Menu Plan: Week of December 29 - Soup Week!

This Week

I decided that this week would be soup week at our house.  I picked up three soup cookbooks from the library and they've really inspired me.  Although I have to admit, I don't think any of the soups I've picked out come from any of those cookbooks. 

• Monday - our friend Chuck is coming over for vegetarian buffalo-wing chili with toasted pita bread and salads.  I figure the soup is going to be too spicy for Sonny D so I'm going to make him some fish sticks.
• Tuesday - our friend Buddha might come over for chicken parmesan soup with garlic bread and roasted butternut squash with feta cheese.
• Wednesday - I invited Husband Jeff's parents over for New Year's Eve dinner of creamy fish chowder,  a bag of frozen Szechuan asparagus, and rice.
• Thursday - red chili with green-chile cornbread (a box of Jiffy mix!)
• Friday - my friend Heather is joining us for Santa Fe sweet potato soup made in the slow cooker along with lemon-pepper risotto and a can of corn.  I'm also going to attempt to make some more vegan cheese, maybe the same cashew goat cheese recipe as last time or maybe try my hand at something new. 
• Saturday -  This is where my plan falls apart, I don't have a soup picked out for Saturday.  We'll probably have lots of leftovers to eat or maybe be sick of soups by this point.  We'll definitely be able to find something to eat, maybe melt sandwiches or a bag of frozen gnocchi.
•  Sunday - Another day without any planned meals.  Once again, we'll figure something out.  Maybe we'll have a meal out somewhere or eat more random food like grilled peanut butter sandwiches or pancakes. 

Menu Plan: Week of December 15

Last Week

Soaked cashews.

My friend Heather is dairy-free and so when I saw a few recipes to make "cheese" using nuts, I sent her the link.  And then I totally became interested in trying it myself.  They had good reviews so I would make a couple.  So I picked up cashews and almonds to give it a shot.  I've got cashews soaking in water overnight to make the first recipe, pepper-crusted cashew goat cheese.

Processing the  soaked cashews with lemon juice, salt, oil,
and a touch of peanut butter (I'm out of tahini).

This is the year of booze for me.  

On Saturday at Core Fusion class our talk was of Christmas cookies and someone mentioned rum balls.  I've never tried them before (that I know of), so after class i looked them up.  Then we went out to run errands and I picked up the ingredients that I needed to make them (Nilla wafers and spiced rum).   Sonny D and I mixed up the "batter" tonight and it needs to rest for a few days to fully saturate. I had to taste it right away to see how it progresses, I can see how they will be really good.  On Tuesday we'll scoop them up into balls and roll them in something to finish them off.  Right now I'm leaning towards chocolate sprinkles, but we might also try a blend of cocoa powder and sugar.  Or maybe just powdered sugar for a "snowball" look.

So these plus the brandy-soaked cherries still hanging out in my pantry, the jalapeno-infused tequila, spearmint vodka, and chocolate-mint vodka makes this year very liquor/booze-filled.  

Making rum balls.  Tasty!

I'm still working out most days of the week.  I lift weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; Zumba on Tuesday; elliptical workout at home on Thursday, and Core Fusion on Saturday morning.  The only day I don't work out is Sunday.

Flexing at the top of the chin-up/dip machine. 

On Sunday my friend Heather and I went to a gluten-free (and dairy-free) holiday baking class at Willy St Co-op. Everything we had was so good!  We were both impressed.  And it wasn't just "good for gluten-free", they were good desserts without any qualifiers.  My favorite part might have been the sweet potato frosting on a cupcake or the peppermint chocolate truffles. 

Heather with her apple cupcake, a peppermint chocolate truffle, and granola balls.

This Week

• Monday - baked potato soup with salads.  The soup is going to have hidden cauliflower pureed in it for creaminess. 
• Tuesday - leftover baked potato soup with salads then Zumba
• Wednesday - dinner at Graze with one of Husband Jeff's colleagues and his wife
• Thursday - going to our friends' house and I'm bringing a slow cooker dinner, sage & onion chicken with cranberry rice. 
• Friday - going out to dinner with our Breakfast Club at Short Stack, a breakfast place that is only open on the weekends.
• Saturday - I've got Core Fusion class in the morning, maybe we'll go to the Kids in the Rotunda performance to see a drumming group.  In the evening we're going to a friend's holiday open house.  For dinner we'll have BBQ pork sandwiches with a veggie. 
• Sunday - enchilada skillet with homemade black beans.

Menu Plan: Week of December 8

Last Week

Last week's menu was changed almost as soon as I came up with it, so that's why I didn't blog about it. so here's a rundown of things that have happened recently. 

I'm loving Swad Indian restaurant.  We went to their buffet last Saturday and I totally loved it.  I'm trying to see if we can go again this week and have recommended it a few times.  A coworker says her family goes pretty much every weekend since they live nearby. 

I'm glad I tried O'Keefe's Working Hands hand cream.  I saw it promoted at Bed, Bath & Beyond and they almost talked me into getting it but I've already got three lotions on my nightstand.  Then I went home and looked it up and saw the 2,000+ positive reviews on Amazon and realized it was a good product to try. I've tried tons of hand lotions for my dry hands and this one is great.  We both put it on every night. 

I got obsessed with trying fruitcake and found Clasen's European Bakery in town that makes them.  I had Husband Jeff pick up a 1 pound loaf and I found that I really like it.  I was a bit disappointed to see that they use neon candied fruit in it, but it's still tasty.

At taste training last week we learned about herbs and spices -- black pepper, garlic, fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.

We went out for a Breakfast Club "meeting" at the Mermaid Cafe and we all got great breakfast sandwiches.  Their mermaid tail logo is really cute, I would love one of their mugs. 

My Japanese fried Chie and I went shopping at Viet Hoa Asian market.  She lives on the same side of town but has never been there.  She found loads of great things and we spent over 1.5 hours chatting about products.  I'm glad I showed it to her.  She said she has gone all the way to Chicago to get some of the ingredients we were finding right here.

This Week

• Monday -  completely homemade black bean soup.  I made the stock this morning from leftover pork bones and veggies, started with dried beans, and put it all together in the slow cooker.  I made rice in the rice cooker and picked up some "take and bake" bread (you're not really baking it, you're just heating it up) to go with it.
• Tuesday - leftover black bean soup.  We're going to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer since Sonny D loves the song. 
• Wednesday - Grandma & Grandpa are going to pick up Sonny D from preschool but then we're going to have dinner together.  I'd like to have dinner at the Indian place Swad, but I am open to other options. 
• Thursday - I work in the afternoon so I figuring a slow cooker meal would be good.  I picked out Moroccan chicken tagine that my friend Heather and I prepped a few weeks ago. 
• Friday - I work most of the day and figured an easy dinner would be good, so we're having Italian sausage, gnocchi, and a can of tomatoes, corn, and okra.  Then we're going out for family fun night at the local rec center. 
• Saturday - I've got Core Fusion in the morning but we don't really have any other plans for the day other than my step-brother and his wife taking Sonny D out somewhere fun for his birthday present and out to dinner.  Maybe Husband Jeff and I will go out to dinner or stay home and relax in the quiet. 
• Sunday - My friend Heather and I are going to a gluten-free baking class at the co-op in the afternoon and for dinner I'm going to make baked potato soup.