Gotta Get Going

The week came and went with little fanfare, which is OK with me. This week has several things planned, plus I have to finish getting the house company clean. It means I will have little time to respond to your blogs, even though I will be reading them, most likely in bed on the tablet.

Now I need to get off the computer, get my rear in gear, stop monkeying around, and get busy.

1. Corned beef and cabbage

2. Hot dogs, coleslaw, corn on the cob

3. Chicken fried rice, shishito peppers

4. Beef stew with traditional stew vegetables + green beans, tossed salad or coleslaw

5. Grilled salmon,  dilled potatoes, tossed salad

6. Meatloaf squash casserole, brussels sprouts

7. Out to eat

Monday joy: This was a stay at home type of day. I try to not schedule things on Mondays, and at the very least on Monday mornings. There is something that is very satisfying mentally if I can ease into the week. 

An overabundance of tomatoes called to me, so I was stewing them before my first cup of coffee.

Early in the afternoon I had a phone call from Son2 asking if I would be home for a while. He was on our side of town and had a couple of hours between appointments, so he came here and we visited over coffee and snacks and that was a real joy.

Monday dinner: This was a planned meal using a Trader Joe's frozen food purchase.

Chicken fried rice, shishito peppers

Tuesday joy: This was the last day of the Aldi ad featuring the baking supplies, so I went and stocked up (most likely overstocked) on them. I do not usually look through the Aldi Aisle of Shame, but I did and found a set of Christmas flannel sheets that jumped into my buggy (cart or trolley if you are not from the south). The sheet set decided Pip needed Christmas cheer for her bad here.

Once I got home and put things away and the sheets in the wash, it was time to tend to another pot of stewed tomatoes. 

We are getting between 10 and 25 a day and  other than us eating one every day, the only thing for me to do  is stew them, make sauce, or make tomato paste. Tuesday I decided was a tomato sauce day, so they cooked for quite a while.

About the time the tomatoes were done, TheHub asked if I wanted to go to trivia, so off we went.

Tuesday dinner: Going to trivia meant no cooking for me.

Gyro, coleslaw

Wednesday joy: I had class, then I came home to process another pot of tomatoes. 

I am in countdown until the family comes in for Thanksgiving and would like for things to be very nice for them. When I was cleaning out some of the laundry room, I found a charging station I had no idea we even owned. I thought it might serve its best purpose in the guest room since Son1's family comes with a lot of devices.

We had plans for the night (casual dress) and I did not want to change clothes from what I wore to class, so I decided I really just needed to read. Notice how easily I can justify reading time.

Wednesday dinner: We had made plans to meet Son2 and DIL2 for dinner. Half Shell Oyster House in Trussville is a place we meet them often.

Crab claws, garden salad, okra (and whatever they ate)

Thursday joy: IP is my happy place and I was able to go with My Beloved Sister. Truly, nothing gives me as much joy as being around the participants. I think they liked making peanut butter pie too! It was another day of unanimous thumbs up.

Once home there was another pot of tomatoes to process.

Thursday dinner: This dinner was about as easy to make as any I have done. It was a thaw, heat and add a veggie  kind of night

Corned beef and cabbage

Friday joy: I had planned on having a stay at home and get things done day, but TheHub wanted to go out to eat. We left early in time for him to run a quick errand before we went to a small meat and three for a veggie lunch. The diner was in the strip next door to Aldi, so while we were out anyway, I was able to cherry pick the new ads. 

When we made it back to the house I headed upstairs and get some much needed things done to the rooms there, including changing over some of my clothes. From what I understand we will be getting some cooler weather toward the end of the week, so it was goodbye shorts and tees and hello pants and sweaters.

Friday dinner: I had planned to use some of the leftover roast for dinner one night and to use a ton of the fresh produce I had in the crisper. I also had a small bag of cooked green beans in the freezer to add to the pot.

Stew (loaded with a ton of vegetables)

Saturday joy: What is better than waking after a good nights sleep than having no where to go and a pot of hot coffee? In my world there is not a better way to greet the day. 

As we normally do during football season, we started watching College Game Day on ESPN before tuning in to the actual games.  TheAuburn game was on, but I listened to it more than I watched it. I was able to get the dining room spiffed up and decorated for Thanksgiving and get the interior windows, and all the doors (and trust me there are more than a few) of the common areas cleaned.  And of course I managed to start another pot of tomato sauce.

Next up was Alabama/Mercer. Bama won and Mercer got about $1 million for their defeat. I do not even pretend to understand the economics of televised football other than to know there is a lot of dough in it.

Saturday dinner: This was a planned ball game meal to be eaten at half time of the Tennessee/Georgia game. If nothing else, we are predictable.

Hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw

Sunday joy: Our church has a new to us 15 minute service. It includes a reading with a little reflection on the reading followed by communion.We both really did enjoy it and decided we will start going to it as often as we can.

Once it was over we had a few minutes for socializing before our traditional church service started. 

We came home , had lunch, then both  had some clerical work we needed to do to organize for the coming week. 

That done we did a few chores (no tomatoes were cooked!!!) 

With this eternal darkness that I am struggling through, we are eating dinner obscenely early. The flip side is we had eaten and the kitchen was cleaned well before Yellowstone came on.

Sunday dinner: This was another freezer inspired meal

Grilled salmon filets, tossed salad, dinner rolls or toast

Possible meals for the week (Still in freezer foods first mode)

1. Grilled tuna steaks, tossed salad, baked potato

2. Chicken enchilada soup, tortillas, tossed salad

3. Meatloaf, squash casserole, brussels sprouts

4. Out to eat

5. Crack chicken, coleslaw, rice

6. Vegetable beef soup, cornbread

7. Sandwiches TBD

Used from the freezer:

2/3 TJ's chicken fried rice package

Part of a cooked corned beef brisket (there is enough left over for 2 lunch meals)

2 s/f popsicles

1 small pack frozen green beans

1 blueberry muffin (not good tossed the other 3)

2 keto hot dog buns (whoo hoo, last of the pack)

3 small salmon filets

Added to the freezer:

5 bags processed tomatoes

Books read in November:

What Have You Done?

The Goddess of Warsaw

American South (Cookbook I bought that has stories about the cooks and recipes )

 

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all!

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne