This weeks Menu

Monday
Oatmeal and fruit
Bean and Cheese Tostadas
Steak, baked potatoes, and grilled Zucchini

Tuesday
cereal and fruit
Peanut Butter and jelly Sandwiches
Coconut Chicken, pineapple slices, and salad

Wednesday
Eggs and toast
leftovers
pork loin chops, green beans, and salad

Thursday
oatmeal or cereal and fruit
tuna casserole
Chicken Stir-fry and brown rice

Friday
Breakfast tacos
leftovers
(Family Life conference through Sunday)

Free Movie Rental from Redbox

Today you can get a free one night movie rental from redbox by entering the code R7234H . So stop by and pick up a free movie for this evening.
My family takes advantage of the free movies on Mondays by having a family night, we pick a movie and all sit down to watch it together and then we follow that up by playing some board games. This is a fun frugal evening that the whole family will enjoy.

Spring Treat

For dessert last night the girls and I decided to make these delicious Lemon Bars and I thought that I would share the recipe with you.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbs. all purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar for decoration

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Combine the flour, 2/3 cup powdered sugar, and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 min. in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, sugar, 3 Tbs. flour, and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this mixture over the hot crust.
4. Return to the oven for and additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Cut into squares.

These aren't a healthy treat but they are perfect on a warm spring evening.

GRATITUESDAY

Today I am joining Laura at Heavenly Homemakers for Gratituesday. This may seem silly but I am gratefull for the beautiful spring blooms that have been gracing my flower beds.



Seeing these flowers often makes me slow down and take a moment to appreciate all the beauty around me. God has created so many beautiful things and I want to challenge you to take a moment today and enjoy some of what he has provided.

Spring Has Sprung

It is that wonderful time of year when the weather is warming up and we start spending a lot of time outside. We spent our weekend cleaning the garage and doing some yard work. Working in the yard got me to thinking that I should try my hand at gardening again. Since we moved into our house 6 years ago I have had a garden all but 1 year. Having said this I have to tell you that I have only had a successful garden 3 of those 5 years. This year I think that I will try a new method of gardening called Square Foot Gardening. In this method you build above ground beds separated in to 1 ft.x1 ft. sections, you then plant the specified number of plants to each square foot section. For example you would be able to plant 9 bush bean plants or 1 bell pepper plant to a square.
Now that I have decided to plant a garden I need to build the planters and decide what vegetables I want to grow. Since the idea behind planting a garden is to grow my own organic produce to save on groceries and give my family food that I personally know was grown without harmful herbicides and pesticides, I should think about what vegetables I know my family will eat and then go from there.

This Weeks Meals

I thought that I would give you a peek at what we have been/will be eating at our house this week on a $55 per week budget.

Monday
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Egg salad Sandwhiches
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and greenbeans

Tuesday
Cereal, orange slices
(we ate at a friend's house for lunch)
Gumbo

Wednesday
Fresh fruit (bananas and oranges), toast
PB&J Sandwiches, carrot sticks
Tacos, refried beans

Thursday
Brown Rice Breakfast Porridge
Chicken Nuggets and home fries
Baked Coconut Chicken, rice pilaf, and salad

Friday
Oatmeal, fruit
leftovers
Red Beans and Rice

Saturday
Breakfast tacos
(we will be going out to celebrate my daughters 5th and my grandfathers 90th Birthdays)
Stuffed Manicotti, Salad

Sunday
Banana nut muffins
grilled chicken, corn on the cob, salad
Shepherds Pie

Monday
oatmeal, fruit
leftovers
Homemade Hot Pockets


This just goes to show you that you can feed your family a variety of foods on a budget with just a little planning.

What to do with the kids.

I just wanted to remind everyone that The Home Depot puts on a Kids workshop the first saturday of each month from 9am till noon. These workshops are great, this month's activity is building a planter box. Best of all this is a FREE activity you can do with your child. Make it even better by picking up a plant to put in their new planter box and let them be in charge of taking care of it. I know that my girls will love this activity.