WEEKLY MENU 01.28.24
Setting travel goals during the Weekly Menu 01.28.24~
We’re working on the travel calendar during the Weekly Menu 01.28.24. Why? Because January is cold and gray in otherwise wonderful Erieland, and February isn’t much better. Neither is March. A friend posted that “spring was around the corner” in their neck of the woods, and it made me guffaw. Spring is around multiple corners here. We might have a warm up in April, but we really don’t start to believe it’s coming until at least May.
And I know that technically Spring starts in March. It just doesn’t feel like it until May. So what do we do? Head south if we can. We are partial to Florida in January. It’s not crazy warm yet, but to us it’s paradise. You can always tell the northerners in sunny FLA. We’re the ones in shorts and tank tops while the Floridians are wearing sweatshirts and warm pants.
February means that Savannah and Charleston get a little warmer, so those are good for a little jaunt then. Again, northerners stand out, but we’re tough, and can take it. We usually fly from Buffalo, NY, but, as you might imagine, gentle reader, that can be a little dicey during the winter. So sometimes we think about a road trip south-ish instead.
We tend to not travel during the summer and early fall
Summer in Erieland is not to be beat, and we spend as much time as we can enjoying it. This year we are contemplating a bucket list trip to Italy. Avoiding summer travel means we’ll go during “shoulder season” which is either before the summer rush or after.
Shoulder season: The shoulder season is the best time to travel to Italy for cheap. April, May, September, and October are considered shoulder season months. The weather is still quite pleasant around this time. You may be able to score some good deals on hotels, especially in the southern parts of the country. When compared to peak season, there are fewer visitors. So visiting major monuments and attractions may not be so painful when compared to peak season.
ACKO Travel Tips
The weather will still be okay, but the crowds should be better. Sounds perfect!
What’s this got to do with the Weekly Menu 01.28.24?
Not much, honestly, except we’re working on reservations during the week. And not dinner reservations. We are starting out the Weekly Menu 01.28.24 with an easy, delicious and economical dish that ostensibly hails from Italy: Pork Milanese. We have a pork tenderloin in the freezer, so I’ll make medallions out of that, but boneless pork chops work well too. Our dessert is something that we normally make during the summer – but we’ll sub in frozen blueberries and relish in the taste. Whole Wheat Blueberry Bars are actually not too bad for us. Sans ice cream, of course.
We’re getting our appetites going with a cream cheese “dip” that couldn’t be easier. I’ll let a brick of cream cheese come to room temp, and smother it with chili sauce. If I’m feeling fancy, I might form it into a round or something closely related before adding the chili sauce. If you didn’t make chili sauce this year, some red-pepper jelly is a nice switch in. A little sweet, a little savory. Serve with crackers.
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We’re freeing up some travel site surfing time with Crockpot Chicken and Peppers on Monday. The crockpot will come into play again on Wednesday with the ever hearty Cajun Red Beans and Rice. Sometimes we go meatless, but this week we’re going to pan fry a little sausage to go with. It’ll brighten up the day.
Winter Friday’s are soup again, of course. The Lasagna Soup is a game changer – it totally tastes like lasagna, but is crazy easy. I can’t guarantee you’ll love it, of course, but I highly recommend it.
WEEKLY MENU 01.28.24
