"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
Mother Teresa

Friday, May 8, 2015

Getting Organized and What's for Dinner

When I was working I was very organized about chores.  I got very used to having all the laundry done at the same time and the whole house clean at the same time.Now that I'm retired I don't want to spend my weekends doing chores.  I have become quite haphazard about it all.  When you are retired it's very easy to put it off another day, or two, or three. Lately, I have been feeling like things are getting out of control.  I have always been a list person, so it seemed logical to make a list.

With our 2 year old granddaughter here every weekday it's difficult to devote much time to chores...and even though she is a good helper sometimes I don't need that much help!  I also want to spend time doing fun things with her and during the summer I will be spending more time with all 3 granddaughters.
I'm going to try to clean 1 room a day, and do 1-2 loads of laundry a day.  This is what my plan is....

Monday: Clean bedroom
                  Laundry, bedding and whites

Tuesday: Grocery shopping
                  Laundry, jeans and sweats

Wednesday: Clean kitchen/dining room
                        Laundry, light clothes

Thursday: Clean bathrooms
                     Laundry, towels

Friday: Clean living room and entry
              Laundry, dark clothes

Saturday: Miscellaneous cleaning and yard work

I'm not sure how well this will work out, but I will let you know.


For dinner tonight we are having a chicken cordon bleu casserole and a salad.  I did use lowfat cream cheese and exchanged lowfat evaporated milk for heavy cream but beware; anything with a block of cream cheese is not exactly a health conscious recipe.  It is yummy though.




                           Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

10-12 oz. Penne or ziti pasta
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into pieces
3/4 cup diced ham
3/4 cup bacon, cooked and chopped
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1/2 tsp. Onion salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder ( to taste)
1 (8oz.) Block of cream cheese (I use lowfat)
1 can Evaporated milk (I use lowfat)

Cook pasta and drain.
In a greased 9x13 pan layer pasta, cooked chicken, bacon, and ham.
Heat cream cheese over med. heat til melted.  Stir in evaporated milk and stir until combined.  Add seasonings to taste.  Stir in 1 cup swiss cheese and stir until melted and sauce is a smooth consistency.
(mine was still a little lumpy but it all blended in the oven).
Pour sauce over pasta mixture.  Sprinkle top with the rest of the swiss cheese and bake covered at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.
Enjoy.

Til next time,
Peace

9 comments:

  1. Your list sounds great. I haven't had a schedule for cleaning since I retired either. I think I need to get a new one going too. It's much too easy to just sit and knit! :-) That casserole looks great. I think I need to copy it and make it soon.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. I hear you Betsy....some days all I do with the free time I have is knit.

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    2. I hear you Betsy....some days all I do with the free time I have is knit.

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  2. The recipe looks yummy. I use flylady's program for house cleaning. You can go to her website and check it out. It's a different zone a week and one load of laundry a day to keep up. I've been doing this for 3+ years now and it works really well.

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    1. I have heard of flylady...I will check it out. I like things tidy and clean and it's hard to keep things that way with a 2 year old at our house every day!

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  3. That casserole looks yummy, but I can't eat dairy any more. Would you believe I grew up in WI, too? Loved the photo of your GD? How old is that one? She's a cutie and looks like lots of fun!

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    1. That is my middle GD who will be 6 in June. The hair was for crazy hair day at church Awana program.

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  4. I think your list is great, I need to be more organized myself. That recipe looks delicious. Happy Mother's Day.
    Meredith

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  5. I agree perfect schedule. Love the look of the chicken dish and super simple to make.

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