August 14, 2021

WEEKLY MENU 08.15.21

We’re on the road again during the Weekly Menu 08.15.21. Heading into the mountains, but not on this road, thank goodness~

Did you think that we had a snake as the picture of the post for the Weekly Menu 08.15.21? Nope! I wouldn’t do that to you. It’s a road in Transylvania, Romania taken with a drone (obviously!) in autumn in the Carpathian Mountains. Isn’t it wild? Could you imagine running that twice during your daily commute?

Transylvania is a region that is located in central Romania. Bound on the east and south by its natural borders, the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended westward to the Apuseni Mountains. This broader definition of Transylvania encompasses not only central but also western and north-western Romania, including Crișana, Maramureș and Banat.
The region of Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. It also contains major cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia, and Bistrița.
The Western world commonly associates Transylvania with vampires because of the influence of Bram Stoker‘s novel Dracula and the many films the tale inspired.^[1][2]
Wikipedia

Although not this road, we are going on the road again during the Weekly Menu 08.15.21 when we take Baby Boy back to school. He’s been home since Thanksgiving, when he opted to do his spring semester of all-online classes from the comfort of home rather than his apartment at Penn State because of the strict Covid protocols. He did spectacularly well here, bumping his GPA up while spending a LOT of family time with us.

Man, I am so going to miss him.

But it is TIME for him to go back and have a real college experience, modified as it might be by any Covid variants out there. Fingers crossed he spends the whole semester on campus and at sporting events – which will be a real treat after the dearth of them last year.

So we’re having a couple of his favorite meals – Chicken Tacos and Sausage Orechiette – while he launders all his bedding (and the clothes on his floor) and packs his bags. Chicken Tacos are small chunks of white meat chicken sautéed quickly with taco seasoning sprinkled on. We’ll probably use the combo pack Taco Dinner with both soft and hard shells. Super simple, but very tasty.

Baby Boy is a sausage ‘achine (machine) from way back. He has never met a piece of sausage that he didn’t like. The reason Sausage Orechiette is on the Weekly Menu 08.15.21 is because of it’s absolute simplicity. It’s a one pan meal where the pasta cooks in the sauce along with the meat. (We could have subbed in another of his faves – Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner – except for the heating the whole kitchen up thing.)

Of Course the grilling continues…

With burgers liberally infused with cheese on Sunday. We have Mexican Street Corn Casserole all the time, but we’re going to go with one of the bounties of summer and make them authentically by grilling corn on the cob and smearing them liberally once they’re charred. Yummy.

I’m also making one of MY favorites that no one else will eat: Broiled Tomatoes. It was one of Mom’s absolute favorites for a reason. It is the best way to eat in-season tomatoes.

HOW DO YOU MAKE BROILED TOMATOES?

It’s pretty simple and mind bogglingly good. Thick slice a ripe tomato. Put it on a sprayed baking sheet. (Affiliate links follow – see disclaimer page for details.) Sprinkle with kosher salt and regular AP flour. Top with a slice of butter (there is probably a tablespoon on this whole tomato) and chopped bacon. (BACON!) And BROIL.

Raw Tomatoes from Weekly Menu 09.13.20 — Broiled Tomatoes!

Tomatoes sprinkled with flour — Broiled Tomatoes!

These are so good that I habitually wipe up the leftovers with the empty cob and eat them. Don’t judge. Just try them yourself!

We’re having STEAK fajita salad, which is the same thing as Chicken Fajita Salad, except, you know, with steak. It’ll probably be grilled, and we’ll fill up the fabulous Grill Basket with the spiced up peppers and onions. Healthy and delicious, this salad it’s a great way to have steak without breaking the bank.

The crockpot “Summer Corn Chowder” is made with more of the ubiquitous corn on the cob. We’ll remove the kernels and add those PLUS THE COBS to the crock pot. The flavor will be divine. We will discard the cobs before eating.