Spring Cleaning

For the past month I have been busy working in the yard and garden. That left the house quite neglected. I never got around to doing a good deep cleaning. Since both my husband and I were sick prior to the holidays last year, I missed most of my pre-holiday cleaning. I do not even want to count up how long overdue a good cleaning is. I have reached the point where the house is driving me crazy. It is now time to dig in. I am starting with the living room this week.

While I am cleaning, I want to make up a list of small updates for each room. The living room needs a slip cover for the couch. I am not a good enough seamstress to make one so I need to start looking for a deal. I also want to rearrange some of the furniture pieces but that must wait until we get a new tv.

Menu Plan

I am trying to keep myself on track with menu planning. I have a long way to go on making a dent in the freezer. Planning meals from what I have on hand helps both the freezer and my grocery budget. Here are my plans for the coming week.

• Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad: I never did get around to making the meatballs last week. We had a quick meal of sandwiches one day last week in place of this so it goes back on the menu.


• Steak, baked potatoes, and salad: I have two steaks in the freezer and a weather forecast for sunny, warm weather. This makes a perfect combination for grilling. I bought two large baking potatoes and will get lettuce from the garden.


• Tacos: The price of tomatoes dropped by half. While they are still not cheap, I did find them to be affordable again. I have plenty of taco shells in the pantry and will only need to pick up taco sauce.


• Cheeseburgers and french fries: I use my dinner roll recipe to make hamburger buns by shaping them larger. I cannot remember the last time I bought hamburger buns.


• Beef sausage, tomatoes, and pasta with corn bread: This is a comfort meal for us. It is also a quick one pot meal aside from the corn bread. It is low on vegetables, but I try to balance it out with other meals.


• Breakfast for Dinner: We will use the rest of the beef sausage for this meal. We will add grits, eggs, toast, and homemade jam/jelly.


• Pizza: I have enough cheese and turkey pepperoni to make another pizza. My husband was not so certain of the crust recipe I tried. I did add in some seasonings. This time I will make it plain and just by the recipe.