Tag Archives: menu

Menu for the week of October 30, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Sausage on a roll
Dinner: Lobster Tails

Monday
Breakfast: Homemade egg McMuffin
Lunch: Grilled veggies on pita
Dinner:  Pork fajitas

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Pork stir fry
Dinner: Fish with sauteed spinach

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cheese quesadilla
Lunch: Ravioli
Dinner: Baked chicken

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Mushroom soup
Dinner: Angel hair pasta with grilled shrimp

Friday
Breakfast: Breakfast kolaches
Lunch: Tuna salad sandwiches
Dinner: Baked salmon

Saturday
Breakfast: Breakfast out since we’ll be hitting garage sales this week
Lunch: Orzo Salad
Dinner:  Rib eye steak

We’re having a special treat this week. A grocery store near us had a grand opening. One of the things on sale were lobster tails. We haven’t had lobster in years, so I’m looking forward to it tonight.

I’ve decided to increase our fish consumption to twice a week. Fish is a little inconvenient to get where we live. We can get salmon and trout, but few other fishes.

Not long ago there was a study that says you can’t even trust grocery stores to sell you a specific type of fish. Once they’re filleted you can’t always tell what kind of fish it was without a DNA test. That’s why I prefer to buy the whole fish.

There’s a Korean grocery store about an hour away with a vast fish variety that are sold whole. I was thinking we might make a pilgrimage every couple of months and stock up on fish.

I like pan-fried and baked fish, but I’m not keen on breaded, deep fried fish. How do you like to eat your fish? Do you eat fish often?

Menu for the week of October 23, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Eggrolls
Dinner: Smoked beef ribs with homemade coleslaw and mashed taters

Monday
Breakfast: Toasted bagels
Lunch: Lunch out
Dinner: Meatball sandwiches

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch: Leftover ribs
Dinner: Fish and wild rice

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Corned beef hash with eggs
Lunch: Barley salad: Jenny Schwartz gave me the idea from her post.
Dinner: Fried rabbit

Thursday
Breakfast: French toast
Lunch: Barley soup
Dinner: Shrimp stir fry

Friday
Breakfast: Breakfast burritos
Lunch: Antipasti: I haven’t made this in ages. It will be nice to make a little cold spread.
Dinner: Nacho plate (We didn’t have it last time due to a scheduling conflict.)

Saturday
Breakfast: Breakfast out since we’ll be hitting garage sales this week
Lunch: Salad
Dinner:  Lasagna

I’m hoping we’ll be able to go to the Dallas Arboretum this week. It’s the last week before our membership expires.

It all depends on Goodwill. I’m waiting for them to call me back. I’ve contacted several charities but not a single one wants to drive out to our location because they say it’s too far. Goodwill is our last hope.

You would think donating a lot of furniture and household items would be enough incentive, but no. I guess that proves we live in the middle of nowhere.

Menu for the week of October 16, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Chicken sandwiches
Dinner: Salmon

Monday
Breakfast: Skipping breakfast
Lunch: Lunch out
Dinner: Pot roast

Tuesday
Breakfast: Toasted bagels
Lunch: Fair food! Hopefully, we’ll make it this time.
Dinner: Potluck with whatever’s in the fridge

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Spicy ground beef scrambled with eggs
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: Leftover pot roast sandwiches

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Soup
Dinner: Skillet lasagna with bow tie pasta

Friday
Breakfast: Homemade egg McMuffin
Lunch: Last of the pot roast
Dinner: Nacho plate

Saturday
Breakfast: Breakfast out since we’ll be hitting garage sales this week
Lunch: Corn dogs
Dinner:  Pork chops

We didn’t make it to the Fair last Thursday. The weatherman predicted rain, but it hardly sprinkled. I’m a little hesitant to go to the fair. My knees have been killing me of late, and the fair requires a lot of walking.

I’m hoping if I take it easy for the next couple of days it’ll give my joints some time to recuperate. I’ve been up and down ladders, cleaning every nook and cranny, and weeding gardens, but I see a little bit of respite in my future.

Menu for the week of August 21, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: French toast
Lunch: Bean soup
Dinner: Taco night (We missed last week’s taco night due to work.)

Monday
Breakfast: Bagel with shmear
Lunch: Tuna fish sandwiches
Dinner: Pork chops

Tuesday
Breakfast: Homemade egg mcmuffin
Lunch: Bean soup leftovers
Dinner:  Baked chicken thighs

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cheese quesadillas
Lunch: Hummus with pita chips
Dinner:  Pork stir fry

Thursday
Breakfast: Breakfast burritos
Lunch: Leftover chicken
Dinner:  Mongolian beef

Friday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Pasta salad
Dinner: Fajitas

Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Pasta salad leftovers
Dinner: Mongolian beef leftovers

I’m getting ready to paint my ceilings. Michelangelo I’m not. I’m not looking forward to that inevitable crick in my neck, but the ceilings have to get done.

We’re prepping the kitchen for the new cabinet refacing too. For some reason the original kitchen design has a wine rack in one opening and a large drawer underneath it. It’s ridiculously inefficient. I talked to the consultant and he said they can move the drawer to the top if Greg removes the wine rack. They’re not supposed to do any interior work, but he said he can get the installers to relocate the drawer for no extra charge.

I had one major setback. The sunflower heads which we painstakingly cut down and dried were stolen the other night. I had them drying on my screened back porch. Something ate through the screens to get to the seeds. Sometimes I can’t win for trying.

How’s the weather by you? Any plans for the fall?

Menu for the week of August 14, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes, a late breakfast since it plans to rain all day
Lunch: Skipping lunch
Dinner: Roast turkey (It’s a small bird.)

Monday
Breakfast: Breakfast burrito
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner: Sausage and peppers with rice

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch:  Tabouli
Dinner:  Turkey leftovers

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Bagels with schmear
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches
Dinner:  Red beans and rice

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Turkey salad sandwiches (I’ll be freezing whatever meat is left and saving some for the dogs.)
Dinner:  Cheeseburgers

Friday
Breakfast: Cheese omelette
Lunch:  BLT
Dinner: Fried trout

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Soup and salad
Dinner: Taco night

Our heat wave is on hiatus. There’s a good chance of rain every day for the next 10 days. I’m not complaining. It’ll still be in the mid 90s but that’s better than the 109 we had last Friday.

The constant chance of rain means most of my work will be indoors. On my to-do list is to finish refinishing a dvd cabinet we bought at a garage sale. I also want to repaint the ceilings in the main living areas of the house before the cabinet refinishers come in.

There are other jobs on my list, but those two have priority.

Yesterday, I spent HOURS doing one tedious task I had put off for a long time. I cleaned out my email boxes. I deleted more than 25,000 emails. The last time I cleaned them out that thoroughly was 4 years ago.

It made me sad and sometimes angry. Some of the people who had emailed me over the years had stopped corresponding with me all together. I have no idea why. I had even gone so far as to try to reconnect, but I never got a response.

Others (mostly authors) were hugely popular on social media and now I never hear about them. Did they switch careers? Burn out? Die?

A couple of people did die and that made me relive the fateful days I learned of their deaths.

There was one troubling trend in the deleted emails. I had a lot of people asking favors–sometimes big favors. I love being able to help when I can, but many of these people were nearly strangers. I have a hard time asking for favors, and here was a whole passel of strangers more or less demanding my time or my artwork. Maybe I look like a patsy for a sad story.

There were good memories in those emails too, but they seemed overshadowed by the many people who contacted me to get something for nothing. It’s a sad commentary.

Have you ever cleaned out your email box of old emails? Are there people on that list that no longer talk to you?

Menu for the week of August 7, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Homemade egg mcmuffins
Lunch: Tabouli with pita wedges
Dinner: Ribeye steak with baked potato and salad

Monday
Breakfast: Bagel with schmear
Lunch: Sushi
Dinner: Pork fajitas

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover steak with egg
Lunch:  Corndogs (something quick because contractors are expected)
Dinner:  Pasta with pesto

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Breakfast burrito
Lunch: Grilled veggie pita pockets
Dinner:  Shrimp stir fry with fried rice

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Salad
Dinner:  Smoked chicken

Friday
Breakfast: Cheese omelette
Lunch:  Potluck (I expect leftovers from various days so we’ll eat whatever’s left in the fridge.)
Dinner: Burgers

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Bean soup (frozen leftovers)
Dinner:  Smoked chicken quesadillas

It’s hot, people! Really hot! This past week has hit 104 nearly everyday. Right now we’re building a hay barn, but we can only work until 11am at the latest. After that we lose the shade and it’s too miserable to work.

This means we have to get up before dawn to feed animals and ourselves. Since I know we’ll be spending all morning in the heat I’ve been trying to only make light breakfasts. Much as I’d love to have pancakes, that’s too heavy a meal if we have to go right out.

The new schedule has been a boon to (re)discovering bagels and schmears. If you have an Einstein Bagel near you, you already know what a schmear is. I’ve been experimenting with different schmears. I’ve tried salmon, veggie, and strawberry schmears.

The other big news is that we’re about to spend a ginormous amount of money on a facelift for my existing kitchen cabinets. I had three choices: 1. Paint the cabinets and let them wear away again. 2. Beg Greg to build me new cabinets. 3. Spend big $$$$ on cabinet refacing.

I wore that poor consultant to the bone with questions, then made him come back a second time because I refused to make a decision until we’ve had a chance to discuss it at length. The estimate was way more than I was willing to spend, but I had to consider two things.

Painting is a cheap fix but it looks cheap too. Those cabinets have been repainted many times.

Or let Greg build me new cabinets. The plain truth is I have him scheduled for many other projects like new fencing, the water well he’s yet to dig, and a back patio I may never see in my lifetime.

Even though the kitchen remodel will be expensive I think it’ll be a good investment in the long run, especially when it comes time to sell. I need to refinish the floor too, but we’ll do that ourselves.

This is the fourth kitchen we’ve remodeled (five if you count my mother’s kitchen), but this is the first time we’ve ever hired outsiders to do the work for us. That proves we’re getting old now. LOL!

Have you ever done any remodeling? What was the worst part of it? For me it was how messy my house is until the work is done. It’s never fast enough.

Menu for the week of July 31, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Bagels with made-from scratch cream cheese schmear. I’m doing one with salmon, and another with sun dried tomato.
Lunch: Egg rolls
Dinner: BBQ Ribs with tomatoes and okra

Monday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs mixed with spicy ground meat
Lunch: Crab salad
Dinner: Meatball hoagies (enough for two meals)

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bagels with schmears
Lunch:  Leftover rib meat in a sandwich
Dinner: Shrimp curry

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Spinach omelette
Lunch: BLT
Dinner:  Baked chicken thighs

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Salad
Dinner:  Burgers

Friday
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch:  Macaroni and cheese
Dinner: Leftover meatball hoagies with homemade coleslaw

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Sushi
Dinner:  Taco night
We’ve had a busy week of contractors, and people coming to the house to look at the antique sideboards I have for sale. I’m uncomfortable with strangers in my house. In this day and age, you never know who to trust anymore.

I really need to put an ad on Craigslist for the chicks. I should’ve done it last week but we’ve had so much running around to do.

The contractor today should give me a price on refacing my old cabinets. I’m debating whether to strip and repaint the old ones or get new doors and facing. It all depends on the quote. Greg gave me a limit on how much we could afford. If it goes above that I’ll have to refinish them myself. That’ll be a big job no matter who does it.

I still haven’t gotten Nana to the vet for her teeth cleaning. They canceled on me last week because their technician was going to be out, so now it’ll be this week. They only do the procedure in the afternoons, so poor Nana gets no food or water all day. She will not be happy. Me neither.

Have you ever had cabinets replaced or refinished? Is it as expensive as it looks? How do you feel about strangers in your house?

Menu for the week of July 10, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch:  Deli meat sandwiches
Dinner: Pasta pesto with garlic bread

Monday
Breakfast: Cheese quesadillas
Lunch: Antipasti with crackers
Dinner: Enchiladas

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch:  BLTs
Dinner: Pan-fried rabbit

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Breakfast burritos
Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Dinner:  Baked chicken with spaghetti squash

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Eggrolls
Dinner:  Shrimp with orzo and spinach

Friday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs
Lunch:  Polish sausage
Dinner: Nacho plate

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Leftover nacho plate
Dinner:  Noodle bowl (My world-traveling friends brought me back a package of authentic Japanese noodles so I’m going to attempt the recipe pictured on the package.)

This time of year is always rough on me. I have to get up extra early to take care of the outside chores, then we rush indoors when Crematoria heats up.

My garden has been devastated by deer, rabbits, and raccoons. Every day I find more evidence of their feasting. There’s not much left to save because of the heat, but I think we’ll have to consider putting up a perimeter fence to keep out some of the wildlife.

The deer has been the boldest. I think it’s a young male. He doesn’t even have the decency to flee when he sees me anymore. If I didn’t know any better I’d swear he was sticking his tongue out at me.

Menu for the week of June 26, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Corned beef hash and eggs
Lunch:  Roast beef sandwiches on croissants
Dinner: Cheeseburgers with all the trimmings

Monday
Breakfast: Cheese quesadilla
Lunch: Roast beef sandwiches
Dinner: Taco night

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch:  Soup and salad
Dinner: Pasta with pesto

Wednesday
Breakfast: Steak and eggs (I have a little leftover steak in the freezer.)
Lunch: Grilled vegetable pita pockets
Dinner:  Sausage and peppers casserole (premade freezer meal)

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Soup and salad
Dinner:  Chicken with okra and tomatoes

Friday
Breakfast: Egg sandwich
Lunch:  Corndogs
Dinner: Salmon with asparagus

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Pastrami sandwiches
Dinner: Pizza

Still scorching hot, though Arizona still has us beat. This week it’s mostly salads and sandwiches. I’m also including a night of pasta with pesto.

I have a confession to make about pesto. Up until recently, I used to make pasta with jarred pesto. A few weeks ago I made it fresh with my own basil. Oh. My. Goodness. What was I thinking using the stuff in the jar?

Pesto made with fresh basil and garlic is above and beyond the jar. I’m sorry now I didn’t plant more basil pots, but I will now.

I didn’t have pine nuts. Greg griped about it, but I couldn’t see spending that much money on nuts. Costco has them cheaper but you have to buy the humongo-sized bag.

Do you make fresh pesto? Must you use pine nuts for authentic flavor? I thought it was delicious without it.

Menu for the week of June 19, 2016

Sunday: Happy Father’s Day!
Breakfast: Pancakes from scratch (recipe) We’ll have blueberry pancakes today since I’ve been picking blueberries all week.
Lunch:  Pastrami sandwiches
Dinner: Steak fajitas. This was actually Saturday’s planned meal, but we weren’t hungry enough for dinner, so I saved the marinated fajita meat for Sunday night.

Monday
Breakfast: Steak and eggs
Lunch: Soup and sandwich
Dinner: Burgers

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch: BLT
Dinner: Beef stir fry

Wednesday
Breakfast: Orange danish
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner:  Baked chicken with eggplant side dish

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover pasta salad
Dinner:  Steak salad

Friday
Breakfast: Breakfast burritos
Lunch:  Eggrolls
Dinner: Meatloaf

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Potluck. Whatever is still in the fridge will be for lunch.
Dinner: Meatloaf leftovers

Yellow squash, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are ready for harvest. I’ve been adding them to the menu wherever I can.

Saturday, I made a big batch of fresh salsa. We snacked on chips and salsa and weren’t hungry enough for dinner, which was fine by us. It was a treat to savor homemade salsa.

If you have a reason to celebrate, I hope you have a nice Father’s Day. As my gift to Greg, I won’t make him work too hard. 🙂  Of course, working hard is a matter of perspective.

Are you planning any special meals today?

Menu for the week of June 12, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes from scratch (recipe)
Lunch:  Tabbouleh  I just follow the recipe from the back of the box of bulgur wheat. It’s very refreshing on hot days.
Dinner: Steak with roasted potatoes

Monday
Breakfast: Eggs with leftover steak
Lunch:  Nibble plate made of homemade beef jerky and cheese
Dinner: Hot wings and potato salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch: Olive tapenade sandwiches (I’m using this recipe.)
Dinner: Roast rabbit with potatoes

Wednesday
Breakfast: Bacon quesadilla. Warm a flour or corn tortilla in a pan, melting a piece of Edam cheese inside. Add one bacon strip to each tortilla, then get out of the way because Greg devours these.
Lunch: Soup and salad
Dinner:  Sausage and pepper hero sandwiches

Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Muffuleta  Since I know I’m going to have leftover olive salad from Tuesday, I’ll make muffuletas and be a hero to Greg.
Dinner: Shrimp with orzo and tomatoes

Friday
Breakfast: Cheese omelette
Lunch:  Cold deli sandwiches
Dinner: Pasta salad

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch: Hot dogs
Dinner: Beef fajitas with fresh salsa

We cannot catch a break with this weather. At this rate I might not have my garage sale until October. There’s a slim chance we might be dry next weekend. If that happens, I’ll open the doors and have my sale. I just want to make sure both Friday and Saturday are dry. I would’ve liked cooler weather, but that ship has sailed.

We’re getting more squash now and the okra is beginning to bloom. I did something different with the green bean crop. I didn’t plant much and now I wish I had. This year, I put the green beans in the dehydrator. They were delicious!  I’ve got a dehydrating post coming up so I’ll show you the steps I took. It’s been one of my favorite ways to preserve food.

It’s hot by us, but remarkably we’re still getting rain, which is good for the garden. All the cooler vegetables are spent. Only hot weather veggies will thrive now.

How is it by you?

Menu for the week of June 5, 2016

Sunday
Breakfast: Pigs in a blanket
Lunch:  Vegetarian pita pockets. Greg will complain, but they’re really good, and I have lots of veggies to use up.
Dinner:  7-Layer Dip (I’ll post the recipe on Monday.)

Monday
Breakfast:  Pancakes from scratch (recipe)
Lunch:  Leftover 7-Layer Dip. It works great as quesadilla filling!
Dinner:  Mongolian Beef (Greg asked for this so I’m obliging him.) I’m freezing the leftovers for next time so all I’ll have to do is pull out a pre-made dish.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch:  Chicken salad sandwiches
Dinner:  Burgers

Wednesday
Breakfast: Leftover pancakes
Lunch: Grilled cheese
Dinner:  Pesto and pasta

Thursday
Breakfast: Breakfast burritos
Lunch: Soup with tomato salad
Dinner:  Enchiladas

Friday
Breakfast:  Breakfast burritos
Lunch:  Salad
Dinner:  Salmon with orzo

Saturday
Breakfast:  Breakfast out (We almost always have breakfast out if we’re hunting garage sales.)
Lunch:  Taco salad
Dinner: Pizza night

This week the weather will be dry (finally), but hot and muggy, so I’ll be relying more on sandwiches and meals that won’t keep me chained to a stove. Tomatoes are ripening, as are the peppers, so I suspect there’ll be quite a few marinated tomato salads and some fresh salsa.

A good friend let me dig into her wild coriander and I brought back a bunch to grow wild in a raised bed that gets a little shade. So far it’s looking great, though mostly hidden by the huge squash plants overwhelming the bed. I’m hoping it’ll continue to reseed itself and grow wild throughout the year. In the past, my coriander has failed terribly due to the heat. Fingers crossed!

I’ve got a lot of basil to harvest so it’s also time to make some pesto. Nothing beats fresh pesto. The jarred stuff pales by comparison.

Tomorrow I’ll post my recipe for 7 Layer Dip. It’s not really my recipe, but it’s a favorite here when the weather gets hot.

What do you like to eat when the weather is warm and muggy?