MPM-Thanksgiving, Already? Really?

Yah, really. We are very excited here but it is a bit strange. It seems really early this year, but it could also be my almost complete lack of obsessing about the holidays. I'm having trouble getting myself psyched up for it but I'm hoping that changes soon. It had better!

This week:

Monday: Almost done eating down the freezer! Of course I keep filling it back up again but mostly with stuff that will be leaving shortly, like bread (I buy my favorite one in bulk at BJs and freeze until ready to use), or Aid for Friends meals. But I digress. Last Dinner A'Fare meal (some beef on skewers variant), roasted brussels sprouts, rice.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday, naturally.

Wednesday: Pre-holiday fast! Kidding. Leftovers & freezer meal--I have some buffalo chicken meatballs from Trader Joe's for the kids, and whatever my husband and I can scrounge up.

Thursday: Merry Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you find lots to be thankful for. I'm thankful to be bringing carrot mousse, beer, and pies someone else will have made. Though I will probably also make the cranberry blondies and bring the little cream puffs to get them out of the freezer too.

Friday: The one drawback to not hosting: no leftovers. It's ok. I'll move on. My husband is actually off this day this year, which is an awesome change. We'll figure out something, probably the Trader Joe's stuff in the freezer.

Or...did I mention it's my husband's birthday? One of these days, we'll be going out. I am psyched for date night but also steeling myself for the expense. I thought one of our bills was on automatic pay but surprise, it wasn't--which means it has gone unpaid for two months and is now a whopper.

Last week, I did finally make the crockpot chicken--it smelled so good while it cooked but it still had the dry-yet-tender thing that crockpot chicken tends to get. It was fine, people ate it, but it wasn't a huge winner.

One other roundabout kitchen note: our fish died. I don't think I've written about him much here, if at all; he was a carnival prize won several years ago by one of the cousins, and he and another fish came home with us from the mountains. The other one died shortly after arriving at home but this fish just kept on going. He was with us for more than five years and grew to about ten times his original size. I noticed a tumor on his lip a few weeks ago but googled the wrong keywords until it was too late to treat him. I was sadder than I thought he would be, though (back to my kitchen)--it is nice to regain so much counter space. I just wish it happened some other way.

Wishing you all good things this Thanksgiving and many blessings to count. For more inspiring meals, check I'm an Organizing Junkie! and see what's going on there. See you on the other side of the Christmas shopping season!

MPM-The Lost Month Continues

Hello from Soccerville! While the kids' (and husband's!) season is over, the playoffs are rocking around here. Hurricane Sandy moved the Big East soccer championships to our local venue, so we spent a fun day cheering on Notre Dame to victory there. And in D-3 action, another local team is romping through their playoffs as well, so we've been very soccer social lately.

This week, school conferences start. I always enjoy the extra time with the boys but wow, on the heels of the three days off for the hurricane, plus election day, it's a bit of a lost month. And now to add to the lost school time: Younger Son had a mishap with a nerf gun and has a huge chip to his front tooth. Off to the dentist we go...

Monday: crockpot beef stroganoff, egg noodles, broccoli

Tuesday: taco Tuesday--back in the swing.

Wednesday: trying the whole chicken in the crockpot recipe. I hope. Roasted potatoes, salad, peas.

Thursday: half days begin! Hoping for leftovers. If not, there are just a few things still in the freezer we can make.

Friday: Unclear. We'll see how the week goes. I would love to go out but we've had other splurges this week so I should probably just get my act together and be here.

One new recipe: I made lamb chops (unusual for us) from this recipe and it was great. Older son did not enjoy but younger one did, and Dad most certainly did.

The freezer is almost clear, just in time to fill it for the holidays. My husband didn't totally believe me when I said that Thanksgiving was next week, but it's true! And the truncated school weeks continue...

Here's wishing you a great week of dinners and dental health. Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie! for more great menu plans!

MPM--Oh Sandy Baby

Sandy, Sandy, Sandy. Why'd'ja gotta be so harrrrd on my friends and places I love? We have so many friends in NY and the Jersey shore, it was very difficult to see what happened to places that brought us so much joy.

But, unlike Irene, who left us without electricity for several days last year, Sandy was pretty kind to us and gave us a one-hour outage. Big shout-out to Com Ed from Chicago, who worked their butts off out here to get us all back online quickly. (I tried to leave them a message on the website, but no go. So I'll say it here: those guys rocked. I hope they all got home safe and sound with lots of good overtime to their families because they kept our families safe and cared for and I am totally grateful to them for it.)

But I loved having two--no, wait, three--days off with the boys. (While we were at the party--see below--the phones started buzzing that there was one more day off--Halloween. These Halloweens are getting very memorable...) We finally caught up to The Lorax movie, I heard from old friends who were anxious (rightfully) looking at the weather maps, we got the basement together for our new heater (and just in time)...overall, I am crazy-grateful, and doing and donating what I can to make it better for those who were affected so much more than we were.

This, hopefully natural disaster free, week:

Monday: crock pot pork roast sandwiches, salad, roasted cauliflower

Tuesday: out! Lego Build, baby.

Wednesday: potato chip chicken from the freezer (almost done the cleanout, woo!), broccoli, salad

Thursday: taco Thursday. I'm almost liking this better than Taco Tuesday.

Friday: Unclear. Home football games are over, which is a good thing, so maybe back to pizza. If not, I do have one fish dish left from Dinner A'fare, and maybe we'll do that.

So for Sandy, I did Jan's Italian Beef sandwiches (see sidebar) though with a much smaller roast--I liked it better that way, actually, and will try to remember that.

The other thing that came out of Sandy: an impromptu surprise party for a friend, to celebrate her and also to get our crazed kids out of the house the night before Halloween. They needed cakes, so I made cakes: my favorite chocolate chip bundt, and a new one for us, Catherine Newman's Buttermilk Cake. The buttermilk cake made me feel like a bad mother because my kids kept getting in the way of my fantasy good-mom-baking-with-her-kids routine, by wandering in and out or otherwise complicating things. I will say, I didn't lose my sh*t until it was the third time I had to re-do something, and the boys got it and moved out of my way. (The egg separating? Let's just say it was a good thing that eggs were 18 for $1.88. We had about 6 left by the end of the afternoon. Then I didn't read and used self-rising flour for some of the flour mixture...but that should have been a sign to me because my usually-very-reliable reader swore up and down that it was 1/2 tsp of baking powder and baking soda...when it was 1 and 1/2. Stuff like that.) So in the end, the cake went in the oven with 2 sticks of butter, instead of one and a half, and 1/3 of the baking powder and soda that was supposed to be there. But it came out delicious anyway, almost like caramel, and then I went for broke in the Catherine Newman department and put her best-ever cream cheese frosting on top. I might add a little less cream next time, because I had trouble getting it to set in any way, shape, or form. But it was tasty and made me feel like a good friend--I baked a cake! From scratch! Alas, the whole "asking the kids to leave the kitchen" is not very Catherine Newman of me, so the victory was hollow. But I tried, and I didn't yell, and we did spend a lot of time together, and they learned a lot about careful reading of recipes and how to separate and egg and what it means to cream butter. So it's a partial win. And the cake was really, really good.

If you are reading this, that means you have electricity and hopefully heat and all good things. Our little corner of the world is doing ok Sandy-wise but we have had some other bleak happenings (bleakest: our district lost a first grader this weekend) so I'm going to be Yet Another Person in the parade of people saying: look out for each other. Be kind with each other. And most of all, be kind with yourself. I'm not proud I started losing it over eggs and flour. I am proud that I didn't yell...that's progress. So I'm hanging on to that and moving along. Hug your kids tight, if you have 'em. Donate to a relief agency. Enjoy those leaves as they turn. And have a great week. Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie! to see other ideas for your dinners this week.

MPM--Rock Me Like a Hurricane

Well, so here we are with an unexpected four day weekend. The crock pot is going and I'm about to brown the taco meat, figuring even with minimal refrigeration we can use those. They just cancelled school for the kids until Wednesday (Halloween! wooo!) so this is a bit of a wasted week educationally. Here's hoping we keep our electricity for a while though!

Meanwhile, I'm feeling very clever for having started eating down the freezer. With some more flatbreads out and some smoothies tonight, we are really close to empty, which is awesome if we lose power.

Monday: Jan's Italian Beef sandwiches, vegetables (though this recipe looks awesome for the next one)

Tuesday: if God is good, Taco Tuesday.

Wednesday: Depends on whether we have electricity and gas. Barbeque chip chicken from the freezer, hopefully, plus veggies. (My word, is my CSA done? I think it is. I'll have to shop again!)

Thursday: Wow, it's hard to plan without knowing whether we're camping or not. (By camping, of course, I mean "living well in our own home but without power." We'll vamp.

Friday: Oh, this I'm excited about. We're mentoring a student in our local high school and he asked us to accompany him on the field for Senior Recognition Night at the last football game. So we'll have dinner over at the middle school and kvell a bit about his senior season.

Have a good week, all. Stay safe. Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for other, less distracted ideas!

MPM--That Fast Forward Season Begins

I have been dragging my feet putting up the Halloween decorations. We always wait until after the Columbus Day birthday of the one boy, but we're well beyond that now and we took this gorgeous Sunday to deck out the house. But I felt very petulant about taking down the kindergarten apple tree projects to make way for pumpkins, but as I went through the attic, I realized why: This is it. For all my Christmas countdowns, this is the week where the holiday frenetic time begins.

That's not totally fair to fall; it is just really getting started here, as I only see red leaves out one window and all green and gold elsewhere. But sweeping the steps is a daily occurrence now, and pulling out those pumpkins that share space with the turkeys who are the harbingers of Christmas...that just made me take a deep breath and get serious. It's fun, the orange and black; and I love the crunch of the leaves and the long sleeved shirts and the snuggling under the blankets. But things are definitely moving right along, and I have to start moving with them.

On a fun fall note, the younger boy's football season ended this week and on the great note of him scoring a touchdown. We were thrilled for him--what a way to end the season. Now we're down to "just" soccer for the next few weeks before the brief holiday respite from soccer.

So, this week, back to eating down the freezer. And back to 70 degree temps, woohoo! It's the best, but not inspirational for some of the meals I'd like to be making. Too bad. We'll move on.

Monday: chicken with leeks from my freezer, mixed grains from TJ's.

Tuesday: Totally forgot the chimichangas last week, so tacos and chimichangas.

Wednesday: Hoping to make the whole crockpot chicken. Will let you know how that works out. Plus CSA veggies and we're good to go.

Thursday: I'm working this night so probably pesto quinoa for the boys and pesto noodles and leftovers for the dad

Friday: Football. Woo!

So last week's two hits were the pork with cider cream gravy (of course--that stuff is amazing, even with the crummy cider my store switched to) and the mixed grains with vegetables from Trader Joe's. My older son loved it and ate about half the bag. We made it the same way the store did, with coconut oil. It really is good, and since young Mr. Picky won't eat any of it, we could make do.

Have a great week, all, with happy meals and good fall nights to you! Try I'm an Organizing Junkie! for more meal plans!

PS--I lost a subscriber this week. I can't figure out who it was because I do this for fun more than profit (ha ha, profit), and having just purged my blog list myself, I totally get it and don't take it personally, but for those of you still here: Thanks. It's fun writing for you all.

MPM--So Perhaps I Should Learn from my Own Blog

So one of the reasons I keep this blog is so I can refer to the past and learn things. I had a big at-home roasting day on Monday (beets! potatoes!) and wanted to take care of the delicata squash I had hanging around while the stove was hot. So I googled it on my own blog to see what recipes I liked. And as it turned out, last year in the first week in October--my freezer frosted itself open and I had an angsty moment on the blog about whether we should ditch the freezer or not. This year--the answer should be Yeah.

All that, but I did not find a delicata squash recipe. So I made this one. It was ok, but not great. And the boys, of course, would not touch it. I liked it ok dipped in Trader Joe's sweet chili sauce that I usually keep around for sweet potato fries but I think I will pass the delicata squash to my CSA partner in the future (or get her recipe). I liked it braised (can you braise a vegetable? is that a dumb question? am I allowed to keep a food blog and not know the answer to that question?) or steamed, I guess, but my usual roast-it-you'll-love-it standby prep did not work. Sigh. I think I over-roasted and under-salted (for me). Hopefully it was nutritionally good for me at least. See below for more of the fall cookfest.

The other nice thing was that it reminded me of other recipes we loved, so this week, in addition to working down the freezer (hopefully for the last time for this freezer):

Sunday: eat down the freezer, fire up the grill: finishing the "should be grilled" meals from Dinner A'Fare, plus beets and squash from last week.

Monday: Pork roast with cider-cream gravy, potatoes, caramelized onion and fennel

Tuesday: the blessing that is Taco Tuesday returns. This week, we'll be joined by Beef Chimichangas from the awesome freezer meal exchange my Mothers & More group did.

Wednesday: from the freezer: potato chip chicken (Dinner A'Fare), sweet potato fries (from Trader Joe's), something from the CSA box.

Thursday: Last football practice! I'm a little sad, but that's a good thing--it beats the "OH THANK GOODNESS" reaction. For dinner: from the freezer, tilapia from Dinner A'Fare, mixed grains and veggies from Trader Joe's, and CSA stuff.

Friday: Spaghetti night for the boys, with stuffed shells from the freezer meal trade for the grownups. (And hey, the kids are welcome to join but I don't see it happening.)

So last Monday was Columbus Day (or Thanksgiving, for my Canadian readers) and my office gives us a choice of Columbus Day or Veterans' Day off. I was going for Veterans' Day because I had so much work to do. But then my voicemail shut down and my email locked me out so I had a day with some paperwork but without the cyber connections? It was closer to a vacation day. So I cooked. I had a fridge full of veggies, a freezer ready to burst...pumpkin muffins? Check. Roasted 20+ beets and delicata squash? Check. Premade taco Tuesday meat? Check. I had Pandora on the Today's Hits station (I was still on a dance high from my cousin's awesome wedding we went to over the weekend) and danced around my kitchen and made all kinds of stuff. I also made the pork chops with kale. It was easy but it wasn't quick--I think I just need to accept that my idea of quick and someone-who-is-actually-accomplished-in-the-kitchen's idea of quick are two different things. This really grew on me. I think I have a serious mental block against kale, despite (because of?) my Irish heritage) and I found myself scoffing at the description of the "silky" kale. But while I was ready to write this off and go back to kale chips after the first night, I found myself thinking about this the next day and couldn't wait to have the kale and tomato-y sauce again. The pork was unremarkable, but I did enjoy it with the kale and sauce.

That cooking day also afforded me the chance to finally make the zero point soup, but really, that was silly since it makes a ton and (wait for it) it has to go in the freezer. Sigh. Aid for Friends did all right by me this week. In addition to the completely unhealthy franks-and-beans, they got lots of organic squash and beets. Welcome to Schizo Kitchen.

In the continuing effort to eat the freezer empty, I used the final pork chops for this recipe with the apples and onions hanging around the house. It was fantastic. I was fretting because my onions weren't as caramelized as the ones in the picture, but they were still delicious, at least for the grownups.  The kids liked the pork but not necessarily the onions and apples. Whatever. I'll take it. We all enjoyed. And I liked getting some new things in the rotation.

So the freezer emptying is moving along just fine. We are smoothie-ing up a storm to use the frozen veggies, or at least get them to a point where they will fit in the upstairs (smaller) freezer. Also? Lots of nuts. The ice cream is gone now, and the popsicles are surprisingly popular given the winter-is-on-its-way weather. I'm working on staying in the habit of checking the freezer first so hopefully that will be done by Christmas season. Last week I took one son to see Finding Nemo in 3D and now I keep quoting Dory to myself: just keep swimming. That's all I can do.

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie! for more festive fall recipes!

MPM--Just a Little Weather

Living in the moment. We have a little routine going, the kids are happy and settled, my job is demanding but terrific, and things are going smoothly.

That's not to say that there aren't flies in the ointment (eww, I don't know why I let that terminology anywhere near a meal plan), but when the biggest problem I have is that the freezer is opening itself due to needing defrosting--I'm leading a really nice life.

That said...I think we're going to empty the freezer(s) and eliminate the extra. It's upright and not frost free and I think we're done with the experiment. Now that we don't need as much space for bulky baby-toddler gear in the garage, I think we're going to get a chest freezer at some point when the budget supports.

But as you might imagine-that freezer clearing impacts the plan for the week. And it's all in a good way, when I only have to get perishables for the weekly shopping. Bonus!

Sunday extra: in an effort to use all the veggies rattling around the fridge, we're trying the Dinner: A Love Story pork chops with kale. Wish me luck. With it, roasted beets and Smitten Kitchen's napa cabbage with buttermilk dressing salad. (I love the CSA on rainy Sundays when I have time to cook.)

Monday: whole crockpot chicken, roasted potatoes, beets (same recipe as last week--due to the freezer melt I didn't make it then, since some chicken breasts defrosted and I had to use them right away. I did the crockpot chicken-in-salsa, which honestly is the single best recipe I have in bang-for-the-buck--put meat in pot, pour jarred salsa over it, set on low 8 hours, walk away.)

Tuesday: Yay Taco Tuesday.

Wednesday: Hawaiian party at the library! I want to try this recipe for Hawaiian chicken (if the sauce has no red dye in it); otherwise, I'll try this one. Rice will work, and something from the CSA on the side. Aloha!

Thursday: with the pork chops from the freezer: Dinner: A Love Story's pork chops tonight (also because I forgot I bought apples and bought apples, and got them in the CSA).

Friday: How is it possible to have a 9 year old? (Those of you with teens, feel free to laugh.) He wants to celebrate with friends at the football game that night. Sounds fun to me.

We'll be celebrating in other ways in the upcoming weeks and look forward to that too. Wishing you a great week and yummy dinners with your family! Check I'm an Organizing Junkie! for the best recipe collection on the web.