WEEKLY MENU 09.22.24

We’re heralding fall during the Weekly Menu 09.22.24!

This week signals the official end of summer with the Autumnal Equinox. (Wouldn’t that be a good name for a band?) But what is it, exactly?

This is it: the end of summer. The nights are now longer than the day.
The autumn equinox falls on 22 September and officially marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Sunday on Weekly Menu 09.22.24 is the Autumnal Equinox

The word equinox comes from the Latin for “equal night”. And that’s exactly what happens at the beginning of autumn and spring – the days are divided neatly into a 12-hour day and night for just two days a year, after which they start splitting apart.

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Last bit of Science – I promise:

The event happens because the Earth is slightly tilted. That means that as it moves around the Earth, once a year, its top and bottom tilt slightly towards and away from the Sun – not only leading to the different lengths of the day but to the different amount of heat, too.

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Fall is my favorite season, bar none. There are already splashes of red in the trees, which is a beautiful harbinger. If you look closely, you can see the leaves starting to go a little “gray” – they’re losing the vibrant green we enjoyed all summer. Don’t get me started about how awesome cool nights and warm days are. I don’t even mind the rain!

ORANGE!

My favorite color is orange. There’s just something about it that draws me in. So naturally, I enjoy all manor of pumpkins. Years ago, Bert gave me a pumpkin tureen and pumpkin soup bowls. I am totally jonesing to get those out, at least in the fall decor category, but I usually try to hold off until after my birthday. Thankfully, the big day is only three days after the autumnal equinox. The timing explains why I have so many fall decor items. It might actually explain why I love fall so much, too. Huh.

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We’re …easing into fall with Sunday Dinner during the Weekly Menu 09.22.24~

We’ll start with dessert: how cute are the sugar cookies in the post pic? They are so crazy easy you can let the littles help to rev up autumn! Our big Sunday dinner during the Weekly Menu 09.22.24 has a little bit of a fall-like bent: we’re using the crockpot and making up a giant old vat of Mississippi Crock Pot Roast. We’re making planned leftovers. Zhushing up the beef on Tuesday and topping some corn chips with it, canned corn, canned black beans, and a mess of cheese makes for a gorgeous way to re-use the beef.

Back to Sunday dinner, though, red-skinned garlic mashed potatoes mean the cook doesn’t have to peel the spuds. To make them extra special, I’ll add three or four garlic cloves to the potatoes while they’re boiling. Our appetizer is autumnal, too: Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Dip is easy, delish, and a total crowd-pleaser. We serve it with crackers along with the apples and might sprinkle on some chopped walnuts for a little attitude.

What’s for eats the rest of the week?

Monday night is an easy 5-ingredient dinner with Queso Chicken. More on that later, although we’ll have a reel up on Instagram (tws_mom) next week if you want to see just how easy that recipe is. Make sure to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t already. That way you won’t miss a thing!

We’re harkening back to summer with a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner on Thursday. It can’t be easier, and it’s so refreshing! If we get the rain we so desperately need, we’ll go ahead and bake off a couple of chicken breasts in the regular oven. Fingers crossed!

I’ve mentioned it before, but Bert is the idea man for many of my fun recipes. I asked what kind of soup he’d like this week, and he suggested Shepherd’s Pie Soup. I’ll marry my Creamy Potato Leek Soup with cooked, drained ground beef and some frozen mixed veggies. Doesn’t that sound excellent? Maybe we’ll go all out and top with some sour cream and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar. (Side note: autocorrect keeps trying to fix “idea man” to “ideal man”. Coincidence? I think not.)

WEEKLY MENU 09.22.24

RECIPE LINKS

CARAMEL APPLE CREAM CHEESE DIP

MISSISSIPPI CROCK POT ROAST

CANDY CORN SPIRAL COOKIES

HONEY MUSTARD PORK CHOPS

CAESAR DRESSING

POTATO LEEK SOUP

CRISPY FRIED FISH

SPICED FRIES

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Albert Camus said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”

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EQUIPMENT AND MISC WEEKLY MENU 09.22.24