Almost There

Thanksgiving went well.  It's funny how life is....our meal was very informal.  I literally have four table chairs and small table so we put up a folding office table and borrowed five more  (again folding office) chairs to go around it.  Then we had two unexpected guests arrive so we had people spread out everywhere.  We filled the counters with quite a bounty of food....way more than we needed.  It was one of those things that turned out to be a blessing because my sister-in-law's mother's oven had died while they were trying to cook.  We were able to send yeast rolls, biscuits, a pie, and a few oddities to them to help round out their meal.  

Of course, the leftovers went home with various people and then the rest went into the fridge.  Almost all of them are gone now with the exception of a little turkey (I'll be freezing for soup) and some green beans which I'll add to the soup bowl.

We used the leftover mashed potatoes to make potato cakes to go with brunch on Friday morning.  Friday night we made a turkey pot pie -- 9 x 13 pan full and only ended up with one serving left which I gave to the cats because every time they smelled it baking they would cry....lol.  Saturday night I made daughter, hubby and I hodge podge plates that we heated in the microwave.  Then this morning to go with hash I heated up the last of the collards.  Supper was Turkey Tetrazzini using a recipe from the Crockin' Girls website with a few alterations (I can't ever seem to just leave a recipe alone...lol).

We were blessed to have son and daughter in law here for 5 days.  We had a great time visiting and even took off to the beach for a breakfast out (one of our favorites closes for the season and this was their last weekend until next spring).  It was a little of a splurge, but we ate huge breakfasts and we didn't have to worry about lunch.  

Got the last of the shopping done with the exception of two people. My only purchase for myself was a pair of shoes -- a little more expensive than I normally buy but I am still having mild trouble with the ankle/foot I broke and I need extra arch support.  Hubby needed a few wardrobe pieces (his office is kind of cold), daughter needed a winter coat, and daughter in law needed a few maternity pieces.  Yes, excitement all around -- our first grandson is on the way!  

Today has been spent doing quiet things. It's time to get back into the swing of normalcy around here even though it is hard since all the Christmas fun is starting up.

  I updated the menu (down from the huge list I had on November 7th)   to approximately 15 meals.  Since we had extra company for five days some items went faster than allotted, but we're still good on meals.  I've really enjoyed having the menu.  I've found it frees up some time to do baking and other things simply because I'm not spending time planning meals every few days.  I'm also altering the menu as needed to make use of leftovers so that has been nice.

I blanched and froze a little over a pound of carrots -- these will be for soups and stews.  I chopped and froze 1 1/2 quart bags full of onions.  I also chopped and froze 2 large green bell peppers.  Then I chopped the last bits of celery and a pound of radishes; they went into containers in the fridge.  A quick going through of the fridge showed those were the only bits in need of attention.

Laundry was skipped so we could visit and today  has also been a catch up day on that.

We've straightened the restaurant shelf in the pantry -- got a little disarrayed during the Thanksgiving rush...lol

And that is it -- we're almost back to normal around here.