Remember those Garfield comics? What I remember the most about them was that Garfield hated Mondays.
Or what about The Bangles song Manic Mondays..love that song – but I can’t relate.
And then there’s, T.G.I.F., don’t get me wrong, I do like Fridays – but Monday is one of my most favorite days of the week…
Hey!
Even though I’ve been on a blogging break the last couple weeks, I’ve still been menu planning…I think it might have actually become a habit!
What about you, has this inspired you to start menu planning or is it something you have always done? Have you checked out orgjunkie.com to find more recipes? What have you tried? Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear about it!
My new thing is soups and casseroles, probably inspired by our rainy fall weather here! I have literally been going down the index of my Cooking Light cookbook and trying them and rating them as I go – this method totally aligns with my somewhat compulsive nature. Now there are some, that I know there is NO way John or the kids will eat, so I did skip those, but I have tried many that I wouldn’t have tried before.
For more recipe ideas go to: orgjunkie.com
MONDAY: Beef Bean and Cornbread Casserole
TUESDAY: House Group Dinner Night — Tacos…I’m bringing a Southwest Bean Casserole.
WENESDAY: PBJ’s and fruit..I have girls night
THURSDAY: Chicken Paprikash
FRIDAY: Leftovers
SATURDAY: John’s Chili….he makes it up as he goes
SUNDAY: Northwoods Chicken with Glazed Julienne Carrots
So that blogging break was l little longer than a week! I didn’t even read any blogs for three weeks – crazy!
A couple things happened that lead up to the break…
- I had a sinus infection that lasted 8 weeks and is thankfully gone
- John was doing a lot of freelance, so the computer was being used in the evenings
- I’ve been trying to take it down a notch with our lives. When I figured out that most of my expectations were self-imposed, it was hard to start saying no to things that I find enjoyable but didn’t necesarily “have-to” do. This theme is continuing in our lives while we anticipate the arrival of little Emma, but I’m bringing blogging back into the mix.
What about you…am I the only one that has self-imposed expectations of how things “should” go or what I “need” to do?
Hey! Just wanted to give you a heads up that I’m taking a blogging break till next week.
I need to stop procrastinating about some things at home and going to bed every night at 9pm hasn’t been helping my productivity level…yes I am feeling VERY pregnant. 11 weeks to go!
I know I’m totally late posting this – I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner!
Let’s see, last week menus were yummy, although I did remember why we haven’t done Steve’s Mac and Cheese for a while, something wasn’t quite quite–sorry Steve! I also shouldn’t freeze the Chicken Tetrazzini again, it didn’t turn out great. We had the Oliver’s over for dinner Thursday night and did my regular Spaghetti and Meatballs but doubled everything but the noodles and it was an improvement.
Here’s what’s for dinner this week and you can check out other menu ideas at www.orgjunkie.com.
Yesterday was Henry’s 3rd birthday, it was a normal day sprinkled with fun but ended with us closing down Chuck E. Cheese’s at 9pm. We always make a homemade birthday banner for the birthday babe in our house and today was no exception. It’s so basic but the kids really like ether making it for their brother or deciding what should go on their own.
As to my prior post about Henry (which btw a sequel is coming) our day was not perfect or “easy”, but the night made it all worth it. I know it’s Chuck E. Cheese, but it made Henry the star of the family and he really lit up because of it.
Our norm for birthdays is the birthday boy gets to pick dinner and we can eat out or stay home. Then a party comes the following weekend with just family for the 3 years olds and under and including friends for the 4 and over. So our his family party is coming up on Saturday night.
Tags: chucke cheese's, henry
I cannot figure out my almost 3 year old, Henry. He’s been driving me insane for the last 3 weeks. Everything is a battle. Whining all.day.long. Calling me names, favorites include “You are stupid mommy. You not my mommy anymore.” Hitting me. Throwing things. And yes, he has received consequences for his behaviors, but apparently they are not the right ones that will get him to stop. By the end of my days, I have felt totally wiped out emotionally. I’m torn between calling Super Nanny or Jerry Springer to be on the show “My 3-year old beats me up.”
What’s crazy is that a month ago I distinctly remember sitting on the couch with him thinking that I didn’t think it’s possibly for me to love this sweet Henry anymore than I did right then. What happened to that sweet boy?
Tags: henry
I have been baking bread for about 10 weeks now and I am totally in love. I borrowed The Tassajara Bread Book from the library and gave it a go. I had to renew the book twice and just got my own copy last week. The Tassajara Bread Book is not with my other cookbooks in the kitchen, but sits on my end table because I just love to peruse it that frequently. I just love it, read the description on Amazon, I love it when recipes have a story and almost all of these have a story.
I have been making 2 loaves approximately every 1-1/2 weeks. I have alternated between the Tassajara Yeasted Wheat Bread and the White Egg Bread, but also have made a half and half variation of my own design.
Tags: tassajara bread
Critiquing last weeks menu…I wouldn’t do the meatloaf recipe again. I felt like it took double the time to cook and the inside was still a little mushy. We like a firmer loaf around here with crispy edges. It was the second time I did the Manicotti, although John and I love it, it was hard selling the boys on it each time. I am going tot make it for some new parents in a couple weeks because it was yummy, a little different and easy to freeze.
There’s nothing new on the menu this week, except we haven’t done Steve’s Mac and Cheese for a long time so I don’t really remember it.
For more recipes, check out: orgjunkie.com
MONDAY: Chicken Tetrazzini
TUESDAY: Chili and Cornbread
WEDNESDAY: Steve’s Mac and Cheese
1 – 16 oz package of elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup Velveeta cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 egg
2 – 1/2 cups of 2 percent milk
Paprika for sprinkling on top
1. Cook the elbow macaroni as directed. Cut up butter into small pieces and place in the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking pan.
2. Drain macaroni. Place half of the macaroni over butter in baking dish; sprinkle half the Velveeta and shredded cheddar cheese on top of pasta. Beat egg and milk with a whisk until well blended. Pour half of egg mixture over ingredients in baking dish. Repeat layers of Macaroni, cheeses and egg mixture. Sprinkle with paprika.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir until well blended. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 (1/2 cup) servings.
THURSDAY: Chicken Paprikash; I am part Hungarian and this was a staple of my family growing up. Just don’t tell my Mamama that I do it all in the microwave.
FRIDAY: Picnic at Jazz Band Concert at Early Years Center; probably PBJ, string cheese, fruit and some sort of yummy dessert.
SATURDAY: Rachel and Steve’s Couples Shower
SUNDAY: Egg Noodle Lasagna
Tags: menu plan mondays
Children’s Day Out started today for us and this is the end of summer officially for me. I started doing CDO 2 or so years ago, when John suggested I needed a kid-free morning once a week. I love his ideas.
This year is a bit different because I switched my “free day” from Fridays to Wednesdays and from just a morning to 9- 3pm. Now JJ gets out of school at 11:30, so I’m not totally kid-free, but a ton lighter.
Over the years, I’ve realized I need to protect this time and make sure I don’t run around crazy trying to get things done. Instead, I want it to be life-giving and use it to recharge spiritually, mentally and physically. You can check out my prior post about my restart day here.
Tags: KDO
