LAST WEEK – Menu 1 – week of Jan. 2 2011 – here’s the recap and notes:
Sunday Roast: Chicken w/ Emmental cheese, fanned taters, steamed broccoli – Everything turned out just lovely. Did not note dessert in the original menu – decided, with such a rich meal, on something simple so had pears, cheeses. and port… perfect!
Monday: (chiropractor) Cajun Maple cod on spinach – this turned out quite good but the cajun seasoning was ridiculously salty (I actually threw it out even though I had Just bought it). I will work on my own “cajun” seasoning and will definitely do this recipe again.
Tuesday: Italian Sausage Cacciatore w/ pasta – I love this dish – it is very warm, comforting and homey. Added a healthy portion of Boordy merlot during the simmering process… my Heart seems to also like this dish and gave rave reviews.
Wednesday: (chiropractor) Jacket potatoes w/ chili – Not at all complicated but very satisfying. It was a cold evening so this was perfect. A couple pints of hard cider (I don’t drink beer because of the gluten issues) and comfort food with some quality time with my Heart made up for what was not a good day.
Thursday: Clay Cooker Baked chicken, stuffing, gravy, carrots – This is another meal I really enjoy. I experimented, fully understanding that it might not turn out and we might have to go out!, and used the old clay cooker that I’ve had for years and also haven’t used in years. Dinner cooked up quite fast (45 minutes) and was delicious. Definitely plan to come up with more uses for the clay cooker.
Friday: (skiing) Burrito Experiment #6 – I ended up sitting with my kids at Buffalo Wild Wings for a bit and nibbled on some of their food (I will never eat boneless wings again… they are mostly just batter, which I shouldn’t eat) so I had an upset stomach and wasn’t hungry later when I made the burritos. But, that said, the ground turkey, potatoes, onions, peppers mixture cooked up quite nicely and my Heart had 2 burritos (admittedly – he had skied for several hours and had nothing but a couple granola bars that day) and thought the experiment was a success.
Menu 2 – Week of Jan 9, 2011
Sunday Roast: Roast beef, roasted veggies & taters, gravy, Yorkshires – Dessert: Ma Sherry Amore – We are celebrating Christmas 2010 one last time now that my son’s girlfriend, Shannon, is back from her home in Alabama. This means a nice traditional Sunday Roast with roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, my daughter’s favorite and totally my Heart’s hard work. We decided that we won’t know what type of roast until we see what looks good in the store. For dessert – another favorite that Shannon hasn’t had yet.
Monday: (chiropractor) Fish Enchiladas using Swai – Swai is on sale, I’ve never heard of it but looking it up I figure… what the heck. My original plan was to make Burrito experiment #7 but my Heart suggested
enchiladas so I’m going with it. We’ll see how it turns out.
Tuesday: Beef Stew – The weather forecast is calling for major snow on Tuesday so stew seems like an appropriate menu item and, if I have it planned and we are, in fact, stuck at home… it will be lovely warm comfort food! I also realized I have never made stew for my Heart. Beef chuck is on sale as a buy one get one free so I plan to get one for the stew and put the other one in the freezer for a future meal.
Wednesday: Stir-fried Pork with broccoli on rice – Pork loin is on sale for a very good price so I think I’ll get one and divide it into two, or possibly three meals. This is entirely an experiment, i.e. no recipe… I’m really excited by the possibilities.
Thursday: Out – Happy 3rd Anniversary (a day early) to my Heart – don’t know where we’re going yet but I’ll post pictures!
Friday: (skiing) Scallops on rice – The 14th is actually our anniversary but because of skiing I know that we won’t be going out, which is why we are going out on Thursday. But I certainly can’t NOT have a special dinner on the actual day… and this is one of my Heart’s favorite dinners.
Saturday: (skiing) Out