Menu - April 20 - 26, 2008

Ok. Finally. A picture of the flat bread melts we made while A. was out of town.

Just the one picture because it's WAY overdue and I've been crazy busy trying to catch up on everything. There are a few others (two more, I think) at the flickr site. (click the picture)

I'm trying a few new recipes this week. It should be fun. Yes, fun. See, when I was a little girl, every adult in my life told me not to play with my food. Now that I'm the adult, I play with my food. A lot. Of course, what I call "playing" is what a lot of other folks call "cooking". Still? Heart-shaped flat breads are a hit with the kid. And fun to make.

And that's about all I have to say tonight because, basically, I need to get into bed so I can get up early tomorrow. I'm more or less caught up with the life crazies so I'm hoping to have the chance to post more this week. And write. Hopefully. With a little luck. And by the grace of God.

So. Menu. As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: foraging (sleeping late)
lunch: baked potatoes stuffed with Boca "meat" and cheese
dinner: flat bread melts, salad

Monday
breakfast: cereal and toast
lunch: tuna sandwich, orange
dinner: pork chops, broccoli, corn on cob, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: black beans, hoe cakes (or rice), salad

Wednesday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits (cereal for K.)
lunch: raviolis
dinner: chicken salad in bread bowls
extra baking: bread bowls, cinnamon rolls

Thursday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: Hamburger Steak with Mushroom Soup, rice, salad
extra baking: doughnuts

Friday
breakfast: doughnuts
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: foraging/grazing

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ???
dinner: ???

Menu - April 13 - 19, 2008

Spring break is over. K. is back in school today. A. is back in town and at work today. And I am... here. Life returns to our kooky little version of "normal".

The flat bread melts last week were INCREDIBLE, despite some minor adjustments needed to the flat bread/pita recipe I used and the filling. Still? AWESOME. So sayeth the 11-year-old girl. The leftovers from the flat bread/pita recipe made great individual pizzas and were great for just general snacking. All in all, and without having ever tried the Lean Cuisine version, I'd say they were a success. Especially since K. has asked for them at least a dozen times in the past three days. I only snapped a few pictures (K.'s was half eaten before I could even get to the camera) and I'll try to get them up before I go to bed tonight.

The menu for this week is a bit.. stale. Another week when I fell back on some simple stand-bys due to lack of time and frustration over grocery prices. Lunches for me will be leftovers and whatever fruit (canned or fresh) that I happen to find. There may be some sandwiches thrown in, depending on whether or not I have bread in the apartment. (K. keeps wanting me to stop buying bread and just make some whenever we want bread.) It's also that time of year when I try to clean out the "pantry" (my "pantry" is what should be the linen closet in the hall) and freezer by cooking what's in them. It won't be too much longer before we either (1) move or (2) start stocking up for hurricane season. And it's just good sense to clean out the pantry on a regular basis so that's influencing menu choices, too.

Speaking of grocery prices (ugh), K. and I took a little trip over towards the dog track last week to order and pay for April's Angel Food Ministries box. It's not the best area of town, but the people we spoke with were nice, even friendly, and we made it out of that part of town without incident. We go back on the 26th to pick up the food. What we'll be picking up is the "basic box" listed here. We opted not to get any of the "specials" boxes this month.

And... I think that's it for now. I've got some bill/general paperwork filing I really need to catch up on so that I can spend a few hours later today playing with my Webkinz puppy, Mr. Puggles, and maybe work on some jewelry.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: foraging
dinner: Cracker Barrel (A.'s treat)

Monday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: pasta, salad

Tuesday (PAY DAY)
breakfast: cinnamon rolls / oatmeal
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches garlic boca patty, small baked potato, leftover veggies
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ?? (grocery shopping with Mom)
dinner: egg noodles and meatballs, salad

Thursday
breakfast: cereal and toast
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: fish, mac & cheese, peas, salad

Friday
breakfast: waffles
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: individual pizzas (on pita recipe from last week; still trying to work kinks out of recipe)

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ??? flat bread melts
dinner: pot roast, baked potatoes, lima beans

Menu - week of April 6 - 12, 2008

Wow, what a crazy week. And this week should be even crazier with K. out on Spring Break and A. in California.

With A. gone, I'm getting up "on time"... between 5 and 6am most mornings. I did sleep in a bit over the weekend, but I was still out of bed before noon. As a result, a lot has been done. There's still quite a bit to do, but life is a never-ending series of chores with some fun stuff in between. Or maybe that's a never-ending series of fun stuff littered with chores. Either way...

K. and I don't really have any plans scheduled for this week while she's out of school. Today (Monday) she's "grounded". Not... really, but sort of. Months ago she and I made a deal that her room was to be CLEAN by the time I went to bed this past Friday or she was to spend as much of her vacation week as it took her in her room cleaning. With things getting a little crazy when A. went out of town and other factors, I extended that to Sunday night (last night). Well, her room is GREATLY improved, but not as it should be. So, she's "grounded". She's in her room cleaning even now.

This week's menu was done a few days ago, but, um, yeah. Been a bit busy with A. out of town and K. and I on our own so there hasn't been much blogging time (hoping to change that starting this week) and when I have had blogging time these past few days, we've been having enough thunder and lightning that I decided being on the computer was not a good idea. So, here it is. Finally. K. helped me with it and what's listed for breakfast may change if I feel like tackling some of the recipes she wants me to make. Things like Quick Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Icing, Coffeecake Muffins, Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and Buttermilk Doughnuts. While it's good to see her wanting breakfast, I'm not sure I have the energy to cook for her like she wants. And I'm not entirely sure that I should, at least, not every day.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: oops. nothing. slept in.
lunch: Subway for me, McDonald's for K. (my mom's treat)
dinner: foraging on leftovers

Monday
breakfast: toast and OJ (with cereal for me)
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT)
dinner: ground beef and rice mixed into a sort of casserole and topped with cheese, lima beans, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: waffles and bacon
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: omelets and bacon

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT), salad, fruit
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli

Thursday
breakfast: toast and OJ (plus cereal for me)
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT), salad, fruit
dinner: flatbread melts (trying to copycat Lean Cuisine's new line; details later)

Friday
breakfast: omelets and bacon
lunch: flatbread pizzas
dinner: foraging and grazing

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: foraging
dinner: pot roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Menu - March 30 - April 5, 2008

Somewhere during the first part of March I lost my inner balance. I'm slowly getting it back.

A. is out of town for the next two weeks.

K. got her report card for the third nine week period. Very impressive. Conduct was straight A's. In Honors Science, Geography, Orchestra, and Honors Reading she had A's. In Honors Language Arts she got a B. In Honors Math she got a C.

I'm tired but looking forward to getting back on schedule.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: nothing - A. has to be at airport by 715am
lunch: McDonald's
dinner: leftover pork chops, weird peas, mashed potatoes; added mac & cheese

Monday
breakfast: bagels
lunch: leftovers
dinner: spaghetti shells and sauce, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: leftovers
dinner: sheppard's pie, salad

Wednesday
breakfast: mini-waffles (for K., not sure for me)
lunch: pb&j sandwich, fruit
dinner: chicken salad in bread bowls, fruit

Thursday
breakfast: bagels
lunch: leftovers
dinner: omelets

Friday
breakfast: mini-waffles (for K., not sure for me)
lunch: pb&j sandwich, fruit
dinner: foraging

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: foraging
dinner: ???

Menu - March 9 - 15, 2008

The bread bowls I made with the chicken salad last week were such a hit that when it turned a bit on the nippy side this weekend, we decided to have some chili served in bread bowls for dinner tonight. It was great. The recipe I've been using for the bread bowls lends itself to all sorts of uses.

On other fronts, K. has FCAT testing this week. She's been preparing by watching episodes of the old television show Soap (borrowed from the library) and Highlander as well as playing dress-up dolls online. She's also eager to go to the Renaissance Festival next weekend (the 15th, weather permitting).

This weekend A. started making me an excel spreadsheet (full of formulas and drop boxes and all sorts of neat things) to calculate the labor and cost of supplies used in the jewelry and chain maille I make, just in case I ever take the notion to actually try and sell anything (rather than give it all to the kid).

While I haven't been getting much writing done, I have been creative in other ways (like the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings I keep making for K.). And I've been aching to bake again. I've missed baking bread several times a month and am currently researching ways to satisfy that desire but still keep my expenses down (whole wheat and other wholesome grains are just too expensive lately).

And I guess that brings us to a menu for this week.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
lunch: foraging on leftovers
dinner: chili in bread bowls

Monday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: chili-filled baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pork chops (not sure how yet), mashed potatoes, weird peas, salad

Wednesday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, pineapple chunks
dinner: breaded cod fillets, corn nibblets, broccoli, salad

Thursday
lunch: pb&j sandwich, salad, mandarin orange segments
dinner: pasta, salad (possibly bread if I feel froggy enough to make some)

Friday
lunch: leftover pasta (there's always leftovers for some reason)
dinner: beans, rice, hoe cakes, salad

Saturday
lunch: RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
dinner: foraging on leftovers

I like bread bowls!

Despite feeling like I'd been hit be a truck a few times, I made bread bowls today. They were insanely easy. I used a recipe called Parmesan Bread Bowls that I found over on the Betty Crocker site. (TIP: search for "bread bowl", not "bread bowel".)

Of course, I didn't have the right size bowls and had to improvise, but it turned out ok. This is what they looked like about fifteen minutes out of the oven.

And this was my dinner tonight.

I loaded up half the bowl with chopped romaine, used the ice cream scoop to make two little balls of chicken salad (boiled chicken, Miracle Whip, chopped celery, pickle relish, all to taste), then topped those with some finely grated cheddar and decorated with pineapple and mandarin orange pieces. It was very yummy.

Now, I think I'm going to make a necklace while I digest.

Menu - March 2 - 8, 2008

Ok, so I'm late with the menu this week but at least I have one, right? Right??

Not much going on in our world.

A. is driving to a (sort of) near-by city to teach a class again this week.

K. came home sick from school last Thursday and stayed home Friday. She's back to being herself now.

We're dealing with a bucket-load of stupidity silliness that has me a bit on the frustrated side this morning while I wait for someone to return my phone call.

Um.

There's some crafty stuff lingering around the edges of my existence but I'm not quite ready to start divulging information. Not yet.

The house-hunting is sluggish. It's my theory that prices are temporarily stalled while people scramble to qualify and benefit from whatever relief the government is intending to provide but will once again fall in another month or two.

My mom has to spend tonight at the hospital. They're "going to put goop in [her] hair and watch [her] sleep". Sounds kinda kinky to me, but ok. Still, I can't help but worry.

And I think that's it. My brain is a little scrambled by the above mentioned stupidity silliness.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Oh, and I'm not listing lunches this week 'cause I'm in a picky mood and don't know what I want for lunch everyday. It was hard enough to figure out the dinners.

Sunday
dinner: take-out (chicken)

Monday
dinner: take-out (Wendy's)

Tuesday
dinner: fish, mac & cheese, green peas, salad

Wednesday
dinner: meatloaf, corn nibblets, lima beans, salad

Thursday
dinner: tuna patties, hoe cakes, random veggies, salad (along with whatever else I feel like cooking)

Friday
dinner: chicken salad in bread bowls ('cause I feel like making bread bowls)

Saturday
lunch: leftovers
dinner: pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad

Have a great week, world.