Summer adventures

John and I recently took a long-overdue trip by ourselves...literally...just the two of us. It was AMAZING! We totally love our kids, but it had been over three years since we spent more than 24 hours away from our kids. I think it is healthy and important that we take care of our relationship so that when those precious gems of children are long gone and living their lives, John and I still want to live with each other. So, the kiddos left (a day early) on a camping adventure with Nana & Papa and John and I got on a plane.
Back story- John has traveled tons more than I have, but he had never been to Southern California or really seen the summery side of the Pacific Ocean-Oregon and Washington coasts tend to be cold and blustery most of the time. So what is in Cali, you ask?? Well John has a very close and best friend from his college days, Adam. John and Adam had not been in the same room since Adam's wedding 5 years ago. So I decided that it would be really fun to spend the weekend visiting Adam and his gorgeous wife Gee in LA where they live. Bonus, my Uncle and his family live in the area too, so we took an opportunity to stay with them as well!
It took John a good couple hours once we landed, got the rental car and drove to my family's place to really start to relax. We spent a good day and half with Adam & Gee exploring all the fun in LA and aside from me getting a little ill (junk food not ok on vacay-lesson learned) we had a total blast!

Nice Surprises

Gotta love a quick visit from a friend! Our friend Scott and his buddy Rex stopped by on their way through town today. It was great to visit and the kiddos loved playing with Mr. Scott :)

Menu Planning

In an effort to cutback a little on our monthly spending, as well as help keep me on a schedule of sorts with school and work...I created about a three week menu and shopped for most of it at once. Please keep in mind that fresher ingredients (like Kale) need to be purchased that week or frozen :)
Hopefully this list will help you get an idea of the things we have been eating and loving. I also included the links for the websites where I found them. I try to cook just a little extra for the bigger kiddos lunches the next day as well. Stretching our meals for six into eight is just that...a stretch, but not impossible-thank you Jesus! Some recipes I tweaked for ease...and affordability. Also, I try to use my crockpot as much as possible, if the recipe can be tweaked so I can use the crock-I make it happen.

Baked Chicken Thighs and Acorn Squash - my own recipe
Season chicken with s&p, cut acorn in wedges and season with s&p, garlic and butter. Bake at 375 until done.

"Spaghetti" with homemade sauce in the crock pot - my own recipe
I throw hamburger with s&p, cumin and garlic in the crock on low, add two of the Organic Marinara jars from Safeway in and stir every so often through the day. Sometime during the day (usually lunch time) I pop a Spaghetti Squash halved with butter and s&p in the oven until it starts to soften-just run a fork on the flesh and if it comes apart and looks like spaghetti, its ready-be careful not to over cook. Sometimes this can even be done the day or evening ahead and refrigerated. An hour before dinner, take the "Spaghetti noodles" and mix them into your sauce. Serve with a nice green salad!

Indian Chicken -From EasyPaleo
This was a definite favorite!

Bean-less Chili with Sweet Potato Wedges - From EveryDayPaleo
Perfect for the crock-pot! This recipe will last for several meals and can be stretched :)

Coconut-Almond Crusted Chicken - From EasyPaleo
This was really good, but it didn't make us jump up and down.

Meatballs -From PaleoOnABudget (This website is awesome. She has weekly meal plans so you can see what they are eating and she frequently breaks cost down)
My kiddos loved these. I served them on cooked spinach. I think they would really love them even for a snack.

Smokey Roast - From EverydayPaleo
Can you say amazing? I put this in the crockpot and by dinner time I could smell it in the driveway when I was coming home.

Chicken Soup - From PaleoOnABudget
I had this on the menu and it happen to fall on a day that was fairly chilly outside, so it was perfect. John had come home with two Grouse from his hunting trip the day before, so I just substituted the Grouse for the Chicken. It was awesome!

Secret Burgers - From LatestInPaleo
I couldn't get liver at our grocery store, so I just skipped the liver part and we topped our burgers with bacon, sauerkraut, homemade mayo and homemade BBQ sauce(I have my own recipe). I served it with spinach salad.

Roasted Brisket with Carrots - From EasyPaleo
Ok...so I didn't use brisket for this because it was really expensive when I shopped. So, I got a great deal on a value back of Round Steaks and just used them instead. I stick them in the crockpot and by dinner they were falling apart. Also, I added Sweet Potato wedges with the carrots and roasted them together.

Sweet Potato Chili -From PaleoOnABudget
Hands down...our favorite so far! The kids and I couldn't get enough of this chili. One of my tricks, instead of a traditional sour cream topping- I put a can of coconut milk in the fridge the day before or sometimes just when I get it home from the store I pop it in there. Then, when it's chili time, I open the can, pour off the coconut water and all the cream is left. I just scoop a nice round spoonful out and put it on top of the chili...soooo good!!!

Cubed Steak with Eggs and Green Beans with Bacon - From PaleoOnABudget
Instead of the broccoli the recipe calls for I cooked up some frozen green beans and put some crispy bacon on top(I had cooked it earlier and it was left over in the fridge).

Chicken and Spinach - From PaleoOnABudget
This is coming up this week on our menu...it looks good!

Kale and Tomato Soup - From PaleoOnABudget
This is coming up this week on our menu...it looks good!

Pork and Spinach - From PaleoOnABudget
This is coming up this week on our menu...it looks good!

Sweet Potato Chicken Salad - From PaleoOnABudget 
This is coming up this week on our menu...it looks good!

Hopefully this helps and you enjoy the food!

Rodeo time

 

We went to the Pendleton Round-Up this week with the kids. This was the first time we went as a whole family.

School starts in a little over a week.....YAY! Then will be the beginings of "birthday season" in our home. I can't wait for all the fun and the memories to be made!

FOOOODDD!!!

We love food in our house. I'm not ashamed. The smell of bacon, steak or fried onions on the grill makes ma salivate. Here is something I am going to have to try this week for sure:

http://www.paleotable.com/2011/01/grilled-flank-steak-with-onions-avocado.html

Goals

How many times have you set a goal and given up? I am sure I do it almost daily. I'm gonna get x, y, z done today....fail. I'm not going to get frustrated with the kids today...fail. I'm going to take time for me today....fail. At the end of the day I look back and thank the Lord for getting me through another day and that's when He reminds me that it wasn't a fail, it was a success. I am reminded that He never gives me more than I can handle and that each day is training for better patience, stronger faith and unfailing love and grace. Today was one of those days...it started out fantastic and then boom...fail. I am going to be using a healthy dose of grace tonight, for sure!

Now that I have that off my chest...on to my fantastic morning: I was getting ready for a morning at the fire department. As I put my uniform on I realized that I had to use the last hole on my belt. The last time I was able to do that with this belt...I was in high school. Ever since our family made the Paleo switch, we have only weighed ourselves a couple of times. I had not weighed for at least a month....so I did it. I was shocked. My weight is 3 lbs over what my driver's license says...from high school! I can't believe that I have been eating - a lot- and living life and my body is loving it enough to be efficient. I have never felt better and I NEVER thought getting down to this weight would be this easy....well, it's not easy, but it's worth it!