Influenza, Black Beans and Honey

Me, wearing my giant white down coat that goes down past my knees, 

headed to Urgent Care this morning. 

Boo. 

This morning, I thought I would jump on the latest trend and contract the flu. Influenza B, to be precise. All the cool kids are doing it these days. I felt it as I was cracking breakfast eggs into a pan with melted butter. The achy feeling. My joints. I finished breakfast, announced to Ethan that no one was going to church and I went to Urgent Care. I over exaggerated my symptoms to the doc and got a prescription for Tamiflu. Oh my gosh, it had better work. It was $100! Heaven help me. On another note, I am taking applications for laundry washers, folders and puter-awayers. I just can't bring myself to do it. And on another another note, I am so pleased that I stayed up until 2am to put Christmas away. Now I can be sick and not worry about it.

This Christmas break has been one of doing a whole lot of nothing. And it has been wonderful. Late sleeping in, naps, good food, not too much fighting from children, no responsibilities. I loved the laziness of our break, but I also like being busy and productive. I have enjoyed the break, but I am ready for school to be back in.

As I have sat at my computer doing absolutely nothing and watching "Iron Chef Redemption" on Hulu (I love Amanda Freitag), I have written up my weekly meal plan. Maybe you will get an idea or two...

MONDAY: Baked potatoes with chili and cheese.
TUESDAY: Black beans and rice.
WEDNESDAY: Penne with bacon marinara and steamed green beans
THURSDAY: Chicken enchiladas, Mex rice and fruit salad
FRIDAY: Roast chicken legs, braised kale and roasted potatoes
SATURDAY: LEFTOVERS.
SUNDAY: Chicken boobs with balsamic garlic sauce, skillet potatoes and green salad. And then vanilla layer cake with caramel pastry cream. As I have sat in bed and been sick, I have been dreaming up cakes to make.

Wanna know how to make a super yum fruit salad? Chop up all the fruit you want and put it in a big bowl. My last fruit salad was clementines, blackberries and grapes. Zest a lemon and stir the zest into the fruit. In a small bowl, pour in a few tablespoons of honey and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, just to soften it up. Once it is soft, stir in 1/8 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Pour the honey mixture over the fruit and lemon zest and stir gently, coating all the fruit in the honey. ENJOY!