Menu plan + final happenings before Christmas

It's the last weekend before Christmas, and we are pretty much ready! I started my packing (trying to see how many bags we need to bring to Portland), & finished my cardamom bread. Yum! I bought fresh yeast again, and opted for two bigger loaves this year. My glaze wasn't quite as thick/white as I would have liked, but the bread baked up beautifully. For the first time ever, my pickiest eater asked for some. This is huge progress.

M tried out an experimental new recipe last night. We were supposed to be on a date night, but both kids felt sick, and I'd only had a few hours of sleep, so we opted to stay at home, split a nice bottle of wine, and have a family night instead. It was perfect! We worked on a puzzle, looked at Christmas lights, watched a holiday movie with a bowl of popcorn, & had a fabulous dinner. The experimental recipe involved making your own breaded chicken (cut into pieces), then stuffed into a hollowed out baguette, wrapped with mozzarella. Then brush the baguette with butter, garlic & fresh parsley & bake. It was heavenly. You can also serve the remainder of the breaded chicken with marinara dipping sauce. He's trying out a different version tonight with homemade meatballs subbing for the chicken. YUM!

Here's the menu for the week:

• Friday - I made chicken risotto with goat cheese
• Saturday - previously described "chicken stuffed baguette", as I'll now call it
• Sunday - meatball stuffed baguette. . . stromboli, maybe? Probably similar to that, minus a homemade pastry as the base
• Monday - chicken pesto pasta
• Tuesday - leftover chicken baguette
• Wednesday - leftover meatball baguette
• Thursday - Eat any remaining leftovers. If that fails, I'll defrost a chicken pilaf from the freezer
• Friday - clear out the fridge/freezer. If nothing remains, I'll whip up spaghetti & meatballs
• Saturday - we fly to Portland & will be eating out with my family after our flight

And, here's what's on the agenda for today:

1. Wash all of the sheets
2. Clean the house 
3. Laundry
4. Make a packing list
5. Get some exercise. I want to go for a run, but still have a bit of a burn on the top of my foot from my straightener incident. May opt for one of my strength workouts, which can be done without shoes in a pinch
6. Take holiday gift over to neighbor
7. Pick up M's lost coat at other neighbor's house
8. Take the boys & friends out to frozen yogurt. (This is one of their pre-Christmas gifts - they wanted to treat friends to frozen yogurt). The weather is a bit chilly, & we'd originally planned on the movies, but one friend had a conflict. 

Should be a pretty fun & mellow day. I'm also hoping that, maybe, possibly I'll get a chance to read my book. A girl can dream! What about you? What's on the agenda for today?