Menu Plan Monday - Week of December 31, 2017




HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Anyone else scratching their head and wondering where 2017 went?  I know, right?  I'm actually excited about a "fresh start", so to speak, with the new year.  Here's to a wonderful 2018!

We spent most of the last week of December out of state, visiting family and doing a lot of absolutely nothing after a very full fall.  It was glorious!   The photo up top is of my Dad's seafood chowder - scallops, shrimp and fish with a bevy of veggies - a Christmas tradition for us. Delicious!  I'm a wee bit jealous that Mom and Dad had leftovers for a day or two after we returned home.   It was wonderful to visit and we enjoyed "warm" weather. It was well over freezing where they live but much colder than normal for them, which led to us receiving several strange looks when we went to the grocery store in jeans and sweatshirts.  The day we left here it was -11F and we returned home to -11F as well (high of +2F today - heat wave!).  Brrrr!

John ran to the store after we returned home on Saturday evening and picked up a few groceries - fruit, milk, tortilla chips and a couple of yogurts plus toilet paper and a frozen pizza for dinner.  We were all exhausted from a full day of traveling and so we splurged a little on a frozen pizza eaten with salad and fruit.   We still have full freezers (almost absurdly so) and a full pantry (including canned venison from my cousin Diane), so we have no difficulty pulling together meals!  We also received a couple of meals from parishioners as a Christmas gift - a package of Danish pork sausage and a large package of homemade Swedish meatballs and gravy.  Both are on the menu this week.

Our big splurge this week is crab legs for John's birthday on Wednesday.  Seafood is usually on sale here for New Year's so, we purchase crab legs for John's birthday.  A favorite food that we rarely buy - either for at home cooking or eating out.  This is a huge part of his birthday gift, though he does get a few little things to unwrap as well.  We're all looking forward to that splurge on his birthday!

Here's what we're eating:

Sunday, December 31, 2017, New Year's Eve
    Breakfast:  Toast, Banana-Raspberry Smoothies
    Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Carrots and Celery
    Dinner: Danish Sausage, Sweet Potatoes, Corn
    Snack: Popcorn, Sparking Juice (New Year's Eve tradition)

Monday, January 1, 2018, New Year's Day
      Brunch: Buttermilk Coffee Cake, Bacon, Sliced Apples and Pears
      Snack: Popcorn
      Dinner: Swedish Meatballs and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Sliced Apples and Pears
      Dessert: Christmas Cookies

Tuesday, January 2, 2018:
      Breakfast: Oatmeal with Dates and Pecans
      Lunch: Leftover Meatballs and Potatoes
      Snack: No Bake Energy Bites
      Dinner: Shredded Turkey Tacos with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Olives

Wednesday, January 3, 2018, John's Birthday:
     Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Bananas
     Lunch: Leftover Tacos
     Snack: Red Velvet Cookies (John's Birthday 'cake')
     Dinner: Crab Legs, Corn on the Cob

Thursday, January 4, 2018:
     Breakfast: Gingerbread Pancakes, Triple Berry Jam
     Lunch: Leftover Tacos
     Snack: No Bake Energy Bites
     Dinner: Taco Soup, Tortilla Chips

Friday, January 5, 2018:
     Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Biscuits
     Lunch: Leftover Soup
     Snack: No Bake Energy Bites
     Dinner: Homemade Pizza and Bread sticks

Saturday, January 6, 2018, Epiphany:
      Brunch: King Cake, Apple-Pear-Mandarin Orange Salad
      Snack: Soft Pretzels
      Dinner: Glazed Pork, Rice, Green Beans, Apple-Pear-Mandarin Orange Salad
      Dessert: Star-Shaped Ginger Cookies with sparkly icing

Come back tomorrow to see some of the plans I have for 2018!  We've got big ideas and dreams and I'll be sharing some of them with you here.

What are you eating this week?
    

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