I decided that I would be remiss if I did not do a post for Week 52. I have been fairly steadfast in posting my menus over the past year until the last several weeks. With the holidays, travel and considerable lack of time, I simply did not take the time to post. Most weeks I formulated a menu plan, but avoided the time and effort it takes to write something worth posting. In addition over these weeks I have completely strayed from the THM eating plan.
Breakfast
The breakfasts over this final week of the year included the ‘Ole Buckeye’s favorite…eggs over easy, bacon and grits. I also prepared a casserole and a giant blueberry pancake making mornings simple. Our Christmas family brunch was a several hour feast including a festive egg casserole, Creme Brûlée French Toast, fruit, scones, and a dark chocolate and raison Babka holiday bread from Zingerman’s. We had Amarula spiked coffee and Bellinis.
Lunch
I will not go into the lunches during week 52. Most of them were on the fly and included leftovers from dinners. There certainly were no thoughtful preparations. In fact this was the time of day that I strayed most often from healthy eating. There was a lot of “sampling” while cooking as well as eating for convenience.
Dinner
I will say that the dinner meal preparations during week 52 were outstanding. Not only did these meals include all time family favorites, but we also introduced several new additions that will reappear in the future, especially during the holidays.
I have already posted a blog on our spectacular Christmas Eve Dinner. Our Christmas Day dinner was fabulous as well. Although I am certain that we enjoyed it so much more because we seldom have pasta and the Carbonara is a family favorite. I also tried a new Piccata recipe via Anne Burrell and loved the sauce. It will be my new go-to recipe for my chicken piccata.
Recap
I would be remiss if I didn’t recap a few of the recipes prepared during the week. Since I had already succumbed to pasta on Christmas, I decided to try another pasta dish the next day. I had purchased frozen salt and pepper calamari from Lidl and decided to go very Italian and accompany the calamari with the Garlic, Anchovy, Black Olive Pasta. Although it was a unique meal and the calamari was particularly tasty with the leftover sauce from the halibut, I don’t foresee it reappearing anytime soon.
Garlic, Anchovy, Olive Spaghetti
Since I was busy in the kitchen preparing a few family favorites for our Family Christmas, I have decided to include those recipes as well. The holiday breakfasts would not be complete without the French Toast and the Buttermilk Scones.
The week is coming to a close, as is the year. I will post a separate blog on our family Christmas together and the fabulous food that we shared. I will also share the dilemma I am facing when planning Week 1 of 2020. Since I was too busy to cancel meals on Blue Apron, arriving Tuesday (New Year’s Eve) will be 3 meals for 2 that I had not planned to prepare. Not only will I need to incorporate them into my menu plan, but I will also need to make meals meant for 2 into meals feeding 3. Already 2020 is presenting a challenge!
Bon Appetit!
