What’s On Momma T’s Table the Week of 1/25/15

We’ve had a rather calm week here around the table. We’ve been one family member short for every meal this past week as the Boy is in production for his next play “The Elephant’s Graveyard”. We are awaiting word on if/when he will need to have his long, curly locks cut off. Currently it appears that they will have a stay of execution. Stay tuned…

Tomorrow will be a big day, as we travel to the Springfield for an award ceremony for The Girl and her art work! She will be receiving the Silver Key award for her digital art in the Scholastic Arts & Writing contest. We are very proud of her and can’t wait to see her piece hanging in the art gallery.

Things are really picking up for her and for The Boy. There is usual calamity centering around both of their educations, FAFSA, Scholarship and the discussion of applying to colleges and/or what will happen after Jr. College. Both of them are going into Theatre Arts studies, The Boy for voice acting and The Girl for Special Effects Make-up, for which she will also need a degree in design, at least as far as we can tell right now. They both need to decide where they will go to complete their educations, and sometimes they don’t seem to get how actively they need to be searching and pursuing the information needed, not to mention the money/funding to get there.

The Girl did get moving a bit, given a fire her art teacher lit underneath her, but it seems nothing I say impacts either of them. It is frustrating to say the least, and I would venture it is also typical, though I’m hard pressed to find anyone who will admit to being in this boat with me. I’m sure, to an extent, that the kids are paralyzed by their own fears and doubts and the vast size and scope of the prospects, but if this is what they want to do with the rest of their lives, they have to make decisions that will get them there. I’m certainly no help, this is all so different from the days when I made the decision to go to Cosmetology school back in the early 80’s.

Still, I only seem to meet these parents with kids who know exactly what they want to do and have their plans all laid out and I have to wonder what they did differently than I did? How do they get their kids to plan their futures in such a seemingly effortless way? What am I doing wrong? When I ask, the reply is, “I don’t know, Joe just always seemed to know what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it.” Really? I’ve raised four kids and with the exception of the oldest, the rest of them had no idea what they were going to do or how they would get there.

Maybe, as parents, we only get one of those kids and I’ve already had mine? I suppose that could be it, but if that’s true, then statistically I should have run into far more parents who break out into hives when someone asks what their child is going to do after graduation, shouldn’t I have? Trying to figure out why we can’t get the kids to figure it out is enough to make me bake a giant pan of brownies and eat them all. Yep…I’m a stress eater!

So, in an effort to keep my overeating in check, I’ve got my menu plans to help keep me on the straight and narrow. You’ll note there are no brownies in the menu, but if the stress levels don’t come down soon I do have several Ghiradelli mixes on the shelf in the back. I like to live dangerously.

BREAKFASTS:

Here’s a place where I’m still struggling. I really want to provide my family with hearty, healthy breakfasts to start their day with, especially The Man who really needs to take better care of himself. I’m really not good with fire at 5 a.m. and as a result, most of them leave the house with nothing in their stomachs and that leads to unhealthy eating at lunch.

I’ve tried making and freezing things, but most of the time, they complain that the eggs and/or potatoes don’t microwave well, and I concur, they are not the most tasty. I’ve had cereal on hand and that gets eaten occasionally but not often. I’m just at a loss as to what to do, so I’m back at the attempts to cook for them in the wee hours but I’m doing as much prep as I can ahead of time, chopping veggies, pre-cooking bacon, etc, most of which I will prep this afternoon. Fingers crossed it helps.

Here are some of the breakfast foods I intend to make for them. I may not always eat the same thing, as I’m still trying to take off a couple more pounds.

• Muffins (have some in the freezer that I can pull out the night before)
• Breakfast Bowls (boiled potatoes already in the fridge ready for frying)
• Egg Sandwiches
• Breakfast Burritos (using extra sausage I brown up for the Stromboli)
• Sausage and Egg Grilled Cheese (making these for brunch next Saturday)
• Toast with Apples, Honey and Almond Butter

LUNCHES

I’ve finally gotten The Man to leave the Hormel Completes in the store, but now I have to make sure that there are enough dinner leftovers or lunch items on hand for both him and The Boy to take to work and school. The Boy is taking twice as much because he’s eating both meals at school. So far, it’s gone well though. I just make sure I make enough for 6 and that there are other “add-ons” Like fresh veggies, chips, hummus, etc to fill out the meals. So far I’ve heard no complaints. I’ve also started cooking extra rice, pasta, etc so that when we have chicken or pork I can easily whip up a pasta salad or fried rice or something like that. Here, I am listing MY lunch choices. In most cases the boys will be taking some version of leftovers from the dinner the night before.

Sunday – Out

Monday – Greek Pasta Salad

Tuesday – Grilled Pear and Goat Cheese sandwich with carrots

Wednesday – Chicken and veggie tostada

Thursday – Leftover Pasta e Fagioli

Friday – Hard boiled egg with cottage cheese and spinach on toast

Saturday – Grilled Sausage, Egg and Cheese sandwiches

DINNERS

Sunday – Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Monday – Stromboli

Tuesday – Mustard Chicken and Roast Veggies

Wednesday – Momma’s Pasta e Fagioli

Thursday – Ravioli Lasagna with salad

Friday – Grilled Pork chops with Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower

Saturday – Honey Lime Tilapia with Cous-cous and veggies

So, there you have it, the ins and outs of what we’re sharing around our table this week. The conversation I’m sure will turn to education and I will try to remain calm and know that all will come along as it should and maybe the kids will also learn that there are deadlines and consequences to not meeting those deadlines. In the mean time, I may add wine to each of my meals. Do you think a glass of wine in the morning will enhance my skills with fire at that hour? Can’t hurt to try, can it?

Whatever the conversation around your table, I hope that you find the company pleasant and worthwhile. Enjoy, my friends.