HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

Last week was not a real busy week, but it sure went by quickly. Haven't had much energy to do anything special. We did head to the coast for a father's day dinner and ran across a chainsaw competition/exhibition and I found a few favorites to get pictures of.

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.  

WEATHER OUTSIDE
Things are heating up here again this week to triple digits by the end of the week, so I am planning indoor projects.  We went to the local farm stand Friday and found some great finds so I made a fantastic fruit salad for dinner over the weekend and plan on making another one this weekend.

TO DO FOR THE WEEK

• a few phone calls
• a little filing
• cleaning and laundry
• Starting my Christmas cards (yep, you read that right) I'm going to actually make my own this year and NOT wait until last minute

CURRENTLY READING

• What a Girl Wants by Kate Perry
• Resurrection in Mudbug  by Jana DeLeon
• Dead Wrong by Leighann Dobbs

TELEVISION / DVR

• Astronaut Wives Club 
• Complications
• Proof
• Dark Matter
• The Last Ship

	BREAKFAST	DINNER	DESSERT
MONDAY	Cereal & Fruit	Y.O.Y.O. / C.O.R.N.
TUESDAY	Bagel & cream cheese	EXPERIMENT NIGHT
WEDNESDAY	Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola	Chardonnay Chicken
THURSDAY	Scrambled Eggs with cheese & Toast	Lemon Parsley Chicken
FRIDAY	Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola	Sweet & Sticky Pork Chops w/ Dirty Rice
SATURDAY	Biscuits & Gravy	Bloody Mary Pot Roast	Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake
SUNDAY	Ham & Cheese Omelets	Mahogany Chicken & Broccoli

SUCCESSFUL RECIPES  FROM LAST WEEK

• BBQ Baby Carrots
• Beer Baked Beans
• South of the Border Chicken Wings
• Italian Chicken & Dumplings

RECIPE FINDS TO TRY LATER
A couple weekends ago we went down to the Local Relay for Life garage sale and it was a real bust, but I was in the mood for bargain so went a little further to a favorite antique mall and found a great garage sale along the way.  I ran across a real bargain on some recipe magazines and bought the whole lot.  Here are some of the recipes we'll be trying:

• French onion BACON soup
• Fruit Jellies
• Beet, Cheddar & Apple tarts
• Spooky Rum Coolers
• Caramel Popcorn Pretzel Bars
• Slow Cooker Green Chili
• Roasted Beef, mushroom & Barley Soup
• Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Slow Cooker Bacon Jam
• Chicken with Cornmeal Dumplings
• Pepperoni Pasta Bake
• Jamaican Spiced Upside Down Cake
• Buttered Toast and Jam Pudding
• Coconut Buttermilk pound cake
• Blackberry Oat Bran Muffins
• Backyard Jerk Chicken
• Apricot Bourbon Glazed Ham
• Bacon Pancakes
• Strawberry Rhubarb Slab Pie
• Lemon Herb Dressing
• Cappuccino Chocolate Cupcakes
• Chicken in Garlic Oil
• Slow Cooker Brisket & Onions
• Salmon with brown sugar mustard glaze
• Rocky road fudge bars
• Turnip Au Gratin
• Sausage Cheddar Balls
• Orange Cumin Pork Loin
• Baked Bacon Tortellini
• Sweet and sour sesame wings
• Frozen honey cream
• Blueberry Cream Cheese hand pies
• Lemon Pudding
• Peanut Butter stuffed French Toast
• Sticky Orange Chicken
• Chicken Gazpacho
• Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes
• Apple Raisin Cookies

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS
I've recently begun using doTerra essential oils and have been having great success with one combination in particular for easier breathing by clearing your sinuses.

Peppermint oil
Breathe
DigestZen

• Put one drop of each oil on the palm of your hand.
• Rub hands together.
• Form a tent with your hands and breathe deep 2-3 times.

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP
Tips for better batters:

• ALL your ingredients should be at room temperature (eggs, butter, milks, ...
• When you cream butter and sugar, DO IT SLOWLY.  This step in your recipe is meant to aerate your batter creating a lighter and fluffier cake.
• Choose your ingredients carefully. For example, using cake flour instead of all purpose flour creates a softer, finer crumb to your cake.
• Use the proper tools for measuring For example, measure wet ingredients in liquid measures and dry ingredients in dry measures. Don't pack ingredients unless told to do so. Flour in particular should be lightly spooned in and leveled off with a knife.
• Alternating wet and dry ingredients creates a smoother batter and prevents toughness. 
• Cake batter cannot be made in advance, but cakes can as long as you don't frost them, they will freeze well. for 3-4 weeks.  Be sure and let them cool completely before freezing. Conversely allow them to thaw completely before icing.

MAKE AHEAD SMOOTHIES - Perfect for busy weeks

• Instead of making one serving of your favorite smoothie whip up a whole batch all at once.
• Place one serving each in freezer bags.
• Lay them flat and stack in the freezer.
• Transfer one to the refrigerator the night before and they are perfect the next morning for a meal on the run.

My favorite flavor combination is:
Bolt House Farms Green Goddess
Pomegranate juice
a banana
a handful of wild blueberries

• The secret of life isn't what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.  
• Help other people cope with their problems and your own will be easier to cope with.
• Never use the word "impossible" seriously again.
• Self-trust is the first secret of success.  So believe in and trust yourself.
• Stand up to obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.
• Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself.  In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
• How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself, so always think positively.
• Go at life with abandon, give it all you've got. And life will give all it has to you.

~Norman Vincent Peale "Positive Thinking Every Day"

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

• A lazy summer afternoon napping on the patio
• Marathon afternoons catching up with favorite shows
• Freshly painted walls
• A day at the beach

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

Awesome moon on June 3rd.

INSPIRATION