All right, last week, I planned to make three meals: fried rice, pork chops with something green, and Guinness beef stew. Somehow, even though I only made two of those meals (plus two others), we have an ENORMOUS amount of leftovers. Some of which have already outlived their time and must meet the big garbage disposal in the sky. I mean, in my sink.

The first meal I made was pork chops. I’d planned on pairing them with broccoli, but the broccoli I’d purchased the previous week had gone moldy. So I made some roasted potatoes and sautéed some peas and shallots to go alongside the chops. (Confidential to Allison: They were nice and thick, but not quite as thick as they could have been.) The meal was good!

Next, I made fried rice with sautéed shrimp. It was fine! I was in the mood for fried rice, and it definitely scratched the itch. My husband ended up having a work meeting that night, so I made him a chicken breast and had plenty of fried rice for him to eat when he got home… and then it turned out they’d eaten at the meeting. Neither of us has eaten any of the leftovers, which have long since reached the point where I need to toss them.

Next, I made roasted salmon with roasted asparagus and mango salsa and rice. My daughter had a big test the following day, and I figured salmon was good brain food. Not only does Carla LOVE salmon, she requested that I make the asparagus! Um, yes, I will make you asparagus anytime, my love. I bought two mangoes and one was ripe but all grey inside and the other was beautifully yellow inside but not ripe, so the salsa was fine but not great. We have some of that leftover as well. I also made apple crisp, which was quite yummy.

My husband was not in the mood for beef stew. As an alternative, I suggested chicken tortilla soup. That did not appeal to my husband. He was in the mood for chicken pot pie. I am not sure if this will surprise you or not, but I do not like chicken pot pie. So we made a compromise: I made a vat of chipotle chicken tortilla soup and he made chicken pot pie. We now have leftovers for this week (and beyond; we both froze a LOT of leftovers) and we each got to eat something we wanted.

Of course, there are still multiple days of the week to account for, food wise. So I suppose it’s time to plan a few meals.

Dinners for the Week of November 1-8

• Japanese Curry: I don’t know, this sounds decent and it’s easy and my husband likes it.
• Arugula Salad with Marinated Onions, Cranberries, Candied Pecans, and Goat Cheese: I made my favorite fall salad a few weeks ago, and it was a big disappointing flop. So maybe I will try this one and see if it fares any better. We haven’t really been eating salads lately, for no reason at all, and I want to remedy that.
• Easy Vegetable Stir Fry: Yum, I am all about the veggies right now. I will make some sort of protein with this.

Jenny suggested that I make a poll and allow you all to vote on which meals you think I’ll make and which I’ll skip, which I find hilarious. Let’s give it a try.