Got Them Just in Time …

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

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Or, so I thought. I was so happy that I managed to rake the entire yard last week before it snowed (yes, really (though just a bit)). I never go that fast. Often the boys do some, but I had a deadline and they had school.

Then it snowed and the cold hit and the two trees that hadn’t lost their leaves lost them.

The pumpkins were snowed on.

And, I think this is really the end for this year’s celery.

I was going to have to rake again. But, miraculously our lawn guy showed up and blew most of them (he missed the ones near the road) away. So, that job got much shorter. We only just started with the mower and I haven’t figured out exactly what they do. I hadn’t seen them in some time so I thought they were done for the year, but maybe now they are? We’ll see.

Grocery Planning with a visit to BJs

17 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Groceries

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I went to BJs again. It’s become apparent to me that two weeks is just a much better interval than one month. At first I thought I could save some gas and energy only going once a month. Gas yes; energy not so much.

It is farther than other places I can shop for food. But, going once a month I anticipate what we will eat and our schedule is so irregular that that is just hard to do. This is why my most recent trip is relatively small.

I also filled a cart with just this stuff so when I buy more I have to go through checkout twice and make two trips to the car. This isn’t terrible, just time consuming. The second main reason is that our house is cleaned every two weeks so I need to be out of it. BJs, along with some other stop, takes just the right amount of time. And, I can take the three year old. When I was trying to stretch my BJs trips out I found it difficult to do something I actually needed to do during that interval. Since I have to be gone for the entire morning and my little guy would rather nap in the morning even a trip to the park is difficult. He does better with the stimulus of shopping. So, I’m going back to every two weeks as needed.

Halibut Recipe

14 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Recipes

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Fish

I’m a big fan of recipes I can prep when I have time/ingredients and then eat later. This is a great one for that theme since the pouches go straight from the freezer to the oven, and it’s something my kids will eat.

Unfortunately, I don’t have pre-frozen photos. But, doesn’t this look yummy, some would even say elegant if cut open properly.

Halibut with Carrots & Leeks (from Real Simple magazine)

3 small carrots, thinly sliced – could easily be doubled, if desired
2 leeks (white and light green parts), sliced into half moons – optional
4 6-ounce halibut fillets (1 inch thick, skin removed)
Kosher salt and pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup fresh oregano – 4 tsp dried works fine

Prep:

Arrange 4 squares of parchment on a flat surface. Fold to create a diagonal line.
Place the carrots and leeks in the center on one side of the line. Place the halibut on the vegetables.
** The seasonings in this step are for the total of 4 pouches.** Season with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the oregano.
Fold the parchment over. Starting at one point fold over the edges to seal. You’ll end up with a half-heart shape.
Place the packets in plastic bags and freeze until ready to cook, for up to 3 months.

Cook:

Heat oven to 375°.
Remove the proper number of packets from the freezer and place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Cook for 25 minutes.
Cut open the packets before serving. Be careful of the escaping steam. (On each plate makes the best presentation, but since I’m feeding the kids I transfer the contents to their plates)

I did modify this slightly and my comments as to the ingredients are included. I am most likely to prep this when I find halibut at the farmer’s market fishmonger. I’m sure he wonders what I’m doing with all the fish as I usually buy for that night’s dinner also and they rarely are things that would go together.

Free is Good

13 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Groceries

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Normally, I make most all of the deserts around here. A significant sale on Oreos or ice cream is an exception. But, as part of the Wegman’s store opening I had a “$1 off any bakery item” coupon. Since I also make many non-sandwich breads (sandwich bread I’d buy in a bag, not at the bakery anyway) I took the opportunity to try a $1 chocolate croissant. It was very good, and free!

It’s Never Ending with Socks

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Family, Home

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I feel like I throw out at least one sock every time I do laundry. I guess with this many people it’s inevitable. The most recent one was mine. Thankfully, most people have only one or two types of socks so the extra one gets paired with another leftover later on.

I also tossed two pairs of jeans yesterday. For years I kept jeans with holes in the knees to stock their cubbies at school. But, I have so many of those that I’ve decided to part with a few.

Where are all the Girls?

11 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Family

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Last Tuesday was election day – no school. And, the weather was gorgeous. We got our first snowflakes just after Halloween this year so seasonal weather was a welcome change. I took all the boys to the park mid-morning. It was busy, but among the 30ish kids I counted I think 3 were girls, who all seemed to be having a blast. I know I used to like going to the park as a child. Admittedly, I was only somewhat surprised as there are often more boys than girls at the park.

The park itself was a welcome change for my guys. The ground was still quite wet from the rain and associated snow so we had some muddy shoes, pants, and sweatshirts afterwards. And, we didn’t see anyone we knew. But, nobody escaped (this park has no fence), everybody had fun, and we burned off a lot of energy.

Grocery Planning

10 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Groceries

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Last week was an odd grocery shopping week. Not only am I trying to get the most bang for my buck with two stores offering significant weekly deals currently. But, I also needed to do my every two months or so visit to a third grocery store for the three items they carry that nobody else does (plus one sale item). At Stop & Shop, I need to spend $50 before coupons to get $5 off plus a free item. This week’s free item was the bottled water. I don’t usually buy it, and we use it only rarely, but I’m not turning it down either. The final total for the stuff in the picture was $43.39.

I’m going to Wegman’s again later in the week (to use the week 2 coupons) so I loaded those items I could buy at either store into the Wegman’s app so I could compare prices while I was at Stop & Shop. I really appreciate that the app gives you the prices, but I really don’t like that I can’t find a complete list anywhere of what’s on sale. I’ll do a full Wegman’s review after my four weeks of intro offers are completed. But, while I was at Stop & Shop I compared 5 items, all of which were cheaper at Wegman’s. Now, none were on sale at Stop & Shop while three were on sale at Wegman’s; I don’t know what their regular prices are, but two weren’t on sale. That being said, milk and bananas were exactly the same so it’s better to buy them at Stop & Shop and get the gas points (or BJs and get the cash back!). Also, I got bread cheaper at Stop & Shop (and I’m not super brand loyal). And, there were a few items that I wanted that Wegman’s doesn’t carry so I bought those too.

For anyone who’s keeping track, I think the Monday posts are getting too long. So, I’m only going to post the upcoming week’s menu once a month (give or take). If I get too many comments otherwise I can do it more often again.

White Chili Recipe

07 Friday Nov 2014

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White Chili

This isn’t so much a chili recipe, as much as it’s a Tex-Mex flavored chicken soup. It’s slightly modified from the recipe in The Big Red Cookbook from Betty Crocker.

I opted out of the beans as mine don’t eat them anyway. And, I doubled the recipe, which worked fine. The cooked chicken was half leftover from the roasted chickens a week back (I had planned for all of it to come from this but we ate more chicken initially than I thought, which is fine.) and half from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. You could also add back in the hot sauce I omitted (1/4 tsp).

Our sides were scallions, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and corn muffins.

White chili
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from two limes (2 Tbsp)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
¼ tsp salt
1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15-16 oz) great northern beans, drained
1 can (15-16 oz) butter beans, drained
2 cups chopped cooked chicken

Heat oil in 4-qt Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes.

More or More Choice?

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Family

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As my kids are getting bigger I obviously need to feed them more. Initially this moved us from cooking for two to cooking for the equivalent of four, which is great for many recipes. However, now we’ve moved to needing food for the equivalent of 5-6 adults, depending on the meal. So, the current issue I’m struggling with is whether I should make more of the one thing or add more foods to the meal. I’ve done a bit of both so far. We’ve doubled the chili recipe – everyone likes it and it makes fine leftovers. We’re also happy to eat leftover chicken pot pie, but not everyone is as thrilled with this dish. So, even though it’s a one pot meal, I’ve started to add green sides which appeal to those who’d prefer not to eat pot pie. I go back and forth. Making more things is definitely more complicated. But, variety is nice and it helps to offer something for everyone.

Halloween Costumes

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Nora in Family

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We were remarkably quick getting everyone into their costumes this year. But, the picture was sadly elusive. Here is one of the better attempts! The best few only had four of five in the picture, let alone looking the right way.