Category Archives: meal planning

Menu Monday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, meal planning by

Still raining, and there’s some flooding in the area. Not so much where I am, but the Yuba River is flooding, and there’s some flooding near Yuba Gap. i hope the rain lets up.

I again decided not to go out. Just not feeling it for some reason. I’m trying to go with how I feel daily, so that’s where it is today. I do need to get to the bank, so maybe I’ll do that later.

I’m working my way through all our Christmas movies, Die Hard, It’s a Wonderful Life, etc. I still have Muppet Christmas and Chevy Chase.

Menu:

Last night we had Asian salad and TJ’s orange chicken

Tuesday- turkey chili from the freezer

Wed-Christmas Eve- Our tradition is always Fondue with baguette, veggies, apples, and whatever else.

Thursday- Christmas Day- Cheese lasagna, Steak (for the meat eaters), baked potatoes, brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, and dessert?

Friday- I’ll probably do a pizza

Saturday- soup of some sort

What kind of dinner do you all make for Christmas? Is there a tradition? Curious minds want to know.

menu for the week and misc.

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, library, meal planning, Walking by

I finally got my early am walk with my new Merrills. They are definitely a stiff boot that keeps my foot from moving too much. I can see why Chat recommended them for a foot fracture. Overall, my foot is better, and I do wear my Hokas in the house all day, and I think that helped. I haven’t worn my Birkies in a while because I think they didn’t support my foot enough.

I did a menu plan for the week so i have a rough idea of what I want to make.

Last night I made chicken enchiladas with green (verde) sauce. We had a salad on the side.

Tuesday- I’m going to make tomato bisque soup( from Costco) and some cheese sliders.

Wednesday- I have some mac and cheese I want to use up. I might add some tuna for protein.

Thursday – I think I’ll make a tofu scramble with veggies and nuts.

Friday – I’m not sure we’ll do pizza, so I’ll wait and see what my daughter wants.

Saturday- ?? TBD. maybe a burger of some kinda and fries.

Yesterday, I dropped my books off at the library and recycled batteries there, too. The gym was busy, but I found my way around without any delays. From there, I went up to Costco, mostly for coffee and a few other things. I think the food part was @ 100. I paid cash.

Today is a home day, and my son is coming over after work to visit. I don’t have any big chores for him to do, so it’ll just be a catch-up on what’s going on. Although he could put the cardboard in the recycle bin for me. Since he has the truck, it would be easier for him to do.

Menu Monday

Posted in budgets, California, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I slept terribly last night, so I feel like I’m running on empty. I’m not sure the why of it. Most nights I sleep well, and then boom, I get a night that’s awful. There’s not a lot of rhyme or reason to it. I do keep track in my journal so I can look back and see if there’s some pattern. So far, I can’t see a pattern. Oh well, it is what it is.

Last night we had Rancho Gordo cranberry beans in the crock pot. We had polenta on the side.

Monday- I think I’ll pull some baked potatoes from the freezer and figure out a protein.( updated: I just had the potatoe since we had burgers for lunch)

Tuesday- left over cranberry beans, burritos probably, and I have some avocados to use up.

Wednesday- I’m thinking a curry with either chicken or tofu.

Thursday- I have some soup in the freezer to use.Vegetable Barley

Friday- pizza or pasta, I’ll wait and see what we feel like.

My daughter and I went to the cinema and saw ‘Rental Family’. The movie was fun, and seeing Japan made me swoon. The cinematography was amazing. So after that, we stopped at In and Out for burgers. I had a protein-style one and it was good.

Today is Tuesday, and my sinuses are acting up, so I’m going to stay home. I’ll just do some house things and work on the budgets for next year.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, husband, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

Our weather has been cold but not rainy. The highs are at 58, and the lows are at 42. It looks to be the same for the next week at least. I’ve been using the space heaters some and the wood stove is used daily.

I had a nice swim this week and also went to the gym and library. Overall, a good week exercise-wise. My replacement Merrills are on the way, but it’s still about a week out. I’ve been wearing my Hokas in the house, and that helps some with my foot. My foot, at least, hasn’t gotten worse and is somewhat better.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. The dinner turned out well, and it was nice. Of course, without Barclay here, it was different and sad but we all raised a glass of champagne to him:)

I’ve been writing out small lists of things to do each day, only 2 or 3 things, and it’s helped me stay on task. Nothing major, but things like wiping down the shelves, dusting the Easton Press books. Just little things. What I don’t get to, I put on a list for the next day. So far, it’s been good for me.

I made a turkey wild rice soup from leftovers yesterday. It was very good, and I put some servings in the Souper cubes to freeze. I need to do a menu for the week sometime today.

I plan on going to the Auburn gym this morning, and then I need a few things from Safeway. Mostly, salad stuff and fruit.

My son texted me yesterday with a picture of one of the truck’s tires, and Whoa!!! It looked like it had hit a pot hole or something and had a big gash in it. He’s taking it in for tires today. I’ll give him some $ for most of it from my EF, which will leave it quite low, but that’s what it’s there for.

This coming week is my Velcade shot and then Dex. I see Dr. L next week, so I’ll have new labs by then, I hope.

Menu Monday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized by

We did very good with meals last week. I did cook the tilapia, and followed through on some of the other meals. We didn’t do a pizza or the baked potatoes. The night my daughter works late, I had broccoli cheddar soup for dinner. We also had turkey burgers one night because I finally found them in the freezer:(

Last night I made a beef stew with things I had on hand and wanted to use: carrots, potatoes, and a piece of steak. So there’s a little leftover that I put in the Souper cubes to freeze. I also had made the night before a turkey and wild rice soup because I had stuff in the freezer to use: 3 containers of turkey broth that each had turkey chunks in them. I added some cream to make it creamy and it was very good. I froze some of that too although rice doesnt always freeze well so that might be a wash.

So this week:

I have a Costco rotisserie chicken to slice up, and I’ll do some potatoes or stuffing and a salad.

Tuesday- Still planning on burritos or tacos, maybe with leftover chicken. Maybe I’ll put together chicken enchiladas.

Wednesday- Something from the freezer to use, maybe spaghetti and sauce.

Thursday- Again, a freezer meal, maybe enchiladas or soup.

Friday- try again for a pizza

Saturday- TBD, it depends on what I have to use up.

Today, I was planning on the pool but decided to come home after labs and do stuff around here. I feel a little stretched thin, so it’s better I do home stuff to regroup. Monday used to be my home blessing day of tidying up areas that I didn’t get to during the week, so I think that’s what I’ll do. I also started a loaf of sourdough to bake this morning.

I’m glad the appeals court ruled against the orange, evil, cruel man. Time to help people, not hurt them. Honestly, what evil person takes food away from children?

Menu Monday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, meal planning, simple foods, Uncategorized by

We had a fun time down at my son’s place yesterday.. We went to the farmers’ market and I loved it. Not too big, and not too small. I bought all the fresh veggies I need for the week, plus some yummy hummus dips.

Tonight: tilapia and farmers market broccoli some naam bread with hummus.

Tuesday: tacos of some sort. I have some WW tortillas, so I could do beans or grill some chicken.

Wednesday: quiche I have in the freezer with more broccoli on the side.

Thursday: This is my Velcade day, so something easy, baked potatoes from the freezer and leftover grilled chicken.

Friday: pizza from the freezer.

Saturday: TBD.

I don’t always follow these days exactly. It gets adjusted based on what we feel like eating/cooking.

I cooked the last pork roast I had from the freezer in the crockpot yesterday while we were gone. It was ok. My daughter’s not crazy about pulled pork, so I probably won’t do that again and just buy the packaged one from Costco.

I’m still learning about what we’re actually eating and what is getting wasted. It’s been a learning curve with grocery shopping and not overbuying. Freezer stuff I don’t mind, as that can be used as needed. I find it very interesting that since Barclay has died, we eat differently. Not sure why that is. Maybe it’s a lack of interest in cooking stuff, or ?? Really, I don’t know. Plus, my daughter is doing some of the cooking, and she likes low-carb, anti-inflammatory foods. Well, interesting to say the least.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, meal planning, Myeloma, velcade, Walking by

I woke up at my regular time, and the clocks were back an hour. Based on the light, I went out to walk at 5:50, which yesterday was 6:50. I liked it as no one else showed up. It’ll be this afternoon that I won’t like it at 4, when yesterday that was 5. But every year we go through this and adjust.

My son visited yesterday and took a big load of wood to the dump. He thinks maybe 2 more loads and it’ll be gone. A good accomplishment. I went to the store and picked up sandwiches for us all and that was nice.

Today, I’m not going into the Auburn gym because my daughter and I are going down to my son’s place to visit and go to the farmers’ market. He has a lovely park that is right near the American River, and it’s quite nice, so we’ll go over there too.

This week I have Velcade and then my new lowered Dex. I didn’t notice a big difference, but maybe the Dex wore off sooner. Dex affects my breathing, and I did notice that the night I took Dex. It’s just a matter of getting through it. 😦

I need to go to Costco too this week. I wanted to get some of their sale items. The chicken pot pies are on sale, which are good for an easy dinner. The Starbucks holiday coffee is on sale, too. Buying stuff when they have their sales is definitely a big savings.

Because of Velcade this week, I’ll probably only get to the pool and gym once. Also, I need to make an appointment for the Santa Fe as the service light switch isn’t working( it’s a computer chip, apparently.) I got it to scroll once, but then it stopped working again. So I need to do that this week. At least I don’t have any other appts.

We’re in for another beautiful day here in N Ca. The wet weather is expected to arrive by Wednesday. Also, I hope Prop 50 passes so we can redistrict some of these worthless Republicans.

I need to write up a menu plan for the week and what house chores I need to focus on.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized, Walking by

I had a rough day yesterday. It seemed like everything was achy, and I was stiff. Not sure if it’s the rainy weather and arthritis hitting, but today is better. I walked even though it was drizzling and then raining. I’m not walking for great distances( one mile), but I felt I should at least move some. I’m planning on going to the gym this morning although its already almost 8am. I’ll sit here a few more minutes and decide.

Well, I’m back from the Auburn gym, so that feels good. I try and do weights at least 2x a week, and the Auburn gym helps since it’s close.

I finished the kitchen zone yesterday, so that’s done, and I only need to tidy up some things today and figure out dinner. I have some russet potatoes left from the Costco bag, so I might do some form of potato, and I have some broccoli. I’m not sure what protein I’ll add. I don’t have any tofu, so ??

I also want to write the menu for the week using what I have.

  • beans, WW tortillas, cheese, etc.
  • soup of some sort, I think I’ll do a lentil soup with carrots and add curry powder to make it curried lentil soup.
  • I have some chicken burgers or turkey burgers to use so I’ll do that.
  • I think I’ll do a breakfast for dinner night with scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, and sausage if I have any.
  • I want to look through the freezer and see what needs to be used. I know I have spaghetti and meatballs frozen. I need to check what else I have in there.
  • a pizza night
  • ???

I plan to go to the pool at least once and Maheny at least once.

We’ve been having fun watching the original Frankenstein and Dracula, which is on Prime. We actually have the DVD’s but these have been digitally remastered and there are subtitles. Both of these were around 1931, so the sound quality wasn’t very good. Plus, they’re only like an hour and 10 minutes.

That’s about it for today. I’m going to read and do some more practice embroidery.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, camping, meal planning, swimming by

I am enjoying my new iMac. It’s so pretty and nice to work on. It was such a thoughtful thing my daughter did.

Yesterday, we ventured out to the pet bookstore. I picked up some old Hillerman, in which I always enjoy being immersed in the Southwest. After having lived in Tucson for 5 years and then a small stint in Santa Fe, the southwest does get into your being. I wouldn’t ever move there again, too many people, too much congestion, too many people using water that isn’t really there, etc, but we did love it when we were there. The smell of orange blossoms lining the neighborhoods is a favorite memory. Plus, riding our bikes all over town. Back then, you could still drive through campus, but that changed a number of years ago.

I also picked up a Japanese lifestyle book called Wa. I looked through it yesterday, and there are a few interesting ideas.

After the bookstore, we went and had some tacos.

I’m trying to stick to my routines as much as possible, but some days I just sit and do nothing. Today, I need to write my list for the week and figure out what I’m doing and when. I pick up Barclay’s ashes this week, so that day will be hard. I’ll probably just go down and straight back home.

I know I want to swim at least once. During my last swim, I felt much better, so I think I can catch up soon to where I was. Additionally, I want to go to the Maheny gym and the library.

Meal planning has gone out the window for now, and my daughter and I just figure out dinner daily. I do have lots of freezer stuff, so I am working with that. We did have a small BBQ on the 4th of some steak bits. That was yummy. We had a Cobb salad on the side. Mostly, I’m looking in the fridge, staring blankly, and then figuring out some game plan. Also, my daughter has been cooking meals up, which has been nice.

My son is coming up today to do some more dump run stuff. I hope he can get rid of all the metal stuff. ( old pool frames, carport frames, etc.) There’s still a load of old wood that needs to go too. In the past, B would just have a burn pile in the winter for the wood, but none of us want to do that. So to the dump it goes.

I gave away a few dozen canning jars for free the other day too. I’m not planning on doing a lot of canning so I figured someone could use them. They went very quickly and I will do another box soon.

Other than that, just hanging in there.

What wonderful things are you guys up to? I hope making the best of it.

Menu

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Death, husband, meal planning by

We are eating very light salads and meals.

Sunday night, we had a Greek pasta salad, and B ate some! That made me happy.

Monday- left-over Greek salad, and my daughter made a pan of polenta with herbs and cheese.

Tuesday- something Mexican. I have beans and rice, so I just need to add a protein.

Wednesday- I want to use some pasta (fettuccine from TJ’s) in the freezer. I’ll add grilled chicken or some shrimp.

Thursday- Again, some freezer meal to keep working our way through stuff. Plus, I have a container of spring mix to use for a salad.

Friday- not sure. My son is coming up to get the truck and smog it. He’s spending the night because the next day he’s going to do a dump run. Of course, all this depends on how B is doing.

All in all, we’re keeping it very simple. Nothing too involved. Just simple food.

Anyone who has had cancer or is going through end of life recognizes how small your world becomes. You just don’t go out a lot or even really care about much except what’s next. I’d love to go down to the pool or the gym, but I’ll have to see how each day shapes up. If I can, I’ll try and do something this week.

We did a phone intake with hospice yesterday. It was very thorough, so we’ll see what today brings.