Almost Christmas…still planning (sort of).

I have to be honest, I nearly had a small break earlier this week trying to plan for all the holiday festivities. And, before I really say this, please know that I TRULY enjoy hosting dinners, and I love having family over. But honestly, taking into account my kids’ WILDLY different appetites and dietary preferences was the thing that made me lose it. Also, the elf. Moving that dumb elf. Whew. (Truth be told, most days, the elf brings us a source of joy. J and I giggle, the kids love it, but I’m ready for her to return to the North Pole.)

Before I get on with my weekly plan, I have to share (because I promised I would), my friends BEAUTIFUL homemade matzo ball soup, made with love from her grandmother’s recipe. We were lucky to be invited to a Hannukah party and enjoyed this soup, latkes, and some great Jewish deli food.

And…on with another week of planning, with a sprinkle of chaos in there.

This week:

Sunday: Dinner at my mom’s house! (Sometimes self-care is asking your mom if you can just show up for dinner.)

Monday: Tofu lettuce wraps for A, and tipsy turkey lettuce wraps for the rest of us. I skip the lettuce and serve over rice. The tofu was great. I skipped the separate sauce and just added some soy sauce straight to the tofu. She loved it! The other lettuce wraps came from this cookbook that I bought on sale like 20 years ago, and honestly, I can’t find it online to link it. This one from Chrissy Tiegen seems to be sort of similar in flavor.

Tuesday: I had dinner with a friend, so the fam ate leftovers.

Wednesday: I think we will do leftovers again to help clear out the fridge.

Thursday: I’m going back to the Baked Gnocchi with Broccoli that everyone loved from a month or so ago.

Friday: WE ARE GOING TO THE NUTCRACKER! Instead of going out to eat, we are having a quick dinner at home before we head to the show. Swedish meatballs (fake ones for A), buttered noodles, and salad will hold us all over for the amazing dancing spectacle.

Saturday: Christmas Eve Eve, or as they call it in Norway, Teeny Tiny Christmas! (Did anyone else watch that Christmas movie? I’m making a roast beef for the meat eaters, and my small vegetarian will be enjoying salmon for the holiday. Mashed potatoes and some broccoli will round out the dinner, plus I will probably make some gravy for the roast because mashed potatoes and gravy all day, please. (I still have to plan on a dessert. Stay tuned!) I’m also making these cinnamon rolls for breakfast which are so much work, but truly incredible and worth it.

YES I AM STILL PLANNING, KEEP READING!!!!

Sunday: Christmas Eve. I think we’ll have a fair amount of leftovers, and we have no plans for this day, so I think it’ll be whatever anyone feels like eating from the fridge!

Monday: Christmas Day. Same story as Christmas Eve, but I know that the girls do want me to make homemade hashbrowns, so we will start the day with that, as well as J’s homemade bloody marys (well, not for the kids, obv). We will have dinner with J’s family, so no planning there.

Tuesday: (I AM STILL GOING) We will be hosting the “sibling Christmas” and last year we did crabs, so we decided for a repeat. I still have to sort out sides, but the crabs are in the fridge, and apparently we should have warned Zoe because “they scared me” when she opened the fridge.

And now you know why I nearly had a full on menty b. I’m tired. Catch you next week, and I’ll let you know how I ended up rounding out some of these meals!

Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and if you don’t, I hope you take a break this weekend through next and catch your breath. I know I’ll try!

Back at it! This week’s plan.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve fallen off my usual planning a bit. This time of year is tough to stay on task, and frankly, my social life has been busy. (I’m so incredibly grateful for my friends and the people that fill my life with joy. I don’t apologize for having lots of things to do!) But I DID plan something this week, see below.

Speaking of holiday season, we had a lovely afternoon of baking with my two girls and their friends. I won’t get into my sugar cookie fail, but I have to share this wonderful recipe for Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies that my ten year old and her friend made almost entirely by themselves. They were SO good, and apparently, we have to make them again for Santa. (As one of Santa’s helpers, I suppose we can make that work!)

This week:

Sunday: We did taco bowls! I made tofu tacos for me and my veggie girl and then tried out this recipe for chicken tacos for the smallest person in our house who cried when I told her I was making tofu. Again. This tofu recipe is fabulous, highly recommend. The carnivores said the chicken was good too! I made some rice and also did some sweet potatoes in the air fryer for our bowls. (Also, lots of leftovers for later in the week!)

Monday: I had a lunch that went long (really leaning into this ladies that lunch thing, unapologetically!), and so we did oven fish (both actual and plant-based) and then some frozen broccoli. It’s not exciting, but it got the job done!

Tuesday: I’m trying a new one, ALLEGEDLY The Best Potato-Leek Soup Recipe. I’ll report back. My kids aren’t wild about potatoes and if I showed them a raw leek and told them they would be consuming them, they would likely cry, so…I might be setting myself up for a painful night. However, as a mom, I am WHOLLY committed to ensuring that my kids try different things, so off we go!

Wednesday: Our busy night, so I’ll be doing quesadillas/tacos with the leftover taco stuff from Sunday.

Thursday: Another soup night, this time a White Bean Soup, which everyone loved before!

Friday: We have a birthday party/Last Night of Hannukah party to attend, and I was promised homemade matzo ball soup, so I’m not cooking!

Saturday: Our lovely neighbors are having their annual holiday soiree, so again, no cooking for me!

Flexibility. Some weeks it is the name of the game.

I’m a bit late this week, my apologies. I made a lovely little plan for the week and thanks to some sort of germs, I was down for the count for the first two days this week. We also have SO MANY LEFTOVERS from late last week.

Lasagna report: J and I loved it. LOVED it. The kids? I think they just don’t like lasagna. (Hence my plethora of leftovers, right?) We’re finishing it up this week.

I did make this soup on Monday night, as three of the four people who live in my house cannot.stop.coughing and I just didn’t feel like myself either. It was SUPER well-received, and will be going into my rotation. It takes basically all staples (we almost always have some baby carrots and some celery in the fridge), and despite not having any chicken, really fits the bill when you need that “I have a cold and all I want is chicken soup” craving.

Back to regular planning next week, but let this underscore the importance of having a stocked pantry and a willingness to just go with the flow occasionally. It makes life easier.