With a renewed vision in mind, I seem to be looking at all the different areas of my life as a wife and homemaker through 'new eyes'. Somewhere along the line, after five babies, 20 years of homeschooling, developing my quilting, sewing, and song writing skills and the many activities with the teens, I seemed to have totally lost my vision for cooking well rounded meals for the family.
As part of changing my focus and being more of a blessing to my dear hubby, I have decided to give my cooking and meal planning a little more thought and planning. You know, it's not that hard to put together a nice meal. It's just in the busy-ness of living life, I lost my love for cooking. I had not thought of cooking as a way to bless my family in a very long time.
When we first got married, I practically 'lived' in my brand new cookbooks! I had such a fun time trying out new recipes and enjoying Tim's pleasure at my efforts. My favorite cookbook, which I recently replaced from a used book company, was the 1987 cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens. It's so nice to have a new copy! My old one was falling apart!
I was just telling my daughter just how much fun it was to surprise my new husband with special recipes every night. In a year or so, we had whittled down my experiments to our favorites with tweaks here and there to suit our tastes.
It's so strange, but it's as if I was somehow able to 'turn back the clocks' on my attitude towards cooking this week. :o) Tim (and the kids) have thoroughly enjoyed the meals I've made lately. The fact is that I can put a 'meal' together in about 15 minutes, but I had gotten so efficient at it, that I quit putting any real time or effort into cooking at all. Cooking was just another task to check off the to do list.
So anyway, here's my menu plan for the week. I hope to add a few of these to my recipe blog ( my online recipe file of my family favorites').
You could call this list, Hubby's Favorite Meals. It seems fitting to do this during our anniversary weekend. :o) I'm 'aiming' high...with even some desserts scheduled here and there, but I've given myself permission not to cook everything on the list if things get crazy. Already, I've made some enjoyable meals and found myself having a great time! Rebekah has been hanging out in the kitchen too--wanting to help me and learn more about cooking from scratch. Back in our early days, I cooked like that a lot. So you will see this reflected in the selections.
Menu Plan for July
Patty Melts on Rye Bread
Homemade French fries
Chocolate Pie with Whip Cream
(using cooked pudding and store bought crust)
Homemade Spaghetti with Meatballs
Roasted Greenbeans
Garlic Toast
Fettucini Alfredo
Steamed Asparagus
Homemade Fudge
Chili con Carne
Cornbread
Lime Jello Salad
BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers,
Baked Potatoes
Fresh Veges and dip
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
Fruit Salad
Tossed Salad
Rump Roast
Whipped Potatoes
California Vegetable Medley
Sliced Watermelon
Beef Stroganoff
Egg Noodles
Fresh Spinach
Chicken Enchiladas
Steamed Zucchini
Brownies
Lasagne
Steamed Asparagus
Garlic toast
Tossed Salad
Grilled Chicken
Steamed Broccoli
Baked Beans
Texas Sheetcake
Refried Beans
Spanish Rice
Belgian Waffles and Sausage
Strawberries and Whipped Cream
Sliced Cantaloupe
We are having a big 2-Day18th birthday bash for Jacob with seven visiting teenagers, five of whom will be spending the night. So Rebekah and I have lots of cooking to do--but it will be fun! I won't get to post until Wednesday, but hope to do some visiting before then. I'll see you on your blog soon!
So how about it--what are your hubby's favorite dishes? Why not try one this week and surprise him?
Happy Homemaking!
2 comments
Thanks so much for sharing your menu plan! I'm going to borrow it for my own home, if you don't mind. I've been stuck in a rut too, cooking the same few quick meals every week, and these all sound like meals that our family would really enjoy. Thanks again for sharing your cooking rejuvenation! :)
That's how you drain lasagna noodles and keep them from sticking together! I spread them all over the kitchen table, well now I know! Your food looks yummy! Your husband is so lucky to have you cooking for him!
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