I will post a separate Thanksgiving recap post to tell you about the food there. Alexander did make his gingerbread, and it was a hit, I didn't make the succotash and nobody seemed to miss it, and we made two quince-apple pies. Our pie to person ratio was down this year. In previous years we've had a 1:1 and sometimes a 2:1 ratio of pies to people. This year we only had 1/2 a pie per person. Thanksgiving day, there were 20 people including us, and our day after Thanksgiving party ended up with around 52 people counting us. All in all, both were a success, and except for pouring boiling gravy over my fingers while rushing to get the stove and oven clear for someone who needed it, all went fairly well.

Now that it is Advent, we will be abstaining from meat more as well as preparing our hearts and minds for the coming of the Lord and the second coming of the Lord. Our menus will reflect the fast, but there are two saints days this week for which we will break the fast. St. Barbara is a Levant saint, her feast day is the 4th, so we will have cracked wheat with our dinner to recall the grain she gave to the poor and we will have saffron buns for dessert. On the 5th, we will put up our stockings for St. Nicholas to fill, so on his feast day (the 6th), we will wake up to gifts from him. We have the children write letters or draw pictures for St. Nicholas to take back to heaven to give to Jesus. We tell the story of who St. Nicholas was to the children, talk about his life, his love for the Lord and for God's people, especially the poor. It is a good way to remind them of the truth while at the same time preserving their sense of wonder.

Anyway, for the sake of my father in law, I will post about the things we didn't eat last week, and what is repeated this week. We didn't have enough turkey left for the turkey rice casserole, so we had grilled bacon cheeseburgers with roasted brussels sprouts Saturday night instead. Last night, we were both too wiped out to do any real cooking, so I ate leftovers and Rich made mini-pepperoni pizzas on tortillas for the children. We'll have the soup tonight.

None of my normal weekly posts were made last week, I just didn't have the time between the cooking, cleaning and guests, so I will get back on track with those this week. I have a rough draft of my next frugality post that I will edit and should have ready by Wednesday. I was never able to get my Daring Baker's assignment done this month, so I may try to do a run of it just to try it, though it won't count for the challenge. Perhaps we can have it for our coffee hour luncheon celebrating Father Michael's ordination to the priesthood.

• Monday: After Thanksgiving Soup, Rolls & Salad


• Tuesday: Chicken & Rice Casserole


• Wednesday: Macaroni & Cheese, Fruit Plate


• Thursday: Arabian Spaghetti Sauce over Cracked Wheat Pilaf, Slow Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic, Saffron Buns


• Friday: Curried Cauliflower with Chick Peas & Tomatoes, Rice, Salad


• Saturday: French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons, Salad


• Sunday: Potluck Feast at Church - We will bring Crockpot Gyros, Harissa, Laban bi Chiyar and possibly my Daring Baker's Challenge

If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can.
What is on your menu this week?

Labels: Advent, Church Year, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen