Monday, February 6, 2012

Menu Plan Monday, Challenge Update, Weekend Review


Well, this weekend, I got my closet and dresser mostly cleared out. I still have a couple of drawers to organize and a couple of other categories to organize in my bedroom. There are a couple of big bags of clothes that will be traded and/or donated at an event this weekend, plus I worked some more on sorting the "stuff to shred" pile as a continuation of January's paperwork concentration. I'd say there are at least 29 items among both these categories (one for each day of February, as per Carla's challenge). While they haven't left my house yet, they will!

I worked on some of that paperwork stuff while the family watched the Puppy Bowl and Shrek (the latter as part of our free Blockbuster Online membership) over the weekend. I think I actually may need to start watching more TV in order to get things accomplished. Hmm.

I also finished reading The True History of Tea over the weekend and started on the book for church book group, Altar in the World, An: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor.

Saturday started out as a cozy day, lying in bed reading a bunch of books to the five-year-old. She and I also baked another batch of cookies on Saturday afternoon; this time, Sparkling Sugar Cookies. (They're sparkling because you flatten them out with the bottom of a glass dipped in colored sugar before you bake them. I have had colored sugar containers in my cupboard for...years, possibly...but I'm thinking they're not going to have the same shelf life as the five-year-old gets more involved in the cooking.) For the record, I keep offering chocolate chip cookies as one of the options for these baking sessions, but she keeps turning that down.

We also attended a children's theater production of Llama Llama, Red Pajama, based on the book by Anna Dewdney. It was part of the premiere run of this show, and, of course, they had to make some changes from the book -- primarily by expanding the cast to incoporate six different baby llamas and accompanying mama llamas. Each baby llama had their own personality -- a soccer player, a tap dancer, etc. -- and each also had their own "dolly llama." (Say that out loud. :) )

We went to the show on Sunday afternoon, in part because we could then incorporate our family's traditional weekly meal out into the day, without adding a restaurant meal to the week. We tried a newly opened barbecue restaurant in our town. It was OK, but I've had better. On the plus side, kids eat free there on Sundays.

So far, we have had one no spend day in February: the 1st. Today could have been another one, but DH has to go to an out-of-state funeral, so he will be buying gas. This is the last family member of that generation on his mother's side to pass away; the last on his father's side passed away last fall. That means it's down to his generation. (He is one of the youngest.)

At least my doing after-school kiddo care for a couple of days will give me time to bake Zucchini Bread with last summer's shredded zucchini that I thawed from the freezer, and thereby provide breakfast material. (ETA: No, it won't. I did make brownies from a mix in the cupboard.) I am also going to try to have my book group at my house tonight instead of trying to reschedule everyone (we usually meet at a bookstore's coffee shop). We will see how that goes.

Here is this week's menu plan, starting with what we ate over the weekend.



(You can see more menu plans at Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday link-up).

Saturday: Apple Oven Pancake.

Sunday: DH was happy with chips, salsa and chili cheese sauce in front of the Super Bowl. Nora and I partook of a few of these, but we also had a "real" supper -- of Scrambled Eggs and Toast (with "Grandma Jam," as we call it -- my mom makes it from her rhubarb patch every spring).

Monday: Goulash: we have enough macaroni left in a container for a two-people meal, but not three. It will get thrown in with some already-browned hamburger from the freezer.

Tuesday: Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna: a childhood favorite, from boxes and cans  from the cupboard (not really DH's favorite).

Wednesday: Black Bean Taco Bake. Nora requested tacos recently, and we need to use up more of those tortillas from the fridge, plus some homemade salsa from last summer's veggies in the freezer.

Thursday: Brats and Sauerkraut. We have several jars of sauerkraut in the cupboard. We need to get eating.

Friday: Probably Pizza.

Saturday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup? It depends on the day's activities, and who needs to get where when at what time.



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2 comments:

  1. I love grilled cheese and tomato soup... especially on cold days. Your menu looks yummy!

    I tagged you on my latest blog post to do a fun question/answer activity. I would love for you to participate!

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  2. You're doing great with your challenges! I love black beans, so that Taco Bake sounds delicious!

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