Planning

Lee & Brad are in town, and I am enjoying spending the weekend with them. They are at a friend's wedding, and I wish they weren't, b/c I'm dog-sitting for them instead. But, Ellie's a sweet girl, and I don't mind. Oneday, maybe they'll babysit! :o) And this gives me an opportunity to watch some much-missed cable television (i.e. Law & Order).
Today Knox, Lee, Mom, and I went for a little walk around town in which Knox promptly spotted a "little horse," a "ly-won," and white flowers (the little horse being an anti-bellum horse & carriage pitch that is so common here in small southern towns, the ly-won being how Knox says 'lion,' though he mistook a yorkie for it, and white flowers being, well, white flowers). Wesley has been working on music all weekend, though mostly not his own, so far. He recorded a co-worker's music most of the day today, thus sending Knox & I to Dad's for a good part of the day. Then, after a quick dinner, he headed off to band practice. I am excited that he is getting back into playing with a band. I really enjoy his acoustic work, but there is an aspect to playing with a band that I think Wesley misses when he doesn't play with a group for a while. I don't know if its just that its something he really enjoys, or that its b/c he has basically always played music in bands since he was quite young (or both), but either way, it's good for him to get back into it.
This week, I have planned a menu and already bought the groceries, so I am excited to get started on the meals! :o) Here it goes!
Sunday a.m.: my best attempt to re-create the breakfast-biscuit-egg-muffin things that I had at a little coffee shop in Kingston Springs, which are incredible.
Sunday p.m.: Mammy's Cupboard's recipe of Vegetable Beef Soup w/my Granny's Jalepeno Cornbread Muffins
Monday: Slow-cooked Chicken with bacon & greenbeans, and "potato salad" (though if you know me at ALL, you know this must not have the "m"word in it. It doesn't. I'm going to do my best attempt to duplicate the potato salad from the restaurant Zoe's Kitchen).
Tuesday: Mammy's recipe (again) for Chicken Salad Sandwiches (but, again, without the M-word, and instead, fat free plain yogurt) with a side of vegetable soup and mixed fresh fruit
Wednesday: church night
Thursday: chili dogs with Kosher dogs & wheat buns & fat free turkey chili, and steamed broccoli
Friday: miniature whole-wheat pizzas
Saturday: breakfast with Dad, and a wedding to attend that night, so I'm sure we'll eat there

wheat pizza dough

yummy. this recipe is from the best of cooking light.
1 pkg dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/2 c. warm water (100-110')
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 all-purpose flour, divided
1 c. whole-wheat flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
cooking spray

1. dissolve yeast & sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 mins. lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level w/a knife. add 2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour whole-wheat flour, oil, & salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well blended. turn dough on a floured surface. knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 min's); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).
2. place dough in a large bowl coated w/cooking spray, turning to coat top. cover & let rise in a warm place (85'), free from drafts, for 45 min's or until doubled in size. (press 2 fingers into the dough. if indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) punch down; cover and let rest 5 min's. divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. top & bake at 450' for about 15 min's on a pan or stone. note, if you want a crisper crust, place directly in oven (off pan) w/about 8 or so min's left.

this week wesley and i watched a couple of movies. we saw the other boleyn girl and bee movie. i really enjoyed both, although, i must admit we had to turn off bee movie last night before it finished because we were both so tired. i imagine we'll try to finish it tonight. so, honestly, i guess i can only comment on the former. while i enjoyed the movie, the plot was rather disturbing. i think what made the plot most disturbing was that it was mostly based on facts. i understand that it is a very romanticized version of whatever did happen, but the basic plot, the events, what a difference in mindset. oh, and we also watched definately, maybe, which i had great hopes for, but was disappointed with the ending. (if you don't want to continue in this discussion, please skip the next paragraph.)

***spoiler alert!!!*** i don't know, maybe its because i am sensitive to divorce lately, but i am not satisfied with the simple pat-on-the-back answer of hey,-let's-just-move-on-to-the-next-thing-and-see-if-it-works mentality about divorce. I don't think it is a justifiable answer to the reality of the situation. it seems more like a fairy tale ending on a story about reality (though a comedic interpretation). so, anyway, you can watch it and judge it for yourself. i'd love to know what you think about it.

ok, back to other topics. I made whole wheat pizza last night that was really good. I have noticed that the more i make it, the quicker i get at it. which, i guess, is like anything with anyone, now that i think about it. i should have taken pictures of it, but i did not. i did, however, take pictures of wednesday night's dinner (southwestern grilled chicken and avacado sandwiches with fresh salsa), but i will have to post those pictures later this afternoon, being that i forgot to take my camera with me currently.

Monday: Dinner with friends; started a movie, but the stupid tv messed up (again), so we opted to go to bed early, instead. I had grand plans of deep cleaning the entire house that got shifted instead to going to the grocery store and pricing most of the garage sale junk, er...stuff.
Tuesday: Hopes for French dip sandwiches for dinner with baked sweet potatoes and a spinach salad. Hopes for deep cleaning the house today, again. I have a good start, though b/c I got up early. I have already swept, started laundry, disinfected the counters, done the dishes (last night), picked up the trash, cleaned out some of the fridge, and gotten Knox ready and off. I still need to pick up some buckets for my plants so I can plant them into something larger. Oh, did I tell you what happened to Fred? Its sad. More later. And I need to go by Dirt Cheap again b/c Wesley liked the deoderant I found for a buck.
Wednesday: Dinner with friends? Usually, but not always. I should thaw chicken as a backup.
Thursday: Slow Cooker Chicken if we don't do it Wednesday, but if so, I'll use the leftover chicken to make the Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
Friday: MY SONAGRAM!!!! Yay!!!! I have no clue what's for dinner. Leftovers? Home made pizza? That's always a good backup b/c it doesn't take that long and I always have the ingredients hanging around.

This week's Menu

Yesterday and today I didn't have to go into work until one, so I was able to get dressed leisurely and cook breakfast, which was a joy.

Monday: Dinner: Pasta Quattro Formaggio with Roasted Chicken
Tuesday: Lunch: Mammie's Chicken Salad Sandwich (without M-Word) on Home Baked
White Bread
Dinner: Bacon Turkey Burgers on Onion Kaiser Rolls with Baked Macaroni &
Cheese and Green Bean Bundles
or
Breakfast Casserole
Wednesday: Dinner: Church or @ the Townsends'
Thursday: Dinner: whichever I didn't cook on Tuesday
Friday: Date Night/homemade Pizza
Saturday: Fundraiser for Mr. Mike Byrne @ Mainstreet Market Place Cafe'

Food Planning

Today is the Mississippi Primaries. If you happen to be a registered voter in MS, please go vote today! (and vote for Ron Paul!) :)Yesterday I was extremely pleased with how much I was able to accomplish around the house! It was very suprizing to me how far a little planning went. I was able to:sweep and mop all the floors, vaccum the carpet, straiten Knox's room, make our bed, put away all the clothes, continue the laundry (though I'm not completely finished...more on that later...funny story), finish the dishes, cook dinner, and wash the car! All from about 3pm to 630pm! So, about the laundry. I decided to save a little money and be more friendly to the economy to dry my laundry on a clothes line yesterday. Why not? The day was beautiful. By the time I got everything up, it was overcast. I waited about an hour or so, went back, and checked the clothes, still damp. A while later I felt a sprinkle, so I went and got the clothes that had dried and brought them inside. The other clothes were already wet, so I left them out anyway. Hopefully by the time I come in from work today I will have dry laundry! Its another pretty day today, so maybe I'll try again. I did, however, enjoy the rain. I love to cosey up in bed with a good book under my antique quilts while the rain hits our antique tin roof.
This weekend Knox stayed with KK while we went to a friend's wedding out of town. He had a wonderful time judging by the temper-tantrum he through when he saw us to bring him home.
Wesley is actively working on bookings again; I am so glad!
Here is what I'm cooking this week. (I actually planned ahead!)
Last night: Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Chicken Medallions over Pasta with a Creamy Lemony-White Wine & Balsamic Vinager Reduction over Penne Pasta and Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries and Feta. Chocolate Ice Cream for Dessert. (You can get the chicken recipe from www.foodnetwork.com, though I did my own variation of the sauce.)
Tonight: Pulled Pork Sanwiches Slow Cooked on homemade Baguette
Wednesday: probably at the Townsends
Thursday: either French Dip Sammies (with same pork from Tuesday night) or BBQ Sammies (with same pork from Tuesday night)
Friday: Probably homemade pizza. I have found this amazing wheat pizza dough recipe (from The Best of Cooking Light) and it has been such a hit! I swap the amounts of white and wheat flour to give it more wheat, but you could keep it with more white.
Saturday: Gumbo. I'll add chicken, sausage (venison), and seafood (probably shrimp unless we decide to go get some crawfish...though crawfish would be gooooood) over brown rice.
Sunday: Probably with the Townsends again. pleased with how much I was able to accomplish around the house!