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| Last week's turkey-bacon and zucchini-onion kebabs. We cooked them on the grill and served them with roast potatoes - yummy! |
M - orange chicken, rice, mixed vegetable stir-fry, fresh fruit
T - homemade chili, baked potatoes, shredded cheddar
W - nachos supreme, sliced apples
During the time Mom and Dad are here, there are a few places we know they want to go for meals, so those are on our list. Often, we have lunch 'out' and then a lighter supper. Those dinner meals will be things like cheese and crackers with fresh fruit, finger foods like hard-boiled eggs or potstickers (if I can get them made), maybe even a bowl of cheerios and milk. We will also be on the road some of the time, so I've been stocking up on easily portable foods like granola bars (which were on sale several times lately, and I had coupons too!), pretzels and chex mix. Add some veggie sticks, fresh fruit, dried fruit, muffins and homemade cookies, and we definitely won't starve.
So, in addition to the stuff mentioned above, I'll be baking some blueberry muffins, an apple pie and some cookies. We also have a couple of 'if needed' meals planned for at home that will happen either this week or next, depending on what we're doing, and when (and where).
Do you cook differently when you have guests? Do you make foods at home for times when you're on the road? What's on the menu at your place this week?
I am very much the same situation as you this week. My parents will be at the lake house all week and coming and going from here plus our oldest daughter's husband is at a pastor's conference all week so she will be coming and going with her two kiddos all week and she is eating gluten free. I think I am going to be winging it some. I know that today I am making a vat of meat sauce to feed us for supper with some type of pasta and salad and freeze for later. Tomorrow I am crock potting a whole chicken and serving it with potatoes, broccoli and salad. I got a gallon of ice cream to keep doling out for desserts this week and sandwich meats and cheese for sandwiches. I told my daughter to bring her gluten free bread when she comes. I think it will work!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your company!
Lana, I made the chili for Tuesday today (Monday), and made a lot, so I can freeze some for future meals. I am trying to figure out if I can fit a #10 can of tomatoes in my crock pot...if so, I'd like to make spaghetti sauce this week, just to have it on hand in the freezer. I think fall makes me want to do more batch cooking for some reason. Intentional leftovers! :D
DeleteMy daughter does a #10 can in a 6 quart crock pot to make marinara but she does not add much else to it. It is amazing how much space meat takes up and cooking a crock pot over is a nasty mess. I over filled one with chili last winter. I got 9 more meals of sauce out of last night's cooking! That makes me very happy. I need to do a big batch of chili soon.
DeleteHope you have a fun time with your in-laws .
ReplyDeleteI did try to cook different for them , yes. They were very traditional in food choices, the meat, starch , vegetable, or a "hot dish" , bread and butter, a dessert. When she cooked her main spices were just salt and pepper, parsley,
lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Lots of butter. Everything she made was delicious, and in large amounts for her family of ten. It was also much like my family cooking, too. Later on they both became infirm and moved over next to us..She was able to continue some cooking though it worked best if I cooked with her. We did even start cooking some Mexican and Chinese dishes together, mildly seasoned. I've added many of her recipes to my collection. Unfortunately, we lost his parents too soon.
You asked 3 questions , so second part...yes, if we are travelling I plans and pack food for the trip. We have coolers in multiple sizes, water bottles. We even have a food box, a wooden crate my husband made, that is packed with essentials per what trip requires. Tablecloth for stopping at picnic tables, dishes and silverware, salt and pepper, a cutting board, sharp knife, can opener, camping stove and nesting kettle set. (If we're going in longer trips/vacation trip this would all be packed into our old VW bus.)
ReplyDeleteWhat's for dinner this week? Sunday we had a big extended family dinner...Our Oktoberfest party. Everyone made German food and met at a cousins house. I'd made rouladen, spaetzl and red cabbage. And an apple strudel. Others bought sauerkraut, bratwurst. knakwurst, blitztorte, multiple cabbage slaws, bread dumplings as big as a football served sliced with gravy, multiple potato dishes including potato pancakes, stewed fruit, cabbage rolls, hasenpfeffer, black walnut torte, applesauce, pickles all kind, picked beets, picked eggs. Along with fruit trays and relish trays, I'm sure I'm forgetting things.
Monday we had spaghetti., salad and garlic bread. Tuesday we had a tuna zucchini mushroom soup stuffing cube casserole with apple slices, tonight we had more of the vegetarian chili I made last week topped with cheese and plain yogurt. I made peanut butter cookies last night, apple crisp tonight. I am off work tomorrow so I will be cooking and canning more tomatoes, mixing pie crusts. I had cooked extra elbow macaroni tonight to serve the chili over...the extra I made into macaroni and cheese tonight and that is in fridge ready to bake tomorrow. We'll have tomato salad with it, leftover crisp or cookies for dessert. Friday we (husband and I, youngest is over to sister's for a girl's night) are invited to his sister's for dinner for a little dinner party and I don't need to bring food. Saturday? Probably pizza, who knows.