Be Flexible!

"The best laid schemes of Mice and Men
oft go awry," poet Robert Burns once said. I use a weekly menu so that I have fewer trips to the grocery store each week and I don't have to ask (and answer) the question, "What should we have for dinner tonight?" I also have the ingredients I need on hand. That being said, the weekly menu is a friend, not a taskmaster, so sometimes the best laid plans have to be adjusted for changes in schedule. This past week was one of those weeks.

Monday

The original plan called for a new recipe for pork tenderloin. Well, Monday we added a new weekly kid event to our calendar so my Monday afternoons go like this: violin lessons followed by ballet, followed by small group violin lesson which happens... right at the dinner hour! The small group doesn't last long so from now on I will try to make something quick afterward. This past week, however, we just came home and ate leftovers.

Tuesday

Tuesday is usually my grocery shopping day. The new ad comes out on Wednesday, so often on Tuesday afternoon you can get the prices from this week's and next week's ads because the grocery store has already changed the prices to be ready for Wednesday. This doesn't always work for produce and meat but often does for everything else. I try to go in the early afternoon, but sometimes it is later which can mess up my dinner plans if I don't plan ahead. Since I didn't cook Monday, I really wanted to cook Tuesday so I made sure I went to the grocery store in time. I made the menu I had originally planned for Monday: Island Pork Tenderloin, Barley Risotto, and Ginger Braised Red Cabbage. This menu was a big hit. All of the foods went really well together. Ginger braised red cabbage sounds a little sketchy but it turned out to be the recipe that brought the other foods together. The Barley Risotto was okay. I included it because I am trying to include different grains in our meals. Of course real risotto uses Arborio or other Italian rice, not barley. The barley was hearty, a little different and very healthy. The Pork tenderloin was enjoyed by all. I will make all of these recipes again.

Wednesday

I cook early on Wednesday and eat late because we have a small group that meets at our house on Wednesday nights. With the weather warming, I thought a hearty salad would be nice. I found Asian Chicken Noodle Salad on an app on my phone. You can find it here. Compliments were buzzing all around the dinner table Wednesday night. This salad was fabulous! It had a lot of crunch with toasted Ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, and pine nuts. The recipe calls for Asian cabbage rather than lettuce making it a substantial salad. The recipe said Bok Choy but one reviewer mentioned she used Napa Cabbage instead. The Napa looked better than the Bok Choy the day I shopped, so I went with the Napa. Good choice! The salad also has green onions, water chestnuts and snow peas. The recipe calls for cooked chicken breast. I bought plain boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale and marinated them in a spicy Asian marinade I found in a George Forman cookbook. I then cooked a couple on my gas grill early in the afternoon. The spicy chicken added to the intensity of the salad. The dressing was very good. I assembled the vegetables in my favorite salad bowl, put the toasted crunchies in a zippered plastic bag, and the dressing in a jar. I assembled the salad right before we ate so everything remained crispy. I served it with French bread.

Last week someone asked for my French bread recipe. It is incredibly easy. I have been reluctant to share it - people are so impressed with my bread - I have enjoyed people thinking I was such an amazing baker! However, I will share. I am going to post it on Food.com so you can have the nutrition information also. When I post it, I will let you know.

Thursday

Thursday was another wild day in our household. More violin, Chinese lessons, and a large group violin lesson so it was once again a leftover night, but wait - the craziness is about to begin! My son who is a senior asked if I could cook the dinner before his prom. This is Thursday - the prom is Saturday! I said, "Sure," and then set out to see what I could re purpose from the rest of my menu and what I would need to buy. That means an extra grocery trip on Friday, but it will be done! The mantra of the week is "Be flexible!"

Friday

I am currently in a half lotus position heading toward a full lotus - my flexibility is showing! Turns out the same senior son is a member of a band and that band is performing for another senior's senior project. There is not time to eat before he performs and then it is too late to start cooking after so we end up going out to a restaurant. The food was good. I did make it to the grocery store before the concert.

Saturday

The good news is I love to cook! The better news is that my husband has front of house experience and knows how to set a table. We make a great team - he readies the tables and I prepare the food. I started cleaning at 9:00 am and began cooking about noon. We had a lovely prom meal and the kids seemed to really enjoy it!

The beautifully dressed young people started arriving about 6:15 - 6:30. Some parents also appeared to photograph these incredibly handsome men and women. I made ham and cheese roll ups and citrus mint coolers to have when they arrived. I made the ham and cheese roll ups by placing deli ham and sliced swiss cheese and a little Dijon mustard on crescent roll dough. I then rolled the dough up jelly roll style and sliced. The little ham, cheese and dough rolls were placed on a cookie sheet and baked at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Quick, easy, teenager friendly appetizers and leftovers work well for breakfast!

The main course was baked shrimp in lemony garlic sauce. I wanted a shrimp recipe to go with Asiago cheese grits. I chose this one because I could cook all of the shrimp at one time in the oven. Made preparation easy. I also knew the flavor family I wanted. Of course, peeling six pounds of shrimp is a bit tiring, but I had good music playing so that helped pass the time. To accompany the shrimp and grits I made Caesar Salad. I cleaned and tore the lettuce early in the day and just added croutons, fresh grated Parmesan, and bottled salad dressing at the last minute. I usually make my own dressing but I decided purchased dressing was one shortcut I was willing to make. I also made some fresh rosemary garlic French bread. For dessert, I made brownies (recipe from a recipe shower over 24 years ago) topped with vanilla ice cream onto which I drizzled fudge sauce. My son gave me extra points for plating on that one. During dinner the kids had a choice of sweet tea, unsweet tea, or water. My husband was the very able waiter.

After the kids left for the dance, I put our young daughter to bed and my husband embarked on the dishes journey. We served 12 young men and women. We used my favorite china, real glasses and flatware (although we skipped my grandmother's silver since I only wash it by hand.) We had fun, but we did generate quite a few dishes. All the kids were delightful. Last minute or not, I am glad we had the opportunity to serve my son and his friends.

Sunday

Originally a big Sunday dinner was on the menu, but I borrowed the Asiago cheese grits from Sunday's menu for the prom dinner and had cooked all day Saturday. We had leftovers from Saturday night so ended up freezing the chuck roast for another Sunday.

Some weeks you just have to be flexible. Next week we will be out of town for our niece's wedding so it will be a very short menu week. I will be late posting again next week - either Monday or Tuesday.

Remember to be flexible and enjoy playing with your food!