What’s for Supper? September 4-10

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I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. Here’s what we had for dinner this week.

I’m curious: do you say “dinner” or “supper?” It was always “supper” growing up–“dinner” was reserved for holidays, when we ate with the extended family, used the dining room and had tablecloths and fancy dishes. But when I went to college, the cafeteria called it “dinner.”

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FRIDAY 4: Shrimp Scampi with pasta, which was such a hastily-put-together dinner that I wound up having to call my neighbor for a box of spaghetti.

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SATURDAY 5: Spicy Orange Chicken with brown rice and Sesame Green Beans.

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SUNDAY 6: Baked Salmon using the Catholic Foodie’s recipe, Rustic Peas and Parsley Potatoes.

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MONDAY 7: we hosted a Labor Day picnic. I made baked beans, grilled hot dogs, salad and sausage and peppers–a giant batch, in the roaster oven.

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TUESDAY 8: Chicken Caesar Sandwiches (we had a lot of leftover rolls after Monday’s picnic, so this was a way to use them up!)

WEDNESDAY 9: Spaghetti and meatballs.

THURSDAY 10: Fend for yourself! Big Brother took me to Center City Philly for my (belated) birthday dinner. We enjoyed Asian food served tapas style at Sampan.

Word by Word: One-Day Preorder Special

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I’m excited to announce that there’s about to be a new book in town! It’s called Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary and it’s almost ready for release.

Preorder Word by Word one day saleI’m extra excited because I am one of the contributors to this book, which was organized and edited by Sarah Reinhard. Here’s the background on the idea behind the book, in Sarah’s own words:

This book was inspired by my favorite prayer, the one I call my “blankie prayer.” I got an idea in my head that every word of the prayer was important, and that, of course, I should ask 40 or so of my favorite writers to explain that.

The book will be out on October 16, but since today is the day when the Church observes the Birthday of Mary, Ave Maria Press is having a one-day preorder special! You can order your copy of the book for $10, including shipping. The book is usually $14.95 plus shipping, so this is a very special deal indeed.

word by word coverYou can preorder the book directly from Ave Maria Press for $10 (including shipping) by using coupon code MARY at checkout.

And isn’t Jen Norton‘s beautiful cover art the perfect complement for this book? That drawing is, itself, a prayer.

This offer is good September 8 only, and only through Ave Maria Press.

 

Monday Recap: September 7, 2015

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Monday Recap-What I've been writing

At CatholicMom.com:

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You’re invited to the very first CatholicMom.com Virtual Progressive Dinner!

You’re invited to our very first Virtual Progressive Dinner here at CatholicMom.com! Find out how you can share your favorite recipe and join the fun.

Book Notes: Two Novels with a Side of Angels

Novels are always a pleasure to read, but they don’t have to be a “guilty pleasure.” I reviewed two novels you’ll want to share with the teens in your life–but don’t miss the chance to read them for yourself.

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Meatless Friday: Rainbow Stir Fry with Shrimp

Here’s a quick-cooking shrimp stir-fry with plenty of colorful vegetables for your next Meatless Friday meal.

 

 

Time to Foster Some Self-Discipline

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Because I do not intend to spend this school year fighting with my eighth-grader every morning, I want to work with TheKid to get some strategies in place so that he gets up and out the door and onto the school bus.

I feel like I have been letting him do a lot of sliding in areas where I challenged the older kids to be more self-disciplined and self-starting at the same age. Part of that is because he’s the youngest, and I’m old. And tired.

And part of it is because of diabetes. He’s been extraordinarily self-disciplined when it comes to that. He’s gotten very independent with many aspects of his care. I’m proud of him for that. But there are all those other things that we’ve been doing FOR him, things that he is more than old enough and capable enough to do for himself.

It’s not good for him that we’re letting him slide. He has to learn how to do all the things, not just all the diabetes things. He has to learn how to figure out what time to wake up in the morning so that he won’t miss the bus. He has to set his alarm and make sure it’s on AM, not PM, and actually get up when the alarm goes off.

If we do all the other things for him, we’re really doing that out of pity, and pity is the last thing this kid (or any kid) needs.

So as he begins his eighth-grade year, I’m resolving to begin again too–to begin to foster some life skills that everyone needs to learn.

teens and time managementTo get myself motivated, I purchased this little book from Amazon: What’s the Deal with Teens and Time Management: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Your Teen Succeed. I’m not expecting any all-at-once miracles, but there are a few strategies I intend to start using right off the bat.

It’s a matter of setting priorities. It may even have the side effect of making everyone’s lives a little more pleasant around here.

Note: my link to this book is an Amazon affiliate link. If you purchase through this link, it’s like you’re leaving me a little virtual tip! So, thanks!

What’s for Supper? August 30-September 3

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I’m linking up with Simcha Fisher for her “What’s for Supper?” feature. I’ve only got 5 days here, because last week I was late, and I haven’t actually decided what we’re eating tonight. Even though it’s 5:15 PM right now.

cucumber tomato salad (1)c TITLESUNDAY 30: Hamburgers, hot dogs, tomato-cucumber-onion salad, baked beans (my secret recipe for baked beans: for every 15 ounces of canned baked beans, add 3 TBL ketchup and 1 TBL yellow mustard. Stir. Bake 20 minutes at 350.)

MONDAY 31: TheKid was visiting friends, so Hubs and I went to the diner for omelets.

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TUESDAY 1: Chicken Breasts in Mushroom Sauce based on this recipe from author Jeanne Grunert. I still need to write up how I made it (note “based on” above) and include the nutrition information. This was a big hit.

WEDNESDAY 2: Spaghetti and meatballs. This is our Wednesday-supper tradition because I have folk-group practice on Wednesday evenings, and this dinner is easy to make and to clean up.

Chicken Thighs BBQ rub baked beans c titleTHURSDAY 3: Chicken thighs with barbecue rub, tater tots, salad, baked beans. Next time I’m putting those on sandwiches with a little cole slaw.

rainbow stirfry c title FIAs for tonight, I could make my Meatless-Friday recipe that’s up at CatholicMom.com today…I have everything here to make that happen. We’ll see.

Small Success: Better Late than Never

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Small Success dark blue outline 800x800Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

I am very, very late for Small Success today.

I stuck my nose in a novel early this morning and that seems to have thrown the whole rest of the day off. (It’s really good, though!)

In spite of that, I managed to get a good bit accomplished. Except for the laundry that I tossed into the machine at 8:30 AM and haven’t moved since. But here’s my day:

9:00. Mass, which turned out to be a Communion service, because Father was very ill today. (Memorare UP!)

9:30. Home to check TheKid, who was still asleep. Add a few donated books to the Excel spreadsheet for the Secular Franciscans’ library, which we are getting ready to divide and share with the parish.

10:15. Pick up a roll for my lunch and a latte at Wawa, then over to the parish center to pull all the Franciscan-specific library books for the Secular Franciscan library. All others will become part of the parish library.

11:15. Back home. Wake up TheKid, make sure he has breakfast, and send him out the door for a haircut.

Noon to 1. Adoration, followed by a quick stop in parish office to tell business manager that I’m done with the library.

1:15. Return home, admire haircut, force TheKid to make bed before agreeing to drive him to visit theater friends in different zip code.

2:10. Return home, eat quick lunch (meatball sandwich using last night’s leftovers) and head to supermarket. MAJOR success here involves eating before shopping. I saved mucho dinero that way.

3:30. Back from supermarket. Put away groceries and return phone call from my mom.

4:40. Back out to pick up TheKid.

5:30. Home again. Prepare to make dinner, begin preheating oven and get text from Hubs that he’s just leaving work now. Turn off oven and wait until 6:30 to finish cooking.

You’ll notice that nowhere in there did I mention work, which fortunately I got done ahead of time yesterday (though I did not expect, even a little bit, that this day would turn out this crazy).

And I’m kind of wishing I’d remembered to wear my Fitbit because I think I’d have clocked up quite a few steps along the way today.

Amazingly, I’m not too tired and I’m even in a good mood after all that. (Perhaps the biggest success of all!)

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

A Farewell to Street Urchins

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farewell to street urchins

(Or: What am I going to do with all this root beer?)

We’ve got three 12-packs of root beer in the pantry. I buy it on sale so we’ll have it around when the Street Urchins come over.

But when we came back from vacation last week, we discovered that the neighborhood is down two Urchins. They’ve both moved to other zip codes, their households casualties of what happens when parents are not together.

I worry about the Street Urchins. Four out of five of our neighborhood Urchins don’t live with both of their parents. That’s Situation Normal for them, and it makes me sad. They bounce around from house to house, and sometimes weeks or months go by without them showing up at our front door, hungry for a game of Super Smash Brothers and thirsty for root beer.

They drive me crazy (they’re loud, and they leave a mess, and sometimes it just gets really rowdy in my family room) but I always let them in. Even the day after I discover that they’ve eaten all the Klondike bars.

They’ve spent their adolescence on their own, with no one hunting them down at dinnertime or wondering where they go when they disappear for the better part of a day and evening. And this September, two of them will be starting at new schools in new neighborhoods. In middle school, that’s hard.

This morning, Sarah Reinhard tweeted a prayer for today:

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Yes, those exasperating Street Urchins are blessings (though they’re never invisible).

They’ll be missed.

And they’ll be held up in prayers. I figure that St. John Bosco is a great patron saint for Street Urchins, so I’m trusting them to his care.

In case they visit the neighborhood again (at least one of them still has a parent living here) I’ll make sure we’ve always got plenty of root beer.

Monday Recap: August 31, 2015

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Monday Recap-What I've been writing

Not much new this week, though I did a lot of writing in this space!

At CatholicMom.com:

 

Courtesy of Holly Michael and Jake Byrne. All rights reserved.
Courtesy of Holly Michael and Jake Byrne. All rights reserved.

Book Notes: First and Goal

A review of First and Goal, a new devotional for teens by NFL veteran Jake Byrne. The author witnesses to a deep faith and the dedication it takes to play professional football while living with a chronic condition.

Copyright 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.

There are no coincidences…even on vacation

A reflection on that moment when everything lines up perfectly, in a way you never foresaw or intended, and reminds you (in a good way) that you’re not the One in charge here.

What’s for Supper? August 23-29, 2015

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I’m a huge fan of meal-planning linkups, so I was all aboard when Simcha Fisher announced she’d be hosting a “What’s for Supper?” linkup each week. The best part about this linkup is that you don’t do your week-ahead meal plan, but actually your week-before plan. So you get the real thing here. Or as much of the real thing as we remember.

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SUNDAY 23: Steak fajitas and macaroni salad

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MONDAY 24: Chicken piccata bites, steamed spinach, rice

big batch savvy spaghetti and meatballs RHTUESDAY 25: Spaghetti. I made a big batch on Tuesday, so now I have enough in the freezer for 10 more dinners (the containers keep getting smaller as the number of people eating dinner in this house shrinks. We’re down to 3 now…)

BYO Strawberry shortcakeWEDNESDAY 26: Happy Birthday to TheDad! Big Brother came home for dinner and grilled New York strip steaks (seasoned just with salt and garlic pepper). I baked sweet potatoes and made corn on the cob. For dessert, we had “build your own strawberry shortcake” with pound cake, fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries (and mini chocolate chips).

Hawaiian Chicken c titleTHURSDAY 27: Hawaiian chicken over rice with broccoli/cauliflower vegetable blend.

FRIDAY 28: We visited my parents. They made grilled salmon with honey mustard, corn on the cob, broccoli & cauliflower, raw carrots and celery and Caesar salad.

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SATURDAY 29: Barbecued chicken, salad, and Trinity Rice (to use up the leftover rice from earlier in the week).

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Hop on over to Simcha’s linkup and get some great ideas for your family dinners!

Fast 4 Francis: Welcome the Holy Father

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Yesterday, Tommy Tighe wrote about the report that about 31% of Catholics are completely unaware that the Pope will be here next month.

Clearly that 31% lives nowhere near Philadelphia, because everyone around here, Catholic or not, knows that the Pope is coming and that the city is going to just completely shut down. Or the world will end as we know it. Or something like that. It’s all-catastrophe, all the time around here.

While you won’t catch me anywhere near Philly during the Pope’s visit, I think it’s very cool that he’ll be here–and it’s good for the city. Really, it is. I think the mayor’s going a bit overkill on the lockdown part, but the visit is a good thing.

But no matter where you live, you can do something to help prepare for the Pope’s visit.

You can fast, and you can pray.

It’s Spiritual Bouquet time–for the Pope.

Fast4Francis is an opportunity for participants to embrace the Pope’s visit as an invitation to a deeper faith life and to pray for his safe travel leading up to and throughout his visit to the USA.

Darcie Nielsen, Assistant Director of Live the Fast, says “Prayers (novenas) and fasting together are powerful tools used in preparation for important events. This is a proactive effort to stimulate a fervent environment of prayer and faith for our Holy Father’s visit.”

The Fast4Francis novena will take place September 18-26, the nine days leading up to the pope’s arrival in Philadelphia.  Anyone from any faith may take part in the nine day fast. There are various tracks of fasting that participants can take part in. All tracks of fasting involve giving up certain foods, praying the prayers of the novena and taking part in a sacrament (like Holy Mass or Reconciliation). For example, Track 1 involves giving up coffee, Track 2, fasting from snacks and dessert, Track 3 involves skipping one meal, Tracks 4 and 5 bread and water fasts. Since prayer, fasting and almsgiving are inseparable, participants are invited to choose one of the Works of Mercy as well. Participants may also begin in one track and move to another or combine tracks during the nine day novena. For those who cannot fast, spending more time in prayer and/or going to adoration for the nine days is an ideal alternative.  As well, fasting can also entail giving up social media or television.

Pope Francis has said, “Fasting makes sense if it really chips away at our security and, as a consequence, benefits someone else, if it helps us cultivate the style of the good Samaritan, who bent down to his brother in need and took care of him.”

Want to learn more? Visit the Fast 4 Francis site and learn about the several suggested ways to fast and pray in preparation for the Holy Father’s trip to the USA.

Want to spread the word? You can print and share this flyer about Fast 4 Francis.

Image and press release material provided by Live the Fast. All rights reserved.