Holiday Cheer....

We're down to the final mad rush before Christmas, but we can see the smiles Christmas morning so its' all worth it!  Right?!   Final push for me to finish wrapping today.  Cookies all done, dark chocolate bark made and house fairly in order for company.  Now I need to tackle Christmas cards and send them off in the mail.  The holiday season is exhausting, but once Christmas morning arrives I am happy.

I am taking a break this week and next from my "Meals at a glance",    I am cooking and preparing a few nights this week and the following week is school vacation and New Year's so not a typical meal week for me and probably for many of you.  I asked Santa for two new cookbooks, so after the New Year I will be sharing new meal ideas from those.  I've been pretty good, so I'm almost positive they'll be under the tree!

I will share what I'm making for Christmas Eve dinner.  It is an Italian tradition to prepare seven fishes on Christmas Eve so we are trying to make a few different things with fish.  We'll have baked clams ( my dad's recipe), spicy grilled shrimp, & scallops wrapped in bacon for appetizers, along with an assortment of veggies and dips. Baked cod will be for dinner.  I want to try a calamari dish as well, but haven't come across the right recipe yet.  Side dishes of rice and holiday salad with pomegranates will be served as well.  Christmas cookies for dessert!  Our family Christmas dinner will be at my mom's and it's over the top!  There is enough food to last for days.  Holidays for me is all about tradition.  I love that my kids cannot wait to decorate our cookies and enjoy preparing our holiday feast.  It's a special time to be together and to enjoy one another's company.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.   I will begin the New Year with some clean eating ideas and affordable meal plans that will keep you healthy and recharge your bodies for the new year.

All my best,

Donna

Meals at a glance...

The countdown continues in our house until Christmas.  We are still preparing for the holiday season and will be making our Christmas cookies today.  It's a lengthy process, but everyone loves helping.  We used to make a variety of different cookies, but the kids' favorite ones are Scott's great Grandmother's recipe for sugar cookies.  It's an old-school one that uses shortening, lots of sugar, flour, etc., and we cannot alter the recipe.  I've tried but they do not taste the same!  Once a year it's ok to indulge making these special treats.  So today we make the dough, cut out the cookies and bake them.  Then we store them for the week in tightly sealed containers.  Next weekend we will frost and decorate,  Again, we use the family recipe for the icing and use many different candies, sprinkles, red hots, etc. to decorate.  Lots of snacking involved when decorating!  

My afternoons after school dismissal are becoming crazier with driving kids back and forth to different activities.  Sound familiar to anyone else??!!   I'm trying to plan meals with the kids that involve little prep work so we can pop it in the oven and be done.  Not always that easy, but I'm trying!

Monday:  Vegetable Fritata and good bread in case anyone wants to make a sandwich with the egg

Tuesday:  Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Wednesday:  Lasagna and Salad  (Discovered that the brown rice noodles make an incredible lasagna--the noodles stay firm and it tastes delicious!)

Thursday:  Back by popular demand--Bake Potato and /or Sweet Potato Bar

Friday:  Black Bean Chili and Salad

Saturday: Grilled Skirt Steaks, Sauteed Onions & Mushrooms and Salad

Sunday:  Homemade Clam Chowder & Salad

I started using broccoli slaw and shaved brussel sprouts in our salads.  Also sprinkle a mix of hemp and chia seeds on top.  No one has complained yet!

I hope everyone has a stress-free week ahead.  Enjoy!

Donna

Meals at a glance...

Why is it when you want weeks to go by quickly they feel like forever, and when you want to have more time to get things done they go by in a blink! That's life, right?  Never easy.  Difficult life lessons learned this week in the Moxham house.  A very wise sister of mine reminded me that it's how we handle life's disappoints that really count.  The successes are easy, but the difficult lessons shape who we are today.  Something for me to remember and to teach my children.

Busy Sunday today.  Cutting down our Christmas tree and making homemade Italian sauce (we Italian's call it gravy!) for our neighbor to enjoy.  Kids want to make extra for us to have later this week, so one meal down!

I did not have time this week to search new recipes to try, so kids' picks our some repeats from the past.  All of the meals are favorites so if you have kids of your own and would like to try a recipe, I think it'll be a hit!

Monday:  Three- Ingredient Meatloaf and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Salad

Tuesday:  Grilled Spicy Shrimp over Brown Rice with Mango Salsa

Wednesday:  Homemade Gravy and Pasta with Salad

Thursday:  Hamburger Bar-grilled grass fed beef burgers with topping bar.  Sauteed mushrooms & onions, avocados, tomatoes, pickles, cheese, lettuce, and fried eggs will be served.  Roasted potatoes too.

Friday:  Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Saturday:  Pizza night

Sunday:  Fish dinner.  Waiting to see what fish is on sale and will buy the day before.  I only buy wild fish so I like to see what's fresh and on sale.


Happy week ahead folks.  As always, if anything strikes your fancy send me a message and I'll forward you the recipe.  Keep the sharing coming as well too.

Best,

Donna