Swine Flu and Weekly Meal Plan #3

Sharing is caring!

Mr. H1N1 Recovering:
Let me begin by saying my sweet 10 year old, Garrett, was diagnosed with Swine Flu on Thursday. The initial symptoms were pretty subtle but escalated quickly.

Thursday morning he woke up with a sore throat. I gave him Motrin and sent him to school with throat lozenges.

By 10:00 am the school called and he was in the office with chills and the hair on his arms were standing. They said he looked really bad.

By the time Lenny got to the school to get him (he was out and in the area, so he handled getting Garrett picked up), and they headed to the pedi’s office, Garrett was getting feverish. He was pretty much in and out of sleep the whole way there.

They arrived and waited and waited… the waiting room was full of sickly children Lenny said. Everyone was wearing masks.

Once back in the exam room, they swabbed his nose. His fever was escalating. Within 10-15 minutes there were results… positive.

Lenny cracks me up when he recited the conversation between him and the doctor…

Dr: He tested positive for Swine.
Lenny: positive ?
Dr: yes, positive
Lenny: swine flu positive ?
Dr: Yes
Lenny: He has swine flu? He is positive for swine flu? Not just flu… SWINE flu?!?!?
Dr: Yes… then she went on to remind him how contagious it is and to keep him away from our other 14,000 kids.

Lenny must have been preparing himself, because he knew I would essentially ask the same thing. I must have asked Lenny 5 times if he was sure the doctor said swine flu…..

By this point Garrett had hacked and coughed so much he needed a new mask. They gave him a new one, but firmly, very firmly, requested he not toss the mask in their trash. They told him to \”˜get rid of it OUTSIDE…’ Lenny said once they received a positive test result, the staff wanted them out as quick as possible.

Tamiflu was prescribed. It took some searching to find a pharmacy that had it in stock and able to compound it for a child.(WTH? Are they not ready for this? It has been all over the news since March!)

Thursday evening Garrett was totally out of it only waking long enough to take his first dose of medication.

By Friday morning at 5:00 am he felt a lot better. Dizzy and achy and still a slight fever and sore throat and confined to his room, but better.

By Saturday he was up and around and bossing little kids. (ha!) He really is recovering nicely. Each day keeps getting a little better.

Thank you everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. Knock on wood, but no one else has any symptoms. Lenny did equip the house with ‘procedure masks’, Lysol and hand sanitizer. Plus, I am an antibacterial hand soap junkie…

With all of that said, on Friday I changed my meal plan from last week a little- we were supposed to have Leftover Buffet. With Garrett having the flu, I changed my mind (plus there were no leftovers) and made this absolutely delicious Virus Killing Soup. Try it! Tons of garlic, add whatever veggies you want. I did onion, celery, a zucchini, diced tomatoes and chopped up baby carrots. The cayenne pepper was perfect for opening up the sinuses. It was great! You could even add tortilla pieces and give it a tortilla soup spin. This totally gets 2 thumbs up from us!

Then Saturday (which I have designated as our eat out night) we stayed in of course. I slow cooked pinto beans in the crockpot all day.

Crystal’s Pinto Beans in the Crock

1) I soak them in water over night in the fridge. Check for rocks and weird stuff and remove them of course. I used a 1 lb. bag.

2) Rinse one last time before putting in the crock the next morning.

3) Cover with water.

4) Add half a package of salt pork (freeze the rest). (As your husband stands there scolding you and reminding you how absolutely awful salt pork must be for you.)

5) Chop up some cilantro if you have it. Toss that in.

6) Add a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies- juice and all.

7) Some salt and pepper.

8) Couple spoonfuls of minced garlic.

9) One package of Sazon. (Very important ingredient for many Puerto Rican dishes. If you do not have it please do not worry… it is just a staple in our house. You can find it on the Latin aisle at the grocery store.)

10) Put a lid on it and cook on high for 4-6 hrs. Beans can take a while…

11) Serve the beans and some of the beany broth over steamed white rice and let everyone garnish with shredded cheese/sour cream/picante sauce.

This was so yummy and hit the spot. Garrett loved it and had a decent appetite back.

For dessert I made Apple Crinkle (only because I already had all the ingredients on hand and we have an abundance of apples because my children LOVE them!)

This was incredible. Great way to use up apples. I doubled the recipe so we can have some tomorrow night as well… and maybe even longer. YUM! Make it! WE had a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it. Hit the spot.

One more thing from this last week… I also made the Pumkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. This is like a fork full of autumn-y fall in your mouth! MAKE IT! (We will all gain about 20 pounds together through this meal planning adventure!)

There does seem to be a canned pumpkin pie filling shortage… some days they have it at the store and some days they do not. If you come across it, buy more than one… I have read in a few places there is a shortage. Stock up, unless you live near me and leave at least one on the shelf (for me).

Week 3….. (I am loving this!)
October 4-10

Sunday- Crockpot Cream Cheese ChickenI am doubling the recipe so I can debone what is leftover to use another night. I did not have an envelope of spaghetti seasoning on hand as the recipe asks for, but I did have Homemade Gourmet Spaghetti seasoning… perfect! Used a couple of tablespoons of that. Serving with buttered egg noodles and steamed frozen broccoli. Leftover Apple Crinkle from Saturday night for dessert. There is lots to go around!

Monday- Crockpot Chicken Lasagna using leftover chicken from Monday night. Garlic toast on the side.

Tuesday- Messy Giuseppe’s (the Italian Cousin to the Sloppy Joe)served on warm hamburger buns with mozzarella cheese and baked tator tots.

How to make them:
2 lbs ground beef browned on the stove
2 T Homemade Gourmet Garlic Basil Seasoning
3 cups prepared Homemade Gourmet Spaghetti Sauce

Combine it all in the crock. Cook on low 6-8 hrs.

Wednesday- Crockpot Chimichangas with Puerto Rican Rice. I will likely add some of the leftover pinto beans I have from Saturday night to some of the changas??? Sounds like a plan… (really excited about this one!)

Thursday- Beef Stroganoff in the crockpot. Served over rice or egg noodles. This is in the freezer from my Homemade Gourmet meal class preassembled in a ziplock bag. I just have to thaw and throw it in the crockpot.

Friday- Leftover Buffet

Saturday- Eating out as long as there are no sickly children.

If you have any recipes to share I am totally on the look out. Cheap, easy and crockpotable is always a plus. Email me the recipe! (crystalmcwhirter_1977@yahoo.com )