December Meal Ideas

We have a very simple plan for our dinner meals. Nothing is set in stone. There is many repeats through out the month. December holds many special dates for my family. Of course, we have three Christmas dinners. One with my side of the family, one with our immediate family, and then one with our church family. We have an Anniversary and a Birthday to celebrate. I already know that me and my husband will have a steak and potatoes for our meal. The one with the birthday will choose what they want to eat for dinner that night. It could be something simple or it could mean us going out to eat. Every birthday changes! So here we go...

1. Dried beans cooked in the crock-pot all day. Served always with cornbread. Sometimes we add some sort of a potato as a side but most of the time we do not.

2. Biscuits & gravy is a favorite around here. Depending on my mood, we will use frozen or homemade biscuits. Again... sometimes we will have pork sausage or bacon. Not always.

3. Chicken: we have drumsticks, thighs, breasts, and tenders in the freezer. Most of the time we roast the chicken. This is served with mashed potatoes and either green beans or sweet peas. The tenders will possible be made into fajitas.  Every once in a blue moon we will fry chicken. Some kind of biscuits or rolls is usually served too.

4. Pork chops: The only way we really like pork chops is grilling them or using shake-n-bake. We serve these generally with the same sides as the chicken. Mac & cheese could be an alternate side dish.

5. Several times a month we will eat spaghetti or lasagna. The spaghetti will have ground beef in it. If not, I will serve garlic cheese toast. Otherwise, garlic toast is always served. Sometimes we will add a salad as a side dish.

6. Mexican Food: tacos, quesadillas, burritos, enchilidas are all favorites here! We literally could eat this every single night! Our side dishes for any of these meals will be rice & beans. It could be Mexican rice, yellow rice, or just regular old white rice. The beans alternate between black, refried, and pintos.

7. Soups: Served with cornbread, rolls, or a sandwich.

8. Ham and cheese quiche is a favorite. We serve it with fresh fruit.

9. Sandwiches: sloppy joes, chicken tender, bbq, sliders, hamburgers, or hot dogs. Also from time to time we will eat a chicken, tuna, or egg salad sandwich. All are served with chips, french fries, or onion rings.

10. Quick meals: Hamburger Helper, breakfast for supper, frozen dinners, pot pies, casseroles, or homemade pizzas. I am not going to lie... these meals are when I really am not in the mood to cook!

Busted the Budget

Break down of our grocery budget:

I get paid once a month.

I plan ideas for dinner for the whole month.

The man of the house gets paid every two weeks. 

We use his paycheck to get groceries.

Our budget is currently $140 for two weeks of groceries.

I go shopping weekly to catch the sales prices/markdowns. That gives us $70 weekly to spend.

Tonight I busted that budget when I went grocery shopping at Aldi's. Just by $3.95 so it wasn't too bad. I blame it on some good deals.  I don't have any pictures of my grocery haul but I will share what we got.

french vanilla coffee creamer - 1.79

2 bags of self rising flour - 1.25 each

2 cans of black beans - .55 each

big can of pinto beans - .89

1.68 lb of bananas - .71

flat leaf spinach - 1.19

sour cream - .89

2 paper bags (shame on me) .07 each

2 packs of apple cider donuts marked down to .99 each

brussels sprouts - 1.99

baby carrots - .89

zucchini - 1.69

squash - 1.69

2 boxes of frozen breakfast sandwiches - 3.39 each

snowmen cinnamon "teddy grahams" crackers - 1.99

2 cans of diced tomatoes w/green chilis - .45 each

evaporated milk - .59

flour tortillas - .99

burrito tortillas - 1.29

2 bags of chips - 1.09 each

beef broth - 1.19

gal of milk - 2.69

2 cans of cream of chicken soup - 49 each

shredded cheddar cheese - 2.49

2 packs of whole wheat sandwich skinny's that was marked down to .69 each

chicken thighs - 4.39

gala apples - 1.49

sliced cheddar cheese - 1.79

bacon bits - 1.29

Hot cocoa (k cups) variety pack - 7.89

coffee of Christmas (k cups) - 6.99

rotisserie chicken deli meat - 2.49

Total: $73.95

My total would have been less if I hadn't got the marked down goodies or the coffee/hot chocolate k-cups. I would love to get our total grocery budget even less for this next year. But... we are a family of five. It would be really hard to do especially during school holidays and breaks. Three of us eat at school for breakfast and lunch during the school year.  I need to work hard at getting us a garden going for the summer of 2019. That would save us tons of money over the course of the year because I would can what we don't eat.

Anyways... I am tired after this grocery shopping and Christmas shopping evening. I have to be at work earlier than the normal tomorrow so I must get into bed.  I have my Dec menu ideas almost planned out completely and will have it up in the next couple of days. Good night!

Don't Feel Good

The first thing I heard this morning was... "I don't feel good" by my daughter. She has a terrible cold that makes you feel bad but thankfully no fever. This must have been a trend because I heard it multiple times today. I actually caught myself saying it. My bones are old and tired. Sleep was not my friend last night so it has been a rough day.

I actually sent my other daughter to get them supper tonight. What they will bring in I have no idea! If I fix anything for myself, I will reheat a turkey pasta casserole I made last night. Fast food gets old really fast and we have ate it too much lately. My guys are on their own tonight.

I hate to be short and simple but as soon as the girls come in, I am heading to bed. Hopefully I will sleep a lot better tonight. Tomorrow is our truck day in the lunchroom. We will be busy and I need all the energy I can muster up!

Day 9 of Thanksgiving Break

It is the final day of Thanksgiving break from school. Tomorrow will find us returning to our daily grind. I am actually good with that. This has been a week of pretty much doing nothing. It has been a long time since I had that much time off from work. I can't believe that I am ready to go back!!

Today is our church day. My whole immediate family will go to church with me. Usually there is one or two gone. After church is over, our members put the Christmas tree up and decorate it as each church family should do. It is always a ton of fun and laughter! Then... the kids have to run and eat for they have play practice as soon as they can get back. Since we only live two minutes away, I am forgoing the excitement of decorating the tree in order to fix a quick lunch for my crew and a few friends that live almost 30 minutes away. There is no sense in the going all the way back home to turn around.  I am going simple with pigs-in-a-blanket, chips, and leftover snacks from yesterday's game day fun. We never ate the lit'l smokies or the pizza rolls. My son grabbed pizzas from Pizza Hut and other great snacks for us to enjoy. That means we have plenty of quick things to make in order for everyone to return to church.

Everyone except for me is returning. With all the kids home, we are having our Thanksgiving meal tonight for dinner. As we speak, the turkey is baking away and I hope it is done before we leave for church. I have my dressing in the fridge & ready to pop into the oven later. I still have lots of cooking to do!! I have to run now but here is our Thanksgiving menu for tonight's dinner.

turkey and dressing w/ cranberry sauce
roasted brussel sprouts
shells and cheese
some kind of potatoes

dessert: banana pudding, pumpkin pie

I can't decide what kind of potatoes to fix. So many great sounding recipes!! Of course in my opinion, you can never go wrong with whatever way you make potatoes. Hope every one has a great day!

Day 8: Game Day Menu

The eighth day of my Thanksgiving Break will focus totally on one thing.... Iron Bowl! In this state of Alabama, there comes a time where every person will pick a team for life. You will either be an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan.  Mine is a house divided. We have 5 people here and only one is not a true fan. Ha!  On the day of the Iron Bowl, nothing else matters. It doesn't matter how many games have been lost or won by these two teams. It doesn't matter who plays for either team. It is a battle to have bragging rights for an entire year!!  This is the game of the year!

This game day calls for a special menu because no one will focus on cleaning or cooking. No one wants to be away from the tv for any moment of time. Our menu will be simple yet filling!

Tortilla chips w/ rotel cheese dip
pizza rolls (for those who don't like nachos)
BBQ lit'l smokies
baby carrots w/ ranch dressing

And most likely brownies!

Every thing stops when this game comes on (barring an emergency of some kind). There is plenty of tail gate parties to attend whether you are at the stadium or at someone's house. It is game day!

Roll Tide Roll!!!

Day 5, 6, & 7 of Thanksgiving Break

Today I am sharing a few days of happenings on the blog because... it is Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Yesterday most of the family enjoyed some time together doing a little pre-Christmas shopping and being outdoors in the nice sunny afternoon. We were able to get us a new (fake) Christmas tree. It is not going up until after our immediate family's Thanksgiving meal which will be Sunday night. 

Today we will enjoy another family gathering at my parent's house. Then... we will go to Walmart after we eat. It is pretty much will be a lazy day filled with much laughter. 

Tomorrow... we are planning to shop until we drop. I don't really need much so I will spend the time with my family watching them and others go crazy over things they really don't need.  My shopping trip will consist of looking for Christmas decor. This will be our 2nd Christmas in our home and still don't have much to decorate it with. I am all about that because we have always rented and couldn't decorate like we want to. 

Day 4

Oh the joys of Thanksgiving break! I did sleep better last night so I was able to go to the grocery store when it opened. Aldi's was the choice this week and man was it crowded! I didn't get any photos of my haul but I will share with you what I purchased.  Most of it was to stock up my freezer/pantry for the Dec menu plan.  I haven't got it completed yet but will share that later with you as well.

The girls have gone again to spend the night with their friends. It turns out that this break is becoming very quiet especially when the guys are at work too. I can completely handle that. The rest of the day will consist of nothing but You-tube, Netflix, and whatever I have recorded on the Dish. I am not cooking since I will be the only one here until after 8pm. Supper may be a bowl of cereal or sandwich with chips depending on what kind of mood I am in by that time.

Here is what I got at the grocery store with the total being $86.82

coffee - 3.79
chocolate Almond milk - 2.49
flounder fillets - 4.39
salmon fillets - 3.99
flavored powered coffee creamer - 1.19
orange juice - 1.99
country style french fries - 1.99
onion rings - 1.99
flavored liquid coffee creamer - 1.79
their brand of velveeta cheese - 3.99
4 unsalted butter - 1.99 each
2 salted butter - 1.99 each
their brand pop-tarts - 1.09
brussels sprouts - 1.99
jumbo franks - 1.29
2 diced tomatoes w/ chilis - .45 each
2 cream of chicken soup - .49 each
thick cut bacon - 3.49
onion soup mix - .55
baby carrots - .99
2 tomato soups - .49
chicken stock - 1.49
pancake syrup - 1.29
2 bags of tortilla chips - .89
3 boxes of mac & cheese - .33 each
10lb russet potatoes -1.99
honey buns .89
cinnamon rolls - 2.99
pasta sauce - .85
2 boxes of shells & cheese - .79 each
2 refrig pie crusts - 1.39 each
pumpkin flavored bagels - 1.99  These are awesome!!
2 cans of refrig crescent rolls - .89 each
sour cream - .89
butter in a bowl (for easy spreading) - 1.39
2 blocks of cream cheese - .69 each
2.13lb of bananas - .94

Like I said... most of this is for stocking up. I would like to get more butter while it is on sale but there was a limit of 6. I know that this time of the year, butter will be that price or near it so I can grab some each week to last a good long time. Same for the pie shells and cream cheese. I will get more of the pie shells and freeze them as well. The shells and cheese was a great price but we haven't tried the Aldi brand yet so I was afraid to get any more. Another thing on sale was their turkeys and hams. I want to grab one of each but I didn't this week. Last year I found that Aldi reduces them after Thanksgiving so even though they are at my stock up price, I may get one cheaper!!

Day 3: Life in the Day of A Lunchroom Lady

Day three of my Thanksgiving break from school did not start off great. I woke up just after midnight and dozed off around 4am. Only to be woken up by someone who was getting up and ready for work. Men... they don't know how to be quiet!

Anyways.. I dragged myself out of bed at 6:20am. By 6:25am, I poured up my first cup of coffee and filled the washing machine with the first load for the day!

6:30 am
I was looking at this basket while sipping my coffee and wondering why just couldn't laundry do itself.

I mean, I know I let it pile up over the weekend but it wouldn't even diminish the pile ready to be folded and hung up on a hanger.  {sigh]

Between 6:30 - 7:43am, I had already went out to check on my freezer that was left opened and grabbed a few things out. I talked with my sister on the phone. Emptied and reloaded the dishwasher.

And fixed myself a quick breakfast.

Yasss... my 2nd cup of coffee with breakfast. Then I spend quite a bit of time on Facebook.

8:24am
Time to make my bed.

See all nice and pretty!

8:36 am
Added another load of laundry to the washer. Washed dishes that couldn't be placed into the dishwasher.

I had my counter tops all sparkly and clean!

8:58am
I had my 3rd and final cup of coffee and started to clean my desk off so I could pay bills.

9:39am
After having technical issues with my old laptop, I returned to my bedroom where I have a craft table to de-stress. I did manage to use my son's laptop to get bills paid.

Then around 11am, we had company to arrive! We spent several hours together and I didn't do anything else after they left except watch Netflix movies. I even tried to take a nap this afternoon but couldn't go to sleep.

6:30pm
I didn't grab any more photos until supper time.

It was a very simple supper of Tyson breaded chicken fingers, creamed corn, and Italian green beans. Pretty good!

7:10 pm
Sadly... I have no plans to wash dishes tonight or finish any more laundry. It is still early but I am having to pry open my eyeballs with toothpicks. Bedtime will be no earlier than 8 pm but I should love to make it a little longer or I will have another sleepless night.

See ya'll tomorrow!

Day 2 of Thanksgiving Break

Today started out great! We got to sleep in for a while and then I got up and made breakfast. I fried up some bacon and made canned biscuits. I was going to stop there but knew that it would be a while before we ate again so I made some gravy to go on top of our biscuits.  After breakfast we got ready for church.

 For the three of us here this weekend, we sure did mess up a lot of dishes. Ugh!

After church was over, we went out to eat before we had to be back for Christmas play practice. Then everything broke down. Ok, not really but it is still a disaster in my book. I came home to find my upright freezer that is stored in our garage/shop building had been left cracked open. For at least 2 days. Everything in the door was completely thawed out and several things inside the freezer was halfway thawed. I was not a happy camper.

I comfort myself with a quick and easy supper. Chili cheese fries. I do know that most everything I had in my freezer can be safely refroze and the others will be used up in the next 2 days since it was still very chilled. Thankfully not much damage was done except maybe to the power bill next month. I will be back tomorrow for Day 3 adventures.

Day 1 of Thanksgiving Break

First, I have to say that yesterday started off with a beautiful sunrise.

It made the last day of school for 9 days pretty awesome! We got out about 1 hour earlier than usual which started of Thanksgiving Break with a great feeling. 

This morning I got up and went shopping with my parents. Not before I froze some left over yogurt into ice tray for smoothies.

I also froze some banana chunks before they got too ripe to save. These will also go into smoothies!

The first place me and my parents shopped was a small town store called Hammer's. I was able to pick up a few Christmas gifts. Then we travel for about 45 minutes to go to Unclaimed Baggage which is like a thrift store. It was a little pricey for me even though I love thrift stores. The last store took us almost another hour to get too. We saw a Cabela's which is an outdoor, fishing, and hunting type of a store. They have a variety of different clothing items and shoes as well.

{I really wanted this Christmas shirt but I didn't get it!}

My brother is a huge outdoors man. Mom and dad was looking for a specific knife that he had asked for. They did manage to find a gift or two for his son.

We got back on the road to head to Dirt Cheap. It is a store that you literally have to dig through everything to find something. Always a hit or miss with me. Today I did manage to find a Christmas banner to hang over my {gas log} fireplace mantle for a little over one dollar.  For another $1.20, I found a vinyl Thanksgiving tablecloth that was really cute with a pumpkin pie recipe on it.  For just over $4, I found a bathroom rug to go in the master bath.

Now I am really tired after shopping all day but I sure did enjoy being out in the sunshine. It was out for the 2nd day in a row!  Sadly, I think the first of the week will be dreary and cold again. Hopefully, I will be able to get out and trim my shrubs down for the winter during this time off.

Alright, stayed turned for Day 2 of Thanksgiving break!

One More Day...

Just one more day until Thanksgiving Break at school. I am tired. My bones ache. And it hasn't been sunny at all this week. It is depressing. At least we got through our big Thanksgiving meal at school today. We started at 6:30 am and finished the meal, cleaning, and morning prep for tomorrow around 1:30 pm. Then do you know what this tired momma did? I went to what we used to call the Home Economy building to help the FCCLA members finish making/plating their Thanksgiving meal for the home-bound of our community.

Yeah.

The famous golden arches {McDonald's} made our supper tonight. I am ready for 8:00 pm to get here so I can happily jump into my bed.

3 Day Weekend

While ya'll grasp at this photo of a breakfast from a lunch room lady, I will just tell you what has happened in the past few days. My school had a lovely three day weekend to honor our Veterans. Tuesday came and I didn't want to return to work in the cold and drizzling rain. No one did really! But... as I type now, we only have 3 more days to go into a even better 9 day Thanksgiving Break!!

Oh yes, Tuesday was a typical Monday. I am telling you that there is just something about starting the week that is hard. No matter what day it starts on. It did get better. I was tired when I got off so I really didn't want to fix supper. For some reason I couldn't get away from it with the family.  {sigh}
I fixed them sweet peas, shake-n-bake pork chops, and au gratin potatoes. Nothing fancy. It all can from a can or box. All the good stuff will come next week!

Ok, my alarm sounded and it is time to head in for another awesome day at work!

Turnip Green Soup

When it is a cold dreary day like we are having today... you get in the mood for something nice and warm for supper.

I wanted something easy because even though I had a great day at school, my back is hurting. Don't you hate when that happens?  Anyways... I decided to go with turnip green soup and cornbread to feed my hungry bunch. It is a very simple thing to toss together! 

Just need a few ingredients to get you ready. Now.. the recipe does call for chicken broth but I had these chicken bouillon cubes so I used these instead. You also have to make buttermilk cornbread to go along with the soup. The soup has a little kick to it so the cornbread tones it down.

Ingredients:

1 large can of seasoned turnip green or 2 small ones

smoked sausage chopped into bite size pieces (as much as you like)

1 chopped onion

1 can of chicken broth or 2 bouillon cubes/water

1 can of Rotel tomatoes

1 can of drained black-eye peas 

1 can of drained navy or northern beans

Creole seasoning

First you saute the onion and smoked sausage in a soup pot or big pot like I did. 

Once the onion is cooked and the sausage browned, you will add in the chicken broth or water and bouillon cubes like it did. (If you use the cubes, bring water to a boil to dissolve the cubes.) Then you dump in your drained beans. 

Then you will add in the can(s) of turnip greens, Rotel tomatoes, and as much Creole seasonings as your taste buds can handle. Remember the turnip greens are seasoned and tonight I happened to use a can of seasoned black-eye peas. It has a kick for us because I added a little too much of the Creole seasoning. Not enough to toss it or anything but make sure you have something to cool your tongue down, lol. 

Now you just give it a quick stir and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer. Tonight, our soup simmered for about 30 minutes while I made the cornbread and waited on most everyone to get home.

My cornbread is simple to make. Butter an iron skillet and coat with cornmeal. In a bowl, add in some cornmeal, buttermilk, and 1 egg. I can't give you the measurements because I have made this all my life. 

I have water handy because you will want the cornbread mix to be fairly thick but not too thick. Thin it out with water if necessary to get the lumps out. I bake my cornbread for about 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.  Now I have a gas stove/oven so mine may take more or less time than yours does so adjust accordingly.  

Ok, now you can enjoy this lovely quick meals with a glass of sweet tea. Yes, the tea is iced and one of my cornbread slices is slathered in butter because that is what Southerners do!

Few tips that I have personally done:

1. Use spicy smoked sausage for a change of taste.

2. After sauteing the onion and smoked sausage, toss everything into a crock-pot to cook as you do whatever you do during the day or night. Heat on low for a few hours. (Can't forget my 3rd shifters! I have been there, done that!) 

3. Use regular turnip greens and/or regular diced tomatoes if you don't like spicy.

Trust me... it is better with a kick!

4. Kidney beans are a great alternative to add in if you don't have one of the other beans.

5. Serve the soup with Mexican cornbread.

Now... it is time for me to find a heating pad for my back. Have a great evening!

Crazy Day

 There is no better way to start a new blog than having a crazy filled day. No lie... it has been a rough one and we only had a half day at school! The county where I work honors our veterans with a parade. All the county schools were dismissed early to attend. However... there were some storms brewing!Our band (who was going to participate in the parade) has a directer that decided that it probable would not be a great idea to send our children down the streets.  My youngest daughter who is in that band was extremely grateful. This parade is one of the longest that the band marches in! I was glad too.

So once my co-workers and I cleaned up the lunchroom, we left. I took my girls home to enjoy a peaceful and lazy afternoon. Yeah right, I started having some electrical issues with a couple of wall plugs in my kitchen.  Someone was called to come check it out and we have it narrowed down. We still have to solve the problem but at least we are in no danger of a fire destroying my house.

We are limited with our appliances in the kitchen but I was able to heat up some shredded pork to make bbq sandwiches. I served it with some cole slaw and french fries. I may not have a microwave or toaster oven but I still have my gas stove/oven. I am good. Now we have full bellies and it is time for bed.