Monday, September 22, 2014

Cooking: Monday Menu Returns

I miss blogging. I have thoughts going through  my head that I am itching to write about. However, it is really hard to sit down at a computer and put it all down here when I have been at a computer all day in my office.

One thing I would like to get back to doing, a baby step in the blogging direction is my Monday menu. Putting it online also helps me lock it away for the the week. I need that come Wednesday.

Steve and I recently joined Costco again and we love it a little too much. To keep us on the straight and budget, I have started keeping a log of the "bulk" items we buy and how often we actually have to purchase them. So far, so good. We go together and buy meat for the freezer. Then I spend about $70 for the rest of our veggies and such each week.

Our average for a family of four with breakfast and dinner at home 6 days a week is $170. Steve eats lunch almost every day here and I take it about 4 days a week. Weekends are more snacks during the day, but we cook real  meals two  nights of the weekend, often grilling.

I like the option of going to the freezer on Monday and pulling out the meat for Wednesday. Makes it easier to have limited options for this vegetarian! After a summer hiatus, I am ready for sweet potatoes to make their way back into our lives.

Officially Fall Menu
  •  Grilled barbecue chicken, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed spinach
  • Simple tomato soup
  • Pork carnitas 
  • Lobster ravioli with tomato mushroom sauce and green salad
  • Pork carnitas (football game) or quesadillas

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Dirt: I am a community organizer

I am involved in a little community improvement. I live in a pocket neighborhood that I think it awesome. In fact, I stalked my neighborhood for months before a friend called and said "We just looked at a house that would be perfect for you guys!".  6 days later, I had a contract on my house.


Flash forward 13 years and I still love my house. We live here.  Truly LIVE here. Right now it is a mess of back to school supplies, unswept floors and breakfast dishes. My husband keeps his shoes in my pantry, his gym bag by the door and his work shirt on the dining room chair.

Sometimes we are too comfortable
We have had 12 Christmas celebrations, an innumerable amount of parties, sick days, sleepovers and more. My college dog is buried in the yard along with a cat, several hamsters and a squirrel (courtesy of college dog during a hamster funeral).


My neighbors have gone on vacation with me, sat with me while I cried about the loss of my mom, baked cookies with my kids, drank wine with me and shared their lives. My neighbors are the chief of police, journalists, college professors, dishwashers, teachers  and music directors.

Friday, August 8, 2014