Decorating the House for Lent

 What is Lent?

According to Catholic Answers, the basic meaning of Lent is: "The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days’ fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (Fr. careme, It. quaresima, Span. cuaresma), meaning the “forty days”, or more literally the “fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakost? (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pent?kost?), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New-Testament times. This etymology, as we shall see, is of some little importance in explaining the early developments of the Easter fast".  

To me, Lent is a time to get closer to Jesus.  It's our time in the desert.  Last year during Covid quarantine was definitely my time in the desert.  I truly understood what that meant.  We were in lockdown.  Churches were closed.  There weren't any Stations of the Cross, there wasn't any soup suppers at our parish....and our parish didn't do any online services.  I felt utterly alone and utterly in the desert.  We watched mass on TV, but it wasn't the same.  It wasn't MY parish.  There was a lot I had to come to terms with.  Holy Week is a very special yet somber time at our house and it was made so much more so by the uncertainty of Covid and being locked out of our church during the most holy time in our religion.  

I'm hoping this Lent is just as special as always and although things are not back to normal, we CAN go to church and I'm prepared to do our own Stations of the Cross and I'm prepared for the different.  

I started decorating for Lent today.  It's a process.

The "Lent" banner is up.

The Lent Tree is up too.

This turntable decoration is new this year.  Right now I have a burlap table runner, a blessed candle, some crosses, and a cactus (desert).  I also have some purple napkins, but we won't start using those until Ash Wednesday.  Since this is new, I'm sure I will fuss with it and change it as the weeks go forward.

I started the the table in the foyer today, but I didn't finish it and I'm not sure where I'm going with it.  So this will definitely be a work in process.

We just got the call that the boys have a snow day tomorrow, so I'll have some extra time to work with this.

Lent is such a barren time.  I would love nothing more than to decorate with flowers, and bunnies, and chicks.  But that is not where we are at.  We need to sit in the desolate, dark times so that light will come and we will understand it's full meaning.  

Menu Plan Monday: February 15, 2021

 Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  This weeks menu got turned around a little bit due to the Hubby surprising me with sushi on Saturday night.  I've been wanting sushi for weeks, and he thought that it would make a good Valentine's Day surprise.  And it did.

Friday:  gluten free pasta with nut free pesto; rolls

Saturday:  Sushi and charcuterie (should have been beef stew)

Sunday:  Steak, au gratin potatoes, streamed asparagus

Monday:  Beef Stew - instead of the instapot, I'll be using my new slow cooker.

Tuesday: Shrove Tuesday :  Pancakes, home fries, and bacon (I also ordered some paczki from a local bakery).  It's sure to be a FAT Tuesday.

Wednesday:  Ash Wednesday - The beginning of Lent  This is a day of strict fast and abstinence.  
Dinner only:  French Lentil Soup from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups: A Cookbook

Thursday:  Poor Man's Meal from Great Depression Cooking with Clara on YouTube  You can also find this recipe in Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from The Great Depression

Breakfast/Lunch/Extras:

Egg Cups:  I made some with whole eggs and some with egg whites only

Sweet Pepper salad (similar to this one).  I used a recipe from Trim Healthy Table Cook Book

Happy Eating!  Have a wonderful and blessed week.

Visit Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com for more recipes and menu planning tips.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Wishing you a day filled with Love.

What I Read In January (and am still reading)

 I'm trying to increase my reading this year.  Last year I read 25 books and I told Good Reads that I also want to read 25 this year.  But in reality, I'd like to read more.  But somehow, life just gets too busy.  I really need to set aside some reading time every day.  I try to do it before bed, but I usually get 3-4 pages in and then fall asleep.  

Some of the books on my list aren't meant to be finished in January.  One will last all winter and one will last all year.  But I'm including them here since I started them in January.

Meditations For Advent  by Jacques Benigne Bossuet:  Yes, that's right Advent.  Which has been over for a while now.  I started off strong with my Advent reading but when things went into the Christmas crunch, I fell off the wagon.  I really enjoyed this book and didn't want to NOT finish it, so I just kept on going.

Lectio Divina of the Gospels 2020-2021  This is the one that will last all year.  I've always been interested in Lectio Divina but I wasn't sure where to start.  I love that it covers the Gospels for the entire year.  After this, I hope to have a better understanding of Lectio Divina and can apply it to my other Bible reading.

Winter Meditations  by John Bartunek:  If you fish around my blog, you will see that I have read this before (2-3 times).  I have all the seasonal meditation books by John Bartunek and I enjoy every one of them.  But I read the Winter one more often because my least favorite season is Winter and it gives me a perspective of this season through God.  It's hard to dislike something when you can view it through a God lens.

Little House on the Prairie  by Laura Ingalls Wilder :  I took this one out of our library via audio book and I listened to it with the 8 year old.  He really enjoyed it.  He's asked to listen to Little House in the Big Woods next.  Look for that in an upcoming "what I read" list.

Clean Mama's Guide to a Peaceful Home by Becky Rapinchuk:  I follow Clean Mama on Instagram and I really like her cleaning philosophy and tips.  I thought I would find this book helpful.  A lot of the information can be gotten from her Instagram or website, but there are things that I either missed or needed to see again.  I also like the way she breaks down the organizing tips by room.  It makes it easier for me and I can go back and revisit her advice when things start getting out of control again.

So that was January reading.  I have my Lenten reading all ready to go.  And I promise to try very hard to actually read it during Lent and not Lent and beyond.

The Anti-Mary Exposed by Carrie Gress.  I had heard of this book, but never really looked into it. But it was censored by Facebook and Instagram so that made me think that there is something here that I really need to check out.

Lent and Easter Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton :  This is more of a traditional Lenten reading than the other book I chose.  I've been intrigued by Chesterton, but haven't delved into anything of his because I'm intimidated.  I hope this gives me more insight into Chesterton and maybe I won't be so apprehensive about it.  

What I'm Listening To:  The Bible In A Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmizt :  You guys.  I am LOVING this podcast.  LOVING IT.  He reads a section or sections of the Bible every day and then gives insight and explanations for what is happening and why it is happening and how everything ties together.  I think today was day 35, but it's not too late to start.  You can either listen to a couple a day to catch up or start at day 1 today and use February 5 to February 5 as your year.  I can not say enough good things about this podcast.  It is truly blessing me.  

Menu Plan Monday: February 1 2021

 What  I love about menu planning is that I have all the food on hand, a plan, but that everything can be flexible.  We had a lot of left overs at the end of last week so I took Thursdays meal (Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken) and moved it to Saturday and Thursday ended up being "left over day".  Wednesday's meal of mini meatloaves and mashed potatoes got turned into shepherds pie due to the fact that the slow cooker mashed potatoes were over cooked.  Although things don't always go as planned, everybody ate.

I was disappointed in the slow cooker mashed potatoes.  I've never had a slow cooker meal fail so miserably.  The potatoes burned to the side of the slow cooker.  I tried to mash them anyway, and I had to pull out the burned parts.  The potatoes themselves were thick and gummy.  But I turned the whole thing into shepherds pie and the family loved it.  I had never made shepherds pie before and they asked that I add it into rotation.

Friday:  Naan Bread Pizza

I made a white pizza with banana peppers and Kalamata olives, a white pizza with banana peppers, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese (the husband I don't eat meat on Fridays), and a traditional pepperoni for the 8 year old.  The middle son had his gluten free pizza.

Saturday:  Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Everything started off fine (first photo), but again the entire dish was just over cooked.  The chicken was so dry (it was so dry that I choked on it and it got stuck.  Things were a little scary but I'm ok).  So we figured out that the slow cooker is broken and just cooking everything on high instead of the low setting that I programed it for.  So now I'm on the hunt for a new slow cooker.

Sunday:  Garlic butter chicken, baked potatoes in the air fryer, and honey glazed carrots
No slow cooker involved so dinner turned out great.

I rubbed the potatoes with avocado oil and sprinkled with kosher salt.  I cooked them in the air fryer at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes. 
The chicken breasts were HUGE but I also had smaller thighs and legs.  I started the breasts 20 minutes ahead of the smaller pieces.   I melted butter and mixed it with chopped garlic then I brushed the chicken pieces front and back with the butter mixture and sprinkled with our favorite Greek seasoning.  I cooked the chicken at 400 degrees until it reached the internal temperature of 165 degrees. I steamed the carrots and melted 2 tbs of butter and mixed with 2-3 tbs of honey and poured it over the carrots.

Monday:  Red beans and rice with andouille sausage
I will use the ingredients I have on hand but this is the recipe from a Pinch of Healthy that I'm basing it on.

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
I have a small slow cooker (my larger one is now in the trash) that I think I can use for this.  I have made this dish for so many years that I just do it from memory.  The recipe that is close to what I do is this recipe from All Recipes.

Wednesday:  Tater Tot Casserole (Cowboy Casserole) from the Cutting Edge of Ordinary.  This one is a family favorite.  I got this recipe over 10 years ago from Menu Plan Monday.  

Thursday:  Tacos

So that's our menu for this week.  It's a good thing I only had one slow cooker meal planned for the week.  If anyone has a slow cooker that they love and that works great for them, please let me know in comments.

For more menu plans and dinner ideas see Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie

Valentine's Day Tree

I need to get some more decorations, but the Valentine's Day tree is up!

 

This Weeks Menu and a Missing Family Member

 We are missing someone this week.  Sunday we took the oldest back to college.  We all miss him and it's going to take some time to get used to family life without him.  I feel like we are just not complete.  But I know he's where he needs to be.  

Last weeks menu included all of his favorite meals and some take out that he requested.  It certainly wasn't the healthiest of eating plans.  I feel like I need a detox.  Since we are down a family member, I am truly trying to cut our grocery bill.  It was really getting out of control.  I'm embarrassed to write down what it got up to.  So I am making some changes.  2 in private school and 1 in college means money is very tight.  It's up to me to do a better job being a steward of our finances.  

This weeks menu:

Fri:  Pierogi's (from a Cleveland bakery) and baked cod (sprinkled with lemon juice and fish seasoning. Baked at 400 F until done)

Sat:  Take out Pizza (per son's request)

Sun:  Left overs/sandwiches after our 8 hour trip

Mon:  Dirty Rice (I used venison and used this recipe from Grandbaby Cakes as a guide)

Tues:  Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (from Baked By Rachel)

Wed:  Mini venison meat loaves,  mashed potatoes, vegetable (mashed potatoes in the slow cooker from Made It. Ate It. Loved It.)

Thurs:  Honey Sesame Chicken in the slow cooker over rice (from The Gunny Sack)

I spent a lot less at the grocery for this week than I had been.  But we bought the pierogi's, pizza, and lunch on the road Sunday so the savings wasn't as much as I had hoped.  There's no eating out next week so hopefully I can see a bigger savings.  One thing I am going to try to do more is soups.  Soups with rolls can be filling, healthy, and cost effective.  

Hop on over to Orgjunkie.com for more menu planning inspiration on her Menu Plan Monday post for this week (and yes, it's Tuesday.  I'm a day behind).