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!

Today's installment of Too Cute! is brought to you by a four-year-old girl in my daycare - and Disney.

We were watching the previews before the movie Pocahontas and she said, "Look, Gina, it's The Punchback" (of Notre Dame)!

I suppose the word punch is a lot more common in a four-year-old's world than hunch...and I'm glad for that!

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!

Today's installment of Too Cute! is compliments of the two-year-old girl in my daycare. She is extremely verbal, even considering her age and gender! We commonly have riveting conversations, so I am accustomed to her being able to express herself with great facility.

But today she just made me laugh... Continue reading "Too Cute! 6/3/08" »

Before proceeding to the meat of the matter, I want to take this opportunity to exclaim in abject horror...

OMG, did I just type 6 for the month???

Inconceivable!

It can't possibly be JUNE already!!!

...OK, now I've taken a deep breath and regained my time-passage composure, so let us move forward to the subject at hand: Answering the (hopefully not) burning question...What's Cookin'?

My friend Kelly at kellementology recently complimented me on my organizational skills because I plan my meals for the week in advance. It gave me such a warm feeling to be lauded for my ability to not only make a plan and stick to it, but to prove it by posting it here for all the world (or at least my handful of readers) to see.

I felt so energized by Kelly's praise, in fact, that I proceeded to abandon the whole process the next two weeks...! Yup, it's true...I haven't posted an installment since Sunday, May 11!

Gee, Kelly, I didn't mean to make a liar out of you! I guess the pressure of your admiration was simply too much for me - and I caved! In my defense, I've had some computer and health issues in the past couple weeks. Nothing serious in either arena, just not conducive to blogging.

I have overcome these obstacles (for the most part) so I am here to make Kelly proud once again. Here's what I'll be cooking this week:



Grilled Greek Chicken Salad w/ Mixed Greens, Asparagus, Artichoke Hearts, Feta Cheese & Walnuts & Multi-Grain Bread w/ Honey Butter

Toasted Multi-Cheese Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread, French Fries & Ramen Noodle Coleslaw

Orange Roughy Marinated in Soy Sauce, Honey & Citrus Zest, Rolled in Sesame Seeds, Fried Rice w/ Almonds & Steamed Broccoli drizzled w/ Sesame Oil

Honey-Chipotle BBQ Chicken Wings, Macaroni & Cheese & Garlic Sauted Spinach

Linguine w/ Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari & Clams in a Garlic & White Wine Sauce & Mixed Greens Salad

Chicken-Fried Steak w/ Creamy Country Gravy, Mashed Potatoes & Collard, Turnip & Mustard Greens Sauted w/ Bacon & Garlic



That's better...now I feel like I'm living up to my obsessive-compulsive organized reputation!

The daycare children have got me laughing early this week...

A five-year-old girl is going on a preschool field trip to a place called Exploration Station.

While excitedly reporting the details of her upcoming excursion to me she kept referring to it as Expiration Station.

I wonder what there is to explore there?

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!

You get a bonus in this installment of Too Cute!...a too-fer, if you will.

Overheard today during the daycare children's rendition of Ring Around the Rosey: "Asses, asses, we all fall down!"

And today's second preschoolism: "I am a moymaid!" (Perhaps there are parts of the country where this is not as much of a departure from the familiar-to-my-ears Midwestern pronunciation of Mermaid...)

Hope these help you laugh your way into a pleasant weekend, compliments of my unintententionally entertaining little friends!

The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)



As a daycare provider I eagerly take on the responsibility of teaching children the basics of how to be nice people. Now that the youngest of our little daycare family is two years old, we are focusing more on behavior - and less on diapers (and I am not complaining about that!).

I am currently trying to teach my group of daycare children to choose to do the right thing...cooperation, altruism, the golden rule and all that rot...

Continue reading "Gina's Quotes Du Jour ... »

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!