One the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 45

I think I heard 50 days until Christmas or something like that? Wow, this year has just flown by. We had a wonderful weekend, the one thing missing would probably have been more sleep. We had dinner with friends on Friday, as well as my sister and brother in law. It was a ton of fun, and dinner was delicious! We were in charge of dessert and stopped and picked up some cupcakes from our favorite local grocery store Byerly's. We cut each one in quarters so we could try a little of each one, they were delicious.

Saturday we woke up to a perfect fall day. I was so happy that we got good weather for our BBQ Throw Down. It was a ton of delicious food, saw some fabulous friends and had a really great fall afternoon. 

These pork shoulders were absolutely delicious. I think the favorite of many that day. Came out perfectly and a lot of blood sweat and tears went into the cooking!

We also had some delicious hickory smoked ribs with two different types of sauces. A pineapple habanero sauce that was delicious.

These ribs had a bit of an asian flare to them and were done by our neighbor on a green egg. Fell off the bone delicious.

Along with chips and munchies, the boy and I made of two pans of hot sandwiches. One with ham and swiss and one with salami and mozzarella. Easy to grab and go and they had a great sauce on them.

Amazing that on the first weekend in November it was nice enough to sit outside and enjoy great food and conversation.

Sunday we celebrated my oldest nephew Jack's birthday. 15. I can hardly believe it, next is the drivers permit I guess. My girlfriend made these adorable cookies. Snowboards and winter hats in the same color as his snowboard. She makes some of the most beautifully decorated cookies, and the even better part, they are delicious. If you are interested, she does ship, you can search on Facebook for Fig Tales.

So, after a weekend of what felt like non-stop eating, no walks and no exercise, it is back on the bandwagon today. Even with that extra hour of sleep this weekend, I don't feel like I actually got an extra hour of sleep! Here is how this week is shaping up, we have a mixture of late work nights for the boy to some fun plans!

Monday
Plans - Going to look for a new suit for the boy. We have a wedding coming up this month, and I think it is time for a new suit for the boy. I know we were supposed to have the extra hour of sleep yesterday morning, but I had a much easier time waking up this morning. Hope that is a sign of good things to come!
Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, clementines, leftover turkey meatloaf and steamed broccoli
Dinner - Eat, Street, Social - doing the tasting menu, looking forward to it. You would think after this weekend we would have had enough, but this has been on the agenda for a while, and they have their new fall cocktail menu out, so I think a cocktail may be in order!

Tuesday
Plans - I really need to clean out the fridge and figure out what is in there after this weekend. It is the boys busy time of year at work, so he will be working over-time when we don't have plans.
Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage cheese, grapes, clementine, pear, leftover ham and swiss sandwiches
Dinner - Catfish, it will be something easy that I can cook up a piece when I am ready to eat and then make the boy a piece when he gets home since I will just fry it up in a pan. I am going to make garlic roasted tomatoes to go with it.

Wednesday
Plans - Clean up the house, put away all of the Halloween decor since that is still up and get the house ready for Thanksgiving since we are hosting.
Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, clementine, grapes, salad
Dinner - Turkey meatballs (frozen from Trader Joe's) with tomato sauce and whole wheat pasta, green salad.

Thursday
Plans - We are going to this local Iron Chef cook off with friends T & J. I am really looking forward to this as it is local chefs who will get a surprise ingredient that they need to make a dish with and then will be judged. There will be lots of food and drink samples.
Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage cheese and fruit, peanuts, it will be a light breakfast and lunch day.
Dinner - Iron Chef Cook Off

Friday
Plans - The boy will probably have to work late and I think it will be a night in, catch up on DVR which has continually been full lately.
Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, fruit, salad
Dinner - Ground Turkey Lettuce wraps (I have been wanting to make these for a while)

Saturday
Plans - Sister J and I are spending the day at the spa to start celebrating her birthday a little early. Manicures, pedicures, hour massages, and hair. Cannot wait for a nice long relaxing day of pampering.
Lunch - I am going to bring us a box lunch and some bubbly to go along with our day.
Dinner - Then it is off to dinner at Firelake at Radisson Blu. The boy and I ate there back about a month ago and it was fantastic. Great week to continue to celebrate a fabulous gals birthday month.

Sunday
Plans - I need to work on the closets. This is LONG overdue, but I just have not had the time to get it finished. I am also looking forward to just kicking back and relaxing with a book or two.
Dinner - I am going to try to get a couple of things made for leftovers. I just bought three new cookbooks this past weekend, so look for an update here as well as a couple of cookbook reviews.

That is how this week is shaping up for me. For more meal plans, links to recipes, check out the Orgjunkie.