Mealplan Monday #191

Monday - Omelettes with bacon skillet potatoes (eggs from Brenham chickies)
Tuesday - Hearty Beef Soup, garlic toast
Wednesday - Freezer pizza, chopped salad
Thursday - Jamaican Rice and Beans with pork roast, sauteed cabbage
Friday - Creamed Chicken with peas on Biscuits
Saturday - Mom and Dad to Highlands where we will grill
Sunday - Honey Pork Chops, Sunshine Corn*, carrots

This is a recipe given to me by a lady I used to work with at Laura Ashley.  Basically it is frozen corn, diced green chilies, butter, and cream cheese, simmered until bubbly and melted.  

Gina

Crockpot Southwest Flank Steak and a budget menu plan

I can't remember where I found this recipe - probably on a blog.  It's a good routine for dinner when you make a pot of rice to serve it over.  It's really more like a very thick stew.

Crockpot Southwest Flank Steak
1 1/2 lb. flank steak (I used blade steaks this time)
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 16 oz jar of your favorite salsa
1/2 t. oregano
2 t. chili powder
salt and pepper
1 can black beans, drained 
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced (baby peppers were cheaper this trip, so that's what I bought)

Spray the crock with Pam, then pour a little of the salsa in.  Layer pieces of steak with the veggies and pour the beans over.  Then shake up the rest of the salsa with the seasonings and pour over it all.

It smells so good!

Cook on low 7-9 hours.  Stir well and ladle over hot rice.
{I didn't get a pic of the finished meal as they had eaten all but one serving by the time I got home!}

Monday - sammies 

Tuesday - beef (probably ground beef or very inexpensive cuts)

Wednesday - Leftovers if we have them from Sunday, otherwise freezer pizzas

Thursday -  a pasta or rice meal - I will use my crockpot to cook and shred chicken/turkey/pork for those, and will do meatless meals like quiche, too

Friday - chicken (probably chicken thighs)

Saturday - Hubby and I go to Highlands and grill for two 

Sunday - family meal night, Mom's Choice.  

Hubby and I have lived with a smaller grocery budget before, feeding four kids and buying diapers, so I'm not too worried about it this go round!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #190

Monday - Sammie Night (mom's choice)
Tuesday - Crockpot Southwest Flank Steak, rice
Wednesday - Pizza and salad
Thursday - (freezer) Baked Shells, peas, garlic toast
Friday - Buttermilk Herb Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - Chili Mac, Mexican corn

Gina

5 thing Friday - driving, shelf liner, bluebonnets, chairs, quail

Hopefully we will staying closer to home this weekend than last.  

So. Much. Driving.

I always offer to do some, Hubby always says no.  It's supposed to rain in the Austin area tomorrow - maybe I will take him to an afternoon movie and I know he'll let me drive for that!

I purged and cleaned in my tiny laundry room the weekend I was on call.  Tossed some stuff I wasn't going to use anytime soon, wiped down the shelves. Vacuumed all of the dust bunnies and wiped down the washer and dryer, inside and out.  And yesterday I got around to lining the shelves above with new shelf liner from Dollar Tree.

 Shutterfly woos me with freebies frequently, and mostly I don't bite because I don't have time create something.  But I ordered a new set of playing cards for Highlands with a fav bluebonnet pic from last year.  Shipping was $8.  Still expensive, but Hubby and I play cards often and the pic is sweet!

These rusty vintage-y chairs are on the balcony at the Whole Foods we go to for beer and people-watching.  These would be so great for the porch at Highlands...I need to find out where they got them.

I finally got around to spray painting the little quail I found at a thrift store.  She sits sweetly in the tray on the dining table with her hollow, creepy eyes...

Gina

Weekend re-cap - traveling, grieving, and eating

Hubby and I started off our weekend by traveling to a happy place:  Hamilton, Texas.

We were on our way to Dallas for a funeral on Saturday, and thought we might spend the night in Hamilton so we could relax a little, including eating some pork butt sammies at a favorite little meat market.  They were doing a big business at lunchtime.

 

We also had plans to enjoy one of our favorite wineries; a little getaway time for us.  We enjoyed said sammies, then made our way over to our Deluxe accommodations for the night.  The Hamilton Budget Inn.  Woo. Hoo.  I took zero pics of the inside of it.  It was pretty loud at night being right on the highway, but we were worn out from the week in general so we didn't care.

 Isn't it swank?  

After we checked in, we went over to Red Wing Dove.  The owners are super friendly and the wine is reasonably priced and very good.

We arrived under sunny skies and reminded the owner that last time we were there (St. Pat's Day) we left during a raging storm, complete with lightening and downpours.  He assured us it had not rained since.  So we parked ourselves on the patio, playing cards and listening to jazz, fully intending to enjoy a sunset on a quiet day.  "Honey, what is that in the distance?"

"Looks like rain...but it's pretty far away". We sat and watched it roll closer.

"Are you sure that's only rain?  Oh wait...that looks and sounds like hail hitting the metal roof."  Cue downpour.  We stayed until it let up, then tried to get rainbow pics with the few folks that were also on the patio - no luck.   And of course, Hubby made a friend in the form of an elderly gentleman who wanted to know what we were drinking (ruby cabernet) then proceeded to tell us all about happenings in the area.

 We headed back to town for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the square that was friendly with pretty good food, then went back to our deluxe room and cranked up the a/c and were asleep by 10 p.m.

The next day was a long one.  We got up early and drove to Dallas, visited with family, went to the funeral, then hit the road to head back.  Getting from one end of Dallas to another is not a walk in the park.   It was a freaking long Saturday. 

 Around 8 p.m. we stopped for dinner at George's, a Waco tradition for us.

 

We rolled up to Highlands at midnight and CRASHED.  Hubby said it was the best sleep he's gotten in days.  I let him stay in bed until 9 a.m., but we had to get up and at 'em for another fun thing to do - the picnic in the meadow at Torr Na Lochs.  It's literally three miles from Highlands.

Everyone met at the winery and caravan'd  down the road a bit to a separate entrance into their property where there was a meadow and lots of space under the trees for tables and chairs.

 It had a creek running through it - so pretty!

The picnic included several new wines that wine club members got to try first, along with tasting notes and stories.  The weather was perfect, we had a great lunch, and we met a couple who we sat and chatted with.

The picnic ended around 2 p.m., and on the way out, we got to see the longhorns again, up close and personal.  We only had a couple more hours of freedom before we headed home, so we sat out at Highlands, just enjoying the weather and a lawnchair snooze...

 And *snap*  - time to go home. 

When we got home I made dinner and Bubbie's girlfriend joined us.  We all enjoyed a good meal, then generally pooped out.  We covered a lot of ground, ate a lot, and grieved with our family.  It was a very full weekend, and I am hoping this coming weekend we can stay closer to home.

Gina

Mealplan Monday #189

Monday - Grilled Roast Beef and Cheese with carmelized onions, coleslaw
Tuesday - Enchiladas, salad
Wednesday - Super Easy Elgin Sausage with Baked Beans, corn muffins
Thursday - Seasoned Pork Loin Chops, carrots, mac and cheese
Friday - Apricot Chicken, couscous, mixed veggies
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - The Tuna Casserole from Miz Helen

Gina

Taco Mac and Cheese

I had some leftover Cafe Rio Taco meat in the freezer and decided to make Taco Mac for an easy meal. {Taco Rio taco Meat is ground chuck, Rotel, a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, and taco seasoning - so good!}

I've been trying to add more veggies into meals, so this time around I added some frozen roasted corn (thawed out), a red bell pepper, and a few grape tomatoes (not shown).  I had about a cup of leftover taco meat, and about a cup of grated monterrey jack cheese, too.

While I boiled the macaroni, I sauteed the peppers in a little oil, then added the corn and the tomatoes, sliced.  Then I heated it all up a bit and set it aside.

The cooked meat was thawed and didn't really need to be heated - I am making this meal early in the day before I go to work.

 After I made the mac and cheese per the box instructions, I stirred everything else in, plated it up, covered with saran wrap. and put in the fridge. All my peeps need to do is heat their plate at whatever time they straggle in from school or work.  I enjoyed mine that evening, for sure!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #188

Monday - Cobb Salads
Tuesday - Taco Mac and Cheese with roasted corn, sauteed peppers
Wednesday - Easter Pork Tenderloin, cheesy potatoes, peas
Thursday - Baked Shells with Ricotta and Sausage, salad 
Friday - Chicken Spaghetti, greens
Saturday - YOYO 
Sunday - Calamity Anne's Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans

A spring candle wreath

I made a pretty wreath for our Easter dining table!  I got the idea from Do It on A Dime.  She is always sharing ideas for decor and organization from Dollar Tree.  I decided to use it as a large "candle wreath" for a centerpiece on the table.

I bought $5 worth of stuff - a wreath, some sprigs of spring flowers, some moss, and some linen-look ribbon.  I just cut the flowers up into individual picks and stuck them into the wreath (no gluing), then poked some moss in and around them.

Then I made a very loose interpretation of a bow with some florist wire and placed it into the center of the wreath with a tall vase and a candle that I already had.

I dressed the table with a tablecloth that my mother brought back from her travels (Greece? Spain?  I will have to ask) and placed a couple of sweet bunnies nearby.  The Easter table was so pretty and Spring-y!  We ate on some vintage plates we have had for 30 plus years.

I put the bunnies up until next year, but I loved the look of the candle wreath on a linen runner, so it stayed up all week.  Not bad for $5, eh?

Gina

Weekend re-cap - Easter 2018 edition

Easter just seem to be suddenly thrust upon us!  Hubby had Good Friday off with me and accompanied me to Brenham.  We spent a scant four hours there, but got so much done.  Among other things, we got my mother's computer going, installing updates and connecting her, once more, to the internet.

Hubby also bought the lumber and rebuilt her asparagus bed, which we then filled in with more garden soil and watered. The weather was beautiful and we were pretty pooped, so we stopped by Saddlehorn on our way back to Austin.

 A glass of their Barn Red on their patio was lovely - it was cool and breezy there, and so peaceful. 

I miss going there, and we briefly considered re-joining the wine club.  But the pick-ups always conflicted with two other wineries near Burnet, and wine clubs ain't cheap, so we decided we would just enjoy it whenever we are passing through Burton.  

And speaking of pick-ups, the next day we took Scout and Dutch to Bell Springs for the Spring pick-up party.  Again, the weather was perfect. We enjoyed a wine tasting, some brats for lunch, then sat outside listening to this guy:

He was so good!  People were tipping him left and right.

We decided to leave and explore a new place - we happened upon a sign for Jester King Brewery, and since Scout is not a big fan of wine we decided to check it out.

 

It is a HUGE place full of people, but they had a jazz quartet playing, and we managed to snag a newly vacated picnic table in the shade.  Next door they had several more bar areas and wood-fired pizza counter with people waiting for miles.

Hubby and I thought the dark beer (Simple Means) was meh, but Scout enjoyed some mead on draft that was pretty good.

 Card-playing and people-watching happened, then we headed home.  

For dinner I made basic cheese omelettes and biscuits.

Easter dawned!

 Hubby and I enjoyed blueberry banana pancakes with Firstborn and Bubbie then puttered around until the Girl and Teddy arrived, followed by Scout and Dutch.  We spent more time on cards and eating appetizers, playing with Teddy in the backyard, listening to music, and just generally laying around.  We had a beautiful dinner together and naps were taken. 

It was as laid back of a weekend as Easter has become for us.  I didn't send out cards.  I didn't call anyone.  We wore comfy clothes and I took about three photos. We choose to stay close to home and spent time together without obligation or stress. It got our April off to a happy start!

Gina