So, I didn't follow the plan... again
Jul. 11, 2011 6:20 am
Updated: Jul. 14, 2011 5:34 am
One of our fellow AR gals, Sarah Jo, has inspired me to make a weekly meal plan. She posts hers weekly and it always seems so organized, and yummy. I always think, "I can do that! I'm a well-organized person, should be a piece of cake." Finally two
weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I'm off work all summer and figure I could do this. Well, I think I've discovered I'm a failure at this concept.
First week I make up a great sounding menu. I make my grocery list and hit the store. So far so good. Get everything home and put away. Then get a text from hubby - he's going out of town for 2 days for work. That means it'll just be me and my son. I
can still follow the plan, right? Wrong. Son decides to go out with friends, so now it's just me for dinner. No sense cooking for one. Hubby comes home. I make one of the planned meals. Not necessarily the one planned for that day, but hey... it was
planned for that week. Then we get invited out with friends. Then we head out to look at trucks with son after hubby & son get home from work, so who has time to cook and eat at home? And so it goes.... Week One over - two meals were made from the plan.
Two out of seven is a failing grade.
Week Two. I decide to take the 5 unused meals from last week and just add 2 nights. Luck would have it we had a day planned to go to Put-In-Bay (a hopping island town on S.Bass Island in Lake Erie) with friends so I only had to come up with one more meal.
I pick homemade pizza for Friday night.
Day One (Saturday) - I wake up and head to the kitchen, only to find a horrible bloody mess all over the floor. Missy (the 12-1/2 yr. old lab) had hemorraged and was bleeding profusely. Son and I take her to the vet where it is determined she has pyometra
and requires an emergency hysterectomy (aka spay). I'm very happy to say Missy did well, is recovering nicely, and when they sent out for a biopsy there is no cancer. She's one lucky lab. But -that threw too big a wrench into my life for the day - hot dogs
is what we had for dinner and that's not what I had planned.
Days Two and Three are filled with caring for a post-op old lady lab. She seems to only be comfortable by my side, outside lying in the grass. So, that's where I spend my days. Dinners are not what I had planned.
Day Four I finally make something that was planned; a nice Italian Penne Bake casserole. It's good and we all enjoy it. I found the recipe in one of my neglected, but very loved, cookbooks.
Day Five is the Put-In-Bay day. Missy is doing well and son will be home with her after work so we decide we can leave her and go on our day trip with our friends who own the Mexican Restaurant. This is a "planned meal" on my list. We have a blast. We rent
a golf cart and go all over the island. Lunch is the best lobster bisque on the Boardwalk overlooking the lake. We visit the 2 wineries and play some cornhole at the one. We find an out of the way bar who's sign proclaims "YOU'VE FOUND IT!! JOE'S BAR!!!"
How could we resist not going in there? Frozen rum drinks all around and our friend strikes up a conversation with the worker and learns a lot about the island life and how they get along in the winter. Sounds like a very interesting life and very quiet
after the summer season; only 320 year-round residents on the island.
Day Six I meet a friend for lunch and I'm still too full to cook at dinner. We scrounge around the fridge and eat left-overs. Hmmm.... Right now I'm 2 for 6 - that's a failing grade.
Day Seven. This is the planned pizza night. So I head to the store in the morning to buy the cheese and pepperoni I'll need. As I stroll by the seafood counter I see Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon... on sale for $9.99/lb.! I've paid $16.99/lb. for that before, so
I know a deal when I see one! Menu for tonight is changed - it's now going to be salmon on the grill with the yummy pineapple, coconut, mango basting/marinade sauce I bought at Chesapeake Gourmet when we were on vacation. The guy behind the counter, who
has never steered me wrong yet with his tips and suggestions, pointed out the crab stuffed portabellas that he had just made up and put in the case. So, I grabbed one of those for hubby and I to share. Later that afternoon I met a friend at the new winery
that just opened up less than 15 minutes from my house. It's in an old farmhouse and they make very good wines, growing most of their own grapes. We spent several hours sipping on wine and munching on a cheese platter. I knew I had plenty of time as hubby
and son were working at a side job after their regular work so dinner was going to be late. Then I get a text from son "We're on our way home!" Holy Cow! It was 7:30; we'd been at the winery for 3-1/2 hours. I guess time flies when you have a lot to say!
We say our good-byes and I head for home. I get home in time to set the table and make the salad. It's a good thing hubby enjoys cooking or we would have eaten really late that night.
So, what I learned from this is: I'm a failure at menu planning, and it makes me feel guilty. I think I'll go back to my old ways - it's better on my conscience.
