First off, I'd like to say that I hate the new Blogger format. Blech. I don't know if they will ever make it any better, but I hate this new system.

Next. We have had a wonderful couple weeks visiting with my dad, who came into the country for the first time in 13 1/2 years. We were so excited to see him, and he was thrilled to meet our children. Because of that, we took an extra week off of school and traveled with him around the state. Trying to plan menus with the grandfather who wanted to spoil us all was rather difficult. This week, we are back to school and back to work and menu planning and all of that. Slamming back into work was a little difficult, but it has gone well. We have some repeats this week and some will be showing up in future weeks as well. We are still in the Paschal season, though the eight days of the feast are complete. Rich is determined to have as much festive food as is possible. Even the children are craving salads, however. Spring has sprung, though, and our plants are taking off, the sun is shining, and we are all much happier in and out of our house.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Hotel Buffet Breakfast
  Dinner: Grilled Bratwursts, Mustard, Sauteed Onions, Sauerkraut, Sliced Oranges


• Monday Feast of St. George
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Dates, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Oven Fried Chicken (using panko and drizzling butter over the chicken before baking), Mashed Potatoes, Coleslaw, Gravy, Chocolate Chunk and Pecan Cookies


• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Brown Sugar Biscuits, Chocolate Gravy, Hard Boiled Eggs, Mandarin Oranges, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Chicken over Shredded Lettuce, Thai Basil Noodles, Homemade Samoas


• Wednesday - Feast of St. Mark
  Breakfast: Ful with Tomatoes and Onions, Bread, Green Hot Sauce, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Salad with Sardines, Olives and Parmesan Cheese, Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies


• Thursday
  Breakfast: Cherry Almond Granola, Yogurt and Honey, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Fried Steak, Biscuits, Corn and Gravy, Nutella Brownies


• Friday
  Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Waffles with Butter, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Eggs in Purgatory, Pasta, Sliced Oranges


• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blintz Casserole with Sour Cream and Raspberry Jam, Rosti, Fried Eggs, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Italian Beef Sandwiches, Potatoes, Peppers and Onions, Cherry Pie (using frozen sour cherries from last summer) with Vanilla Ice Cream

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Blog Info, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

All my attempts at keeping any menu plan this past week have been thwarted. We have my dad visiting and he is busy spoiling the children and taking us out to eat. So, I'm not going to try to plan this week. I'll get back to it next week. There will likely be several repeats over the next 41 days or so.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

We broke the fast after the vigil with ma'amoul, which is a traditional date filled cookie made in the Arab world. This one is shaped like a crown of thorns and is traditional for the Paschal season. We also ate chocolate. Lots of it. The Paschal feast is an octave, which means the actual holiday is eight days long. Next Sunday will be the last day. There is no fasting during this octave, not even on Wednesday or Friday. We will try our best to feast heartily. The Paschal season extends until Pentecost, and is 50 days.

• Sunday - Pascha
  Breakfast: Paschal Braided Bread, Pascha Cheese, Scotchican Eggs, Hot Chocolate
  Dinner: Herb Roasted Lamb, Harissa, Laban bi Chiyar, Tabbouleh, Hummus, Baba Ghanooj, Khoubz Araby (Pita Bread), Waraq 'Ounab, Sambousak, Fatayir bi Sabanich, Green Hot Sauce, Kalamata Olives, Radishes, Gatayif, Baq'lawa, Ma'amoul
• Monday
  Breakfast: Stuffed French Toast made with Pascha Bread and Cheese, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Lamb "Nachos," Butter Cake Shaped Like a Lamb
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Cornish Splits with Leftover Pascha Cheese, Fruit, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Lamwiches, Apple Fritters
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Brown Sugar Biscuits, Chocolate Gravy, Hard Boiled Eggs, Fruit, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Oven Fried Chicken (using panko and drizzling butter over the chicken before baking), Mashed Potatoes, Coleslaw, Gravy, Cherry Pie (using frozen sour cherries from last summer) with Vanilla Ice Cream
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Waffles with Butter, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Eat Out at a Chinese Restaurant
• Friday
  Breakfast: Ful with Tomatoes and Onions, Bread, Green Hot Sauce, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Thai Chicken over Shredded Lettuce, Thai Basil Noodles, Lemon Blueberry Poundcake with Lemon Glaze
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blintz Casserole with Sour Cream and Raspberry Jam, Rosti, Fried Eggs, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Hot Dogs with all the Fixings, Potato Salad, Corn Relish, S'Mores Made with Peeps

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Pascha, Tales from the Kitchen

I have no idea what happened to my Holy Week Post, but it has disappeared. So, here is my menu again. If my first post shows up again, I'll delete this one.

This is a big week for us. The most holy and solemn week of the year. It is the time set aside to walk the Via Dolorosa with our Lord. We suffer with Him. We will be in church from Thursday night through (very) early Sunday morning. My only "break" from the solemnity will be something that I try to avoid each year, but has become tradition, my big shopping trip on Good Friday. It looks like this will be happening this year as well.

• Palm Sunday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pan Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Cabbage and Onions, Green Salad


• Holy Monday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Linguine with Spicy Red Sauce, Green Salad


• Holy Tuesday
  Breakfast: Dutch Baby Pancake, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Torteggas


• Spy Wednesday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Beans with Rice and Salsa


• Maundy Thursday
  Breakfast: Cherry Almond Granola, Yogurt and Honey, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Pesto Pasta, Garlic Bread


• Good Friday
  Breakfast: Toast & Jam, Tea & Honey
  Dinner: Vegetables Jalfrezi (using garbanzo beans and the vegetables we have at home), Brown Rice


• Holy Saturday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Dates, Tea & Honey
  Dinner: Cranberry Bean Ful (use less salt - to taste), Bread, Diced Tomatoes, Scallions, Radishes, Green Hot Sauce

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Holy Week, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen, Triduum