(Not Thanksgiving) Menu Plans

As previously mentioned, I'm not cooking a Thanksgiving dinner this year.  In fact, until a few days ago, I was without any Thanksgiving plans whatsoever.  Now though, I've been rescued from the holiday-less spirit by some friends.  Wanna know what they asked me to bring?  DESSERT.  Yep.  Which means I get to break this no-baked-goods fast on my own terms!  I've got some ideas, too.  They mostly involve some type of fruit, just so I won't have to feel guilty while eating them.  Ideas like:

Orange Muffins From Annie's Eats
I'm thinking they'll be nice & refreshing!

Banana Pudding Poke Cake from Hungry Little Girl
Banana Pudding just might be my Mister's favorite dessert.
I hope he doesn't mind the liberties I've taken with it...
I hope he doesn't take liberties with the dessert, too.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies from Sweet Treats & More
I'm thinking I might go with a plain 'ole cream cheese glaze, too.
Maple, well, it has it's place.
I'm just not convinced that it's on top of these cookies ;)

I'm also thinking some apple slices and warm caramel dip, likely of the normal pantry variety.  See, all sorts of fruit and whatnot!  It was dangerous territory, I'll tell ya, venturing into pinterest to find the right desserts.  I barely made it out with my sugar level intact.  I had actually convinced myself, at one point, that toffee wasn't a candy, and that maybe homemade caramels wouldn't count as cheating.  I tell you, my willful ignorance knows no bound.

In addition to the sweets I've now planned out, I took some time to menu plan for this coming week, too.  Actually, I made up my menu first, which included a plan for fried rice on Thursday.  Then I remembered that Thursday is Thanksday, and that I needed to get the desserts nailed down.  But either way.  I've got my menu.  Wanna see?

Meal 1:  Tacos.  I love tacos. SO sosososososo much.  That's why there's a link to a post I wrote specifically for my love of tacos.  I love tacos.

Meal 2: Pesto & Parmesan Stuffed Shells.  I'm so glad I finally found pesto this summer.  I also love pesto.  The plan with my whole "growing basil" thing this summer was to make my own, but I never got around to it. But I love it, nevertheless.  I'm pretty excited to try this new recipe, especially since I think it'll freeze well, and I need to start stocking my freezer for when this baby comes! (but more on that later)

Meal 3: Philly Cheesesteak Rolls.  I've never had a ton of luck with puff pastry, but I'm going to try it.  I accidentally bought 1.97 lbs. of roast beef lunch meat for this, so I'm making a quadruple batch.  Hopefully, these freeze well, too.  (Don't you just hate when the deli person slices your meat wrong/gives you more than you want?  I do.  Have you ever refused some that was already sliced?  I haven't.)  Oh, and I'm making these with swiss cheese, since Neighbor Mary brought us back an 8-lb wheel of the stuff.

Meal 4: Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls.  I've made these things upwards of 5 times.  I love them every time.  I've got wonton wrappers, not eggroll wrappers, so I'm going to have to get creative about putting them together, but I know they'll taste delicious.  Note: These are SPICY, so dip 'em in ranch or something.

Meal 5: Cheeseburger Soup.  Don't get me wrong, I love my chicken noodle, but this soup.. mmmmmmmmm.... it's just so good!  SO good.  I'm using my mom's recipe, which is similar to the one I linked to, if not exactly like it.  But I'm not going to hold it against TOH that they swiped my mom's recipe.  Share the love, I say!

Meal 6: Chicken Fried Rice.  I don't put peas in it.  Mostly because I've never bought peas in my life, and very few people hand them out, so I never have peas.  But it is pretty darn good, with carrots (which were $0.29 for a 2-lb bag at Aldi's last week, what what!?!) and onion and maybe broccoli.   

And finally, if I get to feeling frisky, I might try and make these guys.  Likely in a half-batch, since I only have a magic bullet and not a food processor.  But I'm gonna try it.  Because I love cheese.

Homemade Cheese-Itz from New Nostalgia.
YUM.

<3 M.