October 30, 2021

WEEKLY MENU 10.31.21

We’re celebrating more than just Halloween on the Weekly Menu 10.31.21~ because every week is a good week for a party.

One of my favorite people and my very first God-Daughter had a milestone birthday a week or so back, and we’re celebrating with a special dinner during the Weekly Menu 10.31.21. She seems to like whatever I make, mostly because I tend to make whatever she likes. She eats mostly vegetarian with a slight bend towards pescatarian: she loves shrimp.

I’ve found that the easiest types of foods to make for vegetarian meals seem to be either Mexican (yay beans!) or Italian (yay pasta!). This week we’re having a little decadence on Monday, making Garlic Alfredo over linguine with scampied shrimp and grilled chicken for the non-fish eaters in the crowd. The star of the meal has got to be a recipe I stumbled across a few weeks ago:

Guys Fieri’s Garlic Bread

Holy cow, guys – this stuff is MONEY! (I had to.) We’ll round out the meal with a Caesar-ish salad (my Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing is fabulous without any anchovies.) And because I figure she’s probably had enough cake for a while, we’re having a Birthday Cake Martini instead. Cheers Paula!

Of course, you don’t have to be celebrating to have Monday’s dinner. But a little of the Garlic Alfredo goes a long way. I’m just saying. It is low-carb though, and goes fabulously well on zucchini noodles/zoodles. If you don’t have one already, check out the super cheap Veggetti. (Affiliate links precede and follow – see Disclaimer Page for details.) This little tool really holds up and makes zoodles in no time at all.

Halloween is on Sunday this year – so the big Halloween Bash was on Saturday night (see the Weekly Menu 10.24.21 for full deets) but we have to make some effort. The trick-or-treaters are scheduled between 6 and 8 in our neighborhood, so we’ll serve up din-din in a bowl. The Guinness Braised Beef even has an orange component with the carrots. And topping roasted garlic mashed potatoes with the beefy goodness makes sure we’re safe from any vampires that might come visiting. D suggested the chocolate covered pretzels for a little salty-sweet component, but honestly we’ll probably be eating Halloween Candy all night. Back to the diet on Monday! Er, Tuesday!

We love southern food~

We were down in Charleston recently and Bert ordered Brunswick Stew, which is a specialty down that way. It was a fairly uninspiring bowl, honestly, but because it sounded so good, we thought to give it another shot. Paula Deen Magazine provided this recipe, so I feel like we’re safe. It has shredded chicken and pulled pork (leftover from Thursday) along with lima beans and potatoes in a tomato/barbecue sauce base. Right?

WEEKLY MENU 10.31.21

Pshew. That’s a LOT of recipe links! Here goes: the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are from Just A Pinch. The Chocolate Covered Halloween Pretzels are via Like Mother Like Daughter. We found Guys Garlic Bread at the Food Network. The celebratory Birthday Cake Martini is from Inspired by Charm. The Mexican Beef and Rice Casserole is via Spaceships and Laser Beams. The Instant Pot Pulled Pork was found at The Busy Baker Paula Deen created the gorgeous Brunswick Stew. Asian night is via Christie at Home and Red House Spice.