Supper Sundays (48 & 49 of 52)

Meal Plan Week #47

Sunday:  Eggplant Gratin, Greek Style (via Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything--Vegetarian)

We ventured out of our recipe resource comfort zone to try this one out.  And it also meant I got to buy a new cooking dish.  Bonus.  While it wasn't bad, the meal itself was not stellar.  But preparing it should lead to a little more risk taking on my part . . . another bonus :-)

Monday:  Leftovers

Tuesday:  Seared Cauliflower w/ Olives & Breadcrumbs (via Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express)

This one also came from a source we don't use too much--because of the format; while it offers quick and relatively easy to prepare meals, it also offers very little direction (i.e., there is a lot of room for user error).  Anyway . . . this was great!  I was very proud of the way it turned out, even if A. thought the olives were a little out of place!

Wednesday:  Dinner Out

Thursday:  Thanksgiving!

As A. has blogged about, we hosted Thanksgiving; a major undertaking.  Even though we prepared Thanksgiving for ourselves last year, having to do it for others is a different ball of wax.

Instead of going through every dish listed below, here are the highlights:  the dressing, the mac and cheese, and the grape salad were the clear favorites.  The pork turned out well.  And the only real disappointing dish was the green beans . . . the balsamic taste just didn't come through.

• Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce

• Corn Bread, Chorizo, and Jalapeño Dressing

• Grilled Poblano Macaroni and Cheese

• Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans and Pearl Onions

• Broccoli Salad

• Grape Salad

• Gooey Butter Cake (not pictured)

And the plate . . .

Friday:  New Orleans

Saturday:  More New Orleans

We also revisited one of our old favorites in a week in which we did not do much cooking (even though we had planned to):  Avocado-Spinach Panini

The key to making this dish a success -- really good bread!!

Meal Plan Week #49
Sunday:  Creamy Rigatoni w/ Gruyere and Brie
Monday:  Leftovers
Tuesday:  Edmame Rice Bowls
Wednesday:  Spinach-Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Almonds
Thursday:  Leftovers
Friday:  Art Walk and Dinner Out
Saturday am:  Tex Mex To Be Determined (using our new cookbook)
Saturday pm:  Chili and Cheer