How I have missed you!

Are you confused?  Don’t be!

 

 

For about 4 1/2 years, I worked four 10 hour days with Mondays off.  I had plenty of Sunday Fundays and then used Mondays to exercise, regroup, and relax.  It was fantastic!  In June, my entire schedule changed and I started working on Mondays.  It went ok, but my Sundays became much busier and I never got used to waking up early Monday mornings.  With my new job, I decided to go back to my original schedule.  Welcome back Sunday and Monday Fundays!

 

 

After the past two weeks and a crazy busy weekend, I was more than happy to have this Monday off.  Saturday, we had a family wedding!  It has been awhile since the 6 of us have been to a wedding together and we wasted no time getting down on the dance floor and frequenting the photo booth complete with costumes (hence the top photo).

 

 

We all crashed at my parents house that night and they provided the perfect after party of snacks and water : )  Sunday morning, everyone was moving a little more slowly except for my mom who herded us out of bed and into the kitchen for brunch.  The game plan was a Birthday celebration for the BOY and my brother (both November birthdays), the Bears game, and chili.  Early on, there was some discussion about bad weather, but it wasn’t until we turned on the TV around 11:30 that we realized tornados had swept through central Illinois and huge storms were coming our way.  There were lots of warnings given and when the suggestion of bike helmets came up on the news, I sprung into action. 

 

 

We had some serious rain and hail but we were lucky that the bulk of the storms were farther south.  We watched the start of the Bears game and then there was a LONG delay.  There were plenty of stories from last night’s wedding to share and Hanukkah shopping on Amazon to do.  Not to mention meal planning on Pinterest.  We had some friends come out from the city, and my we made a double batch of Buffalo Turkey Chili, which everyone loved.  Just a note, that my mom put the ingredients in the crockpot which worked well.

 

 

We left my parents around 2:30pm to head home to Cooper.  This was his first night by himself and he just looked so sad when we left (see photo).  I wasn’t sure how he would handle the storms.  He was beyond excited to see us, but definitely jumpy with the strong winds.  We spent Sunday afternoon cheering the Bears on to victory (Woo Hoo!) and playing with kitten.

 

 

I slept beautifully last night and was excited to head back to another yoga class this morning.  After yoga, I went to Costco and the grocery store, both of which had significantly less people than they typically do on Sundays.  Man, I’ve missed Monday shopping.  When I came home, I threw chili for lunch this week into the crockpot.

 

 

I adjusted the original spices a bit leaving out the cocoa and adding more savory flavors.  I also baked up a loaf of clean banana bread with the latest brown bananas hanging out on the counter.

 

 

I’m finishing off the day at dinner with my girl friends.  Does it get any better than that?

Welcome back Mondays!

 

 

 

Meal Planning 11/18/13

Monday: Dinner Date with the Girls

 

Tuesday: TBD

 

Wednesday: Turkey Burgers

 

Thursday: Leftovers

 

Friday: Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken

 

Lunch: Crockpot Pumpkin Red Lentil Chili

 

 

 

Crockpot Pumpkin Red Lentil Chili

Slightly adjusted from Kitchen Treaty

 

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained

2 cups vegetable broth

2 15-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 cup dry red lentils

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 chopped yellow onion

1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced (deseeded and deveined if you’re looking for less heat)

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Directions

Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker. Stir well.

Cook on high for 4 – 5 hours or on low for 8 – 10 hours, until lentils are tender and chili is thick and hearty.

Serve with assorted toppings.