Feeding The Fam

Not a typical breakfast at our house.

This post is in response to a question from my pal Gina who asked:

Let's revisit how you plan, cook and feed your family. I get so tired of it all. I am not creative enough. I am too behind. Do you meal plan in advance and buy for the upcoming meals? What are some of your favorite dinners? You can give recipes, or just general ideas of what you do.

Meal planning, shopping and cooking is certainly not my favorite of my jobs as a homemaker. However, I have found a way to make it easier - and that is by planning. Every two weeks I come up with a list of 14 dinners. I always ask the kids for their ideas, too. In fact, since my gimpy leg keeps me in bed quite a bit, I just recently started putting my oldest 3 kids in charge of a few meals each - they decide what they want to make and we add it to the list. Then I make a grocery list based on my menu and add the usual needed items for breakfasts and lunches (bread, peanut butter, fruit, lunch meat, syrup, cereal, pancake mix. etc.). I go to the store and buy the things on my list with little variation - I will allow myself to buy something that's a great price on sale or even a treat or two for the family.

Before I start planning my meals I like to look at the store ads that come in the mail so that I can plan most of the meals around what kind of meat and vegetables I can find on sale.

The thing I love about this method is that I have everything I need to make meals for two weeks so I am able to avoid doing little shopping trips at the store in the middle of the week. When I stick to this plan I am able to feed my family on $300 every two weeks (this also includes things like diapers, laundry & dish soap, trash bags, etc.).

Here is a sample of a typical two week dinner menu:

stroganoff w/green beans
pizza w/salad
enchiladas w/corn
baked mac & cheese w/bananas & applesauce
mexican chicken and rice w/broccoli
tortellini soup w/rolls
sloppy joes w/salad
italian chicken and rice w/green beans
tuna casserole w/fruit salad
grilled cheese and tomato soup
taco soup
shepherd's pie w/corn
potato soup w/rolls
chicken pasta salad w/carrots

(If you want any of the recipes, let me know in the comments.)

Our typical lunches include things like PB&J, sandwiches with lunchmeat or tuna, bagel sandwiches, quesadillas and leftovers from dinner. Add some fruit or veggies and a glass of milk or water and there you have it.

Breakfasts can include cooked cereal (oatmeal, germade, breakfast rice, corn mush), cold cereal, granola, pancakes, waffles, dutch babies, eggs & toast, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, oatmeal cake, breakfast burritos, biscuits and gravy, french toast, muffins or pop tarts.

p.s. I was just kidding about the pop tarts. That is NOT a breakfast food.

p.s.2 This breakfast list makes me sound like Martha Stewart but the truth is that we usually have hot or cold cereal. The other stuff happens occasionally (maybe twice a week) but not as much.

p.s.3 I hate it when I make an awesome breakfast and the oldest two girls only eat a fraction of it because they would rather try on 17 outfits and spend 25 minutes on their hair before school. To retaliate I make oatmeal at least 3 days each week because I know that they prefer cold cereal.

I think that about covers it.

Shout Out!

A friend called last week to ask me, "Do you know of any good dentists in the area?" And yes, I most certainly do. I get calls like this occasionally and am always glad to share.

Today someone asked if I had a hair stylist that I like. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Not just like, but love.

So, my friends, today I present you with a list of people/places/services that I would gladly recommend. You know, just in case you were wondering. And for those of you who don't live near me, scroll down to see some places that I love on the www.

For locals:

The BEST dentist's office (even the littlest kids love going for check-ups!) is Christiansen Dental. They do great, quality work and are friendly, personable and caring. Case in point: Dr. C heard about my broken leg incident and called to see how I was doing. What does that have to do with my teeth? Nothing! But he's a genuinely nice guy who cares about his patients - and makes visits to the dentist a stress-free, even pleasant experience.

Need car repairs? Here's a trustworthy auto repair shop: Mitchell's Garage. I can't remember who recommended this place to us but we have been happy with all of the work we've had done on our vehicles there. Finding a repair shop you can trust is a big deal and we have come to trust the guys here at Mitchell's.

Want to get a haircut? Call Raylene at David Douglas Salon. All of the girls in our family go to her and we always leave happy. She makes you feel like a beauty queen or rock star or whatever place in between you're comfortable with. Trust me, you'll love her.

The best place for dessert on a Saturday night is Gloria's Little Italy - hands down! Why Saturday night? Because all of their delectable, authentic Italian desserts (made fresh daily!) are half-priced on Saturday nights since they are closed on Sundays. And if you don't like layers of flaky filo dough, rich Italian cream and hazelnut then I still have one word for you: Gelato.

How long has it been since you've had family pictures taken? You need to call Jason at Backroads Photography. Let's put it this way: I have lots of kids and he can make them all smile. At the same time! Plus, he makes us look really good. Maybe you just need some new decorative photos to adorn your home? He's got those, too. Check him out.

Any questions? Leave me a comment or send me an email (gerbdonna at gmail).

On the internets (coincidentally, all free stuff):

Need to wish someone a happy birthday? Issue a formal apology? Send a note of thanks? Check out the Bureau of Communication. I'm a lover of handwritten notes, but if you've got to send an email, this is the way to go. It's just quirky enough to make it fun.

Have you ever been a bit leery of letting your kids watch a certain movie because you're not sure what exactly to expect? Then Kids in Mind is the place you seek. It's almost humorous how detailed they are in their descriptions of every teeny little thing that could be found offensive or off-color.

As a service to busy kidnappers, joshuarey.com offers a ransom note generator. Just type in your text, press enter and you have a lovely ransom note from letters cut out of magazines and newspapers. Brilliant.

Does someone you know own an Easy Bake oven? Then you need this website. Instead of buying all of those expensive mixes at the store, Budget101 has a whole plethora of mini-sized recipes you can make from ingredients in your pantry. And as a bonus: these taste better than the packaged mixes, too. Who knew you could cook such tasty little treats with a light bulb?


*No one asked me to write this post or compensated me in any way. I just really, really love these people/places/services and think they deserve a shout-out. Plus I've seen these kind of disclaimers on other blogs and I thought it would make me look cool. Holla!

Gourmet Granola

(Hello, beautiful.)

Now that school has started and I am no longer able to laze about all morning it is time to gear myself up for some quick, healthy breakfasts.

Even though I am well-stocked with empty breakfast calories:

(welcome to my pantry)

it doesn't mean I feel good about sending my kids off to school with just that in their bellies every morning.

However, knowing myself, I will be staying in bed until the last possible second and succumbing to the kids' begging to tear into the cereal stash more often than I'd like.

To start off on the right foot, today I am making some granola to be used on such mornings. It's the perfect balance between oatmeal (which the kids weep and wail over) and cold cereal (which the kids almost always prefer).

Come join me in my kitchen, won't you?

First off, the ingredients...

Get yourself a ginormous bowl because it will eventually contain over 20 cups worth of goodness.

Start off by turning on your super-clean oven...

and then mix together all of the dry ingredients. Let's begin with 14 cups of oats. (Oats are awesome but I actually use 6-grain flakes that I buy at our local health food store because they are even awesomer!)

Add a cup of raw pumpkin seeds & 2 generous cups of coconut flakes (also available at any health food store - in fact, pretty much all of this stuff was bought from the dry goods bins at Good Earth. FYI).


Next comes the almonds. I prefer sliced but slivered are tasty, too.

You also need to add some salt. I am never sure what salt does for the recipe but I know that I always add a bit of salt when I'm making cooked cereal, so why not granola? That's enough logic for me.
Now for some sweetness - throw in 2 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar. Does everyone know this trick of packing the brown sugar down by using a smaller measuring cup?




Yeah, you probably already do that. But it makes me feel all helpful and brainy to be sharing my little tips with you, so just go with it.

'Preesh.

Okay, that's it for dry ingredients.

Let's stir the goodness up...

And VOILA! It's beautiful.

Now we need to measure all of the wet ingredients in a separate container. First, the honey. You can coat the measuring cup with a thin layer of cooking spray so that the honey doesn't stick when you're pouring it out later.


Almond extract joins the party.
It's getting pretty! Oh, and here's another tip: you can buy almond extract at the Dollar Tree. You're welcome.

Now we'll add the oil. I prefer olive oil but you can use whatever cooking oil you have in your kitchen. It's all good.


It's like a science experiment! Who can tell me why the extract stays in the middle? Bueller? Bueller?

Sorry... silly 80's joke. Moving on.

We just need to add some water...

Mix up the wet ingredients...
then pour the wet stuff over the dry stuff.
Then stir it all together.
In the course of your stirring, you may happen to notice a lump of brown sugar. If you want brown sugar lumps in your granola then leave it be. But if you're me you won't be able to resist smooshing each and every one that surfaces.

Keep stirring...
Done!

All we have to do now is bake it.

Grab a couple of cookie sheets and distribute the granola over them.


Put 'em in the oven...
mark 'em with a G... (not really) and set your timer for an hour and 15 minutes.

While that's baking you can get your add-ins ready. These are as limitless as your imagination. Our favorite things to add are banana chips:

and dried cranberries.

I broke the banana chips into smaller pieces and stopped with a generous 2 cups worth. We only had a scant cup of dried cranberries, so that's all that's going in.

I would add raisins except that half of our family despises them. When we actually eat the granola they can throw in a handful of raisins if it makes them happy. We're flexible like that.

You can also add dates, dried blueberries, chopped dried apricots... whatever floats your boat!

About every 20 minutes or so
you'll want to take the granola out of the oven
and stir it - focusing mainly on pulling the granola from the sides of the pan into the center because the sides are where it cooks fastest.

The first couple of times that you stir it the granola will seem like it's never going to get dry. Trust me - it's going to happen.

When the timer goes off, stir the granola again. Increase the oven temperature to 250 degrees
and let the granola cook in the oven for 10 more minutes. Once it's done, set your pans on cooling racks (or, in my case, balance both pans precariously upon one cooling rack)
and let it cool completely. This can take anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour or more... depending on how high (or low) you like to run your A/C. Stir the granola every 15 minutes or so as it cools.

Now, my friends, you will notice that the granola smells heavenly and is perfect for eating. Scoop it right up...
and dump it into whatever fancy container you have available to store it in.

(P.S. I love my fancy container.)

Now throw in whatever mix-ins you've decided on.

Then pour yourself a bowl and give it a try.

Quick, easy... and ready for those slow mornings when you can barely get yourself out of bed.

Now you can sleep in for a bit - guilt free.

Yeah, baby.



Gerb's Gourmet Granola

Dry ingredients:
14 cups oats (or 6-grain flakes)
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
(note: can substitute sunflower seeds or another cup of oats for the pumpkin seeds)
2 cups coconut flakes
2 cups sliced or slivered almonds (note: can substitute with your favorite kind of nut)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups brown sugar

Wet ingredients:
1 cup honey
3 Tablespoons almond extract
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cups water

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture. Spread on cookie sheets. Bake at 225 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so. Bake at 250 degrees for an additional 10 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Add any desired mix-ins such as dried fruit. Store in a container with a lid. Makes 6-7 pounds of cereal.

Gerb In The Garden

There is nothing in this world like eating from our garden. The picture above represents one day's bounty. I can't wait for more tomatoes to start ripening! I could eat them with every meal along with cold, sliced cucumbers and oven baked zucchini.

The worst part is that we get used to what these fresh, home-grown fruits and veggies really taste like, then it gets cold and we have to buy the tasteless stuff that they sell at the store. Either that or we just go without. I'm hoping for a late frost this season!

By far, this was my favorite part of yesterday's harvest:


The strawberry plants have turned out to be my favorite investment. They are the perfect amount of sweet and a wonderful topping for waffles and ice cream - if we don't eat them all right out of the bowls on the counter.

Zucchini and cucumbers have been our best producers so far this year. My kids are loving all of the great treats I have learned to bake with zucchini over the years. Tomorrow we're going to make zucchini apple pie - which contains no apples, by the way. Sound gross? I thought so, too, but it's actually amazingly deceiving.

I'll have to share some of my favorite zucchini recipes here...

Stay tuned!

National Pretzel Day

It's National Pretzel Day tomorrow! To celebrate, Pretzelmaker & Pretzel Time stores will be giving away free pretzels all day!

Of course, there's a slight catch... they are asking for customers to sing for their snack.

Can you say: Awesome!

All you have to do is visit your local Pretzelmaker on Monday, April 26th and sing a snippet from any song of your choice in exchange for a free pretzel. Get your vocal chords ready & go show 'em what the world is missing since you never followed your dreams and made it to the stages of Broadway.

Honestly, if you're like me, this could just be a great excuse to break out in song in a public place. It will be like LIVING IN A MUSICAL!!

Rock the house! Maybe you'll be discovered.

Oh yeah... and enjoy your free pretzel, too. (Whatever. Like that's really what it's all about.)

(Okay, if you don't want to sing you only have to mention National Pretzel Day. But where's the fun in that?)

Birthday Recap

My birthday was... amazing. It lasted almost a full week, which made it even better.

I woke up the morning of my birthday just after 9:00 a.m. Can you believe I slept that long?! I smelled fire and quickly jumped out of bed to investigate. Allen was in the bathroom, lighting candles. Hubba saw me first and said, "Shhh... we're getting things set up." Allen turned and nicely asked me to please go back to bed.

I laid there for a few minutes, wondering if it would be permissible to grab a book to pass the time, when my alarm went off.

"Does this mean I can get out of bed now?" I called. There was no answer. Everyone was gone. I turned off the alarm and ventured into the bathroom for a nice soak in the tub without kids asking when I'd be done or notes written in crayon being passed under the door.


Right about the time I was draining the tub some music began to play from somewhere on the bathroom counter. It was coming from some strange device I was unfamiliar with. I grabbed it and attempted to follow the instructions on the front but could not figure it out for the life of me. (Technologically smart, I am not.)


He had gotten me a fancy-schmancy phone, the abilities of which I can still not fully comprehend. (P.S. My one request was NO texting, so don't try. That's a whole separate post in and of itself.)


Finally, after 2 more songs, I found the lock and answered. It was my friend Jenny calling. Arrangements had been made for us to go for breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. She picked me up and we enjoyed some omelets, potatoes and muffins along with some great conversation. (It's always a good time with Jenny!) The waiter came to our table and asked which of us was Gerberta then handed me a card.

(like son, like father...)

The note inside explained that we were next going for pedicures & manicures. Can I add that the only thing better than doing all of this on my birthday was being able to do it all with a friend? We both lamented over our lack of recently-shaved legs but decided that they were used to such things at pedicure places. My hands and feet have never been so happy.

(No picture because I did not bring my camera and did not realize that my phone could take pictures. And besides that, my funky feet would likely frighten you. You're welcome.)

We made our way back to Jenny's house where Allen and the kids were hanging out with her family and then headed home for a bit.

Once the kids had returned from school and their dinner was ready, Allen and I met up with Dave and Jenny again, this time for a trip to our favorite local second-hand store. I had mentioned to Allen before that it would be fun to find some awesome outfits there and then go on a date wearing the newly acquired outfits sometime... so this is what we did.

We spent more time than we had originally planned in putting our outfits together but the selection was huge and the end result was well worth it. (My favorite? The shoes. On everyone.)

(He IS BYU. For reals.)


(Have you ever seen a more awesome pair of twinner jackets?! If only they'd had time to grow their hair into mullets...)

(They're having twins. One for each.)

(If those shiny jackets are hurting your eyes, I know.)

As we checked out with our awesome clothing purchases the cashier handed me an envelope with my name on it. Inside was a note from the store itself, thanking me for my hours of time and hoards of cash that have been spent there over the years:

Along with this card:

(Those D.I. workers can get a little risque!)

And then it was time for dinner.

Everyone at Olive Garden was obviously unsure if we were serious or not. Our waitress came to the table with a huge smile every time, as if she was thinking, If you're trying to be funny, I'm thinking you're funny. If you're really like this, then my smile means bless your dear, sweet hearts.

Once dinner was enjoyed we told them it was my birthday so that we could all share the dessert. Smiley-Waitress informed us, "We don't do dessert for birthdays, but we can sing you a rousing birthday song!" We had already (painfully) witnessed that at another table and decided to pass. Besides, the kids were waiting with treats at home. (Just thought y'all would like to know that before you head to Olive Garden for your birthday... they don't do birthday desserts anymore. But you still get an Andes Mint after dinner, which may qualify as dessert. You make the call.)

After modeling our new threads for Dave & Jenny's kids, Allen and I went home to celebrate with the kiddos. They had arranged my favorite treats into this, complete with 38 candles:

Can you say: awesome?

First off, I want to say that my husband ROCKS my world. All of the thoughtful planning that went into making my birthday so memorable was pulled off without my knowing one thing. I am so loved by he and my sweet kids. Thanks, family.


I had also received a plethora of treats, cards and surprises throughout the day and in the days following the anniversary of my day of birth...



Yes, I am spoiled. And I love it. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday awesome. From the 80+ birthday wishes on Facebook (!!) to the comments on my birth-day post to the treats and phone calls not mentioned or pictured here, my birthday was

A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

You people rule.

So, this seems like a good place to end things. But oh, no... it is not over yet. Because on Wednesday of this week, specifically March 31st, Allen and I celebrated with a gift I purchased for myself back in 2009... along with a couple of surprises thrown in.

I think that those deserve a post all their own.

(stay tuned...)