Menu Plan Monday - November 30

Head on over to Laura's site for some great menu ideas for this week!
Today is a somewhat sad day in my menu planning arena. Simple. But sad.
Over the weekend I went to grab some baby food from by deep freezer to add to my freezer upstairs for convenience. When I did this I realized that the food (the applesauce I was grabbing) was mostly thawed! Bummer! Not sure how long it had been, not sure if things had been thawed and were refreezing or was in the process of thawing for the first time. The weird thing is there were some things that were still solid frozen. Those things were the only things I was willing to keep. Sadly, I dumped a lot of food this past weekend, voting for safety and security over the time and money spent on the food. What a sad weekend. Still not sure what is wrong with the freezer. We emptied it all out (salvaging the little we could in out normal freezer) turned it off to defrost it and turned it back on to see if anything had changed. It is cold. But more like a refrigerator than a freezer.
So this week we will be eating the things we were able to salvage. I had just gotten myself all pumped and found a bunch of recipes for a cooking/baking day to get my freezer stocked, and now I am doing the opposite. Just thankful I had not already done that big stocking the freezer day yet!

Colorful Yard Sale Trip!

My excitement is not conveyed well by the fact that it has taken me 4 days to post some of my pics from a recent trip I took to some great yard sales. I was afraid the best of the season was done, but I was wrong and very glad I ventured out...even with my 11 month old in tow.
I love to find bigger yard sales, like ones that churches or other organizations put on since there is a bigger selection and I can almost always find something! This past weekend was no exception.

A stool that matches my son's room colors.
A toy box (bought this past summer at a yard sale) full of large sized legos.
My son's new FAVorite bath toys! He keeps one in his mouth and one in each hand pretty much the whole bath. And he likes to stay in a lot longer than he used to. And yes, our house is old and we have a blue tub!
An assortment of other colorful toys, not all of which are pictured, but all of which have been very exciting to my son! About a million of the rings to attach things to other things (will be great for the next little one as well), noise makers, mirrors, etc...
I got all of the above (including the toy box from last summer) plus some of the toys that are in bags and in the car already, for $11. I think this is great! Some people would spend $11 on any ONE of those items, but I got them all, plus some, plus I know I will get more use out of all of it since I am having another boy in March.

On top of these buys for my son, I also stopped by a yard sale that was put on by a younger couple and I got 3 nice shirts and two very new looking purses for a total of $5. It was a great morning for both of us!
Cheers for great buys!

Menu Plan Monday - November 16

I'm a little ahead of things these week as I have already done my shopping! I've got some meetings this week that involve meals and I wanted to get a head start. Feels Good!

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Cauliflower Mac 'n' Cheese I'm going to add some cooked chicken and make it a meal instead of a side dish.

Citrus Salad with Bacon and Red Onion

French Toast Sandwiches I've made these before and they are wonderful! I have made them with the eggnog and also with soy milk. They are good either way, but the eggnog definitely adds some good extra flavor.

I haven't decided if I am going to make this recipe this week or not. I got all the ingredients at the store to make for a friend that loves pumpkin and is coming over, but then I saw pumpkin flavored ice cream and bought that too. Either way, I will make it soon and I am excited for it!
Crunchy Pumpkin Dessert Squares

It's gonna be a good week for food! Head on over here for even more great ideas!

Menu Plan Monday - November 9

I have been a slacker with making meal plans the last couple of weeks. Our nights have been busier and it has been easier (and more expensive!) to eat out on the go. Gotta stop the madness!

Monday: Lasagna Stoup
Tuesday: Cincinnati Chili (I am all about finding the BEST chili recipe this year!)
Wednesday: Quick dinner on the go, not sure what yet.
Thursday: Possible we will be out of town for dinner, but if not, Creamy Potato Soup it is
Friday: Most likely leftovers from the week
Saturday: Another possibility that we will be out of town for dinner (we are in the playoffs for High School volleyball and it is all dependent on how far we make it now). If we are in town, I think we might make some burgers.
Special Breakfast: Cheddar and Chile Egg Casserole and Mini Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Special Treat: Apple Pie