I fell off the “follow the schedule” bandwagon this week and fell back on old and easy favorites. Since my husband was out of town Monday through late Thursday, it was just me and Raisin, and I didn’t feel ambitious!

I won’t have a “What We Ate” for the next few weeks as we’ll be out of town, eating and enjoying the holiday with family.

Saturday [at out]

Sunday (Company at dinner) Roast chicken, sweet potatoes, fresh salad, rolls

Monday Penne ponza

Tuesday leftover penne ponza

Wednesday Waffles

Thursday Chicken nuggets

Friday Mozzarella-stuffed meatballs; asparagus; potatoes

Planning ahead really helps! I didn’t change anything, and I had no questions what we would eat. It is easier when it’s just me and Raisin, I guess. Only a little bit longer before my husband will be home most weeks!

Here’s what we had this week.

Saturday Pumpkin Soup (my husband added some brown sugar and some mystery seasonings and it was extra tasty!)

Sunday Braised Chicken with Apples and Sage

Monday Homemade Mozzarella pizza with tomatoes and pesto sause

Tuesday [leftover sausage and lentil soup]

Wednesday Kraft Mac and Cheese, dyed purple

Thursday Chicken salad sandwiches on croissants; ghost-shaped cookies for my book club.

Friday Chicken quesadillas with guacamole

I found a new fun site, thanks to some blog followers at my reading blog: Buttery Books, which gives book club menu ideas that go along with the books discussed!

I was hosting our club’s meeting for The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfeld, so I followed their suggestion and made Chicken Salad Croissants. I also made some ghost-shaped sugar cookies (since it’s a ghost story of sorts), which needless to say, were also a hit.

The salad was good, although I didn’t measure the mayonnaise and I think I had too much. Two and a half cups seems like a lot, based on the other ingredients.

Get the recipe from Buttery Books >>>

I dyed our Kraft dinner purple the other night. I personally thought it looked revolting, because it was more of a greyish blue color. I had to close my eyes with each bite. But my son loved it! He likes Kraft dinner to begin with, but he sure ate that quickly and with a smile!

I wanted a perfect braised chicken recipe for a chilly fall afternoon, so I turned to epicurious.com. The recipe I made seemed quite familiar, but I haven’t mentioned it on this site, so here it is.

I had to simmer it longer than 20 minutes — it was not cooked through yet at that point.Otherwise, I followed the recipe pretty closely. I normally use boneless/skinless, but I went with bone-in skin on thighs and it made it quite tender and moist. Altogether, an easy and taste meal but nothing spectacular.

Get the recipe from epicurious.com >>>

Saturday [Ate at ward party; I took my decorated cake]

Sunday Potato and leek soup, fresh bread

Monday [ate with family]

Tuesday Stuffed pasta (Ravioli) with pesto; frozen veggies

Wednesday Chicken nuggets, wedge potatoes, frozen veggies

Thursday [Leftovers, again, since husband was out of town AGAIN]

Friday Chicken and rice stir fry with broccoli

It has taken me a week to post this, but never fear: here is my pumpkin cake.

I have never decorated a cake before, so this was quite the undertaking. But actually, it was quite simple. I made two cake mixes and baked them in three rounds. When they were cool, I sliced off the top of two of them and stacked the three together, with frosting in between the layers.

Then I carved the sides off, so it was rounded a bit like a pumpkin. I frosted the sides and top. I used some of the extra cake (from the carving) to insert a little stem. After it sat in the fridge overnight, I frosted another layer so it would be smoother. I think it turned out well! It is a little lopsided, yes, but what pumpkin is ever completely rounded? Besides, it was my first attempt.

Is this to be a Halloween tradition?

I should note that I didn’t eat it. I took it to my ward Halloween party; it was a prize for the pumpkin carving contest. No worries, I had tons of leftover cake from the carving to eat at home!