Upside Down Cats

Another week, another menu planned in advance... Here's what I'll be cooking this week for my wonderful Scott and myself...



Beef & Cheese Quesadillas & Mixed Greens Salad

Burgers Topped w/ Artichoke Dip, Home Fries & Marinated Cauliflower Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad & Italian Bread w/ Herb Butter

Herb-Crusted Sea Bass w/ Lemon-Pepper Sauce, Rice Pilaf & Escarole Sauted in Olive Oil w/ Garlic

Homemade Fettucini Tossed w/ Butter & Garlic & Mixed Greens Salad w/ Fresh Mozzarella

Eggs In A Rye Bread Frame, Hash Brown Potatoes w/ Bacon, Fresh Fruit

Greek Shrimp Over Rice w/ Spinach, Feta Cheese & Walnuts

Breakfast "Burgers" w/ Sausage Patties, Eggs & Cheese on a Kaiser Roll & Hash Browns w/ Onion



Sounds pretty tasty, I think. Now all that's left to do is Get Cooking!

I'm back on schedule posting the meals I've planned in advance for the week ahead. Although I also pre-plan and often utilize many of the same ingredients in meals for my daycare children, these meals posted here are the ones I prepare strictly for Scott and me. Here's some of what I'll be cooking for us this week:



Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches on Toasted Club Rolls, Garlic French Fries & Mixed Greens Salad

Pasticcio* & Wilted Spinach Salad

Cheese & Rice Casserole & Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Shrimp Fajitas & Tortilla Chips w/ Salsa & Refried Beans

Waffles, Chicken-Apple Sausage Links & Fresh Fruit

Chicken Burgers w/ Bleu Cheese & Bacon, Beer-Battered Onion Rings & Raw Vegetable Platter w/ Ranch Dip

Bacon & Cheddar Omlettes & Bagels w/ Garlic-Herb Cream Cheese



*Pasticcio - Thanks, Kelly, for recently reminding me of a dish I haven't made in years! Greek food rocks!

I can hardly believe it's May already! Before long I'll be wanting to fire up the grill out back! Our weather's not quite there yet, so here's the list of meals I've planned in advance to cook in my kitchen this upcoming week:



Wagon Wheel Pasta w/ Shrimp & Broccoli in a White Wine, Sun-Dried Tomato & Parmesan Sauce & Garlic Herb Breadsticks

Southwestern Chicken Burgers Topped w/ Cheddar-Monterey Jack Cheese & Chipotle Sauce, Onion Rings & Mixed Greens Salad

Chicken-Fried Steak w/ Creamy Gravy, Mashed Potatoes & Spinach Sauted w/ Shallots in Olive Oil

Hot Dogs, German Potato Salad & Chili-Lime Corn on the Cob

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Oat Bread, Tater Tots, Raw Vegetable Platter w/ Garlic Herb Dip

Pesto-Marinated Chicken Breasts Served over Vegetable Rice Pilaf

Puffy Egg Roller Coaster,* Chicken Maple Sausage Links & Blackberries w/ Whipped Cream

Beef Enchiladas & Mixed Greens Salad



Wishing you a wonderful and well-fed week! Bon Apetit!

*Here's a photo I took the last time I made Roller Coaster for brunch. It is a concoction of eggs, flour, milk and butter. Drizzled with a touch of maple syrup, it is absolute heaven, my friends!

Usually by midweek I begin looking forward to the weekend, when - hopefully - I will be able to carve out a generous chunk of time to recuperate from the breakneck pace of my Monday through Friday gig as a daycare provider.

Just the notion of lounging in bed or drinking a leisurely cup of coffee or spending the better part of the day in my pajamas is enough to fuel me through the end of the work-a-day week.

I learned something this past weekend, though, that convinced me that a busy Saturday can have its merits.

Continue reading "Zoned Out" »

Last week flew by...it's hard for me to believe it's already time to post this week's meals I've planned in advance. Here's a sampling of what's on the menu at Chez Gina...

Beef-Barley-Lentil Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread

Meal-Sized Salad w/ Crabmeat, Cheese & Bacon & French Bread w/ Garlic-Herb Butter

Parmesan-Crusted Cod, Rice Pilaf w/ Almonds & Oven-Roasted Asparagus w/ Garlic & Olive Oil

Homemade Cheese Pizza, Mixed Greens Salad

Barbeque Spareribs, Macaroni & Cheese & Creamy Coleslaw

Seafood Benedict w/ English Muffins, Hash Brown Potatoes & Pineapple-Orange Salad

Pasta Two Ways: Fettucini w/ Chicken Alfredo Sauce & Campanelle w/ Tomato Basil Meat Sauce, Homemade Garlic Herb Breadsticks, Mixed Greens Salad & Strawberry Shortcake



Hey...that sounds like a pretty tasty week! No matter what the week brings, at least I have dinner to look forward to!

I neglected to post our menu last week...maybe that will give you an indication as to the kind of week it was. My schedule got knocked off track somehow, and it was tumbling dominoes from there on out. Anyway, I've done my meal planning today, so here is some of the magic I'll be cooking up this week...



Marinated & Pan-Seared Skirt Steak, Baked Potatoes & Escarole Sauted w/ Olive Oil & Garlic

Prosciutto & Provolone Sandwiches on Harvest Grain French Bread, Garlic & Herb Roasted Red Potato Wedges & Mixed Greens Salad

Roast Chicken, Dressing & Steamed Broccoli & Cauliflower Medley

Lasagna Rolls Stuffed w/ Ricotta Cheese, Prosciutto & Spinach & Mixed Greens Salad

Homemade Chicken Pot Pies w/ Mixed Vegetables

Pecan Pancakes, Maple Sausage Links & Strawberries w/ Whipped Cream



It seems I am back on track again, so maybe this will prove to be a better blogging (and everything else) week.

At least we can hope...

Here comes another week! I'm running a day behind planning our meals in advance for the week. A event-filled weekend will do that to a person...

 

Thai Chicken w/ Rice Noodles & Broccoli

Rotini Pasta Tossed w/ Italian-Spiced Shrimp & Mixed Greens Salad

Hamburgers w/ Cheddar-Horseradish Topping, Onion Rings & Raw Vegetable Platter w/ Ranch Dip

Double Shell Beef Tacos w/ Refried Beans, Lettuce, Tomatoes & Sour Cream

Greek-style Chicken Breasts w/ Spinach & Feta Cheese in Lemon Olive Oil Sauce over Steamed White Rice

Bacon & Cheddar Omlettes, Whole Wheat Toast & Orange Sections

 

There...that was fairly painless. I guess it's a case of better late than never!

Before we get any farther into the New Year, I would like to acknowledge some of the celebrities who passed away in 2007.

This is in no way a complete list of celebrity deaths...it is merely a list of those with whom I am familiar and will therefore miss at least a bit now that they are no longer here to entertain.

Since I am youngest in a large family, I was exposed to television and movies that were considerably before my time by my older siblings, parents and grandmother. I come from a family of TV and movie trivia buffs, too. These things must have rubbed off on me, explaining why so many of these older personalities are familiar to me.

I can't think of a better example to illustrate the depth of my trivial knowledge than the following list of deceased celebrities with whom I am familiar:

Continue reading "Farewell, Familiar Faces..." »

Finally - I am returning with my What's Cookin'? feature. Of course I cooked over the holidays, but our whole schedule was off, so I found it difficult to stick to a plan, or even to a plan to make a plan. I cooked our traditional Hoppin' John which is supposed to inspire good luck in the New Year...not that I'm a believer in superstition, but it couldn't hurt to play along, right? Hoppin' John is a southern dish...I always wonder how I ever got in the habit of making it...I'm not even from the southern part of New Jersey!

Anyway, I'm back on the horse, planning meals in advance for the upcoming week. So here's some of what I'll be cooking up this week...

 

Chicken & Andouille Sausage over Rice, Mixed Greens Salad

Eggs over Cheese Grits, Topped with Sausage Gravy & Oranges & Blueberries

Grilled Turkey & Swiss Cheese Sandwiches, Creamy Potato Soup & Coleslaw

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cornbread Dressing & Oven-Roasted Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrots

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce & Mixed Greens Salad

Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes & Garlic Sauteed Escarole

Beef Taco Salad in a Tortilla Bowl

Beef Pot Pies

Eggs In A Whole Wheat Bread Frame, Sausage Patties, Hash Brown Potatoes

Deep Dish Pizza, Mixed Greens Salad

 

It's going to be a challenging week ahead...my first five-day work week since the week before Christmas. Let me tell you, I could sure get used to those four-day weekends!

Here I am back to my (somewhat) normal routine following a few days of holiday R&R. I closed my daycare Monday and Tuesday for a long-overdue (and well-deserved) long weekend.

I really needed that!

It was the best Christmas gift I could have received!

Continue reading "To: Gina - From: Gina" »