September 9, 2023

WEEKLY MENU 09.10.23

What’s on tap during the Weekly Menu 09.10.23? Pantry surfing for the win!

We’re tapping into the pantry and freezer during the Weekly Menu 09.10.23. I don’t hate going to the grocery store, but it IS relentless – consistently going every week gets old sometimes. Don’t even get me started on the cost.

I went for a big buy on the Thursday before Labor Day because we were having the Bring Your Own Lobster Dinner on Friday night. I didn’t want to hit the store again on Sunday, which is my normal shopping day. So I prepped an expansive list and went to town. Then, we were called out of town unexpectedly for a funeral, and missed two of the meals planned for on the Weekly Menu 09.03.23.

So I’m going to keep up the skip-the-grocery-store joy for another week. Sometimes the pantry needs a clean out.

Most times the freezer does.

We have a big old freezer in the garage. Old being the operative word. It’s a hand-me-down from my parents, who used it for several years before we got it. When we moved Mom and Dad out of their house, we moved the freezer into ours. How long ago? Well, suffice it to say that Mom told me not to put my arms over my head while I was washing the wood paneled walls in the basement. Because I was pregnant with Baby Boy, and she didn’t want the baby to be strangled.

I told her that was an old wives tale, but she was pretty insistent. The woman had eight babies, without, apparently, ever raising her arms above her head once. Sure, she drank and smoked ciggies while pregnant, but this was the hill she was going to die on.

Anywho, that’s how I know that we’ve had the freezer for twenty-two years. So it is definitely not new. And it does not do any of that new-fangled self defrosting technology. Twice a year or so, we need to remove everything, unplug it and leave it open to thaw out. Sometimes it happens by mistake, and we lose everything in there. Pretty sure that is not cost-effective, but it gets the job done.

What do we have in the freezer and pantry?

We’ve got a couple of pork chops. Two nice salmon filets, a bag of raw shrimp, sausage for days, lots and lots of ramen and half empty boxes of pasta. And a fun variety of canned goods and frozen veggies. We do have three quarters of an iceberg lettuce and nice big English cucumber in the fridge. Plus a half of a bunch each of dill, cilantro and parsley. Usually those last three go bad before we use them, but this is their week! (Affiliate links follow. See Disclaimer Page for Details.)

Weekly Menu 09.10.23

Wait until you see this beauty. On Sunday, we’re having Sweet & Spicy Popcorn as an appetizer. And then I’ll put popcorn on the grocery list, because one batch is all we have left. I’m going to cook the salmon and some shrimp in an easy roux-based sauce. We have some whole milk left, so I’ll go half an half with some stock (made from Chicken Soup Base) to make a creamy, tasty sauce for the seafood.

I’ll pile the cubed seafood and some frozen peas into a casserole dish, mix in the sauce, and top with some prepared Instant Mashed Potatoes. What can I say? I love them, so they’re always in the pantry. The top of the casserole will get dotted with butter and I’ll pop the whole thing into the oven (which is still working!) at 375 degrees in convection mode. When the top is nicely golden brown, I’ll insert the Instant Read Thermometer into the salmon to check for doneness.

We’ll accompany our casserole with a Cucumber/Onion/Dill salad in a sweet and vinegary dressing made with distilled white vinegar, water to taste, some sugar, kosher salt, cracked pepper and the leftover dill.

We have a tube of pizza dough in the fridge, so I’ll spread that on a sheet pan and sprinkle with some garlic salt and shredded cheese. We’ll cook that for twenty minutes or so in the oven with the casserole until it’s melty and gooey.

On Monday we’ll sauté sausage and chopped onions until cooked, then add some frozen spinach and a can of tomatoes to make a delicious sauce to top our pasta with. Several pasta varieties will be called into play, adding a whimsical note to Monday night’s dinner.

We have all the makings for the Mexican Chicken and Rice because it was on the menu last week and got ditched for the funeral. So we’ve got that going for us.

I think we’re going to make the week!

Check out the Crazy Crust Pizza – the recipe is, well, crazy. It literally pours into a sheet pan with no yeast or kneading.

I’m not entirely sure how many types of beans are in the pantry. I’m thinking three, but we might be having Two Bean and Sausage soup instead. I’ll probably use up the Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base for that one.

On Saturday, I’m planning on making the Crusty Bread recipe below. Our trusty KitchenAid Mixer is just sitting there, and we do have some yeast in the fridge. The recipe is ridiculously easy though – the mixer is probably overkill. But you do need a Dutch Oven.