We had a wonderfully busy week celebrating my wife and the mother of our kids. We celebrate family members for an entire week, although I celebrate my wife all year. (brownie points)
According to my wife, she had a fantastic week and loved the gifts, family outings, and meals I had prepared for her. It was an overall victory for the family – more so for my wife, as she fulfilled her wishes for her birthday week.
However, our week was thrown into a bit of suspense as we anxiously saw how Hurricane Ian targeted Florida, making landfall as a Cat4 or Cat5 hurricane on the West coast.
Our daughter is attending university in Florida but on the East coast. Nevertheless, Hurricane Ian was a significant hurricane impacting most of Florida, including the East coast.
Hurricane Ian could be the worst storm to impact the Florida West coast in a century
Wane Weather
Hunkering Down
Early last week, as Hurricane Ian was aiming for Florida, we started to have serious conversations about our daughter’s safety.
We have never been in a hurricane and avoided too much damage when Hurricane Sandy hit the East coast of New Jersey. But, we’ve seen the damage these storms cause and knew it could be a dangerous few days with storm surges, insane winds, and feet (not inches) of rain.
We felt the best option was for her to stay at her storm-enforced dorm building, with access to food, safe buildings, and hurricane-experienced security (safety) staff.
Evacuating her to another location in Florida was not an option. Most parts of Florida would get hit, and flying her home would be a nightmare trip, given that thousands of Floridians were leaving.
We are pleased to announce that she made it safely through the hurricane that thankfully got downgraded to a severe tropical storm by the time it “hit” her area—nevertheless, there was plenty of rain, wind, and flooding.
Business trip and meal planning
What do you do when your family is less skilled at cooking or preparing food and you have to leave them for a business trip?
The panic in my wife’s eye when I announced that I would be away a few days spoke clearly to the horrors that went through her mind. Her eyes screamed, “oh shit! How do I provide meals for the kids while my awesome Viking Heart chef is away!?”
Fear not, my South American beauty! Your Viking Heart husband will provide you with a simple meal plan, delicious family dinner options, and ideas for school lunches.
Thankfully, the kids are off Wednesday, and I fly out Thursday, so she only has to prepare lunch one day.
So, I went to my Italian roots (that I don’t have) and decided to make a massive portion of meat lasagna in the awesome Le Creuset tray. It is easy to make and store; they have to heat pieces in the microwave.
For the other days, I’ve made my “famous” Viking Sausage & Lentil Stew, which is excellent comfort food, especially as the weather is getting colder.
I bought a dozen bagels at the local bakery, and she “just” has to defrost bagels and fill them with salami and mozzarella.
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | Mixed salad with corn, feta cheese, and grilled chicken | Kick ass family-sized meat lasagna – part I |
| Tuesday | Roast beef & with provolone bagel | Viking Lentil Stew – part I |
| Wednesday | Mexican Pizza | Kick ass family-sized meat lasagna – part II |
| Thursday | Toasted bagel with egg and tomato | Viking Lentil Stew – part II |
| Friday | Bagel with salami and mozzarella | Left-overs or take-out |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.
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