Goodbye 2011...

2011 in review:

Bah Humbug!

I've been feeling a little under the weather for a couple of days. I'm pretty sure that I've got a major cold coming, and I'm trying to fight it off. At least one to two days a week, I feel as though I'm running a fever, and all I want to do is sleep.

And on top of that, it's the holiday season. Everyone is rushing and dashing around getting decorations up, and buying presents. But not me. It's not that I don't dislike the gift-giving, being good to people, etc idea. But I cannot stand the commercialization of the season. And not being a Christian, I don't really feel that I need to celebrate the birth of a baby that wasn't mine, and who, in fact, wasn't even born in December anyway. But I've never felt strongly pulled toward the whole Yule thing either. Maybe because people use it interchangeably with Christmas.

But I have noticed that, while many around me are rushing everywhere, they are getting stressed out. "What to get for presents? What to fix for dinner? Where will the tree go? A real tree or fake one?" And I actually have no stress whatsoever! It's a really nice feeling too. So, if you're one of those that runs around like a chicken with its head cut off--take a moment and think about WHY you are doing this? Is it for the satisfaction of you or are you trying to please someone else? Are you overspending you budget just to get the expensive things for your friends and family? If you are, then STOP--if they are truly your friends, then they will love whatever you get them! And family has to love you no matter how awful those mittens that you made. Take the time to take a deep breath and think about why you are so hectic right now.

Wednesday Night

Tonight's dinner was very yummy. I spent the afternoon running The Boy to swimming class and then Youth Group at a local church, and the Nephew to a friend's house to learn what he'll be doing this weekend (house sitting a couple of dogs and a gaggle of cats) that I thought using the Slow Cooker was in order. So this morning (or early afternoon for those who keep an earlier schedule than we do around here), I cut up the cabbage I had left over from Monday's dinner and through them into the ceramic insert to the crock pot. Yes, threw. It helps separate the pieces. j/k :)

I then cut up an apple. One that is able to be cooked and keep most of its firmness works best, such as a fuji, gala or granny smith (my personal favorite since it's tart), but any kind will work. If there's room, put more than one apple. But I only had room for one.

On top of that, I put half of the huge pork loin. Add about 4 cups of water (apple juice or leftover spiced cider is very yummy too!) Because the insert was so full, I put a piece of foil over the whole thing, crimping the edges down to seal everything in. Then I put the lid on top (sort of). It didn't want to fit, which is why I used the foil (and I did use my 7-qt. slow cooker, so don't know how to make it any smaller, except to take out some of the cabbage which would have been a shame).

Cook it on low for about 8-10 hours. I started it on high for about 2 hours, then dropped it down to low for the rest of the time. One thing about this is that it won't overcook if you have to leave it for a while longer. A lot of recipes for the slow cooker are for a shorter time, which I find almost impossible to fix since I'm gone for most of the afternoon and we eat late.

I would have taken a picture of it, but we ate it all too quickly. So I guess it was very good. Or they were just very hungry, but I'm still leaning toward very good :)

Another option for those meatless eaters out there is to make the cabbage & apples in the crockpot with the apple juice (or water) by itself. I've done this for church potlucks and it was a huge success. Tonight I used green cabbage, but I've used red before and have mixed the two for a colorful meal. It all depends on which one is one sale, since all I'll about saving some money right now :)

If you give this a try, let me know what ya'll think, and whether you made any changes to it. I'm always interested in hearing how other people fix up their meals too.

Mediterranean Couscous Cabbage Rolls

Last night was "Meatless Monday," so I made the recipe from the new book Eating Well: Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals. Here's a picture:and another one of it cooking up:

It was good. Everyone but The Boy liked it. He said it needed seasoning in the couscous mixture. Part of that is that I left out the salt that the directions said to add to the couscous water. But since we're low- to no- salt around here, I left it out. I also left out the mint that it called to add the couscous mixture, so maybe that would have changed it. But I don't really like mint too much, so I left it out.

The only thing I'm going to do differently next time is cook the cabbage rolls longer. The directions said to cook the cabbage rolls for 5-8 minutes and of course, since it was already late, I only cooked it 5 minutes. Definitely longer next time :)

Menu Planning part 2

I have finally finished my menu for the next two weeks. Just in time to go shopping tomorrow :) If you need a reason to justify making a menu up ahead of time, I've got 2 reasons for you. 1: Just think if you wrote down everything that you needed to make what you've planned, you'll save time on unexpected trips to your local grocery store. And 2: If you know what you are planning on fixing, and you have a list of what you need, then you will not be as tempted to impulse shop and spend more than you planned on at the store. Saving money is ALWAYS a plus :)

So, with that in mind, I'll share what I have planned for the next two weeks. I do try to balance my meals out, so that I don't have pasta 3 days in a row, etc. And I have certain days I have to be careful of. Fridays are game night, so I either need to plan to feed the masses or set aside a little for a pizza run. Tuesdays are the craziest day of the week, so that's why the meal on that day is simple, yet yummy. Also, since our payday is on Friday, I start my weekly menus on Friday and run through Thursdays. Just a little quirk of mine.

Friday, October 21st: Beef Roast (in crockpot) with Mushroom Gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans

Saturday, Oct 22nd: Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti (The Nephew's night)

Sunday, Oct 23rd: Hot Wings, Coleslaw and Fries/Potato Cakes (The Man's night)

Meatless Monday, Oct 24th: Mediterranean Couscous Cabbage Rolls & Salad ('cause I couldn't think of another vegetable/side dish to serve)

Tuesday, Oct 25th: Sandwiches

Wednesday, Oct 26th: Pork Roast with Cabbage & Apples (Crockpot)

Thursday, Oct 27th: Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup (low salt) and Salad (The Boy's night)

Friday, Oct 28th: Pizza night

Saturday, Oct 29th: Kung Pao Tofu (Meatloving Nephew picked this one)

Sunday, Oct 30th: Cheeseburgers or Cheesesteaks (depending on if Aldi's still has the cheesesteaks) and Fries (The Man's job)

Meatless Monday, Oct 31st: Fettuccine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Tuesday, Nov 1st: Breakfast

Wednesday, Nov 2nd: Lemon & Herb Crockpot Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus

Thursday: Louisiana style Shrimp with Rice (The Boy's pick)

As you can see, I LOVE my crockpots. I have two of them and when they're not cooking our dinner, I'm usually brewing my own broth, whether it's chicken, beef or vegetable. It's such a valuable resource. So if you don't have one, I'd recommend going and getting one. And if you have one and don't use it, then dust it off and start using it!

Menu Planning

Every two weeks, I sit down and start to plan the menu for the next two weeks. Why two weeks and not one? Because we get paid every two weeks and I find it much easier to plan for two weeks at a time instead of one. And why not the whole month? While I have done that in the past, I've found that it becomes to plan for unexpected changes during that time.

One thing that I've implemented in the last few weeks is that I don't do all the cooking. I live with 3 other people who are absolutely capable of cooking as well. And since the chef-for-the-night is also in charge of making sure that everything is cleaned up and the kitchen is in order at the end of the night, this allows me to have 3 nights when I get to relax a little, or be out of the house with meetings, etc. Either way, it's a nice break for me :)

I have many resources for recipes. Some are online but most come from cookbooks. And since I don't own nor do I want to own billions of cookbooks, I go to my library. Weekly :) I can't say enough about the library and their resources. They have all kinds of books there, just waiting for you to read and peruse. And if the book you want is checked out, I'm sure that your library will allow you to put the book "on hold," just as mine does. And if I think I'll use most of the recipes in the book, then I'll go and buy a copy (i.e. my Low-Salt Cookbook that I reference for so many low- and no-salt options).

Last week, I was looking at the library and found a wonderful book called "Eating Well: Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals." Now, not being a vegetarian, I don't have all that many resources for meatless or veggie meals. But I do like to include one meatless meal per week. We call that "Meatless Monday" and this can be anything from a vegetarian-based soup to my Spinach-Cheese Lasagna. So you can imagine how excited I was to discover this cookbook :) I've already slated a few of the recipes for the next couple of weeks, and will try and remember to post pictures as I plate them.

Weekend of Fun

or not really. For all the beautiful weather we had here, I didn't really get a chance to enjoy it. Saturday was spent running The Boy to meetings and such and then Sunday started real early with a 9:30 a.m. meeting at church. I felt fine getting ready for the meeting, and through the meeting. Then The Man and I went upstairs for service and I pulled out my knitting (the aqua socks). That's when I noticed my hands starting to swell and my left thumb wasn't working well. And within 10 minutes, I couldn't use my left hand at all. So, as much as I wanted to be at church, we decided to leave since the RA was hitting my so strong. Only stopping long enough to pick up the rest of the groceries at our Ultra-Cheap Grocery Store, we headed home where I spent most of the day in bed with a heating pad on my hand.

That said, The Man, The Boy and The Nephew got a lot done around the house. Most of the dishes were done by the younger two while The Man smoked a HUGE pork picnic in the smoker. And made BBQ sauce, and homemade potato pancakes. Wish I'd thought to take a picture of the VERY beautiful dinner that he made. But I was too busy chowing down to think that far ahead :)

On another note, I found a website that helps one keep track of their fitness workouts and calorie counts. It's call MyFitnessPal and the website is www.myfitnesspal.com. You can enter what your weight goals are and how much you want to lose per week, etc. I went with modest goals to start with. If I can make it down to that goal, then I will put in the ultimate goal and work toward that. But I'm looking at several years worth of weight loss. But if I don't start, I'll never lose it. So I'm getting started with it :)