If you read my blog previously you probably have surmised that I love music and delicious food, or maybe I love delicious food first and then music. No matter what the order, my joy requires an equal measure of both.
Just about anytime I write a blog post, a song pops in my head, so from now on I think I am going to start sharing them. This song hits on two levels. First it is a song I like, plus it is jazz, which is my favorite genre. The jury is still out on Michael Bublé, though. I really prefer Harry Connick Jr. as a contemporary jazz crooner.
If you have been reading my blog you also know I post a weekly list of possible meals mainly trying to use what I have on hand. It is never really a meal plan because I tend to go rogue a lot and rarely have exactly what I thought might be possible, but it does serve as inspiration when it is almost dinner time and I have not even begun to think about the meal.
What I thought might happen last week:
1. Hot Dogs and fixings, baked beans, coleslaw
2. Veggie dinner, squash, okra, tomato slices, cucumber slices, cornbread
3. Pulled pork, corn on the cob, tossed salad
4. Marinated chicken, broccoli, rice, something else but unsure what
5. Risotto (Son3 and DIL3 plan on cooking the meal, but this is all they have mentioned)
6. Grilled grouper, sliced potatoes, green beans, tossed salad, crescent rolls
7. Smoked brisket, some green veggie, salad
What really happened:
Monday: I had planned on having just a vegetable meal, but changed my mind at the last minute (after remembering I had ground chuck in the fridge that had to be used right then).
Mini meat loaves, squash, air fried okra, tomato slices
Harvest: 1 lb green beans, 2 okra pods
Tuesday: Son3 and DIL3 had an opportunity to go to an outdoor jam session with a former high school friend of his. They were going to do their own thing for dinner, so TheHub and I decided to run out and grab some take out. Did you know Captain D's makes a pretty dang tasty fish sandwich? Neither did we until Tuesday night! We tried to order one side of French fries to share but the guy at the window kept trying to make it a family size order. (4.59 for fries? No way) After multi tries to explain we only wanted one single side order, we gave up.
Fish sandwich, potato chips
Harvest: 3/4 pound green beans
Wednesday: The day came and went and I forgot to take anything out of the freezer until a little later in the day. I had a package of chicken breasts I had gotten fresh from Aldi and frozen so I took them out, zapped them to thaw quickly, then punted for a less than stellar meal.
Baked chicken (cream of something soup and wine poured over it) mashed potatoes, green beans
Harvest: 1 pound green beans, few okra pods
Thursday: Thanks to The Big Dude at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com for the inspiration. I had a smoked butt, pulled and ready for a meal. This was a fun and different way to enjoy BBQ.
Red neck pork tacos with coleslaw, green beans
Harvest: 1 1/2 pound green beans, 6 tomatoes
Friday: Son3 and DIL 3 had guests for a late afternoon and evening swim. We wanted to get out of their way so we ran a few errands then stopped at Costa's take-out window for ziti for 2, which really is ziti for 4 plus leftovers.
Baked ziti, tossed salad, Italian bread
Harvest: 1 pound green beans
Saturday: TheHub brought a bag of okra from a work friend's garden and it needed to be cooked. We love lady peas with okra so we went to a local produce market to grab some. It did change dinner plans, but what the heck!
Lady peas, corn on the cob, air fried okra, tomato slices, cucumber slices
Harvest: Another blooming pound of green beans
Sunday: Earlier in their visit DIL3 mentioned that she grew up eating hot dogs made at a butcher shop in Sweden. I don't guess I had ever thought of getting a hot dog at a butcher shop. I have always bought Hebrew Nationals in a plastic pack at the grocery store. Saturday, TheHub and I set out on a mission to find in house made hotdogs and lo and behold! We found them a the first meat market where we stopped. They were delicious and I will be buying those seriously overpriced dogs again!
Hot Dogs with fixings, pasta salad, coleslaw
Harvest: More green beans
Meal possibilities for this week:
1. Stuffed baked potato, tossed salad
2. Grilled grouper, squash casserole, salad, green beans, rolls
3. Hamburgers with all the fixings
4. Risotto (Son3 and DIL3 say they are serious this time)
5. White BBQ chicken, caulitato salad, green beans
6. Veggie dinner: peas, okra, tomato slices, cornbread
7. Take out pizza, tossed salad
Hope you have a good week staying on plan, off plan, or with no plan at all!
My plan is tomake sure I use up th e over abundnace of fresh veggies I bought before thy go off, and try and make things that are my youngests favorites before she goes back to school. I'll do a curry at leat one night, and I think I need to make sloppy joes, but I hear chicken gumbo soup is hard ot find a nd a staple of my version.
ReplyDeleteNice of you to make her favorites before she returns to school. Son3 and DIL3 are leaving Sunday, so we are cooking grouper once more before they go. He requested gulf seafood (not something he can get there)
DeleteMy husband puts a marinade/rub on hot dogs before he grills them. Everyone thinks it's strange until they taste them! :-) They are delicious, and I'm not a big hot dog fan.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of dogs either, but these were outstanding. Plus they were so big TheHub and I split one lengthwise and shared it (but we did have our own buns and fixings.)
DeleteI'm eyeing your meal plans to decide what to have for my meals, this week! It's going to be too hot to cook, so, I need to make stuff that require minimal cooking! Enjoy your week and thank you for the songs. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is just hot as blazes here and I am totally uninspired about cooking.
DeleteMy hamburger meat needs to be cooked today! I will be using up vegetables before they go off or freezing them.
ReplyDeleteI cook ground chuck then freeze it to pull out for emergency meals.
DeleteButcher hot dogs and sausages (Turkish style) are a thing over here too. They are expensive as opposed to the stuff that comes out of a plastic package. I try to avoid them because of all the ingredients but, few times a year, I allow myself to eat the real thing. Today I found turkey wings. Snatched a pack of four. I cooked them in my pressure cooker and made rice using a part of the stock. The rest of the stock is in the freezer. When I have my implant put in on Wednesday, I guess I will have to have soups and soft food.
ReplyDeleteI love turkey wings but they are kind of hard to find here except seasonally. Occasionally I find them at Sprouts and every time I do I grab them.
DeleteI am always impressed at your meal plans - despite knowing that you will adapt them.
ReplyDeleteI am almost always a 'punter' and cook (or don't) based on what I feel like at the time.
At the moment we are both eating a lot of 'perpetual meals' - dishes which we make in bulk and add new ingredients as we reheat/serve them.
I know as soon as I plan a menu I will go off the rails at some time or another.
DeleteOur perpetual food item right now is green beans. They are growing faster than we can eat them so I am freezing them right and left.
I never thought about going to the butcher for hot dogs, either. We they more like hot dogs or more like sausages?
ReplyDeleteThe consistency was more like finely ground sirloin, spiced and packed in a casing. They were huge, about the size of a 50 cent piece. They did not have the fat you would find in a sausage. I thought they were outrageously expensive, but they were so good we will treat ourselves to them occasionally.
DeleteI don't think I've ever been in a butcher shop, let alone for hot dogs. I'm glad they were good.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
TheHub and I go to a couple of butcher shops occasionally, especially if we want a fantastic steak, but never for a hot dog. They were outstanding!
DeleteI prefer Harry, too. It's a great song, though. One of the happiest times in my life was when my son was in the high school jazz band. I could have listened to them play all day.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
My son was in high school jazz, then went to school and majored in jazz studies. Now he has (had but it is a Covid thing and he will have it again) a funk band that is heavy on the brass and winds, but he still has jazz gigs also.
DeleteI love the way you change the meal plan depending on circumstances. Everything sounds great. I bought okra and was thinking about how to make it. Maybe I’ll fry them. 😊
ReplyDeleteOH fried okra is the best, but I also like it stewed whole (for all that is holy, never stew sliced okra) with tomatoes and onions
DeleteHarry over Buble. However, Rod Stewart's American Songbook I, II, and III are superb. I can go to sleep to #I.
ReplyDeleteI like the songs on American Songbook but I don't think he has a very good jazz voice.
ReplyDeleteOkay, but I love his voice, jazzy or not.
DeleteI am impressed by the arrangement of the food menu that you make. You put together a good cooking plan. Personally, I prefer to eat vegetables than meat. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Indonesia.
Veggies are delicious
DeleteWe continute to eat down the freezer so that it can be thawed. Now at the point where it's almost all beef and not necessarily warm weather meal stuff but here we go: hamburger, flat iron, bottom round, pot roast........
ReplyDeleteWe are eating down our freezer also. I like to defrost it in the fall before the weather is too cold. But I might go ahead and bite the bullet and defrost it soon. Like you a lot of mine is not traditionally summer fare, but it is what it is.
DeleteOh I would love to have your okra recipes. It's just not a thing here (don't think I have ever eaten okra and I have no idea what lady fingers are)! Live and learn I guess!
ReplyDeleteI live in the south and peas and okra are about as common as you can get for summertime meals. Lady peas are tiny peas that resemble black eyed peas but have a sweeter flavor and a different consistency.
DeleteSir fried okra__wash the okra and remove the stem end. Cut into "coins" and put in a bowl. Wait a few minutes before coating them with cornmeal. Spray the tray of an air fryer with whatever oil you choose. I use avocado oil mainly because I keep it all the time. Put about a half a teaspoon of oil in the bottom of the air fryer basket. Place the tray in the basket and spray it with oil.Put the okra in a single layer on the tray then spray them liberally with cooking spray. I cook mine at 380 degrees for 9 minutes. Remove the basket and shake them a little, spray them again then cook for an additional 6 minutes. Remove and salt to taste. If you have no air fryer you can fry them in a skillet with about an inch of oil. I use the air fryer for my waist nor my preferred taste because the real fried is better. The air fryer is just a very acceptable alternative.
Your meal plans always look so organised even if they go slightly off plan.
ReplyDeleteMy mum is a big fan of Michael Bublé but I'll have to introduce her to a few other jazz singers as well.
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