Well before I could post again...

Before I got the chance to post the rest of my video for yogurt making my camera officially died! I have tried to charge it and NOTHING :( I have no clue what is wrong with it, but I am just heart broken. I have had my digital camera for a while now, well so long that the words are all rubbed off of it, and I just dont know what I will do without it....

It will be missed.... alot!

Menu Monday

This weeks menu will be pretty simple as I have 2 appointments at the college 2 eves this week. Monday (today) I have my Compass testing and have to leave home at 5pm and then Thursday I have an appt at 6pm with a guidance counselor to get my test results from my testing and also set up a few things. OH and I also have my first doctors appt. on Thursday with my obstetrician.

MONDAY

Breakfast- Cheerios with fresh sliced strawberries and Orange Juice

Lunch- Bologna and Cheese sandwiches, Cheese puffs and homemade strawberry yogurt

Dinner- Crock Pot Sloppy Joes, tater tots and mac n cheese

TUESDAY

Breakfast- French Toast and scrambeled eggs

Lunch- PB&J sandwiches, celery sticks, homemade strawberry yogurt

Dinner- Spaghetti, Green Beans and Garlic Bread

More to come in a bit... I have to go look through my cabinets to see what we have!

Be back in just a bit!

~Brandi~

The start of my "living" kitchen...

Well I have started turning my kitchen into a "living" kitchen! What is that? LOL!

Well the first thing I am starting with that will live in my kitchen is a Yogurt starter so that I can make my own yogurt. I have added a video of the first step of the process and will list the supplies that you will need as well.

Supplies to make your yogurt starter

• Large 6qt crock pot
• 8 cups of whole milk (approx 1/2 a gallon) Pasteurized and Homogenized is fine, but do not use ultra-pasteurized.
• 1/2 C of plain full fat yogurt from the store. After you make this first batch of yogurt you can use the yogurt from your own homemade yogurt for this ingredient.

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Pour the milk into a crock pot, and turn the crock pot on low. Leave it alone for 2 1/2 hours, cooking on low.

2. Turn the crock pot off, leaving the cover on, and let the milk sit for 3 hours.

3. Mix the yogurt starter into the milk thats still in your crock pot.

4. Put the lid on the crock pot, and then fold and put a heavy bath towel over the crock pot to insulate in the leftover heat (leave the crock pot turned off), and go to bed.

5. The next morning, you will have yogurt ready for storing in your crock pot. Home made yogurt is thinner than store-bought so the consistency will be a bit different

6. Pour the yogurt into a container, or clean sterilized canning jars, and put it into the fridge. Let the yogurt cool down to the fridge temp.

You can chop up some fruit and put it in the blender with the yogurt for a few seconds if you prefer. You can also sprinkle some of your home made granola on top of it as well :) (I will be adding a recipe for homemade granola very soon)

Here is the 1st part of the video on making your own yogurt-

Wanted to share a freebie site...

Being a mom of soon to be 5 children, and not to mention being a mom on a budget I LOVE freebies! Hey who doesn't? So I thought I would share a site that I really enjoy with you all. I have had alot of luck with this site as they keep their freebie listings up to date as far as dead links etc.

Thunder FAP freebies (just click on the word freebies)

Sorry I am so behind on posts....

Where does the time go to?

I have been so busy around the house lately that I haven't been online much to blog. The kids got a new pool, so that took about 3 days to put up because we had to get the area ready, plus get the chemicals balanced etc. Plus I went a de-cluttering spree, which isn't done yet, and I got rid of a van load of stuff we didn't need. Plus it has just been too hot for the kids to go outside so I have spent aot of time thinking of things for them to do inside.

My husband is taking vacation in July, the 10th through the 19th, so we went today to check out camping sites so we could pick the one that we want to camp in for a couple of days. We are also going to go to the Science Museum, St. Louis City Museum, Transportation Museum and the St. Louis Zoo while my husband is on vacation... so that will be a busy 9 days :)

This coming week I will be posting recipes for Yougurt as well as how to make your own cream cheese, butter and Peac Upside Down Cake (like in the picture above) YUM-E!

I should also be ready to start a new batch of Kefir this coming week so I will post information on Kefir as well. It is a very healthy "drink" to make... and my kids LOVE it.

I must get back to playing with the baby as she is letting me know she does NOT like to be ignored.

Have a Great Evening HUGS

Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee Sample!

Ok so many who know me know I am a COFFEE lover! Well I found a free Dunkin Donuts Coffee Sample HERE!

Menu Planning Monday!

Since today is Monday I always get my menus planned out on this day. It makes the rest of the week SO much easier! I don't plan the weekends until Thursday or Friday because I never know for sure what our plans will be.

Snacks for the week will be- rice pudding, pop corn, muffins, banana nut bread, home made donuts and/or fruit and veggies.

BREAKFAST

Tuesday- Cream of Wheat with Sausage Links

Wednesday- Baked Oatmeal

Thursday- Breakfast Casserole

Friday- Scrambled eggs and Sausage



LUNCH

Tuesday- Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Cucumber slices with ranch dressing

Wednesday- Roast Beef and gravy with mashed potatoes and corn as a side

Thursday- Raviolli and green beans

Friday- Left Overs from the weeks dinner



DINNER

Tuesday- Spaghetti, garlic bread and green beans


Wednesday- Baked Chicken, Stove top stuffing, corn, velvetta shells and cheese, homemade biscuits and apple cobbler.


Thursday- Kids Cook Night (they are still deciding on their menu)


Friday- Sub sandwiches, chocolate pudding, chips and 7 layer salad

Welcome to my new blog!

Well I finally decided to start a blog! I know I am so far behind the ages it seems... I will introduce myself first :)

My name is Brandi, I am 28 and a SAHM to 4 children with #5 coming in January 2010. I have a 13yr old, 11yr old, 7yr old and a 1yr old so as you can imagine I am quite busy with them. I am going to try to make my blog look a little better, and have to figure out how to add a new template... and hope to get that done soon!

I am so excited to get to share my life as a stay at home mom and wife with all of you. Not to mention sharing my home making tips, recipes, cleaning tips and more!

Thank you all for reading!

~Brandi~