Carla is off school and so I am taking the opportunity to make challah for the first time ever.
We also may have houseguests, for a week! They are escaping the hurricane, and I am glad we can offer them a refuge, but also I am spinning a little at the thought of it, especially because plans are still up in the air! And then once they leave, I have a few days to finalize birthday plans for my husband and his sister, and then our other houseguests arrive (we’ve planned to have the latter houseguests for several months now)!
It is Very Challenging to plan dinners when a) we are still trying to figure out how best to get dinner on the table AND attend all of Carla’s extracurriculars and b) now we might have two extra mouths to feed! Plus, I am still extremely busy and I don’t have time to go to the grocery store more than once this week so I am going once and hoping for the best!
Is it almost October! I feel EXTREMELY all capsy / exclamation pointy right now!
Dinners for the Week of September 26-October 1
- Guinness Beef Stew with Salad and Challah: Is Guinness beef stew a traditional Rosh Hashanah food? I doubt it but also it’s as close to brisket as I’m willing to get and I am Very Tired of chicken right now. The salad will have apples and pomegranate seeds (per Carla’s request; she wants to buy a whole pomegranate), but I haven’t figured out the dressing yet. Carla has also requested apple crisp for dessert. We’ll be cooking all day!
Follow Up: This was SO GOOD. I seared the meat and cooked the onions/garlic as well, before adding those things to my crockpot. I don’t know if the flavors would be the same without, but maybe I’ll try it next time because I really hate searing meat. I used baby potatoes and I didn’t chop ANY of them, which meant I had to eat the stew with knife and fork. Maybe I should quarter them next time. I added two parsnips, a container of quartered mushrooms, and two cups of chicken stock. It seemed a little under-salted, so I also added a big glug of soy sauce toward the end. This is a keeper.
- Butternut Squash Soup: Will there be leftover salad and challah to eat with this soup? I hope so!
- Basil-Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Creamed Spinach: I have never made creamed spinach before! It may be a disaster! But my mother-in-law loves it, so I’m going to try!
- Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma with Broccoli and Couscous: We haven’t had this in awhile, and it’s so flavorful I think I (personally) can get past the chicken thing.
- Tacos: I literally cannot think of anything else, so tacos it is! I served these with Mexican style green beans, which was very easy to make and a huge hit with everyone.
What’s making you feel all-capsy / exclamation point-y today? Are the hurricanes affecting you in any way? (If so, I hope you and your loved ones are safe and sound.) (Also, shana tova and happy New Year, to those who celebrate!)
We are going to get hurricaned but we are in the middle of the state so we are only in for an inconvenience, not danger. Diane is coming here tomorrow because she’s on the coast and I’m in the center.
But I did not plan any meals or buy any perishable groceries this week because we might lose power. So we are officially eating “whatever, look around and see what you can find.” And it’s Ryan’s birthday today so tonight we are eating Ryan’s choice of takeout.
Takeout and Diane sound like a fabulous way to prepare for the storm.
Ryan is leaning towards Red Robin for his official birthday dinner. But he will decide for sure when he gets off the bus.
Oh my god, Suzanne, that is A LOT OF THINGS happening and if I were you I’d just be in all-caps mode all the time. Wow. No hurricanes up here, and this is the time of year I am so grateful to be landlocked. Calgary weather might be weird, but we don’t get hurricanes, and for that I am thankful.
Just a quick note: you posted that shawarma a long time ago and it has become a favourite in my house! I make it for the guys and I just bake some falafel for me, and it’s the most perfect meal. So thank you! You always have great ideas!
Oh yay! So happy it has been a big hit!
Yum! I want to come to your house for dinner this week! In lieu of that I may have to steal some of your meal ideas. It’s been a long time since we’ve had beef stew and anytime that I live in a house of bread lovers.
I’ve never made creamed spinach either but how hard could it be? I predict success for this one.
I don’t know if this is appropriate for your situation but when we have family in town we rotate dinner cooking responsibilities. Sometimes we plan a meal and delegate the work to the group, other times we put one family in charge of making dinner each night. It’s a great way to get food on the table for a crowd without burdening any one person too much.
I will take your spinach confidence with me into the week!
Happy new year and good luck with the scheduling challenges and all the guests. I’ve made creamed spinach. It’s pretty easy.
I could be all capsy about North’s continuing medical drama. We’re back to an issue we thought was resolved years ago, but I’m really not, just dispirited and a little on edge about what might be next, as North’s issues often come in clumps.
Oh dear. Yes, that would be so disheartening, especially if you are preparing for additional clumping. Thinking of you all.
I cannot believe it is October next weekend! NEXT WEEKEND! How did this happen? I need to plan my weekends very carefully since it looks like we’ll really only have two “free” weekends to fit in appropriate fall activities. Weekend #1 = put up lights and decor, weekend #2 = pumpkin patch/corn maze?, weekend #3 = out of town wedding, weekend #4 = haunted house. Maybe. I DON’T KNOW. I think you know what I’m all capsy about.
This made me so happy and excited for fall!
When all else fails, tacos. 🙂
Cooler weather has arrived in the Chicago area, which is making me feel extra all capsy right now. COOLER WEATHER IS HERE.
Yes, I believe that is my life motto. 😂🌮
That’s a good motto.
Oh my goodness that food all sounds So So good.
You know how I feel about overnight company…you are in my thoughts. Company makes me so incredibly angsty.
We just had a hurricane hit our region over the weekend but, thankfully, we emerged unscathed. So many others were less fortunate in our area and now there is another hurricane coming for various regions of the US. Sigh.
Hmmm. What am I all capsy about? THE FACT THAT WE FINALLY HAVE A PLACE TO HANG COATS IN OUR ENTRYWAY!!!! After having shoes and coats in the kitchen for months while our entryway was built, it is SO nice to have a dedicated space. Usually I’m feeling capsy about something negative (just keeping it real!)…but this is definitely a very positive capsy experience.
Woot woot! That is very exciting, Elisabeth!!
You do have a lot going on – and so much of it up in the air! No wonder there are a lot of these!!!! your head must be spinning. I am going to make that chicken shwarma recipe; we eat meat a couple of times a week and this looks like a little variation on my regular way of cooking it. Plus I have everything I need in the house. I hope your challah turned out well.
Full frazz, Pat! Full! Frazz!
Pizza is my go-to food, like tacos. Easy to set up a taco bar so everyone can make one according to their tastes. That’s a lot to handle. I enjoy having houseguests for a limited amount of time. Even the best ones throw off my routine.
Even the best ones indeed!
Oh my goodness. You have so many house guests. I can not fathom it. We rarely have house guests and when we do, it’s my parents and they are so easy to have around and are a net positive contributor because my mom wants jobs to do and my dad fixes things. I will occasionally have a friend stay for one night who is town but that’s it. It feels like you’ve already had like 10 weeks work of house guests this year!! I hope they have low expectations since life is busy enough as it is w/out planning to feed additional mouths. I would be ordering take-out for several meals!!
Let’s see… I’m all caps about the weather! It has cooled off and I am HERE FOR IT. I love summer but when we turn the calendar to September, I am ready for cool, crisp temps. It was close to 90 with high humidity on Tuesday and I was so cranky about it! But we are back to blissfully cool fall weather.
I get so frustrated with myself when I read a blog and don’t end up getting back to comment for HOURS. Ah, such is life with 6 toddlers running through my house. The ‘why’ phase is killing me at the moment.
Anyway, you are a rock star for hosting people. ROCK STAR. I’m in all caps mode for you. Can you buy Italian Beef where you live? We had it tonight. Could not be simpler, you just buy the frozen bucket to Papa Charlies, or whatever brand – thaw it, and put it in the crockpot on warm. Then get some good buns and cheese. My guys like it with giardianiera. A favorite here. So easy. Those are the kinds of meals you need, says I. We have a lot of leftovers in the fridge and I plan to get a Costco chicken when the leftovers run out. On top of that, I made a veggie/potatoe dish yesterday. I cut up peppers, onions, potatoes, squash, and zuchini then mix it in balsmic vinegar and olive oil with oregano and basil. We are good with leftovers and we will be eating that all week. I like it all on its own.
Good luck.
The swarma chicken is calling to me — thank you for the link.
It’s so hard to plan when things are still changing. How fun that Carla wants to try different things!
The hurricane isn’t affecting me or family members. Changing weekend-get-away plans with family made me me all-capsy last week. Sigh…
We may get some of the outer bands from the hurricane; but as it’s coming up from Florida odds are good that we may only get some rain. BUT, what is making me all capsy / exclamation pointy right now is that my Sister-In-Law who lives in Florida practically right where they are predicting it will hit is refusing to evacuate. Her reasoning? All the shelters that are being set up is in her side of town. WHAT?!
After the last hurricane she went through five years ago, she swore she would never stay again. I guess she’s forgotten how terrified she was then.
And I also have never made creamed spinach – but it seems like it should be easy enough; so I think you will knock it out of the park.
Love challah!! (We just call it sweet yeast bread… and I have not tried it as a side with beef stew, although the stew looks amazing!)
Oh, challah, YUM. Did it turn out? Care to share the recipe, if so? And, your chicken shawarma recipe led me down the rabbit hole of tofu shawarma (don’t eat chicken), so thank you for that!
Yes! It was delicious! I used this recipe: https://veenaazmanov.com/round-challah/