Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday with Laura at Org Junkie

Monday: Pasta Salad with Dill Vinaigrette and chicken wings.

We have plenty of leftover pasta from the weekend so I'm going to use that to make this pasta salad, and we have lots of chicken wings. We will either BBQ the wings or bake them in the oven. We're having two ladies over for dinner, the daughter might be interested in living with us in the fall, so we wanted an easy tasty dinner since I'll be getting home at 5:30, need to shower after my bike ride and will of course want to tidy the house a bit before they arrive. I'll also be prepping the food for the picnic the next day. 

Tuesday: Jericho Beach Picnic - Hot Dogs, Veggies & Dip and Bacon Cheddar Broccoli Salad

Our Quebecois student Rachel is part of the French Explore Program and they have a big BBQ with all their students and their families. Our whole "family" is going, all 6 of us, so we're borrowing my sisters van-like-car and heading over to the beach all together. We're bringing our grill so that we can have Hot Dogs - it's always so fun to eat Hot Dogs at the beach. I'm quite looking forward to it - since our friends the Chibota's and their student are coming as well. Sun, beach, friends - good times!

Wednesday: Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

I wanted something easy to make - and I have lots of pasta still leftover and so this will be easy to make - and according to the website, tasty! Then I have Arlene and Ereka coming over for wedding talk time - I love to review weddings with brides a month before and a couple weeks before - that way they can make sure all details are taken care of. 

Thursday: Greek Shrimp Scampi

I found a packet for Greek Shrimp Scampi - so I thought it would be a good day to try it. 

Friday: Slow Cooker Italian Chicken (from package)

We're having the McCarthy's over after a long week of work and school. I wanted something that could cook all day, so that I just needed to do a bit when I got home. This is a great slow cooker recipe, our house loved it last time. I'm making it again but serving it with Asparagus rather than noodles so that the McCarthy's can eat it, since Lindsay is gluten free. I will also add some cream cheese near the end - I did that last time and it was a hit. I'll serve it with a side of rice, I want to make it pesto but I'll need to confirm that my pesto doesn't have any gluten in it. 

Saturday: YOYO (You're On Your Own) 

Paul and I are having a date at the Papali's new place with them - so our house is on their own for dinner. Our students usually have plans on the weekend, so it's a good time to be busy ourselves. 

This weekend was interesting. Thursday we had our 4th of July BBQ - it was a huge success. Roughly 20 people came and everything went so smoothly. It was fun and relaxing. More photos to come, but here's a sneak peak. 

Top Row: Jenna & I, Blueberry Pomogranate Mojitos and the dessert spread

Bottom Row: Jessika (JTT) & I, Me with Anacat & Maan and USA Paul.

Thursday night I noticed that my back was starting to hurt a bit, but hoped that a night of sleep would help. It didn't. I had to stay home Friday. But after sleeping all day my back was feeling much better. I got up around 4 and realized that I should start prepping something for dinner. I had leftover cooked pasta, leftover uncooked veggies and remembered that there was a ham in the back of the freezer. So I thawed the Ham and then cooked it in the oven using this slow cooker recipe. I grabbed an Alfredo package and made up a sauce for the noodles and roasted up the veg in the oven. So easy and all the food was so good. My roommates were very emphatic in their praise for the meal. It felt good, for sure. 

Since I was feeling better by evening I spent an hour cleaning out my cellar (or as the girls call it, "Harry Potters Bedroom" since it's a small room under the stairs) so that I would know what I had in the house as the next day was a USA shopping trip day. I also sat out on the cool deck and cleaned and then filled in our monthly chalkboard. 

Saturday I spent the day in the USA with our two students Rachel and Ana, and my friend Irene. We did the classic Seattle tourist stuff - Pike Place Market, Starbucks, etc. We also hit up Rancho Bravo Taco's (so good!) and we met up with friends (shout out to Rebekah!). We did grocery shopping and fun girl shopping and it was a fun productive day. Minus the speeding ticket I got in the AM - I didn't notice the speed change from 70 to 60 and was still going 75. Bummer. At least it's my first ticket in over 7 years and once I got pulled over and found out the speed limit, it was obvious I was in the wrong - but I'm glad to know I wasn't intentionally speeding - I take great care to stay within 5-10 of the speed limit. 

Me, Irene, Ana & Rachel

We were home by 9:30. Rachel, other Rachel, Ana and Duncan all helped me unload the groceries, and all helped me put them away. Our kitchen was so tidy by the time we were done. We all sat around and joked and talked, which was great. Paul was out at a whitecaps game with our friend John and then they both got home around 11 - John was spending the night. I stayed up with them for a bit to chat and then started feeling extra sleepy, so I let them continue and I went to bed.....where I ended up reading for 3 hours. It was relaxing and lovely. 

Sunday was project day. I got up early and made breakfast for our house and John and then headed to Home Depot with Paul. We were assisted by an amazing HD employee named Anna. She helped me last time and she was a lifesaved, and this time as well. She is a superstar. We got everything we needed for the two big projects we're working on.

I also hit up Micheals (so many good deals!), Ikea and Costco and then it was time for church - I was hosting and Paul was preaching. I joked that we should do worship as well - though I can tell you now, that would be a disaster. 

After church we ate an easy dinner outside with our household and then Paul and I got started on the projects - first steps was to sand and remove varnish. I got to working on the sewing table with solvent to remove varnish and Paul tackled the large secretary stand with the sander. 

Can't wait to show you our plans for the pieces! And the before and afters. 

It's going to be awesome.

We were done our work by 9:30 - thankfully lunches were already made by then as well, so I could go straight up to bed. My back needs more rest than normal, so lots of sleeping is key!

And that brings us to today. I rode my bike into work this morning for the first time in the three weeks since my back went out. It felt great! I so missed it. Not only was it fun, but the ride actually helped my back feel way better. What wasn't fun was the nausea that came with my bike ride - these meds make me me prone to motion sickness - super annoying. I was pretty certain I was going to be actually ill, but made it up to work where Irene pampered me with ginger ale and kindness. Both worked and I felt much better. 

Phew - now lunch break is over - back to work!