Menu Monday #24

Whew, what a weekend! As you can see, I am running a bit behind since it is Tuesday now! :/ Friday was absolutely gorgeous here. 82 degrees and sunny. Fast forward to today and it's now 30/40 degrees and rainy. Ugh. Thanks, Mother Nature! So on Friday, Josh enjoyed the afternoon outside with the boys, while I decided to have my hair stylist chop off my hair! I felt like it was time for a change, so I took off about 4-5? inches and I am now sporting a super cute bob with some darker lowlights for the winter. I love it!

So much shorter!!

Longer in front, angled up to my hairline in the back.

That evening, we got takeout pizza for dinner and watched our Bearcats game. Not the ending we were hoping for! :(

On Saturday morning, I tried a new recipe for Baked Pumpkin French Toast from Two Peas and Their Pod's blog. Yum. I had baked a loaf of French bread on Thursday, that I had planned to use that evening for grilled cheese sandwiches. Instead, we went out to dinner at our favorite local German restaurant, Freiberg's, with the guys hubby had been working with all week. It was a nice meal out with good food and conversation. I love their Paprika Schnitzel and Bratkartoffeln. So, I was left with a loaf of bread, which prompted me to try this new recipe! I put it together Friday evening, so Saturday morning was a piece of cake! I just preheated the oven, threw together the topping, and enjoyed the morning with the family while it baked. As every other pumpkin item we have eaten this fall has been, it was amazing. Noah seriously scarfed it down like he hadn't eaten in weeks. It was pretty amazing to watch! Haha!

On Saturday evening, we hosted a Halloween party for the boys' friends! I had spent the day finishing up costumes for them and Daisy. :) I can't wait to line them all up and get pics on Halloween! Here are a few sneak peek pics from my iPhone for now...

For the party, we made a big pot of our Italian Chili, served Cincinnati-style, over whole wheat spaghetti, and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. On the side, I made some of my buttermilk corn bread. For dessert, we finished up with some pumpkin crunch. Of course! The kids all came in costume and one of the other moms handled games for the evening. Fun times! I sent the kids home with bags of autumn trail mix (peanuts, golden raisins, candy corn and Reese's pieces). More details and pics from the party to come.

On Sunday morning, we feasted on leftover Pumpkin French Toast again. It had made such a huge pan that it fed us all for 2+ breakfasts! Awesome.

Sunday: Leftovers

We had a refrigerator full of leftovers, so lasagna was dinner for hubby and me. The boys enjoyed hot dogs and mac 'n cheese. I tried Annie's organic version for the first time, and it was great! Looked just like Kraft, too, so Ethan was eager to gobble it up! :)

Monday: Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, onions

The perfect meal for a cold, rainy, dreary day! It was nice and warm inside, though, and the house smelled heavenly. I used some A1 sauce and a packet of Lipton's dry onion soup mix again this time because it was so tasty last time!

Tuesday: Cubed steak over rice, stir fried parmesan green beans

Another nice comfort food meal for another cold, wet day (with expected snow!!!)! I combine beef cubed steak, a family size can of cream of mushroom soup, and a jar of mushrooms (drained). This cooks all day, then is served over rice with beans on the side. This is a meal I grew up eating often in the fall/winter, so it always reminds me of home. :)

Wednesday: Leftover chili, grilled cheese sandwiches

We'll be eating the rest of the leftovers for a quick dinner before Trick or Treat! I plan to make a loaf of French bread to use for the sandwiches, and I'll cut out Jack-o-Lantern faces on the boys' sandwiches (so the orange American cheese will show through) to make them fun for the holiday! I'll use Provolone cheese for hubby and me.

Thursday: Takeout pizza

I'll be hosting a Mom's Night Out with my friends, here at our house, so I'm letting the guys fend for themselves with some pizza. ;) I'm having a Pinterest Party, where my friends will bring dishes they have pinned and we'll make a craft I pinned. Fun! I'll be making my favorite red sangria and another pan of pumpkin crunch. Yeah, my diet has been totally blown this fall.

Friday: Out to eat

Not sure where we'll go yet, but a night out will be nice.

Saturday: TBD

We'll either go out to eat again, or I'll make pizza here at home.

Happy meal planning to you this week! Hopefully the weather perks up for Trick or Treat on Wednesday and everyone on the East coast stays safe amidst the storm. Remember the time change is next weekend!!