Aunt Faye and Menu Monday (Tuesday?)

My sisters and I went to visit our Aunt Faye today. She is 89. She and Aunt Betty are the only remaining members in that generation of my mom's family. They were married to two of my mom's brothers.

She is such a fun lady. She gets forgetful which is to be expected since there is no one around her regularly to talk about the family. She kept thinking my older sister was my mom, then would correct herself and asked if mom was still living. When we would say no she would say "I thought she had died". One time she said she knew that, she had been at her funeral.

We took her a quilt from Quilts for Seniors, an online charity group that I belong to. They make quilts for senior citizens. The quilts are made with cross-stitch squares and all but 2 of the stitched squares on Faye's quilt were done by family members. She was so happy to get it and we went over each square and who stitched it. I left her a list of the stitchers and how they were related so she could 'digest' it (as she said). Here is Aunt Faye with her beautiful quilt.



The square I stitched is near the lower right corner of the photo. It is a teddy bear made to look like a hairdresser with a blow dryer in one hand and a comb in the other. Aunt Faye was a hairdresser. She would often bring along her scissors and cut Mom's hair when they came to visit.

The top row of the quilt is photo squares that Aunt Faye's granddaughter made for the quilt. One photo is of Aunt Faye's only child, my cousin Dean, who died several years ago. The other two pictures are of Aunt Faye's great-grandson, Ryan, who turned one earlier this month. He was born about 3 months premature (less than 3 pounds) and was in the neonatal intensive care for a couple months but was able to go home to mom and dad close to the original due date.

Well, I did not post a Monday Menu - so here is a Tuesday menu. This week will be a little different with all the leftovers from our family get-together and the holiday mid-week. I need to get back to cooking regular meals but at least I have not gained a lot of weight over the holidays. I had even lost 0.5 pounds when I weighed this morning. Of course, with going to Bandanas for lunch today (delicious Granny Smith apple pie!) and then having guests on New Year's Eve I may not be able to say the same thing next week.

Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - Potato pancakes ( I make these like my mom used to with leftover mashed potatoes. The recipe is below)

Wednesday - Sandwiches and party food

Thursday - Crock pot chicken (So you forgot to defrost!)
Honey grain rolls
Pasta House salad

Friday - Salad
Rolls
Ham and asparagus lasagne - ( I use a 9 x 13 inch pan with 9 lasagne noodles and double the rest of the ingredients. I make 2 layers of everything starting with the noodles and ending with the mozzarella cheese. I also put just a tablespoon or so of the sauce in the bottom of the pan before placing the first layer of noodles. I cut mine into 12 servings. I like this when I have leftover ham. I have made it with only ham and no asparagus and with only asparagus when I did not have the ham and they are all good.)

Saturday - Philly Steak Pizza
Carrots and celery

Sunday - Italian beef on roll (I have some in the freezer)
Ramen cole slaw



Potato Pancakes - the amounts of the ingredients will depend on how many
leftover mashed potatoes you have to work with. The amounts listed below are approximately what I used tonight.
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour (more or less - see directions below)
1/2 cup leftover corn, drained (optional)
Leftover ham or pork sausage link (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the potatoes, egg and flour until well blended. Use enough flour to make a thick batter, similar to muffin batter. Stir in corn and/or meats if available. Most times we had these without the corn and meat. They are good either way.
Spray large skillet liberally with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. Spoon a couple tablespoons of potato batter in circular mounds in the skillet. Let brown (edges will appear dry) and then flip and brown the other side. Serve warm - my family likes ketchup on them but I like them just as they are.

Since I added the corn and sausage tonight this was a meal-in-one. Usually these are served as a side dish.