Menu Plan -- the good and the ugly.

Sometimes weeks can go by and everything on the menu turns out fabulously. No disasters, no gagging, no half-eaten plates of food. Yet at other times I seem to hit a string of recipes that just aren’t so wonderful and are much harder to swallow. Like lately.

My “Cream of Green” soup, although eatable, was a color that made swallowing rather difficult, and in the words of hubby, “it needs more chicken.” But the “Chocolate Avocado pudding” just wasn’t redeemable. The combination of avocado, cocoa powder, and almond butter simply couldn’t be disguised even with honey & vanilla mixed in and mashed strawberries on top.

Ok, so I can’t be a kitchen-genius all the time.

As requested last week, here is the recipe for Sesame Chicken & Asparagus.  I have to tell ya, it was definitely one of my golden moments.  This was sooooo good!  I never stick to a recipe, so here if my revised version, best I can recall.  I hardly ever measure and I usually just add ingredients as they strike my fancy, but this is as close as I can get to having it all down on paper.  Hope you like it as much as we did! 
 
Package of Rice noodles, cooked as directed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs chunky peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sesame oil
1 ½ c. cooked chicken, diced or shredded
5 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 lb thin asparagus, chopped
1 small cucumber, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
Olive oil

Wash & chop asparagus, set aside
Toast sesame seeds, set aside.
Cut cucumber as directed in ingredients. Set aside.

Prepare sauce: Place the garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, sesame oil, and soy sauce in a food processor. Process until well blended.

Sauté asparagus in olive oil until tender (I like mine to be a bit crunchy). Combine cooked rice noodles, sauce, asparagus, and sesame seeds.
Mix until well coated and serve immediately, topped with cold cucumbers.

Now onto my menu plan for the week! 

Sunday: Cheddar Bacon waffles, sausage

Monday: Cheeseburger Pie, sugar snap peas

Tuesday: Chicken Panini

Wednesday: Almond Chicken Salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Baked Pasta, Chicken & Spinach Casserole

Saturday: Classic Italian Lasagna, garlic bread

 
Eat hardy, folks!

I have been very delinquent with my menu planning lately.  Bad me.  Back in the swing of things this week, so here it is!

Sunday – Mac & Cheese, salad, fruit
Monday – Sesame Chicken & Asparagus pasta
Tuesday – Cream of Green soup w/ homemade Beer bread
Wednesday – out with a friend
Thursday – Bacon-wrapped BBQ Chicken (crockpot), mashed potatoes
Friday – BBQ Ranch Chicken rollups, fruit salad
Saturday – leftovers

Extras: granola, bread, something yummy for Saturday breakfast! :)

Children

Sometimes I am amazed by children -- their ability to see past disabilities, quirks, and even past the “unloveliness” that we as adults are often made awkward by. The hug of a child can light up the faces of those who never smile, and their kind words can warm a lonely heart.

My grandma always used to say that it was us grandkids that “kept her going.” I understand that better now as I observe the impact children have on the older generations. Children bring a joy to life that most other things cannot.

I don’t think God ever intended for there to be such generational-segregation as there is now in society. The older should teach the younger, the younger should learn from and respect the older, and the youngest, well, they’re just delightful and we can all learn a thing or two from them!

My grandma said it was us grandkids that gave her something to live for, but the day she died my heart broke in half.  In His grace and perfect timing, God then brought a child into my life, giving me something else to love. Two days after we buried my grandma, God brought sweet Mary into my family’s arms. Only five weeks old and needing all the love in the world, God used that little angel to start healing the sadness in my heart. Although my grandma never met my baby sister, I always think of them together knowing how much they would have loved each other. I had spent so much time with my grandmother the last couple years of her life, that when she passed, that energy was then poured into the little baby who had much to overcome at such a young age.

That little darling is now 5 ½ and never ceases to bring a laugh & smile to all who are around her. She is so loved and spreads sunshine everywhere she goes. She is without a doubt, the Little Princess.