This week, my oldest went to camp in Michigan, and my 2nd and 3rd kids stayed at Grandma’s for a whole week. They were unbelievably spoiled with fort building, 4 wheeler rides, the county fair, great food, and lots of love. Needless to say, they all had the time of their lives! So I just had my youngest two boys, and this gave me some extra time for planning for this upcoming school year. I really enjoyed ordering curriculum and new school supplies and organizing our school room.
This is our 9th year of homeschooling, and I can honestly say that I love it more with every year.We are going to be studying world geography this year, and I’m excited to take a trip around the world with my kids learning about all of the amazing cultures, climates, and terrain that God has made. Once again, we will be using My Father’s World Curriculum, which has been an absolutely gift to my family.
I also registered my girls for some enrichment classes. They will be taking photography classes from a local studio photographer. Wow! What a blessing! They are so excited (and so am I).
All of this school planning got me looking through my recipes with the goal of finding some quick and easy weeknight dinners. I know that once school starts, the days will woosh by, and suddenly it will be dinnertime I’ll have hungry kids who will need nutritious and warming meals.
I tried this new slow cooker chicken chili, and my two youngest, Matthew and Lincoln, scarfed it down. We love chicken tortilla soup, and this is really similar soup. This recipe is even easier because the chicken goes into the crock pot uncooked. So, the prep time was very short, the house smelled amazing all day while it simmered away, and the supper prep was a breeze. This one is a keeper!
The addition of fresh cilantro and a squirt of lime juice make this bright and fun. And the toppings of sour cream, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and few tortilla chips added so many delicious flavors.
A couple other easy weeknight dinners:
The Easiest Hash brown and Ham Soup
- 1.5 raw pounds chicken breast meat, cut into one-inch pieces
- 2- 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed, & drained
- 11 oz can of sweet corn
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 t minced garlic
- ¼ C chopped cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, chopped jalapenos (optional toppings)
- Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker (crock pot).
- Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or HIGH 4 to 6 hours.
- Serve with any desired toppings such as chopped cilantro, sour cream, shredded
- cheese, tortillas, etc.
Can you believe we are almost ready to start back up again?! Year 10 for us and we still love it. I better get my grocery list going, your meals are a life saver. Miss you!
Hi Teresa! Year 10… wow. God has been so good to us. Blessings to you on this new year! Miss you, too. I think back to the days of running into you at story time at the Christian bookstore. Sweet memories!