Plan implosion

Ok, so my menu plan didn’t *literally* collapse inward in a very sudden and violent way. But it came close.

Last week I had the blahs. I didn’t make much of the menu I had planned. The biggest bummer of all is that I didn’t make pasties, because they’re awesome comfort food, and I could really use that right now. Sigh.

The problem is, I’m pretty sure I had an awesome week. I think I was just too busy and drained by the number of “out and about” activities to appreciate it. Can I blame it on being an introvert? Maybe? Either way, now I’m going to do my best to recount all the good stuff that happened.

• Monday- I did in fact prep and assemble the lasagna as planned, and it turned out really well. I alternated layers of the garlic-butter-sauteed-chard mixed with ricotta/mozarella/egg/parmesan, with layers of beefy marinara spiced up with fennel and Italian seasoning. Sauce on top, covered with foil while cooking, and topped with fresh grated parm when it was time to serve. I think I have a new preferred technique here!
• Tuesday- My boss gave me four tickets to the Twins game! Score! I had both boys overnight, so we left as soon as we ate our lasagna dinner and took the lightrail to the ball game. Their dad joined us after he got off work. We had to leave after the 7th inning stretch because it was a school night, but the boys were happy to find out that the Twins won the next morning.

•  Wednesday- I actually got mowing done, and it felt good to have my yard look (temporarily) respectable. I did make the greek style salad with chicken, and it was good but it didn’t turn out exactly as I had hoped.
• Thursday- I went to my first ever meeting of The Children’s Storytelling Guild. I’ve been excited about telling stories for a while, and got a lot of good feedback from the others there about my telling of The Sausage. It was fun to get the inside scoop from storytelling professionals, and get feedback from someone other than my five year old. We just had leftover lasagna for dinner.
• Friday- Where did the week go?! I made us some to-go bbq chicken sandwiches with fruit on the side, which we ate in the car as we drove to NE Minneapolis. We went to a friend’s gallery event for Art-A-Whirl, and got to see a lot of cool and unique art. I also had the chance to catch up with former co-workers, who I now miss desperately.
• Saturday- french toast for breakfast! I picked up my seedlings from Gardening Matters, and made a halfhearted attempt to try on summer shoes before heading to dinner with my friend Erin. We went to Boca Chica Restaurante in St. Paul, ate some good grub and talked, and talked, and talked some more.
• Sunday- I took Darian’s Grandma with me to church, and after we had lunch I picked up Darian. We ran some errands, going to pick up more iron on patches for his pants, and get bright side walk chalk to replenish our supply. We played, we read together, I braided his hair while he watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 for the five thousandth time. I roasted a chicken for dinner and kind of scraped together the sides, but no one complained about it (other than me in my head).

So here’s the deal. This was all wonderful, really good stuff. Technically, I’m really happy that I did it all. I would have been sad to have to give up any piece of it. At the same time, I’m really not energized by this much activity, and I feel like I’m behind on everything.

This week, I’m vowing to take it easy. And I’m really, really going to try. Here is my best shot at a slacker meal plan.

• Monday Shredded leftover chicken stir fry- broccoli, carrots, shallots in some kind of thrown together soy/teriyaki sauce. I’m making a big enough batch of rice to have leftovers for many other meals.
• Tuesday Baked fish and shrimp, baked potatoes, salad.
• Wednesday Romaine lettuce salad with balsamic dressing, dried cherries, carrots, broccoli, green onion, and probably sunflower seeds. Topped with chunky shreds of chicken, croutons, and mini cubes of cheddar cheese.
• Thursday Rice with peppers, onions, carrots, celery, rutabaga, and seasoned ground beef. It’s like home made rice-a-roni. Or maybe a less dirty version of dirty rice. Some kind of side vegetable in here. Maybe asparagus?
• Friday I have absolutely no idea. I’ll marinate on this a bit, look at my fridge inventory, and update a bit later in the week. I may get a few more things because I need to get to the store for milk!
• Saturday and Sunday TBD. Again, I’ll check the fridge and hit the store.

There. I’m mostly planned, and a bit more thankful.

What do you do to perk yourself up when you start the week feeling exhausted?