Saturday, November 18, 2006

Paddy's MI-5

Given that Thanksgiving will be just a plump, pleasant memory by next Friday, I give you a Turkey-day themed 5:

1) What is your favorite part of your traditional Thanksgiving meal?

Turkey, of course! I also enjoy the mashed potato, stuffing, and Aunt Ginny's chocolate cream pie. And, you know what? That's all I eat. No squash. No turnip. No onions. No pumpkin pie. Nope. Just those four items. Sometimes a roll. But that's it.

2) You can never have too much turkey ... but what do you do to "work it off?" Touch football? Walk with family? Sleep it off on the couch? Play board games?

Definitely take a nap. I've never even pondered the other options. Perhaps I should...Ok. All pondered. I think I'll still take a nap.

3) Are your family Noon, Afternoon or Evening diners? Would you rather have it different?

Generally, speaking, I think we normally have our big meal right around noontime. I like it that way. I think if I was going to change anything, I would tweak the timing just a little so that our stomachs might have time to regroup and maybe have an opportunity to go to Dwane's Dad's house for a late supper. Just so we could be with both families on the same day.

4) Was there one particular Thanksgiving that you spent that was particularly memorable? Good or bad ... happy or sad ... elaborate.

I don't know that I can think of one specific one. I do like the story about Uncle Ade thinking he was going to die because he ate turnip. I love that Uncle Ashley always wants to have bread. I love the "when I was a boy" stories that Dad, Unk, Uncle Ash and Father used to tell.

5) What is the one thing that you are most thnkful for this year?

Probably that we made it through the year. September 05 to September 06 was really, really, really hard. I wouldn't call it "easy" now by a long, long shot, but I'm glad to have a year behind me.

I'm also very thankful that God always, always provides. With Dwane changing jobs, and me changing jobs, we knew it was going to be "tight" financially. But--our bills have always been paid on time, there is always food on the table, and I'm still able to spoil my kids to some degree. Dwane gets bonuses and commissions at just the right time, and I know that it's no coincidence.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Here are my menus for next week. In light of my last post, I'm not sure how close I'll actually be able to stay to the suggested menu, but we'll see.

Monday: Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread. (The sauce is made in the crockpot. I could do the garlic bread in the toaster oven. I'm not sure how to cook the spaghetti, though.)

Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans. (This shouldn't be too bad. I'll just add my potatoes to the crockpot, or I'll just make instant potatoes in the microwave. Or, maybe I'll just bake my potatoes in the microwave. I think baked potatoes are my least favorite way to eat potatoes, so we'll see. In my opinion, baked potatoes are too much work and I always burn my fingers--I don't eat the skin.)

Wednesday: Meatball subs, Buttered Corn, Fresh Fruit. (I think this will work. I'll be using leftover spaghetti sauce from Monday, so I'll just do it all in the microwave.)

Thursday: Chicken and Dumplings, Peas & Carrots, Fruit Cocktail. (I think I can adapt this to the crockpot if I have to.)

Friday: Taco Pizza. Salad. Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream. (I'll really need my oven back for this one!)

My oven now no longer works. I cooked a pizza last night. 450 deg. 12 minutes. No problem. Excellent pizza. Shut the oven off. An hour later, I turned the oven back on to 300 deg. to brown the merinque on my banana pudding. Wouldn't preheat. I waited and waited and waited. Wouldn't preheat. Turned it off. Tried again. Nothing. Gas burners work. Broiler works. No oven. Dwane decided to take it all apart at 10:00 PM last night. While I was in bed, he triumphantly brings in some part to the bedroom and says he found the problem. He just needs to get a new whatever it was. Off he goes to work this morning at 6:00 AM. The stove is completely torn apart. So now I have no oven, no broiler, no stove top. Nice! And he works until probably 11:00 tonight, and all day tomorrow. Nice! And I am supposed to cook for the family tomorrow for Sunday dinner. Nice! Fortunately, though, I'm just making Supreme Nachos, so I can just cook my beef in the microwave, I guess. And since we eat at Mom's, the rest will be cooked in her oven anyway. So now I have a broken stove to go along with my nice new ice/water dispenser refrigerator that still isn't hooked up. I need to rent another husband every fall when Dwane gets busy. Dwane is so handy at so many things, but he's just so busy he can't do all of those things he's so handy at. Guess I'll keep him though. (Assuming he doesn't trade in my van for that new truck.)

Friday, November 03, 2006

Here's my menu for next week (assuming Dwane is around for supper):

Monday: Grilled Tilapia with Bell Peppers (I've never had Tilapia before), Rice, Italian-seasoned Green Beans

Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan, Peas and Carrots, Salad

Wednesday: Carne Guisada (like taco meat, but with stew beef instead of hamburg), homemade tortillas, grilled peppers and onions, Spanish rice

Thursday: Sloppy Joes, Carrots and Dip, Potato Chips

Friday: Pepperoni Pizza, Salad, Banana Pudding