Day Three hundred and fifty-six

This was the day before Thanksgiving. You can see my house is clearly in cooking mode.

Pumpkins: Before.  These went into a pie, bread, and some went into the freezer for future use.  I was fortunate to receive a giant box of pumpkins and squash from my Uncle and Aunt who have a farm in Iowa.  This was only the second time I'd ever cooked w/fresh pumpkin. Definitely worth it!!

And of course, pumpkin seeds.  I made these savory and seasoned them with a little S & P. The next batch were cinnamon sugar.

Roasted sweet potatoes. Tomorrow these will be a part of a casserole.

After: Pumpkins.

Lunch for my little one: Peanut butter and jelly on crackers, and pear slices.

A super easy supper (who has time to cook when you're roasting vegetables all day?!): Brown rice spaghetti with alfredo, chicken nuggets, and steamed veggies.

Shredded zucchini, for the freezer. This will go into chili, meatloaf, and bread.

Day One hundred and three

Dinner: Whole grain penne, chicken, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes in an alfredo sauce. This meal is one of my family's favorites, and can be put together quite quickly.

Day Ninety-four

Sick-day lunch: Annie's mac and cheese (with pureed butternut squash), peas, a clementine, and chocolate milk. If you've followed this blog at all, you've learned that mac and cheese is our sick-day lunch. Especially by adding a veggie puree, it allows me to make something "homemade" (well, kind of) for my girls, while not making too much of a mess, or spending too much time cooking instead of taking care of them.

Dinner: Baked chicken with alfredo sauce, rice, and steamed broccoli. My husband gets total credit for this meal. I was upstairs sick, and he made dinner. I requested rice b/c I thought it'd be good for sick tummies, but I never got around to eating any of it.

Day Sixty-five

Dinner: Whole grain penne, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled chicken, in an alfredo sauce. This dish is inspired by a meal I used to love from Macaroni Grill. Yesterday when I made chicken for the fondue, I made an extra few breasts and saved them in the fridge for tonight. When I took them out of the fridge today, all cooked and ready to use, I really loved myself. ;) We had cut up apples after dinner.

Purees for the freezer: Butternut squash

Purees for the freezer: Zucchini/cauliflower

Day Thirty-seven

Diner: Mushroom linguine (my mom got this for me somewhere) with alfredo sauce, turkey meatballs, green beans, and sliced pears.

Dessert: Chocolate pasta (also provided by my mom) with a white chocolate sauce that my husband made. This one was definitely an indulgence!!