Knitting Zeal

Menu plan Monday for the week of November 26, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 is in the books and now onto planning and decorating for the winter holidays that will sneak up on us.  We finished up most of the leftovers from our Thanksgiving feast on Friday, then attended Thanksgiving part deux on Saturday at my sister's house.  I think we've had our fill of turkey, for now.  

Menu Plan for dinners:

Monday: Buffalo-Chicken mac and cheese, made with lowfat milk; salad

Tuesday:  Baked chicken, cous cous, broccoli

Wednesda: leftovers, salad

Thursday: Pasta night

Friday: Pizza night

Weekend: TBD

Have you decorated for the holidays yet?  I can't bear to think of the clutter yet that comes with decorating.  Maybe once it's really December!

Linking up to Organizing Junkie!

Apple-cranberry pie

Hope you had a fun-filled Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner with our family and the kiddo loved having all three of his grandparents here.  I tried two new pie recipes this year.  The pumpkin pie I usually make was from the back of the can of pumpkin.  It was a perfectly fine recipe, however, I really wanted to try a different version.  The one I made this year used cream instead of canned condensed milk.  I'm not sure if it made much of a taste difference, but it was great!

My husband requested an apple-cranberry pie.  Real Simple magazine had a really easy recipe in their November issue and the recipe is also online.  The only change I made to the recipe was the topping.  I made it more of a crumble topping, mixing the butter into the granola with a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar.  The toping came out nice and crunchy.  The pie was a mess to serve, falling apart a bit, but was good anyway.  I was concerned that the cranberries would be too tart, which is why I changed the topping to include some sugar.  Luckily, they added a nice touch to the overall taste.  

This year I also made my own crusts using the basic pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes.  It is a really easy crust to make and has turned out great each time....much better than store bought!  

Now time to plan Christmas meals!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! The preschool art that decorates our house is just one of the things I'm thankful for this year!

Wordless Wednesday

Preparations....

Grooving with the Imagination Movers!

On Sunday we went to see the Imagination Movers in concert at Sesame Place.  This was the third Movers concert we saw this year!  The kiddo loves them, and quite frankly, so do his parents.  Being at Sesame Place means it was a really small venue and the guys were really nice and hung out after the show to meet all the kids and pose for photos.  My kiddo is still photo-reluctant, but thankfully Mover Rich didn't give him a choice about posing!  I tried to explain to the kiddo that when he is older and looks back at the photos he will realize just how cool it was to meet his favorite rock stars!  I was excited to hear that the Movers will be back at Sesame next May, so we could potentially see them again!  

 

Fun time at a Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place!

 

We had fun playing at the park too.  They really outdid themselves with the holiday decorations.  What was pretty during the day became dazzling at night!  We had the chance to see the daytime parade and the nightime parade. It wasn't crowded, so the kid got to ride the roller coaster 6 times!  It was really nice not having to deal with the crazy crowds like the rest of the season, even though it was colder than expected.  Our season pass means we will get to go back a couple more times before the end of the year.  

Menu plan Monday for the week of November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving week!  This year has zoomed by!  We have been busy trying to fit in all of our holiday preparations and plans.  

We are hosting our parents (the grandparents) for Thanksgiving and the kiddo is looking forward to having all that attention!  He'll be helping me make the pumpkin pie and the apple-cranberry pie on his day off from school on Wednesday.  We picked up some apples from a farm on Friday so that our pie will have local apples. I'm afraid that will be the last of the local apples until next summer.  It's just too cold here now.  We also bought some frozen farm corn.  One of our area farms that grows yummy corn mentioned on Facebook that they froze some for Thanksgiving.  The kiddo LOVES corn on the cob, so we headed over there to pick some up.  Turns out it was cut corn, frozen in a giant zipper bag.  He still wanted it, so we'll make some of that on Thanksgiving for him. (The rest I think may become soup!) 

I also plan to make cranberry sauce, and still serve the canned kind for those who prefer it.  I found a raw cranberry relish recipe that looks really good, except I don't have a grinder to make it.  I'm debating using my food processor for it, as it sounds like it would be really tasty, expecially on a turkey sandwich!

Menu plan for dinners this week:

Monday: Slow cooker pulled pork tacos, black beans

Tuesday: Applesauce Barbeque Chicken, cous cous, broccoli

Wednesday: Something simple and light...probably salad as a main course with leftover chicken or pork?  

Thursday: Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, salad, and pies!  Pumpkin and appple-cranberry.  

Friday: Leftovers!!  My favorite part of Thanksgiving.

Saturday: visiting family

Sunday: visiting family

What's on your Thanksgiving menu?  

I'm linking up to Organizing Junkie for this week's menu plan.

The mouse king battles the Nutcracker

Before I had a kid, I had a lovely social life that included arts and culture events often.  One of my favorite subscriptions  I had was to the Pennsylvania Ballet.  Copelia was the first ballet I ever saw at the Academy of Music.  With my subscription I got to see Dracula as a ballet!  And almost every December I saw a performance of the Nutcracker.  To me, the music of the Nutcracker is my holiday soundtrack.  It's beautiful to listen to and to see the dancers interpret the music into dance is amazing.

When I had my son I knew my budget and lifestyle would be altered.  I made a mental note that when my son was five he would be old enough to see a performance of the Nutcracker.  Not only would he be able to handle the theatre atmosphere, but he would be young enough to not think ballet is only for girls.  To me, the Nutcracker was all about Marie, the young ballerina who received the Nutcracker as a gift and danced with the Sugar Plum Fairy.  I have changed my outlook on the Nutcracker and am focusing on the Mouse King's battle with the Nutcracker and his victory, in order to show my son that this ballet is for everyone, not just girls.  I think he will be mesmorized by the entire experience.  From the stage, the live orchestra, the Philadelphia Boys Choir singing, and that amazing growing Christmas tree, it will definitely be entertaining to him.

I am excited to have been invited to attend a performance of  George Ballachine's The Nutcracker by the Pennsylvania Ballet with my son in December.  This is the 25th year the PA Ballet has been perfoming this particular ballet and I know it will be just as magical as ever. I've learned that tickets to the Nutcracker start at $20, so it is possible to make this a special gift for a child to experience the Ballet and Theatre.  I can't wait to see his reaction and find out if this could be a new tradition for us, for at least a few years!

 

Artists of Pennsylvania Ballet in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev

 

Wordless Wednesday

A funny thing in the candy aisle....

In the holiday candy aisle at my local supermarket, next to the lifesaver storybooks we loved getting as kids, was this display of peppermint candy shot glasses. I'm so glad they put the age disclaimer on the box! Such an odd holiday item, in my opinion!

Menu plan Monday for the week of November 12, 2012

Baby it's been cold outside, but it seems to be warming up!  It was so cold at the end of last week that I ended up putting our super warm and cozy flannel sheets on the bed.  I hadn't used those sheets for two years, since last winter was so mild.  I love them!  With the sudden cold and snow flurries many of the leaves fell off the trees.  Our lawn guy raked our leaves into a gigantic pile on Friday since the township comes to use the leaf vaccuum this week.  I think out pile is the biggest on the block!  Darn old trees!

We are starting to get ready for Thanksgiving and planning our menu.  The kiddo has voted that we have to have pumpkin pie.  He loves anything pumpkin it seems, which is good.  (He really loves pumpkin ice cream!) I'm wondering how far I can push the pumpkin thing.  He is definitely less picky lately and has been good about trying different foods.  He went as far as trying some Chinese take out this weekend with us and declared it to be good.  Tonight he ate breaded tilapia that I called "fish and chips."  It's been nice not  having to make two meals each night!  There are still times when what we eat is just too spicy or saucy.  I respect that!  

Monday: Chris' favorite chili and rice

Tuesday: Sticky Chicken for tamale pie

Wednesday: Tortelini spinach bake in creamy lemon sauce

Thursday: Pasta night!  Easy meal after soccer practice!

Friday: homemade taco pizza and salad  (didn't get to this last week!)

Weekend:  TBD

I'm linking up to Organizing Junkie's menu planning link up!

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving dinner?  I need some side dish inspirations!