A Dinner to Remember

Sundays I plan our weekly menu. This is somewhat of an arduous task as anyone who is the primary meal planner of any family knows. I don't like to eat the same things every week, or even every other week if possible. Food snobbish? Maybe so. I am definitely a foodie of sorts, though I don't go way out of my way to make obscure meals, just delish ones. I recently began getting Bon Apetit (wish I knew how to do the accent), for free with frequent flier miles on an airline I don't use much. I like to gain inspiration from magazines, like that one and Cooking Light, and from some websites like Epicurious, West Coast Cooking and Allrecipes, plus my cookbooks. You can't go wrong with Barefoot Contessa, if you can bare the fat. Now, there are some obscure meals in Bon Apetit and people who make lots of meals out of Bon Apetit would definitely be out of my league as I often don't recognize at least one ingredient in each recipe, and the time it takes to make some of their meals is....days. For example, in this months' issue there is a Braised Short-rib recipe that I thought looked interesting. I'm not a huge rib person, but I like the occassional rib, and of course the boys like ribs. So, for a special occassion, ribs might be in order. Well, this rib recipe would take at least 3 hours hands on, plus a day to marinate after cooking, then further cooking the next day. Whew. I won't be making those until I'm retired, and probably not then either.

In case you're curious about what's on our dinner menu this week, here's a sneak peek:

Blueberry, Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad (pictured above), courtesy of Heather
Corn Chowder via Barefoot Contessa
Boboli Pizza, courtesy of Costco
Split Pea Soup, also via Barefoot Contessa, but fortunately from my freezer
Chicken Enchiladas
Beef Stew from my generous mother-in-law
and Lasagna from my dear sister-in-law, Beth

Some of our other favorites that are not on the menu:

Honey Grilled Shrimp

A peek at my belated birthday dinner in September at the cabin

Deep Dish Blackberry Pie....mmmmm. I LOVE this extra deep pie plate I got for my birthday!

Thank you for all the encouraging comments on the blog and elsewhere about my wake-up call. In all honesty, I felt a little (lot) vulnerable in putting it out there, but figured that I'd rather have a more authentic blog, than just a glossy one. I have been taking a very healthy step back in the last few days to let things go. My mother in law came over to help out Wednesday and Thursday, and Heidi was here yesterday, and today we're having a family day, just the four of us. I have intentionally not been doing things I want to do. Like working on the new clutches (purses) I am going to sell in my shop. Oh, they are so wanting to be made into the beautiful pieces they will be. Or the cute little skirts that are begging to be made and worn by little girls I know. Oh, well. I feel so much healthier already, both physically and mentally and know I can jump back into my fun business as things get a little more sane. I do have a few orders I have to fulfill, so I actually look forward to that since I'm kind of on a sewing fast.
A little breather here and there is necessary. I have done it few times in my life, but now is a good time for one. The only thing that would make it better (other than our house being done!) is to relaxing on a tropical beach.