Gasparilla Recap and This Week's Menu

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend.
We took the kids to their first ever Gasparilla celebration. It was SO much fun, but man am I tired!

If you're not familiar with Gasparilla, it's kind of like Mardi Gras on the water. Boats of all kinds - from multimillion dollar yachts, to tiny fishing boats, to gigantic pirate ships - "invade" the harbor and throw beads from their boats to the hundreds of people lining the shore.
It's a very old tradition here in Tampa, one that many people take very seriously by joining pirate "Krewes." But for people like us who aren't really tied in to the history behind it, it's mostly just a fun way to spend the afternoon. Especially people watching. WOW... there was some great people watching!

Here's a brief summary in photos:

This is what a typical boat looks like. Packed with people throwing beads at the onlookers.

The kids (and adults) stand on the water's edge yelling for people to throw them beads.

This guy made some amazing bead catches!

Some people party like it really is Mardi Gras. This guy was passed out at 11:30 a.m.!

Then the big pirate ship invades the harbor, shooting off "cannons" and signaling the start of the street parade.

How many people would you guess are on this ship?!?

We had a wonderful time with our good friends who live right by the water and spent the night after the parade.

But like all good fun, it had to come to an end. And now I'm finishing up my last load of laundry and working on the menu for the week. Here's what I've got so far:

Monday:

• Chicken Nachos (Shredded chicken, black beans, shredded cheese sprinkled over Tostito chips and warmed through under the broiler)

Tuesday:

• Garlic Rosemary Oven-Roasted Pork Loin
• Oven-roasted potatoes
• Broccoli

Wednesday:

• Black beans & yellow rice (Goya brand for both - I follow the black bean recipe on the back of the can except I don't add as much water as they recommend)

Thursday:

• Crock Pot Chicken Parisienne over brown rice
• Green beans
• Biscuits

Friday:
Pizza & salad, or take out

Pretty simple week of cooking, which is great for me.

 I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

This Week's Menu

I've broached the topic of menu planning several times on this blog. You can read about it here and here.

I am a firm believer that if you plan ahead for at least 4-5 simple meals per week, you will save money and decrease your grocery bill.

My dad has challenged me to start grocery shopping at Walmart this year. Did you know that they will match any BOGO deal that Publix has? I had no idea. So, I am going to attempt doing the majority of my grocery shopping at Walmart for the month of January. Then I'll report back and let ya know if I am going to stick with it, or return to my old "rusty trusty" Publix.

Okay, back to meal planning.

I thought it might be helpful to post my upcoming menu for the week in case you are looking for some simple meal ideas for your family.

Of course every family is different, and some kids are pickier than others (I'm fairly sure I have the pickiest eaters on the planet!) so adapt as necessary, definitely make it healthier if you kids will go that route, and please share with me any adaptations that worked well with your family.

Here's our menu for the week:

Monday

• Ritzy chicken
• Broccoli
• Biscuits

Tuesday

• Crock pot beef stroganoff served over egg noodles (see below for super-easy recipe)
• Green beans
• Crescent rolls

Wednesday

• Mini Cuban sammies
• Black beans & rice (the boxed Zatarain's version, not my cook-all-day-homemade version)

Thursday

• Deconstructed turkey tacos - 
• I use the McCormick's taco seasoning & ground turkey, cook according to directions, then combine with shredded cheese rolled up in soft tacos for the kids. For me and Brian, I make a taco salad and serve it with whole grain tortilla chips.
• Corn

Crock-Pot Beef Stroganoff

1. Spray Crock Pot with cooking spray.
2. Dump in desired amount of raw cubed beef (usually it will be labeled "Beef for Stew" or you can get a larger cut of meet and cut it into cubes yourself).
3. Season beef with salt & pepper.
4. In a separate bowl, combine 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 envelope of Lipton's onion soup mix and 1/4 cup milk, stir well to combine, then pour mixture over beef.
5. Let cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours. Beef should be fork tender when done.
6. 20 minutes before dinnertime, mix in 1/2-1 cup of sour cream (depending on how thick you like your sauce).
7. Serve hot over egg noodles.

I hope this menu helps get your planning off to a good start. If you have any ideas or recipes you'd like to share, please leave me a comment.