Day 68

Adult Menu

• leftover grilled sausage w/sauteed onions and peppers (but not in sandwiches this time)
• tiny red potatoes, parboiled and then chuffed up in a hot pan with some butter
  
• sliced homegrown tomatoes w/sea salt
  

Girl Child
Had some leftover takeout cheese pizza and raw baby carrots.

Boy Child
Had shredded cheese, raw baby carrots, and two peanut butter sandwiches on whole-grain bread.

Last night, the boy child asked me, "Um, Mom? When are you going to make stuff for dinner that WE like?"

I think I might have gotten a little testy with him. Oh well.

Day 67

Adult Menu

• grilled Italian sausage sandwiches w/sauteed onions and peppers on whole wheat rolls
  
• sliced homegrown tomatoes w/sea salt
  

Girl Child
Ate some shredded cheese, some leftover biscuits and some leftover salad from the other night.

Boy Child
Had shredded cheese and salad with a banana.

I've had a lot of sausage-grilling disasters in my time, y'all. It's so hard to get the inside cooked without charring the outside to a crisp. HOWEVER, I've finally figured it out. I simmer the sausages first in a pot of water or beer for about 15 minutes. Then I just brown them off on the grill (maybe 4-5 minutes per side depending on how hot the grill is). They get cooked through but stay moist and juicy inside with a nice, crisp skin. Yum!

I saute the peppers and onions in EVOO (and plenty of it, because I like them drippy for sandwiches) and then season with salt and pepper. Make sure you don't turn the heat up too high on the onions/peppers or you'll end up frying them instead. You want them kind of soft but still with some body to them, and preferably no browning. I usually put them on the stove right before I slap the sausages on the grill, stir frequently, and by the time the meat's done, so are the veggies.

Day 65

Adult Menu

• grilled ham steaks
• whole-grain tortilla chips
• a huge-ass salad with homegrown tomatoes
  

Girl Child
Ate everything!

Boy Child
Ditto!

My dad has had a bonanza crop of tomatoes in his garden this year and has kept me supplied all summer long with teeny, sweet cherry tomatoes and luscious hamburger-sized monsters that have never seen the inside of a refrigerator. Soooo yummy, y'all. This is why I can never move too far away from my parents! What else am I going to do with all this sea salt?!

Day 64

Adult Menu

• beef fajitas
  

Girl Child
Ate some of the beef but not in a fajita. She had hard taco shells with cheese and sour cream, and some raw baby carrots.

Boy Child
Also tried some beef and I think he liked it. He had hard taco shells with cheese (no sour cream) and raw baby carrots.

We looooove our fajitas down here in Tejas, y'all. And they are super easy (and usually pretty cheap!) to make. I made them with skirt steak which was liberally sprinkled with a fajita spice rub (pre-mixed) and sealed in a plastic zipper bag with a mixture of lime juice (FRESH please!) and EVOO, then left in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

I grilled the steak over high heat for 4 minutes per side, discarding the marinade, then let it rest while I grilled some sweet onions and red and yellow bell peppers (drizzled with EVOO). Then I cut the steak into thin strips across the grain and served it with the grilled veggies, some avocado, shredded cheddar, sour cream and salsa on whole-wheat tortillas. YUM.

Be sure to have a Dos Equis Amber or a Modelo with your fajitas, yo. None of that Corona crappe. I'll know.

Day 63

Adult Menu

• basa fillets, sauteed in EVOO and seasoned with kosher salt and cracked pepper
  
• quinoa
  
• steamed broccoli
  

Girl Child
Ate some quinoa, broccoli, and a piece of string cheese.

Boy Child
Also ate quinoa and broccoli but with shredded cheddar.

For months now, the boy child has been insisting that he doesn't like cooked broccoli. Even though I've made it at least once a week since he was a baby. Today he suddenly remembered that it was good, so he ate some. I don't know if it's an autism thing, or what, but he does stuff like this all the time! I swear, it's impossible to keep up with his likes and dislikes. (But yay for eating the broccoli!)

Day 60

Adult Menu

• lasagna
  
• whole wheat dinner rolls
  
• salad
  

Girl Child
Ate some salad, two rolls, and some shredded cheddar.

Boy Child
Ate everything!

No one in the family (except me) likes ricotta, so I make my lasagna with just noodles, sauce, and lots of mozzarella. Sometimes I put mushrooms and/or spinach on the "adult" side, but the boy won't eat it that way.

Day 57

Adult Menu

• roast chicken
  
• whole wheat dinner rolls (from the supermarket bakery)
  
• assorted lettuces (I hesitate to call it "salad" because there was nothing else in it)
  

Girl Child
Wasted most of her drumstick, ate a teeny tiny piece of lettuce, and wolfed down two rolls.

Boy Child
Ate a thigh, a roll and some salad.

DH worked late tonight and happened to let me know early enough that I was able to run to the store and grab a chicken. Er, but not in the slightly pervy way that sounds.

We're eating at my folks' house for the next two nights in a row. Woo! See you on Day 60!

Day 56

Adult Menu

• leftover grilled boneless pork chops
  
• leftover sauteed cabbage
  
• mashed potatoes
  

Girl Child
Ate the rest of her pork chop from last night and some raw baby carrots.

Boy Child
Ate mashed potatoes, shredded cheese and a banana. (WTF?!)

I have a confession to make, y'all. I don't make mashed potatoes from scratch. I buy the Ore-Ida frozen ones that you mix with milk and then cook in the microwave. They're really good! No lie! I HATE instant mashed potatoes, I find them foul beyond belief, but these taste nothing like instant. I add butter, salt and pepper when they're cooked and I SWEAR they taste homemade. I challenge y'all to be able to tell the difference. Really! Go try them!

Day 55*

Adult Menu

• grilled boneless pork chops
  
• sauteed cabbage
  
• sliced homegrown tomatoes
  

Girl Child
Ate a pork chop and some raw baby carrots. She looooved the pork chop! I don't think she had any carbs, but I really don't remember.

Boy Child
Rejected everything and instead had some shredded mozzarella, a couple of peanut butter sandwiches on whole grain bread, and some raw baby carrots.

*I have no memory of days 52-54, sorry!

Day 51

Adult Menu

• meatloaf
  
• mashed potatoes
• cauliflower with cheese sauce (frozen)
  
• the last of the leftover green salad
  

Girl Child
Ate some salad but passed on everything else. She had a couple of slices of deli turkey and some raspberries. Not bad, girl child!

Boy Child
Had salad and a whole bunch of mashed potatoes with a little pile of shredded mozzarella.

Day 50

Adult Menu

• rainbow trout fillets, sauteed in olive oil
  
• steamed basmati rice
  
• leftover green salad from last night
  

Girl Child
Ate some salad and rice but had cheese cubes (colby jack) instead of fish.

Boy Child
Also had salad and rice but with shredded mozzarella.

Day 49*

Adult Menu

• cold boiled shrimp (peel & eat, shells pre-split)
  
• tiny red potatoes, parboiled and chuffed up in a hot pan with some butter
  
• a green salad with homegrown cherry tomatoes (from my dad -- no green thumb here!)
  

Girl Child
Ate some salad but passed on everything else. She had whole-grain saltines and some shredded cheddar instead.

Boy Child
Ate quite a lot of shrimp (DH and I had to peel it for him, because the peeling part squicks him out) and salad. I think he had a piece of whole-grain bread, too.

*DH worked late last night and I was feeling lazy so I ordered pizza for the kids and myself.

Day 47

Adult Menu

• grilled ham steak
• homemade cornbread
  
• a big green salad
  

Girl Child
Ate everything!

Boy Child
Ditto!

This is one of the few meals I make that everyone loves. (And yes, I AM grilling every damn thing we eat these days!)

Day 46*

Adult Menu

• grilled flank steak with a garlic, olive oil and red wine marinade
• grilled sweet corn on the cob
  
• leftover pasta salad w/cherry tomatoes, fresh pearl mozzarella, fresh basil and marinated artichoke hearts
  

Girl Child
Ate a little bit of steak but said she didn't like it. Tried the corn and wasn't crazy about that either because it was grilled and therefore looked different than what she's used to. Had a couple of raw baby carrots also, and some shredded cheddar since she didn't eat much steak. No carbs tonight apart from the corn -- shocker!

Boy Child
Again with the amazing me, this kid. First of all he had some corn (wasn't too sure about it for reasons stated above by the girl child, but eventually devoured an entire ear and said it was the best corn ever). Then he had some of the pasta out of the pasta salad and even said he liked the dressing on it (which was just the marinade from the artichoke hearts, which were store-bought). He had some shredded mozzarella to start but after he finished it, he decided to try some steak and ate two big strips of it! He said it was really good.

It's like they've switched places, or something!


*Yesterday was a no-supper night. DH had cereal, I think, and the kids had Lunchables.

Day 44

Adult Menu

• grilled hamburgers OR portabella mushroom caps w/sliced cheese, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, etc. on sesame buns
  
• pasta salad w/cherry tomatoes, fresh pearl mozzarella, fresh basil and marinated artichoke hearts
  
• Tostitos multigrain tortilla chips w/homemade (by my mom) peach salsa
• pickles (also homemade by Mom)
  

Girl Child
Ate a burger w/cheese and some chips.

Boy Child
He ate a burger!!! Dudes!!!! He put onions and ketchup on it, I think. I am AMAZED. He also had some pasta salad (but only the pasta, no veggies or cheese). And maybe some chips. I don't know. I was blinded by the burger, y'all. That's the first burger he's ever actually eaten, I think. He's tried them before but never liked them. Maybe the "natural" ground beef I bought this time made the difference. Who knows?

We had my parents over for dinner tonight and in addition to all of the above I made a sort of bastardized white sangria. A bottle of cheap pinot grigio, a can of peach nectar, some club soda, fresh nectarines, strawberries and raspberries all mixed in my favorite pitcher. It was WAY yummy. I actually think I prefer it to the regular red sangria I make with sliced citrus.

Day 43

Adult Menu

• roasted chicken thighs
  
• mashed potatoes
  
• steamed broccoli
  

DH
Due to the whole poultry allergy thing, he had a leftover pork chop instead of the chicken.

Girl Child
Ate everything except the mashed potatoes.

Boy Child
Had the chicken and mashed potatoes with raw baby carrots.

Day 42*

Adult Menu

• grilled boneless pork chops
  
• quinoa
  
• leftover green salad (last night for this)
• leftover potato salad (ditto)
  

Girl Child
Ate everything except the potato salad.

Boy Child
Had quinoa and green salad with -- guess! that's right! -- shredded cheddar.

*Yesterday we ate at a neighborhood potluck/picnic, which is where the potato salad came from.

Day 40

Adult Menu

• pan-seared thin cut ribeyes (unfortunately they were really tough)
  
• Pillsbury crescent rolls
  
• leftover huge salad
  

Girl Child
Ate everything!

Boy Child
Had rolls and salad with shredded cheddar.

Day 39*

Adult Menu

• pan-sauteed basa fillets
  
• quinoa
  
• huge salad
  

Girl Child
Had quinoa and salad with a piece of string cheese.

Boy Child
Had quinoa, salad and shredded mozzarella.

*Whoops, kind of a big gap there! Let's see ... takeout pizza, leftover chicken, tacos. I think that covers days 36-38.