Monday, December 22, 2008

Menu Plan Monday

Ummm...seriously?? It is Monday again?? No way! I feel like I just posted a menu plan Monday and here it is again. This season feels like it is flying by.

An update on the girlies:
We took them back to the dr (there is now a 3 pound difference in their weights (!)

Abby had a nasty virus. She just felt miserable. She is not one who needs to be held, but oh she needed us all day on Thursday and most of the day Friday just to hold her and cuddle her. She is better now and hopefully will stay that way for awhile.

Olivia is now on her third antibiotic, fourth if you count the shot. And I don't really think she is getting better. She is super fussy all day long. It reminds me of when she was teething or had colic so I know she is not feeling good. She is not sleeping well at night and we have no idea why. Is she cold, hot, hungry, lonely, uncomfortable, exhausted, needing her pacifier, jerking herself awake????? We don't know. If she goes 2 hours, we are counting our blessings, but sometimes it is every half hour she is up and crying. And lately around 3:00 a.m. or so, I fall asleep with her in the recliner just because I am so flippin' tired by that time that I just flat fall asleep holding her and her bottle. She used to sleep pretty well with me holding her, but even during this several hours in the recliner she is waking up every half hour or so. Plus, when she wakes up, she is screaming mad. She used to wake up and fuss fuss fuss for a little bit and I would go in and take care of her and she would go right back to sleep. Now it is like she is pissed about something and often wakes Abby up who is sleeping through the night most nights with only one wake up around 3:00 or so. So we don't know why all of a sudden about 6 weeks ago she quit sleeping through the night. And since she is "my" twin to get up with in the middle of the night, I am back to being tired all the time. Not fun, people, not fun at all.

Zachary is doing great! No sickness at all, just a super loose front tooth he is bound to loose any day now.

So here we go: Ok, I thought I would start giving you an opinion from everyone about our new recipes that we tried out this week. You can find them here.

First up, the steak with mushrooms, baked potatoes, and sugar snap peas:
Me: I am so so proud of myself. I cooked this whole meal ALL BY MYSELF! I even bought fresh mushrooms and cooked them to go on the steak. Here is the recipe I found and tweaked:
1 can of beef broth
1 tablespoon of Teriyaki
Sauce (I actually had to go get the bottle because I couldn't spell it and spell check couldn't either, Sheesh!)
simmer for 15 mins
Add a tablespoon of red wine and about 1 2/3 cups of mushrooms
simmer 15 more mins on medium

Oh so good for my first time, I must say.
Gary: Great, especially the mushrooms
Zachary: Very good especially with mom's special sauce, he is the only one who had this sauce I always keep on hand, my barbecue sauce I make from scratch...sorry, it is a secret family recipe.

Sherry Chicken:
Me: This has a very distinct flavor. I thought it was very unusual and super yummy.
Gary: Very good, but he would prefer to have it over noodles instead of rice.
Zachary: He didn't like it. It had too much seasoning on it. :-)

Frito Pie Casserole
Me: Gary and I were pretty skeptical when it came to the enchilada sauce, but we were determined to try it...until I realized that I bought medium spiciness and not regular or mild. So not going to work for my sweet not spicy boy. So I used maybe a fourth of a cup and then a package of Taco Seasonings for flavor. It was ok. I would rather just have frito pie and get it over with. I might make this again and play around with the meat spices a little or just plain make it with chili. I also used a ton of cheese and we liked that.
Zachary: He liked this ok, which I am super surprised. I thought it would be too spicy for him.
Gary: Leave out the enchilada sauce, even the little bit that was in there.

Tortillini
Me: Great meal
Gary: Really good
Zachary: The best meal ever!! Seriously he would have italian food every single night if I cooked it for him. He has always loved it and this will be a favorite I can tell.

This week: That's the end of the recipes I have to try from the recipes exchange. I would LOVE to hear about your favorite recipe. Leave it in the comments or blog about it and let me know so I can make it. I know you all have some old stand-bys that your family loves. Share them with us!

Monday: Lasagna - gotta give Zach his fix
Tuesday: Smoked Sausage with my barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans
Wednesday (Christmas Eve): Everyone is bringing their "specialty" to share at Christmas this year with Gary's family. So I am bringing White Chili. You can find the original recipe here and my thoughts and revisions here. Gary is making his famous chili dip. I will post the recipe next week.
Thursday (Christmas): My family is having Mexican Food for Christmas. I will take the enchiladas I made a few weeks ago. If I can get my act together I will also make the chocolate balls and pecan bark I posted about here. No promises though.
Friday: Leftovers or grilled cheese sandwhiches (something easy as we are winding down from everything).

No grocery savings this week because I have to go tomorrow to buy everything to cook with. ::sigh:: Not fun- the stores will be packed with idiots like me who waited until the last minute. I really and truly plan on posting a few more posts this week but dang if I might get too busy. Hmmm...I wonder why? If I don't get around to it...

Merry Christmas - I am so so thankful for all of you who bless me with your time week after week. Love you!!

Sara

3 comments:

Cheryl Lage said...

Tha fact that you can even BEGIN to plan your week's menus on a Monday has me in awe! :)

(I need to get with the program... ;) )

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being honest about the Frito Pie casserole! I knew, though, that it was going to one that each family would have to play with to get it just right to their liking.

monica said...

Wow you are so good to do this every Monday. I should play along with you...Maybe I will. Maybe I will try the Sherry Chicken. Hummm!!