We missed week 9.  Between travel, a funeral, oral surgery, a sick baby, and a birthday party, the meal plan just never even got made.  One less thing to have to throw out though!

So, on to week 10.

Sunday: Today is Purim, where nothing is as it seems.  A day of costumes, drinking, revelry, games, and Breakfast for Dinner!  Tonight we will have pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fruit.

Monday: I have to drive my husband to and from work today, so either we’ll have dinner with my parents, or we’ll pick up takeout.

Tuesday: Cream of Krab soup

Wednesday: Cod in a potato chip crust, broccoli, carrots, and squash

Thursday: Chili and cornbread

Shabbat: Challah, chicken soup with matzah balls, roast, veggies, potatoes, and wine

Saturday: Spaghetti with meatballs, salad, and garlic bread

1 lb split peas, rinsed
1 smoked turkey drumstick
3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 cup baby carrots, chopped
3 very small onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp thyme
salt & pepper
1 qt chicken stock
water

Layer everything into a slow cooker. Add enough water to make sure that everything is covered with liquid. This will vary depending on the size of your cooker, and the size of the turkey leg you use.

Cook on low 8-10 hours.

I’m beginning to think that I should just not make a plan for Saturday night. Somehow, it always seems to get thrown by the wayside. Last night, instead of having the planned tacos, we picked up fried chicken and took it over to my folks house. So, tacos need to get moved to a night this week.

Also complicating this weeks plans, Friday is my mom’s birthday, Shabbat, and my father is having major back surgery that day. How do I make a Shabbat meal, that is birthday celebratory too, and that can be eaten at whatever time my mom and I get back to the house from the hospital? Do I ask my husband – who will be home with the kids that day so I can be at the hospital, to make Challah and the rest of dinner? Ack!

Oh, and my inlaws are coming in this weekend too. I love them and they are coming to help, but it makes meal planning even more “interesting”.

I guess the jist of all this prefacing this week is that the plan for this week will probably get thrown out completely due to all the complications, but here goes anyway.

Sunday: Pizza (probably will just pick one up at Costco today)

Monday: Tacos, beans, and rice

Tuesday: Dinner with my folks, which will probably actually be here, but I don’t know what yet.

Wednesday: Baked halibut, rice, veggies

Thursday: Split pea soup (week 3 split pea soup night wound up being 11 bean soup instead), homemade bread

Friday: Challah, salad, and lasagna

Saturday: Gumbo

Sunday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad

Monday: Beef stew with Guiness, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and homemade bread (transferred over from Saturday night of week 2)

Tuesday: Dinner with my folks, which means I don’t have to cook!

Wednesday: Oven fried chicken, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes

Thursday: Split pea soup (DH’s favorite, and I’ve never made it – so if you have a great recipe, send it over. Oh, and I’ll be using a smoked turkey leg instead of a ham bone.)

Friday (Shabbat): Homemade challah, duck confit, salad, dessert, and all I’m responsible for is the Challah because this week Shabbat dinner is at my folks house.

Saturday: tacos, beans, and rice

Well, we did it! We managed to stick to the meal plan for the week with only one change! And that is today, because I forgot to take the chicken out last night to defrost.

So, for the coming week, here’s the plan:

Sunday: Roasted chicken, pasta, and veggies (held over from Saturday due to memory error)

Monday: Chili and cornbread

Tuesday: Dinner at my folks. (who knows?)

Wednesday: Fish (what type depends on what is on sale), rice, steamed veggies

Thursday: Butternut squash soup, homemade bread

Friday: Shabbat dinner – chicken soup w matza balls, Standing rib roast, roasted veggies , potatoes, challah, and a dessert of some sort.

Saturday: Beef stew with carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and Guinness.

Okay, trying something new here. I’m planning out meals for the next week in advance. Okay, to be truthful, I’m planning out dinners only.

Hopefully this way I can make a shopping list, do my shopping, and be done with it. My goal is that this is one of my New Years Resolutions, and I’m starting it a bit early in the hopes that will make it more likely to stick.

As always, this is flexible. if my husband suggests we go out to dinner one night instead, or if I don’t feel like making what is scheduled, I reserve all rights to alter, modify, change, or entirely throw out the plan as needs warrant.

Sunday: Lasagna, salad, garlic bread, cheesecake (DH plans to make the cheesecake)

Monday: Potato Ale soup, homemade bread

Tuesday: Dinner at my folks. (who knows?)

Wednesday: I eat at Pepe’s for SnB, kids and DH get mac n’ cheese.

Thursday: Shabu Shabu in honor of New Years Eve

Friday: Indian Food at Gaylord’s with the SnB gals. DH and the kids get to fend for themselves (they’ll probably have leftover lasagna)

Saturday: Roasted chicken, pasta, and veggies

edit: 20 minutes in, and we’ve already made a change.

I wish I had taken pictures, but this is all gone. We devoured it. It was one of the best soups I’ve ever made (not counting my world famous gumbo of course)

Amazing Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl AP flour
1 very large sweet yellow onion
4 parsnips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb broccoli
1 carton chicken stock
3 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream (yes, the good stuff!)
4 oz sharp aged cheddar cheese
1 Tbl Lousiana hot sauce
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Rough chop the onion and parsnips, and saute with the garlic and a sprinkle of salt in the olive oil, in a large dutch oven or soup pot until the onion is translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir constantly until you can’t see the flour anymore. Pour the stock and water over the veggies and bring to a boil. The parsnips should be slightly firm to a fork, but not rock hard. Clean and trim the broccoli into reasonable size pieces and toss in the pot. Bring back to a boil then turn the heat down to the lowest possible simmer until everything is cooked tender.

Hit it with a stick blender or blend in 4 portions in your blender until it is fairly smooth. Add the cream, simmering on lowest possible heat all the time. Slice the cheese super thin, and put in a bit at a time, stirring until you can’t see any more cheese before adding the next bit.

Taste.

Add hot sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper as desired. Continue to let it simmer until you are ready to eat. Don’t let it come back to a boil though! It will break!

Serve with good bread.

I wish I had taken a photo, this was so delicious and beautiful, but we ate it all instead

1/2 box whole wheat spaghetti

1/2 cup diced bell pepper

1/2 an onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chunked broccoli

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1 can light tuna

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt and pepper

Boil the pasta according to directions.  While the water is coming to a boil, prep all the veggies.  Saute them in the oil.  Transfer the pasta to the cooked veggies in the saute pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the lemon juice.  Toss to combine.

Serve.

Yummy, colorful, tasty, and 20 minutes total cook time, including boiling the water for the pasta!

1 small splash veggie oil
1 large or 1/2 jumbo yellow onion, chunked
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger*
1 tsp red pepper flakes*
2 cups water
1/2 carton chicken stock
2 Tbl soy sauce*
1 Tbl sesame oil*
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
2 servings cellophane noodles
12 shrimp
1 fillet orange roughy, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 head bok choy, cut into bite size pieces

You can substitute whatever seafood you have handy, I happened to have shrimp and orange roughy in my freezer

In your favorite soup pot, sautee the onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in the splash of oil for a few minutes until the onion turns clear.  Add two cups of water and stir to get up all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.  Add the chicken stock, soy sauce and sesame oil. Cover and simmer 10-20 minutes.

Add the mushrooms to the pot, cover again.

Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.

Add the seafood and bok choy to the soup.

Place some of the noodles into each bowl, and ladle the soup over the top.

This was excellent!

This gave us 4 large bowls, the last of which Jason will take to work with him for lunch tomorrow.

* These amounts are not exact.  Use your own best judgment and season to taste.

If I do say so myself, we threw one heck of a party. I think everyone had a great time, at least judging by the fact that no-one wanted to leave.

We all ate, way way way too much. There was drinking, but no drunkards. And the pool, playhouse, and bubble machine were adored by all the munchkins.

I hope your 4th was as fantastic as ours was.

Maybe I’ll even post some pictures later, after Jason wakes up.