Gingerbread Cookies 2017

05 Friday Jan 2018

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I took an unplanned day off blogging yesterday to deal with the fallout from the 17″ of snow we received.  School is closed again today with wind chills around -15° (and getting colder).  The roads look reasonably good and the driveway is shoveled, but I have no intention of going out.

That being said, there are multiple people clamoring for attention so this will be brief!

Enjoy the boys’ gingerbread cookies.

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As you can see we have some overzealous sugar users (with one notable exception).

 

Accomplishments – December 2017

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

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I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions, but I will plan to keep up the monthly goals lists in 2018.

Let’s see first how December went:

  • Order and send Christmas cards.
  • Find/buy/wrap all Christmas presents.  Mail if needed.

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  • Finish cleaning the master bedroom and garage.  With the holiday break, the other spaces are just going to have to wait for 2018.  I got the garage done and I got the stuff organized in the master bedroom.  It just needs an actual cleaning.
  • A big recipe clean-out.  You know, all those magazine pages I’ve torn out or websites I’ve printed.  Are we really going to try them?  Also, going through my binder of tried recipes to weed out those we really don’t actually eat.  I’m aiming to try one new recipe each week this winter and I’m on track (minus Thanksgiving week) so far.

And, a few more things got done in the past few weeks:

  • We visited with family.
  • It snowed just before Christmas.  I’m sure this messed with many people’s plans, but it did give us a white Christmas.  (There was a fair amount of ice involved also, but thankfully no major power issues.)

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  • I redid the boys closets.  I moved clothes that were two small down, removed things that were ripped/stained/etc., got out the next size shirts for the twins, and sorted my various fall consignment sale finds by size so they’re ready when needed.
  • I updated our Christmas card list with new addresses, etc.
  • We attended our final swimming lessons of the year.  We’ll take a session off and be back at them towards the end of February.
  • The twins attended their Before School Sports session; the youngest went to her gym class.  I registered her for the next session.
  • We had a playdate for the preschooler.
  • Our oldest had four baseball practices.
  • I registered our first grader for winter baseball.
  • We made Gingerbread cookies.  We also watched Die Hard and Home Alone as Christmas movies.

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  • The six oldest people saw the new Star Wars movie.

So, it’s on to January 2018.

  • Finish the master bedroom clean.
  • Start the office clean:
    • Put away items that shouldn’t be in there.
    • Shred the massive pile of bills/receipts/etc.
    • Put away important documents to keep and toss ones that are older than need keeping.
    • Fix one category of broken items: books, sewing, or plastic stuff.
    • Clean near the window wall and put the desk back where it belongs.
  • Make a master cleaning document to track how often things should be/are getting cleaned.
  • Set up the new meals/activities tracking white boards.

December 2017 Grocery Review

01 Monday Jan 2018

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Happy 2018 to everyone!

With Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Mondays, I decided to take last week off but start this week fresh.  Similarly, while I did go grocery shopping both of the last two weeks, I’m not going to go day by day.  I’ll share some pictures (all mixed together) and summarize December.  In the same vein, we did some traveling this past week so I’ll lay out the Christmas menu and leave it at that.  Plan for a more standard Monday post next week.

The above shows a mix of Wegman’s, Stop & Shop, and the farm stand (a couple trips to each).  This coming week I’ll be heading to BJ’s and Target at least.  We’ll see how the week goes with snow in the forecast for Thursday and Friday.

December TOTAL: $1,025.89

  • Stop & Shop: $131.01
  • Wegman’s: $477.05
  • BJs: $142.88
  • Other: $274.95
    • Local: $148.57
    • Star Market: $13.50
    • Trader Joe’s: $9.97
    • Target: $0
    • Other: $0

This was a good month, especially when one considers the significant meals often involved for Christmas, Christmas Eve, holiday parties, etc.  We did host Christmas day and got two nice prime rib roasts, but otherwise we had no especially significant holiday food expenses.

Christmas Eve: Salmon wrapped in puff pastry, pan fried potatoes, spinach salad

Christmas Day: French onion soup, Prime rib roast, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, mushroom & wild rice stuffing, gingerbread cookies, pumpkin pie

A 2017 Christmas Catch-All

22 Friday Dec 2017

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Well, yesterday did not go to plan.  I knew I would have a busy morning, but that flowed well into the afternoon because the high school had an emergency release at lunchtime which pushed back the scheduled elementary half day by an hour.  So, rather than having an early afternoon gap, my day flowed from one thing to the next unbroken.  But, it all needed to be done and nothing was stressful.

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We have a few more things to check off the list before Christmas.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to send us a mix of snow and ice over the next few days which may complicate matters.  Today I have a make a grocery store run (with the youngest two in tow), take one child to his swimming lesson (with the youngest in tow), and take one child for his Christmas present purchase.  I suspect the addition of just a small amount of snow will make the first and last of these tasks more challenging.  Hopefully the roads will be fine as swimming is close to home and therefore holiday traffic should not be an issue for that trip.

The ice is scheduled to start up overnight on top of whatever snow we get today (just a dusting of coarse salt-like crystals right now).  Tomorrow morning our oldest has baseball practice and I have to pick up the Christmas roasts.  Then we can tuck in until Tuesday!  Gingerbread cookies are on the to-do list.  More snow is forecast for Christmas.

I’m going to take next week off and be back here January 2.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone.

Last Week’s Accomplisments – Last Preschool for 2017

19 Tuesday Dec 2017

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Since it was the last week of preschool it was time for me to get everything completed!

  • I made more than the usual number of grocery visits.
  • I wrapped just about all the presents.  I have five small items left to do.
  • I mailed the Christmas cards.
  • The boys all had haircuts from the lady that comes to our house.
  • We had four swimming lessons plus one free swim session.
  • We had two birthday parties.
  • I took the youngest to her gym class.
  • The oldest had two baseball practices.
  • Preschool had their holiday party.  I sent in sliced cucumbers for the red/green theme.
  • I made Hot Cross Buns because the younger boys were asking about the song.  They turned out to be quite popular so I’m going to try again with a slightly different recipe.

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  • I ordered the beef roasts for Christmas dinner.  I’ll pick them up on Saturday.
  • We had an early Christmas with my sister who will be elsewhere for the holiday.  They kids enjoyed getting one present early.  And, I think its nice for them to spread things out a bit.

 

Grocery Update & What We Ate – Week 50, 2017

18 Monday Dec 2017

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After a moderate week last week with no grocery store visits, I made a lot of stops (for me) this week.  Thankfully, none were too huge, but there were a lot.

I spent $53.78 at Wegman’s on Monday.  The dark bag that’s hard to see is cucumbers for the preschool holiday party.

Then, on Tuesday, I spent $11.31 at Stop & Shop, mostly to grab things that were on sale that we prefer from that store.

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On Thursday, I spent $13.50 at Shaw’s on nine boxes of oatmeal that I didn’t take a picture of.

On that same trip, I stopped at Wegman’s again for the big shop of $98.20.

Finally, on Saturday I spent $30.21 at the farm stand for some items for our early Christmas get-together.  I also picked up some items for dinner that night.

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That brought me to exactly $207 for the week.  Not bad at all!

We had evening activities on Monday and Thursday, as well as a few quick-fix dinner requirements.  Plus the Christmas party covered Sunday lunch, so that was planned to be a lighter dinner.

Monday:
Early: Hot dogs, carrot sticks
Late: Homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Shepard’s pie, green beans

Wednesday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, brocolli
Late: Homemade pizza

Thursday:
Early: Turkey, green beans
Late: Tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Early: French toast
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Pork tenderloin, sauteed Brussels sprouts, pan fried potatoes

Sunday:
Meatball subs, carrot sticks, pasta salad

A Review of Stop & Shop’s Recipe for Korean Stir-Fry with Pork and Asian Noodles

15 Friday Dec 2017

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Korean Stir-Fry with Pork and Asian Noodles

I’ve been trying some new recipes while we are between baseball and soccer seasons.  First, right off the bat, this is a recipe we would try again.  That being said, I think some comments and modifications are in order.

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Some notes about us, because that may affect how you perceive the comments:

  • We don’t eat many stir frys.
  • We’ve never had veggie noodles.  And, I’m the only one here who really likes sweet potatoes.
  • I haven’t cooked these noodles or with Korean BBQ sauce before, but those both seemed well within our reach.
  • I am a zero pepper person, though most of the family would prefer things spicier.

There are definite pros:

  1. This recipe is super easy.  The most time consuming thing was cutting up the pork.  Plus, it gives suggestions for preparation that can be done in advance.
  2. It is good and was accepted by all the kids.
  3. It’s quick, and makes a complete meal in one pot.
  4. The ingredients are not hard to find.  I did not buy all of them at Stop & Shop, despite this being their recipe.  I’m sure I could have.

But, I would change things up a bit:

  1. It needs more sauce, like double the amount.
  2. And, I think pretty much anyone could handle a spicier sauce.  They sell a spicy Korean BBQ sauce also which I would recommend.
  3. The sweet potato noodles felt a bit gimicky.  They tasted fine and were cooked properly, they just didn’t seem necessary.
  4. On the other hand, this could easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the pork.  You wouldn’t be missing much, but I would leave the sweet potato noodles in.

In summary: more sauce, possibly spicier, and leave out either the sweet potato noodles or pork.

**Stop & Shop is not everywhere within the US.  In the Metro DC area, for example, it is known as Giant.  Maybe other names elsewhere.

Freezer Challenge – Fall 2017

14 Thursday Dec 2017

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Like the pantry, the freezers need a refresh.  Now, this is not a freezer challenge where I’m not allowed to buy anything.  This is a “see what’s been in there a long time and plan a way to use it up,” mission.  So, I’m not auditing everything.  And, I’m not going to stop buying groceries either.

I actually did the inventory just before Thanksgiving and was going to write about it last week, but life got in the way and that didn’t happen.  So, here goes.

Meat:

  • 2 packages of breakfast sausage (1 meal for us)
  • 1 package of bacon
  • 6 packages (3-4 per pk) of chicken thighs with bones & skin
  • 1 5.5-lb package of chicken thighs with bones & skin (1 meal for us)
  • 11 packages (2-3 per pk) of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 9 packages (4-5 per pk) of thin-sliced chicken breasts
  • 3 lbs chicken wings
  • 1 pork butt
  • 1 package of pork tenderloin (thawing as I write for dinner this weekend)
  • 3 3-lb chuck roasts
  • 6 NY strip steaks – plain (we ate these with pesto last week)
  • 1 package (6-8 per pk) of salmon filets
  • 4 lbs of tilapia filets
  • 7 lbs of ground turkey

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Ingredients:

  • 1 box of puff pastry
  • Partial BJ’s bag of sliced almonds
  • Partial BJ’s bag of walnuts
  • 7 1-cup packages of blueberries (these are ones we picked and I froze in vacuum bags)
  • 1 cup diced red pepper
  • 9 basil-in-chicken-broth cubes
  • 12 bags of egg whites, mix of 4-ct and 8-ct
  • 3 8-oz blocks of cream cheese

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Miscellaneous:

  • ½ box of popsicles (not sure what is going to happen to this given that its about 20° outside now)
  • 8 loaves of banana bread (since counting I thawed 2 and sent them as school snacks)
  • 1 pan of sausage stuffing (was eaten for Thanksgiving)
  • 18 servings of butternut squash ravioli (I might be off on this count as I didn’t remove everything from the freezer, but its a lot.  These will be lunches for me.)
  • 2 loaves of gingerbread
  • 1 package of fudge

So, its not everything.  You will definitely see things in the pictures that are not in this list.  But, it is what has been around for longer than maybe I’d like and should be moved along.  I’ll plan to update this and the pantry status at the beginning of January so you can see how we’ve been doing eating things up.  In the meantime, watch the menus to see what appears!

Last Week’s Accomplishments – Holiday Concerts

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

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Very busy last week.

  • We went to the preschool and middle school winter concerts.  Both boys did a great job with their songs.
  • I had a dentist appointment.
  • We had the baseball uniform fitting and two baseball practices.
  • Two boys were fitted for skis (rentals for their lessons next month).
  • We went to four swimming lessons.
  • I took the youngest to her gym class, as well as one open gym session.
  • The oldest a half day so he went to a trampoline park for the afternoon.
  • We took one boy to a birthday party.
  • The adults attended the company holiday party.
  • Two boys went to math morning.

Along the way:

  • I went to the mall twice.  Once for shopping and once to take the youngest two to see Santa.  I was shocked at how empty the mall was on Tuesday (shopping day).  Not only was there parking and relatively few shoppers, but most stores seemed to be on half staff.  Friday (Santa day) was busier, but still not terrible.  I don’t know if its the current state of retail, or if I’m just ahead of the game this year.  I also drove by on Thursday and there was next to no traffic on the main road out front.  In past years that’s been an area to avoid between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  • We had our first snowfall – 6 inches.  The boys all worked together to get the driveway shoveled.  We determined we only have one adult shovel, but five people who could use one that size.  So, I’m on a mission to get a few more.  We have plenty of kid shovels, so some folks resorted to those.  The boys attempted to build snow forts, but ended up with a couple of large snow piles.  It’s been in the 40s since, so I’m not sure how much longer they will last.  It’s raining today, which won’t help.
  • Apart from a few gift cards, my shopping should be done.  I just have to wait for a few more packages to arrive by mail and sort through those I have received.  Hopefully I can kick that off today because tomorrow is trash day and I’d just assume get the packaging moved along.

Grocery Update & What We Ate – Week 49, 2017

11 Monday Dec 2017

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This was a good week.  Unfortunately, I’m in a rut of posting late on Mondays.  But, better late than never.  It will be brief, though because we have to eat early tonight.

I went grocery shopping on Wednesday only.  I went to Target and BJ’s.  Target first for $41.29 in food (plus some other items).  I don’t always take a picture of the Target stuff because its often just juice.  But, this time there was some variety.  Very happy to find the big packs of granola bars in our favorite flavor (vs multi-flavor) also!

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Then, I spent $135.44 at BJ’s for a total of $176.73 for the week!

Meals were a bit here and there with many post-dinner activities.

Monday:
Korean stir-fry with pork and Asian noodles (I’ll review this recipe on Friday.)

Tuesday:
Take out pizza

Wednesday:
Steaks with pesto, potatoes gratin, carrots, homemade bread

Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, broccoli
Late: Take-out Indian

Friday:
Early: Pancakes
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, carrots
Late: Out for the company party

Sunday:
Spaghetti & meatballs, spinach salad