Recently I was talking with my good friend Debbie (one of the best home cooks I know) and she reminded me how, for a while there, I was really consistent about posting our family's supper menus. And it's true - back in the day, I was very good about planning out weekly supper menus and then sharing them here with my readers. And what a time that was, too ... I shopped wisely, we ate well, and I felt a bit more on top of things all week. When the boys asked me what was for supper (as they tend to do, at least eight times before noon), I had a ready answer - and it was usually well received. None of this: Hmm, I'm not sure ... or ... Well, we'll see what Dad says ... or (and this is always a hit) ... Your guess is as good as mine!
So yes, things have been hectic here for a while, but slowly we are returning to a familiar routine and I am feeling the urge to be more organized in our dining habits. I'd also like to spend less money at the supermarket - a pitfall of not planning ahead!
So this weekend I sat down and made myself plan out this week's suppers ... typically I would be doing this on Weds-Thurs because I generally do shopping on Saturday. (That's something else I need to work on - getting back to my weekly routine.)
{Side note - do you say supper or dinner? I'm thinking it might be a regional thing ... Supper, to us, is generally a weeknight meal whereas dinner is a more formal affair - on Sunday afternoons or holidays, for instance.)
But back to the menu at hand ... here is what I've planned for this week !
Monday, September 28th
Harvest Moon soup, Vermonter panini, low-fat crinkle fries with sea salt
(Butternut squash soup which is the color of the Harvest Moon and VT cheddar and ham grilled cheese sandwiches - with sliced garden tomatoes, Alexia reduced-fat fries.)
Tuesday, September 29th (Feast Day: Michaelmas)
baked dijon chicken, roasted carrots & potatoes, dragon's eye bread, apple-blackberry crumble (perhaps with vanilla frozen yogurt), Michaelmas Punch
(This is a rich menu, but this is one of our favorite feast days all year! Dragon's Eye bread is just spiral rolls filled with green pesto and chopped roasted peppers, and the punch is a fruit juice blend mixed with seltzer and blackberry-filled ice cubes. The crumble is a wonderful English dessert, and blackberries are traditional at Michaelmas. According to British folklore, the devil, having been thrown out of Heaven by Michael, landed in a blackberry bush and promptly spat upon it rendering it unfit after the feast day. No word on when it's safe to eat them once again. We also have blackberry jam on our English muffins for breakfast.)
Wednesday, September 30th
baked ziti, green salad, crescent rolls
(Baked ziti is perhaps the easiest meal I make: throw a box of ziti into a 9 x 13 baking dish, along with a jar of marinara sauce and a nearly full jar (to the shoulder) of water, stir, cover in tin foil, bake at 425° for 30 minutes. Uncover, stir, cover with shredded cheese and bake another 10-15 minutes till cheese is browned and bubbly. My boys inhale this ... and sometimes I serve meatballs on the side. The salad is simple and the rolls are Immaculate.)
Thursday, October 1st (Feast Day: Saint Therese)
meatloaf, butternut squash, rice, mini eclairs
(St. Therese was Bill's grandmother's patron saint ... and this was the first meal Grammie made for us when we visited as a newly engaged couple. :) There was also asparagus covered in hollandaise sauce, but since it's not in season, we'll stick with the squash. Eclairs, as I understand, were a favorite treat of St. Therese.)
Friday, October 2nd (Feast Day: Guardian Angels)
fairground supper OR leftovers, angel kisses for teatime
(My grandmother's favorite prayer was the Guardian Angel prayer, so on this feast day, I think of my Gram. We may be heading to a local country fair - weather willing - so dinner might be a bit up in the air. But for teatime I'll make "angel kisses" which are simple vanilla meringue cookies.)
Saturday, October 3rd
pizza takeout
(A special treat for Earlybird who can't do the fair on Friday.)
Sunday, October 4th (Feast Day: Saint Francis)
stuffed peppers, garlic bread, Italian cookies, autumn sangria
(I love serving stuffed, roasted peppers on this feast day, and our favorite Italian cookies from a local bakery. If I were more ambitious I might make tiramisu, but that's not looking good this year. Autumn sangria will be for the grownups ... *wink*)
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Now, most weeks are not so full of feast days! But this is a really fun week for my family and I look forward to treating them to some special meals. What are you serving this week at your house? Do you have a plan in the works? Are you good about planning or do you, like me, fall of the meal planning wagon from time to time? Please let me know in the comments below, if you have the time!
And I will see you here again very soon!
