Home for Christmas

When I asked my mom what she wanted for her 70th birthday, her response was to have all 3 kids home for the holidays. Even though there has been numerous trips home, it had been since 1998 since we were all there at the same time, for the holidays.

We figured that since we were driving, that we visit as many parts of our family as we could. So in 13 days, we covered 7 states (x2 due the round trip), 3 homes, 3 hotels, 18 hours of driving one way, then 5 hours another day, 4 1/2 hours another day, then 15 hours back home, all to see 1 set of siblings, both sides of parent(s), and 1 set of aunt and uncle with a bonus of 2 cousins and 4 second cousins. Totally worth it!

So we loaded the car and headed to Kentucky.

   

We started in Bowling Green to visit my family and spend Christmas with them. It was a week full of family meals, games, and relexing. 

Game Night

I was even able to squeeze in a brunch date with my best friend from high school!

Christmas Eve with the whole family.

     

Reminiscing where our wedding photos were taken.

All 3 siblings.

The family.

 

Family Dinner

Christmas morning casseroles...

                                 

Recipes

Hashbrown Casserole-

1 bag frozen hash browns

1 stick melted butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 bunch green onions

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix it all up. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.

Breakfast Casserole-Pinterest Find

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/baked-breakfast-casserole.html

We were ending our Kentucky part of the trip and getting ready to head to Ohio.

At the hotel, Sam likes to make himself at home.

Jeff and his mom.

Sam met the dog uncles and loved Max!

Off to our last stop in Illinois, for the extended holiday

Met Jeff's cousin's new puppy. Sam was not interested.

The boys schooled Jeff on Madden. He got beat twice by the six year old.

Game night with the kiddos and uncle Bill and aunt Cathy.

After one more hotel in middle Kansas, we finally made it home!

New Cooking/Shopping Challenge

Just like everyone else, the new year gives that motivation of saving money, eating better, and getting organized, Jeff and I are doing just that. Today, inspired by a recent issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray, we made a list and a menu for what we hope is for the whole week.

Off we went to Whole Foods and to Sprouts. We actually went to both stores because certain things were for quality and budget friendly. We are excited to put together meals with simple complexities versus our standard protein and veggie. 

Day one-the shopping $175.43 total + $7.85

Went back to the store to buy coffee and beans to go with the tacos.

The damage.

The bounty which includes most ingredients for the recipes on our menu as well as fruits, breakfast foods, and snacks.

I will continue this post throughout the week to share how we are doing!

DAY ONE MEAL

Hearty Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Stew 

(we swapped kale for the spinach, personal preference)

All ingredients were purchased on our shopping trip on Saturday.

Recipe

Our version...(leftovers will be great for lunches versus sandwiches and frozen meals)

The recipe called for about 3 1/2 but it took more like 6 hours to get the beans tender...

The flavors are great but I think it will get better as leftovers.

DAY TWO 

Getting Ready for the Broncos game!

The Recipe

My version (pretty close)

Then we prepped for our weekday dinners...

DAY THREE

Recipe using the beef we slow cooked the day before...okay it's not really a recipe but guides you towards a dinner idea.

My version (we have enough toppings left over to do this meal again this week)

DAY FOUR

The recipe idea...

My version, I served it with store bought pot stickers so I could have leftovers for lunch. We could not find wide flat noodles so we used brown rice pad Thai noodles. Very quick dinner.

I have garden, now what...

So for the past few years, Jeff and I have played around with a garden but I wouldn't have eaten anything tat came out of them. Our last house had the smallest front yard and no backyard at all. We tried to plant tomatoes and other produce that seemed easy to tend to but we were squeezing I between bushes by the front porch. Well this year, we have a real yard with real space for a real garden...this is produce I will eat! The problem now is that I have to figure out eat to do with all this produce??

I am going to include a few things that I have tried, some have recipes but of course I tweaked these recipes to make them more my creation.

1. Crockpot Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 lb sage breakfast sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1 large egg, beaten
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 apple cut in chunks

1/4 cup of water

*Tip microwave squash for 2 minutes to make cutting easier

Cut stems off the squash, and scoop out the seeds. Slice off a small piece from the bottom of each squash so they will sit level in the slow cooker.

In a skillet cook the sausage. Place in a bowl to cool. In the same pan add the oil and cook the onion and garlic until softened. Add the onion and garlic to the sausage, let cool. Mix in breadcrumbs, walnuts, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the squash with the sausage mixture.

Place the apple chunks and water in the bottom of the crockpot then, use cooking spray to coat a piece of heavy-duty foil that’s large enough to cover the whole inside of your slow cooker. Place the squash cut side up on the foil. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

In an aluminum foil lined crockpot for 6 hrs

Cut in half and makes 4 servings 

2. Zucchini Lasagna

There is no real recipe for this, I basically used my favorite lasagna recipe that I have developed over the years and substituted slices of zucchini instead.

*One tip that I saw several places was that you should grill the zucchini before layering the lasagna.

*Personal tip, I used chicken sausage instead of beef for a lighter twist.

Slice the zucchini and salt to bring out the moisture. After about 10 min, pat dry with a paper towel.

Grill the zucchini on both sides, just enough to lightly brown. Lay cooked slices on paper towel to soak up any moisture.

 While the zucchini is resting on paper towels, cook the meat (or go meatless), then add your favorite red sauce.

Begin to layer just like you would with any lasagna.

Cover and cook for about 45 minutes, then uncover for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.

Looks just like my favorite lasagna!! I did not even miss the pasta!!

 3. Grilled Zucchini Pizza
No real recipe for this one either but it is super simple! I saw various versions of this on Pinterest but we just played around with the zucchini until it was what we liked.

Grill both sides, then pull of the grill to begin topping.

We topped it with regular pizza toppings like, pepperoni and mushroom, then we did a few with leftover BBQ chicken. 

Place back on the grill until the cheese melts.