Random 5 on Friday {7/18/14} PLUS New family favorite recipe!!

This week has flown by; I think I say that every week.

So much has happened. I've gone into pre-term labor (twice this month), been put on faux bed rest, our bunnies died (and by died, I mean eaten- not by us), along with several other more pleasant things that I'll share as part of my "5".  :)

1. I successfully completed training my 11 year old as the Official Laundry Girl. ::GRIN::
Julia can sort, wash, dry, fold up/hang up, put away and even make laundry detergent WITHOUT HELP. We have worked closely for several months and my efforts have finally paid off!

I, Jeniffer Do Nascimento, no longer have to do laundry. I can hardly believe it.

2. I am completely ready for the 2014/2015 school year. Each child (preschool x2, middle school and high school) are prepped, scheduled out and organized for the new year. Our official start date is June 28th. Not to pat myself on the back too much but I've also already put the library books on hold that we will need during the first couple of weeks of school.

3. We discovered a new favorite meal. It's the kids favorite because it tastes great and it's my favorite because it's cheap!! I'm so nice, I'll share...
Ham and Swiss Potato Bake
Ingredients
2 cups homemade cream of celery soup (or 3 cans of the store bought stuff) (.50 for homemade)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (.05)
1/2 cup heavy cream (.50)
32 oz frozen shredded potatoes ($1.99)
2 cups shredded Swiss chees ($2.19)
8 oz diced ham ($2.99)
1 cup bread crumbs (.50)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (.20)

( = $8.92 total / 5 people who ate it = $1.78  per person... except we got two meals out of one pan, so it actually cost us about $.90 per person per meal!!!)

Instructions
1. Grease baking dish
2. Combine celery soup, mustard and cream
3. Stir in potatoes, chees and ham and dump into baking dish
4. In a small bowl, mix the butter and bread crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the potato mix.

If you want to freeze it, cover tightly and freeze. When you're ready to eat it, follow the below instructions. I don't thaw it before baking it, just add an extra 30 minutes or so.

To bake it, preheat 350 degrees and bake for about an hour or until bubbly. Salt and pepper to taste. I liked a dollop of sour cream with mine.

I doubled this recipe, making two 9x13s. We ate them in the same week. Seriously.. the kids love this stuff. If you aren't into Swiss cheese, Monterey or white cheddar would work just fine.

This is just one of the many, many delicious and frugal meals in Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook . Normally $16.95, it's on sale for $9.83 right now!! I originally got this cookbook from the library but loved it so much that I had to have my own copy. We make recipes from it almost daily.

4. Because of my complications with this pregnancy, I've had to step down from being the Missionettes leader at our church. I must say, at first I wasn't too happy about it. I've been doing it for more than three years but wasn't ready to pass on the baton yet. But I know baby comes first right now and I've really got to take it easy- I'm talking spending-the-majority-of-my-day-on-the-couch-so I-don't-contract-easy.

5. I finished two books and started two more this week! I finished Flourish (look for this review on Tuesday) and Persecuted - both very good reads. The two I started are Bill Hybels' Not Too Busy to Pray (highly recommend this if you're looking to reform your prayer life) and Wherever the River Runs by Kelly Minter (look for this review mid August).

Well, there's my week. How was yours?

Check out The Pebble Pond to read more Random 5 Friday posts!!

 

Thanks for reading and God bless!!