Tomorrow is my four year "blogiversary"! Is it weird that I have been blogging about what I eat for dinner for four years? ;) Oh well, it makes me happy, and I always hope that my menus and recipes are helpful for others as well.

Our family had a nice Christmas. Both of my brothers and their families came home this year, and we all spent the holiday with my mom. It was a little different this year without my dad, but we had a good time remembering him together. My mom was able to postpone this past week's chemo treatment, so she was feeling so much better and we all had a great time together eating lots of great food. :)

This coming week Corey and I are still off of school. We will have a couple of days of at home, and then back to hang out with Mom over the weekend since she has to make up the skipped treatment. My menu this week is still going to be a bit scattered since we won't be home much. I'm hoping to get some advanced planning done this week for January since it tends to be one of our busiest months of the year.

Here's this week's menu. Enjoy and have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get fast updates from the blog. :)

Sunday - Christmas dinner at Mom's
Monday - Leftovers from Christmas weekend
Tuesday - Grilled Bruschetta Chicken, Broccoli, Salad

Wednesday - Family Night Out

Thursday - Taco Bake, Salad, Peaches

Friday - Steak, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad

Saturday - Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fruit

I usually do not like gingersnaps. Not at all! They are just too crunchy and the spices are too strong. This cookie still has that holiday feeling with the smell of cinnamon, but they are a wonderfully chewy cookie - just the way cookies should be in my opinion. This has become my family's absolute favorite holiday treat.

Ingredients:
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
additional granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and beat well.  Add molasses, mix well.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Chill dough overnight.  Shape into 1-inch balls (use a small 1 T cookie scoop); roll in sugar.  Place two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Allow cookies to cool for two minutes before removing to a wire rack. Makes 3 and 1/2 dozen cookies. I usually double the batch. :)

My schedule this is a bit unpredictable. We're not sure when we will be at our house and when we will be visiting with family. So believe it or not, I'm not making an actual meal plan. I know, that's very unlike me. :) But, I do finally get to make some cookies for Christmas since we are out of school, so I'm going to share my cookie baking plan with you this week instead of a meal plan.

Now, my Christmas baking may be pretty different than many. I don't make fancy iced cookies, or bourbon balls, or weird jam thumbprints, etc. I stick with the basics that I know I'm going to enjoy eating, and that the people I share them with will enjoy eating. :) Yes, that means lots of chocolate chip cookies. You can't go wrong with chocolate chip. As a matter of fact, I think almost all of my holiday cookies will have chocolate in them. Almost. I am going to make some gingersnaps for my hubby - sans chocolate. :)

So here's my cast of characters for my cookie baking adventure:

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mint Chocolate Crinkles

Gingersnaps

White Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies

Enjoy and have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get fast updates from the blog. :)


For more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.  

It's the last week of school before Christmas vacation! I'm so ready to have some time off to spend with family. I haven't had a chance to do my holiday baking yet, so I can't wait to get in the kitchen and bake up some of my favorite cookies. Hopefully my neighbors don't think I've forgotten them this year. Because of schedules this year, we decided not to do Christmas cards. I feel a little bit like a slacker, but circumstances just didn't allow for them. If I can at least get my cookie baking in, I'll feel a little more in the Christmas spirit. :) I did get to bring some of my chocolate chip cookies when Mom and I went to the cancer center this week, and they were a big hit with the nurses and patients. It's nice when something as simple as cookies can make someone smile when they are dealing with something pretty terrible.

This week's menu has lots of comfort foods. It has been a bit chilly lately, so I'm craving some nice warm meals that make me think of home. They're also good because I can get more than one meal out of them. We love leftovers at our house. Here's this week's menu. Enjoy and have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get fast updates from the blog. :)

Sunday - Slow Cooker Roast and Gravy, Day Before Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad

Monday - Chili, Salad, Peaches

Tuesday - Loaded Baked Potatoes (using leftovers from Sunday and Monday), Salad, Applesauce

Wednesday - Lemon Thyme Chicken, Rice, Green Beans, Peaches

Thursday - Going out for Sushi! (Corey has an Academic team meet)

Friday - Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday - Honey Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Broccoli, Salad, Strawberries

For more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.  

I'm short on time tonight, so this will be a quickie post. School schedule is pretty busy this week, plus it's my weekend to be at my mom's. Eric's parents came for a quick visit this weekend, which was very nice. The menu this week is simple because of the busy schedule. So, here it is. :) Enjoy and have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get fast updates from the blog. :)

Sunday - Mexican Gumbo, Strawberries
Monday - Lasagna (from the freezer), Salad
Tuesday - Apple Butter Glazed Chicken, Green Beans, Salad
Wednesday - Walking Tacos (get small bags of Doritos, crunch them in the bag, add taco meat and taco toppings of your choice and eat out of the bag), Peaches
Thursday - Leftover lasagna, salad
Friday - Mom's choice; Boys on their own
Saturday - Mom's choice

For more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.