Today is a holiday in the US, and we’re all being extraordinarily languid. Laundry is happening, and my husband and I have a cleaning project on tap, but otherwise we are just kind of draping ourselves over the furniture and losing ourselves in various screens. That’s fine with me. Two more weeks of being Extremely Busy before I get a mini-break (I think), so I’m taking this day of loafing while I can.
My husband and I fortunately remembered YESTERDAY that today is a holiday, so we managed to make it to the grocery store while it was still open. We were prepared for it to be a madhouse, but it wasn’t too bad. Seems like most people do this odd thing called planning ahead when there is a long holiday weekend. Food for thought.
This coming weekend, one of my dearest friends is coming for a visit. I haven’t seen her since 2008, which is TOO LONG. I am so excited that I get to see her. We have fun things planned, but of course I am already overthinking everything and wondering if I need to schedule MORE things to keep her entertained. When probably we would be fine just sitting in my backyard yakking it up.
As you know if you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, I am really overthinking what to feed her. When I asked her about food restrictions, she said she eats anything, so… I am not sure what to make for dinner. Fortunately, I think I will be responsible for making but one meal while she’s here (we have restaurant reservations for the other nights), so my overthinking can only go so far.
Dinners for the Week of May 29-June 4
- Hamburgers and Chickpea Salad: We don’t have any propane, so we won’t be grilling. But that’s okay, because these instant pot hamburgers are so yummy. Full disclosure, my husband is making a caprese salad for himself. But I am in the mood for chickpea salad and so chickpea salad is what I am making. It is so good, and leftovers will make a delicious lunch.
- Korean Inspired Salmon Tacos with Spicy Slaw: This just sounds so delicious.
- Tacos: I will probably default to regular old ground beef tacos when my friend arrives. Who doesn’t like tacos? Plus, Carla will eat them so we can all sit at the table together.
- Grilled Chicken and Charred Lemon Cauliflower: I think I have some shawarma marinade for the chicken, and this cauliflower is so yummy I could honestly eat it by itself.
What are you doing this week? Now that Mayhem/Maycember/May-oss is nearly over, can you breathe a little? Or is June JUST AS BUSY?
So many graduation parties! So many! June is crazy with graduations, but it’s a happy busy, so I’m not mad. It also means I’ll probably be able to get some fancy popcorn at the fancy popcorn place on the tollway in Illinois. Hey, don’t say I don’t know how to party!
Fancy popcorn is a great joy in life! And yay for happy occasions to gather!
Now that you mention it, we’re having a big family party at our house in about an hour so it’s probably time for me to run the vacuum, do a quick tidy up, and start prepping hamburger fixings. Hey at least I went to the grocery store, put beer and soda in the fridge, and made cookie dough so it’s not like we’ve done NOTHING to prepare.
I think this coming week is going to be rough because there’s a ton of work to do in just 4 days…before my ONE WEEK TOTALLY OFF THE GRID VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo! Bring on the madness!!!!!!
Woo woo!!! Yay vacation!
I am so excited for you that you’re going to see a friend you haven’t seen in 15 years. Wow! That’s going to be one hell of a reunion. I am sure she won’t even care about the food. 😉
I heard about that “planning ahead” thing – I might try it out 🙂
Ha, yes I think if your friend had said “I’m vegan, gluten free, and I hate mushrooms” you probably could have immediately thought of a dinner to make. As it is, you’re left with too many choices.
I read the post with the chickpea salad and was highly entertained by “2011 Suzanne.” But the most exciting thing about this is, that recipe for cauliflower! It sounds amazing! You roast the whole lemon and then chop it up for the sauce??? I want to make that this week! I’m thinking of making the whole dish but subbing tofu for the chicken- if I do that I’ll report back.
2008! I’m so glad your friend is coming! How exciting and wonderful!
Tonight it’s just me and J for dinner so I’m trying a new kind of cashew alfredo sauce to go with pasta and cauliflower. Maybe some peas in there as well (you know veggie lovers also love yoga, they are trying to find their inner peas) (I just told my class that joke) (it’s a certain demographic).
My husband has a colonoscopy on Monday, so I’m trying to figure out dinners that can be adjusted for him and his “low fibre” four days of prep. It’s really hard because he can’t have any of the things I normally make – but I think I can make it work for him. I’m still going to make salads, etc., but I’ll have to cook some veggies for him since he can’t have anything raw for four days. Ugh. The prep is always so much worse than the procedure! I think I might bake a cake on Saturday before his fast, because he can have that.
Can you please explain to me 1) how is May almost over already?! and 2) why my May has been so chaotic for no reason at all?
I’m so happy that your friend is coming for a visit! After not seeing each other for that long I’m sure the best part of the visit will be sitting and chatting.
That is a long time and catching up will be wonderful! I just had coffee with someone I hadn’t seen since 2011 and it was great. I was worried that it would be awkward but we jumped right in like it had been yesterday. Hope it’s the same for you two! My older daughter makes Korean tacos and they are excellent. In general tacos are so versatile and easily customizable. Is that a word? 🙂
How nice to see a friend you haven’t seen in so long.
Because we were away last weekend and Beth was also away the weekend before that, we had a lot of chores and errands on the weekend agenda. But we all went strawberry picking and Beth went kayaking, so there was some fun, too.
How fun to host your friend! If I was visiting, I would want down time to chat and enjoy each other’s company. I bet she’s most excited to see you versus anything your area has to offer! If she has children, that is 100% the case!
We don’t have the Mayhem experience everyone else does since our kids aren’t in school yet. But May was kind of busy since we had some milestone birthdays and were out of town for my grandma’s party. June isn’t too bad. I have one work trip but it’s to Chicago which is an easy trip for me. Paul has his last day at daycare on the 23rd and starts the summer public school program on the 26th so it will be a month of transitions but he’s pretty excited about it, all in all.
Enjoy the visit with your friend! 💕
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I don’t think it’s overthinking! (But, you may want to consider the source, haha!) I am so happy you’ll get to see your friend and the dinner plans sound amazing – those salmon tacos?!?! YUM!
A day of loafing is a good thing and much deserved.
2008? WTH? You will spend most of your time yakking it up, so stop it with the overthinking. I’m excited for you two to be reunited!!
I just saw one of my bridesmaids (who lives in Ireland) when we were there and we yukked it up after not having seen one another for 20 years. It was 2002 when we last were together. So much fun, but one afternoon was not enough time. I think the food at your visit will not be the focus. I have noted that your chickpea salad looks so tasty and is so easy. Hmm. I must get around to whipping that up.
I’m making pizza casserole today. With all the kids home, leftovers aren’t going very far. Coach grilled flank steak on Monday and we enjoyed carne asada. A family fav. No clue what to make tomorrow. Living day to day, which I do not recommend.
How fun to see an old friend– I reunited with college friends right before the panny, and it was amazing. Hope your visit is lovely and your dinners are delicious.
I’ve never heard of chickpea salad, but it sounds good to me. Kind of hummus before it got blended. Hope you had, or are having, fun with your old friend. We got together with some college friends over Memorial Day weekend and it was a blast.
I imagine you had a wonderful catch-up with your friend. I HOPE you did. What a wonderful reprieve in the middle of your Mayinsanity.
That chickpea salad. So simple. Sounds SO wonderful! I might try with white beans – I prefer them to garbanzos, for some reason…