Weekly Menu - week of 11/19 AND Thanksgiving!

Wow, can you believe Thanksgiving is this coming week?  It seems like it was months away and then, I turned around and it was a week away!  We had some really good meals this past week and one night of leftovers.  I was recently trying to figure out why, growing up, we "always" had leftovers on Sunday night.  Then it dawned on me, my mom shopped on Mondays so by the time we got to Sunday night, it was basically clean out the fridge.  My mom didn't cook after church on Sunday night, we were kind of on our own with supervision!  Sometimes we had pizza but most of the time you hoped you were the first one to the fridge so you can the best leftovers!!! 

I'm going to do this post a little differently.  First, I'll give the basic weekly menu and then I'll do Thanksgiving day separately. 

Saturday:  Darryl and the kids are having Hamburgers and Mac and Cheese; I'm going Scrapbooking all afternoon/evening.

Sunday:  Darryl has a concert so we will grab something quick on the way home (I should clarify that normally, Sunday lunch is our big meal)  For dinner, we will have Overnight French Toast and Bacon.

Monday: With Thanksgiving hitting this week, our meals are going to be simple!  So, tonight is Spaghetti and Garlic Bread (Since it is just the kids and I, I'm doing store bought, not making my own sauce.)

Tuesday: Tacos and Rice

Wednesday:  Lasagna, bread and salad (I actually made and froze a pan of lasagna a few weeks ago since I knew I would be busy getting ready for Thanksgiving!)

Thursday:  See the menu below!

Friday:  No kids, no husband and I'm shopping - no meals planned :-)

Saturday: The kids will still be gone - we will have leftovers or order a pizza! - Oops I went over a day HA!

Our Thanksgiving Menu

I have not hosted Thanksgiving at my house since I was a single girl living in my first apartment and we did "Christmas" early because my brother and his family were moving to Brazil.  I was kind of excited to get to host this time.  I mean, there will be so many of us!!  My parents and us - that is a total of 4 adults and 2 kids HA! 

Snacks: If you know me, you know I love to have little appetizers on hand.  I find it helps keep people happy!  Our snacks are:

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil - this is awesome stuff.  I made it several times this summer and the best part is this recipe is a Weight Watchers recipe so it is nice and light too. 

and

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Wontons - I'll be posting this recipe this coming week on my Pinterest Challenge.

Peanut Butter Goodies - This was my husbands request so my mom is bringing them :-)  His words were "I just want them to snack on, not for dessert."

The Meal: Now for the good stuff!  Check this out :-)

Puerto Rican Turkey - my brother made a turkey last year that was to die for and he willingly gave me his recipe.  I can't wait to make this and hope it is almost as good as his (without his touch, it won't be perfect HA!) 

Our Sides:

Pomegranate Arugula Salad - this is something new but I love pomegranates!  

Green Bean Casserole - just the standard version

Sweet Potato Casserole - this is an "old" recipe I have but I haven't made it in years.  I hope it is as good as I remember!

Parsley Potatoes - lets be honest, I can't make mashed potatoes to save my life.  (I know, who CAN'T make mashed potatoes?)  This recipe is my new go to potato recipe though so I know it will be a hit!

Sausage and Herb Stuffing - I'll be honest, I've never made this but it is an Ina Garten recipe and I've anything I've made of hers has been good.  I just didn't want the "typical" stuffing
Cranberry Sauce - This is my mom's famous recipe so she is bringing them (hehehe . . from the deli at her local store but it really is some of the best stuff ever!)

Rolls (just the Hawaiian Rolls - nice and simple!)

Dessert: Lets just say I enjoy making dessert so I think my parents will be taken a few pieces of pie home!

Caramel Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie - this is a combination of two recipes so I will share later

Surprise Pecan Pie - this just looks yummy!!

I have my list all made on what to cook when so I won't be cooking all day on Thursday - most things will be made or at least ready to be assembled by Wednesday evening.  One "side" note on the sides - I do plan on cutting the recipes in half, yes we like leftovers but we don't eat them for weeks :-) 

Enjoy!

Food Friday - Lemon BBQ Mini Meatloaf

Welcome to Food Friday!  I'm slowly getting back on track and am actually cooking meals we'll eat :-) LOL  I had a "surprise" success this week with an old favorite.  We have several meatloaf recipes that we love and this specific recipe I hadn't made in awhile.  I had actually planned to make a differant one but I couldn't find one of the key ingredients that I thought I had on hand so I had to improvise.  Well, we might have this once a week because the kids inhaled it.  Yes. Inhaled. It. 

Lemon BBQ Mini Meatloaf
adapted from Lynnette McMaster (my sister-in-law)

These little packets of flavor are so good!!  The lemony flavor along with the sweet sauce make them hard not to inhale!  They are just plain yummy!

1 ½ pound ground beef                            

¼ cup lemon juice                                   
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup onion cut small
1-2 teaspoons salt
4 slices of day old bread cut small (I usually use 1/2 -1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs)
½ cup Ketchup
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon ground cloves (I very seldom have this on hand so it is optional)
1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon all spice

6 lemon slices (I never put these on because I always forget to buy lemons!)

Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well – you will probably have to knead it with your hands.  Mix well and shape in to 6 individual loaves and place in a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake 15 minutes in a 350 degree over.  In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients except lemon slices.  Cover loaves with sauce and top each with a lemon slice.  Bake 30 minutes longer, basting occasionally with sauce from pan. (Honestly, I never baste them and they are fine!)  Serve sauce over loaves.

Randomness

I haven't done a random post in awhile and I'm not "feeling" my normal post for today on what I'm reading.  So, here are some random thoughts:

-- It's cold and I saw snow flurries today.  :-) :-) :-) :-)  I love snow not for any reason other then it is pretty.  I especially love the huge snowfalls we get sometimes on the weekend - the snows that start Saturday morning and go all day long, snowing us in even for just a day.  Then, to have a sunny day on the following day and see all of the crystals shining!  So pretty!!

-- Have you ever seen the Boz DVD's?  I discovered them by accident but my boys LOVE Boz.  As a matter of fact, we watch it every day .. over and over.  BUT my boys are starting to sing the songs and they are GOOD songs!

--Did you know Thanksgiving is next week?  Well.  It is.

-- Have you ever taken a "cyber" break?   I haven't.  I've thought about it but then remember something I need to go online for :-)  Some days I do try to shut the computer for more then an hour but, again, most everything I do is kept on the computer so how can I really shut it off?

--I love clean sheets.  Aren't they the best?  Sometimes I think I need 7 sets of sheets so I could put clean sheets on every single day but then I remember that I'm the maid and I really don't want to change sheets everyday :-) LOL

-- Lately, I've cooked some really awful meals.  Even things I've made many times have turned out awful.  I'm hoping that the streak has come to an end.  My kids ate the Lemon Meatloaf I made last night like it was going out of style.  Or maybe they were just hungry? :-)  (I'll share the Recipe on Friday since it was SUCH a hit!)

-- Recently, I made a list of things I needed to get done for upcoming events.  It's really helped me focus.  Now if I could only get the stuff done :-) 

-- I hate to admit this but I am SOOOO exciting to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving.  I haven't gone in YEARS but I get to go this year due to all of the kids being gone and my husband working.  The best part is I get up with my husband in the middle of the night so I'll just head out with him that morning instead of going back to bed.  I won't have much spending money but I plan on looking for some key deals and just enjoying the day :-)

-- I guess that is all - time to get the little Munchkin up and some snacks handed out.  He heads home soon and my husband will be home "early" tonight (like 5:00 instead of 6:00 ha) 

Enjoy :-)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Instead of doing a list this week of things I love, I thought I would share a link to Comfy in the Kitchen.  This post is a way she shares her testimony using just words, unspoken.  It's creative and it is powerful.  Beyond that I really loved the song that was being sung in the background.  Check it out and, if nothing else, just enjoy the music.

Enjoy your week!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I must admit that I totally slacked off this week on looking for ideas.  I even, for the first time in a very long time (if ever) considered not even posting this weekly post but, I figured I would see what I can find while watching some Monday Night Football. 

I'll start out with and idea from Lines Across My face - the 13 days of Christmas  This idea is actually for hostess gifts but when I was looking at them I thought they would just make good gifts for friends or co-workers.

  Another idea from Lines Across my Face - 13 days of Christmas are these adorable burlap trees!

And. . .I'm done.  Wow, talk about being uninspired this week!  I know there are great ideas out there but I'm just not feeling inspired.  I think it is because I'm doing other things relating to upcoming events that I haven't taken time to focus on future crafts!

Pinterest Weekly Challenge - # 6

I'm enjoying this lovely Pinterest Challenge - I actually search for ideas to make sure that I get something done.  It is nice to have recipes to fall back on, I will admit, but I'm also accomplishing a few other things.

Throughout my "blogging career", I've seen lots of ideas for quiet books but have yet to make one.  In looking through ideas on Pinterest, I've come across some great ideas but, better then that, I've come across some fantastic tutorials.  How to Make a Quiet Book is my go to site because she explains every step.  I've decided to take the step and start this process of making two quiet books at one time.  Instead of focusing on the whole book, I'm focusing on one step at a time.  I will show you what I complete along the way and I can't wait until these are done so the boys can play with them.  My goal is to get one page done every 2 weeks (well, actually two pages but they will be the same . . . ).  So, this is my first step - I have to get some supplies. Fabric for the base of the pages and felt for my first page - the traffic light (Seen Here as Inspiration) I chose this one because it is pretty simple. 

I also have another simple project that I made this weekend that was inspired from from this Post on pinterest. 

Isn't that a neat idea?  Well, Darryl has headphones and cords that are always getting twisted together in his work bag and he just recently said he needs something to carry them in so  . . I bought a tin of Altoids this weekend while shopping and put this together.  I modge podged some scrapbook paper onto the top of the can.  It was that simple.  :-) I didn't take a picture though, because mine isn't nearly as pretty as this one but, I'll see how it works and maybe make a prettier one later :-)

One last thing.  I picked a new recipe to try for lunch with the kids thinking it would be something different to have.  The original idea comes from The Girl who Ate Everything and looks like this:

This is what mine looked like:

They did turn out pretty good.  The kids didn't even take a nibble of one (they ate their yogurt and cookies but no sandwich!).  I'm not a sandwich lover but I actually ate one and 1/2 of these so that is saying something.  I plan on making these again sometime when my husband is home because he loves things like this!  I did, obviously, cut this recipe down to 1/4 of the original recipe making only 6 sandwiches and it turned out fine.  Would I recommend these?  Sure - I noticed in the comments on the blog this recipe came from that a lot of people used different seasonings in the butter mixture you pour over the top so you could really change this up :-)

Have you made anything from Pinterest lately?  I'd love to see it!

Simplify Update - Scrapbooking Goals

See, I told you the last post wouldn't really be the final Simplify post!  This is just a little update of how I'm doing on those posted goals for Scrapbooking!

September 2011 - Finish 2010 Digitally and Updated our Family Album (pull the envelope and make sure that all of the pictures are in the album; file the duplicates for future projects) I did not set up this list until halfway through September so I'm actually working on these projects in October. I can say that I am halfway through December 2010 digitally and I am almost finished with Family Album project. We did just get a few family shots done last weekend which I need to order and then add to this as well.  Ok these albums are not put together yet; I had my order ready but then needed to order photos for Josh's birthday so these got put on the back burner.  My plan is to order them this next week so I have them for my scrapbooking day on November 29th.  I'm going to take the books with me to use as a break from digital scrapbooking throughout the day.   Also, I'm still working on Dec 2010 - I kinda lost the momentum I had but have started to pick it back up and really want to have December done before I go scrapbooking! 

 October 2011 - Do Jan-March 2011 Digitally; Christmas Ornament project - put pictures in kids 1st Christmas Ornaments; Update Josh and Nate's books (Pull envelopes and make sure all of the pictures are in the albums and file the duplicates for future use; order Josh's 3 year photos and put in his book as well); Order 20 pages digitally. I finished the Ornament Project   It was such an easy project, I just never took the time to do it! I will admit that I printed the photos of Nate from the computer so that they were done until I can locate and/or order the pictures I want. I didn't want to delay the project though (I should say they ARE the pictures I want, they just aren't on photo paper.) Also, I've almost finished up Josh's and Nate's books with the exception of the most recent photos from a week ago as well as photos from our last two shoots (I guess I ordered to give to the family but not for their books!). I will be ordering those this coming week and will update his book as soon as I get them! I need to finish up Dec/Christmas 2010 so I can start 2011. As far as ordering pages - I need to wait and see if I can fit it into our new budget yet; it might need to wait a little longer :-(  The same is true for Josh and Nate's books as what I stated in "September" - I will be working on these books on that Scrapbooking day.  I have not ordered pages - we've decided to earmark some Tax money at the beginning of the year so I can hopefully get just about everything ordered at once.  So, now, I REALLY want to have all digital stuff done so I can order all at once :-) 

November 2011 - Do April- October 2011 Digitally (there is one 12 hour crop that I will be going to which will help with this!); Finish Red Pet Album (before Kids, I did an album for our pets and they are so much fun but, now, I've found that it is easier just to do the pet pages in with the regular pages so I want to finish this album since it is for 2008-2009!); Alive Album - I originally started doing an album for all of my husbands concerts but, again, I found that this really isn't a great album and now I include the pages in our regular album so I need to decide what to do with the album I started; Order another 20 pages digitally. Since I am still working on Dec 2010 - I obviously haven't started 2011.  I am hoping to get Jan-April done when I go scrapbooking at month end.  I'm also hoping for a Friday evening of Scrapbooking with some friends in December, if we can work it out, where I can get more done.  The other two albums - the Pet Album and Alive Album, I just need to pull out.  I will also take the Pet album with me to try to finish on that day I keep talking about :-)  I think the Alive album is just going to "go away" :-)

So, that is where I stand right now.  Running a little behind but I'm not surprised.  I had a birthday party in October, then a shower to plan for November, Thanksgiving coming up, planning for some special December ideas plus another birthday and Christmas plans!   I still am hoping to be able to start Traditional Scrapbooking with the beginning of the new year.  I'm SOOOO ready to get back to paper and pictures instead of always being on the computer!