December 26, 2020

WEEKLY MENU 12.27.20

The holidays continue – this week we say goodbye to 2020. That certainly requires some partying!

There are as many ways to celebrate as there are people, and we’ve included two that will fit into the Weekly Menu 12.27.20. You can plan an elegant and intimate cocktail party here:

NEW YEARS EVE COCKTAILS

Or you can follow along with our menu below for New Years Eve. Ever since the boysies were little, we’ve celebrated with a FRY OUT! Kind of a last gasp on bad for us foods that happen to be delicious. We watch a random movie first, then always finish up with Trading Places. Something about Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd screams New Years to us. Plus it’s educational. (Commodities trading is fascinating.) We slog through (with occasional head nods on the couch) to midnight and watch the ball drop.

GINGER-ALE USUALLY SUBS IN FOR CHAMPAGNE. KEEP IT QUIET.

Bedtime is almost immediately thereafter. We like to celebrate the New Year with some quality snooze time. I’ll make a big brunch on New Years Day and then a lovely Brisket Dinner that night. We used to have Pork and Sauerkraut, which is very traditional for those of us with German heritage. Turns out that no one in the house really likes it too much. Serving a meal everyone turns their nose up at seems like a bad way to start the year.

I don’t do resolutions – and I don’t think you should either. Read this post to see why.

EVOLVE, NOT RESOLVE

THE NEW YEARS DAY MENU IS FULL OF LUCKY FOODS.

No chicken (because chickens scratch backwards).

BLACK-EYED PEAS, GREENS, AND CORNBREAD

Luck factor: Even folks who aren’t from the Southern United States go all in on eating black-eyed peas and leafy greens for good luck on New Year’s Day. Add a slice of cornbread, and you’ve got “peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.”
Allrecipes

And a cake – because round, sweet treats bring a circle of luck to the eaters. Sure, we scoff at superstitions in general, but a little help won’t hurt. Especially this year!

We are eating every night during the Weekly Menu 12.27.20~

We start out the week with a little switch up on Sunday dinner. We’ve been eating big (and that doesn’t stop this week), so we’re having leftovers. The family favorite thing to do with leftover ham is on the menu with Hot Ham & Cheese Sliders. No leftover ham? No problem – deli ham would sub in great here.

We’ve got little spuds for days, so we’re having CrissCross Potatoes as a side. And pretty much nothing else. We’ve got some ice cream in the freezer if someone HAS to have something sweet, but we’ve still got cookies everywhere and our Baby Jesus Birthday Cake barely has a dent in it.

Comfy food on Monday. Meatloaf always satisfies this crowd. It’s simple, easy and cheap. Dinner Trifecta!

A Big Salad: Weekly Menu 12.27.20

I’ll coat some chicken strips with the tiniest bit of oil and season with S&P, chili powder and maybe a sprinkle of onion powder. Put the strips on a well sprayed sheet pan. Pop it in a 425 degree oven and let that rock while we set up the salad: romaine lettuce covers the bottom of the platter, followed up with drained, canned corn. Then a sprinkle of drained and rinsed black beans, red onions, and cheese. Coarsely crushed corn chips sub in as croutons, and a bit of chili powder added to ranch dressing works to change it up to delicious Chili Ranch.

Cover the salad with cooked chicken

And serve immediately. Little bowls on the side with pickled jalapeno, diced avocado, and sour cream let everyone specialize their own. Super fast and healthy dinner for a Tuesday.

Our Weekly Menu 12.27.20 is full of variety – and some healthy add-ins. Check out the Pork Chops Italiano for a fun, healthy dinner on Wednesday. We’ll cut out the mushrooms and bump up the peppers. Yum.

After the holidays are officially over, we’re going to cut the sweets and carbs a bit. If you want to do the same, check out How to Bring Awesome Variety to Low Carb for some ideas.