Menu for Week of 11/20/09

The holiday season is here. Thanksgiving is next week and before you know it Christmas will be here. Jack keeps reminding me of this fact as we walk through the decorated stores, "mommy, it's getting to be Christmastime!" My menu and shopping list gets a little tricky this time of year. There are lots of special meals and parties that require additional food beyond my normal menu. The trick is sticking within my budget, that means getting creative. So, you will notice this week that I am not cooking many meals, but my grocery list is long. We happen to have a couple things this week where I am bringing special dishes. So, I tried to stay pretty basic on our meals.

Leftovers

We celebrated Josh's birthday at my parent's house earlier this week and they gave us the leftovers. My mom makes homemade, deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza. It is so good and we will thoroughly enjoy it once again this weekend.

Black-eyed Caviar soup, french bread

This is my creative solution to using leftovers. I am making a black-eyed pea dip for a get-together over the weekend, but I plan on having plenty leftover. So, I am going to try to convert it into a soup/gumbo. I will add broth, smoked sausage, chicken, and rice. We will see how it turns out.

Ham, au gratin potatoes, sweet green beans, crescent rolls

I bought a ham that I can divide and save for use with future meals.

Leftover Soup, rolls