Recipe Roundup: Make-Ahead Meals

You've read about how much of a time-saver make-ahead meals are. Now it's time to swap recipes.

The one below is a recipe I found in Tase of Home's October 2007 issue of "Simple & Delicious" magazine. It makes enough for two 8x8-inch pans of spaghetti casserole: one to eat now, and the other to freeze and eat later. Enjoy.

Spaghetti Casserole

1 pkg. (16 oz.) angel hair pasta
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef (I used extra lean)
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 C. (8 oz.) sour cream (I used fat free)
2 C. (8 oz.) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce. Remove from heat.

2) Drain pasta. Combine soup and sour cream. In two 8-in.-square baking dishes, layer half of the meat sauce, pasta, soup mixture and cheese. Repeat layers.

3) Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350-degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until the cheese is melted (it won't take long if you're eating it right away).

4) To reheat frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake as directed in step 3).

Each casserole makes about 6 servings.

To see a photo of the finished product, visit Just Mom Cooking.

Now it's your turn to share a favorite make-ahead recipe. Use the Mr. Linky below to link to your recipe, and leave a comment. If you don't have a blog, simply include your recipe in your comment. Don't don't forget to join us next week when the theme will be: Recipes Using Five Ingredients or Less.

Truth

I was told that when bank tellers are trained to recognize conterfeit money, they aren't shown examples of counterfeit as much as they are taught the details of genuine money. The theory is that if they are so familiar with the genuine bills, then the counterfeit bills won't fool them.

We live in a world in which we are surrounded by conterfeit beliefs. In the day and age of tolerance and moral relativism, there are times we can find ourselves confused.

How do we protect ourselves and our families from deception?

I think we need to learn a little from the bank tellers. If we focus our attention on learning what is genuine, then we won't be fooled by conterfeit statements. The only way to acheive this is to keep ourselves in the truth, the truth of His Word.

The more we study the truth of the Bible, the less likely our hearts will be swayed by falsehood. I am being convicted more and more of my need to be in His Word daily. Not only to read it, but to meditate on it and memorize it. This is the knowledge and wisdom that will protect myself and my family from lies.

"Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble." Psalm 119:165

Knowing God's word and His laws will keep us from stumbling! I am reminded that when Jesus was tempted by Satan, He countered each of Satan's lies with the truth of God's word.

In Matthew 4:3-11 -

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus only used the truth of God's word to defend himself.

How are you equipping your family with the truth of His Word?

~Mary

Go Figure: Motivation

GooooooooOOOOOOOO Figure! Sometimes I want to say that like a cheerleader...

Go Figure! Sometimes I want to say it sarcastically as I talk about my weight...

GO FIGURE! Today, I want to say it as motivation for us to GET UP & GET MOVING!

Here's what is motivating me to exercise.

For about 5 or 6 weeks now, I've been setting my alarm for 5:30am (and actually getting up) and walking. Just this week, I've noticed several pounds have slipped away. Before I get too excited, because I think they are just hiding behind the closet door in the bathroom, this does motivate me to keep moving. Even though 5:30 is reeeeeaaaaaaly early (and I'm not a morning person) it has been a great start to my day.

While the lost 'baggage' is a wonderful outcome, I've found a hidden blessing in all this. And I believe this is the biggest blessing God's been wanting to give to me. I've been trying to have my devotions before walking - and I've found this allows me to spend time thinking over what I just read. That time of Bible reading and study is followed with a nice long talk with God. Just me and Him - and the hum of the treadmill.

I have uninterrupted time to focus on what I just read. With the craziness that begins when everyone gets out of bed, this made a huge difference in our days. I feel more prepared to start the day!

Psalms 118:24 kjv says, "This is the day which the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

I'm rejoicing and glad that I've been able to start my day in the Word and on my feet!


So, today, I want to ask: Do you have something that motivates you to exercise?

Controlling the Chaos

Make Ahead Meals

One way to control the chaos around our home is to prepare meals ahead.
When I am going to brown hamburger instead of just browning one skillet worth
I brown 2 or 3 or 4 skillets of burger.
My thought is why mess the oven up twice
Or why have a big pile of dishes 2 or 3 extra times.
Plus I am already standing there spending my time browning up one skillet
why not brown up more and then have more meals prepared ahead.

Meals that I make with my browned hamburger are :

BBQ's, tacos, spaghetti meat, chili, meat for pizza, and hot dishes.
If it isn't something that we are going to eat right away that week I just freeze it.

I sure do have a mess in the kitchen but it is so worth it.
It saves me lots of time later.
On busy days all I have to do is pull out my frozen BBQ meat
and then add a veggie to it and make some french fries.
OR
Pull out my spaghetti meat and then all that I have to do
is boil up some noodles and add a veggie.
OR
Grab chili out of the freezer and add a few extras to the meal.
OR
the frozen hamburger can also be used for lazagna or hotdishes.

This is one of the ways that I control the chaos around our home.

This works for me.
Now I don't do this all the time...maybe once a month or so.
It sure helps when you in a pinch.

What type of meals do you make when you are busy and on the go?

Getting Things Done

I have a book recommendation for you this week!

This is one of my favorite books, and it has been invaluable in teaching me the fine art of multi-tasking.

A friend recommended this book to me, and, boy, was she right! It has been life-changing for me. It's called Getting Things Done and it is written by David Allen. Mr. Allen is a coach and management consultant for CEO types who are trying to juggle multiple priorities and who need a way to stay on top of all of those priorities simultaneously.

Now, seriously, ladies - who does that sound like? Can you relate to juggling multiple priorities?

I read this book and started following his "system" at the beginning of May. And I am now beginning to see the true results of it. My stress has been reduced since Week 1, (I'm not kidding!) but now that my to-do list is getting shorter because THINGS ARE ACTUALLY GETTING DONE -- I have to tell you about it.

You really have to read the entire book, but let me share with you the main things that have made such a difference to me.

1. I have a place to put things. He suggests getting a file cabinet and making files for all those things that you need to keep but have no idea what to do with. I have folders for notes from school, letters from my Grandma, bible study schedules, inspirational articles from magazines that I want to remember, etc... They now have a place! And I know where to find them!

2. If it takes less than 2 minutes - do it now. As a natural procrastinator, this simple little "rule" has helped me so much.

3. Limit your "to-do" list to actionable items. If you can't decide about something, then think about what you need to know or who you need to ask in order to decide. For example, I think we might need to have our house painted this year. I don't add "Decide about house painting" - that is not really an "action" item. Action items might be: Ask my husband about it. Ask my husband if we can afford it. Ask my friend for a recommendation for a painter. Find out what my home owner's association approval process is. Those are "action" items.

There is SO much more. It's worth the time to read and see if you think it will work for you.

I'm off to relax now - I finished my list for today. Did you read that?? - I FINISHED my list! Ah, the giddiness. *wink*

...all their toys are educational...all their snacks are multi-grain

A few weeks ago, I posted on my blog about competitions between moms:

"I have been more aware lately that there are lots of moms who feel like they have to keep a perfect house and their kids have to have perfect outfits, and they have to participate in an organized activity every day, etc. It seems like a competition, and I don't really understand how it got started.

"Stone Soup" got me thinking about this topic. Joan is lamenting about a fellow mom and says, "How do other women do it so effortlessly?" and "Her kids are totally Baby Einstein...all their toys are educational...all their snacks are multi-grain..."Does everyone's house stay immaculate all the time? Do we all cook healthy, organic homemade meals every night of the year?

Our house is not always clean, crumbs fall on the floor, laundry piles up. Sometimes I don't comb my son's hair. My kids do own cute outfits, but most of the time they dress themselves. Sometimes I wish I would be more assertive, like when my youngest son wears his orange t-shirt with the brown monkey on it which is WAY too small for the 1,000th time, but then again, who really cares? It's just a shirt. Isn't it?

The thing is, if anyone seems like they've got it all together and they never struggle, then they're just better at hiding it than most of us are."

I'm revisiting this topic today and wondering how many of us have put on the performance of being a perfect mom. Is it easier to join the competition than to step back from it? Do we have to compare ourselves to others or compare our kids to other kids?

I struggle with two things in particular (I had to narrow it down for this post- none of you would want to read my extensive list):

1. My house. I like to live in a clean house, particularly one with a clean floor. I admit that I spend too much time cleaning, and I clean extra before we have guests. I admit to the cleaning (I don't pretend it's always that clean, no one would believe me) but why do I do it? Just for appearances?

2. My temper. I would like others to think I never lose it. I would love to never get angry. Think how easy parenting would be if we never, ever became frustrated or irritated! That is my fantasy!! The fact is, my friends and family know I have a short fuse. They know I work hard at it, but I fail.

We all have unique gifts. We're all multi-tasking moms (not supermoms). We all love our kids! Why do moms compare/compete? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Recipe Roundup: What's For Breakfast?

I admit it. During the past week my family has been having nothing but cereal, quick-cook oatmeal or granola bars for breakfast. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was ready for something a little more filling -- and homemade. Enter one of my favorite cookbooks, "What's For Breakfast," by Donna S. Roy and Kathleen Flores.

I bought this cookbook after spotting a recipe for a low-fat version of "Dutch Baby" pancakes. I'm a big fan of the original, fat-is-no-object, version offered at many pancake houses. This low-cal version just makes for good, guilt-free eating. Enjoy.

Oven Puffed Pancake With Apple Filling

1/4 C. egg substitute, thawed
1 whole egg, beaten
1/3 C. skim milk
1/4 tsp. real vanilla extract
1/3 C. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. light stick margarine
1 tsp. powdered sugar
1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix first 7 ingredients together with wire whisk until smooth. Let stand for five minutes. Place margarine in 8-inch cast iron skillet and melt in oven until bubbly. Pour pancake batter into skillet. Place back in oven and bake 15-20 minutes until pancake is puffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and top with powdered sugar and applesauce.

***

For a photo of the pancake, and to see a recipe for Banana Crumb Muffins, visit Just Mom Cooking.

Now it's your turn to share one of your favorite breakfast recipes. Use the Mr. Linky below to add your recipe(s). If you don't have a blog, please leave your recipe in the comments section. Come back next week when the Recipe Roundup theme will be: Favorite Make-Ahead Meals.