Linking up with orgjunkie.com for Menu Plan Monday
Saturday: I finally bought some rice so I’m going ahead with the ham and rice & peas that I meant to make last week. Rice & Peas is a Jamaican dish of red beans & spiced rice and I’ll be using David’s family recipe. It’s usually served with the Sunday Roast or on special occasions. The plan was to boil a gammon joint with the kidney beans as they cooked, but the grocer was out dried kidney beans so I’ll probably bake the ham separately. The leftover rice will form part of our Thanksgiving Dinner and the leftover ham will be eaten by David & Walter on Monday.
Sunday: Thanksgiving! Our menu: boursin minis & sesame-poppyseed crackers to start; a stuffed turkey breast roast & a turkey drumstick, sautéed corn with bacon, balsamic roasted vegetables (this includes the potatoes), mashed sweet potatoes, rice & peas, and cranberry sauce for the main; apple crisp & pecan pie for dessert; white wine & a fizzy berry juice to drink
Monday: I’m going out for dinner to The Cutter Inn with some friends from work and David going to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers at home.
Tuesday: We’re going to have leftover red bean enchiladas and I’ll probably do some sauteed peppers, onion, & garlic for a vegetable unless I have enough double cream left from Thanksgiving for creamed spinach.
Wednesday: I’m meeting up with friends in the afternoon so it will be nice to have a no-work supper that evening. Last week’s Sausage & Corn Chowder made enough leftovers for two more meals so we’ll be having one of those batches tonight. I find soup always thickens when frozen so I’ll thin it out with some milk & water, which will also help stretch the quantity. I didn’t want to spend another £1 to buy buns, so I’ll make baking powder biscuits from scratch, assuming I have enough flour.
Thursday: I like to do something easy on Thursdays as the rest of the week has usually caught up to us by then and we’re tired. This week I’m defrosting some meatballs that I made a few weeks ago and we’re going to have meatball subs.
Friday: Pizza Night!!!
Now a look at last week’s plan in practice:
Saturday’s chilli bean wraps were delicious. As I expected, it was mostly just a rename for enchiladas but they were a big hit with David, which is great because it was a meatless meal and thus, aside from the tortillas, inexpensive to make. There was a bit more active cooking than I like to put into a meal nowadays, but David took the kids so that I could finish the prep at a decent time of evening.
My birthday dinner on Sunday was delightful and we’ve been having leftover cake with our afternoon tea all week. We relaxed with a movie and a bottle of wine. In fact it was so relaxing that I fell asleep by 9:30pm... only in mommy-land.
On Monday I made my sausage & corn chowder. Soup always seems like such an undertaking but then it actually takes no time and makes a surprisingly quick & easy meal. David really enjoyed it, which is good because it made tonnes of soup. It was really inexpensive & just the right combo for autumn comfort food.
Tuesday’s beef quesadillas were a real winner. I am so proud of myself for coming up with the recipe. I know quesadillas aren’t exactly rocket science, but I wasn’t sure how my plan would work. I shaved the leftover brisket into thin strips and tossed them with chilli powder & some chipotle sauce. To assemble the quesadilla, I put down a layer of finely grated cheddar, then some beef, then another layer of cheddar on half of a tortilla. I then put on some sour cream & salsa before folding the top over and frying it. I’ve been using corn tortillas because they taste delicious. I’m really glad I’ve found this way of using up a little bit of leftover roast beef, because it gives me an excuse to buy more brisket joints and I certainly love me some Sunday roast beef dinners!
Wednesday’s “spagh bol” was more delicious than I’d hoped for. I had the tail end of some romano peccorino in the fridge so I grated that up for cheese, the pasta came out perfectly al dente and the sauce was just the right thickness. It was a blustery day so it was nice to have the warm comfort food for dinner. Wish I could recreate the sauce but mum made it with odds & ends from the fridge when she was visiting so I don’t think her recipe would help me here.
Thursday seemed to be the planned meal that couldn’t – we ended up ordering takeaway from BKK Thai Restaurant and watching a movie. Since we don’t know any babysitters, and can’t afford the ones we don’t know, this is the closest we get to date night right now. I’m not complaining – the food was delicious as usual, and I was the one who went to pick it up which meant a lovely walk in cool night air.
Friday is pizza, and we love it, so ‘nuff said!
I am with you on the soup. I always avoid making soup because of the time I am afraid it will consume, but when I do get around to making soup I find it a much simpler experience than anticipated. And the leftover soup usually lasts a few days, making the effort even more worthwhile. Your sausage and corn chowder sounds nice! Perhaps I will try something like that too.
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