It's Still Monday Where I Live

, so technically, this is still Menu Plan Monday. But my-oh-my, I've got to start posting some recipes on Ye Olde Neglected Blog again. I tried a recipe this past week for a Lemon Pound Cake that I thought sounded great, and which I hoped I would be able to post about. It was exceptionally labor intensive--zesting and supreming four lemons, making lemon sugar, warming the eggs separately, etc--and I had very high hopes for its success. And the cake fell short. Literally. My cake fell. Short. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a huge deal, except for the fact I was making it for a friend's wedding reception, a time when you want your food to be pretty perfect. The good news is that when it was cut up, it looked fine, and it still tasted good. The bad news is that it took me so long to make this cake that I will never make it again. It was good, but not worth all of the effort. So, long story short, I won't be posting a recipe for Lemon Pound Cake, at least until I can find a recipe that is much, much simpler.

ALSO, I've been cooking from memory and without safety nets a lot lately, not really using "recipes," and making lots of stuff that either a) needs no recipe to make, or b) I've already posted. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to spice it up a bit?

On deck this week.....

Monday
(we had the Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad that I didn't make on Saturday)

Tuesday
BBQ Ribs
Roasted Sweet Corn
Klondike Rose Potato Salad

Wednesday
Hawaiian Chicken
Rice Pilaf
Watermelon

Thursday
Grilled Steak Salad
with homemade dressing and croutons

Friday
Turkey Club Sandwiches
(on Naan)

Saturday
Maple Sesame Bacon Fried Rice
Homemade Egg Rolls (or pot stickers, if I'm feeling adventuresome)

Sunday
Takeout, I hope!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week was The Week of Garden Craziness, wherein I pledged virtually every available moment to getting my garden planted. Except for radishes and scallions, it is now planted, but now I find myself in the unenviable position of having mountains of laundry to do, dishes to wash, and floors to vacuum. Our family of five can DESTROY a house in two days...and it has been six since I did any amount of housework. I have my work cut out for me.

But we still have to eat. And life still goes on: this week, I have a choir rehearsal on Thursday, a benefit concert on Friday, and 5 loaves of quick bread to make for a wedding on Saturday. There's no rest for the weary, so there had better be good sustenance. On that note, here's what I've got planned for this week:

Monday
Grilled Thin-cut Pork Chops
Greeky-Greek Roasted Red Potatoes
Broccoli and Cheese

Tuesday
Burgers (with Vidalias!)
Salad

Wednesday
Fried Chicken
Authentic Garlic Bread
Roasted Green Beans

Thursday
Country-style Pork Ribs (Crock Pot/Broiler)
Shells and Cheese
Glazed Carrots

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
More catch-as-catch-can

Sunday
Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad

Menu Plan Monday

Wheee! Warm weather! This week's menu plan reflects that (kinda?). I'm into fresh produce now that the weather is nice--this week's grocery cart was filled mostly with produce for Tuesday's fiesta dinner. I'm not Mexican, but I will celebrate just about any holiday that gives me an excuse to make Mexican food. Shoot, I'll celebrate any holiday that encourages me to cook with cilantro and lime. Mmmmmm.

Have a great week!

Monday
Chicken Florentine in garlic cream sauce
Orzo

Tuesday--Cinco de Mayo
Beef and Chicken Fajitas
Guacamole
Salsa
Refried Beans
Mexican Rice

Wednesday
Schultzie's Mess (Breakfast Scramble with Ham, Onions, Green Peppers, Hash Browns, Eggs, and Cheese)

Thursday
Shredded Beef Sandwiches, toasted with sliced mozzarella
Roasted Yukon Rose Potatoes--JoJo style
Salad

Friday
Barbecued Country-Style Ribs
Roasted Green Beans
Broccoli Slaw with Homemade poppy seed dressing

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Subway

When the Cat's Away...

...the cook will play. Abe is away for the weekend (I just talked to him--today he played 27 holes of golf), and I toyed with the idea of taking the easy way out with meals while he was gone. Last night was easy--we had pizza and a play date. Today for lunch, we had leftover pizza. Easy. Frankly, I haven't been in a very chef-y place lately, so while I actually had a meal plan this week, I cooked not one single meal off of it this week, opting instead for whatever was easiest when dinner rolled around. THEN, this afternoon, I picked up my mail, and noticed that the new issue of Food Network Magazine had arrived.

And suddenly, the juices were flowing again.

I immediately started some chicken brining and began washing veggies, and I settled on a menu for tonight. Grilled Asian-Glazed Chicken, Sesame Teriyaki Noodles, and Grilled Vidalias, Orange Peppers, and Tomatoes. Abe wouldn't have eaten the grilled veggies anyway, so it's just as well. It turned out delicious, and I feel like I'm back in the saddle again.

SO. Have you made anything especially delicious lately? Tell me about it. I need some fresh ideas.

(fyi, that's a serving platter in the photo above, not my plate. I can pack it away, but not THAT well.)