

1. Place 3-4 sections in bowl to melt...this amount is easy to manage.
2. Allow sections to melt until bark is smooth.
3. While bark is melting, place parchment paper on cookie sheets.
4. Coat one end of a pretzel rod with the bark. The rods were too long for the treat bag purchased, I chose to break the rod in half and cover the broken end with the bark.
5. Place coated pretzel rod on parchment paper and continue to do so until you have a few rows.
6. Sprinkle with decorative sugar or sprinkles of your choice. Note: IF you buy sprinkles in a tub and not a shaker,cutting ONE or TWO small holes in the protective plastic makes the container like a shaker!
7. Once cookie sheet is full, place in freezer to speed up hardening process. Rotating two cookie sheets in and out of the freezer works for me.
8. Remove hardened pretzel rods from cookie sheet and place into container or treat bags.
9. Enjoy gifting them to your favorite people!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holiday Cooking!

Monthly Meals: November

In an effort to eat at home...aka...save money...the monthly meal plan was born. This type of planning started in June for our house. It felt really overwhelming at first, but now it is a blessing.  It only took me a few months to realize that having this plan was saving us some serious money. Before, eating out occurred for various reasons: not having anything thawed, not having all of the ingredients, we were busy that day and nothing was ready for the crock pot when we left home...you get the idea. If I was really going to master the stay-at-home role, I needed to get more organized with the big meal of the day...supper. There are multiple excellent resources on the internet and many of them plan for all three meals AND snacks! However, we are a flock of three and this felt like overkill. My daughter is 16 and big enough to make a decision on her own breakfast, lunch and needed snacks. I decided to just list breakfast and lunch suggestions at the bottom in case we stand looking into the fridge and nothing jumps in our hands...


Just start somewhere...if that means one-two weeks of meals at a time, don't compare yourself to anyone else and JUST START! In the beginning, I only shopped for the first two weeks of the plan and then returned to shop for the last two weeks of the month. At first, I also found that maybe we were not hungry for the particular meal that was scheduled and flipped it with another day later in the week. Amazing how much growth has occurred in both areas in just a few months time. Audrey helps me shop our pantry and freezer and then we prepare a grocery list for the entire month's meal plan...we have used this as part of her Home Economics course as well.  Once checking the calendar for the planned meal became a habit, I quickly realized it was much easier to just cook what had already been planned for the day. It also became apparent when shopping once a month, that I needed to  schedule meals with items that ruin faster at the beginning of the month. With a flock of three, we have a portion of the meal left over most nights. The left overs are sometimes eaten for lunch, but soups and some meat dishes have enough for us to have later in the week as well...first one to the fridge gets the favorite!!

This particular month has a lot of activity, but I decided to share it anyway!! OYO:On Your Own...I will be out of town at a retreat, so they are literally on their own...I am sure they will survive. We have a college tour planned and will not be home those days. Then THANKSGIVING is here...I think I have the meal plan for that day :) 

November
2013
Meal Plan

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
					OYO	OYO
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Potato Soup	Beef  Stroganoff	Tacos	Left Overs	Pizza Rolls	Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sandwiches	Tortellini Soup
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Salmon Chowder	Mongolian Beef & Broccoli	Taco Ring	Coconut Chicken with Sweet Potatoes	Baked Potatoes Salad	Crock Pot Pork with potatoes and carrots	Left Overs
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
LSU	LSU	Chalupas	Chicken Spaghetti	Loaded Cornbread Peas	Salmon Patties Potatoes and peas	Pinto Beans and cornbread
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Pasta Fagioli	Meatballs and mashed potatoes	Left Overs	Baked Chicken with potatoes and carrots	THANKSGIVING	Veggie Night…okra, corn, carrots
Breakfast: oatmeal                  Smoothie                  Egg/Toast	Muffins/fruit cereal		Lunch:  Sandwiches              Left overs              Salad	Burritos Egg  rolls

I don't have the recipes linked at this time, but CHECK BACK...I will be adding those over the next couple of days. If I don't work fast enough, leave a comment and I can send it to you personally.

Here are a few tips for planning your month of meals...of course, you are welcome to copy mine!! 

• First and foremost, plan meals that you enjoy cooking. After all, you are the cook and you deserve to enjoy the process. 
• Plan meals that your family enjoys eating! While sitting with your family at a meal, ask what their favorite meals are and make sure to include the ones they mention.
• Make sure to have your activity calendar close when planning. This allows you to plan a crock pot meal or a sandwich dinner for busy days.
• Limit the amount of new recipes. I only allow one to two "new" meals per month. They are generally more time consuming because it is new to you. Some of the new meals may become a favorite, so don't hesitate to try a new recipe.
• Make days of the week have a theme. Sunday Soup, Meaty Monday, Tuesday Mexican, Wednesday Chicken and so on. It is sometimes easier to come up with 4 soups, 4 beef dishes, 4 chicken dishes....
• Take a quick look at the plan for the next day...may need to get meat in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow's crock pot meal.
• Organize the pantry and the freezer. Getting organized may be a lot of work up front but lessens the frustration at cooking time.
• Put it on the fridge or some other permanent home. I would hate for all of the time and effort go to waste because the meal list can't be found :(  There are so many cute ideas...search Meal Planning Boards in Pinterest and you will not be disappointed. Personally, I just print one from Word and put it on the fridge. Once the month is over, it gets hole punched and put in a binder. (My intention is to create a year of meals and then be able to grab the month, adjust for activities 
• Last but NOT least, forgive yourself on the days you get off schedule. It happens. Look at the calendar the next day, make the next meal and move on...and just think, you may have ingredients for a meal in case the meat didn't get thawed :)

I hope this has inspired and helped motivate you to make a monthly meal plan!  Give it a try...you might surprise yourself.  Happy Planning and Cooking!