Tag Archives: Food

Coffee, Family, Food, Friends, Holidays, Miracles do happen, Photos

Leftovers

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The kids are at Grandma’s, and we have had a glorious time relaxing after the holiday. Yesterday after we dropped the kids off we stopped at the indoor shooting range. This is our idea of a date, because we both enjoy shooting. Mike is good at it, and has done well in competitions. In fact, I think he won the last one he competed in. I, on the other hand, am not so great. I just don’t get enough practice, but also the impaired vision doesn’t help. Though I surprised us both yesterday. I did a lot better than we expected. My reward? An early Christmas present purchased from the gun store, registered in my name.

After our time at the range, we headed to the local Italian restaurant for a good, Chicago-style pizza. Mike had been craving it, and I am always up for pizza. Even the day after Thanksgiving. We always like to order the largest sized pie and bring the leftovers home. Mike and Luke both just love cold pizza for breakfast. Silly boys.

So, this morning I had pizza for breakfast, and now I am enjoying the turkey day leftovers for lunch: pumpkin pie and coffee. We haven’t even touched the leftover turkey yet.

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Thankfully the house wasn’t destroyed from the festivities, so it didn’t take much to clean up. Dishes are done, extra table and chairs packed away, floor mopped. Mike even got his voice back!

I have to say I was quite amazed and pleased to see so many people giving thanks on Facebook this year. And not just any thanks, but thanks for the simple, genuine things like family and friends and God’s blessings. There was a bit of a trend of hard times for many of my friends and family this past year. Many of us were struck with extreme challenges like major illness and even death, some happening on this very week of Thanksgiving. I honestly believe the devil was trying extra hard this year to bring people down, but if my personal Facebook feed is any indication, it didn’t work. People are still seeing the good in life, and thanking God for it. I pray that continues, and that we are all able to see God’s hand at work in our lives.

All in all, it was a pretty perfect holiday. I am still learning to cope with change and enjoy every moment of life I am given. I pray the same for whoever is reading these words. Now… on to Christmas!!

Family, Food, Holidays

Thanksgiving 2014

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What a success! I was so nervous about today, but all my fears were for naught. Of course, there were moments and situations that on normal days would have fried my nerves and sent me into a tailspin, but today was certainly not your normal day.

My son woke me up at 6:30 (he’s a morning person) so I could prepare the turkey. Only I had trouble from the start. The turkey still had some thawing to do, and I was unable to pry that stupid plastic thing off the legs. I really didn’t want to wake my husband, who had come home from work early yesterday with a horrendous case of laryngitis. At least that’s my guess anyway, since he says he feels fine and his throat doesn’t hurt. So he didn’t mind, because he clearly understands the importance of The Turkey. All was well and it finished thawing, and I was able to successfully season and butter the bird before placing it in the oven.

When the kids and I settled down to eat breakfast, my son asked us each what we were thankful for. Such a charmer, that boy. I usually joke that he’s going to grow up to be an attorney, with all his negotiation tactics, but today I could see him growing up to be a pastor. We each agreed that we are most thankful for each other, but he added that he is thankful for his school. 1-because his aunt is the principal and 2-because he’s learning Chinese. It was great breakfast table conversation, to be sure.

I didn’t have a lot to do after breakfast as I had been making preparations along the way, but there were a few tasks left to do and the kids both a tremendous help. Just as I had reached a stopping point and was ready to take a short nap, there was a knock at the door.Our first guest had arrived – mother-in-law! And thank goodness she was here because I could not have put the rest of the meal together without her help. Having hubby quarantined to the basement sort of left me in the lurch, but he didn’t want to risk infecting the grandparents, who arrived shortly after.

We had wonderful conversation, ate delicious food, and just really enjoyed each other’s company. We did not try on hats, so that part of my dream did not come true, but it was memorable nonetheless. I even got a short nap before dessert, and both were heavenly. Oh, and the bonus was that mother-in-law asked me where my Dutch oven was, because we needed a giant pot for the potatoes. What Dutch oven? I asked. “Well, the one I gave you at Christmas last year, of course.” I had zero recollection of this gift, until she went downstairs to ask my husband about it, and he quickly retrieved it from storage. Brand new, still in the box, a beautiful bright red. Gorgeous. And almost instantly I remembered. How could I have forgotten? Well, we talked about me losing my mind last year, remember?

Oh boy, it’s just so good to be back, you know? I am learning to roll with changes and slowly adjust, but it is not lost on me how much I have been given. How much WE have been given. Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

**I have to make a correction here: My husband tells me we have had that Dutch oven for years, and that he even used it when he was staying home with our kids. He just keeps it downstairs because there is no room for it in the kitchen. This information is really just blowing my mind right now. I don’t even know what to say. Speechless, I am. Perhaps we can chalk it up to plain old aging? Egads.

Family, Food, Holidays, Thankfulness Challenge

Thankfulness challenge #ohforgetitivelostcount

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So yeah. I was up north-ish with the children for the weekend, staying with my dad and stepmom. They have no internet (by choice… gah!) so I didn’t bring my laptop and thus did no writing. We played lots of games. I got crushed with a two day long game of Monopoly, played some word games (Bananagrams) and played in the snow (built a snowman, rode on some sleds). We had a great time but it is nice to be back home and back to our routine. Well, the routine will be short-lived since the kids only have school today and tomorrow, and then are home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Speaking of Thanksgiving… this is why I had been posting daily. I need to share something I’m thankful for today but all my ideas are ones I have already shared. It sounds superficial, but I’m thankful for internet service, and the opportunity and freedom to write and share bits and pieces of myself with all of you.

I’ll stop there before I go on to share how nervous I am about this huge meal we will be serving on Thursday and all the preparations that need to happen. Is there a shortcut for peeling potatoes? I will gladly clean the house from top to bottom, and wake early in the morning to babysit the bird, but I think the potatoes are task I’m dreading the most. And, some would argue, the most important. Oh, and the gravy. I should put some pre-made stuff on the shopping list just in case. One of these days I will learn to make it right. Because homemade is the best. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to take the shortcut.

Oops. I did it, didn’t I? Went on about how nervous I am. It’s okay, it will be fine. I have help. It will be just fine. And, thanks to Ema there will be pumpkin pie. ‘Nuff said.

Food

Problems, sort of

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I was really looking forward to having leftover homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch, but when I got back from dropping the kids at the bus stop, I couldn’t keep myself from crawling right back into bed. So I woke up after 11 am, made some coffee, and reheated the leftover pancakes and sausage I had also been trying to finish off. So I guess the plan for this afternoon is to wait until I get hungry again so I can enjoy more leftovers. Okay, I know that’s not really much of a plan. Just telling you what’s gonna happen, that’s all.

And in case you wondered…

4 Ingredient Chicken Noodle Soup

Domestic Engineer, Food, Motherhood

Winner winner chicken dinner

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It’s about time I brought this up. I wanted to a few days ago, but it just wasn’t enough. But today’s lunch of leftover pot roast and potatoes with yummy gravy, all made into an open-faced sammich of love… well, that just put me over the edge. In fact, I’m a little distracted from writing this, because I’m still focused on devouring it.

Here’s the deal: I am not a great cook. Not terrible, just not great. I can follow a recipe, sort of, and I can pull off a lot of simple dishes. And to match that, I don’t enjoy it.

However, I like to eat good food. Also, food is kind of a necessary thing, and my family looks to me to make sure we have it. If they had it their way, they would eat junk and processed foods all day. But I am not okay with that plan, as my children are still growing, my husband is diabetic, and I have M.S. So healthy eating, kind of a big deal to me.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, good food. So the pot roast and potatoes are super delicious. It earned two thumbs up, one from me and one from my husband. I made pancakes and sausage the day before, and the pancakes earned some very enthusiastic thumbs up from everyone. Definitely a winner. Before that, it was penne pasta with marinara sauce and Italian sausage. This one earned thumbs up from the boys, and some thumbs to-the-side from the girls (we are big on thumbs, it’s a very effective rating system). The biggest surprise to me was the parmesan crusted chicken. Super easy, only FOUR ingredients. If I can count the ingredients on my hand, it passes, and four is great because it leaves one digit for rating. And I’ll tell you, the chicken earned thumbs up from all four of us, to my pleasant surprise. In fact, my husband went back for seconds. Of chicken. Which is amazing because he’s always had weird issues with chicken. Something traumatic when he was kid, but I don’t remember the details. Not that you would want to know. But I digress.

I take my weekly meal planning very seriously, and I strive to find healthy meals that the picky eaters will eat. If they eat it, it passes, but if they love it, that’s a real winner in my book. And so I made one. A book. And I’m putting the winners in it. It’s actually a binder, but let’s not be nit-picky. We shall call it The Dinner Winner Book.

Do you have a favorite meal that’s super easy and sorta healthy and picky-eater-approved? Let me know by leaving a comment here on the blog. Maybe I’ll comment too, with links to the winners in my book, just as soon as I finish eating my yummy sammich.

Food, Housekeeping, Motherhood

Slacker

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I’ve been kind of a slacker about writing, both here and in my private journal. It’s because of this darn trilogy. I just can’t seem to put it down! However, I think I’m keeping the necessities taken care of, showering, feeding the kids, morning devotions, etc.

The challenge I’ve recently taken on is that of NOT internalizing the “chaos” around me. It’s nearly impossible to keep a house neat and tidy while young children are present, so I need to be okay with that, and just relax already. It’s not like our house is up for sale, so who are we trying to impress? No one. We are healthy, happy, and we are together. That’s what matters and that’s how I can let it go.

With that said, there is one aspect of this new role at home I take very seriously. FOOD. I love food. Food is delicious, and food is fuel. I believe that you can enjoy eating healthy foods, and I strive to teach that to my kids as well. I want them to grow up with healthy eating habits. It will save them in the long run on medical expenses and counseling fees. So, each week I decide on a set of meals, and then make a grocery list. In the past I’ve had a friend take me to the store to help me with the shopping. That’s been nice, but that may prove more difficult having the kids with me during the summer. Mondays will be my kid-free day, so maybe I can find a friend who could take me on Mondays. That would be a great way to start the week, wouldn’t it?

What do you think? Do you struggle with feeling chaos at home? Do you have a book you can’t put down? Do you like to go grocery shopping? Are you seizing the day today?!