Menu Plan Monday

I have the week off, so I'm very excited to create "real" dinners this week! I started with a fabulous chicken pot pie last night. It was very much enjoyed by 3/4 of our family. And personally, I'm really looking forward to leftovers for lunch today!

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie and Mashed Potatoes
Monday: Baked Haddock, Rice, Crescent Rolls and Corn
Tuesday: BBQ Pulled Pork, Mac n Cheese, Baked Beans
Wednesday: Leftover night
Thursday: Cheddar Chicken and Potatoes
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Chicken Francais, Rice, Carrots

Don't forget, for more great recipes and menu ideas, head over to Organizing Junkie!

In other news, Alex and I hit the "links" yesterday, probably for the final time of the season. He did very well, managed to beat me by a mile. I just wasn't on my "A" game, I guess! In the cold and wind... my hands were frozen. Notice there's not much foliage at the golf course...

But there is in our backyard. We have several trees in the back that are beaming with bright colors.

I always love the bright colors against a bright blue sky... I'm going to try to get out this week to take some foliage shots around the area. I hope there are some bright blue skies in our near future!

Our Busy Day

Today was a very busy day! We started out with a trip to Tully to watch Alex's race. (After a quick stop for my new favorite Pumpkin Spice coffee and a bagel at Brueggers...)

It was a chilly, but sunny day for a race. The above picture is as they are starting the race. This is just of the Liverpool team. Alex is in the middle, with the blue shirt under his team jersey. There were probably 125 runners today.

And here's Alex speeding towards the finish line... another great day. He set another personal best and was 9th for his team. He did a great job!

After we returned home, Eric and I took a trip to BJs (more on that later), then we had dinner at Salsarita's.

The chips and queso were delicious!

I had a ground beef with cheese quesadilla, which was also fantastic. Eric had a chicken quesadilla. He also liked his dinner. We happened to have a 2-for-1 coupon, so dinner was cheap tonight! We'd definitely go again, it was quick, easy and delicious! I think next time I'd like to try a big giant burrito... they looked excellent.

Now... I must put a disclaimer on these next 2 photos... this was ALL Eric's idea!! I thought it was terrible... but he insisted on putting some bad humor on the blog. This is the "before" photo... with Jenny.

And this is the "after" photo.... isn't that awful?? Ok, it's a teeny bit funny... But no, we didn't take Jenny to the butcher in order to save some cash in these "tough economic times"... But we did get an amazing deal on a giant Pork Tenderloin at BJs! That entire thing cost $12. And we had a $4 coupon. So it was only $8! I cut it into 4 pretty big pieces to freeze, so we'll get 4 dinners out of this thing. Not bad, huh? I see some bbq pulled pork in our future...

Fur-cation

I'm on furlough this week and I have LOTS of plans. Ok, you caught me. I have no plans. And I love it! A bit of relaxation, maybe I'll read a book, do some cleaning, maybe some baking. But mostly, lots of nothing. Aside from the not-getting-paid thing, furlough isn't so bad!

I took this photo on Wednesday. There still doesn't look like much foliage up here! I think while I'm off this week, I will attempt to find some foliage and take some photos. It is out there, I see it when I'm driving. I see it in my yard. Just apparently not near the Erie Canal.

Today we're heading down to Tully for another Invitational. Maybe I'll find some foliage down there. Hope everyone has a great weekend! And if you're off for the holiday on Monday, have a great LONG weekend!

Alex and I stopped at the lake yesterday on our way home. It was so bright and sunny! It seems like it's been raining quite a lot this Fall. Sunny days makes me happy.

And Happy 13th Birthday, Alex! We had dinner tonight at Olive Garden to celebrate. He's eating his birthday dessert... and ignoring the fact that I was taking his picture. The dessert was a delicious Torta di Chocolate. (I helped him finish it, that's why I know it was delicious!)

Party in the Country

Yesterday we went to Gary & Paula's house for a birthday dinner for Gary & Alex. Here are the birthday boys and their cakes...

Sheila created another masterpiece with this Bulldozer cake. Every item on the cake is edible. Isn't it adorable? It was tasty too! (Click on it to see it bigger.)

Here are Kelly & Laura. Kelly looks up to her big sister!

Alex was excited to get to ride the 4-wheeler! (Before someone gets on me about helmets... he only got out of 1st gear once...)

Kelly rode her version of a 4-wheeler.

Kelsey & Carissa posed after their ride around the field. (In first gear...)

And Alex even took his mom for a ride. He said "You're going to have to get used to me driving someday!".... Scary thought!

Old farm equipment...

And the highlight of the evening. Jumping on the hay bales in the barn! Can you tell our kids don't get out to the country very often?? They had a blast!

And I had fun too as I hung from the rafters in the barn...

Kelsey and Carissa jumped on the hay bales...

And Alex hung from the rafters too. It was a good ol' fashioned country style birthday celebration. Laughter was had by all. Thanks Gary & Paula for a fun evening!! We ran out of time for games, but I dare say that everybody had a fabulous time!

Day Trip

Eric and I took the Mini for its first road trip today. It did really well, even on the highway. I didn't feel at all like I was riding in a tiny vehicle when we were next to those gigantic tractor trailers. It looks a lot smaller than it feels!

We went to Rochester to watch Alex run in the McQuaid Invitational. The above photo is the Erie Canal. We walked over the canal to get to the race from the parking lot... that seemed like it was miles from the festivities. The colors on the trees are just starting to turn. I was surprised, I thought there would be more foliage than that.

Here's Alex running in his race. This Invitational was the biggest race I've ever seen in my life. There were over 7,500 runners that took part in the 27-races today. I'm not sure exactly how many were in Alex's race, but there were well over 400, probably closer to 500. We'll know exact numbers in a couple of days once they post results.

We spotted a Corgi near the finish line. Maybe we should have brought Jenny.... or maybe not. She probably would have tried to chase the runners.

Alex and I after his race. Obviously he's far too embarrassed to be seen with his mom!

Oops, I Did It Again

Sorry! I'm a bad blogger. Another 4 days with nothing. I'm surprised I have any readers left at this rate. Thanks for those who continue to check, despite my lack of updates.

I've had several requests for my amazing Apple Crisp recipe. I figured I'd share with everyone, in case some of you shy readers would like to enjoy it too.



Apple Crisp

5-6 medium apples, peeled and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup butter (melted)
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (you can substitute with cinnamon & nutmeg)

Pour apple pieces into a lightly greased (butter spray works well) casserole dish. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients together until very well mixed. Sprinkle mixture over top of the apples. (I also sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice over the apples before I sprinkle the mixture.)

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream. Or cold... or with ice cream... or for breakfast... or however you like! If your house is anything like our house, it won't last long!

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In other news...

Boy, what a crappy, rainy week we've had this week. I'm glad it's the weekend, but it sure would be nice if it would stop raining. Tomorrow Eric and I are taking the Mini to Rochester to watch Alex's x-country race. It'll be our first "trip" with the Mini. I can't wait!

Also this weekend we're attending a birthday party dinner for Alex and Gary on Sunday. We're having a big ham dinner and then we're going to have a game night afterwards. Should be a great evening!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!