Menu Plan Monday: Nov 28


Wow, is it really less than a month until Christmas? November sure went by fast!

This week I have a few days off work, time that I can spend in the kitchen, mostly cleaning, but also cooking. And I'm still having fun with my mixer, even though I haven't baked up a storm yet.

Sunday: Grey Cup dinner: various little munchies, including nachos and chicken fingers

Monday: Homemade lasagna (and by homemade I mean, home ground meat, fresh made pasta and sauce)

Tuesday: Pizza (been promising the kids pizza from this one place for awhile and it is time to finally do it)

Wednesday: Roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy

Thursday: Spaghetti (again, homemade) with tomato sauce.

Friday: Left overs

Saturday: Date night!

Have a happy week!

(This plan is being submitted to Menu Plan Mondays)


Menu Plan Monday: Nov 21



*** Ugh, forgot to hit post on this, so this is a few days late!***

I bought myself a present on the weekend, a new stand mixer to go along side of Bob, my faithful little KA. Hrothbert, aka Bob's Big Little Brother, is shiny and much more powerful, but has yet to have his picture taken!

I plan to use him throughout the week, and include him in some of my planning.

Sunday: Peach Bourbon chicken with fennel scalloped potatoes and roasted broccoli. With Red Velvet cupcakes for dessert (can you tell we had company for this?)

Monday: Homemade pasta and garlic bread.

Tuesday: left overs!

Wednesday: Herb marinated pork loin with sauted veggies.

Thursday: Chicken fingers with veggies and dip (I'm at work for dinner)

Friday: Egg rolls and Chinese food hodgepodge (frozen items from the grocery store - again, I'm at work)

Saturday: Lamb burgers with salad.

And that's my plan for Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura.

Cooking out of town


I learned something last week: My grandparents oven is broken.

They didn't know it.

And I wish I'd known it before I started dinner, since they have a perfectly good convection oven on the counter beside the oven.

It was really a shame, because the dinner I was making included this lovely chicken, glazed with a peach-bourbon glaze, would have been so tasty otherwise.

The big tip off for me should have been when the pie crusts for the banana cream pie I was going to make did not seem to get golden and beautiful. Guess I didn't notice.

What really clued us in, however, was the little sparks popping out of the oven, and when you looked inside and saw tiny little flames on the little orange spots on the burner, while the rest of the burner stayed a dull grey. That and raw chicken after 1 1/2 hours of baking.


Over at my mother's house, the oven worked just fine. I had left over pie dough, and managed to throw together a blueberry pie for my "little" brother.


Do you think he liked it (aside from his offer to pay me to make him a bunch of blueberry pies he could freeze for later?)

Blueberry Pie

1 recipe for double crusted pie dough
1 bag of frozen blueberries, not defrosted (about 4 cups)
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix the blueberries with the cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. Pour into bottom pie shell, cover and crimp as you like, being sure to cut a hole for venting steam.

Bake at 400F, on a tray, for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and continue to bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden on top, and bubbling a bit. Keep an eye out that you do not burn the crust.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, warm or at room temperature.




Menu Plan Monday: Nov 14


Well, I'm back.

My working-7-days-a-week schedule did end two weeks ago, but a few things have come up since then that have prevented me from being home, menu planning, cooking (and even cleaning.) And while last week did see me doing some cooking, and even taking some pictures so I could eventually blog about it, this is the first "back to normal" week we've had for quite some time.

I'm jumping back into my menu planning, but I'm being careful about it, not planning anything too ambitious. This is what I'm submitting to Menu Plan Mondays.

Sunday: Broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast with scalloped potatoes and corn.

Monday: Gourmet Burgers with coleslaw. These are the burgers I was making from scratch during my time at Saunders Farm this past summer/fall. Knowing the "secret" recipe, I planned ahead, premade a large batch, and stashed them in the freezer. Perfect for those nights when hubby has to cook and it has to be something fast!

(Btw, if you'd like to try one of these great burgers, come see me next summer, since I am not going to reveal the recipe for them!)

Tuesday: Pork loin roast with pear and apple sauce.

Wednesday: Chilli with the fixins.

Thursday: Penne with tomatoes, garlic and chilli peppers.

Friday: Taco night. This is one of the meals my oldest son likes to cook, so he's in charge of the kitchen that night.