Menu Planning Monday

It's already Monday again! We're getting ready for hosting our first Thanksgiving/major meal for the in-laws! It's exciting and crazy all at the same time. Really, I used to be a terrible cook. Horrible, really.

Here's Our Plan for the Week (with all meals for Thursday-Saturday for our weekend guests):
Monday:
Grilled Cheese - R. works late this week, so it's just me!

Tuesday:
Spaghetti - Just me, again

Wednesday:
Taco Night for both of us!

Thursday:
Breakfast - Pumpkin Pie French Toast*
Lunch - Deli Sandwiches
Dinner - Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Steamed Carrots, Cinnamon Jello, Crescent Rolls, Pies (which my mother-in-law is so graciously bringing from 3 states away!)

Friday:
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs with Ham, Cheese, and Potatoes mixed in (for those not shopping!)
Lunch - Turkey Sandwiches
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff with Peas

Saturday:
Breakfast - Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch - Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Dinner - Crock Pot French Dip with Fries and Veggies



Pumpkin Pie French Toast Casserole
I'm not sure where I originally found this, but I've seen a few versions and have adapted it to what is easiest/we like best

Ingredients:
French Bread (can be whatever you have on hand) cubed
1 small can of pumpkin pie filling (the premade stuff with all of the spices added), 12 ounce I believe
6 eggs
2 cups of milk (give or take)

Directions:

The night before:

1. Grease a 13x9 glass pan
2. Place bread into dish
3. Wisk eggs
4. Add pumpkin pie filling and milk to eggs, mix well
5. Pour egg mixture over bread
6. Refrigerate overnight

The next morning:

1. Place precooked casserole in over
2. Turn oven on to 350 degrees
3. Cook for 1 hour, or until set in the center
   
4. Serve with syrup, if desired
   

TGIF

This week feels as if it took forever! On Tuesday I was completely drained from work (I'm one of those 'all or nothing' types, and this week took my all) and thought, "Thank the Lord tomorrow is the last day this week."

This weekend will be crazy getting ready for the big in-laws visit for Thanksgiving. But, tonight will be one of our perfect Friday nights: Pizza, DVRed Glee and Big Bang Theory, and catching up on the week.

Happy Friday!

Running

Running has never been fun for me. I was a swimmer growing up. Cross training was not my idea of fun. In fact, I usually found a meeting to attend on those days {read: skip practice}. The only thing worse than running was showing up to practice late without a good reason and doing push ups until your arms fell off.

So when I decided to get back in shape, running was not even close to being on my radar. I wanted to do anything but run. Due to living in a small town without a pool, I was all but forced to try hitting the pavement.

Starting was rough. I tried a couch to 5k program. It was great for starters, bu a little daunting for the long-term. Instead I started to do my own program. I walk to the end of our street, turn the corner, and begin to run. I've been going for about 2 miles, twice a week. Not enough, I know. It will come eventually. For now, I make short term goals to get me through the runs. If I can make it 5 more houses. No, to the end of this street. Around the bend, etc. It works for now.

A long term goal has been to participate in a 5k. I need to pick up the training if I want to get there by the spring (the deadline I gave myself). I use a Nike+ on my iPod to track times/runs. Still working on how to upload everything onto the computer to track runs.

Splurge much?

R and I made a major purchase last weekend. We're very conservative with our money. Really. We track everything that we spend and try to save as much as possible (I want to be able to retire someday!). So, buying a new tv when our old one still works is uncharacteristic of us. We're more of the 'use it until you absolutely need a new one' type.

We've debated it for awhile now and keep extending when we'll buy it. When I graduated from grad school, no when I start working and we have a second paycheck, no when we move, when we buy a house..... You get the idea.

The research has been done. We knew what we wanted, just never bit the bullet to actually buy it. Let's just say we love it and are wondering why we did not do this earlier. It was great to actually see the scores of the Steelers' Game last night, even if it was a terrible game.

Menu Planning Monday

Another part of my organization plan is to be better prepared for the week's meals. We've been food shopping quite a bit. And while we have scored some major deals, we are quickly running out of storage space in our pantry (that's a whole different post!).

Without further adieu, here are this week's picks:

Monday: Rachael Ray's Thick Chicken Noodle Soup (below)

Tuesday: Spaghetti

Wednesday: Black Bean Enchiladas

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

Weekend: Free-for-all depending on what we feel like (we usually plan on Friday night over pizza :) )

We'll also be prepping everything for Thanksgiving next weekend, too. It will be our first time hosting a major holiday. Any tips on how to execute everything?!

Thick Chicken Noodle Soup

From RachaelRay.com

Ingredients

• 1 pound wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 tablespoon (about a palmful) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, cut into small dice
• 2 to 3 ribs celery from the heart, cut into small dice
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into small dice
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas

Preparation:

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain thoroughly, return it to the pot and toss with 1 tablespoon butter and parsley. Set to the side.

While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add chicken to the pan, season with salt and pepper and lightly brown. Remove chicken from the pan and add onion, celery, carrot, parsnips and bay leaf. Cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Scoot all the veggies to one side to create some space on the bottom of the pan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and stir in flour. Cook about 1 minute then stir in Dijon mustard and chicken broth and bring up to a bubble. Add in sage, peas and toss the browned chicken back in. Cook until chicken is cooked through and broth is thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

Monday, Monday

Every week I start out with the Monday Blues. You know, the can't get motivated, work piled up from last week, I mean the weekend. It's tough to get going after a weekend. So, to combat this feeling I've been organizing on Sundays. Nothing is better than feeling prepared for the week ahead.

This week I'm getting my clothes ready to go for the week. Usually I do not pick out anything until I'm getting ready in the morning. Thus, my closet is usually a disaster. Some people like to pick clothes out the night before. I'm too unorganized for this. I need to plan in advance so that I can take the evenings off (or be lazy, whichever you prefer). I'm even putting all of my clothes for the week on the other side of the closet with pants and shirts together.

The week may need small changes, but the basics are planned. It should also help to cut on the time that I spend throwing clothes so I can sleep in later (every minute counts, right?).

Teaching Moments

While at work yesterday I was doing screenings as usual. My intern and I got a group of second graders that are in need of academic help. Normal, right? Not so much. One girl said, "I really just want a pointer. It's a dollar, and my mom says that we do not have an extra dollar. She said Santa can't even afford one."

Really?!

Keep in mind that this girl was wearing clothes that clearly have not been washed in I'm too scared to think of how long. She said that Santa isn't even coming this year.

Another girl said, "I really wish that my parents would stop fighting. They woke me and my sister up last night because they were fighting. Not my brother, he slept through it."

Really?!

This child experiences this on a daily basis and is expected to show up at school to learn everyday. If she is saying this to me in a 2 minute conversation, I can only imagine what else is happening at home that she does not say.

This child deserves the best. Every child does. How is she expected to show up and focus enough to learn what she needs to know without a good night of sleep, support to get homework finished (it's surprising how many parents do not read to their children, how many do not have the skills to do so). This child will be expected to participate in high-stakes testing next year. How is she going to get to where she needs to be before then?

Keep in mind this are two children out of a school. These are not isolated incidents. How is our country going to move forward if we give support to the children without helping the parents?

Everyday that I go to work something happens that makes me so very thankful that I grew up with two parents that loved one another, supported their children, and are still involved in all of our lives. As much as I hated doing homework, I'm glad that someone took the time to ensure that I was learning. My career thus far has taught me that many children do no have this support.

Trees

We fell in love with our house before we even set foot in it. Really. We were looking at local listing online to send to the realtor one night. R saw our house and insisted that it be put on the list.

It's the perfect house; at least we think it is. The backyard even came with a full fence for our dog. We have some updates, but no major renovations at the moment. Perfect for our busy schedules.

Well, besides the fence and a concrete slab our backyard was empty until recently. My parents bought us a couple of trees for the back yard.

Unsure of what we wanted, we decided to go with a dogwood (to the left) that is planted near the kitchen window. Our hope is that when it grows we will be able to see the spring flowers while doing the dishes and cooking.

We also chose a maple tree (below) to help shade the house during the scorching summer sun that we get here in college town. The guy at the nursery said that it should grow fast. We hope so because it looks puny in the middle of the yard.

R planted both trees two weekends ago and they seem to be doing alright. We have gotten a lot of rain in addition to watering a few times per week. I hope they last since our neighborhood used to be farm land and the soil is striped of nutrients.

This is just phase 1 of the outdoor space that we have planned. Stay tuned for more changes this spring.

Another Trip Around the Sun

Today is my birthday. I'm another year older, but am none the wiser. Many goals have been accomplished and many changes have taken place. We moved, bought a house, I left a job that I absolutely loved for one that is taking me a long time to get adjusted to. I have more memories from this past year than I can count. Most of which are wonderful. I have nothing to complain about, really.

Although this year is more difficult for me. I'm feeling more and more like an adult, and less like a college student. I'm closer to 30. And while I have many accomplishments that I am proud of I can't help but think that my life is not where I thought it would be at this point.

I remember telling my college roommate during our sophomore year (age 19-20) that I would be in my current career, working in the schools, married to R, and have at least one child within the next five years.

Yeah, that was two years ago. While I have completed 3/4 of the mental checklist, not finishing everything within 7 years has hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not sure why this year. Maybe it's because we're finally settled in one place. Maybe it's due to what feels like everyone around me being pregnant.

We're not there yet. I know it. We are not at the point on so many levels, and are enjoying our lot in life. We've started to make some friends in our new town. I'm beginning to feel more at ease with my current job; but, continue to keep my eyes open for something that might suit me better.

Children will happen when the time is right. My mom told me that I put too much pressure on myself. Maybe she is right. I need to slow down and enjoy this time that I have with my husband.