Sunday, July 27, 2008

Menu Plan Monday

Another summer week, another menu plan with seasonal eats. I'm so happy to be cooking again! You'll notice that I'm using the grill a bunch lately--I just can't get enough of that smoky charcoal-fire char flavor. I've also taken to throwing a few chunks of mesquite on for some added yum. Ah, I love summer.

Here's the plan:

Monday
Southwestern Salad with fresh corn, cilantro, and black beans, with Salsa Ranch dressing
Cilantro Lime Rice

Tuesday
Grilled Pizzas:
Margherita (with this week's splurge, fresh mozzarella)
Pepperoni

Wednesday
Roast Beef Sandwiches (from the crock pot--I've got some beef in my freezer to use up before we get our next order. These will either be Italian or BBQ)
Roasted Green Beans
Caprese Salad (to use up the rest of the mozz. and our overabundance of basil in the garden)

Thursday (crowded grill day)
Grilled Chicken Pesto Flatbread Sandwiches (pesto recipe to come, and maybe a flatbread recipe, if all goes well)
Grill-fried Potatoes with fresh dill (done in perforated foil pan on the grill)
Grilled Zucchini

Friday
Crock Pot Western-Style Pork Ribs with homemade BBQ sauce
Corn Pudding
Watermelon
Salad

Friday, July 18, 2008

Menu-Plan Friday

*Edited Saturday's Pasta Salad*

It's unorthodox, I know--menu plans should be posted on Monday. But my post-baby menu planning starts now, so here it is. After many months of not being able to cook for my family, I'm back in the game, and ready to start enjoying summer fare.

I don't even know if anyone reads this blog anymore--it's been so long--but just the same, I need the organization for myself, so I will continue to post Menu Plans! In a twist, I've decided to provide a few details about the items that appear on the menu, both to remind myself what I had in mind when making the menu plan and to perhaps inspire others' cooking efforts.

Friday
Grilled Asian-Glazed Chicken (brined chicken pieces, grilled over medium heat, glazed toward the end of cooking with 1/3 c. teriyaki, 3 Tbsp. sweet and sour sauce, 1 Tbsp. hoisin, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1/8 tsp. chinese 5-spice powder, 1 clove garlic grated, 1 heaping Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. grill seasoning)
Sesame Teriyaki noodles (prepared noodles, "fried" in sesame ginger dressing, tossed with sesame seeds and fresh cilantro)
Cucumber slices

Saturday
Chicken Pasta Salad (leftover chicken, bowtie pasta, cucumbers, finely chopped fresh basil, shredded mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan, good seasons Italian dressing)
Croissants

Sunday
"Busy Day Macaroni"--provided by Debbie from Church

Monday
Steakhouse Salad (sliced grilled steak, lettuce greens, spinach, shredded cheddar and colby jack cheese, cukes, carrots, celery, hard boiled eggs, croutons, homemade ranch dressing)
Rolls

Tuesday
Smoked Pork Loin (marinated, with spice rub, prepared on charcoal grill with mesquite chips)
Herby Potatoes (boiled potatoes tossed with butter and herbs from the garden)
Leftover Salad

Wednesday
Cuban Sandwich Panini (thinly sliced pork, ham, mayo and dijon, pickle slices on sub buns, "pressed" on my stovetop grill pan)
Yellow Rice (packaged by Vigo)
Colored Pepper Rings

Thursday
Burgers Au Poivre (oblong burger patties spread with tiny bit of dijon, pressed into cracked black pepper, quickly fried)
Grandma Corn (simply fresh corn, cut off the cob, with all the milky kernel-y bits included, cooked with a splash of milk and butter, kosher salt, and pepper)
Watermelon

Friday
Dinner provided by Christy from church

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Remaining Leftovers or Subway ($5 footlongs, natch)

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Menu something-or-other update

Hey, remember me? I used to post things about food here.

It has been a while.

I plan a return soon, just not this week--since Ruby arrived, we've been receiving meals from our friends from church, so every day's menu is a complete surprise to us. So far, we've gotten:

Chicken Divan, Rice, Salad, and Brownies from Jan B.
Chicken Pot Pie and rolls from Sue D. (1)
Beefy taco cornbread bake, green and red pepper and corn salad, and fruit salad from Laura B.

Tonight, I'm anticipating something Italian from Cathy K., who used to live in Italy, and tomorrow, Sue D. (2) promised us some beef.

Come next week, the meals are fewer , so I will have a few meals to plan, and I will post them here! I hope I remember how to do that...