Menu Monday - a day early :-)

I know I won't have time to post the menu tomorrow so am doing it tonight. I am beginning the Wellness Challenge at work this week so meals are going to have to be healthier!
Sunday - Spinach Lasagne
Side Salad
Grapes

Monday - Chicken Alfredo Rigatoni (Schwan's frozen entree - maybe not so healthy :-)
Peas
Orange Sections

Tuesday - Homemade Whole Wheat Crust pizzas
Fruit Kabobs

Wednesday - Turkey Burgers
Italian Potatoes
Applesauce

Thursday - Crock African Chicken and Noodles
Stir Fry Vegetables

Friday - Baked Fish
Ramen Slaw
Corn

Saturday - Raspberry Balsamic Chicken
Baked Potato
Salad

Sunday - Club Salad
Crackers and Cheese

Menus

Well, did not post our menu last week and actually did not stick to it much anyway:-) I cooked up some big meals over the weekend and we had leftovers a couple nights. Not used to the college kids getting together on Monday evenings - don't have to cook a meal for DD18 since they always have lots of goodies to eat there.

DD18 was in a fashion show on Friday evening - so she had dress rehearsal on Thursday (she grabbed something after that and DH and I ate leftovers) and then on Friday night DH and I met a niece for dinner before the style show and DD18, niece and I went out for fast food snacks after the show.
Last evening our adult Sunday school class had a picnic in a nearby park. We had grilled brats, pork steaks and chicken breasts and everyone brought side dishes. It was great! The weather was actually cool for this time of year. We all tried to stay in the sun to keep warmer and after eating everyone was scrambling for jackets, blankets - even beach towels - to stay warm. ( It felt good to see one of the mom's pull out the knitted blanket I made for her son to use as a shawl - glad to know they are using the blanket :-)
We had a great time. I took on of my favorite standbys - Marinated Vegetable Salad - and a new 'experiment' Cherry Dessert. I took a recipe I had that used canned peaches and modified it for cherry pie filling. They must have liked it because I only brought home a small portion as leftovers.

Need to get re-focused on meals and WW points this week. Will be hard since we are having a 'Food Day' tomorrow at work - Fifth Monday. I guess I'll start on Tuesday :-)

Menu Monday

Well, DD19 is back at college and DD18 goes to orientation at the community college on Wednesday. It is strange having both in college - no dealings with teachers, etc. Spending much time in prayer for both of them :-)

Menu:
Monday - no cooking - stuffed on Cici's Pizza buffet so got off easy tonight

Tuesday - Mexican Layered Chicken
Crock Pot Corn Pudding

Wednesday - Shrimp Scampi over spaghetti
Asparagus
Applesauce

Thursday - (eating out with DD18 - fashion show fitting)

Friday - Mexican Rice Pilaf
Corn Salad

Saturday - Salmon with Orange Ginger Sauce
Baked Potato
Broccoli

Sunday - Red and Green Lasagne
Salad

Menu Monday

Monday-
Curried Chicken
Raspberry Slaw
Cheese stuffed tomatoes

Tuesday - Cinco de Maya
Mexican Chicken Salad
Homemade tortilla chips

Wednesday -
Lemony Baked Tilapia
Peas
Salad

Thursday
Honey - Balsamic Salmon
Baked potato
Fresh vegs

Friday
Caesar's Burgers
Italian potatoes

Saturday (Mother's Tea at church)
Soup and corn muffins

Sunday
Texas Casserole
Easy Fruit Salad

Menu Monday - on Saturday again :-)

Okay - so I am posting it early again this week. I do my grocery shopping on Saturdays so it is easier to make up my menu then - :-)
DD19 and her boyfriend decided to come home from college this weekend. Both felt they needed a break from their roommates so it is nice to have her home. I'm glad I had some menus planned that are things she likes.

Saturday:
Impossible Enchilada Pie/lettuce/tomato/sour cream
DQ for dessert (half price today and we all can use a treat!)

This was delicious! I should have taken a picture. I picked up an avocado at the store so we topped the pie with some sour cream, diced tomatoes, avocado slices and ripe olives - and had some lettuce on the side. DD17 enjoyed making hers into a 'restaurant' presentation. I made two pies so I can freeze one for a future meal.

Sunday:
Pork Roast and Potatoes in Crock Pot
Salad
Cooked apples in another crock pot :-)
Schwan's baguette

Monday
BBQ pork sandwiches
Roasted veggies

Tuesday - Girls party for a friend - I'm taking Super Brownies

Wednesday
Turkey and Dressing Casserole
Cranberry Sauce

Thursday
Soft tacos
Cheesy Rice

Friday
Chili
Peanut butter sandwich

Saturday
Homemade pizza
Salad

Menu Monday on Saturday???

I haven't posted menus for a while so thought I would do it early this time :-) I actually will post more than a week to get me caught up to Monday. I do have some of the recipes on my 'sister' blog and have added links to those or to a website that has the recipe I use. I need to take some pictures like Rhonda does of all her delicious meals and recipe adventures :-)

Saturday:
Blackberry Balsamic Chicken (Freezer meal)
Baked Potatoes
Green Beans

Sunday: Mission Potluck at church - International cuisine
Greek Chicken Thighs and Potatoes (crock pot - modified weight watchers recipe)

Monday:
Turkey Breast (crock pot)
Mashed Potatoes and gravy
Green Salad

Tuesday:
Lemon Tilapia (freezer meal)
Asparagus
Multi Grain Loaf (Schwan's - delicious!!!)

Wednesday:
Soup and Panini sandwiches (made on the George Foreman Grill)

Thursday:
Chicken tostados (freezer meal) with tortillas
Refried Beans

Friday:
Turkey and dressing casserole (microwave recipe using some of the turkey from Monday)
Cranberry sauce

Saturday:
Impossible Enchilada Pie with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream garnish

Sunday:
Pork Roast, Cabbage and Potatoes (crock pot) modified WW recipe
Green beans or Corn

Menu Monday -- on Wednesday??

Things have been pretty hectic here - not sure why - and I haven't been doing very well with planning meals. I have the main entree planned out in Weight Watchers - but haven't been keeping to that so far this week. Have to get back to it if I want to lose the last 5 pounds!

Monday -
Shrimp Scampi
Rice
Creamed Spinach

Tuesday -
Crock pot Chicken pot pie (mix)
Salad

Wednesday -
leftovers

Thursday -
Two Bean Chili (freezer meal)
Corn muffins

Friday -
Cornmeal battered fish and chips
salad

Saturday-
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Chile and Corn
Tortilla

Sunday -
Potato and Canadian Bacon Slow Cooker Chowder
Fresh Veggies
Crackers

25 pounds! Woo-hoo!!!

This morning was weigh-in (in the privacy of my own bathroom) and I have officially lost 25 pounds. That means only 5 more to reach my goal. After staying stable for the last 4-5 weeks, I lost 3 pounds last week. Of course, I did not expect to lose any weight over the holidays and I was just happy to maintain. It has been hard to get back to the menus after the holiday eating but it was worth it to hit this milestone.

I thought Sunday was going to be a real challenge for the WW food plan. We had planned to go out to eat to celebrate our annual wage adjustments at work and the end of the first semester of school for the girls. When we got out of church DD19 was not feeling well and by the time we stopped at the house she really did not feel like going out to eat, so we made do here at home. So instead of a restaurant meal I had leftovers.


Menu Monday

Monday - Cashew Chicken/Rice
Mandarin oranges

Tuesday - No planned supper as we girls are going to a baby shower. There will be lots of snacks and I am taking pretzels and Spicy Sweet Mustard which is very low in points.

Wednesday- Philly Steak Pizza
Salad

Thursday - Crockpot Vegetable Soup
French Bread

Friday - Crock Pot Chicken
Green beans

Saturday - Dinner out - this is our 'rain' date for our celebration dinner

Sunday - Spicy Thai Beef-Noodle Soup
Salad

My sister will be here over the weekend so she will get to go out with us to celebrate. We will be working all day on the Freezer Meals and it will be good to go out to eat that evening and be able to relax. Since she is doing Weight Watchers also, we can hold each other accountable.

Finished blanket and Menu Monday (late again)

I finished the baby blanket last night. I did it in 5 days which is longer than some. One I finished in 2 days as I had a business trip to Chicago and I knitted the whole 10 hours I was riding in the back of the van :-) The baby shower is next Tuesday so I made my deadline easily.

I used Homespun yarn by Lion's Brand. It is varigated so it makes a natural striping to the blanket. It is knit on the diagonal, beginning with 5 stitches and increasing every row until you reach the middle, then decreasing every row. It is a plain knit with the 'yarn over' to create an eyelet type edging. One of these times I think I will run a silky ribbon all the way around through the eyelet openings, tying bows at the corners.
I love how this photo shows the striping. I did not plan it when I placed it on the chair but the stripes are almost lined up perfectly. You can see the eyelet edging where the one side is lapped over the other -looks like a design right down the center in this photo.

Now, I will get busy on some charity cross-stitching. I need to get a religious square done and mailed before 2/1/09. I have started another that is due on 2/1/09 but it is for the Yahoo group I moderate and that deadline is flexible - so I will put it aside and get the other one done first. One of the charity groups has started a Stitchers' Challenge. Six themes are posted for a six month period. Each stitcher does one square per theme with the option to trade off one theme. The themes are sport, dog, cat, houses, in the mountains and flower/gardening. I have enjoyed looking through my pattern books (I have a full 4 drawer file cabinet of them!) and pulled some that I think will be fun to do and please the recipients. These will all go to senior citizens. I will post them as I get them done - or maybe post them when my group of 6 are done. It is just one way to 'enable' our addiction (like we need that ???)

Today is an icy day - no school and I am working from home. DH tried to go into work this morning and had trouble getting up the hill in our subdivision so called and told them he would be in later. He left about 2 hours late - after the salt truck made it around the cul-de-sac. DD17 is still asleep but I have some jobs for her later. DD19 is north of us at her cousin's house and will be traveling on to Chicago with a friend and one of her cousins today. The weather up there is better - just a light dusting of snow. She will spend a couple days with my sister and then head back later in the week when it will be springlike again.

All in all it is a good day to settle in and cross-stitch. I have the "So you forgot to defrost" chicken in the crockpot and will put some Honey Grain Rolls in the bread machine later. That will make a nice hot supper for tonight. I have to get serious again with my Weight Watchers as my sister has decided to join too so there is a little competition now :-)

Here are the menus for this week:

Monday -
Ham and Beans
Corn Muffins

Tuesday-
So You Forgot to Defrost Chicken
Honey Grain Rolls
Twice Baked Potatoes (I made extra baked potatoes on Sunday so I could have these today)
Mandarin Oranges

Wednesday-
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Salad

Thursday -
Spicy BBQ meatballs
Broccoli with Orange Sesame Sauce
Honey Grain Rolls

Friday -
Herbed Cheese Stuffed Shells
Honey Grain Rolls
Asparagus

Saturday -
Crusty Grouper with Cucumber Salsa
Parmesan Pea Risotto
Cooked apples

Sunday -
French Onion Soup

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.

Menu Monday

Well, it is Monday so time to post the menus for the week. I did not keep to the menus a lot last week but still did okay - held my own weight-wise even though I actually dipped down and was back up a little this morning. At least I am not gaining with all the parties and goodies at work and church.
Monday - homemade pizza (froze some crusts from a couple weeks ago so this will be a breeze)

Tuesday - Cheeseburger Casserole
Green beans
Peaches

Wednesday - Easy Rosemary Shrimp
Baked Potato
Mandarin Oranges

Thursday - Salad
Bread pudding

Friday - Pork sausage
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Green Beans

Saturday - General Tsao's Chicken (WW recipe)
Rice
Stir fried vegetables

Sunday - Family Get-together - ham
Bread
Drinks

On Christmas Day we will go to DH's parents. DH's youngest brother mentioned a couple weeks ago that he had never had bread pudding so I offered to make him some for Christmas. He thought that sounded like a good idea. I have a good crock pot recipe for it and the lemon sauce.
On Friday we will have our traditional pork sausage and gravy dinner for my older sister. Every time she comes to visit us in the Midwest we have pork sausage and gravy so we can eat gravy bread.
Sunday will be my family's Christmas get-together at our house this year. I will cook the ham and make some dinner rolls and everyone else will bring the side dishes. That evening we will have sandwiches and chips - and leftovers from lunch. Several family members are planning to spend the night so I plan to make waffles and breakfast sausage the next morning. I doubt I will keep my weight where it is now but I know I can make up for that after the new year. My mini-goal was to not gain any weight over the holidays and I have actually lost a couple pounds so I figure I can gain a couple and still achieve my goal :-)

I'll leave you with a picture of tree #3 in our home. This is in DD#2's bedroom.