Sunday Plans
It is Sunday – and I have to plan our weekly meals. Scheduling the meals includes lunch, snacks and anything else we may need.
Yesterday the kids were invited to go to Splish Splash – I had the day to myself – which entailed some brainstorming, a tweak here and there. A trip to Dollar Tree, and then I stopped at the market for some items for Saturday’s dinner.
My friend took her son and my children to the water park – they had a ball. As a “thank you” gesture, and because I like them a lot, – I invited them to dinner.
I made them an Italian vegetarian supper, eggplant parmesan, a green salad, with a sort of honey mustard dressing, (well that is what I call it) the second side was pasta with Ricotta cheese.
Folks – not too many pictures – I was actually focused on getting it all done before the daredevils arrived home – from 10:30 to 6 pm, they slid; they skidded, giggled, screamed and laughed.
Then they came home and basically did the same – minus the sliding and skidding… now if you need to know if I was there with them I would have just floated – all I would do is float on the lazy river; because I am not a daredevil.
Pasta with ricotta cheese is my version of macaroni and cheese. I am not adding a recipe just yet, although I have made this dish for years, I really need to tweak it and come up with a solid recipe. – Currently, the recipe consists of; a little of this, a dash of that… it is delicious, everyone loves the dish, and I think it is a better alternative to the boxed macaroni and cheese, yet I want it to be perfect for you. Last night instead of using elbow macaroni, I used a pasta type called pipette little pipes.
The salad is a go to staple on my table. Salads are always a must as a side on my table, salads add lightness (does that make sense) to any meal, an instant vegetable. The ingredients vary – Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, arugula…options can be endless.
All salads in my home are accompanied with a homemade dressing. I will not buy store-bought dressing, it is so much better for you to make your own. Look I get it, salad dressing is oil and vinegar, salt and spices; it is easier to buy the salad dressing made, instead of purchasing the ingredients to make the dressing, of course, it might seem cheaper at the moment; but in the long run, it is not. Store-bought dressings are calories and a lot of it – they are filled with sugar, oils that are not the healthy kind; and ingredients I cannot pronounce. Making your own dressing is worth the effort –
My sort of honey – mustard salad dressing is made with red wine vinegar, a squeeze, or two squeezes of honey, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, a pinch of dry basil, a pinch of crushed red pepper and a stream of extra virgin olive oil while whisking with a fork. When all done the liquid in the cup is about a ½ of an inch of vinegar and about 1/4 to 1/3 inch of oil.
For dessert, we had this
For two reasons, it was on sale at the supermarket I shop at; and more importantly, it is my friend’s son favorite dessert.
The truth is I would have gotten it for him regardless of the price but because it was on sale at $4.77 – it was featured in the flier and I was reminded of that when I saw it; how he loves the desert…therefore when I could not find it in the freezer section – I kind of panicked. Like a mad woman I trotted up and down the aisle searching for the Wattamelon Roll – when I spotted one box …aha score! As I placed it in the safety of my shopping cart – I thought wow the price must be good; it was the last one.
As I rounded the corner to go to check out the groceries, I spotted a cart without anyone near it with another coveted Wattamelon Roll; and yes if I hadn’t found the one that I did find – you betcha I would have taken the one in the cart. Remember you must guard your cart when shopping.
Yesterday I was focused on yesterday, and today I am focused on today and the next 5 days. Going through the flier from my local supermarket, I plan our meals and lunches for the week.
This week we will feast on the following:
Sunday – today: Skirt Steak, Oven- Roasted Potatoes with Herb de Provence, and Roasted String Beans, once plated I will splash some red wine vinegar on the beans.
Monday – (Meatless Monday) Baked Sweet Potatoes stuffed with black bean, corn, spinach filling. The same filling I used for the Southwestern Eggroll.
Tuesday – breaded chicken cutlets – with a side salad.
Wednesday– Meatball sandwiches with spaghetti on the side.
oven baked meatballs – ready to be added to the sauce cooking on the stove
Thursday – BLT sandwiches, fries and a salad (most likely a cucumber salad)
Friday – Omelets, home fries and yes, some sort of salad – (tomato salad)
That is what we will be eating this coming week, and I must say, although we have teens that seem to have their own agenda some days. We always make time for dinner every night.
In addition, I hope you are all safe today; for many, it has been a rough weekend having to deal with an unprecedented hurricane. You are all in my heart and prayers. I am happy that my family from the Houston area is safe and well. The reports and images coming in are horrendous, let’s all keep in mind how resilient we are, yet not forget how fragile we are as well….
Mangia, Mangia…No Talk!!!