The time has finally come, and after six weeks of enjoying Friends Dinner at other houses, it is now my turn to cook. Here is the plan for Monday:
- Cheeseburgers. Its supposed to be in the upper 30s today, so I’ll grill! Since I have a massive amount to cook, the burgers will get cheese AFTER they come off the grill (either sharp cheddar or pepper jack) and I’ll let them get nice and melty in the oven. Available toppings will include:
- Ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, mayo, A1 steak sauce, and any other sauce I have kicking around in my fridge
- Sauteed onions
- Lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- Avocado!
- Dill pickle slices
- Pickled Jalapenos.
- UPDATE: I also made four pounds of shredded bbq pork because I wanted to have an alternate meat while the burgers where cooking. I officially had too much food and had about double the buns I needed.
- Deviled Eggs will be out for snacking.
- Fruit! I’ll have green grapes cut up into mini-clumps and cubed cantaloupe.
- Veggie plate will have cucumbers, peppers, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I’ll make a dip with equal parts sour cream and mayo, then season it up with salt, pepper, and dill.
- Chips of course.
- Dessert will be Rice Krispie treats.
You’d think that would be enough cooking for the week, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet figured out how to eat just once a week.
- Tuesday will be lemon pepper chicken drumsticks, with Caesar salad on the side.
- Wednesday will be vegetarian burritos with black beans, cilantro-lime rice, plenty of guac, tomatillo salsa, sour cream, and probably two or three other kinds of salsa. Giant salad on the side, because if we eat enough greens it will surely make Spring come faster.
- Thursday is still Stirfry Stursday, even though I’m starting to get tired of coming up with new stirfry ideas. I’ll do something similar to this recipe and make a peanut/soy/garlic/ginger/type sauce with chicken thighs, onions, broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots. Served over rice and garnished with cilantro and plenty of toasted sesame seeds.
- Friday my partner will be taking care of dinner, and he hasn’t told me if he’s cooking or just buying something. He’s now in charge of dinner every other Friday, starting this week.
My scheme for the other two Fridays each month is to alternate between each kid (9 and 12) and act as their sous chef. I’ll require them to brainstorm ideas and pick a menu before my weekly shopping trip, and I’ll definitely be making them pick out recipes for a while. They’ll both be heavily supervised as we gain confidence in this system together, but with enough research and practice, I think we’ll do just fine.
CrustyBeth 