On Saturday

 

Earl Grey Tea Mini Bundt Cakes

On Saturday, daughter vacuumed the whole house and I dusted.  Then, we both tidied up the living room, dining area, and family room.  I took the recycling, kitchen compost, and the trash out, checked on the garden, and did a load of laundry.  Daughter cleaned her bathroom.  We shared another frozen burrito and the two pineapple guavas I had picked from the garden for brunch.  Later, daughter baked the Earl Grey tea cakes and frosted them with a simple powdered sugar glaze.  I made the egg salad for the sandwiches and I also made a small batch of jam using strawberries I had bought and frozen in the summer.  They will have a choice of strawberry jam and peach jam to go on their scones.  

Neighbor S called to say that she had seen someone's dog come into my yard and her cousin managed to get a leash on him.  She asked if I would happen to know whose dog it was. So, I went over to her place to look at the dog to see if I recognized him. Both neighbors on either side of me have dogs, but, I haven't seen this little dog before.  It was obviously someone's pet, as it was wearing a little red plaid coat.  But, apparently no tags.  And we didn't see anyone out and about who seemed to be looking for a little lost dog.  I tried calling on the neighbors on either side of me to see if they knew who the dog belonged to, but, no one was home.  I suggested taking the dog to the shelter to see if it was chipped and if they could locate the owner.  I am not sure quite what they ended up doing.  I shall call S on Sunday to find out.

Daughter selected which tea set she wanted to use and washed all the items (they were stored in the china cabinet, but, things still get dusty in there).  While she washed the items, she asked me to repeat the story behind this particular tea set.  It was one of two sets that had been given as gifts to my step-father's mother by two of her daughters.  We had brought the sets back with us on a subsequent visit to Sri Lanka.  One set is more complete than the other, after more than 70+ years of use.  

Daughter's friend, whose birthday is being celebrated, doesn't know that daughter is planning a surprise tea party for her.  Her friend thinks they are just getting together to play some board games and maybe do a craft activity.  She texted daughter this evening to say that she's bringing some of the chocolate cake she had made for her birthday!  She is an excellent baker, too, so we know her chocolate cake will be delicious.

I cooked a boxed pasta mix with frozen green peas added to it and fried a few slices of ham I had in the freezer to go with it for dinner.  It wasn't in the meal plan, but, we finished most of the mac and cheese I made the other day and the little bit that's left isn't enough for a meal.  

The Mini Bundt Cakes Before Being Glazed

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- A clear day after all the rain
- Daughter doing most of the housework and cleaning
- Working appliances
- Quick and easy pantry meals
- My strawberry jam turned out well

Saturday's joyful activities included helping daughter with preparations for the tea party.  

Plans for tomorrow include doing the final cleaning (removing the sofa dust covers and wiping down the living room coffee table - can't do it earlier because Dancer likes to sleep on it at times), helping daughter make the sandwiches, and putting the water to boil for tea.  Later, I will help daughter put away any leftovers and the clean up.

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

The Week So Far

 

Another Red Rose

It feels like the days are going by so quickly!

Monday was mostly about my dental work and I wrote about that.

On Tuesday, I took my daughter to get her Covid vaccine during her lunch break.  We went to the walk-in clinic, except they had a one hour wait.  However, they also had a drive through vaccine station set up in the parking lot and there was no line there, so, we drove over, she received her vaccine, and we drove home, again.  I dropped her off at home and went to the pharmacy to pick up Dancer's medication.  That pharmacy is next to a doughnut shop and I decided to get us some doughnuts for a treat.  By the time I got home, daughter was starting to feel the side effects from her vaccine and took the rest of the day off from work.  

I put away the Halloween decorations in the bin in the garage, did a craft project, mended a pair of my knitted socks, posted a meal plan, and watched news coverage of the elections.

On Wednesday, my gardener friend M arrived to tend to the garden.  He had bought some plants, including several Japanese herbs that daughter had wanted, and a bag of potting soil for us (I reimbursed him for them) and shared some extra onion sets and celery seedlings, too.  He planted some of them, but, the rest will be planted on Friday.

Wednesday afternoon, I ordered and picked up some groceries.  Later, I did a load of laundry, finished mending my socks (I'm going to count that as my crafting time), and relaxed.  Friend R called in the evening and we chatted a bit.  

Thursday was another sunny day and another red rose had bloomed.  There are a few pink roses in the back garden and a couple of white roses, too, but, I didn't take pictures of them.  

I walked for 20 minutes in the afternoon and then, spent about half an hour knitting.  Then I watched some news and a couple of online videos.  

For dinner, I wanted to make something with the leftover rice I had in the fridge.  I usually make fried rice with leftover rice, and that's what I put in my meal plan for the week.  But, on Thursday, I wanted to try something different, like a rice casserole.  But, not the usual chicken and rice with a cream-of-something soup base.  Besides, I had some canned items in the pantry that needed to be used up as they were well past their best by dates.  The contents were still good, but, they were past the "best by" dates stamped on the cans.

So, I decided to make my version of a Mexican rice casserole, using a can of corn, a can of dark red kidney beans, a can of crushed tomatoes, and a can of chicken.  I sauteed about a third of an onion with cumin powder, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, a bit of oregano, and a very small amount of homegrown celery I had in the freezer, added the leftover rice, the kidney beans (drained and rinsed), the corn (drained and rinsed), the chicken (drained and rinsed) and the can of crushed tomatoes, a couple of homegrown Serrano chilies, and a bit of salt.  It turned out really well.  Daughter and I both enjoyed it and there are leftovers for at least one more meal.

Mexican Rice Casserole

One could add other ingredients, too, I'm sure; I considered adding some bell peppers, but, I couldn't find the bag of frozen bell pepper strips I have in the freezer (someone needs to reorganize her freezer) and besides, bell peppers give me indigestion, especially if eaten at night.  Or one could add cilantro.  In the past, I've used a jar of salsa instead of the canned tomatoes and that was delicious, too.

This could be easily be made as a vegetarian dish if the canned chicken is left out; the beans would provide proteins (one could add more beans, too).  It could be a frugal meal if the canned items are bought on sale.  Even otherwise, the store brand cans of corn and dark red kidney beans are priced $1 each, a can of store brand crushed tomatoes is $1.99, and a can of chicken breast is $3.79 according to the store website.  A 2 lb. bag (the smallest size they have) of store brand white rice is $1.99 and one wouldn't need to use the whole bag of rice.

Afterwards, I ran the dishwasher and wiped down the stove top, etc.

I am grateful for:

- M picking up plants and potting soil for us and sharing seedlings with us
- Roses blooming in the garden
- A walk in the park driveway

- Working appliances
- A card from my oldest half-brother

This week's joyful activities have included crafting, enjoying the sunshine, and chatting with friends.

Plans for Friday include some housework, some crafting, and tending to the garden with M in the evening.

How is your week coming along?  What are some of your favorite meals to make with leftover rice?  

On Thursday

Card Painted by Daughter

I had asked my daughter to paint a birthday card to send to my aunt and she did this one, using watercolor paints.  Aunt called me today to let me know that she received it and said she loved it.

Today, I spent the afternoon making phone calls and appointments.  Two appointments for lab tests prior to doctor's appointments, a phone call to the doctor's office to request a lab requisition they forgot to give me on my last visit and another phone call to reschedule a follow up appointment to the following week, a phone call to the dental insurance company to confirm benefits, and a phone call to a new dentist's office to schedule a much overdue first appointment,  These are calls and appointments I had procrastinated on doing, but, finally, they are done.  All that is left to schedule now is Dancer's appointment for his injection - that's on the agenda for tomorrow!

In between making phone calls and scheduling appointments, I did another load of laundry, made tuna salad for brunch, and cooked a stir fry and rice for dinner (I went off the meal plan, but, it was a very frugal meal, with a package of hotdogs I had bought on sale for $0.99 a while ago and frozen, some of the free red onion I received from the grocery store, free broccoli florets, a homegrown tomato, a little Sri Lankan spice blend from the pantry cabinet, and a little ketchup, plus a cup of rice.)

I had planned to water the back garden, but, decided that it could wait until Friday.  

Today, I was grateful for:

- Having both medical and dental insurance
- Being able to schedule and reschedule various appointments
- Working appliances
- Daughter being home to help me with a few tasks
- Cooler temperatures

Today's joyful activity was accomplishing a few things that I had procrastinated doing!  

Plans for Friday include:

- Going to the pharmacy to pick up medication refills 
- Scheduling Dancer's appointments
- Watering the back garden

- Maybe going to the dollar store with daughter (she has a day off from work)

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  What are some of your go-to frugal meals?

Meal Plans - July Week 2 Review and Week 3 Plan

Saturday's Dinner: Rice, Chicken Curry, Pappadum

This was my July Week 2 meal plan or, rather, my meal plan options.

Brunches: Pita bread and spicy beef stir fry (Monday)✔; French toast✔ or pancakes; peanut butter sandwich✔ toast; egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches; leftovers

Dinners: Burrito (Monday)✔; Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, baked beans)✔; ramen cup noodles with shredded chicken and vegetables; sandwiches; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; yogurt and fruit or treacle; crackers and peanut butter; granola bars

Or, of course, something different as the mood strikes!  LOL.

And here is how it all worked out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Pita bread and spicy beef stir fry
Dinner: Burrito
Snacks/desserts: Cereal

Tuesday:
Brunch: Leftover burrito
Dinner: French toast
Snacks/Desserts: Cashews, plums

Wednesday:
Brunch: Peanut butter sandwich
Dinner: Baked beans and sauteed potatoes (I was going to have an egg, too, but, decided not to)
Snacks/Desserts: Half a sandwich with the last of the beef stir fry; plums

Thursday:
Brunch:  Bolillo bread roll sandwiched with a slice of American cheese
Dinner: Another bolillo roll with chicken curry
Snacks/Desserts: Plums; yogurt and coconut treacle, granola bar

Friday:
Brunch:  French toast
Dinner:  Hamburger patty, salad, homemade potato chips

Friday's Dinner

Snacks/Desserts: Plums, bananas

Saturday:
Brunch: French toast
Dinner: Chicken curry, yellow rice with green peas and cashews, pappadum
Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt and granola, bananas, hot cheetos

Sunday:
Brunch: Banana, peanut butter and crackers
Dinner: Cup noodles 
Snacks/Desserts: Chocolate cake

Well, I might have gone off the plan just a little bit, but, it worked out well enough, I think.  

Moving on to Week 3 (July 14 - 20):  

I checked my freezer and I am nearing the end of the chicken and meat I had bought and frozen.  I will be on the look out for sales on chicken and meat.  I have bread, vegetables, and fruit in the fridge.  Plus plenty of eggs.  But, I might need to buy some milk.  

In any case, the upcoming week's meal plan is based on what I have on hand:

Brunches: Egg salad sandwiches; Tuna salad sandwiches; Uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat), fruit salad and/or yogurt; salads  waffles or pancakes? 

Dinners: Yellow rice, chicken curry, pappadum, tomato chutney; Breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, ham, toast or fried potatoes), ham fried rice, ramen noodles with chicken and vegetables, hamburger patty with oven baked potato wedges and salad, Leftovers and/or something different.

How about you?  Are you meal planning this week?

July Week 1 Meal Plan Review and July Week 2 Meal Plan

Friday Night Dinner

This was my July Week 1 Meal Plan/Options:

Brunches: Milkrice with chicken curry (Tuesday, July 1)✓, leftover milkrice and chicken curry (Wednesday)✓, French toast (there's milk that must be finished); scrambled eggs and fried potatoes, salad with  leftover sauteed chicken, tuna salad sandwiches

Dinners:  Spicy beef stir fry with rice ✓and broccoli and/or cucumber salad;  Hamburger/cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and salad✓;  Fried rice; Leftovers✓

Snacks/Desserts: Blueberry yogurt loaf cake (yes, there's still a couple of slices left); yogurt and fruit or treacle; fresh fruit✓

And here's how that turned out (I kept an on-going record all week):

Monday:
Brunch:  Leftovers from Saturday's party (Mexican rice, grilled chicken, and grilled beef)
Dinner: Pizza (another party leftover) and salad
Snacks/desserts: Leftover birthday cake (from the party); plums

Tuesday:
Brunch: Milkrice and chicken curry
Dinner: Leftovers from Saturday's party
Snacks/desserts: Crackers with peanut butter; cereal; nectarine

Wednesday:
Brunch: Milkrice and chicken curry (leftovers)
Dinner:  Rice and spicy beef stir fry
Snacks/desserts: Crackers, nectarine & plum; piece of the blueberry yogurt cake

Thursday:
Brunch: Milkrice, beef stir fry, lunu miris (sambol); I made what I thought would be two brunches of milkrice, but, it turned out that I had made enough for three meals!  
Dinner: Leftovers from Saturday's party
Snacks/desserts:  Plums, crackers, chocolate

Friday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg and baked beans, a piece of mango, coconut water:

Friday Brunch

Dinner:  Cheeseburger (no bun), toaster oven baked sweet potato "fries", cucumber slices
Snacks/desserts: Plum. cereal

Saturday:
Brunch: Not Quite Kedgeree (Spiced rice, flaked salmon, scrambled egg because I don't much care for hard boiled eggs)

Not Quite Kedgeree
 (Spiced Rice, Flaked Salmon, Scrambled Egg)

Dinner:  Pita bread and beef stir fry

Pita and Spicy Beef Stir Fry

Snacks/desserts: Mango

Sunday:
Brunch:  Pita bread and beef (same as Saturday's dinner)
Dinner: Sauteed chicken sandwich
Snacks/desserts: Plums

I didn't quite keep to the meal plan for one reason or another, but, I think it worked out well enough.   I needed to use up quite a few leftovers and that's what I tried to do.  

Moving on to July Week 2.  I am trying to avoid grocery shopping this week, too.  I am also not wanting to cook much.  So, I am going for fairly easy meals based on what I have on hand:

Brunches: Pita bread and spicy beef stir fry (Monday); French toast or pancakes; peanut butter toast; egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches; leftovers

Dinners: Burrito (Monday); Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, baked beans); ramen noodles with shredded chicken and vegetables; sandwiches; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; yogurt and fruit or treacle; crackers and peanut butter; granola bars

Or, of course, something different as the mood strikes!  LOL.

Are you making a meal plan this week?  

May Meal Planning - Week 4 Review and Week 5 Plan

May Week 4 Meal Plan:  Leftovers!  I didn't make a proper meal plan because I had a lot of leftovers in the fridge from the previous week and daughter left on Monday evening.  But, here's how the week's meals turned out:

Monday: 
Brunch: Leftovers: Rice. beef teriyaki, pickled vegetables

Dinner:  Leftovers: Rice, curried pork chop, lentils
Snacks/Dessers: Cherries, sliced peaches with chili powder and salt

Tuesday:
Brunch: Leftovers: Rice, beef teriyaki, broccoli
Dinner: Leftovers: Ham and mashed potatoes with some freshly cooked frozen green peas

Thursday Dinner

Wednesday:
Lunch: Rice, chicken curry, broccoli, leftover dhal (lentils) - friend R and friend M had lunch with me
Dinner: Roti and chicken curry

Thursday:

Brunch: Scrambled egg with a little ham added to it; tangerine

Dinner: Chicken curry and roti
Snacks/Desserts: Homemade yogurt, cashews, and a piece of jaggery; peanut butter on crackers

Friday:
Brunch: Fried potatoes with bell pepper, ham, and scrambled egg
Dinner:  Leftover Sukiyaki; buttered toast
Dessert: Yogurt with peaches

Saturday:
Breakfast:  Cereal and milk

Lunch: Cheese and crackers, fresh fruit at cousin V's
Dinner:  Leftover sukiyaki; bread pudding

Sunday:
Brunch: Leftover waffles with the last of the homemade cranberry sauce
Dinner:  Leftover sukiyaki; fried potatoes; strawberries
Snacks: Cereal; bread pudding

That brings us to this week - May Week 5.  I still have some leftovers in the fridge to be finished up!

Here's the meal plan for this last week in May:

Brunches:  Fresh fruit; Leftover Roti and chicken curry; cereal and milk; scrambled eggs or omelet;  leftover waffles with blueberry compote; salad; leftover fried rice

Dinners: Leftover Sukiyaki; Fried rice; Rice and shrimp curry with broccoli and cucumber salad; Hamburger, baked potato wedges, and salad;  Sauteed chicken with green beans and carrots; Leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fresh fruit; yogurt and fruit; granola bars; crackers and peanut butter

Those are my meal plan options for this week, based on what I have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry.  I am going to try and keep to the plan, but, there's always a chance that I might decide to have something different!

Are you making a meal plan for the last week in May?

April Meal Planning Week 2 Update & Week 3 Plan

This was the meal plan for April Week 2:

Brunches: Tuna salad sandwiches✔, scrambled egg, toast or fried potato, and bacon✔; leftover soup✔; peanut butter toast; muffins✔

Dinners: Rice and curries✔; turkey and vegetable soup✔; grilled cheese sandwich✔; fried rice✔; leftovers✔

And this is how it turned out:

Monday:
Brunch: A scrambled egg, bacon, and toast
Dinner: Turkey and vegetable soup with toast
Snacks included a banana and the last 2 banana muffins (from the freezer)

Tuesday:
Brunch: Banana sandwiches
Dinner: Rice and curries (chicken curry, beets, sauteed cabbage, cucumber slices)
Snacks: Turkey & vegetable soup, crackers

Wednesday:

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwich
Dinner: Leftover rice and curries

Dessert: Creme caramel from a boxed mix - didn't like it that much and will not buy it again

Thursday:
Brunch: Tuna salad sandwich
Dinner: Frozen dinner (roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans); it was good, considering I paid $1.99 for it.

Friday:

Brunch: Lemonade (skipped brunch as I wasn't hungry)

Dinner: Turkey soup, drop biscuits

Saturday:

Brunch: Drop biscuits

Dinner: Ham fried rice (ham from the freezer)

Sunday:
Brunch: Milkrice with leftover mackerel curry
Dinner: Grilled ham and cheese sandwich; pears

I mostly stayed on plan and it turned out well, I think.

Here's the plan for April Week 3:

Brunches: Leftover milkrice; French toast; tuna salad sandwiches; ramen noodles; scrambled egg, bacon, and fried potato; pancakes or waffles; leftovers

Dinners: Ham and split pea soup; rice and curries (lentils, eggplant, cabbage); sauteed chicken breast and vegetables; leftovers.

The meal plan is based on what I have on hand, but, I do plan to go to the ethnic grocery store on Tuesday to take advantage of their one day only sale on eggs and I will probably buy some bread, fresh fruits and vegetables when I am there.

That is the plan; we'll see how well it works out.  

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan for this week?  

April Meal Planning - Week 1 Review and Week 2

Turkey and Vegetable Soup

Here's how the first week of April worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Waffles with bacon and blueberry compote (made with homegrown frozen blueberries)
Dinner: Hamburgers and fries from a fast food place

Tuesday (April 1):
Brunch: Milkrice, seeni sambol, lunu minis, jaggery
Dinner: Leftover pasta, chicken, sauteed green beans; bananas for dessert

Wednesday:
Brunch: Leftover waffles with canned mackerel curry
Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad, beetroots boiled and sliced; mango for dessert

Thursday:
Daughter left home, after what was supposed to have been a week long visit turned into just over 5 months!  Her friend's parents, who took them to the airport, brought me a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, filled with a variety of meats and marinated vegetables (which came in a separate package; at first, I thought it was a type of spring roll!).  It was a foot long and I feasted on it all day!

Brunch: Half of the banh mi sandwich
Dinner: The other half of the sandwich

Friday:
Breakfast: A waffle
Lunch: Leftover fried rice and a side salad
Dinner: "Breakfast for Dinner" - scrambled egg, bacon, fried potatoes

Saturday:
Brunch: A waffle with mackerel curry
Dinner 1: Peanut butter toast with "no waste" peach jam (made with the skins and bruised bits of peaches that I had removed when I made the peach jam meant for gift giving)

Sunday:
Brunch: The last waffle with chicken curry; banana
Dinner: Turkey and vegetable soup (packet of turkey bits and pieces from the freezer, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, homegrown red stemmed celery, the last bit of a bag of edamame, and a few slices of homegrown okra to thicken the soup a bit, all from the freezer, a can of sliced carrots (drained), a tablespoon or so of chicken bouillon powder, a bit of garlic powder, a handful of black pepper corns, and a freshly picked red chili from the garden).  Canned fruit cocktail for dessert

I think I did fine with April Week 1 meal planning. 

April Week 2 Meal Plan

The plan is to eat mostly from the pantry and freezer in order to stretch the approximately $53 left in the April grocery budget.  I have no intention of depleting the pantry or the freezer, but, there are some items that need to be used up ("best by" dates have come and gone!)

I haven't done a full inventory update of my freezer, yet, but, I did check the bin where I keep most of the meat and I have three chicken breast halves with ribs, one smoked sausage, two packets of bacon (12 oz. each), one piece of ham/ham steak (leftover from Thanksgiving), and a package of roast turkey breast, also leftover from Thanksgiving.  There is another package of turkey bones on another shelf, I believe, which I will keep for another batch of soup, later.  I think I have plenty of meat to last me the month, but, I will want to stock up on some chicken when it goes on sale, next, and it would be nice to have some beef or pork for variety.  And, if ham goes on sale for Easter, I would like to buy one to freeze.  

So, here's the plan for this week:

Brunches: Tuna salad sandwiches, scrambled egg, toast or fried potato, and bacon; leftover soup; peanut butter toast; muffins?

Dinners: Rice and curries; turkey and vegetable soup; grilled cheese sandwich; fried rice; leftovers

At least, that is the plan.  

As always, I am grateful for having a variety of food to eat and plenty of it.  

Are you doing a meal plan this week?

On Saturday

 

Osteospermum

Pretty soon, everyone is going to get tired of me posting pictures of the osteospermum, but, until then, I am posting these as the plants in the front garden are just starting to flower.

Closer Up

I love the color variations.  Some are white with yellow centers, some are white with purple centers.  Others are purple with purple centers.  While some others appear as bi-colored, white with purple tinged petal tips:

Bi-Colored

It was another sunny day and the temperatures were in the upper 60s.  It was warm enough for me to open the doors and windows to air out the house.  It was, actually, quite warm out in the sunshine and I spent a little time in the garden.

Daughter spent another day out with her friends as they celebrated March birthdays.  Daughter asked me to make her some sandwiches to take with her as she was not planning to eat out at a restaurant (she sat in her friend's car and ate her sandwiches to avoid having to take her mask off in public).  Another friend's mother, too, had made sandwiches for the group of friends.  

I did a load of laundry, ran the dishwasher, did a little bit of cleaning and decluttering, and started a knitting project, playing with yarn instead of with fabric.  

I had bread with peanut butter for brunch.  For dinner, I made a small pan of soup with leftover beef pot roast that I had kept for the purpose, adding some carrots, potatoes, and homegrown red-stemmed celery stalks and leaves.:

Beef and Vegetable Soup

In addition, I warmed up a package of ground beef (bought at the end of January) which I had cooked with lots of added vegetables (in February) and frozen.  I cooked some boxed macaroni and cheese to go with the ground beef mixture.  Daughter and I had the beef and vegetable soup as a first course and the mac & cheese with the ground beef mixture as the second course.  There are leftovers for another meal.  

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Another sunny and warm day
- Daughter had another fun day with her friends
- Working appliances
- Garden flowers
- Leftovers

Saturday's joyful activity was knitting.

Plans for Sunday include setting the clocks to Daylight Savings Time and spend more time playing with yarn.

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

Monday: Still Hoping for the Best and Another Meal Plan (or Not)

Monday's weather forecast was mild, the winds were still quiet and it gave the firefighters another day to try and contain the fires.  However, the Santa Ana winds are supposed to pick up speed, again, with gusts up to 70mph expected over the next couple of days and everyone is worried about what might happen.  There were a few smaller fires that erupted today, but, they were quickly put out, according to the news.  

Daughter had work today and I put away the laundry from Sunday and did another small load.  That's hanging up to dry in front of the heater and will be put away before I go to bed.

I cleaned out the fridge and took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning.  I chatted on the phone with friend R and with aunt C.  

But, I didn't undecorate the tree, yet.

This was the meal plan I put together, last week:

January Week 1 Meal Plans:

Brunches/Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches, uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat), cup noodles, scrambled eggs, sausages, and toast or pancakes

Dinners: 

- Sauteed chicken with vegetables (onions, tomato, broccoli, corn on the cob, carrots, potatoes)
- Rice & Curries: rice with leftover meatball curry, lentils with spinach, chutney
- Leftovers
- Ham steaks with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and salad
- Turkey and vegetable soup with toast and salad
- Leftover soup
- Pizza (on Saturday - daughter's friends will be over)

And here's how it turned out:

Sunday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner: Sauteed chicken thighs with vegetables

Monday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwich (me)/sauteed chicken sandwich (daughter)
Dinner: leftover sauteed chicken with vegetables

Tuesday:
Brunch: Sauteed chicken and vegetables (daughter); pancakes with sausages and cranberry sauce (me)
Dinner: Cup of noodles soup (daughter); leftover pancakes (me)

Wednesday:
Brunch: ???I think we skipped brunch
Dinner: Sauteed ham steaks and vegetables

Thursday:
Brunch: Toast with calamondin marmalade
Dinner: Salad; rice and curries (meatball curry, lentils, shredded kale with grated coconut, tomato chutney)

Friday:
Brunch: No brunch
Tea: Blueberry muffins
Dinner: Salmon with onions, tomatoes, green peas, and rice

Saturday:
Brunch: Blueberry muffins
Dinner: Leftover salmon, vegetables, and rice (daughter), salmon sandwich (me)

Sunday:
Brunch: Pancakes
Dinner: Tamales (compliments of neighbor S's daughter N)

I didn't make the turkey and vegetable soup and we didn't have pizza because daughter's friends postponed the visit due to one of them being ill.

I am finding it hard to think of meal planning because everything seems so uncertain, right now.  But, we have to eat, and I don't want to pick up fast food, if I don't have to.  So:

January Week 2 Meal Plans (1/13 to 1/19)(tentative)

Brunches: Blueberry muffins, leftover pancakes, uppuma, scrambled eggs & toast with or without sausages, French toast, cereal and milk or yogurt, banana muffins (if I make some), salads

Dinners: Leftover salmon with boxed pasta mix (Monday), leftover pasta with ham and salad (Tuesday), ground turkey keema curry with rice and vegetables (Wednesday), Leftovers (Thursday), Fried Rice (Friday), Soup and toast or drop biscuits (Saturday), Hot dogs or leftovers (Sunday)

The meal plan above is based on what I have on hand in the freezer and pantry.  It is very tentative because I don't know if we might have to evacuate, in which case, all meal plans will be off! 

On Monday, I'm grateful for:

- Another good day, weatherwise
- Working appliances
- Heat and hot water on tap
- Phone chats and emails
- Well wishes from blog friends

Monday's joyful activity was checking on the garden.

Plans for Tuesday include, bringing in the trash cans, calling the tree trimmer to schedule my eucalyptus tree to be trimmed, tidying my bedroom a little bit.

I haven't been decluttering, as such, but, I have decluttered three owner's manuals for appliances that I no longer have and two torn clothing items that are beyond repair.  

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

April Meal Planning: Week 4

Ham and Potato Soup
(with celery, carrots, and tomatoes)

This was the meal plan for the third week in April:

Brunches: Leftover milkrice and chicken curry (Monday), ham and bread rolls (Tuesday), pancakes with sausages, scrambled egg and fried potatoes, leftover pancakes and sausages, more ham and bread rolls

Dinners: Cup of noodles soup (Monday), leftover spaghetti and meat sauce (Tuesday), ham fried rice, ham and potato soup, leftovers.

Here's how that worked out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Leftover milkrice and chicken curry 
Dinner: Cup of noodles soup

Tuesday:
Brunch: Ham and bread roll sandwich
Dinner: Leftover spaghetti and meat sauce

Wednesday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg, slice of ham, fried potatoes with bell pepper
Dinner: Tuna salad on crackers

Thursday:
Brunch: Bread roll with butter and peach jam
Dinner: Leftover spaghetti and meat sauce

Friday:
Brunch: Last of the leftover spaghetti
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner: pancakes and sausages

Saturday:
Brunch: Leftover pancakes and sausages
Dinner: Ham fried rice

Sunday:
Brunch: Leftover ham fried rice
Dinner: Oven baked seasoned potato wedges and scrambled egg

There were a few changes, but, it worked out quite well.

On to Week 4:

Once again, this week's meal plan is based on what I have on hand in the freezer, fridge, and pantry, including a whole 5 lb. bag of potatoes that must be finished before they sprout! 

Brunches: Ham and bread rolls (Monday), boiled mung beans, tuna salad and crackers, scrambled egg and fried potato, toast and peanut butter, muffins?

Dinners: Ham and potato soup (with added vegetables), baked salmon with broccoli and potatoes, chicken curry and rice with dhal and moringa curry, leftovers. 

At least, that's the plan!  No doubt there will be some changes as the week progresses!

Are you making a meal plan this week?

April Meal Planning - Week 3

I've been very lax with my meal planning, this month!  The first week in April, I had leftovers from when daughter was here and we had a lot of take outs and treats.

This was the meal plan for the second week:

Brunches: Scrambled eggs with toast or fried potatoes, pancakes or waffles, fried rice, French toast, toast with peanut butter, tuna salad sandwiches, muffins if I bake some

Dinners: Spaghetti with meat sauce (and leftover garlic bread); baked salmon with bulgur wheat salad (compliments of neighbor S)  with savory rice and broccoli or snow peas from the freezer; fried breaded shrimp with oven fried potato wedges and salad, leftovers from the spaghetti and the baked salmon and bulgur wheat salad.

Here's how that worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Beef curry sandwich with the last of the leftover beef curry
Dinner: Leftover rice and shrimp curry

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg on toast
Dinner: Leftover seafood potato balls, reheated in the oven

Wednesday:
Brunch: Sauteed salmon and bulgur wheat salad, compliments of neighbor S
Dinner: Spaghetti and meat sauce

Thursday:
Brunch: French toast
Dinner: Leftover spaghetti and meat sauce

Friday:
Brunch: Toast and peanut butter
Dinner: Leftover salmon and bulgur wheat salad

Saturday:
Brunch: Milkrice, chicken curry, and katta sambol
Dinner: Spaghetti and meat sauce

Sunday:
Brunch: Leftover milkrice and chicken curry
Dinner: Fried breaded shrimp (no oven fried potato wedges), salad

There were a few changes, but, it worked out quite well.

On to Week 3:

Once again, this week's meal plan is based on what I have on hand in the freezer, fridge, and pantry. 

Brunches: Leftover milkrice and chicken curry (Monday), ham and bread rolls (Tuesday), pancakes with sausages, scrambled egg and fried potatoes, leftover pancakes and sausages, more ham and bread rolls

Dinners: Cup of noodles soup (Monday), leftover spaghetti and meat sauce (Tuesday), ham fried rice, ham and potato soup, leftovers.

At least, that's the plan!  No doubt there will be some changes as the week progresses!

Are you making a meal plan this week?

March Fo(u)rth!

Dancer on his New Blankie

I took all the covers off my daughter's bed to wash them and Dancer was looking very sad and forlorn on the bed without a blanket to keep him warm.  I took another blanket from the linen closet for him to use, but he doesn't look very happy about it, does he?  The blanket was a gift from a work colleague to my daughter when she was born.

Today was a mostly sunny day.  I didn't fall asleep until 6:00 a.m., but, I woke up once at 9:00 a.m. to feed the cats, then, slept until 10:30 a.m.  I could have slept a bit longer, but, I forced myself to get up and get going.  Maybe I'll be able to sleep at a more reasonable time, tonight!

The library had auto renewed the two books that were due today, but, I decided that I will return them, today, especially since I was going to the library to drop off my ballot, anyway.  I dropped off the ballot in the designated box and then, went into the library to return my books.

The library was not at all crowded, today; there were two other people using the computers and the printer and three library staff.  So, for the first time since the pandemic, on March fourth, more than seven months after I first went inside the library to collect a book from the hold shelves, I marched forth right into the library stacks to peruse the shelves and selected three books to check out!  

Two Non-Fiction and One Fiction

I was also able to take two more boxes of Covid test kits (each box contains two test kits) from the basket at the check out counter.  If I am going to start venturing out more, I might be needing them!  

After I came home, I had my brunch: a slice of the frozen pizza, that I had bought and baked, last week.  I warmed it up in the toaster oven and ate most of it.  There's a tiny piece leftover, to have as a snack, later, if I feel like it.

Then, I washed the last quilt that was on my daughter's bed and dried it in the dryer.  I took the trash cans to the curb and set them up in front of my driveway because there were vehicles parked on both sides along the curb and there was no room for the trash cans.  I did a little paperwork (there's no end to the paperwork!), watered the houseplants, read and commented on a few blogs, and watched the evening news.

For dinner, I cooked some rice with the last serving of the ham and split pea soup that was in the freezer.  Then, I heated up some of the ground beef mixture that I had cooked yesterday and I added some of the rice to it and had a bowl of what I'm calling rice casserole or a version of dirty rice.  It was very filling!

Now I have a rice cooker full of leftover rice cooked in ham and split pea soup, the rest of the container of ground beef mixture, the two Italian sausages that I didn't eat last week, and leftover pasta from Sunday night's dinner, to form the basis for the rest of this week's meals!  Plus four more banana-blueberry muffins for brunches!  I'm not going to make a meal plan as such, except to have chicken curry (from the freezer) and rice or baked salmon (from the freezer) and rice on the night my daughter comes home, depending on what she would like.   

Today, I'm grateful for:

- A mostly sunny day
- Being able to vote
- The library handing out free Covid test kits
- A safe drive to the library and back
- Working appliances

Today's joyful activity was actually going inside the library to browse in the bookstacks and selecting a few books to read!

Plans for tomorrow include more paperwork, some housework, and some reading!  Oh, and lots of crocheting while I watch the coverage of the Super Tuesday election results!

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday? 

Out of Stock!

"No Tuna!"

What do you do when you put in an order for groceries and the store contacts you to say that they need to cancel your order  because they "ran into issues at our end"?  Because that is just what happened today (Thursday)!

The last time I bought groceries was on January 15, a little over three weeks ago.  I was out of fresh milk (had been for some time) and yesterday, I finished my loaf of bread (although I have a collection of the bread ends/crusts/heels, or whatever you call them).  Chicken was on sale at my stock up price of $0.99/lb. and there were other sale items to be had with digital coupons, etc., so I thought this week would be a good week to order groceries!

This morning, I put together a list of groceries: bread, milk, chicken, smoked sausage, canned tuna, bananas, refrigerated crescent rolls dough to try a recipe that was in the store's own online magazine, the box of free cereal to redeem the latest "best customer" coupon they sent me, a carton of ice cream, a can of ready to serve soup to make sure I had at least one item over 5 items required to qualify for the $1 off per item (still smarting from the time I ordered exactly 5 items and they said they were out of one of the items and charged me the full price on the other items without offering a substitute), and two gallon sized bottles of water to restock my emergency supplies.  Shortly after I submitted the order, I received a text from Ricky, who often brings my groceries to my car, stating that the store was out of several items I had ordered, too many to offer substitutions, and his manager had suggested cancelling my order!  Sigh.  I texted back to confirm that there would be no charge and said to go ahead and cancel the order.  Then, I received the email confirmation that the order was cancelled due to "issues at our end".  

I suppose I should have anticipated problems.  For one thing, this weekend there is the Superbowl and people are probably having Superbowl parties and things are probably flying off the shelves.  For another thing, we've had rain storm after rain storm and people probably stocked up on groceries in anticipation of the storms and the rain probably disrupted supplies from reaching the grocery stores due to flooded roads and other hazards.  It doesn't take a pandemic to deplete store shelves, especially if one lives in an area where one experiences earthquakes and major storms.  

Which is why I never let my pantry and freezer get down below a certain level and always keep my emergency supplies well stocked.  I might be out of fresh milk, but, I have frozen milk and canned milk.  I might be out of bread, but, I do have flour and yeast (although the yeast is expired!) and I can make roti.  

Maybe the situation would not have arisen if I had shopped in person.  I would have been able to make some substitutes for the items I wanted.  However, if they were out of milk or bread or the chicken that was on sale, then, shopping in person wouldn't have helped!  

I will try ordering more groceries on Monday - the sale prices will still be in effect until Tuesday.  If I wait until Monday, it would have been four weeks since I last bought groceries!  Or, maybe I'll change the pick up location to another store and have better luck, although I like my local store.  

It was a sunny morning, but, it started to rain, again, in the evening.  After I tried to order groceries and failed, I replied to blog comments (thank you, everyone, who reads and comments; I really appreciate it), read and commented on a few other blogs, vacuumed the living room and dining area, paid some bills, ran the dishwasher, and had a nice video chat with my stepfather's sister.  Aunt S is in her early 90s and experiencing some health issues, but, she is as sharp as a tack!  Later, I video chatted with my daughter.

Brunch on Thursday was pancakes with the last of the mackerel curry gravy and dhal, followed by one with pancake syrup!  For dinner, I had:

Thursday Dinner: Chicken and Rice

Sauteed chicken thighs (from the freezer) reheated and green peas (from the freezer) added to it, served with rice cooked in some of the broth from the ham and split peas soup.  I usually cook rice in plain water, but, occasionally, especially if I have extra soup on hand, I like to cook it in some of the soup broth.  There are leftovers for tomorrow (Friday) and probably for Saturday, as well!  

On Thursday, I was grateful for:
- The sunshine during the day
- The rain in the evening
- Being able to video chat
- Being able to pay bills online
- Having a well-stocked freezer and pantry!

Thursday's joyful activities included video chatting with my step-aunt.

On Friday, I have an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner for a routine check up, to go over the mammogram results, and to get my bone density injection.  Later in the evening, M will be here to tend to the garden.  

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday? 

What would you do if the grocery store needs to cancel your order due to insufficient stock?  Or you go to the store and the shelves are bare of the items you want?  Do you have a stock pile of sufficient food to get you through for at least a few days if not a week or two? 

Another Rainy Monday and Maybe a Meal Plan?

Mama Cat

Guess what?  We had more rain, today!  According to the news, we have received as much rain in a twenty-four hour period, as we would have normally received in six months!  That is a lot of rain for us!

My aunt C called in the morning for a chat and she said their den roof is leaking.  Of course, nothing can be done to repair it until the rains stop!  I spoke with friend R, too, as she lives just a few blocks south of an evacuation warning area.  She said the streets near her apartment building are flooded, but, she is okay.  

It rained steadily all day, but, during a period when it had slowed down to a drizzle, I took the trash cans out to the curb and collected the mail from the mail box.

I also gave Mama Cat a new box in which to shelter.  Her old box was sodden and so was the old sweatshirt I had put down in it as her blanket.  I covered the outside of her new box with foil to try and make it a little more water resistant and gave her a new blanket.  I am using my old sweatshirts and sweatpants, that were too worn to donate, but, I didn't want to just throw, to make blankets for Mama Cat. 

Mama Cat in her new box

By the way, the side door to the garage is left ajar for her to seek shelter in the garage if she wants to do so (even if that lets some of the rain beat in), but, so far, she seems to prefer being in her box.  It's her way of asserting her feral status, I suppose, even if she will consent to sleep in a box I prepare for her.  Today, she was visited by Chicken Little who had a lot to say for itself and made such a noise that I went to see if it was being attacked, but, no, it was probably complaining that I didn't prepare a box for it!  I also noticed a new calico cat, but, it ran away before I could get my phone to take a picture!

Neighbor S called in the late afternoon to say her daughter N had made some desserts and would I like to have some.  You know me, I can't say no to desserts!  A little while later, N brought me some treats:

Desserts Compliments of Neighbors S and N

There were two pieces of a gelatin dessert, two pieces of homemade baklava (made by a member of the extended family) and a frangipane blondie that N had made.  I froze some of the baklava and the blondie for my daughter to try on her next visit home.  

Speaking of daughter, she has had two back to back migraines in the past few days.  I wonder if they are triggered by the weather?  

I vacuumed the family room, today, and washed a few wool knitted items by hand.  I also did a little self care/pampering and gave myself a pedicure, soaking my feet and applying some foot lotion that was a New Year's gift.  I didn't apply any nail polish, though, as I wanted to put on a pair of wool socks before my feet got cold!

Brunch was two of the banana muffins I baked earlier.  Dinner was a bowl of my ham and split peas soup with a slice of buttered toast.

Which brings me to meal planning!  I haven't been meal planning lately.  I've been finishing up leftovers and making a few easy meals as and when I felt like it.  Which works out well when there is just one person to please.  I do want to have some meals planned, though, so that I don't stand in front of the fridge or freezer and wonder what to make for brunch or dinner.  

So, here's my meal plan options for this week, based on what I have on hand:

Brunches: The last two banana muffins; leftover ham and split pea soup; scrambled egg with bacon and toast or hash browns, uppuma(Indian style cream of wheat). deli meat sandwich, waffles or pancakes

Dinners: Ham and split pea soup with toast or drop biscuits; sauteed chicken (from the freezer) with pasta and vegetables (snowpeas and broccoli, perhaps, also from the freezer); rice, beef curry (from the freezer), dhal, and eggplant; leftovers.

Snacks: Homemade yogurt, fruit, cookies, crackers and peanut butter, nuts, cereal

Let's see how that works out! 

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- More rain for the garden
- A good non-leaky roof
- Still having electricity, phone, and internet services
- Working appliances
- Neighbors S and N sharing treats with me

Monday's joyful activity was giving myself a pedicure.  

Well, it was still Monday when I started writing this blog post and now, it is Tuesday!  

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

Sunny on Tuesday

Crocosmia Flower Spike in Bud

The crocosmia plants are flowering.  I've read that they are supposed to be summer flowering plants, but, in my garden, they almost always flower in January and February.  

Crocosmia Flowers

Tuesday was sunny and much warmer, with an afternoon high of 69F.  It was a bit windy, too, but, it was not a strong wind.

I spent a fairly relaxed morning, doing my usual morning things, bringing in the emptied trash cans, answering blog comments, etc.  Thank you for all your comments.  

The library had sent an email notifying me that the two books I requested were waiting for me, so, in the afternoon, I went to the library.  I returned one of the other library books I had borrowed earlier (I decided to hold on to the decluttering book for a bit longer) and borrowed the two new books.

The library is located next to a fast food place.  Before I went to the library, I checked the coupons I had received from them and debated if I wanted to buy a hamburger from them.  But, then, I decided I didn't want to get any fast food, today.  Instead, after I came home, I fried some frozen breaded shrimp I had in the freezer, cut up a potato to make some fries, and had them with some of my peach chutney for my brunch (a very late brunch, eaten at 4:30 p.m.)  I ended up not eating many of the fries, but, I will reheat them in the toaster oven and have them another day.  Probably not the healthiest meal, but, I didn't buy fast food and I continued to eat what I had in the freezer and pantry.  Dinner, if you are wondering, was a slice of multi-grain bread, toasted, with a scrambled egg.  I had some grapes and then, some yogurt with granola.  

After sorting through my bathroom cabinet, yesterday, I decided to check the cabinet in the second bathroom.  My daughter uses that bathroom when she comes home and the cabinet was mostly full of her lotions and potions.  I didn't touch those, at all.  But, up on the very top shelf, I saw an unopened box of the hair dye my mother used to use.  My mother died in February 2006, and she stopped dyeing her hair a few years before she died, but, that little box of dye was still sitting there!  I know I've cleaned that cabinet, before, but, I guess I overlooked the box of hair dye!  I tossed it, today.

I called my tax preparer's office, today, and booked my appointment with her.  I scheduled it for mid-March, which should give me plenty of time to collect all the documents (haven't received any of the statements, etc., yet) and get everything to her in early March.  Later, I chatted with friend R.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunny and relatively warm day
- The car started (it's been a week since I last started or drove it)
- A safe drive to the library and back
- Being able to borrow books from the library
- Phone calls and emails with friends and video chatting with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was a trip to the library to borrow new books to read!  

Plans for tomorrow include tending to the garden with M and reading!

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

Meal Planning - September Week 2 Review and Week 3 Plan

This was the meal plan for September Week 2:

Brunches: Pancakes and mackerel curry (Monday), leftover pancakes and mackerel curry, French toast, scrambled egg, peanut butter and toast,  salads

Dinners: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice (Monday), chicken beef curry with rice, spicy potatoes, eggplant, cucumber, and tomato chutney, hamburgers, potatoes, green beans, and corn salad, leftovers 

Snacks: Yogurt, cereal, apples, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, maybe muffins if I bake some

And here's how it worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice
Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt, apple slices, leftover pancakes with syrup (very late night snack)

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg by itself (eaten after we got home from the vet clinic, around 4:00 p.m.); chocolate
Dinner: Leftover smoked sausage stir fry and rice
Snacks: Yogurt, apple slices, crackers, cheese and toast (another very late night snack)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Peanut butter on a slice of toast
Lunch - Fried breaded shrimp
Dinner - Chicken sandwich roll
Snacks: Banana, ice cream

Thursday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg
Dinner: Rice, beef curry, tomato chutney, cucumber salad
Snacks - Banana, yogurt, canned peaches

Friday:
Brunch - Bread and beef curry
Dinner - Fried breaded shrimp with tomato chutney
Snacks -Peanuts, canned peaches 

Saturday:
Brunch - Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner - Hamburger patty, green beans, corn, potatoes, tomato chutney
Snacks - Blueberry pancake; canned peaches

Sunday:
Brunch - Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner - Cheese burek compliments of neighbor S
Snacks - Rice pudding, gata, apple

I think it worked out well, even with several changes.  I couldn't find the chicken curry in the freezer, so  I thawed a packet of beef curry, instead, and that worked out just as well.  I've since located the chicken curry, and have taken out a packet of 2 pieces to thaw for this week.  I have one more packet of beef curry and two packets of chicken curry, in the freezer.  That's at least 3 more weeks of chicken and beef curry before I need to make more (there's plenty of sauted or baked chicken in the freezer as well).

On to this week's meal plan:

Brunches: Leftover blueberry pancakes (Monday); French toast; scrambled eggs (with or without bacon and fried potatoes or toast); uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat); soup (?; it's supposed to rain on Thursday); leftovers

Dinners: Leftover beef curry with rice and eggplant curry; leftover cheese burek with salad; leftover hamburger patty with salad or cooked vegetables; chicken curry with rice and moringa curry (from the freezer); leftover chicken curry, moringa curry, and rice; gyoza (from the freezer); leftovers or a breakfast for dinner 

The theme for this week's dinners seems to be leftovers!  LOL.

Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt, cereal, apples, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, maybe a peach dump cake with frozen peaches?

That is the plan, anyway.  While my meal plans are subject to change, I've some leftovers in the fridge that I need to finish up!  

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan this week?  If so, would you care to share in the comments?

August Meal Planning - Week 2 Review and Week 3

August Week 2 meals were based on a package of chicken curry and a package of baked chicken thighs I had taken out from the freezer, plus various other things I had in the fridge and freezer.  This was the plan:

Brunches: Salad (Monday), Toast and peanut butter (Tuesday), cream cheese and toast, scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes

Dinners:  The last of the macaroni and cheese with chicken curry (Monday); baked chicken with boxed rice/wild rice mix and snowpeas (Tuesday); coconut roti and chicken curry; rice, chicken curry and spicy sauteed potatoes; leftovers.

Snacks: Fresh fruits. cheese and crackers or peanut butter and crackers, cereal, banana nice cream, the last of the brownies

What I didn't plan for was the delicious tabouleh and almond flour cake that neighbor S brought over!

This is how it turned out:

Monday:
Brunch - Salad (lettuce, cucumber, garbanzo beans, bottled dressing)
Dinner - Macaroni and cheese with chicken curry

Tuesday:
Brunch - Toast and peanut butter
Dinner - Baked chicken with boxed rice/wild rice mix and snowpea pods 

Wednesday:
Brunch - Tuna salad on toast
Dinner - Leftover baked chicken with boxed rice/wild rice mix and snowpeas 

Thursday:
Brunch - Tuna salad on toast
Dinner - Leftover baked chicken with boxed rice/wild rice mix and snowpeas 

Friday:
Brunch - Salad
Dinner - Toast, scrambled egg, salami (Breakfast for dinner!)

Saturday:
Breakfast - Pancakes and chicken curry (one pancake with syrup, too)
Dinner - Tabouleh, homemade potato chips, almond flour cake

Sunday:
Breakfast: Last pancake with bottled seeni sambol (spicy onion sambol)
Lunch - Tabouleh, boxed rice/wild rice mix with chicken curry, almond flour cake
Dinner - Chicken curry sandwiches

I did go slightly off the meal plan, but, it was not too bad, was it?  I didn't keep track of the snacks but, I had toast and cream cheese, crackers and cheese, crackers and peanut butter with peach jam, almond flour cake, a piece of brownie, cereal, roasted peanuts, fresh fruits (apples, the last few blueberries, mandarins).

On to August Week 3!

This week's meal plan is, once again, based on what I have on hand in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, although I plan to put in an order of groceries sometime this week (haven't done any grocery shopping in August, yet).

Brunches: Salads, French toast, boiled mung beans (haven't had that in a long time; need to remember to put the mung beans to soak overnight!), scrambled egg and fried potatoes, leftovers.

Dinners:  Coconut roti and chicken curry; leftover tabouleh, boxed rice/wild rice mix and roast chicken; hamburgers; ground turkey keema curry, rice, tomato curry, and broccoli leaf mallung; leftovers!

Snacks: Crackers with cheese or peanut butter; apples, roasted almonds and/or peanuts, cereal, banana nice cream, that last piece of brownie that's still hanging around in the fridge.

Once again, that is the plan!  My meal plan is a list of options and sometimes, I stick to the plan and sometimes, I go off the plan!  I realize that I am blessed to be able to do that!

How about you?  If you make a meal plan, do you have a set date for each meal or do you have a list of options like I do?  If you don't make a meal plan, do you have a vague idea of what you might make ahead of time or do you decide on the day?  

Friday: Milk Rice and Pizza

Yellow Rose

Another mostly cloudy day, but, the sun tried to shine through the clouds and it was not gloomy and grey.  The morning was chilly and I put the gas heater on to warm up the house (then, turned it off and kept it off the rest of the day).  

It was a struggle for me to go for my walk, today, but, eventually, I bundled up and walked for 15 minutes.  I got tired after 10 minutes, but, paused the timer and sat down on the low stone wall between neighbor T's house and mine for a minute or two, then, set the timer back on and walked for the remaining 5 minutes.  I have managed to walk for at least 15 minutes, Monday through Friday this week.  It might not sound like much to some people, but, this is a big accomplishment for me!  I am not sure if I will walk on Saturday and Sunday, as well, but, if I can walk on five of the seven days, I'll be happy.

Then, I spent another 5 minutes or so, checking on the garden plants, taking a couple of pictures, and picking snow pea pods.  Today, I picked about 25 pea pods.  

Afterwards, I made milk rice to celebrate the Sri Lankan New Year.  I know I had planned to make it on Thursday, but, once I checked the time the new year dawned in Sri Lanka and the time that was recommended for lighting the stove and partaking of the first meal, it made more sense to make the milk rice on Friday.  I took a portion of milk rice and seeni sambol, along with the snow pea pods I picked, over to neighbor S to share with her.  Later, M enjoyed a plate of milk rice and seeni sambol, when he came to tend to the garden.  There is a small portion left for Saturday's breakfast.  

M bought me a small Serrano chili pepper plant and a box of long-lasting tea lights/candles (they are supposed to last for 8 hours, according what's written on the box).  We planted the chili plant and some beans and M weeded, pruned, and tidied.  

Afterwards, I watched the evening news and knitted a bit.  I am making good progress on the sweater I am knitting, considering I only knit for about one hour each evening while I watch news.  

There were leftovers from Thursday night's meal for dinner, but, I had a craving for pizza!  I didn't want to go out to pick up pizza and I didn't want to order for it to be delivered, either.  Instead, I decided to make a pizza.  There was not enough time to make a traditional yeast pizza dough (it was already past 7:30 p.m.)  but, I had seen several recipes online for a two ingredients pizza dough using yogurt and self-rising flour.  Basically, you mix Greek yogurt and self-rising flour to make the dough.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Of course, I didn't have self-rising flour because I have never bought any, so, I just used all purpose flour and added some baking powder and salt to make my own self-rising flour substitute.  And although I had half of a 5 oz. container of Greek yogurt, I wanted to keep that as a starter for my next batch of homemade yogurt.  What I wanted to use for this recipe was the last bit of the old homemade yogurt, except I didn't have enough of it (recipe called for 1 cup).  Not a problem - I used what I had and added approximately half a cup of milk!  Then, I mixed up the dough, kneaded it a bit, and let it rest while I got the other ingredients for the pizza topping ready.  

Pizza sauce?  I didn't have pizza sauce, but, I had some leftover pasta sauce in the freezer - I broke off a portion and microwaved it to thaw it.  Yes, I know they are two different types of sauces, but, I was going to use what I have on hand.  

As for the toppings, I like pepperoni on my pizza, but, guess what?  I didn't have pepperoni.  What I had is smoked sausage in the freezer - I cut off a piece and microwaved it to thaw it, then, sliced it (and microwaved it a bit more to cook it, a bit).

Mozzarella cheese?  Don't have any!  But, I have the Armenian cheese that neighbor S gave!  It's a crumbly cheese, but, it would do just as well!  I broke off a piece and crumbled it.

I was ready to make my pizza!

I took approximately half the dough and rolled it out to a circle, approximately the same size as one of my frying pans.  A frying pan?  Don't you mean a pizza pan?  No, I mean a frying pan!  I don't have a round pizza pan and besides, this pizza dough was going to be cooked on top of the stove!

Pizza Base "Baking"

Once the bottom was browned (took about 5 minutes), I flipped it over so that the other side could brown, too, and I spread the toppings on the side that was already browned, covered the frying pan with a lid and let it cook for another couple of minutes:

Stove Top Pizza!

The Armenian cheese didn't melt that much, but, that was OK.  

I had half of the pizza for my dinner!  Considering how much I tweaked the recipe, it didn't taste half bad!  The dough didn't turn out quite as soft and fluffy as the recipe had said it would, but, then, again, I didn't use the exact ingredients the recipe called for, either!  Maybe if I had used the exact ingredients called for in the recipe, the dough might have turned out soft and fluffy!  My pizza base was similar to a thin crust pizza.

All told, my pizza satisfied the craving I had, but, as I told my daughter, next time, I might just call for a pizza delivery!  LOL.  However, this pizza didn't cost me anything extra because I used what I had on hand and by cooking it on the stove, I didn't have to use the oven!  I am thinking ahead to the summer, when it will be too hot to have the oven on.

I went ahead and made two small flat breads with the remaining dough:  

Leftover Pizza Dough Flat Breads

I will eat them as I would any type of flat bread or roti, with some chicken curry or something.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- The early morning shower of rain we had!  (More water for the garden!)

- M helping with the garden
- Being able to share the milk rice with neighbor S and with M
- The power didn't go off!
- Being able to walk each day (Monday through Friday)

Friday's joyful activities included sharing snow peas and milk rice with neighbor S and my pizza making adventure!  

Saturday's weather forecast says it will be sunny with a high of 71F.  I don't have any specific plans for the day.  I'll just spend a relaxing day at home.  

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?  Have you made this yogurt bread dough?