Dear Mrs. Cardamom - I have some Eggcellent Egg Ideas!

I heard about all those eggs you have, what a blessing!  Like you, I wouldn't know what to do with 524 eggs.  WOW, those are some busy chickens you have there!  You know, I would LOVE to have some chickens of my own.  I even called City Hall last week to see just how many chickens I was allowed to have, after a hearty laugh from the other end of the phone I was told NONE!!  I was really BUMMED!

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How stinky can chickens be, I mean REALLY!!  I am sure the neighbors wouldn't mind, as long as I promised to share our eggs.  The answer was still a big old NO WAY!!

Even though we don't have chickens we still eat eggs.  Here are some ideas to use up all those eggs:

• I know that you said you are tired of scrambled eggs, BUT have you ever made Oven Scrambled Eggs?  I make them pretty often, it is the lazy moms way to make eggs. 
• What about quiche?  You could Eat some and then Freeze some.  There are lots of great quiche recipes out there.  Like a Country Quiche, a Quick Quiche or even a Spinach Quiche.
• You could Mass Produce Breakfast  - that means stock pile some pancakes, french toast and  breakfast burritos and then FREEZE!!   You'll have breakfast covered at least for a while. 
• Of course there are Angeled Eggs and Egg Salad (this recipe uses 6 eggs for every 4 servings), but you've probably already done those.
• For dessert you could try your hand at making Homemade Flan or make Egg Custard Pie for you and all your neighbors!

Sincerely,
LSG Mama

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

I have not made this yet, but it sounds so very YUM-MEEEE!  I found it  in the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. by Beth Hensperger, and thought it would be great for a St. Patrick's Day Dinner.  I am really diggin' this cookbook, the recipes in this cook book don't all call for a can of this and can of that.  She uses fresh, healthy ingredients!  Major bonus!  

Corned Beef & Cabbage

 

Serves 8

Use a Medium or Large round or oval crock pot

 

6 med sized red potatoes - quartered    

4 medium sized carrots, cut into 2 in chunks

1 medium sized onion, cut into about 6 wedges

One 3 to 4 pound corned beef brisket with seasoning packet, rinsed

3 whole cloves

1/2 tsp of black peppercorns

2 tsp  firmly packed brown sugar

One 12 oz can of beer, your choice

1 medium sized head of white cabbage, cut into 8 wedges, each secured with kitchen twine so it doesn't fall apart in the cooker

1/2 cup of Dijon Mustard

 

1 - Put potatoes, carrots, and onion in the slow cooker.  Lay the corned beef on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with seasonings from the packet, the cloves, peppercorns and brown sugar.  If the meat is too big to lie flat in your cooker, cut it in half and stack it.  Add the beer and enough water to just cover the brisket.  Cover and cook on LOW for 9 to 11 hours.

 

2 - Remove the corned beef and place in a serving casserole.  arrange the vegetables around the beef; cover with foil or lid to keep warm.

 

3 - Put the cabbage in the cooker with the cooking liquid and turn to HIGH.  Cook until cabbage is crisp and tender, about 20-30 minutes.

 

4 - Serve the beef, sliced across the grain, with mustard, vegetables and cabbage.  Pass the juices from the crock pot around in a bowl.

Doesn't this all just sound great!  Can't wait to try it! 

Menu Plan

Again, I have been a slacker blogger mommy and haven't been posting much lately.  I have been in the midst of  I really don't feel well and I am only keeping up with the necessities.   I feel like I have been sick since January, maybe because I have been.  Whatever I did have is now a lovely sinus infection.  Happy, happy, joy, joy!  I am starting to feel better, finally!


I have managed to keep the peeps fed and not every night has been cereal or mac and cheese.  Yeah me!  Here's what's for dinner this week:


Monday
Bean and Cheese Burrito Casserole w/ Corn
 
Tuesday
Breakfast Night - Eggs, Bacon, Toast and Cantaloupe
 

Wednesday
BBQ Chicken Legs w/ Broccoli and Cornbread


Thursday
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook, p. 321)


Friday
Lasagna Dinner for The Hubster's Birthday, Salad and Peanut Butter Cake 

Saturday
Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken w/ Potatoes and Mushroom (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker, p. 285) & Carrots



Sunday
Pizza

This week the kids made Peanut Butter Playdoh and LOVED it.  We haven't made this in a while so it was a great treat for them.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is what the LSG House is eattin' this week:

Monday
Turkey Burgers, Fries and Fruit

Tuesday
Whole Chicken in the Crockpot, Cabbage and Potatoes

Wednesday
Breakfast Night (It's Baaaaccckkk!)
Waffles, Eggs, Bacon and Oranges

Thursday
Cheese Burger Casserole (another Marta recipe)

Friday
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza

Saturday
Spaghetti and Homemade Bread

Sunday
Dinner at a friends house.  Not sure what we will be eating but I know it will be good : )

TOS Crew: Reading Kingdom

We were selected to review the Reading Kingdom.  I was happy to get to do the review and really thought that my kiddos would love the program. 



Let me tell you a little about Reading Kingdom.  It is online based program for children ages 4-10 that teaches them to Read and Write to a 3rd grade level. 
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Reading Kingdom was created by Dr.Marion Blank, a top expert in literacy.  It was designed to customize itself to each child.  It is the only online program that teaches that all 6 essential skills for reading and writing success. 

These skills include:

• Sequencing
• Motor Skills
• Sounds
• Meaning
• Grammar
• Comprehension

Unfortunately, my kids did not love this program.  You see, initially, you take a skills assessment to see what level you belong in.  My 2nd grader and 4 year old both tested into the training section, which means that they needed a little help with mouse and keyboard skills.  I think part of this was because at first we thought they were supposed to be using the keyboard to type the letters, not using the mouse to click on them. 



In the training sections they had to practice clicking on letters, the same letters, over and over again.  They did not enjoy this very much and thought it to be very boring.  I encouraged them to press on, and told them both that they would be on another level real soon.  After using the program several times and doing the same thing repeatedly they decided they didn't like the program. 

I do understand that the program wants you to know how to match letters and be able to click on them, but personally I felt it was a little too repetitive.  I do believe that my kids would have liked the program, if they could have gotten past the Letter Land in a more timely fashion.  They really just got bored with all the letter clicking.



I even set up my own account to see what I thought of the program.  I took the skills assessment and tested in Level 1.  Once I got to Level 1 I was reading a little bit, typing out words and whole sentences.  I can see the educational benefits from this Level but can't really talk about Levels 2-4 because honestly, I didn't get there. 



In all fairness, I think this could be a pretty nice program if the intro/ training section were shorter and the kids could dive into really learning.  If you have a struggling reader or a little one that is just starting out I would definitely Try the 30 Day Free Trial.  Your children may have a totally different take on the program and it may really work for them. 

The Reading Kingdom program is a monthly online subscription, it costs $19.99 per month or $199.99 for a 12 month subscription.  If you have multiple children using the program, it is $9.99 per month for each additional child.  If you are
interested, you can sign up HERE.

Please what other TOS Crew Members are saying about the Reading Kingdom. 

We received a 12 month subscription to this product free of charge for review purposes.  The opinions expressed here are my own and I was not influenced by the free product.