2020 Week 47 Menu Plan
The 2020 Week 47 Menu Plan was originally outlined to finish our trip and take us back home again after our 12 days in St Thomas, Virgin Islands. Talk about a huge shift in plans. As planned we moved to the Ritz Carlton Club property for our last 3 days on the island and loved it so much that we extended for an additional 5 days, giving us a full week at the property.
Adding 5 days meant a complete reorganization of the thought process of planning. Several things came into play. Although we continued to have a great kitchen, the ‘Ole Buckeye pressed to eat out more. We definitely needed to make a grocery run, but I realized that Moe’s, the best grocery at this end of the island, was extremely expensive and did not have many of the food items I wanted. Shift in plans.
Looking at the prices of provisions, I made a mental decision to prepare breakfasts and lunches in the villa and develop a plan for eating at surrounding restaurants in a less expensive way for dinner. After quite a bit of research, I decided that many of the most highly rated restaurants offered “happy hour” with food and beverage options that are greatly reduced. After checking the offerings, we decided to give it a go. If the selections were not enough to satisfy our appetite, we could always order additional dinner items from the evening menu. With that in mind, I developed the 2020 week 47 menu plan.
Breakfast
The biggest plus in the week ahead was that I had already prepared the second sausage and egg casserole and it proved to be enough for 2 additional meals. I made the cinnamon pecan baked pancake at the end of week 46, so there was enough to serve several more days. During the grocery run I simply picked up another dozen eggs and bacon to fill in for either breakfast or lunch as needed.
Lunch
The grocery run also secured brats, peppers and onions. We still had a pound of ground turkey on hand, as well as pasta sauce and cheese to make parmesan meatballs. I decided I could use up all the rest of the eggs and egg whites to create a frittata. The lunches would be more than adequate and would utilize nearly all of the additional provisions on hand.
Dinner
The biggest experiment will be the dinner plans. I have made reservations in advance to coincide with happy hour at each of the selected restaurants. Caribbean Fish Market and Sunset Grill are right on the beach and lovely venues. In fact we have selected Caribbean Fish market for happy hour one night, and for a farewell dinner on our final night. It will be a celebration. Pesce is a highly rated Italian restaurant in Red Hook and the offerings for happy hour look inviting as well. Later in the menu plan, we return to our normal.
Hits and Misses
Breakfast
This sausage and egg casserole continues to be a mainstay breakfast for us and is particularly useful in a timeshare experience. It is quick and easy to put together and feeds the 2 of us 3 to 4 mornings.
Sausage and Egg Casserole (without the crescents)
The real beauty of making the cinnamon pecan baked pancake was preparing and bagging all of the dry ingredients before leaving home. All I needed to do in the morning was add the eggs and milk and bake. The other plus was that if we didn’t utilize this prep, it would travel back home for later use.
Lunch
One of the recipes that was new for us on this trip were these Chicken Quesadillas. I added these to our lunch menu for several reasons. Initially I knew I could buy and pack the low carb tortillas easily for the trip, taking little space. In additional I had researched that I could buy a rotisserie chicken at CostULess. I planned to used the white meat for the enchiladas, and wanted a plan for the dark meat. I was also intrigued that the recipe called for baking the quesadillas rather than baking them stovetop. That make it easy to prepare 2 at the same time. This recipe proved to be OK and utilized ingredients on hand.
I selected this quesadilla recipe because once again I had the ingredients available. We always travel with pepperoni pouches that don’t need refrigeration until opened. I adjusted the recipe by dropping the ham and bacon and upping the pepperoni. I used Italian seasonings rather than the other varied seasonings and added chopped red pepper. Wow, these were outstanding. What took them over the top was topping them with the seasoned butter. Once again they were baked which made them so much easier. These will be a future lunch mainstay. They would also be great as appetizers.
Dinner
This pasta is not on plan, but it is quick and easy to make, packed with flavor and needs easily acquired ingredients. I took whole grain thin spaghetti and anchovies with us and purchased the additional ingredients here. It provided an evening meal and a lunch.
Food for Thought
Most of the American public is deficient in vitamin D. Doctors are now routinely testing the blood levels of this vitamin during routine yearly exams. Taking Vitamin D has also been proven to be beneficial in the fight against Covid.
An interesting fact, Vitamin D is most effective if taken with a high fatty meal. Vitamin D is fat-soluble and taking it with a high fat meal will enhance absorption. The absorption of Vitamin D is 32% higher when paired with a high fat meal.
Recap
We are midway through our St Thomas vacation. As always planning ahead for meals is of prime importance. In the islands prices are high and those costs need to be balanced with eating at restaurants, which is also expensive. Yet another factor is to plan meals to use provisions efficiently preventing waste at the end of the trip. Over the years I have learned to do this effectively, however we have not spent time in a time share since 2018. Many things are easily forgotten. Since we have a week in our time share in Aruba over Christmas with the entire family of 7, lessons learned here will be imperative for success then. We look forward to our final week in paradise eating and drinking and celebrating life. Bon Appetit!
