We did not eat all of our hurricane snacks

09/17/2018 Nichole

Last week found me buying copious snacks and supplies for Hurricane Florence’s visit to the mountains, but by the time she got to our house she was just a regular old rainstorm. A very rainy and insistent storm, but not one that required any special supplies. Our power was out for about four hours yesterday, and we spent the time reading, playing Carcassonne and Say Anything and eating our hurricane snacks.

I’m grateful to be back to our regular, not-waiting-for-a-hurricane schedule this week. Here’s what we’ll be having for dinner:

Monday: Bulgogi bowls: This uses Gochujang sauce, which I’ve never used before. I’d never even heard of it until recently, and when I went to buy it for a recipe it was really expensive so I made something else instead. I guess it’s become more mainstream since then, though, because the price has come down considerably. Minimalist Baker says it’s really easy to make at home, but I bought a bottle before I learned that.

Tuesday: Chicken sausages & mac ‘n’ cheese: I bought an extra pack of chicken sausages for red beans and rice last week, and then I ended up not using them. So here they make their triumphant return, in OrgJunkie.com’s recipe for Chicken Sausage with Roasted Vegetables.

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner: Pete has been playing Dungeons and Dragons on Wednesday nights, so we haven’t been together for Wednesday night dinner all that much lately. We generally pick up a cheeseburger and a Filet O’ Fish on the way there, but I think we may try something else this week. Poppy and Rockford, meanwhile, will be eating eggs at home.

Thursday: Honey soy pork tenderloin: I’m trying to make something in the CrockPot on Thursdays, because it’s our wackiest day, schedule-wise. This week we’re trying honey-soy pork tenderloin from Add A Pinch.

Friday: Frozen pizza: I don’t have much to say about frozen pizza except that I asked our local Publix if they’d start carrying Amy’s Vegan Margherita Pizza so I wouldn’t have to go to a competing grocery store for one solitary item, and they did. Thanks Publix!

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.

Family matters

JJ

09/13/2018 Nichole

At first I put off writing about this because I was holding out hope that he’d come back. But it’s been four months since we last saw JJ T. Cat, and I stopped holding out hope sometime over the summer.

I didn’t expect him to be around for too many more year. He was 16 years old and that’s pretty old for a cat. But he was in good health.

He’d been a mostly indoor cat since Marsha passed away in March, and he had transformed from a stand-offish guy into a small, furry dream cat. And then one evening he went outside, and he never came back in. We never found a trace of him.

Our new neighborhood has a bit more wildlife than our old one did, and I’m afraid something caught him by surprise. Whatever happened, I pray that it was quick.

He could be a difficult guy, but in his last few months he was so loving. I’m glad we had such good memories of him at the end.

menu plan Monday

when Monday becomes Tuesday and Tuesday attacks

09/04/2018 Nichole

Dear Reader, it will perhaps shine a light on how things are going here today when I share with you that instead of making dinner this evening I stopped at not one but two fast food establishments to feed the family after soccer practice, I cannot find one child’s lunchbox, and the other child spent 20 minutes singing very loud songs about donuts at me and is now furious about having to take a shower.

Here’s to a better tomorrow, and here’s what we’re probably having the rest of this blissfully short week.

Wednesday: Festival of frozens: I’ll be stopping by Trader Joe’s to procure a selection of their fine frozen foods.

Thursday: Soup and sandwiches: I have a strong suspicion that the children will balk at my veggie noodle soup.

Friday: Frozen pizza: Rockford and I are going out on a date, and we are making the children stay home with a responsible adult and a couple of frozen pizzas.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.