Week 112—Husband shops. Wife zones out.

Mon – Chicken tortilla soup (Best-Loved Crock Pot Recipes)

Tues – Dirty rice (box mix)

Weds – Chicken nuggets (Deceptively Delicious)
Thurs – Batman and Robin Soup and buttermilk biscuits ("ChopChop" magazine)
Fri – Rigatoni Isabella

Alts – chip plate; pancakes

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Have no idea what I was doing at the time, but my husband got groceries this week. Before he left, I explained some potentially confusing shorthand on the list. He called me once from the store for a point of clarity about onions.

When he got home, we concurred that it is vastly more difficult to follow a grocery list someone else has made. You have your own structure, handwriting, shorthand, and organizational methods. And you're familiar with the recipes you have in mind, so you know when it's ok to substitute or fly off the list if the store doesn't have exactly what you need.

So, with drumroll and a rolling-pin salute, we co-present this week's menu plan. Happy cooking.

Bran Muffins

I think these are 3rd generation now. As far as I know, this recipe originated with my grandmother, Inez Holmes. I don't know where she got it, but it's great. Cereals have changed a little over the years, and sometimes the bran doesn't break down the way it should. If you have trouble with your bran cereal not breaking down, thereby looking like cat kibble, try two things. A) try a different type of bran cereal next time (the recipe isn't that fussy) or B) try mixing the heck out of it to get them to break down after a day or two of sitting in the mix. It won't make the muffins tough.

There's a reason this recipe starts by listing the sugar first. They are moist, sweet, and multiples better than any other bran muffin out there. If you like bran muffins that taste and feel like bird seed in your mouth, these are not for you.

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Bran Muffins -- Inez Holmes
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2 1/2 c sugar
1 c crisco
2 t salt
1 qt buttermilk (fresh or powdered, just follow package directions if powdered)
5 c flour
5 t baking soda
4 c eggs
4 c bran buds
2 c wheaties/bran flakes
pour 2 c boiling water over cereal before adding to mixture.

Mix all together. 375 degrees for 10 mins. Increase cook time to 20+ minutes if cooking from the refrigerator. Err on the side of slightly under-baked for best texture. Batter keeps up to 6 weeks if refrigerated (according to my grandma. I've never made it past a week).

Can cut recipe in half.

Headline: Peace at Bennett's

Just had a memorably peaceful dinner out with the kids. I looked at my husband toward the end of the meal  with an eyeball message that conveyed: Wow. Is this really going this well?  

He eyeballed back: Incredible! One for the record books.

I think it was nearly an hour of sitting, ordering food, and eating calmly. No trips to the bathroom. No dumped milk. No arguments. Nothing but compliments about the food (none of which was what they'd asked for -- pizza/hot dogs).

Heaven. Absolute heaven.

Week 111—Roughed in

Mon – Beef stir-fry with soba noodles (the kids love soba, don't touch rice)

Tues – sack-dinners taken to all-school volunteer night

Weds – Grandma Barb's spaghetti
Thurs – something chicken...tbd
Fri – Beef tacos w/Xmas gift mix

Alts – omelettes/breakfast

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This week's menu plan is a sketch generated with the knowledge that I have a lot of groceries and fresh veggies in the house that I need to use or lose. Happy cooking.

Doughboy

My husband was staff chef this weekend, specializing in all things bread. On Friday he made a pizza with the Mark Bittman crust recipe, on Saturday, he made cinnamon rolls (see cinna-man in the photo), and Sunday he made chili with cornbread.

Household favorites were in order of sweetness, with cinnamon rolls being the clear winner.