March 29, 2025

WEEKLY MENU 03.30.25

We’re adding a little mischief and mayhem to the Weekly Menu 03.30.25~

April Fools’ Day is on Tuesday during the Weekly Menu 03.30.25, and we’re thinking of mixing it up a little bit in honor of the fun day. WHY is April 1st April Fools’ Day?

Humorous Jewish Origin of the Custom of Making Fools on the First of April.—This is said to have begun from the mistake of Noah in sending the Dove out of the Ark before the water had abated, on the first day of the month among the Hebrews, which answers to the 1st of April; and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, who ever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the Patriarch. The custom appears to be of great antiquity, and to have been derived by the Romans from some of the Eastern nations.”

— William Ralston Balch (1895)^[17]

Wikipedia

Whether Mr. Balch is correct or just repeating a fun story, April Fools’ Day has been around a long time. There are mentions of it, possibly as far back as 1392. And people have done some really fun things, although I’m not among them. I always thought I was hysterical when I told the family I was pregnant well after having had our third baby, but the Boysies thought I was less than amusing. This year, why not try something new and fun at dinnertime? They’ll be lulled into a false sense of security as the day is all but over, and then: BOOM!

Deconstructed Spaghetti

Tell your family you’re making spaghetti for dinner… then serve it like this:

Uncooked spaghetti noodles (straight out of the box)
Cold marinara sauce (still in the jar)
A whole block of Parmesan (no grating)
Frozen meatballs (still frozen)

Dessert for Dinner (That’s Actually Savory)

Make what looks like a sweet treat but isn’t:

Mashed potatoes scooped like ice cream, drizzled with brown gravy “chocolate syrup”
Meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato “frosting”
Grilled cheese “pound cake” with orange-tinted cream cheese instead of cheddar

DIY Night Gone Wrong

Tell the family it’s DIY Pizza Night, then hand them:

Tortillas instead of pizza dough
Ketchup instead of pizza sauce
Shredded lettuce instead of cheese
Baby carrots instead of pepperoni

Microwave Gourmet Week

Announce that this week’s menu is exclusively microwave meals, featuring masterpieces like:

Monday: Microwaved Ice Cream Soup
Tuesday: Steamed Bread (aka, wet toast)
Wednesday: Melted Cheese Surprise (just a plate of cheese)
Thursday: “Grilled” Cereal (???)

How about a bundt “cake” that’s a savory pizza?

And some final, classic pranks: One common prank is to carefully remove the cream from an Oreo, then replacing it with white toothpaste, and there are many similar pranks that replace an object (usually food) with another object that looks like the object but tastes different such as replacing sugar with salt or vanilla frosting with sour cream.

As well as people playing pranks on one another on April Fools’ Day, elaborate pranks have appeared on radio and television stations, newspapers, and websites, and have been performed by large corporations. In one famous prank in 1957, the BBC broadcast a film in their Panorama current affairs series purporting to show Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti, in what they called the Swiss spaghetti harvest. The BBC was soon flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a hoax on the news the next day.^[31]

With the advent of the Internet and readily available global news services, April Fools’ pranks can catch and embarrass a wider audience than ever before.^[32]

Wikipedia

Kitchen Trickery Options are Endless!

What’s for eats on the Weekly Menu 03.30.25?

National Burrito Day shows up on the Weekly Menu 03.30.25 along with April Fools’, so we’ve opted for a Mexican Feast for Sunday Dinner. I’ll spice and cook up some ground beef, chicken, rice, and beans. Then I’ll get some cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guac together. After that, all that’s left is to assemble! MTO (Made-to-Order) means I’ll add the innards a la Chipotle as my guests shout out what they want and then roll up each burrito shell individually. The only hard part is getting a massive tortilla shell.

After freaking out the family on Tuesday with one of the options above, I’m going to need a fast and easy dinner. I’ll have the makings for a five-ingredient fried rice on hand. Wednesday is super easy ravioli “lasagna”. You don’t need to thaw the ravs before popping this baby in the oven. I’m going to use Italian Turkey sausage to keep the calories under control while keeping the protein up.

Another Lenten Friday means one more way to have a delicious meatless meal. This week, I’m heading into the freezer for a favorite of the boys: Pierogies. I know the handmade ones are better, but sometimes you just can’t beat Mrs. T’s.