My Crazy Week - End

Well, Mike told me on Wednesday night that we were going to be hosting three college guys (yes 3) and boy I almost had a holy hissy! Well, I knew I would be busy for the next two days trying to clean and cook, but I had no idea where to even begin. I knew if I cleaned to soon, the kids would trash it and that would make me even more flustered. So I cooked and baked on Thursday, then Cleaned Friday. Well my first thought was what in the world can I make enough of to feed three grown men and my family? Well, Italian first came to mind then I remembered my grocery buys of Ricotta and Mozerella Cheese.
So I thought, manicotti, which made me call my Aunt Angie to get the recipe for the crepes. See, in my family we tend to make most things from scratch because it's cheaper, not necessarily easier. So I got the recipe and got to work. I made the recipe for the crepes (which requires the batter to rest for at least 1 hour) then I made the filling which consisted of the Ricotta and Mozzarella cheese, among some other ingredients set that aside and thawed out my left over sauce from the other night. (Teaching my soon to be sister the family recipe...So much fun Jen!) Once the hour was done, I cooked the crepes and then the assembly. I must say, Mom, you would be so proud. My kitchen was neat and my assembly line for the manicotti was immaculate. Anyway, I assembled and had just enough crepes to fill my pan, perfect! I still had left over filling, so I will use that for some ravioli. So, I finished that thinking that will be enough, then I thought, well, I need some fillers so how about meatballs, so I started making meatballs. An hour later, and I was thinking, well, they will need something for breakfast on Sunday, right so I thought, I have all of those frozen blueberries, how about blueberry muffins, and I have zuccini that my mom had given me, so I made two things....Blueberry muffins and Zuccini Bread.
So Thursday about 4:30 I was finally done. The kids and I celebrated by going to the new Chick-fil-a in Elkton. Yes I know it was Opening Day, but I love that place. So we hoped in the van and went. Yes it was swamped, yes it was crowded, and no, I did not have to wait more than 60 seconds to order my food, and no, I didn't experience any rude behavior. I found a table the kids ate their food and we had more people help us while we were there then not. Chick-fil-a, I salute you!
After that, we headed to the park, which I don't really know why, because it was super hot and humid. The kids wanted to ride their bikes and scooters so I walked and I tell you what, I was exhausted. I have walked that track with no problems, but that heat, man! Well, the kids wanted to stop at the icecream truck and get something. Well, since momma was broke Ashley said, "Mommy, if I get icecream with my money, can I still get the flashlight?" (She really wants this flashlight she saw the other day. Don't know why? I said, and then she said, "Okay, I wanna use my money to get icecream."
Friday from around 9 am - 9 pm, I did nothing but clean every inch of my house! Wow. Those few inches I don't clean every week really get dirty. I guess I am gonna start cleaning them. Saturday, I didn't even wake up until 9! I was exhausted. Saturday was pretty much just keeping up with kids so all my hard work wouldn't go down the drain.
So now, we wait for our visiters. The kids are super excited for our new guests. I am anxious, and Mike, well,who knows. I am excited about them singing and can't wait for the blessing. I hope that their stay with us will be a blessing to them. They are gone all summer from their families, so I want to be some type of encouragement to them.

Dinner's for under $2

So as most of you know I have been dieting and doing on a budget! Well, I thought it was hard enough to eat normally on a budget, but now trying to buy healthy foods, wow. Now I know why America is such an 'unhealthy' nation. We can't afford to eat healthy. Well, that is a different subject, so I will just tell you about the good things of eating healthy.
I went to Aldi, this new store that opened up in our area and I found some really good deals! I made two dishes from the list of the ingredients. Three of the main products were from Aldi's however, I used some pantry staples. So, here it goes:



Pork Stir Fry w/ Brown Rice

Pork Tenderlion (1/4 used) = $1.16
Red/Green Peppers (1/2 ea) = $ .50
Brown Rice (Pantry) = $ .25
Soy Sauce Grand Total Per Person= $1.91
Black Pepper
Aujus(from Pork)


The Aujus:
After I cooked the Pork, I made an Aujus by adding 2 TBS wine, picking up the bits and flavors of the pork, then added 2 cloves of garlic minced, and added 1 cup chicken broth (homemade) and 1 cup of water.


I also made us (Mike and I) a Pork Tenderlion Salad. I added some Aujus to mine, but Mike didn't want any. Here is the breakdown:

Pork Tenderlion (1/4 used) = $1.16
Salad Mix (1/4 used) = $ .13
Tomato = $ .25 Grand Total Per Person = $1.54
Aujus (from Pork)


So for two meals it costs less than $4 for the both of us! I was so thrilled with how cheap, yet how good the food was!