Monday's Menu Tuesday

I often think of Tuesday as Monday's "do-over." That's because many weeks I need it to be! So, it's not at all unusual for me to do my Menu Monday post on Tuesdays when I need to. :)

I figured since it's Valentine's week and this is a kitchen-y post, I'd snap a quick photo of my kitchen table this morning. Yes, those are our baskets of books in the background. In fact, just after I took this picture with my phone, my sweet Ethiopian son and I sat down for breakfast together and as we were chatting we went through some of the "Planet Earth" geography flashcards over breakfast. Some of those photos are fascinating! He has never seen those things, and it's also really fostering more English vocabulary. So, there's my kitchen... as theme-y as I can make it, but mostly very utilitarian!

Before I share this week's menu I have to tell you about a fun idea we did for my sister-in-law's baby shower this weekend. We made brownie sundaes in big martini glasses. They turned out so cute! So cute that I don't even have a picture! However, I did find these Grasshopper Sundaes on Rachel Ray's site, and there is a photo. Instead of crumbling the brownies I made them into small muffins that fit right in the bottom of the glass. They turned out great! Oh, and the cooking time for "mini brownie muffins" using just boxed brownie mix is exactly 20 minutes on 350. My family was happy to be the brownie testers for me last week as I experimented with cooking times. :)

A meatless recipe I made last week that turned out great was this Enchilada Casserole. But OH my GOODNESS I didn't think it was going to be good at all! When it came time to put the cornbread batter on top, it immediately sank down into the mixture (which had been in the crock pot for about 4 hours). I thought it was the worst looking conglomeration I'd ever put in the crock pot. I was already mentally planning "breakfast for dinner" as a back up. It was awful-looking! But after awhile, the cornbread cooked up and it turned out really yummy! So, I encourage you to try it!

This week I only need to make one "portable dinner" for a basketball game. I'm trying some calzones tonight. We'll see how they turn out!

Monday: Out-to-eat for a missions fundraiser at a fun hamburger place in town

Tuesday: Calzones, fruit

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Yetekekele Enqual be Misr (boiled egg and spicy lentil stew), Yeatakilt Wet (cabbage and potatoes)

Thursday: Crock Pot ham, green beans, roasted carrots

Friday: Tomato Barley Soup, Cheese Paninis (<--- you know this is a fancy way of saying "grilled cheese" right? LOL)

I hope you have a Valentines week filled with love! For more menus or to share yours, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.