I have been really remiss in posting menus but that is how the summer has been. I worked many 12-14 hour days and so many of the menus just went “south” when it came to planning so I am posting the last three menus to show sorta how it worked out.
Sunday Roasts are about the ONLY menu that works out the way it is planned – mostly because that is our Family Day so we are doing grocery shopping, laundry and spending time with my kids along with Sunday roast
The kids had bought us Tilapia at the local Asian market – it was much cheaper and very fresh (they actually had the fish filleted at the market) so we decided we didn’t need to have beef tacos to extend the meal.
Pineapple was on sale so I actually came up with this dessert idea (instead of my Heart, who is always the dessert creator) – Grilled pineapple topped with vanilla ice cream topped with a brown sugar rum sauce. It turned out exactly as I had planned but next time I will cut up the pineapple – it was hard to cut through.
Monday, sadly, was a memorial service for a co-worker’s sister so dinner was out
Tuesday the plan was: Summer Chicken One-Pot but it turned into Italian chicken with pesto pasta. We have a basil plant that is starting to overtake the apartment (my Heart is afraid it might strangle us in our sleep) so he ran out and got mozzarella & tomatoes and this chicken sounded better with his capresse salad
Wednesday the plan was for Rice & Bean burritos but it was a tremendously long and not great day – I had a craving for something more comforting – the burrito became a bacon, egg, and cheese Burrito Experiment #9
We had some fruit in the fridge from the weekend – add a bottle of Prosecco and the evening definitely made up for the day!
Thursday the plan was for pork & broccoli stir-fry but I worked late so we went out
Sunday Roast August 21 – Chicken was on sale and summer is starting to come to an end so a BBQ Chicken salad seemed like a good plan. My Heart made his wonderful Cookies & Cream dessert for a party on Saturday and he just made an extra one for Sunday Roast.
Monday I finally got to that Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry that was planned for the previous week. That’s how menu-ing can work. If you get the ingredients for a dish but you don’t get to it – it can, depending on the freshness of the ingredients, roll into the next week.
The rest of the week was leading up to Freshmen Move-In on August 25 so I knew that I would be working late (possibly until 10 or 11pm) most nights – I am so lucky because my Heart always had dinner waiting for me when I get home (yes, he is amazing!). The plan for Tuesday night was jacket potatoes but he saw a gluten-free recipe and got creative – Waffle BLTE
The plan for Wednesday was either quesadillas or nachos but my Heart definitely knows my comfort foods – seemed like a day for an English Fry-up… his version
In place of chips (french fries for us Americans), he does corn tortilla strips toasted up in the oven – baked beans, to which he added some sriracha sauce for some heat. Using the bacon that was left from the previous night’s BLTE, he wrapped it around some brie that we had in the fridge and cooked it in the oven – an absolutely amazing combination of flavors (and yes… no one said that this was Healthy – Comfort Food!). All topped with fried eggs. YUM!!!
Thursday we were both at events so no dinner at home.
Sunday Roast Aug 28 – my daughter’s birthday – her dinner of choice, my Etouffee and she left my Heart to his own devices for a surprise dessert: Black Forest Gateau. It was a crazy weekend because we also had Hurricane Irene to contend with but we were very lucky and never lost power.
Monday – we are starting to get back on track now that the residents are in housing and classes are starting. Grilled Salmon with pesto pasta and salad – although the salad became just a simple cucumber salad with balsamic dressing and fresh basil.
Tuesday we were both at events so we ate out but Wednesday I had a meeting until almost 7pm so my Heart did dinner. He reprised the Waffle BLTE but, because we only had two waffles left, he added chicken quesadillas: corn tortillas, chicken, cheese, and pesto, to fill out the meal. YUM
Thursday my Heart was in NYC for an event and I stayed on-campus to attend some of the sporting events in our new Mustang Stadium
Also, you will notice I rarely post Friday or Saturday – more frequently than not, we eat out on those days! Hopefully this post shows how menu-ing can work. If you make a plan, you have the supplies you need and can run from there – sometimes the menu gets waylaid by cravings, timing, meetings, etc. but there are some good meals that can come out of your kitchen!!
