Pinterest- it's what's for dinner + some thoughts!

So – September is almost here!!! YAY!! Fall is almost here!! Apples! Pumpkins!! CINNAMON!!!

In an attempt to be more organized this fall I’ve resolved to set and maintain menus! YAY! Weird – yes? Ummm… afraid so but I don’t claim to be otherwise… Although, I’ve never longed to be Martha Stewart or a contributor to Family Circus (Isn’t that the mag that has as a feature “A Month Of Menus”?) but I’ve pinned all these things on pinterest and seriously – I really want to try them all!!! YUM!!!! It's my plan to cook these platters of palate pleasers and review the previous week each Thursday- if you're cooking along be sure to let your taste buds comment too!!

This month’s menu, includes dinners (the evening meal that is) from pinterest exclusively!! Yeah baby!! I’m also adding a board to my pinterest account that is pinned in order with my menu, in case you want to follow along and cook with me. The more the merrier I say… I also say, this is a constructive, albeit calorie laden at times, way to deal with stress

In other news – I am feeling like one really blessed chick these days!! And you know that ol’ song “Count Your Blessings,” well let me share a handful of my most recent ones in the hopes that maybe they’ll make you laugh, or smile or giggle a bit…

1)      Tuesday night I was bitten by the paint-me bug. The bug hit in my office and as I returned home from work I made an announcement to my children, “I think I’m gonna paint my office tonight, anyone want to help?” My Zoe girl immediately hopped to and got really excited! We jumped in the minivan and drove to Lowe’s. Bought a gallon of paint and got to work. Z stayed and worked with me until after 10PM and never complained. Not even once! She rolled until her arms felt like they might fall off. When that happened she just cranked up the Pandora and entertained me with her creative lyrics! I was so thankful!! Imagine my surprise then when I opened my laptop on Wednesday morning and there was a handmade note from my girl which read, “Thanks so much for letting me help!” Seriously – is this child real?! Answer – Yep! And she’s all mine!!

2)      We were on vacation last week – and now that we live on the coast – the mountains are much further away. That being said, we were two hours away when my boy J started to rouse and got really – REALLY – talkative. In fact, I’m fairly confident he only stopped long enough to swallow hard once!! He talked about everything – from the book he had just finished reading to the activities he had done with his god-brother whilst on vacation (for which we were present, no less), to the things he wanted to do in his game once we arrived home, and when might that be? how far away? what’s our speed? You get the idea – if it came up in his thoughts it found its way out of his mouth! And although my ears got kind of tired, I count it as a blessing because he’s 10 – and the fact that he still wants to talk to his parents about everything in his life thrills this momma’s soul!!

3)      My shoulder and neck were sore – my husband, who hates massages, rubbed my sore spots! What a sweety!

There are so many more things – and funny things – and thoughtful things, that I could share – and I will, semi-soon perhaps even! I know that some of these things are not exactly stop the presses kinds of things, but they are the stuff of my life. When I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs, crying into my pillow, or pulling out my hair something like one of these blessings will happen – God gifts for sure!!! These are the things that get me through and remind me that I am never alone – not a for a minute!!!

Psalm 116: 7, “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

Have you counted your blessings lately?

September Dinner Menus

1)      Pizza Puffs

2)      Breakfast for Dinner Casserole

3)      Taco Pancakes

4)      Cheesy Oven Fried Chicken (make enough to freeze!)

5)      Lasagna Rollups (make enough to freeze!)

6)      Savages Pizza *

7)      Chicken Pad Thai

8)      Leftovers – no recipes needed!

9)      Revival in Elizabeth City – no cooking two days in a row?!

10)   Crockpot Cube steak

11)   Mac & Cheese Quiche

12)   Chicken w/ravioli Carbonara

13)   Savages Pizza

14)   Chicken Gyros

15)   Potato Soup Yummo

16)   Pizza Pot Pie

17)   Pollo Loco

18)   Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

19)   Turkey Meatballs

20)   Hubby’s Birthday – Can’t say – it’s a surprise!!

21)   Sausage puffs – snacks before the fundraiser – what?! Festival of Tables – don’t know what this is? – ask me!!

22)   Roasted Tomato Soup

23)   Crock pot Bourbon Chicken

24)   Cordon Bleu Casserole

25)   Meatloaf Goodness

26)   Cheesy Oven Fried Chicken

27)   Lasagna Rollups

28)   Chicken Noodle Soup

29)   World’s Best Chicken

30)   Grilled Chipotle Lime Shrimp

For links to all these recipes and more, check out my September board on pinterest!