Sunday, November 10, 2013

Lost weeks and other randomness

So a bunch of stuff happened. My son was in the hospital for a week and is ok now but I really don't want to talk about it. We had friends step in and feed us grandly with the following, all well received, and documented here for when I need ideas:

-French toast casserole
-sausage-cabbage-potato dish
-quiche and muffins
-cupcakes
-pumpkin squares
-pulled barbecue chicken with rolls, cider and cookies
-lasagne
-tacos
-chicken cutlets, sweet and regular potatoes roasted with rosemary, and cucumber salad

My gratitude is immense.

Since my son missed Halloween, my street was amazing and held Trick or Treat: Take 2, and all the kids dressed up, some trick-or-treated again, others greeted at the door, and then all came to our house for cider and cookies and apples with caramel dip. I used this cider recipe for the crockpot and will use again. I am also going to try making my own cider from this recipe and will let you know how it goes. I have so many apples right now, we are looking for ways to use them.

Speaking of the crockpot...Oh, I was sad about the mongolian beef the other week. It was a dream come true to just grab the bag from the freezer, dump it in the crockpot in the morning, and have the house smell great when I got home from work. But...it ended there. The meat was that weird crockpot texture and it was not as good as I hoped. My husband and I ate it, our older son gamely tried some, and we won't be making that again. Sigh.

Monday: out to dinner. Fundraiser. Woohoo!

Tuesday: tacos

Wednesday: spaghetti (young master picky was annoyed last week because "lasagna doesn't count")

Thursday: we are up to our ears in cider as well, so trying this cider pork roast in the crockpot. There are still potatoes all over my counter so I will use those with this as well.

Friday: leftovers, I hope.

Another thing for this weekend: my sons were skeeved when they figured out that petroleum jelly was made of--yep, petroleum. So I am hoping to try this homemade non-petroleum jelly with them with an old saucepan since I am afraid the beeswax will ruin it. Since I don't keep super-cute little glass jars around, I'm not sure what I'll use but I'm sure I will find something.

I hope you are having a less disjointed fall wherever you are. I am finding myself glancing to the holiday season and thinking "yeah whatever." I need to pull it together since I have young kids but I'm just a little withdrawn after a tough October.

On a brighter note: I actually won a drawing from my favorite recipe site ever, Dinner: A Love Story! I cannot quite believe it since over 600 people entered but fate smiled and the Thanksgiving book is coming my way. I am very thankful for it and hoping it kick-starts our holiday season.

Wishing you a good week with happy surprises!

1 comment:

Mom24 said...

I'm so sorry! Hurrah for good friends and great neighbors. That's really wonderful and warmed my heart that they took such great care of you. Hope your boy's doing well.