Menu Plan

I had a brief fall off the menu planning wagon last week -- which resulted in our having our Pizza dinner last Thursday, because I had nothing else planned -- but fortunately, I recovered quickly, and recalled that we had garlic and linguini in the cupboard, to create a Garlic Pasta (recipe from a Quick Cooking compilation) for Friday night.

i hosted a brunch for some friends on Sunday, with my version of an Egg Casserole recipe from a Taste of Home Seasons and Celebrations compilation cookbook (i.e., I left out the meat and seafood they called for and just made it with the eggs and vegetables), an Almond Cake recipe from my grandmother, and some Fruit and Sausages. It must have been a success, because I've had recipe requests for the almond cake and the egg casserole -- both of the things I actually cooked.

We'll be doing a bit of some seasonal celebrating this week with our menu, since Mardi Gras/Fastnacht/Fat Tuesday approaching before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

Monday: Jambalaya. We haven't had this for quite some time, and it incorporates (or can, anyway...) rice, shrimp and sausage -- all favorites of the five-year-old. Plus, it has some Mardi Gras-like associations, for me in my mind anyway, since I associate them both with New Orleans (to which I have never traveled). Also, there's some sausage left over from the brunch that can go into it.

Tuesday: French Apple Pancake. This is an oven pancake that puffs up and is relatively filling for a family meal, without requiring the cooking of individual pancakes. Pancakes are also a traditional Fat Tuesday meal, as people used up their butter and eggs that they wouldn't be eating during Lent. Besides butter and eggs, we'll also be using some of the apples we picked and froze last fall for this recipe.

Wednesday: Church Supper, prior to church activities -- like Ash Wednesday worship.

Thursday: If there are enough leftovers from earlier in the week, that's what DH and the five-year-old will be eating while I attend a Bible study; if not, there's mac and cheese and/or a bag of Voila pasta in the house.

Friday: Pizza.

Saturday: White Chili. A recipe from my sister's college roommate, which my sister didn't like, but I did. Just haven't made it in a while, plus the theory is that spring should be springing some time in the next few weeks, and ending "soup weather." (My husband doesn't like to eat soup when it's warm.) Or, at least, one can always hope ...