Marin mama’s weekly dinner menu for December 1st

Happy December everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating Hanukkah! I can’t believe that we only have 25 days till Christmas. I haven’t even begun my Christmas shopping or even thought about ordering or putting together our Christmas cards. I’m just accepting that I’m one of those last-minute gals, even though every year I say to myself that next year I’m going to start my cards and shopping early, I never do. I have come to admit and accept that I’m just a procrastinator. So check out this picture of the kids, it was from last December. I can’t believe how much the kids have changed within a year. I mean look at Eli’s face, he still has his baby face here and baby teeth!

So Thanksgiving came and went, and it was wonderful. Thanksgiving is a bit funny. We labor for days prepping and cooking only to have it consumed within 15 minutes, and after dinner everyone just sit’s back, rubs their bellies and wonders how they are going to fit dessert in there, but we always find room, right? My friend Carey (pictured next to me) hosted us, along with 35 other people for Thanksgiving. She had a house full, but she handled it all with ease and grace, and was the perfect hostess. Thank you Carey! Yvonne, Hilary and Carey are my soul sisters and I’ve known them for over 16 years, and I’m so blessed to have them in my life. They have truly become my family and I’m so grateful for them and thankful that we get to spend Holidays together. Love you girls!

I wanted to try to get a picture of everyone eating. It’s a candid photo of everyone scarfing down the food, (sorry peeps) but it shows you how organized Carey was, as she fit us all into that one room. She’s a natural party planner and she has the house for it. I have total kitchen envy every time I go to her house!

Here’s a pic of the kid’s table. We actually told the kids they could sit anywhere, but they all wanted to sit together. I guess they think us grown ups are boring!

Here’s the dessert table fit for a crowd! I couldn’t wait to dig into all of those pies and cakes, and yes, I did sample quite a few.

Here’s the chocolate coconut pie that I brought as well as the pumpkin cake that Yvonne brought down. They were both so good and we’re gone within 5 minutes. You wouldn’t think that a chocolate coconut pie would fare well against all the traditional Thanksgiving pies, but it does. It’s our new Thanksgiving pie.

The only downfall about going to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving is that you don’t have any leftovers the next day. I was totally craving Sharon’s turkey sandwich, and I was bummed that I didn’t have any leftovers or else I would have totally made her sandwich. Next year maybe!

Besides Thanksgiving, we had Zoe’s fall dance recital last Sunday and it was a spectacular show. Here’s a picture of my gorgeous girl after the show. She performed 4 different dances that night, ballet, hip hop, contemporary and jazz, and she was amazing. I love watching her on stage, as she pours her heart and soul into each dance routine. She truly shines up there. We left the show and all she could talk about were the classes she was going to take next. I took in her excitement, but as the same time was relieved that we have a month off of dance, and can get our Sunday’s back for a bit before it all starts up again in January.

Oh, I received some good news in the mail yesterday!

Yep, Paradise Foods announced our partnership on their coupon flyer much to my surprise. I had to take a second glance at the card because I was so surprised to see my name on there. Paradise Foods send out these monthly coupon flyers for a free item at the store to over 20,000 people in the community, so I felt honored to have my name on there! David Gilmour, the owner and I have been friends since he opened his first store in Corte Madera back in 2001, and he has since opened 2 other stores, one in Novato and his most recent store in Tiburon. We’re not exactly sure what my role is going to be, but I will be sure to keep you all posted. I may be in the stores from time to time talking to people and giving tastings on some of the kale salads from my blog. I will totally let you all know when that happens, so you can visit me at the store! Paradise foods might also make and sell some of the items from my blog, like the kale salads and soups. David and I also talked about having recipes and signs around the store next to my favorite items. It’s going to be an exciting chapter and I’m super elated and honored that Paradise Foods has brought me on board.

Ok, let’s move onto this week’s menu!

Sunday night dinner: Basic tomato sauce, turkey meatballs and kid friendly caesar salad. We’re having spaghetti and meatballs and the kids are so excited because it’s been almost a year since they’ve had this dish. See, that’s what’s nice about seasonal cooking, you get to look forward to certain dishes. We’re going to get the tree early in the morning, and have a day at home decorating, drinking hot chocolate and making meatballs! It’s totally my kind of Sunday.

Monday night dinner: Carrot ginger soup and grilled Gruyere cheese sandwiches. This is a total kid friendly soup and the kid’s especially love the crunchy croutons in it. There is nothing better on a Monday night than a warm soup and a cheesy grilled cheese sandwich!

Tuesday night dinner: Meatball subs and kid friendly caesar salad. It’s leftover night and we’re making one of our favorite leftover dinners, meatball subs!

Wednesday night dinner: Chickpea veggie burgers and lacinato kale salad. I’ve totally been craving these burgers, especially after all of the meat consumption last week. I’m going to make up the patties earlier in the day and fry them off at dinner time. I’m not sure the kids are as excited for this dinner as me, but they will happily eat it. I always make sure to have something yummy for them for dessert on nights like this.

Thursday night dinner: Orecchiette pasta with pesto, sausage and green beans. This is an easy, one-bowl kid approved pasta and comes together in a flash, so it’s perfect for those busy nights when you only have a 1/2 hour to cook.

Friday night dinner: Deep-dish pepperoni pizza and lacinato kale salad. We’re bringing back pizza Friday, at least for this week. John’s been asking me to make this pizza for months, so I finally caved! We’re going to have pizza, make some popcorn and watch A Christmas Story. TGIF everyone!

Have a happy Sunday everyone!

xoxo, Jackie

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