Weekly Menu Planning – November 2022

The only one in my family was one my uncle (by marriage) would bring to parties that was passed down from his mother. It was some flavor of red jello with grated carrots and walnuts, as I recall (it’s been many years). But no mayo or dairy.

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Both of my grandmothers had Jello specialties. Grandma K made a two-layer black cherry jello; the top had sour cream mixed in and the bottom had canned black cherries in it. Grandma E made what was referred to as “stained glass jello” which was mostly white (cool whip?) with tidbits of bright colored jello - I think she made the colored jello first, then broke it up and mixed with the white stuff?

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I LOVED stained glass! My grandmother used to make a version with a graham cracker crust, and for sure had Cool Whip. I had a very refined palate as a child :sweat_smile:

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It is very meh. I wish I had borrowed it from the library before buying it. I wouldn’t have bought it. That is also what happened with her 2nd book. (borrowed it and decided to pass)

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga with a fridge full of leftovers. Guests are all gone, boo hoo, but the turkey remains–fortunately I was able to send home a large vacuum-pack of it with daughter’s BF…Lots of simple meals to offset all the T-day food and also to use up all the extra food bank potatoes I brought home.
Breakfast: Banana rum pancakes
Saturday: Friendsgiving at a friend’s house. Making a greens gratin and an apple slab pie.
Sunday: Pasta with leftover turkey; leftover veg; panna cotta
Monday: Mushroom tartines with leftovers on the side
Tuesday: TBD
Wednesday: Cheese omelets and home fries
Thursday: TBD
Friday: Harissa-roasted chicken thighs, potatoes of some sort, broccoli

Have a good week, everyone! Happy cooking!

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Oh no! I’ve been so looking forward to it.

I don’t recall, how well did you like SKED? If you were a fan, perhaps you’ll feel differently than NJChicaa, since she didn’t care for SKED, either.

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I like the second book, which I think is SKED a lot. Wasn’t as big a fan of the first one. Good point.

What didn’t you care for about the book? I’m not a follower of her blog, but am aware of it and it’s popularity.

Yes, I remembered you had SKED (the second one) from when it was a CH COTM (you helped me out with a recipe after my library loan expired).

Greetings, people.

December is almost here - bring on the festivities!

I’m craving salty snacks, fatty cheeses, charcuterie, good booze, candied treats, and sugary baked goods. In years prior we would squeeze in all that snacking along with traditional, hearty holiday fare. This year our strategy is to forgo any routine scheduling of meals, and instead subsist primarily on the nibbles – yay! Should anyone decide their glucose levels are getting out of control, aside from snackables we will keep some DIY sandwich stuff around: cold cuts, sliced cheese, good bread, interesting condiments, and pickled veg. I also plan on making a few big pots of soup in the upcoming weeks in case there is a hankering for something warm and nourishing from the microwave. In weeks to come there also might be a homemade pizza or two on which to gnosh, and possibly a large and decadent mac and cheese.

Otherwise, for the next four weeks, the Meal Plan is No Meal Plan.

Happy Holidays!

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I’m getting nervous just thinking about this, but also impressed. Good luck!

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Lol! It’s been years (decades, really) since we’ve stood in front of the fridge at 6:00 PM and said “whaddyawantfordinner?”. Should be an adventure!

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I don’t know that I could handle not having a meal plan now, but planning snacky meals? Oh yeah, that’s a great idea. Now I’m having THOUGHTS.
Enjoy!

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This version of broken glass / stained glass jello uses sweetened condensed milk, Knox gelatin and water for the white portion, colorful jello varieties prepared with only 1 C. water (not 2) for the “glass”. https://www.foodlibrarian.com/2009/03/broken-glass-jello.html

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The December discussion is ready when your plan is mostly about December. Weekly Menu Planning - December 2022

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Interesting find. I suspect my grandma used some sort of non-dairy whipped topping, as they mostly kept kosher.

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Had a restful week here, just as we needed. Now, I have to push through the remaining three weeks of the semester. Copious leftovers this week will help! For those of you who cooked Thanksgiving meals last week, I hope they were tasty and uneventful.

For two adults in San Diego:

This week’s breakfasts: The second loaf of pumpkin bread, maybe?

S: (tonight) takeout - flatbreads from pub on the corner. Pepperoni for him, bbq pork and pineapple for me. No tomato sauce, so pineapple is allowed. :slight_smile:

Su: Thanksgiving pot pies - leftover stuffing, peas, gravy, ham. Served with cranberry sauce.

M: Stuffing patties or waffles, served with eggs and cranberry sauce. No added meat, just the stock in the stuffing, so we’ll let this count as our vegetarian meal for the week.

T: Navy bean and ham soup - my husband’s yearly use of our leftover ham.

W: The other two Thanksgiving pot pies.

Th: Ham with scalloped corn and cranberry sauce. And now the rest of it will go into the freezer until it emerges as part of our Xmas dinner.

F: TJs lemon ricotta ravioli with garlicky spinach, crab, breadcrumbs - seafood

Have a good week!

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We’re just back from a week in Bermuda, which was gray and chilly most of the time, but it was still wonderful to be back. And we came in 3rd at trivia night, which we’d be missing so much since the pandemic. Most of the other teams had more people and play regularly, so we were very happy with third, and got lots of surprised kudos from the staff. It was a blast. Between the trip and the now usual surprises in Lulu’s schedule, I haven’t cooked much in the past couple weeks. Here is what I made when I was able to put a dinner on the table:

11/14: salume butter pasta (COTM), fennel salad. Pretty tasty meal for very little work.

11/15: big salad with a southwestern feel for me while LLD had steak and Lulu went out with friends.

11/17: old school tacos, avocados

11/18: fish stick bhorta from Nigella. Love this.

First dinner home is tonight. I’ve been running errands all day and LLD decreed it carryout night.

I hope everyone had delicious and unfraught thanksgivings. Very thankful for you.

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Actuals for the past week, cooking for 2 in MN and also visited family in Iowa for T. Day. Made good progress on clearing more of the freezer for the start of cookie-baking next week.

Mon: Cheesy hashbrown potatoes, salmon, salad
Tues: (from freezer) Rotel hotdish, pulled pork, salad
Wed: Lunch was leftovers clear-out before our 4.5 hour drive to Iowa. Light supper - sandwiches & chips
Thurs: Thanksgiving w/ family ( see Thanksgiving thread for details)
Fri: T.Day leftovers, then drive home from Iowa.
Sat: noon (from freezer) Sausage pumpkin pasta bake, grape tomatoes, sliced apples
evening: (from freezer) Breaded fish, roast butternut squash, hot Parmesan corn dip roughly based on the linked recipe using frozen corn and diced bell peppers in place of canned corn, tortilla chips
Sun (today): (from freezer) Butternut squash ravioli, chicken meatballs, jarred (Aldi’s) Pumpkin pasta sauce

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