Category Archives: menu plan Monday

Parsley is native to the Mediterranean

10/16/2018 Nichole

Pete had a three-day weekend, and while he was the only family member that did it is still making today feel like Monday for me. And it was a pretty busy weekend, complete with the annual chili cook-off at church (I placed third), a fly-fishing trip for Rockford (he dropped his phone and himself in the river), and auditions for a performance of “A Christmas Carol” for the children (no word on whether or not they got parts).

This week is going to be busy but not any more so than our normal weeks. Here’s what we’ll be eating, sort of.

Tuesday: German lentils and sausages: I’m not sure what makes this recipe from Five Heart Home a German dish — the sausages, I guess? Is parsley German? — but I’ve been on a lentil kick lately and this will be 95 percent done when we get home from soccer practice so its nationality nomenclature is really a secondary concern. I started this in the CrockPot this morning, and the house currently smells like a garlic factory.

Wednesday: DIY: It’s one of those Everyone Is Everywhere At Every Hour of the Day days. There’s food in the kitchen, happily, and all members of the family know how to access it.

Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs: Pete’s going to be assisting on this one.

Friday: Something Poppy doesn’t like: Poppy will be dining with her friends at a homeschool dance (yes! they exist! and not in the family basement, “Good Luck Charlie”!), so we’ll be having something she especially doesn’t like but the rest of us do. Possibly Chipotle.

According to Britannica.com, our pal parsley is native to the Mediterranean. Our Herb Garden has a lot of information about parsley in folk lore, including that the Ancient Greeks associated it with death! I’m so glad to have learned that just after adding a tablespoon of it to tonight’s meal!

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.

menu plan Monday

Of slow cookers and sandwiches

10/08/2018 Nichole

Good morning, pals!

This weekend found the children very busy and Rockford and I sort of just trailing around after them. Poppy spent most of Saturday volunteering at a fundraiser for a friend’s non-profit group, and Pete had a friend over most of the day yesterday. We also went to a food truck festival on Saturday, where I’d planned to gorge on lobster rolls. But the lobster roll truck wasn’t there, so I had a pretty delicious panini instead.

On our menu this week you’ll find neither lobster nor panini, but you will find me putting things in the slow cooker.

Monday: Taco salad: We had tacos yesterday for dinner and I far overestimated how many tacos Pete and his visiting friend would consume. So it’s Taco Redux: The Reckoning this evening.

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner

Wednesday: Sandwiches: Or maybe something else. We’ll see.

Thursday: Sloppy Joes: I’ve made Rachael Ray’s Super Sloppy Joes a million times, but I’ve never tried to put them in the Crockpot. That all changes this week, my friends.

Friday: Popcorn?: Maybe we’ll stay home. Maybe we’ll go to the movies. We’re leaves on the wind.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.

baking, menu plan Monday, recipes

Of course I’m calling them David S Pumpkins muffins. Any questions?

10/01/2018 Nichole

It is decorative gourd season, mighty friendlies, and I got my October off to a properly spooky start by walking straight into a dangling spider in the garage this morning. Later this evening Rockford will be figuring out where we put all of the Halloween decor when we moved in some 10 months ago, and then we will commence with the spookyfication of hearth and home.

In further autumnal news, today I made some pumpkin muffins with a lot of chocolate chips and every fall-evoking spice in the cabinet. They were delicious, and they tasted like break-apart chocolate oranges because I also put an orange’s worth of zest in them.

The children, naturally, did not care for them.

David S Pumpkins Muffins
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
zest of one orange
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pop paper liners into a muffin pan.

Mix sugar, maple syrup, oil, eggs, pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, zest and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20.

And here, friends, is what we’ll be having for dinner this week.

Monday: Chili: I made chili for a church thing yesterday, and I far overestimated how much I’d need. So the “spare chili,” as Pete calls it, will be appearing on our table this evening.

Tuesday: Meatball soup: I used to make Rachael Ray recipes all the time, and then I just stopped for no particular reason. Rachael fatigue, I guess. But lately I’ve been very enthusiastic about soup and meatballs — because I am about to turn 40 and that’s what happens, kids — and when I googled “meatball soup” this popped up.

Wednesday: KFC?: I don’t know. These busy Wednesday nights are wearing on me.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: Maybe I’ll let the kids make their own eggs this week.

Friday: Tacos: Poppy is volunteering at a fundraiser for a friend’s non-profit, but the rest of us will be at home eating tacos.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.