Menu Plan Monday

I've grown weary of preparing what I think are good meals only to have the children turn their noses up at the offerings. So this week, the children have chosen the main dishes. I'm still in charge of the sides. They've been told in advance that they will eat what is served or go hungry. No more trips to the pantry for cereal or Easy Mac!

Here is what they chose:

MONDAY - Spaghetti with meatballs, French bread, corn

TUESDAY - Chicken Dijon, couscous, peas

WEDNESDAY - Potato Leek Soup, salad, lots of Halloween candy

THURSDAY - Tacos, refried beans

FRIDAY - Turkey burgers on sourdough English muffins, cole slaw

Most of this menu is pretty good for my blood chemistry, too. I'll have to alter a few things. I think I'll skip the spaghetti on Monday but will eat the Potato Leek soup on Wednesday. Potatoes are "off limits" but I'd rather die of a stroke than live a life with NO potatoes. Everything in moderation (except refined sugar and flour which MUST GO!!!)

Harry Potter and the Pirate?

Last night Sam attended a Harry Potter Halloween party with friends at a local library. There were many games to play - including "Find George's Ear" - and he came home with several "quills" which were actually Bic pens with brightly colored feathers attached. Sam was dressed as a pirate (sort of). You all remember the pirate in the Harry Potter series, don't you?

It turns out the toughest part of Halloween for me is that my children are both adult sized. For Sam (who is only 10!) that means he has to shop the adult section rather than the kids section. Costumes for adults are much more elaborate and therefore, much more expensive. I hate to disappoint him, but I'm not paying $60 for a Jack Sparrow pirate coat that will be worn ONCE. It didn't even come with pants, boots, headwear or a sword. All of that would have been more money.

As for Ana...Have you seen the movie Mean Girls? The girls in the movie say that Halloween is the one night of the year you can dress like a sleaze and no one cares. Well the costume manufacturers have taken this to heart. One sleazy costume after another. Cut so low if she HAD a chest it would fall out and cut so high she had better not drop any candy!

Now I know why Santa is so Jolly.

He knows where all the naughty girls are!

Proof that he loves me...

He bought me a $30 bottle of Chardonnay...

"just because."

Life in Perspective

Today I received some "bad news" from my doctor.

It seems:

My cholesterol is high.

My triglycerides are VERY high.

My blood pressure is high.

My TSH is high (that's my thryoid).

And then it occured to me:

I'm not a patient in the chemotherapy ward.

I've never even BEEN in a burn unit.

My legs are not broken.

Today I went to:

A little "dirty" blood is no big deal.

What caused the turn-around?

Something as simple as a phone call from a friend.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: leftovers (It was a good food weekend)

Tuesday: Salmon Cakes

Wednesday: Indian Summer Turkey Chili

Thursday: Mexican Casserole (in the crockpot)

Friday: I don't know. The kids are off school that day. We'll see what happens.

Happy Nevada Day (which isn't until October 31, but doesn't stop us from getting Friday off school)

Homecoming

Ana & Brian attended

Homecoming
at Eldorado High School

on Saturday, October 20.

It was her first dance.

I'm not sure who was

more nervous...

her or her Dad.

Meal Plan Review

This is how the meals stacked up this week:

Monday ~ leftovers
Tuesday ~ leftovers
Wednesday ~ Crustless quiche, turkey sausage, hashbrowns
Thursday ~ Pork chops Marsala, long grain & wild rice, asparagus for Mike. Football night for Karen and the kids - McDonald's.
Friday ~ DiGiorno Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza, salad

Didn't turn out too badly with no plans in mind and most of the leftovers got eaten.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm not planning a darn thing this week.

My fridge is FULL of leftovers.

We ate out a lot this weekend.

My sister's famous (almost)

My sister, JoAnn, made it on a blog besides mine! What are the odds?

Check this out.

She's the "neighbor"

Travels Abroad

I'm considering a trip to Oslo, Norway.

I'm sure I can get my sister to pay.

Why?

Clicka heah!

Sharing the Love

I ran into an old friend at the grocery store today and she had to following to say:

"The love is in the details"

Chile Colorado Enchiladas

So on Monday when I did Menu Plan Monday, I indicated that Tuesday would be Red Chile Enchiladas with Mike's left over Red Chile. I had NO IDEA what that meant at the time!

Here's what it came to mean:

I used Mike's leftover Chile Colorado with Pork from this weekend. I chopped the pork into much smaller pieces and mixed it with Uncle Ben's Ready Brown rice. Instead of making enchiladas that I find too much trouble to roll, I cut the tortillas into strips and turned the whole thing into a chilaquiles sort of thing. I added a can of tomato sauce to the Chile Colorado to create more sauce.

• Sauce in the bottom
• corn tortilla strips
• pork & rice mixture
• anejo cheese
• do it all again, twice

Throw the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until the cheese on top turns a lovely brown color then feed the family. Everyone liked this dish! Ana even ate it and said it was good after she wouldn't eat the original Chile Colorado this weekend.

What's that? What size pan? Whatever! Depends on how much stuff you have. Look at it and figure it out. It's not rocket science. It's cooking!

It seems crowded in here...in a good way

Mike is home from work (before noon) because he went in at 1:30am
Ana is home from school (before noon) because she is sick.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Tilapia Piccata, Seared Scallops, Orzo with tomatoes & parsley

Tuesday - Red Chile Enchiladas (made with Mike's leftover Red Chile Pork)

Wednesday - Salmon Cakes

Thursday - Football night again - Maybe Applebee's

Friday - Roasted chicken and Gratin Dauphinois (for you English speakers - thinly sliced Yukon Gold potatoes with grated Gruyere (swiss) cheese baked until crunchy)

Go Figure

Six of my last seven posts have been about food.

Hmm....

Did anyone notice?

That my Menu Plan Monday only covers Monday through Friday?

That's because Mike cooks on the weekends. Lucky me!

That I added a "What's for Lunch?" area on my side bar?

It causes me to post every day because you KNOW I eat

EVERY DAY!

Dessert

Sometimes dinner comes with dessert.

This apple tart was really good.

Camera found

It was him. I don't usually take pictures of donuts.

My camera has gone missing

I suspect Sam based on what I found in my camera yesterday...

Pretty sure I recognize that billboard outside his school on the I-215.

That's his teacher. I've seen that Sun Dial before.

Baked Ravioli

So here's what I came up with for Baked Ravioli. In the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan (bigger if your family eats more) put some spaghetti sauce. No, I didn't measure. It's not rocket science, it's Americanized Italian food. I'm sure no self-respecting Italian would use all the frozen and jarred ingredients that went in to this dish! On top of the sauce put a layer of ravioli (which was once frozen, but cooked to package directions). I used frozen cheese ravioli because everyone will eat it. Next came a layer of meatballs. Of course they were frozen but I cooked them. How much time do you think I have between picking kids up from two different schools 6 miles apart and delivering one to the Orthodontist? Next, put on a layer of mozzarella cheese. BUT FIRST...run out to the car to bring the cheese and French bread in the house. Don't worry too much. It was only 90 degrees today so the cheese shouldn't be TOO mushy! Okay, layer of cheese. A little more sauce, more ravioli, more meatballs. Finish it with another layer of mushy cheese and throw it in the oven which is already hot since I had to cook the meatballs. Twenty minutes ought to do the trick! During that time you can do a blog post - or the dishes! Guess which one I chose?

Menu Plan Monday (revised)

Feeling uninspired this week, but here it is so far...

Monday - Ziti, meatballs, and salad
Tuesday - Meatloaf, baked potatoes (Ana will be out - she hates meatloaf!)
Wednesday - Poached fish (whatever looks good at the store) and scallops in tomato broth
Thursday - Football game! Ana's boyfriend's school is playing against Ana's school. Food.... ?
Friday - Turkey burgers

That will keep most of the family members happy.

I've now returned from grocery shopping and based on my findings, revisions must be made!

• ziti only comes in organic (read: expensive) and I don't love my family that much
• the only fish on sale was salmon ($3.99/lb) and it doesn't taste good in tomato broth
• Albertson's doesn't carry "meatloaf mix" so I had to make my own and now have enough for two meat loaves so watch for it again in the near future
• turkey burgers not on sale - switch to Plan B

Monday - Baked ravioli casserole (don't ask - I'm making it up as I go)

Tuesday - Salmon

Wednesday - Meatloaf

Thursday - still going to the football game

Friday - Plan B *see above. I won't know what Plan B is until Friday afternoon.