Tag: meals

Perpetual Meal Plan – Summer 2024

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I’ve been working on getting these meal plans finished and I’m over halfway there! I won’t go into a lot of detail but this is the same format as the Winter Plan, and the Spring Plan, but with a few different recipes to change things up. I really can’t tell you how many times my family has thanked me for these menu plans! They are loving all the benefits of having all of these meals pre-planned.

You’ll also notice that I keep adding some other features toward the end as I find a need for them… I figure that if they are helpful to me then they may be helpful to others. These are all things that have been helping to keep our home running a little more smoothly through all the stuff we’ve been doing around here between house remodeling projects, taking care of animals, adding on to our garden, and just LIFE.

perpetual-menu-planner-summer-coverDownload
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Chicken Salad Tostadas

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

This recipe came about during a pantry challenge night… we were using up some leftovers and things that needed to be eaten from the pantry. I have incorporated several of these pantry challenges into our Perpetual Meal Plans to help us use up things in the fridge so they don’t go to waste!

We had made some chicken salad from some leftover baked chicken for lunch and still had plenty left over. There were also some soft avocados, refried beans, and some old corn tortillas that needed to be used up. (I had bought them for a different recipe and never made it.)

Mr. Awesome just kept layering things on his tostada and it was so GOOD that we will definitely be repeating these! Tostadas can be made with so many different things so don’t be afraid to get creative and make your own version!

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Apple Dapple Cake

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We have this recipe listed with our St. Patrick’s Day meal but this is good at any time of the year. Although it isn’t a traditional Irish Apple Cake I think that St. Patrick would’ve enjoyed this just as much!

We like to use Granny Smith apples for this cake but any kind of apple would work.

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Our 2024-2025 Homeschool Curriculum, Schedule Plans, Resource Links, and Daily Routine – Lots of FREE resources!

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

It’s that time of year again for us… time to get the next school year planned out. We finished up our 2023-2024 school year before Easter and I’ve been busy gathering supplies and making schedules as I coordinate with everyone for vacations, holidays, and special trips that we have planned.

It is always SO TEMPTING to take a few months off to just focus on this house but I know from past experience that this doesn’t go well and that it takes FOREVER to get a couple of the kids back into the school routine. You can read more about last year’s curriculum and routines HERE.

We switched to more of a Charlotte Mason-style approach and it was GREAT for the most part. We still have a couple of kids who just hate anything to do with math so that’s been a little challenging but we’re making progress. We’ve also really enjoyed using some of the FREE courses with Under the Home Homeschool.

FREE Homeschool Planning Scratchpad

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Keto Fried Chicken

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

One of Mr. Awesome’s most talked about memories of his Granny is about her Fried Chicken and he loves it when his mom brings over Fried Chicken… on the other hand, I can take it or leave it. When we started eating healthier the idea of giving up his favorite fried foods was almost a deal-breaker until I came up with a recipe that didn’t require a ton of special ingredients and that tasted almost as good as the ‘REAL’ thing… if it’s got Mr. Awesome’s stamp of approval then you know it’s got to be GOOD!

We like to use the chicken with the skin on but this would also work with boneless skinless chicken or chicken tenders… just adjust the cooking time. This recipe is similar to the recipe that we use for the Fried Gizzards so you might want to check those out too! While I’m not particularly crazy about Fried Chicken, I can eat my weight in Fried Gizzards… no jokes!

These are the measurements that I use but sometimes I do have to make extra breading mixture up. That’s ok though because I just add a little to the bowl for the chicken and then store any leftover breading or pork rinds in the freezer which makes it easy to fry up a quick snack when we want one later on. If you don’t care for pork rinds you can just omit this step in the recipe.

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Crazy Delicious Low-Carb Substitutions You Can Make Today!

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Are you trying to eat healthier but having a hard time finding recipes? Well, there is a secret that we use here and that is that we often try to use our favorite recipes but we make substitutions to make them a bit healthier.

The other issue is that a lot of the foods that are marketed as ‘Low-Carb’ and ‘Keto’ are full of mysterious ingredients and SUPER EXPENSIVE. If you are trying to eat healthier then they shouldn’t be charging you more to fill you with more JUNK! Remember that just because the label says it is HEALTHY doesn’t really mean it is!

Many of the substitutions we make are things that can be found easily in the produce section or canned food aisle of any store or we can even grow a number of them in our gardens… that sounds better to me. If you can’t have your own garden then you can still shop for seasonal veggies to make substitutions with and you will save a bit of money… maybe you can even check out the local farmer’s market for fresher veggies?

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Easy Rice and Noodle Alternatives – Great for Cauliflower Rice and Spaghetti Squash

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Have you noticed that those bags of frozen cauliflower rice seem to be shrinking while the price keeps increasing? We have noticed that it doesn’t go quite as far as it should which means we usually need more bags which means more money… some people just don’t understand how we can even stand to eat it but this recipe is so easy and it makes it so good!

Mr. Awesome was my worst critic when it first came to rice and noodle alternatives but I have found that he really likes them by reducing the moisture content and adding some familiar flavors.

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Spinach and Bacon Smothered Chicken

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This recipe is so good and it’s pretty easy to make as well. We usually like to use chicken thighs but chicken breast would work just fine. You can also bake the chicken and keep the creamed spinach on the side if you have picky eaters.

Smothered chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, loaded lentils, and avocado
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Special Spring Meals and Recipe Links

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If you haven’t checked out our Perpetual Meal Plan – Spring 2024 then you should do it NOW! It’s completely FREE and a lot of the recipes can be found right here on our blog. Plus we’ve got lots of ideas for those special meals that happen during March, April, and May. Hopefully, you will still have time to grab the items you need for the upcoming meals!

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Keto Fried Chicken Gizzards

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

Although I was southern-raised I don’t ever remember trying fried chicken gizzards until I moved to Florida and my brother brought home a few from the local gas station… I was hooked and needed more! I never thought about making them myself as it was easy enough to run to the gas station for a quick treat until it wasn’t.

I desperately craved these during my last three pregnancies… I might’ve been craving them before just not knowing what it was that I was craving. With Shyanne it was harder to get them because of COVID and I was so sick for most of the pregnancy that trying to make them myself was out of the question!

Fast forward to this past week when what did my little eye spy when cleaning out the fridge? Chicken gizzards! How they got there I have no clue but then the next day there were more… I think someone was trying to send me some hints.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

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I had this salad many years ago at a special dinner I attended and I have LOVED it ever since. Some of my family doesn’t really care for some of the ingredients but that doesn’t stop me as I could eat as much as I make by myself and not feel bad at all.

This is so good and it’s the perfect side for a Grilled Steak with Gorgonzola pasta on Valentine’s Day or a special meal! It would probably be amazing if you topped it with some grilled chicken as well!

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Easy Sourdough Quiche

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Our new Spring meal plan has quiche in the breakfast rotation. This is a wonderful dish that could be eaten at any time of day or for any occasion… maybe even an Easter or Mother’s Day brunch?

Mr. Awesome’s Mom, Granny, makes an amazing quiche and she wrote the recipe down for me but I was a little confused about the directions so I improvised and it turned out pretty good… he says it is very close to Granny’s. The original recipe calls for Bisquick which I don’t keep in my pantry but I do have plenty of sourdough so I used that instead and just adjusted ingredients until it ‘felt right’.

This has quickly become a favorite in our home! I believe her recipe says to sprinkle a little cheese in the bottom of the casserole before pouring everything in but we haven’t tried that. This is also great as leftovers and you may find that you need to make two of them to keep everyone happy! We do leave the mushrooms whole so that the pickier kids can pick them out pretty easily but you could chop them up. You can also add any other veggie or meat that you like.

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