Thursday the 17th: Food of the Week

 *Life is a little crazy since we are under a water boil advisory after the main water pump in town lost power. So here's the plan:

*Tomorrow will be macaroni and cheese as long as the order is lifted. If the order is not lifted, I'll probably do ropa vieja in the slow cooker as it has less dishes.  

*Tonight is probably going to be Thai Pork lettuce wraps (served over rice).  It's going to be a lot of dishes BUT I already defrosted the pork, so I'm a little stuck. My hope is to do a couple of the steps this afternoon, get those dishes washed (I have to soak them in bleach after washing them in the nonboiled water), and then proceed later in the day after Scholars Bowl practice.

*Last night was going to be the lettuce wraps but was Taco Shop instead. 

*Tuesday night the Son made Market Corn Salad from his Betty Crocker cookbook and a bag of frozen breaded chicken. It was really good, lots of veggies, but I felt a little heavy on the cumin. For lunch I had a beautiful salad from Bobby D's in Emporia (pictured below) with excellent burnt ends.

*Monday night I made chicken parm burgers from Taste of Home;  they were very good but next time I want to put breadcrumbs on the outside of them as well.

*Sunday we had chicken enchiladas in red sauce. The recipe actually made 20, not 10, and everyone got plenty. My mom made Spanish Rice as a side, and we had Zingerman's poppy seed cake as a dessert. 

*Saturday I brought home the bag of apples below after searching in vain for peaches. 

 

 

Wednesday the 16th: chores of the week

 *I got all of my forms for substitute teaching done and filled out.

*Laundry is done for the day except for folding, groceries are done, and I will do just a few more things before nap time. 

*We are under a boil advisory so we are currently pondering whether to eat out or to struggle through cooking and then washing dishes for supper. 

Tuesday the 15th: More moving

 The piano was the only piece coming in that I was sure I knew where it went, and I really like the sound we get from having it against the open railing.

We are slowly moving around things in the rest of the big room, but it is pretty much set from what we had before.

The Son and I walked our first night here and saw ominous clouds that looked like hail--but none fell on us. 

 

 

Monday the 14th: Saint of the Week

 Reading 2 for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, taken from usccb.org:

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. 

 (Found on Pinterest from https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/gospel_illuminations/299701_enlarge.html?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=organic)

 

Friday the 11th: We Remember

 I was in my first year of teaching, my grandma was dying, I was preparing to get married in 3 months, and I was setting up for Mass when the priest burst in to the chapel saying, "what do I talk about in my homily?" 

And that's how I found out. 

For the rest of the day we watched TV and read about virtue. My mom came home early and pulled my brothers out of school a little early too. In Wichita the skies were silent, which is rare for an airplane manufacturing town.

And every year since, I tell my students or remember with my family, and one of the parts that makes me choke up every time is the sacrifice of the passengers in Pennsylvania. What courage. 

Thursday the 10th: Food of the Week

 *Chores of the week isn't happening because I got too busy yesterday.

*Friday meal is probably leftover potatoes and some chicken mole from Trader Joe's.

*Today is Skillet Chicken Fajitas.  This recipe is both really good and a lot of work; I'm going to use bell peppers rather than poblanos to make sure it's not too hot. I'm also making two loaves of zucchini bread to take to Oblate meeting and to have for breakfasts here; everything is ready to go except for grating the zucchini, which needs to happen in the next 10 minutes. I will be squeezing the zucchini shreds first to prevent too much moisture in the bread, and I'm leaving out both nuts and raisins since I don't know allergy status at the meeting.

*Yesterday was Linguine with Garlic sauce; I made the veggies in a separate pan and only added about 3/4 of the white sauce to it as I had one eater who didn't want the veggies. As usual with this recipe, it was a little gloppy (maybe more milk?) and could use a little parmesan cheese--but still good and very elegant looking.

*Tuesday the Son made waffles and bacon. He had to eat the first two "for quality assurance" but they were all delicious and a great breakfast for supper meal.

*Monday I made sheet pan nachos with shredded barbecued beef leftover from Sunday. Our niece was surprised that the different flavors worked well together. I used canned diced tomatoes for the tomatoes and only one can of refried beans--two was too many.  

*Sunday we ate baked potatoes and the barbecued beef and an ice cream cake. Everything was a huge hit, and the beef was delicious.  The weather was hot enough that our coals had no problem lasting, there was a great smoky flavor, and the sauce is delicious.

 (Picture below is nachos with peaches)

 

Tuesday the 8th: Moving continued

  *Picture one: empty empty rooms ready for move out. The Husband actually spent one more week in the downstairs bedroom and bathroom until we closed on the house.

*Picture two and three are our first family pictures in the new house as we worked on unpacking. We were so tired. I had so many steps that day. Settling is still ongoing.