Turkey Chowder With A Twist

You know those days when you have everything planned and then the plan starts to ravel? I had one of those yesterday. There was nothing bad about it and nothing disappointing happened, in fact a lot of unplanned really nice things were going on all around me and I got a lot of errands and running around done. Several stops occurred that I had no intentions of making, but, organically time and place ruled my route. And all of a sudden it was nearly 5 and I still had to drop fruit off at Mom's house. I pulled up to her house and notice My Beloved Sister was still there, as it was her afternoon to tend to Mom. When I walked in to deliver the oranges and grapes, I met them about to come out the door to grab a take out meal for Mom.

I rode with them and sat in the car talking to Mom while MBS bought her meal. Then we went back to Mom's and my sis had to go home. I stayed with Mom while she ate (mainly to monitor  the amount of food, or lack thereof, that she actually chewed and swallowed. Her usual m.o. is to just move it around the plate and pretend she is actually eating.
After a bit of nagging encouragement on my part, she managed to eat half of her vegetables and at least 3 bites of her salisbury steak. (Not much, but better than usual)

Anyway, by the time I left her house it was about 5:30. When I got back to my house I realized I had forgotten to buy a couple of critical ingredients for the planned dinner meal and I was not going to go back to the grocery store. So there was nothing to do but punt, and the turkey tetrazzini meal became a bowl of smoked turkey chowder with some rolls for the non-keto.

Though this meal (less the bread) was totally keto and we even had Son2 and DIL2 join us, the results were pretty amazing. Everyone liked it and for the first time in a long time my bowl had the same  exact food as everyone else.  It was good; really good.

I found the recipe at I Breathe, I'm Hungry  You can go there for her original recipe. The following is the very subtle change I made, because, well__ shallots. Do any of you really keep them unless you need them for a particular recipe? The Pig has them in a pack of two and sometimes I buy one for a recipe, but the remaining one generally dries and becomes shallot dust, which is what I found when I looked in my onion/garlic/shallot bin.
 

Turkey Chowder

5 slices bacon cooked crisp (chop and reserve about 1/4 of it for garnish
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 quarts broth  (chicken would be good too)
1 head cauliflower, washed, drained and cut into small pieces
3 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded or chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup grated yellow cheddar


Cook the bacon in the bottom of a dutch oven. Remove when crisp then add the onion and celery to the bacon drippings. Cook until wilted but not brown. Add the broth, then toss in the cauliflower, turkey, parsley,  salt and pepper, and the liquid smoke. Cook until the cauliflower is soft. Sir in the bacon except for the reserved bacon, whipping cream and the cheese. Stir until it is well blended and hot. Sir in the xanthan gum and the mixture will begin to thicken. Stir in the thyme, ladle into bowl and garnish with about a tablespoon of grated cheddar and a sprinkle of bacon bits. Yumlicious!

Cookies Keto Style

 A friend and I are following the keto diet (mostly__ but I will admit to an occasional lapse) and we have a saying when a recipe is good. "It almost tastes like the real thing". Last night I had a serious craving for something chocolate but did not want to invest much prep time. Since a lot of the keto recipes seem to take ridiculous numbers of steps from start to finish, I choose to make Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies. If I am going to be totally honest these will never replace traditional cookies in either taste or texture, so if you are eating grains then ignore this totally. If you are keto or have issues with gluten this could be a very quick solution to beating those cookie cravings.

(If I had thought about doing a post on these or were making them for anyone but me, I would have put 3 chocolate chips on the top of each cookie prior to putting them in the oven. It would have made a prettier presentation, but they were just for my consumption in a moment of cravings and speed took precedent over esthetics. For a size comparison those are raspberries, so the cookies are small. I did that on purpose because I do not like being restricted to just one stinkin' cookie.)

1/3 cup coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill*)
3/4 cup Swerve* (Erythritol sugar substitute)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup no sugar chocolate chips (I use Lily's* sweetened with stevia)

Heat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (Critical, trust the one who did not do this the first time they made these cookies).

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Stir in the butter, then using a mixer beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips. When everything is thoroughly combined use a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough  and place on the baking sheets. Bake for  about 12 minutes (my oven at least, check after 10 minutes and see if the center is firm. If so then take them out, they are done.

* The things I starred are just products I use. I have no affiliation with any of them or with any of their representatives or brokers. This is just my very honest opinion based on my experience comparing them to other products I have used.

For the best coconut flour based recipes I have found it really makes a difference when you buy a finer milled product. I have the best experience with Bob's. I was out of it and picked up a store brand instead, mainly because it was about a buck cheaper. Using it resulted in a drier grainy cookie. I will finish it, but only using it for Keto "bread" since I don't mind the graininess when I am eating it.  When I go to the store this week, Bob's coconut flour is on my list.

I use Swerve which is just erythritol but it is available nearly everywhere instead of having to go to a health food store. The taste is good, it does not cause insulin levels  to rise like sucralose (Splenda) can, and it measures like sugar. The downside is it does give baked goods a "cooling" taste, and it does not dissolve completely in things like puddings or custards. I use this rarely so I don't worry about the slight imperfections. Before I found Swerve I used a powdered stevia and had trouble adjusting the amount since it does not measure like sugar, plus it can leave an unpleasant aftertaste in baked dishes, though I find it fine in iced tea or an occasional sweetened coffee.

Before I found the Lily's chocolate chips I would just use chopped unsweetened bakers chocolate. It added a lot of chocolate flavor but none of the sweetness I prefer in a chocolate chip. Lily's are dark chocolate mini chips sweetened with stevia. They are very expensive per bag, but you use very little in any recipe. I have found so they last for a long time. In the cookie recipe above I only used 1/4 cup of them and it was plenty for me. Occasionally I find them at Sprouts for under 5 bucks a bag, When I do, I buy 6 of them and hoard them.

Foods For Thought or Thoughts For Food

As usual I did not stick to my game plan or planned menu or anything thing else. Not only that, I got very little that I needed to get done completed. Mom was seriously demanding and had some (more than normal) comprehension and cognitive difficulties last week.Usually My beloved Sister and I swap out the weekday evening rituals Mom needs, but she had a couple of medical issues this week and I was responsible for her morning, evening, and in between time needs. I felt like every moment was filled with either taking care of her non-emergency emergencies or waiting for the phone to ring with yet another one. And sadly, I see/feel nothing will change this week. I wish life could be easier and happier for her.

This is what I had planned (in no particular order):

1. Stuffed bell peppers, rice, cauli rice, cucumber salad,

2. Chicken Korma, basmati rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me) green beans
3. Hot chicken salad, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)
4. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans or asparagus, rolls or keto rolls
5. Ham, leek, and cheese frittata, veggie chop salad, grilled keto bread or toast
6. Keto pizza, tossed salad
7. Leftover meal

I am getting lazy tired of separating our menu for the week based on the keto food (me) and food for  the non keto eater. Imagine, if you will, that for every menu I post from now on, the following will always happen. If a day calls for mashed potatoes I will always be eating cauliflower mashed "non-potatoes". Rice means cauliflower rice for me. Spaghetti will be either spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles depending on how many carbs I have remaining (and if I have zucchini in the fridge since I always have a small pack of frozen cooked spaghetti squash on hand).  The same holds true for potato salad, and au gratin potatoes. My serving will be cauliflower based. If a menu plan says french fries, it means I am SOL and will not be eating it.  Also any dessert mentioned other than ice cream will be keto, unless someone else cooks it. I will share my keto pie but I am not baking real cookies and not be able to eat them. Selfish? Perhaps but that is just the way the world here works. I figure if I am willing to make you real  mashed potatoes from scratch, you can suck it up and either eat keto dessert, ice cream, make your own, or do without.

Monday: Monday was a relatively uneventful day.  I messed around in the freezer and found a few items I wanted to use this week, including a half of a roast I had forgotten about. I know we had one Mom "emergency" during the day but for the life of me I don't remember what it was. I do know I did her breathing treatment and came home,
Hot Chicken Salad, broccoli

Tuesday: It was a crappy seriously rainy morning and I decided I needed to do something with the half roast I found in the freezer. I got the crock pot started and was messing around until the phone rang. After getting drenched when I had to make the emergency mayonnaise buying trip for Mom I can home to a simmering meal.
Vegetable beef stew

Wednesday: More blooming rain and I had to do a major grocery shopping run in the downpour. The upside was some unexpected, unadvertised sales at Sprouts.
Roasted turkey thighs, keto "dressing" and tossed salad

Thursday:At 7:15 am the phone rang and it was the beginning of the day's Mommergencies. When TheHub got home we went out for a few minutes to a much needed wine tasting The Pig has every Thursday night (much needed wine, not the tasting)
Stuffed bell peppers, coleslaw, glass of wine

Friday: TheHub had a difficult work week and had  to work through  the weekend, He wanted to go somewhere cheery for dinner, then we came home, changed into soft clothes and settled in for a movie from Redbox.
Out to eat at Mugshot's

Saturday: TheHub worked most of the day but when he came home we went riding around looking at potential locations when we decide to scale down our housing. Afterward he wanted to run by the grocery store to pick up some bananas but we had to pass the deli on the way to the produce section, right as they were taking the rotisserie chickens out of the oven. It smelled so good and yes, we succumbed and bought one!
Deli chicken, fresh asparagus, fruit salad

Sunday: The day was incredibly gorgeous after a week of torrential rains. We opted to have a pre-Oscar meal grilled outside. And the winner is. . . me because TheHub is the grill master!



Used from the freezer:
2 packs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 sirloin tip roast

Added to the freezer
3 pounds ground chuck (deeply discounted for our area, ends Tuesday & I will buy more)
10 pounds chicken quarters (cooked, boned, in meal size packs ditto about buying more)
2 packs turkey broth (quart and a half)
6 pint packs super concentrated chicken "jelly" broth
3 quarts regular chicken broth

And the plan for this week will include a lot of asparagus. Sprouts had a stellar deal on it last week, the add runs through Wednesday and will also include the new ad. I will go there Wednesday and cherry pick last weeks ad and pick up anything form the new week that I need. (Fingers crossed for a couple of good bargains)

1: Spaghetti and meat sauce, tossed salad, asparagus, garlic bread
2. Seared scallops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, mixed green salad
3. Chicken Korma basmati rice, green beans
4: Soup and sandwich (unknown what kind yet) coleslaw
5. Cooked beef patties with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts
6. Turkey tetrazzini, coleslaw, broccoli
7. We have to go to a charity function and will eat there  (I am betting it will either be some form of rubbery chicken or tough steak. As with every single charity thing I have even been to,  you don't go for the food.)

Emergency

I know many of you out there are experiencing snowfall/blizzard conditions and are praying for some rain to help melt the snows. Meanwhile in Alabama it has been fairly warm and raining, and raining, and then raining some more. (Just to keep it honest though, I think the sun is trying to sneak a quick peek right now)

As usual, I call Mom every morning to see what she might need for the day. I called her the other day, just to check on her, and asked if she needed anything. Understand it was raining cats and dogs, one of those days you jut don't want to get out in unless it is necessary. So while I was talking to her and watching the rain fall like someone had just opened faucets in the sky, she did a quick (subject to your definition of quick) survey of what she needed. I knew she had the essentials because I had bought milk, bread, eggs, cheese, and assorted frozen meals the prior day when there was no deluge.  I am pretty good about planning ahead when James Spann tells me bad weather is on the horizon. (except for his snow predictions; I never believe those)

Anyhow, I phoned Mom and she rummaged through her pantry as the day got darker and the rain fell harder. She came back with just one thing she needed, but she needed it right away so she could have it at lunch___Mayonnaise!?!?!?!

I am still a relatively obedient daughter so I put on my rain gear (semi water resistant jacket and baseball cap), drove to the store, walked through the 3 inches of standing water in the parking lot to buy emergency mayonnaise. I slogged back to my car and drove to her house to deliver it to Mom ( which also means getting out of the car and walking up her walkway to the front door through the torrential downpour.  I walked into her house looking like a drowned rat when she said "Thank you for getting this. I am glad you did it before it started raining so you wouldn't get wet". I guess she had not done something ridiculously complicated like looked out the window.

And from now on when an already trying day is filled with insane and utterly senseless demands I am going to call it a Mayonnaise Day.

Here I Go Again

My week got a little intense at times and plans for any and everything took a nosedive. Ahh, what can I say? This seems to be my new normal. Below is what I had planned as meals for last week. Being true to said new norm, I did not stick to my plan, but that's ok. No one starved and we ate every night, so I am calling it a success as long as success is not measured by staying on plan!

1. Meatloaf (made and in the fridge waiting for some oven time), broccoli, hash browns (TheHub)
totally fake cauliflower "potato" salad (me), cucumber. onion and tomato salad
2. Something from the freezer (I forgot to label it but it is either pork roast or chicken in an herb sauce It is still frozen so I can't tell which it is.) over noodles (TheHub) cauli rice or zoodles (me) with some yet unnamed green vegetable.
3. Spaghetti with meat sauce (TheHub) over zoodles (me), tossed salad
4. Chicken Korma, basmati rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me) green beans, marinated cucumbers
5.  Hot chicken salad, brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)
6. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans
7. Depending on weather either soup or salad. rolls (TheHub), fake roll (me)

And this is what happened in real life, which never seems to play out according to what I think each day should be.

Monday: Meatloaf on the menu is now history and I don't have to add it to the menu every week!

Meatloaf, hash browns (TheHub), keto "potato" salad (me) broccoli, cucumber salad

Tuesday: The day was an intense Mother day, TheHub had a dinner meeting, and I was going to eat leftovers. (I had a slice of Keto meatloaf remaining) Son2 and DIL2 were here and had not eaten so we decided to do  takeout. 

Thai takeout

Wednesday: TheHub had made reservations for dinner for us  for Valentine's, but I wanted to have some sort of celebration with our new DIL since it is her first "official" member of the family Valentine's Day. I bought a couple of things we don't usually have and enjoyed the spring like weather to cook outside.

Porterhouse steaks, new potatoes (Yeah, I ate them too. I figured if I was going to sabotage Keto on Thursday what difference did one more day off it make) tossed spring green salad, rolls, ice cream (DIL's favorite)

Thursday: We celebrate Valentine's Day every year. I generally cook something a little special and TheHub brings home some flowers (grocery store variety) and we exchange cards. This year he made reservations at a place we have talked about going to for a couple of years but have never taken the time to go there. I had planned on cooking some scallops and having a glass of wine. Instead I got gussied up (translation: I wore a skirt and sweater, fixed my hair and wore makeup) and went out to eat with my Valentine. I figured correctly that there would be a fixed price menu with minimal options and I was right. There was no way I was going to stay on the keto plan.

Dinner at Satterfields Yummmmm!

Friday: Had to take Mom to have a procedure done on her eyes. After spending a lot of time with her I headed home with no idea what we would eat. The mystery pork or chicken finally thawed (The meat drawer in my fridge is right at 33 degrees. It takes a while to thaw food in it)

Shredded chicken in a lemon butter sauce, rice (TheHub) leftover broccoli, sliced tomatoes

Saturday:  TheHub worked all day at the office while I took Mom to a funeral, picked up her meds, then came home and tackled the living room (I loved doing Marie Kondo in that room. Other than sorting through music books and sheet music, there was very little excess in it) TheHub came home later than I wanted to cook so it was leftover time (AKA clean out the fridge)

(TheHub) Chili and slaw (me) Mystery chicken stuff and cauliflower

Sunday: I spent time doing a little housework and a lot of laundry before shopping for Mom and then going to her house to help her with her breathing treatment. Came home and looked through the freezer where I found a package of Italian seasoned cooked ground chuck. Hooray for an easy dinner/
Spaghetti with meat sauce (over zoodles for me) tossed salad, garlic knots (TheHub) keto bread (me)

Used from the freezer:

broccoli

mystery chicken stuff

2 packs ground beef
large pack of Italian seasoned cooked ground chuck
pack marinara sauce
remaining garlic knots

Used from the pantry:
spaghetti noodles
rice
olive oil
seasonings
condiments

Used from the fridge;
lettuce
cabbage
bag of spring greens
tomatoes
cucumbers
avocado
Parmesan cheese
cauliflower
onions

And suggestions or possibilities for the coming week

1. Stuffed bell peppers, rice, cauli rice, cucumber salad,

2. Chicken Korma, basmati rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me) green beans
3. Hot chicken salad, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)
4. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans or asparagus, rolls or keto rolls
5. Ham, leek, and cheese frittata, veggie chop salad, grilled keto bread or toast
6. Keto pizza, tossed salad
7. Leftover meal

Another Week Bites The Dust

Oh ambition! This is what I had planned for the week in no particular order with the exception of meal number one which was to be my nod to our annual Chinese New Year fare. The rest would use items from my freezer, which is nowhere near bare, but is not the overstuffed freezer it was at the beginning of the year. As per my usual week we did not have what was planned. Once again I went off course and let the day dictate my meal choice rather than the other way around

1. Asian crispy bbq chicken, cucumber salad, Chinese broccoli

2. Meatloaf, green beans, cauli mashers

3. Grilled scallops, tossed salad, some kind of green veggie, rolls (TheHub) keto rolls (me)

4. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread (TheHub)  Keto cornbread (me)

5.Soup of some sort, salad, rolls or cracker (TheHub)

6. Grilled steak or hamburger patty,  baked potato (TheHub) cauliflower "potato" salad (me) broccoli

7. Chicken in a mustard cream sauce, sautéed greens, sliced tomatoes

Monday: I veered off keto __again. The day got a little late and I opted for something quick and simple.
Impossible cheeseburger pie, green beans, tossed salad

Tuesday: Marie Kondo and I were friends during the morning clean out, followed by an appointment in the early afternoon. After that I finished shopping for Pip's Valentine box, ran by Mom's for her breathing, got home after 5, did a little more decluttering, then made a Chinese New Year dinner using boxed frozen egg rolls. I was off keto again and ate lackluster egg rolls? Next year it is back to ordering take-out from The Mandarin House
Orange chicken, rice, egg rolls

Wednesday: Frustration won, I gave up on even thinking about cooking and we went out to a new BBQ joint. I am very fortunate that TheHub would love to eat out every single night if money were not an object, so he never objects to going out or even ordering take-out. BTW bbq joints are pretty easy to go to on the keto diet. Yeah, back on the wagon!

Thursday: The day was beyond gorgeous and demanded we grill outside. I had originally planned on steak but I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer and would have to go shopping for a steak. Was not going to happen.
Grilled pork tenderloin, tossed salad, mashed potatoes (theHub) cauli mash (me) keto coconut pie

Friday:  Kondofied the laundry room/studio. After working there all day I grabbed some frozen white bbq chicken out of the freezer. It was the easiest and quickest option, just not the tastiest.
White bbq chicken, coleslaw, rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me)

Saturday: Thursday I was wearing shorts and had the house completely open airing it out. By Friday I was still in shorts but wearing a sweater. Then along came Saturday and it was cold again.
Chili, (TheHub) coleslaw Chili w/o beans over cauli rice (me)

Sunday: TheHub and I woke butt early to a dreary day. He had to go into the office for a project happening this week. Son2 and DIL2 took Mom to hear The Glenn Miller Orchestra, out to eat and did her breathing treatment so I did not have to worry about her. (Thank you both. I know this was your Christmas gift to her, but it was a huge present for me and My Beloved Sister also) I used it for my personal spa morning. It will be spring soon and flip flop weather so I gave myself a much neglected pedicure. It is kind of amazing how a couple of months wearing socks and shoes changes the demands of personal care.
TheHub got home in the middle of the afternoon and we both were watching the golf tournament at Pebble Beach. I had ground chuck defrosted for a meatloaf, but sometime around 5:30 we both fell asleep on the couch. Oops! We both woke at about 6:30 and it was too late to start a meatloaf meal. Punt!
Smoked sausage with sautéed cabbage and onions, sliced tomatoes, cheddar bay biscuits (TheHub) keto version (me)

As I look back over the week I realize  I had only one meal that was planned, major substitutes on the grilled meal, and 5 days of serious punting. I was looking back at my meal plans and this is the worst one yet, but I still managed to use a good deal of frozen foods. Even though it was mainly unplanned meals I am going to call all but Wednesday successful. Maybe I will not cave to the day the next time I have an unpleasant one, or maybe we will go eat smoked meat again.

Used from the freezer:
3 packs of ground chuck
1 pound smoked sausage
1 pack of bbq chicken breasts
1 box of egg rolls
8 ounce hunk of cheddar cheese
1 pack of cauli rice
1 serving cauli mashers.
Small pack frozen unsweetened coconut

From the pantry
1 container cheddar bay biscuit mix
1 pouch instant mashed potatoes (yes I keep those and use them when I have no real potatoes)
Additional seasonings, condiments, spices and coffee. Lots of coffee

And Looking ahead in no order with the exception of meatloaf for tonight.

1. Meatloaf (made and in the fridge waiting for some oven time), broccoli, hash browns (TheHub)
totally fake cauliflower "potato" salad (me), cucumber. onion and tomato salad

2. Something from the freezer (I forgot to label it but it is either pork roast or chicken in an herb sauce It is still frozen so I can't tell which it is.) over noodles (TheHub) cauli rice or zoodles (me) with some yet unnamed green vegetable.

3. Spaghetti with meat sauce (TheHub) over zoodles (me), tossed salad

4. Chicken Korma, basmati rice (TheHub) cauli rice (me) green beans, marinated cucumbers

5.  Hot chicken salad, brussels sprouts, tossed salad, rolls (TheHub) keto "roll" (me)

6. Seared Scallops, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mash (me), spring greens, green beans

7. Depending on weather either soup or salad. rolls (TheHub), fake roll (me)

I have had meatloaf on my plan for the past few weeks. Come Hell or high water we will have it tonight!  The mystery pork or chicken is in the fridge thawing so I know for sure it will be eaten and I am cooking the spaghetti sauce, baking keto bread and keto rolls as I write this. I am not much of a gambler so I will say 3 meals for sure will actually be served. The rest? Time will tell!

January Wrap Up

Yes I know it is the 6th already, but I am just now reviewing what did and did not work last month. I decided on a plan broken down in weekly, monthly and quarterly aims. Using January as a base line I am revising the list slightly. How Mom is doing is my litmus test for how my week will go, so I am reducing a few things and will change the way I go about some others. The following is what I had planned for January.

Weekly:
1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself Extreme Fail! I did not rent or go to a movie at all this month.
2. Read 2 books a week Fail but I did read 3 books in January  All The Light we Cannot See, The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle,  Where the Crawdads Sing
3. Have one ethnic meal a week (home cooked) Done
4. Have one day (OK an hour, maybe) dedicated to pampering myself. (Facial, at home manicure/pedicure, or some similarly indulgent thing requiring potions or lotions) Done, but barely
5. Have some sort of outing with TheHub at night. Coffee and conversation/ dinner out/ concert or play/ can be anything as long as we leave the house, so even going to Walmart would count as long as we shop together. (If we are in a hurry and go separate ways in the store to gather and get out as quickly as possible it will not count) Done. We have gone out mid week each week in January, mostly to grab a cup of coffee and talk.


Monthly:
1. Play Christmas music and do one Christmas craft or make a Christmas gift. Partially
2. Eat a meal in the dining room using china, crystal and silver. There is no point saving them for special occasions only, but I have to hand wash it all so once a month is enough. Fail
3. Call a long neglected friend and arrange to take them for coffee and conversation. Fail
4. Learn a new skill Done, Learned the Marie Kondo method of organizing
5. Plan a dinner in or out with another couple Fail

Quarterly:
1.Find and enjoy some live music.
2. Go to a play or comedy club Saw Evita
3. Have a mini vacation (Going to the lake place does not count)
4. Have a small dinner party

Below is the reformatted list. It is mostly the same with minor adjustments based on my January learning curve.

Weekly:
1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself . Most likely I will rent movies. Flu season is here and honestly I will limit my exposure to it

2. Read 1 book a week . Previously I wanted to read 2 per week and there may be some weeks it happens, but it is more realistic for me to aim for 1 per week, unless they are fluff books.

3. Have one ethnic meal a week (home cooked) 

4. Have one day (OK an hour, maybe) dedicated to pampering myself. (Facial, at home manicure/pedicure, or some similarly indulgent thing requiring potions or lotions)

5. Have some sort of outing with TheHub at night. Coffee and conversation/ dinner out/ concert or play/ can be anything as long as we leave the house, so even going to Walmart would count as long as we shop together. (If we are in a hurry and go separate ways in the store to gather and get out as quickly as possible it will not count) 

6. Spend time in quiet meditation

7. Tackle a room or closet to declutter/rid of excess

8. Facetime with Granddaughter

9. Talk via phone with all 3 sons and wives

Monthly:
1. Play Christmas music and do one Christmas craft or make a Christmas gift. 

2. Eat a meal in the dining room using china, crystal and silver. There is no point saving them for special occasions only, but I have to hand wash it all so once a month is enough. 

3. Call a long neglected friend and arrange to take them for coffee and conversation. 

4. Learn a new skill or try something I have never done before.

5. Plan a dinner in or out with another couple. 

6. Find and enjoy some live music

7. Have a seasonally appropriate holiday or other celebratory meal.

Quarterly:
1. Go to a play or comedy club 

2. Have a mini vacation (Going to the lake place does not count)

3. Have a small dinner party

Another Day, Another Departure From Plans

Once again I did not follow my meal plan. So what else is new?

1.Chili, cornbread, coleslaw
2. Meatloaf, broccoli, mashed potatoes (TheHub) cauli mashers (me)
3.Tacos with all the fixings, black beans, rice (TheHub) Taco salad (me)
4. Seared scallops, tossed salad, baked potato, rolls (TheHub) grilled keto bread (me)
5. White bbq chicken, green beans, coleslaw, caulitater salad.
6. Chicken noodle soup, cheese toast (TheHub) chicken fake noodle soup, cheesy keto bread (me)
7. Bookclub night. TheHub will fend for himself.

Monday:. Our very sweet Son2 brought some leftover chili from his work and he, DIL2 and  TheHub and DIL2 ate together. Since he had that this week  I crossed making chili off my list of possibilities.
 Out to eat with bookclub (me) Chili and cornbread (TheHub)

Tuesday: It was cold and windy and screamed for comfort food. TheHub had chili the night before so I decided to make soup instead. I found a ton of mung beans while I was cleaning out the pantry and had them in various stages of sprouting. I thought they would make an acceptable "noodle" substitute. I was right, but I put too many in the soup. Less really is more sometimes!  I had leftover soup for lunch during the week too, so it was a double win.
Homemade fake noodle and chicken soup, grilled cheese (regular bread for TheHub, Keto bread for me) OMG the grilled cheese sandwich was fantastic!

Wednesday: After my class I was busy summoning my inner Marie Kondo and playing in the laundry room. I kind of lost track of time and did not think about dinner until about 6 pm. I pulled a pack of frozen cooked polish sausage and threw dinner together.
Polish sausage in an artichoke cream sauce over pasta (TheHub) or cauli rice (me), tossed salad

Thursday: I had to take Mom for a little dental work but did not plan for it to occupy my entire day. Ok, it did not really occupy my entire day, just most of it. She called me at 7:25 a.m. to remind me that we only had 10 minutes before her appointment__ which was at 9:30. I had told her previously I would be at her house a few minutes before 9, since Rocky's office is only a 15 minute drive from her house.  I got to her house at 8:53 and called her from her driveway. The phone rang about 10 times which means she was talking on the other line and would not pick up the call waiting call because she forgets how to do it. Naturally I got out of the car and walked up to the door to get her. Then off to the dentist we went, with her pronouncing every single thing that displeased her en route*. (Ugly clouds, the shape of the holly's in Pete's yard, the plaid shirt on the man walking across the parking lot, Krystal hamburgers, a random roadside weed, a funny looking dead tree, a bad pothole, a winding driveway to the dentists office and a heavy door were just the more memorable things that offended her sensibilities.) When I got back to her house after the dentist (about an hour later) and was getting her settled in her house and doing a zillion chores and going to the store for ice cream, and fixing her stove which was not broken, and getting her meds and making her meals,I left her house at about 3:30 to finally go back to my house. When I got in the house I noticed I had a voice mail sent to me at 8:53 am. It was mother wanting to know when I would be there. And now I know why she didn't answer the phone when I was in her driveway calling her.
Tacos (TheHub) taco salad (me)

Friday: TheHub and I decided to get out of Dodge and go to the lake for the weekend. Mom and I needed a break from each other. I went down to check on her Friday morning, then again in the late afternoon to do her breathing treatment. TheHub supposedly left early to come home so we could be outside of town before the drive time traffic. Of course when you get home at 6 you have not missed the traffic. This is the way to let a 45 minute car trip turn into an hour and a half trip. We had decided to go out to eat on the way down, but decided we did not want to delay arrival any later than we had to so we opted to pick up two chicken meals at the closest fast food restaurant to the lake place (13 miles away)
Take out chicken, green beans, and coleslaw

Saturday: We rode around the county side during the morning then worked at the lake place in the afternoon. I had taken food down so I made a quick dinner and then read some before watching  GroundHog Day. Since it was groundhog day, it seemed appropriate to watch and it was on the television on several channels at different times throughout the night. As an aside, the groundhog at the Birmingham Zoo would not come out, so they used a possum instead?!? Only in Alabama.
Grilled tuna steaks, cauli mashers, tossed salad, toast

Sunday: The Super Bowl , which I did not watch because I had to go to Mom's and do some things for her, including the one thing she does that irritates me more than anything. I had been at her house a couple of hours and was getting up to leave when she told me I needed to go get her some milk and crackers. Silly me! I thought it meant she wanted me to walk into the kitchen to prepare some milk and crackers to serve her in the den, only to find she needed me to go to the store and buy them. It would be so nice if she mentioned things like this before I get there so I could stop and pick it up on the way to her house.  After a couple of hours I am ready to come home, not go shopping.
Sloppy Joe's, tater tots, coleslaw. (TheHub requested this delicious and nutritious meal for a game day feast)

I am stymied by planning for this upcoming week. Nothing sounds good and nothing sounds bad mainly because I went off the Keto rails yesterday and everything in me wants chocolate again. A lot of chocolate in every chocolate permutation. I can't let that happen! I know me well enough to know if I do, then 2 days off the plan will snowball into a week of food debauchery, and all of the sudden I will be up 10 pounds and pissed off with myself. (And probably anyone who has the unmitigated gall to speak to me. So I am sacrificing my chocolate wants/needs for the sake of the world around me. Canonization possibly?)

1. Asian crispy bbq chicken, cucumber salad, Chinese broccoli
2. Meatloaf, green beans, cauli mashers
3. Grilled scallops, tossed salad, some kind of green veggie, rolls (TheHub) keto rolls (me)
4. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread (TheHub)  Keto cornbread (me)
5.Soup of some sort, salad, rolls or cracker (TheHub)
6. Grilled steak or hamburger patty,  baked potato (TheHub) cauliflower "potato" salad (me) broccoli
7. Chicken in a mustard cream sauce, sautéed greens, sliced tomatoes

Do I believe this will actually happen? Nope, but at least it is an idea that might spark so other idea.

* Son 2 and DIL 2 went to see Mom and she was telling them about Rocky's (Family friend/oral surgeon) new office. I am quoting as closely as possible the directions she gave:
Go up that road and turn at the big place then the road curves all around and you go into the room with the beautiful antiques

Some Days Are Better Than Others

                                        Sometimes a song just says it all. 'Nuf said!