We are officially in the last quarter of 2023. Walmart recently introduced its Christmas decorations and was only overshadowed (slightly) by the enormous inflatable Halloween creatures.
Last week Mother Nature hammered parts of the East Coast with moist and wet weather, with torrential rain Friday that caused flooding in many areas and crippled the NYC subways.
This week, they predict a blue sky and 22-25 degrees Celcius. It calls for an excellent tequila on the porch.
Back to NYC
We drove into NYC Sunday morning to attend the fantastic Lion King show on Broadway.
Our son loves The Lion King. We bought tickets for the performance through TDF.
TDF is a fantastic organization that plans Broadway show events with the actual show’s cast, but light and music are slightly adjusted to accommodate kids with special needs.
It’s the fourth time we’ve seen The Lion King, but for our son, it is just as impressive as when he first saw it. I’ll be honest: I’m not as attentive this time as the first few times we attended the show.
We meet some friends for a great Italian family dinner at Carmine’s. Excellent place. Excellent food. An excellent service.
Beef, Ribs, and Chicken
My daughter did a great job last week cooking two dinners, and she was surprised when she wanted to do Japaleno Poppers during the weekend. I wouldn’t stop her and supervised her while she prepped the poppers as a snack for dinner.
It’s always a great snack or side to most dishes, and I was grateful that she wanted to hang out with me while I was cooking for the upcoming week.
As we would spend Sunday in the city, I only had time to cook two meals on Saturday: Short Rib Ragu and French Chicken Casserole.
Both dishes involved gently browning the meat and then preparing the trilogy of any stew: celery, onion, and carrot.
We love a healthy stew, especially during the fall when we need to boost our immune systems.
During the week, I’ll prepare the second chicken dinner and soak the beef liver in milk overnight, which helps remove the bitter flavor from the liver. The liver is not a dish the kids have selected, and I’m sure I will have some resistance, but it is excellent and a rich source of iron and protein.
While grilling chicken for the Brazilian chicken, I add a few extra chicken breasts so I can add it to the kids’ school lunches. The kids will have chicken three times this week: in a salad, with fried noodles, and as a chicken burger.
Meal Plan
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | Grilled Cheese | Short Beef Rib Ragu with Sweet Potato Mash |
| Tuesday | Caesar Salad with grilled chicken | French Chicken Casserole with Cauliflower Rice |
| Wednesday | Indian Chicken Burgers | Beef Liver and onions with Egg Noodles |
| Thursday | Fried Noodles with Chicken & Soy | Brazilian Roasted Chicken with Roasted Potatoes |
| Friday | Fantastic Friday Pizza | Over-the-fire-meat and Smoked Tomato Soup |
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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