Chicken Parmesan has to be one of the easiest and tastiest ways of preparing chicken, don’t you agree?
In this version we first get started on a simple homemade tomato sauce with crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, and oregano (though you could easily use already prepared sauce).
While the sauce is simmering we take boneless chicken cutlets, breast or thigh meat, dredge them first in a mustardy coating, then in Parmesan tossed breadcrumbs (we like panko), and bake!
http://ift.tt/2udzSF3Have you ever cooked with farro before? This wheat grain is chewy, nutty, and filling. It’s also not much harder to prepare than brown rice.
Mix cooked farro with some vegetables, as we’ve done here, and you have an easy side dish for dinner or even a light lunch for the week! Just add some chicken or a poached egg for a complete meal.
http://ift.tt/2udi252Monday is here again. Are you ready for the new week with a meal plan in hand? If not find a few easy skillet dishes below to help fill in your meal plan.
This week again is going to be a warm one. So we will be having skillet dishes or grilling again this week.
Our garden continues to produce a good amount of lettuce so we’ll be having grilled brown sugar steaks over salad this week. I picked up a few steaks on sale a while back on sale. So they are on the meal plan this week.
We’ll also be having salad as a side dish almost all week long. I prep ahead the salad so it easy to throw it together right before we sit down to eat.
We will also be grilling chicken this week. I’ll pull out a barbecue chicken freezer package and a teriyaki chicken freezer package this week to grill.
I love having them ready to go in the freezer so I only have to thaw them and add the chicken to the grill. Everything else is already done.
We’ll also be eating out once this week. We don’t do this often and I’m not sure whether we will eat out or just pick up something to bring home. It will depend on how busy the day is, so we’ll decide when we get to it.
What’s cooking at your house this week?
Here are our Meals for this Week,Dinners
Brown Sugar Steak over Salad with French Bread
Yakisoba Chicken with Salad and Fruit
Huevos Rancheros, Salad, and Fruit
Waffles, Eggs, and Sausage
BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Salad
Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, and Stir Fry Vegetables
Out to Eat
Lunches
Leftovers most days
Tuna Sandwiches, Chips, and Cherries
Bagel Sandwiches, Chips, and Grapes
Breakfast
Toast with Eggs
Pancakes, Eggs, and Sausage
Rhubarb Coffee Cake, Eggs, and Bacon
Do you need help planning your menu? Find my menu planning tips here with a free printable menu planner page and here for frugal menu planning tips.
Find more menu plan ideas at Org Junkie too.
This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
http://ift.tt/2wehMUBThe classic margarita has a nobility that’s expressed by its simplicity—tequila, orange liqueur for sweetness, and tart lime juice.
Just three ingredients, harmoniously combined and perfectly balanced.
http://ift.tt/2tMz6iHIt’s homeschool planning time for so many people out there, and that’s why I’m so excited about this new free set of printables that is to use as part of (or as your whole) homeschool planner. That’s right – a free homeschool planner. Sweet!
Another cool thing about this homeschool planner is that even non-homeschoolers might want to download it. While some of the pages are specific for homeschooling or school planning, there are many of the pages that would be fantastic for anyone to use. Be sure to read through the list of the planner contents to see if you might want to download this bright and cheerful planner for your non-homeschooling needs.
I have been wanting to offer homeschool planning pages on the site for some time, and I’m happy to finally have those available for you.
This set includes a variety of types of planning and homeschool record keeping pages. I came up with all of the pages that I thought would have helped me while I was busy with our homeschool planning, as well as some pages that I thought might have encouraged me to do some of the things that I wanted to do, but didn’t do nearly often enough (like more hands on learning).
These pages will be perfect to use on their own as your homeschool planner for the year (some will just need to have multiple copies made of them) or they will also work as a supplement to whatever planning book or method you may be using.
The Eclectic Homeschooler’s Plan Book (A good option if you don’t want a DIY Homeschool Planner)
The free homeschool planner printables set contains 14 pages. There are even some of the pages that would be wonderful for general planning even for non-homeschoolers. Here’s the breakdown of the 13 pages:
Terms of Use
This is not included in the page count. So, the download is actually 14 pages.
There is a short terms of use page, which basically just lets you know that this is free for personal use only. You should not share this download with anyone and can’t post it anywhere online either. Thanks!
Daily Planning Page #1
This page includes sections for a schedule, assignments, to do list, menu for the day, chores, and prayers.
Daily Planning Page #2
This page has sections for a schedule (broken down by hour), notes, and a to do list. This page would also work for non-homeschoolers.
Weekly Plan Page
This page includes one open box for each day of the week. This also means that this is great for non-homeschoolers and any type of weekly planning.
My Assignments Page #1 & #2
These pages are to give to your students so they can be responsible for their own school work. There are two different layout options.
Monthly Goals Pages
Each page covers six months of the year and is a great place to jot down goals for both school and non-school related items. The goal pages could be used by both parents and kids!
These would also work wonderfully for anyone wanting to set monthly goals for any reason, such as blogging, weight loss, learning a skill, and more.
Unit Study Planning Page
Unit studies are such a fun way to go more in depth into one area. This unit study planning printable has labeled boxes for breaking down your unit study planning.
Field Trip Planning Page
Field trips are another awesome hands on way to learn. Here’s a page that will not only help you plan out your field trips, but it’s also a great way to record what you did on your field trip, if you need to keep a homeschool portfolio.
Project Planning Printable
This page would work well for Mom or Dad planning a homeschool project or to give to older kids for helping them to plan out their own projects. Since this page doesn’t specifically talk about school, it’s also a good page to use for any projects in your home or work.
Notes Pages
Perfectly themed with the rest of the planner, there are three different pages for notes. Again, these would applicable for anyone to use, not just homeschoolers.
If you want to use these homeschool planning pages as your whole homeschool planner, you might consider investing in a spiral binder, like this inexpensive one. On the up side, you can use it for all kinds of things after that. Spiral binding rules, comb binding drools!
Free Homeschool Planning Printables DownloadAs I said, this set is free and for personal use only. You will just need to fill out your name and email address and you’ll receive an email to grab the download.
You will be added to our email list, but you can unsubscribe at any time. But, we hope that you’ll continue to subscribe to find out when we have new posts and other free printables just for subscribers.
Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the Homeschool Planning Pages Set for Free.
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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change how much you pay. However, when you shop through them, we may receive a small compensation. Thanks!
The post Free Homeschool Planning Printables: Perfect for Your Homeschool Planner appeared first on Real Life at Home.
http://ift.tt/2uEWgugDo you have a college bound student? If so, get them home storage solutions for their dorm room. Imagine your son or daughter’s dorm room with everything in its place, from clothing to school supplies. We know what you’re thinking:…
http://ift.tt/2w4IMGlThis berry and banana terrine is one of my favorite summer desserts. It’s so pretty!
It’s packed with potpourri of berries, speckled with banana slices, and held together with a grape-juice based gelatin.
Think Jello, but a grown-up, sophisticated version, with all natural ingredients and much less sugar.
http://ift.tt/2v1z4HUI could wax on and on about my love for pie. The flake of the crust, the sweet filling, that sparkle of sugar on the crust — but I’ll spare you.
Peach pie is right up there on my list of favorite things to make and eat. One of my very first memories is of riding my grandfather’s shoulders, picking peaches right off the trees in a California orchard, taking that first bite, and letting the juices flow down my arm.
This is the memory of summer for me, and peach pie is a recipe I think every baker should have in their recipe box.
http://ift.tt/2tA56qsIf you have a college-bound kid, you may be worried about their health and wellness. Why? Because of the pressure to get good grades, fit in, find an internship, and more. According to a consumer insight from WGSN, “The FOGO…
http://ift.tt/2eI6hl4Want pulled pork in a hurry? With the pressure cooker, you can have tender, fall-apart pulled pork in just a little over an hour!
Elise’s low-and-slow slow cooker Mexican pulled pork is fantastic, but when I forget to plan ahead or want it to be ready a little more quickly, I make this speedy version in my Instant Pot.
http://ift.tt/2uTLOQ7It’s Monday again, and time to get our meals planned for the week. If you’re looking for mealtime inspiration scroll down to see what’s cooking at our house this week.
This week we’ll be enjoying lots of skillet dishes this week. It was hot over the weekend and I’m sure more hot weather will be coming. I keep planning skillet dishes to be prepared when the hot days of the summer hit.
My kids requested southern fried tofu. Yes, they do like tofu. I attribute that to feeding it to them early in life. We try to eat a meatless meal occasionally and this dish was their pick for this week.
We used to eat meatless meals two to four times a month but for some reason, I’ve fallen out of that habit. I need to make a point to include more meatless meals in our meal plans more often.
I purchased London broil on my latest grocery haul. We’ll be using some this week in our beef and celery. I stir fry beef, celery, and mushrooms and serve it over noodles. It’s too good.
I’ve also included a new dish we are going to try. We made our pizza pockets in the waffle iron and they turned out so well, we’ve decided to try making the beef cups everyone likes in the waffle iron too. If they turn out good, you’ll be seeing them added to the blog.
If they turn out good, you’ll be seeing them added to the blog.
What’s cooking at your house this week?
Here are our Meals for this Week,Dinners
Pan Fried Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Salad
Southern Fried Tofu over Noodles with Salad
Sloppy Joes, Tatar Tots, and Salad
Beef and Celery over Noodles, Salad, and Fruit
Ham, Eggs, Hash Browns, and Toast
Waffle Iron Beef Cups, Salad, and Fruit
Sesame Chicken, Rice, and Stir Fry Vegetables
Lunches
Leftovers most days
Tuna Sandwiches, Chips, and Fruit
Grilled Chicken over Salad with Fruit
Breakfast
Toast with Eggs
Chocolate Chip Scones made in the Skillet, Eggs, and Sausage
Eggs, Sausage, Hash Browns, and Toast
Do you need help planning your menu? Find my menu planning tips here with a free printable menu planner page and here a few frugal menu planning tips.
Find more menu plan ideas at Org Junkie too.
This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
http://ift.tt/2tx3FchEvery once in a while, I improvise a pasta dinner that I like so much, I end up making it twice in one week. That’s what happened with this recipe.
It’s so quick and simple: Just sauté colorful cherry tomatoes with garlic and toss them with angel hair pasta. Top it with Parmesan and you’re done
To say the sauce is quick doesn’t quite get the point across. It’s practically instant. This is one of those surprising meals that is more than the sum of its parts.
http://ift.tt/2uQFeKMWant pulled pork in a hurry? With the pressure cooker, you can have tender, fall-apart pulled pork in just a little over an hour!
Elise’s low-and-slow slow cooker Mexican pulled pork is fantastic, but when I forget to plan ahead or want it to be ready a little more quickly, I make this speedy version in my Instant Pot.
http://ift.tt/2gSUiBDFor this haul I had only planned on going to two stores, Fred Meyer and my local discount grocery store.
But when I looked over the ad for Safeway, I saw a good deal on two cuts of meat we like so I made another stop there.
I love it when I can find a good deal on meat. I will often really stock up but this time I didn’t have as much available freezer space, so I opted to get one package of each item instead of my usual two.
I picked up a package of London broil. With these I’ll make herb rubbed London broil which is a simple way to prepare this meat on the grill or under the broiler. We’ll eat it over a salad or with a side of mashed potatoes.
If it’s wintertime, I like to prepare the London broil in the slow cooker with a tomato sauce over top. It comes out fork tender and delicious. That reminds me, of another recipe I should add to the blog.
I also picked up a package of petite sirloin steak. We don’t each much steak but when I can get these on sale I’ll make brown sugar steaks or herb rubbed steaks and tuck them into the freezer. I like to grill or broil both of those recipes too.
What I Purchase on this Budget Grocery Haul Trip Best Buys this Grocery Haul TripWheat Thins after coupon and Checkout 51 $1.01 each
Petite Sirloin Steak $2.97/lb
London Broil $2.97/lb
Bread $1.00 a loaf
Cherries $1.77/lb
Organic Celery Hearts $.50/pkg
Blackberries $.25/pkg
Strawberries $.50/lb
I also neglected to mention in the video that I used a couple Ibotta coupons (my referral link) too and saved $.50 more. It wasn’t much but it was on items I was already purchasing so why not enter my receipt and save the extra $.50?!
I love that I was able to score so many great produce deals this trip. We’ll eat the blackberries fresh.
I’m hoping to dehydrate a few of the cherries and strawberries we love them for snacks and it will help keep them from going bad before we can get to them.
I’ll also dry or freeze one package of the celery hearts since we won’t eat that much before they will spoil.
What was your best buy while shopping recently?
When my kids were much younger, we always had lots of crayons around the house. In fact, we got to the point where we had a container full of broken crayons or old crayons. I had been reading a lot about recycling old crayons into new, rainbow crayons, and I knew it would be a perfect project for us!
I have updated the post below about recycling old crayons that I originally wrote in 2008. It looks like it might be time to do this project again sometime though because when Molly saw that I was working on this update, she said that she’s seen this craft before and it looks fun. I said, “You see those little hands working? That’s you nine years ago.”
Recycling Old Crayons into New Rainbow Crayons: Project DirectionsGather Your Crayons
You’ll first want to gather up all of the crayons that you want to use to make your new rainbow crayons. We used to keep all of our old crayons in one tub together, so it made our gathering easier.
Prep Your Old Crayons
Peel the labels off of any crayons that still have labels on them. If your kids are very young, this might be too difficult for them. However, definitely have them give it a try. When we made our new crayons, I worked on peeling off labels while my boys were working on school work.
Everyone then enjoyed breaking crayons into smaller pieces, unless they were already small enough to fit into the heart-shaped silicone mini cupcake liners we were using. We initially gathered all of our crayon pieces into a larger bowl before putting them in the liners, however.
Shhh…don’t tell the crayon police. But, we even broke up some crayons that weren’t broken, but whose colors we just really liked.
Here’s an inexpensive set of heart-shaped mini baking cups:
If you want to try some other shapes, this inexpensive set that includes hearts, stars, flowers, and circles looks super cool:
Place Crayon Pieces into Cupcake Liners
We filled our mini heart muffin cups with the broken crayons while our oven preheated to 275 degrees. The kids loved filling up the cups.
Crayon Placement Tip: Be careful not to put too many dark crayons in the same cup together. Too many dark colors together kind of overpowered some of our crayons.
Melting/Baking the Crayons
We left the crayons in the oven at 275 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. I kept an eye on them throughout. Here they are partially melted.
Finishing Your New Rainbow Crayons
Let the crayons cool down before you try to pop them out of the cups. You can actually melt them in paper cups as well — I just wanted mine to be heart shaped.
Enjoy your cute new crayons! Maybe even share them with some friends, depending on how many you made.
Heart-shaped ones like these would be perfect for adding to homemade valentines or along with some of my free printable valentine card sets!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change the price you pay. However, when you shop using them, we may receive a small compensation. Thanks!
Recycling Old Crayons into Rainbow Crayons: Fun Art Project was originally published on October 6, 2008. This post was updated in July 2017.
The post Recycling Old Crayons into Rainbow Crayons: Fun Art Project appeared first on Real Life at Home.
http://ift.tt/2uHvgLNPopsicles are a wonderful summer treat and when you make these mint watermelon popsicles they can also be healthier than the store bought ones too.
We like to enjoy a wide variety of popsicles at our home. Sometimes I’ll use fruit juice and make them. Other times we are craving a cream popsicle like these raspberry cream popsicles with chocolate drizzle.
Then there are times I make popsicles when I don’t want food to go to waste.
Making Popsicles to Stop Food WasteI’m constantly trying to make sure we use up our fresh fruits and vegetables before they get past their prime. Because any food wasted is money wasted too. I hate to throw money away.
Ways to Enjoy WatermelonWhen I purchase a whole watermelon we often struggle to eat it all before it goes bad. If it’s not too hot out I’ll dehydrate part of the watermelon to make watermelon candy. It’s just like natural watermelon taffy and so sweet too.
I’ll freeze some watermelon to use in homemade smoothie packs. And then sometimes I’ll make popsicles out our watermelon.
Since watermelon isn’t all that sweet, at least not the ones I seem to pick out, I like to add just a touch of sweetener to our popsicles. To add that sweetness simple syrup can be wonderful.
The sugar is already dissolved so no need to worry about sugar crystals not dissolving.
But I thought for this recipe it would be nice to have a little mint flavor added. So I started by making a batch of simple mint syrup.
This not only works great in this recipe but works great to flavor and sweeten lemonade, fruit water, or ice tea.
If you’ve never made simple mint syrup check out this quick video tutorial and recipe, only 3 ingredients needed.
Some of the links in this post are my referral links. Which means when you purchase through them I might make a little money at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support in this way.
What You’ll Need to Make Watermelon Mint PopsiclesWatermelon, cut into small chunks
Simple Mint Syrup
Popsicle Molds
Hand Blender or Blender
1. Cut watermelon into cubes, smaller cubes of watermelon blend up faster with the hand blender if using a standard blender, larger chunks will be alright.
2. Blend the Watermelon Cubes, The smoother you blend the watermelon the better these popsicles are. Be sure to blend long enough to make the mixture smooth.
3. Add Mint Syrup, Add your mint syrup into the blended watermelon and blend for a few seconds to mix well.
4. Taste and Adjust, If your watermelon is pretty sweet you might not need too much mint syrup. If you want a sweeter and mintier popsicle, add more mint simple syrup.
5. Fill the Popsicle Molds, pour your blended and adjust watermelon mint popsicle mixture into the popsicle molds and place lids on and add sticks.
6. Freeze, Freeze your popsicles until firm and enjoy.
It’s hard to gauge how much watermelon you’ll need to fill your popsicles molds. But there are many different sized molds so it can vary. The recipe is written above for six 2 ounce popsicles molds.
I use the Tupperware brand ones. Here’s an Amazon link to the newer version of the Tupperware molds. But these popsicle molds also look like a great option and they are less expensive too.
If you end up with too much watermelon mixture give this idea a try. Add a little ice to the mixture, blend with the hand blender and you have a watermelon mint slushie to enjoy until your popsicles are frozen.
That’s how quick and easy it is to make your own watermelon mint popsicles at home. Definitely more flavorful and healthy than the store bought sugary ones.
What kind of fruit combinations do you like to add to your popsicles?
More Yummy Ways to Cool Down…End of Jar Popsicles
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Pin it for Later…
http://ift.tt/2uEBSup
Did you ever have to do projects about states when you were a kid? What about memorizing all of the state capitals? I know this may come as a shock to you, since I totally don’t come off as a nerd (wait – why are you laughing?), but I was the kid in class that already had all of the state capitals memorized before we even had to learn them. Yeah. That was me. That also means things like this free U.S. State Facts Crossword Puzzle Printable are my jam.
While I was making this United States State Capitals Crossword Puzzle free printable, I decided to make another one that was all just random facts about states. These facts are not obscure, so don’t worry. They should be able to be found through online searches.
Though I used the National Geographic Kids United States Atlas while I was making this printable, kids won’t specifically need it to do the puzzle, although I do recommend it as a great resource to have around the house or classroom. Many of the answers are ones they may know already from their history and geography studies. Other facts that they’re not sure about can be found by using reference books or Google.
Note: There is a newer version of the atlas that I used, in case you would like to have the atlas. As of this post update, here is the newest version of the National Geographic Kids United States Atlas.
This puzzle is perfect for upper elementary and middle school students who are studying U.S. History and geography. It might also be appropriate for some high school students. Since the printable is a free instant download, you can feel free to check it out and only use it if it’s the right fit for your students.
The second page of the printable is an answer key for the U.S. State Facts Crossword Puzzle that appears on the first page of the printable.
If your kids or students enjoy this United States State Facts Crossword Puzzle, you may also want to grab these other U.S. State Crossword Puzzles:
This download is free for personal or classroom use. The copyright credit line must be included. The copyright line on the printable is for The Homeschool Classroom, since it was originally made in 2013, before I merged The Homeschool Classroom and my other sites into Real Life at Home.
This printable (and its contents) cannot be sold, published, or hosted on other websites. If you want to pass along the printable, however, please feel free to share a link to this post (not directly to the printable) with others. Another great way to share it is to pin this post to Pinterest! Thanks!
Have problems downloading or clarity issues with the download? Here are some tips that might help, but the printable should be very clear and crisp.
Other Posts You May Love:Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change the price you pay. However, when you shop through them, we may receive a small compensation. Thanks!
This post and printable were originally published on November 11, 2013. The post was updated in July 2017.
The post U.S. State Facts Crossword Puzzle Printable appeared first on Real Life at Home.
http://ift.tt/2tjjCm3It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve had a new Catholic Saint Packet, but now I have a new one today. I’m very excited to present the Saint Pope John Paul II Printables and Worksheet Packet!
I couldn’t quite decide how to go with the name wording on this one, since there’s Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Saint John Paul II, Saint John Paul II, Saint John Paul the Great, and probably more options. But, I just picked one I saw most often and went with that.
{Or you can purchase in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store}
The appropriate ages for this packet varies from preschool through early elementary school. I don’t want to assign a specific age group to these kinds of things because there is such a variation among children and their abilities.
In addition to this, some older children still enjoy activities like coloring pages. Some activities are preschool appropriate, while others might go as high as mid to late elementary school. In some cases, there are different levels of the same activity.
As always, I want to give a shout out to my awesome husband, Eric, since he’s the one that draws the graphics for me. Because of this Saint Pope John Paul II drawing was made specifically for my use in this packet, this is not clip art for public use. That would not only be against copyright law, but it just wouldn’t be nice. Thanks, Eric, for being Johnny-on-the-spot for me. You’re a peach.
Saint Pope John Paul II Printables and Worksheet Packet ContentThe 34-page Saint Pope John Paul II Printables and Worksheet Packet Includes:
Please be sure to read the terms of use page on the first page of the packet prior to using any of the pages.
Terms of Use for the Saint Pope John Paul II Printables Packet (Plus Usage Options)This packet may be used for personal use by your family or in a single classroom/co-op/small group setting for $3.00.
If you plan to use this for multiple classrooms (such as in a school or religious education program) or in a large group, please opt for the large group usage for $6.00.
Under the large group usage, you may include printables from this packet in a single church bulletin, as long as the copyright information stays on the printable page. (“Single church bulletin” meaning – in the bulletins for one single church, or multiple churches that share the same priest.)
There are other terms of use on the first page of the packet, so please be sure to read through them before you use pages from the packet in any way.
Regardless of the usage that you pick, NO PAGES FROM THIS PACKET MAY BE SHARED WITH OTHERS ONLINE IN ANY WAY OR VIA EMAIL.
{Or you can purchase in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store}
