Tasks Rather Than Times

We have just begun our eleventh year of home education.

Our three young men have all graduated from high school.  Emma is our last student.

As the school year came to a close last spring, Calvin gave me some insight.

It was a light-bulb-moment.  Perhaps I'm just slow to learn?

It has revolutionized things for our girl.  And for me.

I always had assigned certain amounts of time per day per subject

on each child's schedule.  I thought it was the best plan of attack.

However, Calvin's way is better.  And, it is working fabulously.
Tasks rather than times, and weeks rather than days, are laid out.

  

When the week of work is done, it's done.  Brilliant!

Why didn't I implement this type of scheduling sooner?  I wish I had.

It has made such a difference in the way things run around here.

What about you?  Do you have any tried and true secrets to share?

Tell me everything.  I'm all ears.

Happy Monday!

With Love, Camille

Literally Thousands!

My Sweetie took our Emma on a short business trip.

They were gone two whole days with one night in between.

And, the computer (which is soon to become Emma's) was all mine.

So, I did what any normal Mama would do ~ I sorted photos.

That's what you would have done, right?

Back in the day, when our littles were little,

I captured life with a film SLR gifted to me by my Dad.

 All the photos were printed and sorted and labelled and

immediately filed into albums.  In order.  Always.

But, then.  Then!

2005 arrived, and we entered the world of digital images.

Oh. Dear. Me!!  My life has not been the same since.

Take as many photos as you like?  Yes, please.

Save them all to print off later?  Sign me up.

But, later never seemed to come.

 Fast forward to 2016, and there are literally thousands
of images languishing on my computer that beg to be properly sorted
and printed off.  Others should be deleted and forgotten forever.
That, however, is difficult to do, isn't it?  Someone might want them.

Maybe.  One day.  I seriously doubt it.

  
It's a long, arduous task which won't go away on its own.
It must be done.  And, I must do it.  So, I'm off to the races once again.
Only now?  Emma and her Daddy are home.  :)

Are any of you in the same boat?
It would be encouraging to know that I'm not alone.

Happy Thursday!
With Love, Camille

**Images in this post 
are from approximately 2006-2010 

Meal Plan Update

Winter cooking is in full swing around here.

My winter meal plan has been put to good use in the last few months.

I'm loving this new system.  Two seasons in, it's a win.

As is evident from the photo below, I've made notes to myself along the way.
One of the things I wanted to figure out was the per person
cost for meals on my list.  It was an eye-opening exercise.

Some meals I had considered to be frugal weren't.
Others surprised me with their frugal-ness 
once the numbers were crunched and the final tally made. 

Figuring this out has helped when I've wanted
to stretch our food budget just a little further.
I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of doing this before.

So, there you have it.  Tweaking things as well as the
addition or subtraction of meals has been going on around here.
But, the concept of a list to work from is still in vogue.
I'm sold on the concept of it all.

And, meal planning week by week has become a whole
lot simpler since implementing this system.     

Do you have any frugal (and nourishing) meal ideas to share?
I'm always up for trying something new and adding to the list.
Thank you to all of you who shared ideas on my soup post.
It was fun to try some of them out.  You bless my heart!  :)
  
Before too long, it will be spring once again,
and the summer plan will be re-employed.  Yippee!

Happy Cooking!
With Love, Camille

Our Winter Eats

I've landed on my favourite way to meal plan.
It's been a bit of a journey to arrive at this place.
Click here, here, and here for evidence of that.
Perhaps it's a sickness?  ;-)

This is by far the best way to go about things.
At least, for me it is.

I like to have a plan.  But, I don't like to be locked in.
Flexibility and wiggle room are necessary for my sanity.
Life happens and that is okay.

At the beginning of June, I posted our summer eats.
That plan was copied into a Word document and printed off.
A magnet held it to the side of the fridge and relief set in.
Each week, seven (more or less) meals were chosen
and highlighted and shopped for.

All that remained was for it to be implemented.
If there were leftovers, a meal could be delayed by a day.
Flexibility and wiggle room naturally fit into the plan.

Winter seems to be quickly approaching.
After our hotter-than-normal summer, the tide seems to have turned.
Windy and rainy weather has already made its appearance.
My brain has turned to comfort foods ~ soups and stews.

So, the winter meal plan is well under way.

This time around, I have organized the meals into categories.
This way, it is easier for me to make a weekly menu that pulls from a
variety of sources.  It's my goal to serve chicken, beef, and
meatless meals twice per week each.
Fish is included at least once for good measure.

Of course, veggies and sides and lunches all will be thrown into the mix.
For ease of operation, this plan lists only the main feature for each meal.
On a weekly basis, as I make my shopping list, I fill in the gaps.

~ Dinner Ideas by Category ~



Chicken:

1.  Tanya's Chicken Soup
2. Tex Mex Chicken Soup
3. Chicken Wraps
4. Chicken Noodle Soup
5. Janine's Indian Chicken
6. Chicken Pot Pie
7. Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
8. Hawaiian Chicken




Beef:

1. African Dish
2. Idaho Tacos
3. Chili
4. Shepherd's Pie
5. Spaghetti
6. Beef Stew
7. Skillet Dinner
8. Shipwreck
9. BBQ Meatballs
10. Meatloaf with Scallop Potatoes
11. Hamburger Soup
12. Hobo Beans
13. Auntie Fran's Quiche
14. Roast Beef Dinner
15. Homemade Pizza
16. Sloppy Joe's
17. Black Bean and Sausage Soup



Fish:

1. Salmon Loaf
2. Salmon Burgers
3. Tuna Casserole
4. Sole or Cod Fillets
5. Crab Bisque



Meatless:

1. Refried Beans
2. Black Beans and Rice
3. Macaroni and Cheese
4. Chick Pea and Pasta Soup
5. Pumpkin Leek Soup
6. Farmer's Breakfast
7. Cheesy Lentil Bake
8. Autumn Chowder
9. Green Pea Soup
10. Vegetable Soup
11. Sweet and Sour Lentils
12. Pasta Primavera
13. Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
14. Scrambled Eggs with Veggies
15. Stuffed Baked Potatoes
16. Homemade Tomato Soup
17. Cauliflower Soup
18. Creamy Potato Soup
19. Broccoli Soup

And, there you have it.  My winter eating/cooking plan.
Click on the links provided to find recipes I've previously featured here.
Happy Winter-ing!  Aren't seasons just the best?
Which is your favourite season of all and why?

Hugs to you!
With Love, Camille

Random Recipe Solution

If you're anything like me, you have recipes gathered from a variety of sources.

Hand-written recipes jotted down on the fly from online browsing sessions, 

recipes torn out of food magazines, and some printed off from favourite sources,

all make up my stash of foods-to-someday-try.

I don't transfer a recipe to my tried-and-true recipe box collection

until I know that it's a keeper.

On one of my recent trips to see my sister, she pulled out her recipe binder.

It had recipes within its covers neatly organized into categories

and three-hole-punched and filed away.  All in one place.  Brilliant!

And, then, in recent days, I was visiting Katy's blog and saw this post which

included her wonderful idea for laminated dividers.  

A few weeks passed, and after a little percolating in my brain,

these two ideas merged into one.  A collision of sorts.

This is what has come of that.

I got out my scrapbook papers, paper cutter, and three hole punch, and went to town.

All my loose recipe papers were gathered and categorized.

I cut the scrapbook papers to 9" x 11" and made tabs by cutting the paper to 8.5"

up to the place where the tab would be cut out.  

Prior to laminating, the tabs were labelled and three-hole punched.

After laminating, the edges were trimmed, and a single hole punch was used

to remove the plastic that filled up those holes.

There you have it.  A simple (and pretty) solution for those random
recipes collected while browsing online (or elsewhere) for inspiration and ideas.

How do you deal with all your recipes?
Is your system like this one, or, do you have a different method?
Please tell all.  Inquiring minds want to know.

Happy Friday!
With Love, Camille

Our Summer Eats

For the summer,  I've put together a simple food plan.

Month-at-a-time meal planning is something I love.

It just doesn't happen every single month.

Confession.  It actually hasn't happened around here for the last few.
It seems I'm always confessing about these things.
Well, it is what it is.  And, this should put all that right.

Summer always is a little trickier (in my books) since everything has

to be quick and easy and not create any more heat in the house than necessary.
At least, that's my summer meal plan motto.

We don't have air conditioning.  We don't need it.  That is,

for most of the year we don't.  However, for a few weeks in the height of summer,
it would be nice.  Actually, in the last few days, it would have been nice.

But, it won't happen.  Not in this house.

So, simple, quickly put together, and non-heat producing meals are best.

I formulated this plan on one of our recent hot-in-my-estimation days.  80 degrees.
Don't laugh.  It was 80 degrees outside as well as in.  Too hot for me.
The fan was strategically positioned and aimed in my direction.

Under those conditions, this is what I came up with.
It's my plan for the summer that seems to already have arrived.
In full force.  Good thing I'm prepared.  :)

Rather than make a day by day plan, this list has more than
three weeks' worth of meal ideas which can be rotated as necessary.
Along the way, I might throw something extra into the mix.
(Some of your ideas, perhaps?  Yes, please.)
My hope is that this will be enough to keep us going all summer long.

Auto-pilot and ease of operation are my goals
for meal preparation when the temperatures rise.  In order for that to happen,
I need to have a plan in place.  In my experience, anyway.
Oh, and stick that plan to the fridge.  And, implement it.  Yes, those things, too.

Welcome summer ~ I'm ready for you!

Dinner Ideas:

1.  African Dish
2.  Idaho Tacos
3.  Chicken Wraps
4.  Burgers (or from a box) on the grill
5.  Skillet Dinner
6.  Salmon on the grill
7.  Chicken on the grill
8.  Salmon Salad
9.  Pasta Primavera
10.  Black Beans and Rice
11.  Eggs and Beans on toast
12.  Refried Beans and Rice
13.  Farmer's Breakfast
14.  Steaks (from the half cow) on the grill
15.  Stir Fry something or other
16.  Crock Pot Roast Beef (from the half cow)
17.  Whole Chicken in the crock pot
18.  Taco Salad or Tacos
19.  Sloppy Joe's
20.  Mexican Salad
21.  Janine's Indian Chicken
22.  Hobo Beans
23.  Pulled Chicken in the crock pot
24.  Shish Kebabs

Lunch Ideas:

1.  Salmon sandwiches
2.  Grilled Cheese sandwiches
3.  Tuna sandwiches
4.  Egg Salad sandwiches
5.  Ham sandwiches
6.  Refried beans, Salsa, and Cheese on toast
7.  Pizza Buns
8.  Mini Pizzas
9.  Toasted Tomato sandwiches

Sides:

1. Potato Salad
2.  Grilled Veggies
3.  Greek Salad
4.  Quinoa Salad
5.  Coleslaw
6.  Broccoli Salad
7.  Caesar Salad
8.  Veggies and Dip
9.  Pasta Salad

There you have it.  Our summer eats.
Anything to add to the list?  Any tips or tricks?
I'd love to hear how you handle meal prep in the heat of summer.
Please share.  I'm all ears.  Tell me everything.  :)

Happy Summer-ing.
With Love, Camille

Let's Talk Food

So much of my life seems to revolve around food.

My sister and I text back and forth frequently.

She asks what I am doing.  I ask what she's up to.

Very often we chat about food.

Our texts generally follow a simple pattern.

What you up to?  Grocery shopping.  Cooking.

Cleaning.  Schooling.  Costco run. Typical stuff.  Life.

I've shared my month long meal plan in this space twice ~ here and here.

What were the results?  I am not sure.  It's tricky.

Perhaps I am going about this all wrong.

One thing is certain.  I like having a month long plan

at my fingertips to call upon at a moment's notice.

I like having staples in the house to put all those meals together.

But, the budget.  Did having a plan make it stretch further?

The jury's still out on that one.



In recent days, I have been flying by the seat of my pants.
A few days at a time is all I can muster in the food planning department.
Sometimes, we have eggs and toast and steamed veggies for dinner.
I seem to be an all or nothing girl when it comes to meal planning.

So, what have we been eating around here?



Roast chicken dinner, and then homemade soup the next day.
Chickpea and Pasta soup ~ actually so yummy I made it twice in large batches.
Roast beef dinner with popovers. (SO much beef in the freezer!)
Tex Mex Chicken soup with store bought rotisserie chicken for the meat.
Chicken wraps.  Salmon loaf.  Salmon fillet baked with maple syrup sauce.
African Dish and good old Mac and Cheese ~ comfort food at its finest.



What's next?  Shepherd's Pie, Refried beans with rice and veggies,
and a big pot of Chili ~ recipe to follow (some day...soon, hopefully).
Update ~ Chili recipe may be found here.  :)
Oh, and black beans with rice topped with avocado, tomatoes, etc...
And, there you have it.  A plan of sorts.

What about you?  Any food news to share?
What's your favourite go-to meal?  I'm all ears.

Happy Weekend!
With Love, Camille

Here's the Deal

Here's the deal.  The last time I posted my meal plan was the last time
a proper month-at-a-time meal plan was made by moi.

So there it is.  I said it.  The secret's out.

 It was a robust plan.
I shopped for it all and stuck (mostly) to making up those meals.

But, there was too. much. food.  Not a bad thing when it comes 

to stocking the freezer with ready-made meals.  Not a bad thing at all.

But, not such a great thing when you are trying to see if meal planning cuts food costs.

I know it does.  But, when too much food gets made, it can't really be properly measured.

So, what's a girl to do?  Start from scratch, that's what.

 Begin a new month with a new plan.  Six months later.

How does a meal plan get made around here?
First, I jot down numbers for all the days of the month on paper and
pencil in anything that will affect my meal planning beside its corresponding number.
Then, I brain storm and jot down meals that my family likes.  I slot them in.
My goal is to incorporate meatless, egg, and fish based meals into each week.
The remaining meals are comprised of recipes featuring either chicken or beef.

That's it.  Simple, but effective.

It should also be mentioned that this plan is not set in stone.
I prefer to look at a week's worth of meals when I make up my grocery list
and decide at that time what to prepare and when.  It's flexible.
It provides me with the little bit of leeway I like to allow for sanity's sake.

March 1-7

Tanya's Chicken Soup
Farmer's Breakfast with steamed veggies and toast
Salmon Loaf with roasted veggies
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Skillet Dinner
Shipwreck with steamed veggies
Pam's Chili with cornbread

March 8-14

Leftover Chili
Out for Emma's Birthday
Chicken Pot Pie with Caesar salad
Autumn Chowder
Cheesy Lentil Bake
Spaghetti Sauce served in half Spaghetti Squash boats

March 15-21

African Dish
Thai Chicken Soup
Something with Fish
Something with Eggs
Tex Mex Chicken Soup
Emma's Birthday Party (menu not yet set)

March 22-28

BBQ Meatballs with Hashbrowns and steamed veggies
Refried Beans with rice and veggie platter
Tandoori Chicken with broccoli
Green Pea Soup
Macaroni and Cheese with salad
Hamburger Soup

March 29-31

Vegetable Soup

Something with Fish

Something with Eggs

As was mentioned the last time I put up my month long meal plan,
breakfast and lunch foods are not scheduled in.
However, a rotation of meal ideas is kept tucked away in my head.
My goal is to keep my budget in check for the month.  Let's see how this goes.

How about you?  Are you in the swing of things
with meal planning these days?  Do you even want to be?
Any tips or suggestions to share?  I'm all ears.

Happy Weekend Y'all!
With Love, Camille

So. Much. Better.

We have a closet which hides many faults.

It is one of those additions to our home that I love.

However, it can become a catch-all for those things

that cannot be attended to immediately.

You know how it goes ~ if there's space, it will be filled.
That's how it goes around here.  Maybe it's not like that for you?

This closet is for curriculum storage and keepsakes.

Camp chairs and sleeping bags and backpacks ~ they are there, too.
Archives of this and that, and even the outdoor furniture cushions find 
a home behind its closed doors.  It can quickly get out of hand.

Enter the need for a big clear out once in awhile.
Where does all this stuff come from?

So...clear out I did!  You know how it goes.
You've got to make a mess before order is restored.
See the mess?  Oh!  The Mess!!

But, before long, I had four boxes at the door ready to go to charity.
(And, a young man eager to drive alone who took them all away ~ Yippee!)

Curriculum to sell was stacked on the stairs.

More curriculum was filed into a bin ~ ready for a new home.

Orderliness restored to the closet ~ Woohoo!

Ahhh ~ It feels So. Much. Better.

How about you?  Do you clear out closets in the same way?
Do you make a big mess in the process?  Tell me I'm not the only one.
Or, do you keep everything perfectly maintained all the time?
(If so, please don't tell me about it.  That would just not be kind.  Not at all.)

Happy Fall!  
With Love, Camille

What's for Dinner? ~ September Edition

What's for Dinner? ~ September Edition.
 Just to clarify ~ I have a month of dinners figured out.

I don't necessarily assign specific meals to specific days.
What works best for me is to group the meals into weeks
and then to go from there.

I also include some ideas for breakfast and lunch on my plan (not shown) ~
however, I don't have the whole month planned out for those meals.
As a money-saving strategy, I am incorporating beans/meatless meals weekly.
One of my goals is to have fish on a weekly basis as well.

At the beginning of the month, I make a master list for the staple items 
I will need for the entire month and shop for them all at once ~ or, try to.
At the beginning of each new week, I make my grocery list for the 
fresh items I will need and shop for them accordingly.

Oh, and one more thing.  I fill in the gaps when I make my weekly list.  
That is, the main dish is decided for the month overview,
but, the sides get plugged in at the beginning of each week.
That's why the first week looks more fleshed out ~ because we are in it!
Any questions?  Feel free to ask.  Now...here's the list.

September 1-7:

~ Shrimp Creole

~ Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

~ Homemade Fish and Chips with Coleslaw

~ Trader Joe's Chicken with Nugget potatoes, carrots and Greek Salad

~ Trisha's Crock Pot Chicken with rice and steamed broccoli

~ Hamburger Soup

~ Skillet Dinner

September 8-14:

~ Farmer's Breakfast

~ Baked Salmon

~ Chicken Pot Pie

~ Shepherd's Pie

~ Black Bean Crock Pot Soup

~ Tanya's Chicken Soup

~ African Dish

 September 15-21:

~ Leek and Potato Soup

~ Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

~ BBQ Meatballs

~ Chicken Stir Fry

~ Salmon Loaf

~ Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

~ Beef Stew

September 22-28:

~ Sweet and Sour Lentils
~ Meat Loaf and Scalloped Potatoes
~ Tuna Fish Cakes with Foil Veggies
~ Autumn Chowder
~ Chili with Cornbread
~ Tex Mex Chicken Soup
~ Leftovers (Finally!)

September 29-October 5:

~ Green Pea Soup

~ Auntie Fran's Quiche

~ Hawaiian Chicken

~ Hobo Beans

~ Crab Bisque

~ Tandoori Chicken

~ Slow Cooker Spaghetti

Now, we need to implement this and see how it all pans out ~

no pun intended...ha!  :)  It's all part of the budget-trimming plan I'm on.

I find that planning it out helps to keep me on track. 

The big question still remains ~ Will it actually save money? 
I know it will eliminate the last-minute dash to the store as well as the
temptation to order in pizza.  That's got to make a difference...right?  We'll see.

What about you?  What's on your menu this month?
How about this week?  Please share.  
It makes things more fun when you do.

Happy September Y'all!
With Love, Camille