What's on the Wessel Weekly Menu

About two weeks ago, I planned out a month's worth of meals. The first week went really well but we needed to take the following week "off" from the schedule in order to use up the leftovers created. I also decided to use that time to once again "eat the shelves in the pantry, the fridge and the freezer". Basically, we only ate leftovers or meals made from items on hand. The fridge and freezer are down to just the main condiments, staples on hand (eggs, luncheon meat, fruit, etc.) and beverages we drink.  

The shopping list has been made and here is the menu for the week to come:

Greek Steak Pitas with Dill Sauce 

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Sweet & Spicy Greek Meatballs

Creamy Tortellini Soup

 (Made this before 4 thumbs up family rating)

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups 

(also a 4 thumbs up rating)

Hungarian Beef Goulash

Bacon, Tomato & White Bean Soup

Sesame Orange Shrimp

For dessert:

No Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert

As always, the family will give each recipe the "thumbs" rating and those that pass I'll share with you. The menu starts Monday. 

Slow Cooker Creamy Spaghetti - YUMMY!!

A few Sunday's ago, I decided to make a meal in the crock pot I could serve for lunch after our morning at church.

I decided to try this Creamy Spaghetti dish I found on the blog Six Sisters. Hopefully the link will lead you directly to the recipe but if not, go to the "recipe index" and look under "Main Dish" for "Slow Cooker Creamy Spaghetti".

I did make two modifications to the original recipe. Instead of using a pound of spaghetti, I used Barilla Plus which is 14.75 oz.  Also, it says after 3 hours of cooking to add a can of chicken broth and an additional jar of pasta sauce, I only used the chicken broth. It recommend cooking for another hour, I only cooked it until I knew it was heated through. 

This was absolutely yummy! It reminded me a lot of the creaminess your find in a vodka sauce, minus the vodka. In my opinion, it is good enough to feed to company and makes plenty.  

As you can see, Matt and his face loved it.  This dish got a 4 thumbs up rating from the family.

Mr. Jingle - Just One of the Family

After our short, sad experience with Strawberry the Guinea pig, I was apprehensive about getting another pet. The kids, of course, had no apprehension whatsoever about getting a new pet.

Its now a little over 2 months since Mr. Jingle joined our family and I have to say I can't imagine life without him. 

Each week he gets more and more friendly and loves being with the family. This week his newest feat has been coming up on the couch and joining us while we are watching TV in the evening. Jingle is more characteristic of a cat or dog that a bunny.

The picture above was taken about 2 weeks ago. I love how he blends in with the table and looks like a statue. Up until this day, the only furniture Mr. Jingle had hopped up on has been the kids beds.  

Dave took this picture of Jingle when he was downstairs playing with the kids. There was no coffee in the cup but we are encouraging him to understand the importance of coffee to his adult family members.

Mr. Jingle was sulking in the corner after we took him to the pet store to have his nails clipped. He pouted for about a half hour. 

Hiding again! The kids and I searched the house for Mr. Jingle. It took us quite a while before we found him hiding behind the "welcome" plate.

I love this picture of Jingle. To me it is the epitome of him being like a little puppy laying by the side of the couch relaxing.  

As I type this post, Mr. Jingle is sitting next to Dave on the couch as we watch a movie.  Like I said this is no ordinary bunny and we love him even more because of it.  

Spring Garden "Grow" Bulletin Board

Last week, I worked on the "fishers of men" bulletin board and this week a spring themed board for my church. Monday I created the first two elements - a watering can and shovel. Both are made of foam board.  I saved some time by purchasing a silver covered board. To enhance the watering can, I added copper accents and sponge painted metallic paint to give the pail a galvanized look. For the shovel, I made use of the remnants from the silver foam board to make the bottom and top handle. I used a piece of left over balsa wood to make the shaft of the shovel.  

Another major element for this board was creating the look of soil for the garden. I repurposed a painters tarp I had used last summer for a beach themed board. I repainted it with a darker stone spray paint making it a deeper "soil" color. In the midst of putting these elements together, I realized there was the a need of something more for the garden theme I had in mind. Picket fences were the first thing that popped in my head. Most gardens have some kind decorative border around them so small pickets seemed an appropriate application. The pickets were cut from white foam board.   

This morning I took down the previous board and put this board in its place. 

I tried to make it so that the soil looked like it was dug to accept flower seeds and bulbs. I also put up the verse which was cut by my Cricut from the Lyrical Letters cartridge out of a metallic navy blue card stock. The verse is "But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 3:18". My goal with the verse was to make it look like it is a visual of wind flowing in the air above the garden. I used a roll of moss to imitate a grassy area (an area not disturbed for planting) where the gardening elements created were placed. Of course, who would garden without gloves and not mark the flowers that have been planted.

I think what really adds to this board is that I took morning glory, sunflower and marigold seeds along with halved gladiolus bulbs and adhered them to the "soil". 

This board is a three month transitional board. This is the first "look". Next month, rain drops and a trellis at the far left will be added. The final month, the flowers will have bloomed and the sun will be shining..... you'll have to come back to see how that is accomplished. 

Fishers of Men Bulletin Board

This week I have been working on a new bulletin board for our church.  

Starting March 16th, our church will be presenting "The Jesus Story" at a local college. The production is a labor of love for our pastor. This year it has changed with the focus being on Jesus and his disciples. Several of scenes in the production take place on a boat in the sea, so a boat for the bulletin board seemed appropriate. 

The original plan was to make a side view of a boat but because the board is in a high traffic area, it seemed it would inevitably get bumped and damaged. So, plan B was devised - a top view of the boat.  

The base of the boat was made from foam board. A foam board edging was adhered with hot glue and pins for extra stability.

Next, I stained 12 planks of "wafer" thin balsa wood a maple color. I adhered the planks to the to the base and outer sides of the boat using Super 77 adhesive. For the edge and seat planks, I used a thicker balsa to prevent chipping if rubbed up against. These pieces I stained maple but then did a paint wash of black over it so that they would have a more weathered look. 

As the planks settled, some of them lifted a little which gave it a very nice effect once again giving it a more weathered look. 

A theme verse for the production this year is "Jesus said, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.'" Using my Cricut cutter, I cut the verse from a pearl toned card stock. The cartridges I used were Plantin Schoolbook and Cursive 101. 

Today was the day to put up the board in its entirely.

First, I stapled a light blue paper to the board.  Then, I layered a blue cellophane wrapping paper over the light blue paper to mimic the look of water and waves. The fishing net was purchased via Amazon and stapled into place behind the boat. Finally, I added the parchment paper that has the information regarding the place, performance dates and times for "The Jesus Story".

After the production is over, the board will stay up for another month. The parchment will be taken down and in its place will go pictures from the play.

I have to say that the original "vision" in my head is very close to what was produced today. God is good!!