It's been a while!  :)  Tonight I am going to make brown fried rice with veggies & left over turkey from our second Thanksgiving dinner that we had last week.  Here's my recipe--and my rice recipe, too, if you don't have left over brown rice:

2 cups uncooked brown rice
4 cups hot water
1 tbsp olive oil

Put oil in the bottom of a medium-large pot & add rice.  Coat rice with oil & cook until it sizzles (about 5 minutes).   Pour hot water into pot & bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to medium-low, cover & cook for 45 minutes.  Let cool completely.  (will take 3 hours or so)

After the rice has cooled completely, prepare the veggies.  Cut a medium-large sized onion, 4 stalks celery, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1/4 of a cabbage chopped... and put into a large shallow pan with olive oil. Cook about 12 minutes or so. Add 2 cups cubed & cooked left over turkey to vegetables. Add seasonings-- black pepper to taste, 2 tsp ground ginger (unless you have fresh ginger), and 1 tbsp turmeric.  Add cooked rice & heat through--about 10 minutes or so.  In a measuring cup, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce, and 2 tsp oil.  Pour into the rice & mix well.  Heat through again ... serve. 

It's good enough to eat!  :)

Jeaninne Raaberg's Homemade Vinaigrette

This is the salad dressing I make EVERY night.  It is preferred over any bottled vinaigrette bought at the store.  I don't know how to make ranch dressing or bleu cheese--we usually buy those!

Jeaninne's Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil (I use Extra-Virgin)
2 tbsp vinegar (I use plain white vinegar but any can be substituted)
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Splash of water
1 heaping spoonful (little spoon!) of stone ground mustard or Dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon)
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1.5 tsp ground black pepper
2tsp Turmeric

Add all ingredients into a container that can be sealed & shaken up.  Shake dressing until blended well & dress your salad.  Or you can whisk it if you'd like but shaking it does very well!  Makes a good dipping sauce for bread, too!  :)

 Here is the recipe for my planned dinner on Friday night!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/farmer-s-casserole

Farmer's Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup cubed fully cooked Boneless Carving Ham
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

 Directions

1. Place potatoes in an 8-in. square baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham and onions. Whisk eggs, milk, pepper and salt; pour over all. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
2. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 each) equals 252 calories, 14 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 187 mg cholesterol, 531 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 17 g protein.

Weekly Menu Thursday 11-14 to Thursday 11-21 (2013)

Thursday dinner 11/14
Frozen Pizza
Dino Nuggets
Salad with homemade dressing

Friday dinner 11/15
Farmer's Casserole (recipe will follow)

Saturday breakfast 11/16
Scrambled eggs and toast (coffee)
Saturday lunch 11/16
Invited to a Scandia birthday party that provides pizza, drinks, cake (1:30pm to 3:00pm)
Saturday dinner 11/16
Leftovers (will go to Bella's "Suessical Play" at 5:00pm)

Sunday breakfast 11/17
Homemade banana pancakes with maple syrup (coffee)
Sunday lunch 11/17
Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese
Sunday dinner 11/17
Salmon filet, brown rice, large salad with homemade dressing

Monday dinner 11/18
Pasta with meaty marinara and a large salad with homemade dressing

Tuesday dinner 11/19
Tuna melts and a large salad with homemade dressing

Wednesday dinner 11/20
Turkey meat tacos with corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato, onions, sour cream, salsa
Homemade bean dip with tortilla chips

Thursday dinner 11/21
Chicken fried steak,  country gravy (store bought), large salad with homemade dressing, and braised green beans with garlic and onions

Beginning

Hello!  Today I spent over an hour writing out a list of Daily-To-Do, Weekly-To-Do, and Monthly-To-Do task lists.  I also planned my menu out for the next week.  It's a big step for me and I hoping I am able to stick with it all and get a lot done!  So here it all is (this is also for me to be able to come back to use:

Daily To Do

After Wake-up
~~~~~~~~~~~

• Shower & Dress
• Clean up bathroom & bedroom
• Make Bed
• Start Laundry
• Walk Dog & feed pets

After Breakfast
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Do Dishes
• Wipe Counter-tops
• Decide on dinner if not planned
• Switch Laundry
• Clean Catbox
• Walk dog

After Lunchtime
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Sweep kitchen floor
• Do lunch dishes
• Walk dog

Before dinner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Dinner prep
• Fold Laundry and put away
• Day of the week chores
• 5- minute cleanup
• Walk dog

After Dinner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Clean up dinner dishes
• Make lunches
• Set up coffee & tea
• Take garbage and recycling outside 
• Walk dog

Before Bed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Walk dog
• Make sure alarms are set

Weekly To Do 

Monday~ 

• Wash master bedroom bedding 
• Clean upstairs bathroom
• Clean laundry room
• Vacuum upstairs bedrooms and hallway

Tuesday~

• Wash kids' bedding
• Vacuum downstairs
• Dust 
• Sweep dining room and kitchen floors

Wednesday~

• Clean downstairs bathroom
• Sweep entry way
• Vacuum Caleb's bedroom
• Vacuum stairs

Thursday~

• Wipe down outside of washing machine, dryer, stove, and cabinets
• Wipe outside of refrigerator and clean out inside

Friday~

• Wash all windows and wipe down doors and knobs

Saturday~

• Catch up on any laundry
• Big baking
• Clean backyard
• Menu prep, shopping lists, and shopping

Monthly

• Dust Blinds
• Clean out car and truck
• Wash walls