Being Busy Has Its Payoff's.

I decided, on Monday, that there are many more blessings and privileges associated with the vast amount of time I spend at school, than what I miss out on, by doing other things (including the housework!).

On Monday, all our Prep-Year 2's (a whopping 45 kids!!!) had their devotion time together, allowing Mr Busy's teacher some preparation time she needed. I had the awesome blessing of watching all those little ones singing about how important God is in our day to day lives.

I spend at least 8 hours a week at school, helping in the classrooms that my children are in. Sure there are some weeks where I would be delighted to have the time at home (like the week I was on school camp with the girls!), but I believe that my time at school is a worthwhile investment. An investment in my children. An investment in supporting the teachers who put everything they have into educating MY children. An investment into the school community that we will be a part of for the next 10.5 years.

I don't have the wherewithal to educate my children at home. It's not a lifestyle that suits us. But my children's education is nonetheless very important to me, and indeed, my responsibility. I have developed some very precious relationships with teachers in our school because of my commitment to being in their classrooms. I am also able to have a keen understanding of where my kids are at, academically, and with the children they spend their time with. I think I get the best of both worlds!

We also have a school culture that encourages and enables parents to have as much input into the school as they want to have. What a blessing that is, to parents who want to be involved in what their kids are doing!

Chicken with Dates & Honey

Your wish is my command, Tracy. Well...at the very least I aim to keep people happy! Here is the recipe for the Chicken with Dates and Honey. Dried dates are very cheap, so it's worth looking at recipes that use them! I'll give you the recipe and then tell you what I really do LOL.

Chicken with Dates and Honey

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground saffron
2 teaspoons ground cumin
8 chicken thigh cutlets
30g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cups water
6 seedless fresh dates
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup blanched almonds

1. Rub combined salt, pepper, saffron and cumin onto chicken, cover, refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
2. Heat butter and oil in pan. Add chicken and cook until browned; remove from pan. Add onion and cinnamon to pan, cook, stirring, until onion is soft.
3. Return chicken to pan, add water, simmer, covered for about 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.
4. Just before serving add the dates and honey and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve with couscous or rice

Now....what I really do:

• I use regular ground cinnamon ~ sticks are expensive, and dried dates, that I have chopped and then put into boiling water to plump them up a bit.
• I use as much chicken as I need for our family in whatever cut is cheapest or marked down when I shop. It'll mean you might need to adjust the cooking time, that's all. Meat on the bone will be tastier and more moist.
• I usually put this together right before cooking. I'm sure it would taste better if I let it sit for 2 hours in the spices....but I don't. No one notices!
  
• I also don't ever have saffron in the house, so I use a bit of tumeric for the colour.
• I wouldn't put almonds in it, as I have a daughter who can't eat nuts.
• You could also put this in the CP, if you have one, for step 3 onwards.
  

Essentially, what this means, is follow the basic recipe as much as you can and adjust it as you need to for your budget and family's taste.

Menu Plan Monday

I feel like I'm posting this very late in the day ~ that would give you some idea how much time I didn't spend at home!!!

Monday: Lasagna and garlic bread, choc SS pudding for dessert (Mr Busy's birthday choices)
Tuesday: Ricotta Gnocchi with tomato pesto (or just tomato sauce!)
Wednesday: Moussaka & vegies (aka Mouse Meat)
Thursday: Chicken with Dates & Honey, brown rice, steamed carrots & broccoli
Friday: Pasta with vegetable sauce
Saturday: I'm out ~ everyone else will have some l/o frozen vegetarian lasagna
Sunday: Lamb Roast, vegies

For the Aussie gals who visit, I've just done my grocery shopping and spent just under $100 on this weeks bill. So for those of you trying for a more budget friendly menu for your family, this week's menu might just be that much more appealing in ideas for you ;-)

Now a couple of blog-keeping bits & pieces...

Rel suggested to me that I should post all my recipes, not just the menu! If anyone wants a recipe I am only too happy to post them for you so leave a comment and let me know. If I find this becomes a popular request I may consider a separate recipe blog to link to. We'll see.

Another good friend told me she would love to leave a comment and couldn't. You should be able to now. If I discover problems I'll reset to blogger & open ID's only, again.

Happy Mother's Day

To all of you Mum's,
I hope your Mother's Day is full of laughter and joy
and the Sunshine of precious children
who remind you that being a Mother
is the most valuable profession in the world.

A Fun Quiz

I saw this quiz on another blog I was reading today. Take the quiz here and see what colour you are!

Apparently, this is me:

VIOLET

You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Not sure it's completely accurate, particularly in the first sentence. But the part about relationships & personal morals is certainly true.

Of Blogging...

Do you know what really makes my day? Discovering new friends! One of the things I love about blogging is that almost every week someone new pops in and leaves me a comment and I 'meet' brand new friend! Isn't it nice to know that you're not the only one in the world who values the things that you do? Like living frugally, valuing motherhood, homecooking, putting to use skills that leave you with a garment at completion, living simply and enjoying the area where you live, faith.

I also really enjoy all the friends that pop in regularly. It's like stopping by to have a cuppa with a friend. When I decided to begin blogging, this was the least of my thoughts and yet I was so excited to have someone even find my blog!

This week Terri & Patricia left me little notes ~ Welcome ladies. It's nice to have 'met' you.

Op Shop Find to Ironing Board Cover

I popped in to one of the Op Shops up the street the other day and found this amazing piece of fabric in the fabric bin. It's a Warwick 100% cotton length. Great quality fabric ~ I have a lounge suite covered in Warwick cotton! So, given that my ironing board cover is very tatty looking, that's where this is destined to end up. Soon....I hope!!!!