We were all sick through Christmas here. Despite the husband sleeping through the entire weekend pretty much and even calling in sick to work sick on Christmas Day (I will never get tired of having the wonder that is sick pay with his new job), both kids having problems in the breathing category and me feeling like I was coming down with a terrible cold at any moment (still do, honestly)...we actually had a really nice Christmas. We all really loved the gifts we received from each other, we watched a bunch of Christmas movies, had a nice roast beef dinner (I didn't do half the directions, went with a double layer of aluminum foil instead of a flower pot, and just followed the basic cooking directions...it worked great) Christmas Day with fruit salad (we didn't like it very well...I just used the dressing recipe, but it was...edible, but I won't make it again) and Yorkshire pudding (a vintage recipe I found and tried...it was very bland tasting, but not terrible) and just kind of took it easy over the weekend (the Christmas meal is seen above there). The husband kind of had to enjoy leftovers the next day since he was feeling so lousy, but still...the daughter announced it was "The Best Christmas Ever" and actually I think we all agreed with her. Our bodies might have been sicky, but our spirits were high and well...it was a good holiday over here, believe it or not :).
As for the menu plan for the week, things get kind of funky the week after Christmas for me as by that time I have officially eaten way more rich food than I probably consume in a year and I start to yearn for healthier meals. And yet that is the week that my birthday hits, so I kind of groan and put off eating healthy for another week *laugh*.
So, let's get to this week's menu...
Wednesday: Cheeseburgers with spinach (instead of lettuce) and home made coleslaw
Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes (I can hear the protest section now with the family *laugh*), salad
Friday: Orange Chicken over rice, salad
Saturday: Beef Stew (use ribs from beef roast on Christmas for beef stock), biscuits
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Bratwurst with sauerkraut (for good luck in the New Year)
Tuesday: Lemon Garlic Chicken over noodles (use broccoli called for in recipe for veggie). I'm trying to give some of the freezer meals for the electric pressure cookers a shot to see which ones we like and don't like before I try to make them to actually use as freezer meals later :).
Desserts: Birthday cake (cause the kids won't let me get away with not making one, I know *laugh*), Quadruple Ginger Cookies (my birthday gift to me. I'm going to make ginger sugar like you would cinnamon sugar instead of the ginger infused sugar they call for in the recipe, though), sugar cookies and the decimated remains of the gingerbread house (that sucker was stuck together better than some homes I've seen! I had to take a pan to it to get it to come apart enough that you could unstick some of the candy. I was impressed with my construction skills ;).
I'd go for breakfasts and snacks, but honestly I haven't gotten that far yet. I know I'm going to be making bread, hopefully tomorrow in between cleaning and things, so we'll have whole grain toast to eat as part of the breakfast rotation and I'm hoping to make crackers so we can have crackers and cheese with fruit as a snack option, but yeah...I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked on the planning front this week, yet.
just an fyi.. yorkshire pudding is suppose to be fairly bland as it's meant to be used to sop up gravy and juices, so it gets it's flavor from that.. or so i've been told by all my British friends... has been years since i've made one..
ReplyDeletehoping your family gets to feeling better
Oh! That makes sense! Good to know. Next time I make it we'll use it as a sop :).
DeleteHope you all get to feeling better quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful comment "The best Christmas ever" - that is quite a testament to you and your family. You have taught them well.
Happy New Year!
It sounds like you have a great plan for meals. I often make a basic framework and "wing it" for the rest. There always seems like there are odds and ends for breakfast and lunch to eat.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you were sick. Thankfully, I caught my cold before Christmas and it was pretty much gone by the big day, thank goodness.
We had a nice Christmas also. I hosted two large get togethers. Did you all feel like going out at all over Christmas? Do you ever go over to the grandparents for a celebration at Christmas? I don't remember you ever saying much about celebrating with your husband's family. I know there has been friction there in the past. Hoping it's better bc of the new job.
ReplyDeleteRight after Christmas my husband came down with bronchitis, and my daughter got the flu. Dad got better quicker than daughter. So far no one else has gotten sick. I've been busy cleaning and babysitting the grands.
It's cold in AR now! We'll be in the teens this weekend. Have y'all gotten much snow? I always enjoy your snow pictures on the blog.
Haopy New Year!
I come from Swedish stock so my family always celebrated Christmas Eve growing up. So, we open family gifts Christmas Eve with our kids and call my family back East to wish them Happy Holidays. Then Santa gifts get opened Christmas morning and a bit later in the day we go over to my in-laws and spend some time with them. It works out pretty well overall and this way no family feels more important than the other (at least we hope).
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