Meal Plan Monday #361

Overall, our tiny Thanksgiving turned out well, if a little lonelier than I would have liked. Since Darren and I took/had the whole week off, we did some fun things, and I did a little of our Thanksgiving prep each day. I had already prepared the cornbread dressing a few weeks ago when I made a really big batch and froze half of it, so I just took it out of the freezer to thaw on Monday, and I also made my cranberry sauce. On Tuesday, I baked the sweet potatoes. Darren and I picked up lunch and had a picnic at a local park. It was a really nice, sunny day, and we were the only people in the park. On Wednesday, I dry brined the turkey legs and wings, and I peeled and mashed the sweet potatoes to prepare the casserole. On Thanksgiving day, I relaxed until late morning, and then prepared the basting butter for the turkey and the topping for the sweet potato casserole. We had a late lunch around 1:30 with no rush or stress because everything was done piecemeal. Our turkey legs and wings turned out really well, along with everything else, but we still had far too much food! After we enjoyed Thanksgiving #2 on Friday, we pulled the rest of the turkey and froze it for using later in soup or potpie or something, and I made 12 cups of turkey stock in my pressure cooker with the bones, scraps, and some chunks of veggies. I'm going to use some to make the curry on Sunday, and I'll freeze the rest. I used the leftover rolls to make bread pudding, which I haven't done in several years. Darren thought this bread pudding was a hit. I wish I had filmed his reaction - he was so pleased he couldn't stop laughing. Now it's back to the grind for a few weeks until Christmas break.   

Sunday:  Japanese Curry Lentils with Carrots and Potatoes over Rice

Monday:  Antipasto Salad with Cheesy Garlic Bread 

Tuesday:  Tuesday Night Takeout! Joint Pick

Wednesday:  Broiled Sandwiches with Chips and Salad

Thursday:  Seared Tuna Steaks with Avocados, Rice, and Salad

Friday:  Date Night Takeout! Darren's Pick

Saturday:  Breakfast for Supper! 

Meal Plan Monday #360

It's Thanksgiving week! It will be a lonely Thanksgiving this year. It's too risky to travel far, and I wouldn't want to expose anyone since I have been teaching students in person for the past few weeks. We've had a few isolated cases, but I think we're doing fairly well with masks, distancing, and hand washing/sanitizing. 

It'll be a small dinner this year, with just the two of us. I don't think we've ever spent a Thanksgiving with just the two of us. Still, I'm grateful for health amid the pandemic, and I hope for continued health and safety for family, friends, and self. 

We're skipping takeout Tuesday this week, because I get the whole week off for break, and it doesn't make much sense to get takeout, because we won't both be rushing home from work to prepare supper. 

Sunday:  Roasted Vegetables and Salad

Monday:  Dried Lima Beans, Creamed Spinach, and Cornbread 

Tuesday:  Corn and Potato Chowder with Brazilian Cheese Bread and Salad

Wednesday:  Refried Black Bean and Cheese Burritos with Roasted Peppers & Onions topped with Queso Fundido

Thursday:  Thanksgiving! Turkey Legs and Gravy, Cornbread Dressing, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, and Rolls

Friday:  Date Night Takeout! Lib's Pick

Saturday:  Breakfast for Supper! Pancakes and Sausage

Meal Plan Monday #359

The countdown is on for Thanksgiving. Five more school days and then a week off!

We're going way back with some recipes this week. Spinach ricotta pasta was of my first recipes! I wanted to have cast iron seared steaks for Sunday dinner, but we didn't get any steaks in our grocery order.

Sunday: Bacon & Parmesan Crash Potatoes, Roasted Cabbage, and Salad

Monday:  Pinto Beans and Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Tuesday:  Tuesday Night Takeout! Lib's Pick

Wednesday:  Spinach Ricotta Pasta with Salad

Thursday:  Blackened Mahi Mahi with Faux Macque Choux

Friday:  Date Night Takeout! Darren's Pick

Saturday:  Breakfast for Supper! Breakfast Scrambles?

Meal Plan Monday #358

It's cooling off. I suspect we will have a few more days near 80, but the really hot days are gone. I'm glad. I enjoy cooking more when I can stay cool in the kitchen. Also, I'm having better results with online teaching this term, so cooking has felt like less of a chore some nights. I have found a lot of baking recipes that I want to try, too. We'll see how that goes. First up is this chocolate chip snack cake. For some reason, it makes me think of childhood, though I'm not sure if I've ever had it before. I'm ready to try new things and to revisit some of the winter comfort food recipes that we haven't had in months. 

There are still a few items that we used to buy that we have been unable to get. The frozen goat cheese ravioli that I love continues to be unavailable, so I'm subbing in some spinach and cheese tortellini that I already have in the freezer to go in one of our favorite pasta dishes. I am not sponsored, but we have really enjoyed Rana pastas over the past few months. I think they are refrigerated pasta, but I've been doing grocery pickup since March, so I honestly don't know. They might be frozen. Either way, they cook really quickly and taste excellent. We have liked all of the varieties we've tried, so I'd recommend them, if you're a pasta lover.  

Sunday:  Cheese and Spinach Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash, Browned Butter, and Toasted Pepitas

Monday:  Coconut Curry Chickpeas with Jasmine Rice and Salad

Tuesday:  Tuesday Night Takeout! Darren's Pick

Wednesday:  Darren's Fried Rice and Salad

Thursday:  Blackened Mahi Mahi with Avocados, Rice, and Salad

Friday:  Date Night Takeout! Lib's Pick

Saturday:  Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Burritos with Grits

Meal Plan Monday #357

It's November. The temperatures are dropping, and the leaves are changing. It felt like fall earlier when I was outside with the dog.

Sunday:  Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos with Corn and Pepitas and Salad

Monday:  Red Beans and Rice with Cornbread and Salad

Tuesday:  Tuesday Night Takeout! Lib's Pick

Wednesday:  Spicy Miso Pasta and Salad

Thursday:  Mahi Mahi Tacos with Cabbage, Lime, and Avocados

Friday:  Date Night! Darren's Pick

Saturday:  Breakfast for Supper! Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Tacos