Goodbye, Igor

In this slow economy, the Mr. and Mrs. Igor have had to make some hard decisions about their professions in the service industry. As much as Brother Igor loves owning his own business and being his own boss, things are just too slooooooooow. For now, at least, he's taking a job with Werner Trucking out of Phoenix. On Tuesday we said goodbye for the next three to six weeks.

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day 2009

Pantry Challenge

Two bloggers I read regularly - Life as Mom and Money Saving Mom are sponsoring the "Eat from the Pantry Challenge" for January 2010.  I'm thinking that this would be a GREAT thing for us to try, as money will be very tight this month, and our pantries and freezers are pretty well-stocked. You can read more about the challenge by clicking on either of the above links, and you can also join in via their Facebook event page.

I will need to buy chicken (giant bag of frozen boneless/skinless breasts, $20 at Costco), a few more pork chops, and possibly some stew meat and/or a beef roast (hopefully on a goooooood sale for the last three) to be fully prepared to take this on.  With some changes in the work situation of the Igor Family's parents, Niece and Nephew will be here for dinner 2 - 4 nights weekly for the next six weeks.  As such, we need to stockpile just a bit more meat.  Of course, the Igor Children love "breakfast for dinner," so that's a viable option to keep the meat expenses down.

An important aspect of the challenge is having defined goals.  Here are mine:

1. After replenishing the freezer with the above meats and purchasing a few additional items already on my list, purchase only necessary perishables such as milk, eggs, and produce during January.
2. Take lunch to work daily, except for Thursdays when Mr. Mamie and I have a standing lunch date.  Use two-fer coupons whenever possible for those lunches!
3. Eat a good breakfast daily, using the pancakes, waffles, bread, muffins, etc. (all homemade!) already stashed in the freezer as well as the ginormous supply of cereal in the pantry. Eating a good breakfast cuts down on the snacking, and keeps me from buying junk at Maverik or Judd's.
   
4. Cut back on the soda (Diet Coke and Diet Sprite, in my case) intake - drink water, iced tea, hot tea, hot cocoa, and Crystal Light that we already have on hand.  Ration the existing soda supply so that it lasts until February.

I do have two work trips to go on in January, the 4th - 6th and the 27th - 30th.  I get paid a per diem for meals for these trips, and should have that check mid-month. So technically, any eating out I do while traveling doesn't cost me. However, Mr. Mamie is going on the first trip for sure (and maybe the second), and work doesn't pay a per diem for him - so that's an expense we'll have to either bear or try to mitigate (canned soup/chili in the hotel room microwave - we've done it before!).

I feel pretty confident that we can do this challenge - the toughest thing for me will be to restrain myself from trying new recipes that might require "special" ingredients.

Menus 12/28/09 - 1/3/10

Still on vacation this week, no work and no classes to teach/attend!

12/28 Mon: Layered Chicken and Black Bean Casserole, Jalapeno Corn Muffins (this is a carry-over from a couple of weeks ago when plans changed).

12/29 Tues: Parmesan Italian Pork Chops, green salad, Swiss Cheese Potatoes (CrockPot), French bread (from the freezer).

12/30 Wed: Italian Beef Sandwiches (CrockPot), green salad. I think we'll actually be making these out of a pork loin roast, as Mr. Mamie reports that he cannot locate a beef roast in the big freezer, and we scored two large pork roasts from GolfDad recently. However, if the grocery store ads that come in the mail tomorrow have any SUPER deals on beef roasts, I might go buy one/some.

12/31 Thurs: CrockPot Honey Mustard Chicken, green salad, cornbread stuffing (from a mix). Niece and Nephew will be here for dinner.


1/1 Fri: Beef and Bean Chimichangas w/ all the fixings. Niece and Nephew will be here for dinner.

1/2 Sat: Ham, Pasta, and Broccoli Casserole - today is GrandmaT's birthday, and this is her request.  It's what she usually makes for the Igor Family to eat for dinner on Halloween, as they bop around going to parties and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.  However, it didn't happen this year, so we're having it for her birthday instead.  It's a modification of an old magazine recipe - I'll try to get the info posted later this week.  This is a great casserole for once-a-month/freezer cooking.  We'll also have green salad, Italian Cheese Bread, and an as-yet undetermined birthday cake. Niece and Nephew will be here for dinner.

1/3 Sun: Crockpot BBQ Beans and Polish Sausage, green salad, Oatmeal Dinner Rolls (from the freezer).  I have to prepare for the three-day work trip up north, as well as prep lecture materials for a colleague who will cover my university class on Tuesday, so an easy CrockPot dinner is in order! Niece and Nephew will be here for dinner.


I'm engaged in a muffin-baking marathon today! We like to have lots of muffins stashed in the freezer for snacks, quick breakfasts, kid-food for Niece and Nephew, etc.  So far I have made Health Nut Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Muffins. Next up is Pumpkin-Butterscotch Chip Muffins - great combo! Also this week I hope to get to: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Whole Wheat Honey Pumpkin Muffins, Spiced Carrot Muffins, Healthy Cranberry-Blueberry Muffins, and Savory Cheese Muffins (these are actually a "dinner muffin," and they're on my menu for next week). For most muffins that call for white flour only, I alter the recipes so that the flour content is at least 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat.  Today, I'm substituting 1/4 cup wheat germ for 1/4 cup flour as well. I won't do this on the Lemon Poppy Seed or Savory Cheese muffins, though - somehow doesn't seem like it will work very well.


A note about last week: I never got around to posting/sharing a meal plan, but there WAS one, really! We had Taco Mac on Monday, and leftovers from that on Tuesday. Wednesday was Honey-Spice Glazed Pork Chops, which were new to us and quite tasty (served with Stove-Top Stuffing and green salad).

For Christmas Eve dinner on Thursday all the family was over, and we served a Costco red/meat lasagna along with a homemade Cheesy Chicken Lasagna, green salad, and Italian Cheese Bread.  We've had and enjoyed the Costco frozen lasagna before, but it was left in the dust by the Cheesy Chicken Lasagna - a HUGE hit!  I was very tempted to add spinach to the recipe, but I wanted Brother Igor to try it, and knew he wouldn't if there was green stuff in it.  We'll definitely be having the Cheesy Chicken Lasagna again, and I will for sure doctor it up with some frozen spinach and maybe a little ricotta cheese.  I made this lasagna with "oven ready" lasagna noodles, and they worked perfectly - definitely an easier way to go than dealing with boiled noodles.  For Christmas Eve dessert I made a batch of The Best Birthday Cupcakes with Chocolate Syrup Frosting.  I used white cake mix, and decorated the tops with red/white/green sprinkles.  Very festive! These cupcakes are fantastic - soooooooo tender and tasty, and the frosting is delicious without being too sweet.

On Christmas Day we all gathered at GolfDad's house, where he made us a wonderful meal of standing prime rib roast, baked potatoes, and Mom's bacon green beans.  Mrs. Igor brought dessert (two pies), and Mr. Mamie was in charge of the green salad (as he was the night before) - a huge salad buffet that was a hit on both nights.

Over the weekend we ate leftovers and made homemade pizza.


Also last week I made: Eggnog Cranberry Muffins,  Multi-grain Blueberry Pancakes, and Lemon-Blueberry Bread, ALL of which were YUMMY!

Head over to orgjunkie.com for a boatload more weekly meal plans.

Mmmmmm, breakfast!

All breakfast, all the time!  Check out Mr. Breakfast for a TON of great breakfast recipes.

Image credit

Under construction!

We (Mr. Mamie and I) are working on my blog format - I really want to go to three columns! So partdon the dust while we attempt to get the code right, and while I try out a few different backgrounds.

I DO have photos for Project 365, and mitzvahs to post... stay tuned!

Six Word Saturday 12/26/09

In sadness, there can be contentment.

Mom's been gone less than two months, but Christmas came anyway.  We made it through, and were even  something like happy. We are 8 instead of 9, but the 8 love each other enough.

I am...

You Are Christmas Eve

You are a patient person, and you would agree that anticipation is sometimes better than the main event. There's something magical about the night before Christmas - when it feels like anything could happen! You are a somewhat quiet and spiritual person. You need a lot of alone time to process what's going on around you. You are optimistic and idealistic. You can't help but feel like things are going to work out.

Are You Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

       

Project 365: Day 34 (12/23/09)

View to the north from our neighborhood. Love it!

Mitzvah #23 (12/23/09)

1. I remembered, at 3:30 a.m., that Mr. Mamie had a physical therapy appointment at 7:30 a.m., and accordingly set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. Bah.

2. I only hit the snooze button once, then got up, showered, dried hair, etc. in order to be able to leave shortly after 7:00 a.m. Humbug.

3. I didn't whine about no time to fix hot chocolate at home, and nt time to stop at Maverik on the way into town. Bah.

4. I didn't totally lose it when we pulled into the parking lot of the fancy-schmancy new sports medicine/rehabilitation facility on the hospital campus, only to be greeted by the sight of lotsa water, lotsa utility trucks, and a security guard informing us that due to a water main break in the building, all appointments were canceled for the day. And I REALLY didn't LOSE IT when it was revealed that the reason Mr. Mamie was not aware of this prior to the 16 mile drive into town at 7:00 a.m. was because his cell phone had spent the last 12 hour in the pocket of his other coat, in the garage, at home. HUMBUG!

Instead, we drove over to the new IT building and scoped out my new office, the data center, the conference room, my essentially private bathroom (since I will be the only girl working full time in the building!), and some other stuff.  I checked that my own two servers (named "Alta" and "Solitude" by one of my ski-crazy techies) were tucked happily into a rack. I even got my cool little electronic fob thingie that opens the doors and disables the security system (no more alarm keypad - YAY!).  Now if the furniture order would just arrive, we could move in.

That's as good as it gets for today.

It's not as bad as it sounds...

You Are Scrooge

You'll admit it, it's hard for you to get into the holiday spirit at first. You find all the shoppers, holiday music, and mall Santas to be a bit annoying. After a while, your heart begins to melt. You can't help but extend your love to those you need you. You may never love the holidays, but you enjoy making other people happy. And in that, you can find some meaning.

What Christmas Character Are You?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

       

Project 365: Day 33 (12/22/09)

Storm on the horizon.

(view to the south from our back yard, 5:00 p.m.)

Mitzvah #22 (12/22/09)

Helped GolfDad clean out his big freezer today... which didn't involve much more than standing there holding a bag while he dropped in chicken, rib eye steaks, Costco meatball bakes, rolls, pound cake and other stuff that he says he's not going to eat.  We took home a nice little haul of bonus food, and freed up some space for him.  Good for everybody!

Project 365: Day 32 (12/21/09)

Our sweet treat after a day spent supporting the local economy!

(We had one of each flavor, mmmmmmm) 

Mitzvah #21 (12/21/09)

Today we did the bulk of our Christmas shopping, which meant trundling from store to store in the MarvMobile on the county's roads, along with what seemed like the major bulk of local population.  Mr. Mamie hates driving in such conditions, so (a) I took on the responsibility, which made him happy, and (b) given all the stress and crowding and rushing, I personally made a concerted effort to be extra courteous and  generous as I drove.  And for this, we were rewarded with excellent parking karma all day long!