In which I give in to my desire for stuffing

Hello friends! I hope you had an excellent weekend. We did a lot of house cleaning, raked our yard and helped Poppy rake the neighbor’s yard and made Trisha Yearwood’s Slow Cooker Pork Loin for Sunday night dinner. It was all-in-all a very nice weekend.

For no particular reason, this week I have crafted a menu plan that involves me not making dinner for the first two days. C’est la vie, say the old folks. Here’s what’ll be on our table this week:

Monday: Out
This probably would’ve been Chipotle night, but I’m currently boycotting Chipotle for charging me something like $2 to add black beans to Pete’s quesadilla. I could’ve bought a whole can of beans for less than that, Chipotle. Anyway, I’m not sure what we’ll have but someone else will be preparing it.

Tuesday: Breakfast For Dinner
Rockford recently marked his 10th year of employment at his workplace, and they honored that by giving him a waffle maker. Actually, they gave him a digital catalog and said “Here, pick something,” and he picked a waffle maker because he loves waffles. And he has been all about waffles since it arrived. So he’s making WaffleDinner on Tuesday.

Wednesday: Baked chicken and stuffing
I’ve been yearning for a bowl of stuffing and gravy recently, and while I know The Annual Celebration of Stuffing is nearly upon us I decided not to wait. But I didn’t want to serve just stuffing for dinner — even though that may be all I eat — so I’m baking some chicken, too.

Thursday: Tacos
We could (and often do) have tacos twice a week every week and be happy. Maybe not healthy, but happy.

Friday: Pizza
I went out of my way last week to find a store that sells Amy’s Vegan Margherita Pizza, and it was legitimately delicious. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten what cheese tastes like. Regardless, I’m having another one this week on pizza night.

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

Sunday Night Dinner with a side of twang

Years ago when we were traveling, we collapsed on our hotel bed and turned on the Food Network, as one does. This was before the current era, when there’s a 100 percent chance of Guy Fieri yelling at you any time you flip to the channel. On this particular evening, we were not taken aback by Guy’s elaborated-spiked coiffure but rather by country music legend Garth Brooks surreptitiously chowing down on a platter of peanut butter balls. His wife — country singer, cookbook author and, we were surprised to learn, television personality — Trisha Yearwood had whipped up a batch for him for Father’s Day and was sharing how they were made with the late-night TV viewers of America.

I believe that was the last time I thought about Trisha Yearwood until yesterday, when I was trying to decide what to have for Sunday Night Dinner with the family and I stumbled upon one of her recipes. It sounded good and, most important, simple, and so I entrusted our Sunday Night Dinner’s main event to country music singer, cookbook author and television personality Trisha Yearwood.

The recipe in question is Yearwood’s Slow Cooker Pork Loin. (If you, like me, are not certain what the difference is between a pork loin and a pork tenderloin, TheKitchn.com has a very helpful guide on that very subject.) Anyway, I doubled the amount of seasoning, and I wish I’d used twice as much again because it could’ve used a little more oomph. It was tender, tasty and plentiful, though, so it’s staying in the Sunday Night Dinner file.

We also had Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice and Arugula Salad, because a farmer gave me a bag of arugula in the parking lot where I was waiting to pick Pete up from school. This kind of thing happens in our town, and I think the world would be a better place if it happened everywhere. I had sweet potatoes on hand and I love wild rice, so I was pretty optimistic when the Googles-That-Be led me to this Pinch of Yum recipe. The salad is tossed with a lemony-garlicky dressing that was bright and lovely. I’ll make this one again.

No one handed me portobello mushroom caps, sadly, but I also made some of those as a main dish for my vegetarian sister-in-law and an extra side for the fungi-lovers among us. I marinated the mushroom caps in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and olive oil for about 15 minutes and then roasted them. They were, I am told, perfectly acceptable.

This was a very nice Sunday Night Dinner. It was simple and filling, and we have plenty left over for lunches for part of the week. Thanks for not leading us astray, Trisha Yearwood.

Five huge properties for sale in the United States

One of my favorite pastimes is looking at real estate on the internet. It’s both a hobby and an addiction. I hurt my shoulder raking leaves today, so I’m going to be phoning it in with this, a list of:

Ginormous Houses You Can Buy For Less Than $200,000 in the United States

Cullman, Alabama


1465 Orchard Drive Northeast looks like it needs all the work, but it’s more than 11,000 square feet and it comes with a pool and an indoor fire pit. What even is that? It used to be “The Larkwood Club.” It’s on 4+ acres and includes 85 parking spaces. This would be an excellent location for an expansive hippie compound.

Mobile, Alabama


1004 Government Street also looks like it needs a bit of work, but it’s a 5,700-square-foot beauty that was built in 1896.

Screven, Georgia


The master bedroom at 319 S. Forks Road looks like it might be bigger than my entire house. The 5,284-square-foot house is on 9 acres and looks like a barn, which is only one thing that would make it an excellent place for you if you’re looking for a horse ranch.

Superior, Wisconsin


I have always wanted to live in a church, and 1831 E. 4th Street is amazing. BRB, moving to Wisconsin.

Dakota, Minnesota


You know what else would make an awesome house? An elementary school! Or maybe it would be creepy. How about you buy 220 Golden Rule Road and let me know. It’s 15,200 square feet and includes a gymnasium, and the Mississippi River is right across the road.