This is the first time that I have participated in a round-up. I have been doing the Menu Plan Monday for a few months now and have found it to be wonderful. So when the round-up this month was organizing recipies I knew I had to take part.

I actually have several different ways that I organize my recipies. I have a shelf full of cookbooks, a small Lonengberger recipe basket, and my menu planning recipies.

When Laura from Organizing Junkie challanged us to sort through and get rid of cookbooks that we no longer use I went to my shelf and took a look. I was actually susprised that there were only two or three cookbooks that I don’t use on a weekly basis. Of those three there was only one that I never use. So that one went. The other two that I don’t use much, are barbeque cookbooks that I use a lot in the summer. So I decided to wait until after the spring and summer to decide wether or not to get rid of it. I did straighten up my cookbook shelf so now it looks much neater.

Before, Doesn't look too bad, but if you look close you can see that it occasionally becomes a resting place for other things.

The stuff that sometimes ends up on the wrong shelf

After, not much different, but looks a little bit neater

I don’t use a lot of loose recipies, so my recipe basket does not get much use. Over the years however I have accumulated quite a number of loose recipies that had filled up my basket and made it a mess. So I went through all the recipies and weeded out the ones that I don’t use, which were most of them. I then typed up the ones I was keeping on the computer if they were handwritten ones or on a page that was bigger than 4″x6″. I made my own dividers out of index cards and post it note tabs. On each index card I have written what is in that catigory so that I can easily find something.  There is not much there now, but at least it is organized so I can easily add to it as needed.

Recipie basket before, notice there is no lid.

Before

After, look I can use the lid again

After

Recipies to be filed go on top

My menu planning is my big organizational project that has been going on for a few months now. I work on a 12 week rotating basis for my menus. To keep everything in order I use a binder system. I have two binders, one for breakfast and one for dinner. Each week has a front page that shows the meals for that week, next comes the shopping list for that week and then each meal has a page with all the recipies for that meal. This way anybody can pick up my binder, find what week I am on and then find the meal they are cooking and cook it without any problems. This is especially helpful with my kids food allergies. If my husband and I are away they person watching the kids doesn’t have to worry about what they are going to cook and how to cook it. I made some covers for the binders so that I know which one is which without having to open them up. I also put each days recipies in a plastic page cover to keep them protected while I cook, since I tend to be a messy cooker. I also have a pad that I found at Target that is my central shopping list. I keep that on my fridge and check things off as I need them. When I am getting ready to go shopping I take out my meal plan shopping list and add what I need to my central shopping list. This way my shopping list only takes a few minutes to get together.

Menu planning binders

Breakfast

Dinner

Front Page of Week

Central Shopping List

this is my whole menu plan for week 1 so you can see what it looks like.

Week 1: Meal Plan
Day 1: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Mixed Vegetables.
Day 2: Chicken Fajitas, Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Day 3: Chicken Sandwiches, Tater Tots, Fruit Salad
Day 4: Beef Stew over Rice
Day 5: Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Week One Grocery List

Produce
2 Onions
2 Tomatoes
Orange -1
Apple – 1
Grapes – 1 bag
Pineapple
Potatoes – 5lb bag
Carrots – 1lb bag
Green Beans
Green Pepper – 1
Lettuce – 1 Head

Meat & Fish
3-4 lb beef roast
2 Chicken Breasts
4 Chicken Patties
1 lb. Ground Beef

Refrigerated
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Rice Cheese
Eggs
Frozen
Tater Tots

Dry Goods
Salt
Pepper
Worcestershire Sauce
Thyme
Oregano
Flour
Italian Salad Dressing
Salsa
Canola Oil
Tortilla Chips
Bread Crumbs
Steak Sauce
Ketchup
Onion Flakes
Chicken Stock
Bread Crumbs
Active Dry Yeast – 1 package
Sugar

Baked Goods
Flour Tortillas

Week 1, Meal 1
Roast Beef
3-4 lb. beef roast
½ cup water
¼ cup chopped onion (or 1 Tbsp. onion flakes)
Dash of salt and pepper
1tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. oregano

Place all ingredients in a crock-pot and cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 8-9 hours.
Just before serving, remove the roast to a platter and slice. Cover with a little gravy or pan juices. Keep warm until served.
(Serves 6)
[Save leftover roast and gravy for meal 4: Beef Stew]

Mashed Potatoes
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ cup chicken stock

Cook potatoes in boiling (slightly salted) water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain off the water and save it for the gravy.  Use an electric mixer or potato masher to whip the potatoes smooth. Add the chicken stock until the potatoes are the desired consistency.

Gravy
Pan juices from roast
Potato water from mashed potatoes
½ cup water
2 Tbsp. flour

In a skillet, reheat the pan juices, and add 1 cup reserved potato water. Mix together the water and flour, and then add a bit at a time to the gravy, until it is the desired consistency when bubbling.

Mixed Vegetables
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Empty bag into a steamer. Steam vegetables until tender. Serve with salt and pepper.

Week 1, Meal 2
Chicken Fajitas
2 Chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
1 Onion, sliced
1 Green Pepper, sliced
1 Tomato, diced
1 Cup shredded cheddar rice cheese
8-10 small flour tortillas
Salsa

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill and slice chicken. Either grill or Saute the pepper and onion.  To serve put chicken, pepper and onions, tomatoes, cheese, salsa, and tortillas on the table. Allow everyone to make his or her own fajitas.
(Serves 4)
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
1 bag favorite tortilla chips
1 jar favorite salsa

Open the bag of tortilla chips and arrange on a plate with a bowl of salsa in the middle.
(Serves 4-6)

Week 1, Meal 3
Chicken Sandwiches
4-6 chicken patties
4-6 hamburger buns
Lettuce leaves, torn
1 Tomato, thinly sliced
Optional Toppings:
Mayonnaise
Ranch Salad Dressing
Bacon Strips, cooked
Rice Cheese Slices

Cook the chicken patties according to package directions.  Serve chicken patties on hamburger buns and place toppings on table.
(Serves 4-6)

Hamburger Buns
1-cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
About 2 ½ cups flour

Pour the warm water into a warmed mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water, and then sprinkle the sugar and salt over the yeast. Let set a minute or two to proof the yeast. Add the oil, and stir in as much of the flour as you easily can, about 2 cups.  Work in enough of the rest of the flour to give you dough that is easy to handle, turn it out onto a floured counter top and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Round the dough up into a ball, cover it with the upturned mixing bowl, and let set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and form each part into a ball. Set the balls of dough slightly apart on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled in bulk, again about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, until done.
(Makes 8 Hamburger Buns)

Tater Tots.
1-package tater tots.

Cook according to package directions.
(Serves 4-6)

Fruit Salad
1 Orange, peeled and diced
1 Apple, cored, peeled, peeled and diced
2 Cups seedless grapes
1 Can pineapple chunks
Any other fruit of your choice

Mix all ingredients; chill for at least 30 minutes.
(Serves 4)

Week 1, Meal 4
Beef Stew
Leftover beef roast from meal 1
Leftover gravy from meal 1
2 Potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
½ cup diced onion
1 or 2 cups water
Dash each of salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano

Cook potatoes, carrots, and onion in the water (1 cup for a thick stew, 2 cups for a thinner stew) with salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano for 15 minutes. Drain off a bit of the water (if desired) and stir in the leftover gravy and beef roast. Cook and stir until everything is heated through.
(Serves 4)

Brown Rice
1-cup brown rice
2-½ cups water

Cook Rice according to package directions.

Week 1, Meal 5
Meatloaf
1 Lb. Ground Beef
1 Egg
¾ cup Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. onion flakes
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Steak Sauce
¼ cup Ketchup
Dash salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients. Shape into a loaf in a 9”x9” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 75 minutes or until it is done. Serve with additional ketchup.
(Serves 6)

Green Beans
1 package frozen green beans or fresh green beans

Steam Green beans in a steamer for 5 – 10 minutes or microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Baked Potatoes
4 – 6 Baking potatoes

Wash and wrap potatoes in tin foil. Bake at 450 for 1 hour.  Serve with margarine and salt and pepper.

This is how I organize my recipes. Enjoy.

Breakfast

Meal 1: Egg in a nest
Meal 2: Oatmeal Pancakes
Meal 3: Applesauce muffins
Meal 4: Coffee Cake Muffins
Meal 5: Oatmeal
Meal 6: Cereal and Fresh Fruit

Dinner

Meal 1: Steak, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans
Meal 2: English muffin Pizzas, Chips and Dip
Meal 3: Pork Chops in Orange Sauce, Rice, and Cooked Carrots
Meal 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cornbread
Meal 5: Swedish Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup, Bacon, And Fresh Blueberries

You would think that I know the answer to this question. After all I am a trained special education teacher. That is what I spent four years in school for, so that I could recognize and teach a child with a learning disability. So why is it then that I can’t come to a decision about my own child. I spend 24 hours a day with him, minus the 5 hours a week he is in school. But yet I still am up in the air about getting him evaluated for ADHD. There are a lot of reasons for this.

Number one reason is the fact that we have not made a decision about homeschooling yet. If he is going to be home with me instead of in a traditional school setting then what is the point of getting him evaluated. I know how to handle him, how to work with him without a diagnosis. I worry that getting a diagnosis will just be a label that will follow him the rest of his life. If he is home with me I can work with him in a way that suites his needs and learning style, ADHD or not. I don’t need a diagnosis to teach him.

Another reason is the medication issue. I am very reluctant to put him on medication. He is already on so much for his allergies and he has such a sensitive stomach to begin with. I don’t want to add yet another chemical to his poor little body. In fact we are in the process of trying to get rid of as many chemicals in the house as we can. Why would I pourposly add more. I know we don’t have to put him on medication if we don’t want to, but the schools most often push for it, and I don’t want him to be thought of as the bad child in the class, just because I don’t want him on medication. My fear is that he will get a teacher who can’t see past the words unmedicated and ADHD. If I decide to keep him out of school to avoid this situation then we are right back at point number 1.

As Alex get older I have been noticing that he is showing less and less ADHD tendencies. He is still a very active little boy who rarely sits still for a minute. But that does not mean he has ADHD. The impulsive behavior  has drastically reduced. He still touches a lot of things without thinking before he does it, which often gets him in trouble. But he doesn’t have the more severe impulse control problems. He doesn’t run into the street, he doesn’t hit, and he doesn’t often act first, think later. He does have some temper control problems still, but again he is an active little boy. I also feel that he doesn’t have a large attention problem. When he wants to he can spend hours focusing on one thing. He does still have a tendency to jump from one activity to another during free time, but that is getting less and less as he gets older. I am really starting to feel like he is growing out of many of the ADHD behaviors, and what I really have is an active boy. And is there really anything wrong with that. I don’t think so.

So what is the problem you say. School is the problem. Every Tuesday and Thursday I worry about the report that I get from his teachers. It seems like every day is something else. The biggest one is that he has trouble sharing and trouble getting over problems. I am really starting to wonder if this is more a problem with the teachers than with him. He has the same issues here at home and with friends, but for the most part I have been able to work through those with him. In fact the last play-date we were on, I don’t really remember having a problem with him at all. Other than trying to drag him out of there. So once again that brings us back to the homeschooling.  Is he just one of those kids who does better at home? Am I capable of providing the right learning environment for him? Will we want to strangle each other at the end of each day? At the moment I don’t have answers to any of these questions.

As of today we are still planning on sending him to his last year of preschool, and Lizzie will be starting the 2 year old program in the fall as well. I think we will have to see what the next year brings.

Breakfast

Meal 1: Blueberry Pancakes
Meal 2: As You Wish Muffins
Meal 3: Breakfast Cookies
Meal 4: Cheesy Eggs, Toast
Meal 5: Banana Muffins
Meal 6: Cereal

Dinner

Meal 1: Sub Sandwiches, Potato Wedges
Meal 2: Sweet-n-Sour Chicken over Rice
Meal 3: Taco Salad
Meal 4: Split Pea Soup with Ham, Grilled Cheese
Meal 5: Spaghetti, Garlic Toast, Salad

Hey there everybody,

This is week 10 in my 12 week cycle. I took a few weeks off. It was a busy couple weeks with birthdays and sick children. I have also started planning breakfast. The kids need to start eating a better breakfast so that they are not so hungry an hour after we eat. I am also hoping that it will help Alex behave better at school. Even though this is the first week that I am planning breakfast, I am going to keep dinner and breakfast on the same week, so I don’t get too confused.

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week.

Heather