Meal Plan: Week 42, 2024 – Northern Lights, Columbus Day and Homecooking

Welcome to fall and see the striking foliage in New York.

And what better way to be greeted by the fall than a spectacular (awesome) display of Northern Lights?

Late last week, many US East Coast and Northern European states were in awe with the colorful dancing lights across the sky.

My wife and I missed the display as we attended the Open House event at our daughter’s high school. By the time we finished, the lights had been turned off, and we were left with the usual night skies.

Thankfully, many friends in the area reminded us of the spectacle we missed and happily shared pictures of Mother Nature lighting up the skies.

Columbus and Indigenous People

The week starts with a national holiday. We celebrate Columbus Day, also known as Indigenous Day, the day Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.

It happened on October 12th, 1492, when he went ashore on the beaches of a small island in the Bahamas and landed in the Dominican Republic, a beautiful island in the Caribbean.

The 12th of October was Saturday, but we moved the holiday to the first Monday if it falls on a weekend—any chance to get time off.

We also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October 14th, honoring all the tribes and indigenous people who lived here for thousands of years before Columbus arrived on the beaches.

A lot of injustice has been committed against the Indigenous people during the past centuries, and we need to remind ourselves that they were here before most people and deserve recognition and support.

Both events are tremendously important to the history of the Americas, and both should be honored and celebrated.

Week Forty-Two Meals

Because of the two holidays, we are celebrating on Monday, the 14th of October, Columbus Day and Indigenous Day, the schools will be closed for the kids—one less lunch to prepare.

The weather is helping to plan meals. Because it is getting cooler, not colder, we will enjoy some comfort foods such as chowder, fried rice, and grilled food.

You might be like me and wonder what the difference between a stew and a chowder is. Well, my AI friend on Google Chrome helped me find the answer.

Chowder is a type of soup with a thick, creamy consistency and hearty ingredients.

Stew is a dish that’s prepared by stewing, which means slowly simmering something in a covered pot that’s barely covered in liquid.

Now we have that mystery resolved, let’s move on to meal planning and prepping.

School Lunches

Oops, I did it again!

Yes, I baked again this past weekend to reduce the bread we buy at the supermarket. While the bread we buy at the supermarket is delicious, we also know it contains many additional and unnecessary ingredients.

Homemade bread does not last as long as store-bought bread, which I believe is good.

I made a batch of my “famous” pizza dough, which I have perfected over the past several months to the point where it comes out almost perfect each time.

This week, I made pizza bread, pizza, and stuffed pizza garlic balls. Some are for school, and others are for the family to consume during Columbus/Indigenous People Day.

I’ll also create a small gyro bowl for lunch, “stealing” a portion from the gyro bowl dinner.

Lastly, I will use some of the Amish bread I made a few weeks ago and froze to create a loaded cheese melt using American yellow, deli ham, parmesan, and pickled red onion.

Dinner Time

I’ve started planning my upcoming business trip, which will involve traveling to Texas for 5-6 days to attend a conference. I can’t wait to go back to Texas. It’s a fantastic state, with excellent food such as Kolache and Bucees.

As my family is spoiled regarding lunch and dinners, I must think ahead and make additional meals. It would not be appropriate if they starved or bought ready-made meals at Walmart.

So, when making meals, I increase the batch I make and freeze enough for them to nuke in the microwave.

For dinners this week, we will indulge in the following:

Grilled Salmon and Monkfish bites with grilled (and some bacon-wrapped) asparagus.
Grilled turkey meatballs with rice, cucumber salad, and homemade tzatziki
Mushroom and beef chunks fried rice (double portion to freeze)
Creamy bacon, shrimp, and corn chowder – we love an excellent warm chowder

Meal Plan

	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	No School	Grill Salmon and Monkfish bites with asparagus
Tuesday	Tomato, basil and parmesan bread	Gyro bowls with turkey meatballs, cucumber/tomato salad, and tzatziki
Wednesday	Gyro Bowl – lunch version	Beef chunks fried rice
Thursday	Tomato, basil, and parmesan bread	Bacon, shrimp, and corn chowder
Friday	Loaded Cheese Melt (ham and mushrooms)	Friday night over-the-fire cooking

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.