Menu Plan Monday

We're going to have our Lebanese dinner later this week because we were sick this weekend. In fact after I finish this entry I'm going to take a nap. So thankful to be around my inlaws right now. Hoping we don't pass it on to them, and that we're all well by tomorrow. Having my menu planned for the week will make getting back in the groove of things much easier. Check out the Org Junkie's blog hop to see some other great menu plans for the week!

Monday- with in-laws

Tuesday culinary adventure? If not will move to weds and make Wed's planned---

Wednesday: Bean Burritos

Thursday: Potato Cheese Soup

Friday: leftover soup

Saturday: Chicken Spaghetti

What are you planning to eat this week?

Flashback Friday: Mountains + Me = Joy

I love the mountains. Mountains + me = Joy
So far that equation has yet to fail.
I do have a favorite mountain though.
I love the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Back in the 70s my grandfather bought a cabin in the Sierra
Nevada mountains of California. After he died (long before I
was born) my grandmother owned it until an uncle bought it from
her. I grew up visiting that cabin. All the time when we lived in
southern California, and every few years once we moved far
away to live in the deep South. I always called the Sequoia Nat'l Park
and Kings Canyon area "my Ithilien".
I am so happy when I get to visit those mountains. It's just so beautiful
and restful. Joyful!

This picture was taken in 2007, the year before I was married. My last
family vacation as an unmarried woman! Next summer I hope to go
with my husband and son to the cabin up there, perhaps joining
my sister, my father, and my mother. The cabin's definitely big enough.
We love to hike, to sit on the deck overlooking the lake, and obviously to
splash in the chilly mountain streams!

Wordless Wednesday: Pumpkin Fun!

Your Help Wanted- How Should I Make it?

I grew up with nativity scenes in the house. Both at my own house and my grandma's Christmas included a nativity scene. Or two actually. My mom had a large wooden olive wood nativity set, and a smaller plastic set she'd let my sister and me play with and arrange as much as we wanted. Since moving away from home the only "nativity" set I've had here has been a small ornament on the Christmas tree I bought one year on clearance after Christmas was over. Best way to buy a Christmas tree by the way. Seriously can get them for cheap!

image from reusableart.com

Have you ever made your own nativity scene? I am seriously considering it! One that my 2 year old son could play with during the day. Question is, which one? So far these diy sets sound feasible to me.

The first set is made from yarn and pipe cleaners

The second set comes from my mom's old 1970s Better Homes & Gardens Christmas book and is made from fabric scraps and wooden spoons. You paint a face on the bowl of the spoon and cut the handles to different lengths.

The third set comes from the blog Holes in My Shiny Veneer.

Fourth idea is to dress the peg dolls you find in Hobby Lobby in scraps of fabric.

I even found a suggestion online to make a set from salt dough.

There are so many ideas and so few weeks until the beginning of advent! So which should I make? Any other ideas for a homemade nativity set? Opinions?

Chicken Veggie Ricotta Pie Recipe

Yesterday T and I met some friends at the zoo after his nap. We spent all afternoon there. By the time we got home I was not in the mood for frozen chicken chili I'd planned on reheating for supper. It sounded too heavy. I really wasn't that hungry. Actually the only thing that sounded good to me was pho. Which, apart from a trip to the local Vietnamese restaurant, just couldn't happen. Especially at such short notice. I hadn't planned my meals yet for the week (oops!) so I couldn't bump anything over to take the frozen chili's place.

Quickly taking stock in the refrigerator, I realized I still had some ricotta filling left. There was chicken in the freezer and a large bag of frozen vegetables. Very large. I bought it at GFS. There was also a pie crust in the freezer. Now I knew exactly what was for supper.

Ricotta Chicken Veggie Pie!

1 lb chicken, cubed 

1/2 tsp cajun seasoning

1 c ricotta

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

little Better Than Bouillon Vegetable for flavor

1 pie shell

frozen mixed veggies

some biscuits for the top

Saute 1 lb cubed chicken lightly sprinkled with cajun seasoning. Take pie shell and prick and partially pre-bake. Fill the bottom of the pie shell with frozen mixed veggies and mix in the chicken cubes. 

Mix ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, and a little bit of better than bouillon vegetable flavor. Pour over the veggie/chicken mixture. Top with your biscuits. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until the eggs/ricotta mixture has set. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

It was devoured! We can't wait to have it again. I literally just threw it together so these are estimations of the amounts I used. My husband said I can make this any time as a variation on our usual pot pie. 

Very happy with how this turned out!