First Sunday of Advent! (continued)

First Sunday of Advent!

DD with our Advent wreath and the Advent project she made at CCD today, eagerly waiting to light the first candle.

We are so excited to enter the season of Advent and are happily waiting to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Advent, Christmastide, and Epiphany

This Advent I'm determined not to let it pass me by, so this year I'm trying to organize my ideas so that I don't miss or forget something I wanted our family to do. This is me organizing all my mental sticky notes and things will be added and moved around and so on as the season progresses. This Sunday is the first Sunday of advent and we are in need of new candles this year. I let DD pick an Advent hymn to learn this year. After listening to "O Come, Divine Messiah" and "O Come O Come Emmanuel" she chose the latter.

Notes to self: find a spot to store items (books, movies, recipes, craft supplies) for upcoming feast days and Holydays, get all of the season's recipes (indicated in green) copied onto recipe cards (ingredients list on front for easy shopping list making and adding the date to be used may not be a bad idea)

December 6, Feast of St. Nicholas:

• Chocolate Saint Nicholas with a candy-cane staff
• some small gifts and books in shoes
• crafts: St. Nicholas Cookies and Prayer Card Banners
• possible movies: Veggietales: St. Nicholas, a Story of Joyful Giving and Nicholas - The Boy Who Became Santa 
• bedtime story: The Miracle of St. Nicholas
• while the children sleep: Bishop's wine A Continual Feast page 105

December 8, Immaculate Conception:

• White Meal (think of French recipe ideas for Our Lady of Lourdes) 
• music: listen to Our Lady of Clear Creek Monastery's Immaculate Conception Chant CD
• watch Bernadette, Princess of Lourdes and The Song of Bernadette
• bedtime story: Mary, The Mother of Jesus

December 9, Juan Diego: (see December 12)

December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe:

• watch Juan Diego - Messenger of Guadalupe 
• Ojo de Dios craft
• paper bag tilma 
• Mexican dinner
• bedtime stories: The Night of Las Posadas The Legend of the Poinsettia and The Lady of Guadalupe

December 13, Saint Lucia:

• Saint Lucia crown craft 
• Swedish dessert/pastry or donuts, and coffee for DD to serve 
• bedtime story: Lucia, Saint of Light
• Saint Lucia links

Christmas Eve:
Vigil meal: Christmas Eve Borscht with Polish mushroom pockets and Herring in sour cream from A Continual Feast
books: The Clown of God

Christmas:
Midnight Mass
Buche de Noel (146) and Mulled Cider (p154) from A Continual Feast
bedtime story: B is for Bethlehem 


December 26, Feast of Saint Stephen:

• Good King Wenceslas storybook and learn song
• eat traditional St. Stephen Day meal of Catalan: Cannelloni stuffed with leftover Christmas turkey (called canelons)

December 27: Feast of Saint John:

• St. John's Wine from The Catholic Cookbook

 
January 6: Feast of the Epiphany/Twelfth Night:

• Star hairstyle for DD
• star-cut sandwiches for lunch
• craft: fold and cut stars
• King Cake (New Orleans style)
• song: "We Three Kings"
• bedtime stories: The 12 Days of Christmas 
• Lamb's Wool (p167) beverage from A Continual Feast

Thanksgiving 2011

Pumpkin cheesecake! Our neighbors have invited us over for Thanksgiving. They are always so welcoming and extending hospitality to other families with get-togethers, barbecues, and a helping hand wherever and whenever it is needed. God bless them.

There is something beautiful about morning chores.

Maybe it's the view.

Feast Day - Saint Cecilia

Good for the Soul

Tonight it's chicken and rice soup with some of the stock I hadn't frozen, yet, meat left over after freezer enchiladas, chicken fat, garlic, onions, celery, carrots, rice a teeny pinch of curry powder and some simple herbs and bay leaves.

Freezer Cooking continued...

After about 3 weeks I've finally been able to get DS2 to go to bed with his brother and sister. For 1 or 2 months before that he was bound and determine to stay up all night (sometimes until 1-3 in the AM). On the bright side he then slept all morning and it was easy to get the older two breakfast and do homeschool with less interruption (DD and DS1 were going to bed early and waking up bright and early). So I was burning out at both ends with very little free time. Finally, they all go to bed early and wake up early and, delighted to get my evenings back, I've started a series of freezer meals. Here is the chicken meat left over from making stock being put to use:

Chicken Enchilada Filling

 Empty cans make great measuring cups when you don't want to dirty any more dishes.

 
To serve, this (one of these, I was able to make 2 with the chicken meat) will be thawed. Half a can of enchilada sauce will coat the bottom of my slow cooker. The filling will be wrapped in corn tortillas, which will be stacked in the slow cooker, covered with the rest of the sauce and cheese, and cooked on low for 6-8 hours.

Freezer Cooking

Bones, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, apple cider vinegar.

 

Then celery and garlic cloves.

Chicken and water.

Chicken meat for enchiladas.

 

Broth (stock? Can't remember the difference...)

Cooled broth.

Chicken fat.

Broth cubes.

Ready to freeze.

And frozen broth cubes. They're so pretty! Each cube should be about an ounce give or take a little.