Category: BLOG 365

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with WEEKLY MENU & RECIPES week 1 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.1

And after being out on New Year’s Eve last night for the first time in MANY a year, I really have no intention of doing much – other than staying in my PJ’s and relaxing today. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Surprise, it’s cold, gray and rainy here in the Pacific North West. We’re still JUST a bit above normal which is not predicted to last, but it’s a wet cold in the low 40’s during the day with night time lows of mid 30’s. The years we don’t have snow for Christmas usually bring snow in the new year and this year won’t disappoint evidently. We have a dip in temperatures predicted at the end of the week with snow predicted for the weekend on.

Hubby got me several new flannels for Christmas so I’ll be trying those out this week with Levis, turtlenecks and my favorite UGGs.

I’m starting off 2024 FRESH with a new look here on the blog, but also my outlook on what I want to accomplish in this new year. The blog look may change a few times as I adjust to the color combinations 😀

I’m even attempting a new way to combine all my different lists, calendars and planners into one place. I found an easy to use calendar/planner from a company called Fringe that is compact, yet full size and to all appearances will allow me to keep ALL my planning in one place instead of multiple planners, whether it’s birthdays, appointments or meals. WISH ME LUCK 😀 I’ve used the same brand and style of calendar/system for so many years now I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to do it, but have high hopes in eliminating all the multiple planners.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING/GROCERIES & ERRANDS This week I’ll be cleaning up from the holidays and doing a deep cleaning all around. I actually have no appointments and did all the shopping last Friday other than the Eagles shopping on Wednesday afternoon. I’m even starting off with NO laundry besides what we wore to the party last night.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’ll be cleaning up the end of year files and boxes of receipts and trying to get rid of all the stray notes on my desk so I can start the new year off less cluttered.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m deciding which cookbook to cook from for the remainder of the month after I finish a few leftover recipes, but leaning towards a new one from Taste of Home, the “all-new MOST REQUESTED recipes” that came in my last quarterly box. I have a list of some “scheduled” to post recipes I want to use this month also.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • We just finished the 2nd season of REACHER on Prime and will watch the Kid’s Baking Championship on Food Network that begins tonight and football of course. Besides that not much is worth our time.

I’m about halfway through Marie Force’s current book STATE of BLISS, book #6 of the First Family series.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀 Jean did suggest some coffee yogurt and I was able to find it, but it just wasn’t the same 🙁

There were so many meals in December that were altered or downright canceled that I’m rolling many of them over into January. I was able to end the year with a cleaned out refrigerator and am looking forward to cleaning out the freezer and pantry this next month.

My plan is to then pick one cookbook each month and cook all the “tagged” recipes from that book before donating the book. I’ll only keep the recipes we REALLY liked and will add them to my actual recipe box.
MONDAY 1/1
TUESDAY 1/2
WEDNESDAY 1/3
THURSDAY 1/4
FRIDAY 1/5
SATURDAY 1/6
SUNDAY 1/7
DINNER
 BLACK EYED PEA CHILI & CORN BREAD
 WHITE CHICKEN CHILI LASAGNA
CORN clean out refrigerator night
ROLLED FLANK STEAK and CAULIFLOWER GRATIN
 CHICKEN CORDON BLEU and SALAD
 PORK CHOPS with APPLE STUFFING
 CARNITAS with HOT PINEAPPLE SAUCE & SALAD
DESSERT
 probably nothing as there are still plenty of holiday treats around 😀
 
 

Usually the sunsets are the gorgeous ones, but this was midday to the east a couple days ago.

TEX MEX RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE ~ BLOG 365.362

Here’s another version of the infamous King Ranch TEX MEX RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE, none of which have any real affiliation to the ranch itself based on what research I can find.

TEX MEX RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 LARGE onion, FINELY chopped
2 stalks celery, FINELY diced
2 small sweet red peppers, FINELY chopped
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
3 cups diced or cubed rotisserie chicken
2 cans undiluted cream of celery soup (see NOTE)
1 can ROTEL tomatoes, drained but reserve juice
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder (see NOTE)
12 small corn tortillas cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheddar/Jack cheeses

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Lightly spray 3 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add onions, celery and peppers, sauteing until crisp tender.
  • Add garlic, cooking until fragrant.
  • Add chicken pieces, tomatoes and spices, stirring to combine and heat through.
  • Whisk together soups and reserved drained Rotel tomato juice until smooth.
  • Fold soup mixture into chicken mixture until well combined.
  • Line the bottom of baking dish with half of the corn tortilla strips.
  • Top with half the chicken mixture, followed by half of the cheese.
  • Repeat layers.
  • Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes until cooked through and bubbly.

NOTE:

  • You can mix up the soup flavors of your choice – I like to use a combo of cream of celery and golden mushroom or tomato bisque – really whatever is on hand works just fine!
  • I also use Pampered Chef TEX MEX seasoning instead of chili powder.
  • Rotel heat is your choice – mild, original or HOT.

LASAGNA STUFFED GARLIC BREAD ~BLOG 365.360

LASAGNA STUFFED GARLIC BREAD
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 yellow onion, chopped small
2 garlic cloves, FINELY minced
½ cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
½ pound ground beef
1 cup marinara sauce
FRESH ground sea salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½teaspoon dried basil
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese (reserve a bit for garnishing)
½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 French baguettes
FRESH parsley, chopped for garnish
4 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, crushed to paste

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.
  • Add minced garlic and mushrooms and cook until tender.
  • Add your beef and season it with salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until the meat is browned.
  • Drain off excess grease.
  • Add marinara sauce and cook for 3 minutes.
  • Spread the cream cheese on the bottom of your dish.
  • Spread the meat/tomato sauce mixture over the cream cheese.
  • Top with the mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese. 
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
  • Cut the ends off the baguettes, cut it in half and then hollow out the middle.
  • Spoon in the lasagna mixture into the baguette.
  • Melt 4 tablespoons of butter, mix with the crushed garlic and most of the parsley.
  • Brush the mixture all over the baguette.
  • Sprinkle some of the grated mozzarella over all of it for the final touch.
  • Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes. KEEP A CLOSE EYE THAT IT DOESN’T BURN.
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining chopped parsley over it.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU & RECIPES week 52 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.359B

MERRY CHRISTMAS friends. I hope you are all having a blessed and wonderful holiday surrounded by friends and family.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Unfortunately, we have no snow this year for Christmas. But, it’s raining and cold – go figure 😀 We will be staying home and cozy today. A few friends may drift in and out as they make their way home from their various family celebrations so I will get out of my PJ’s and put on something warm and cozy. It may not be snowing, but it IS raining and bone chilling cold. We’re supposed to be in the 40’s all week for highs with gray, cloudy days and 30’s at night for the lows with lots of rain. EL NINO years are so unpredictable and change the forecast frequently, sometimes hourly.

BLOGMAS 2023 is a wrap (pun intended). I had a good time and was able to keep up in a relaxed fashion because I was so ahead of the rush this year. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy so much more of the holiday. I hope you had a wonderful preparation time and thoroughly enjoy today with your family and friends.

BLOG 365 was also a success (mostly) and while some of that was due to BLOGMAS 2023 with double dipping days, I actually did fairly well the rest of the year after I got into a good routine. So, I will be attempting to BLOG 366 next year 😀 And nope that’s not a typo, it’s a leap year.

My uncle continues to weigh heavy on my thoughts as he is declining, but my mom is doing much better with good reports.

I’m making an oven omelette and hash browns for brunch for us later this morning.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I deep cleaned preparing for today so ALL the laundry and everything is up to date.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS There is nothing personally other than a pedicure this week for me to do. My friend that does the other half of the shopping for the Eagles has an out of town appointment on shopping day this week though so I will be doing ALL the shopping on Wednesday which can be a HUGE endeavor because of the New Year’s Eve Party next weekend.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Nothing that won’t wait until 2024 😀
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ll be adopting a new strategy for 2024 where I finally try all the recipes I have tagged in my cookbooks – 1 cookbook per month I hope.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • Most of the DVR is cleaned out and the “NEW” seasons are beginning to start again so we will see what shows survived the strike and go from there.

I’m reading Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini.
MONDAY 12/25
TUESDAY 12/26
WEDNESDAY 12/27
THURSDAY 12/28
FRIDAY 12/29
SATURDAY 12/30
SUNDAY 12/31
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DINNER
PRIME RIB, FONDANT POTATOES, ASPARAGUS
 PORK RAGU, APPLES & BACON
 BROWN SUGAR PORK CHOPS, SOUTHERN CORNBREAD STUFFING
 SAUCY PORK CHOPS, SOUTHWEST ONION UPSIDE DOWN CORNBREAD
 I’m cooking at the Eagles ~~~~~ LASAGNA & GARLIC BREAD with SALAD
 ROLLED FLANK STEAK with CAULIFLOWER GRATIN
 BLACK EYED PEA CHILI & CORNBREAD for lunch
~~~~~
CHARCUTERIE BOARD CONTEST for NEW YEAR’S PARTY
DESSERT
VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKE
 
CRANCHERRY CAKE
 

This may be my new favorite ornament. It’s actually a key chain my girlfriend attached to my Christmas present and I so love it!

BLOGMAS 2023 ~ DAY 31 ~ MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE / NORAD TRACKER ~ BLOG 365.358B

Usually the holiday season is an endless list of tasks and errands. Christmas Eve is usually at our house and then Christmas Day many times too. The last several years though the holiday season has been quiet, many times too quiet. This year will also be quiet, but Santa will still be making his rounds for the little ones.

It’s Christmas Eve and Santa Claus is coming to town tonight. If you have kids, or are just a big kid at heart, you can track Santa’s progress as he travels around the world on NORAD.

Merry Christmas everyone!