We are almost out of the Christmas holiday, and just about at Epiphany. This means that we will have regular days of abstinence here again. We're also preparing for our back to school time and getting back in gear for ballet and sports and co-op and other activities, and I won't have the luxury of making such complicated meals as often.

I was able to find some organic, sprouted grain cereals at the Grocery Outlet, so I bought them for us to try. Rich and the kids liked them, but I wasn't so keen on them. However, they were a great price, so I may pick up more this week if they still have them. It made for a quick and easy breakfast before church, that is for sure. I also found some Chobani, blood orange yogurt cups for $0.25 each. Again, everyone else seemed to like them more than I did, but they are good protein and pro-biotics, so after the test run of only 10 of them, Rich asked if I could get more and I bought 35 more cups. There will be significant yogurt cup consumption this week. We also picked up some organic boxes and juice packs from the produce co-op, which included some out of season strawberries that we're turning into shortcake this week. I forgot to get the beans made in time on Saturday, so we had a hash with Italian sausage, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, onions and garlic instead, and made the chili and cornbread for dinner Sunday.

We finally got some significant snow, without it being too much, and it's melting nicely today, so that makes me happy. I am also happy because my coffee order from Fr. Michael's Roastery came today. (They re-did their website, and I liked the older one better. Rich said I should tell them that the old ways were superior and I didn't appreciate their heterodox innovations. I didn't know if they'd get our joke, and I want them to keep sending me coffee.)

• Sunday
  Breakfast: "Cheerios"and Milk, Fruit, Milky Tea
  Dinner: Not Texas Chili and Cornbread
• Monday
  Breakfast: Harvest Pancakes, Blood Orange Yogurt, Milky Tea
  Dinner: Layered Tortilla Casserole, Salad, Snow Top Cookies and Thimble Cookies
• Tuesday - Feast of the Epiphany
  Breakfast: Christmas Bread and Butter, Fruit, Hot Chocolate and Coffee
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, Bourbon Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Rolls, Steam Sauteed Vegetables, Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Christmas Pineapple*
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins, Blood Orange Yogurt, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Garden Vegetable Soup*, Sweet Potato Rolls
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Coconut and Craisins, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Turkey Tetrazzini, Salad, Strawberry Shortcake with Chantilly Cream
• Friday
  Breakfast: Toast with Feta, Za'atar and Olive Oil, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Green Hot Sauce, Khoubz Araby (Pita Bread), Veggies and Olives
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Bacon, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, Jasmine Rice, Fudge

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen