Meatless Mondays - Comedy or Tragedy?

A couple weeks ago we (ie: me) decided to start doing meatless mondays. Hadn't really thought too much about it or done any research. I know that we eat too much meat. Even enforcing portion control is difficult. I also wanted to expand the family's diet. The boys aren't vegetable fans, so I promised no straight out salads. (That is fine....I don't really like lettuce and we rarely have it in the house. A salad with dinner is usually more a bowl of chopped veggies.....which are then drowned in dressing! Oh well!)

The first Monday was easy. I was donating blood the next day so a simple marinara in a cast iron frying pan was perfect! That went over well and showed that no meat wasn't going to kill them. (And I aced the blood iron test!)

We skipped last week.

Last night we were back on track. Had planned on bean and cheese burritos but it was cold and foggy and was wanting some comfort type food. So I hit the internet for some inspiration. There is a site for Meatless Monday. (Who knew?) Thankfully it has loads of recipes! Found this one for Enchiladas. It looked easy enough and I was pretty sure I had everything at home so I was good to go!

Did you read the recipe? I didn't. I looked at the ingredients and the photo, assumed the veggie chili was filing, and went on my merry way. When I got home to make the dish, I noticed that you are supposed to make 12 enchiladas with 8 oz of cheese (and have leftover cheese to put on top) and the chili is put on top of these itty bitty enchiladas! And after all that, you make enchilada sauce??

Needless to say, I didn't follow the recipe. We ended up with what we jokingly called "Deconstructed Mexican Vegetarian Lasagna." You know, because we are quite the foodies! Layers of chili, cheese, and corn tortillas. Ended up using fewer tortillas and more chili and cheese than in the original recipe. It tasted okay, better than I think the recipe would have ended up.

In the meantime, I am working on my list of meatless meals that I know will past muster. Figure I can start with these and sneak in new ones as I find them. Any tried and true family loved meatless dishes you can add to my list?

• Cheese/veggie pizza
• Mac & Cheese (except Ryan will only eat the blue boxed stuff)
• Pasta w/marinara sauce
• Madras lentils & bulgar (an old WW fav)
• Soup & grilled cheese

 Also, please remember to enter the Some Stuff You Might Win Giveway!!

Some stuff you might win! (Giveaway)

I didn't know what to call this. It isn't like I have some humongous crazy prize I am giving away.....but I DO have an accumulation of miscellaneous fun things (I think) that I have been given/won/collected/whatever throughout the past year that I thought it would be nice to share with someone else.

Here is what you can win:

• Bath & Body Works Coconut Mango 2 oz body lotion
• Webkinz Very Merry Christmas Seal Ornament
• CODE ONLY Webkinz Reindeer (December Pet of the Month)
• Fiskars Peacock Decorative Corner Lever Punch
• Rizzoli & Isles Complete First Season DVD
• 2 Chick-Fil-A "treat" cards - each good for a sandwich, nuggets, or my favorite: milkshake (these are only good for the Arden Fair location.....please see caveat #2 below)
• Coupon for 2 lbs of Tillamook Cheese (good through 12-31-11) and bonus Tillamook toy car (please see caveat #2 below)
• Light the Town Pink light bulb from Panera in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 ....and, I have the right to add more stuff to the box! I promise no kids or pets.

How can you win?
post a comment below. that is it! well, post it before December 4th. (and obey caveat #1 below) if you win, be prepared to give me your address when I announce the winner December 5th so I can get the package out to you asap. yes, I will only have 1 winner. some of the prizes seemed silly to pass along individually.

I have 2 small caveats:

1. you have to give something in this merry mix-up of stuff to someone else. please tell me in your comment which item you would give away, to who, and why you would give them that particular item. (I don't need specific name, addy, etc....."little ol lady next door because she still talks about her honeymoon to Hawaii" is perfectly acceptable)
2. if you do NOT live in the greater Sacramento area OR will not be visiting prior to December 31, 2011, I will exclude the Chick-Fil-A coupons from the package and figure out another way to pass those on. if you don't live locally but have a suggestion for what I do with the coupons, I'd love to hear it! ditto for the Tillamook cheese. while I think their cheese SHOULD be available everywhere, it just might not be. I can still send you the car if you want! lol!

you can enter once......and so can everyone else. I'd love to give everyone presents, but Santa would get jealous!

Giving Thanks......

So Thanksgiving is Thursday. Perfect time to let you know how thankful I am for you readers. You may not be many, but I love you all just the same! I'll take quality over quantity any day!!

As a thank you, I have a few sumthin sumthins to give away. I am going to do it shortly after the holiday. I haven't decided if I am going to do it in one fellow swoop or piece meal it so many can win. The only drawback to the one fellow swoop is that at least one item is local and I would hate to leave out my non-local pals.

and with that rambling completed......have a GREAT Thanksgiving! send warm thoughts to those of us working or running the Sacramento Foodbank's Run to Feed the Hungry.

Let's talk turkey....turkey DAY that is!

So.....what are your plans for Thanksgiving? Sleeping in and then heading out to enjoy some turkey and stuffing with family members? Maybe some crazy pre-Black Friday shopping? 

Back to dinner, let me guess......you start with grace and end with 1 pie per person? Along the way you cruise through 2 kinds of cranberry sauce and enough mashed potatoes to pull a Richard Dreyfus.

For many families in our area, this isn't the case. For many families, Thanksgiving is a Thursday like any other Thursday: one when they go to bed hungry. But I know you know that. And if you are the way I know you are, you do what you can to help. You donate money to your favorite charities, and extras around the holidays. How the heck can I dare harass you about this? 

I'm not........I want to tell you how to feel GOOD! How to make your Thanksgiving THAT MUCH BETTER! How to START your day of giving thanks REALLY feeling thankful!

The Rat Brothers bright and early Thanksgiving morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consider starting your morning with a cool 10K or 5K. Might I suggest the Sacramento Food Bank's 18th Annual Run to Feed the Hungry? A wonderful CRAZY event starting at 8:30 or 9am (depending on your race length). Let me tell you, no run ANYWHERE gives you a better feeling! You can some fun exercise in the cool morning air and leave knowing your entry fee will go to feed local families through the Sacramento Food Bank! 

And hey, before you say "oh, but I need to go get ready to feed my family" or "how the heck can you expect me to get up that early?" Let me tell you.....you get to sleep in later than you will for Black Friday......and you'll be done and home by 11. That is plenty of time! I guarantee it! How can I? Well, because this will be me and my family's 4th year at the run! And we don't run....oh, NO!! We show up BEFORE the runners, help set up, and register same day runners! And, yes, there are plenty of runners who are done and gone before us.

But.......it is SO worth it! Never has a turkey tasted so good as one eaten after knowing you helped other families have a good meal the same day. So, consider this your invitation! Come join us for the start of the best Thanksgiving you will ever have!