And....We're back

I've been seat of my pantsing it for the last couple of weeks, but now I'm back on the meal plan bandwagon.

Here it goes:

Monday: Chicken Tacos

Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff Burgers

Wednesday: Honey Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Thursday: Stovetop Meatloaf with Risotto
Friday: Pork Chops and Caesar Salad

I'm having Chicken Tacos and Meatlog for the third time in three weeks because I keep forgetting to take pictures and I want to post the recipes up here. Luckily, they are family favorites.

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

And not the soccer kind neither. Though those are fun to watch too.

Tonight I ran for 30 consecutive minutes without stopping. Woot!

It's been my goal since I started back running in late April. I'm pretty stoked about it. I need to up my pace to reach ultimate goal, but in reality I never thought I'd get here this quickly. It feels really good.

I feel like this:

Adirondack Redwing Burgers

I just wanted to do a quick review of these turkey burgers from Rachael Ray. I had hoped to make a more substantive recipe post but as time passes by I just want to get this one up before I forget all about it. (And for some reason I now feel I may have already posted about it, but here it goes anyway.) They are really easy to make as long as you have a food processor and very very good. I think combining the onions, celery, and carrots into the ground turkey helps keep the patties from drying out. I was never able to find "sandwich sized" English muffins so I used whole wheat Sandwich Thins instead which are just in the regular grocery store bread section. Also, I don't know how it will taste with blue cheese since I forgot to buy that and Husband won't touch blue cheese anyway. The hot pepper sauce I used was plain Tabasco sauce and I mixed in a little bit of Worcestershire sauce for good measure. Reviews were split 50/50 on the addition of the pickle relish but as with any toppings you're always free to pick and choose without particularly dire consequences.

Oy. That's all for now, but I'm hoping to catch myself up this week.

Photo by Marcus Nilsson

Oh Mothers-in-Law

My MIL is coming into town this weekend. Ostensibly to help me out, but since I'm trying to cut back on nursing naptime is a bit more upsetting initially for my son than it used to be. It's hard enough as it is, but ANY time our child is let to cry (which is very, very rare and only when it can't be helped) my MIL makes this big deal about how terrible it is and he "shouldn't have to cry when Granny's here", etc. And frankly, this is entirely unhelpful. I had really hoped to do totally baby-led weaning, but unfortunately I've come to the realization that I need to have him weaned by 1.5 years if I want to have a year where my body just belongs to me before trying for another pregnancy, which I think is important for me to do. Point being, it's hard to have him upset when it's something I'm not really wanting to do anyway and she will aggravate the issue I'm certain. He still nurses twice a day (once in the morning once at night) but we've cut out all other sessions.

The other thing, is that she waffled until the last minuted about coming or not and I still don't know if she's coming tonight or in the morning but that's supposed to be fine because she insists I don't have to clean for her.

I do have to clean for her.

If I don't clean she will and it's embarrassing. On top of which her and her sisters are always trash talking the wives of my husband's cousins for their housekeeping abilities. Nevermind that most of the wives work full-time. Apparently, the full blame for the various states of cleanliness still falls on them.

Random Updates

Man, I actually have time to sit and post and I'm too tired to think straight. We've returned to waking up a lot during the night. Last night he slept pretty much the whole night but I'm so used to waking up that I couldn't get to sleep until after 4am which made 7:30 come very early indeed. I am way backlogged on recipes I want to post and I WILL get to it! Otherwise, I'm just going to do my best to have a nap this afternoon.

Nothing Helps the Blues Like Achieving a Goal

Things have been a little sad and gloomy around here what with my mom's situation and the oil spill finally reaching us in full force, but one good thing that is happening this week is that Thursday I will have met my goal of cooking a different entree every night for a month. Hooray!

Monday: Brinner-Cheese grits, fried eggs, turkey bacon, whole wheat toast
Tuesday: Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa and Roasted and Pureed Cauliflower
Wednesday: Whole Wheat Lasagna
Thursday: Chicken Quesadillas with Rice and Beans
Friday: Rachael Ray Sloppy Chipotle Joes with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

So there you have it. I win at dinner! I think. I'll have to go back and look to make sure as I've been in a bit of a haze. :-) I've found a lot of side dish recipes to incorporate a wider variety of vegetables into our lives and my new goal is to try a new side dish recipe and a new entree recipe (though not necessarily together) every week for two months. As always, feel free to join in the fun at:

Grave Disappointment

My mother was an elected official. She just lost her primary last night and it is simply devastating. She's worked in this office tirelessly for her community for nearly two decades, though only four years in this exact position. Her office is the most financially stable it has ever been. Crime is down 21% even in these troubled economic times, partly due to her efforts. She is the first woman to hold this position. And she just plain deserved to win. I would still have voted for her even if she was not my mom, and I'd be upset no matter how this played out, but it is a particular slap in the face that both candidates heading for the runoff are woefully unqualified and only in it for the title. They just know how to run effective unethical campaigns.