Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Friday night we had breakfast for dinner:
I was really scared I wouldn’t get back my brain for meal planning there for a while. After my mom passed away people fed us for a good two weeks. Then, I relied too much on take out because I just didn’t care and couldn’t manage. It was all I could do to get out of bed in the mornings and go through the motions. Finally about three weeks later, I started to want to cook again.
My cobb salad:
When I am in times like this I tend to go for the classics – tacos, spaghetti, a piece of salmon, broccoli, and potatoes. So, that is what I did and it worked. I think I also did fish sticks, mac and cheese, and peas and hot dogs and baked beans. So, it doesn’t always have to be cooking. It can simply be heating up. I also recently made a big cobb salad for our main dish and we loved it.
These are not bad and I think they are better in the air fryer. We use our oven’s air fryer setting.
When I hear or see a recipe that I want to make I type it in my phone memo or screenshot it and that guides me for the next week.
I almost always steal something when I see someone else’s meal plan, so here goes!
Here is my meal plan for this week:
Sunday – gumbo
Monday – spaghetti, Texas Toast, and bagged salad
Tuesday – chicken enchiladas
Wednesday – salmon, brussel sprouts with balsamic and some type of potato
Thursday- leftovers or everyone fend for themselves – at this point we should have gumbo and enchiladas left
For lunch, I have those bagel slims and I am putting garden vegetable cream cheese on it with tomato, cucumber, shredded carrots, pickles and lettuce. Erica liked it the last time I brought it and it is a very common lunch for me in the summer.
Other lunches are gumbo leftovers, spaghetti leftovers, and that’s all we need because we just have 3 lunches to do this week. We are ordering lunch one day for the co-worker who is having a baby. I told Erica I would do them all this week because she is taking kids to Cuba from our school and has a lot to do. She fed me lunch for 3 weeks after my mom died! So, we try to help each other out.
Next up:
Things with roasted cauliflower
fish tacos with mango salsa – you want to talk about a restaurant quality recipe?
asparagus fries that Jen shared!
buying us a new grill!
I am excited to change up foods to more springy meals, too.
What have you been cooking lately? Anything you want to cook?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
These are some yummy– and simple!– sounding meals. I try to keep our menu that way often since I don’t really feel like cooking by the time 5 o’clock rolls around. I like the sound of your bagel thins sandwich so much. I’m going to have to try that.
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Thank you! We did the sheet pan brussels and salmon last night. I microwaved some potatoes and did those on the side, too. I don’t feel like it either! Oh well.
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I made my husband those fish fillets in the air fryer last night. Sadly they burned to a crisp! I don’t know what happened but I had to make another batch.
Since it’s just the two of us our meals are very simple. I am always open to quick and easy dinners and try to use my crockpot whenever possible!
I feel so bad for Erica, she is going to miss you!
xo,
Kellyann
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Oh no! That isn’t good. I think it’s great that you cook as much as you do! So, who cares if they are simple? Simple can be the best actually!
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Your Cobb salad looks really good! I love Cobb salad and do occasionally make a Cobb salad for dinner. I will make other “hearty” salads for dinner sometimes. We finally have a grill again and Donnie has been cooking up steaks a lot. I am in charge of the sides so I have been doing a rotation of some variety of potato, sweet potato and pasta salad. It’s kind of fun to come up with delicious (and easy- they’ve got to be easy) sides for a classic main entree like steak. I will check out that fish taco with mango recipe. That sounds good!
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It turned out so great! Tom had been given a wedge of blue cheese and that was what started it. I made homemade dressing from Greek yogurt and I made chicken and bacon. I didn’t skimp!
I will be the griller because Tom gets home too late and is a super slow person at everything really – lol.
It is really hard to get grilled, not fried, fish tacos around here so these are so good in my opinion!
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I am like you – I like to cook, but I naturally alternate between heating up foods to make a dinner and cooking recipes from scratch. I immediately read the fish tacos/mango salsa recipe, and I may try it later this week!
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It’s so good!
The mango salsa is easy and great for dipping too. I was so happy to learn how to make it and to learn to make my own blackening seasoning.
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That is great that you are cooking again. All of your meals look great. I do love breakfast for dinner and your Cobb salad looks delicious!
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I am definitely in a cooking slump right now. It just comes and goes with just two of us at home!
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I love to see people’s weekly menu. It inspires and also reminds me of dishes I hadn’t thought to make recently. I think I’ll use that in an upcoming Hodgepodge as one of the questions. With little ones in the house I have been cooking a lot. Sharing the job with my daughter, but these boys especially need complete meals, breakfast lunch and dinner. They’re like bottomless pits lol. They are tall and lanky like their dad and I say the food goes to their feet. We love a cobb salad here and I do that often when it’s just the hubs and I.
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I am in a big cooking rut right now. Thanks for sharing some ideas!! I think I’ll add breakfast for dinner this week. Way to go getting back into meal planning and cooking.
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I have never been good at meal planning, even when I was teaching with three kids at home. My mom always bought us a quarter of a beef so we had plenty of meat. It was coming up with the other things. My kid loved soup; my husband did not. Now, I usually cook 2-3 nights a week, and we eat leftovers or go out. Luckily, he’s gotten a lot less picky in his old age!
Your bagel lunch sounds good. I’m trying to get at least 100 grams of protein in each day and lower my carb count. But, sometimes, you just need a bagel!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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Going back to the basics – I need to remember that! Sometimes, I’m overwhelmed with what to make for dinner. I love bagel thins with veggie cream cheese…& thinly sliced cucumbers. Easy and delish. I love what you said about Erica making your lunches and now you are repaying the favor. Such a great friendship!
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Well this is making me hungry- thanks for sharing 🙂
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