Menu: Feb 11-17; monthly menu planning, and accommodating religious restrictions

Our monthly menu ideas project is working, in the sense that we're sticking to it about 80% of the time. The issue we seem to be running into as of this week is that, because of the way the dates fell at the beginning of the month, we've already used all the "meat" ideas and we're only halfway through the month. Fortunately this month that means that by the end of the week, that leaves us only 10 days to fill, and we can have a little extra fish and chicken.

The only other issue is that for a while we were going grocery shopping earlier in the day, around 10 or 11 am. Recently we had to do it in the evening due to morning appointments, and discovered that it is MUCH easier to go shopping during the late afternoon and evening. That's the time I'm used to the stores being PACKED with people, but apparently not here. Of course, the fact that it's quieter because people are already at home cooking their dinners also means WE should be at home cooking our dinners. So we've had to start thinking about planning dinner ahead and not making it be a day that we cook right at dinner time; things that are already prepped and ready to go, things we throw in the crockpot earlier in the day, something! This week it happens to be going out to dinner, but at least we know for next week.

Lent is upon us now, so the 'Rents need to not eat meat on Fridays. The idea of fish not being meat is a rant for a different day, but more pressing is that it keeps being presented as, "We Must Have Fish On Fridays." I know that phrasing it as such comes from a mindset of eating a Meat, Starch, "Vegetable" meal every day for dinner, but accuracy is important. At least they do seem to understand that is not the case, and I am in fact allowed to feed them vegetarian food that day as well. Still, I've written "NO MEAT" in wet-erase marker on Friday's dinner slot, so we don't accidentally put a meat meal that day. By design we have at least two vegetarian meals per week, plus a fish meal, so 3 of our 5 meals should fit there just fine.
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What's on the Menu?


Breakfasts: Hash; Bagels; Smoothies

Lunches: Turkey Sandwiches; Pasta Salad; Grilled Cheese

Dinners:
Monday: Corned Beef Soup (using up some leftovers) [soup; leftovers; pressure; freezer]

Tuesday: Going Out Tonight!

Wednesday: On Your Own; Mom & Pops are having Tuna Noodle Casserole, Mr. Moon and I are having date night with Shrimp Alfredo. [fish; freezer; OYO]

Thursday: Oven-Fried Chicken (my mom's recipe), green beans, and biscuits [chicken; freezer; traditional]

Friday: Salmon with lemon cream sauce and scallions, broccoli, and wild rice (held over from last week) [fish; freezer]

Saturday: Potato Leek Soup with leeks from our own garden! [vegetarian; soup; crockpot; backstock; garden]


Sunday: On Your Own; Mr. Moon and I are going to have Barbacoa tacos, cooked in the pressure cooker [beef; tex-mex; pressure]




February meal ideas:
Beef/Pork: Hamburger gravy (w/ meatloaf meat); enchiladas (w/ meatloaf meat); corned beef soup

Bird: Chicken fried rice; open-faced turkey sandwiches; Mom's oven-fried chicken; hummus-crusted chicken (or chicken cordon bleu since there is a lot of experimental food here)

Fish: Salmon (scallion & lemon); whitefish (wasabi); krab pasta w/ garlic sauce; whitefish and rice casserole (from last month); tuna noodle casserole

Vegetarian: split pea (from last month); wild rice & mushroom soup; potato leek soup; ravioli w/ peas and alfredo; sloppy joe's; mushroom barley soup; lentil soup (from last month); black bean burgers; mushroom zucchini "lasagna"

OYO ideas: Tortellini w/ pumpkin alfredo; lamb curry stew; chili and hot dogs; portobella & red pepper melts with broccoli pesto; sashimi bowl; thai curry chicken; barbacoa; shrimp tacos