Menu Plan 2/6 - 2/12

All right, back to figuring out what to make for the week. It's been a while - I actually have planned out the last couple weeks, but due to an extremely busy January they didn't make it to the blog. Now that I'm settled in the routine of work, school and personal life, it should get a bit easier to write up menu plans. :)

Now - the big highlight for this menu plan is The SuperBowl. Obviously we're going to be enjoying ourselves quite a bit on Sunday as we watch the big game (I love that "enjoying ourselves" becomes a euphemism for "stuffing ourselves silly" for the SuperBowl!) and then hopefully trying to get back on track after the junk food hangover wears off.

We've had an awesome weekend so far - friends over on Friday evening to play Dance Central (which I would highly recommend - some of those advanced moves feel like a workout!), and a birthday dinner with friends planned for this evening. So Sunday we're hoping for a nice quiet SuperBowl at home (where we can pass out in a food coma in the 3rd quarter if we need to).

On Friday, I wanted to put out some easy munchies. We just had a low-key night and planned to have 10 people total including us. I had an hour between when I got home from work and when I expected people to be over, so I put out chips and dip, threw together a buffalo chicken dip, diced up veggies with hummus and veggie dip, put out shrimp cocktail that I'd prepared the evening before, scallops wrapped in bacon with a quick brown sugar dipping sauce, and made cherry-amaretto jello shots.

OK, I tend to go overboard on food. :)

So Here Goes:

SuperBowl Sunday: Obligatory junk day. We'll be making nachos for dinner - I'm planning corn tortilla chips, seasoned ground beef, refried beans, cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, black olives, jalapenos, iceberg lettuce and diced fresh tomatoes. Topped with guacamole, sour cream and salsa. To attempt to offset this mound of calorie goodness, I have a TON of cut up veggies (celery, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes) that will get eaten one way or another, and shrimp cocktail leftover from Friday. That might be a decadent-but-sort-of-light lunch on Sunday, heavy on the veggies.

Monday: Class night. There will be a ton of leftovers from the weekend for my husband - I am always afraid of the lunch thief at my office stealing my dinner, so I may pick up sushisomething between work and class. If nothing else KIND bars and fruit usually do the trick, with a Venti coffee to ensure I'm up for the rest of the evening. :)

Tuesday: Cajun-stuffed peppers. I picked up orange bell peppers (I didn't like the look of the red ones available in my grocery store) and plan to fill them with rice, ground beef, monterey jack cheese, andouille sausage (I picked up Bilinski's Chicken Sausage for this, which I love because not only do they mark their label GF, but they're also local and organic.) and spices. I am using the recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Wednesday: By request, my hubby's favorite pasta, modeled after Uno's Rattlesnake pasta. Bionaturae penne, shrimp (it was cheaper than chicken this week!), Classico alfredo, steamed broccoli, pickled jalapenos. Add cayenne and black pepper and sprinkle with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Yum!

Thursday: Hubby's bowling league/my homework night. Leftovers.

Friday: TGIF! No cooking for us! :)

Hope that everyone enjoys the SuperBowl! :)