My Early September Menu Plan

As usual when I start a menu plan, I always checked the weather — hello! Grilling means my hubby does the cooking! ;) 

I also checked everyone’s schedule. Nothing more disappointing than getting psyched to cook something fantastic only to find out you’ll be the only one home when it is at its best, right?

Then it was a cruise through my print magazines and Pinterest boards: Looks So Delicious and Autumn: Enjoy Fresh!

We’re geared to have a week of no rain and summer temps, so bring on the grilled food, lots of fresh stuff, and let’s keep that summer feeling alive!

On the other hand, let’s also celebrate some of the current seasonal produce: peaches! I’m craving peaches big time! Also the apples fresh off the trees with their amazing crunch. I had some just-picked Ginger-Golds the other day and ohhhhh my! Apple heaven :) There’s still plenty of corn on the cob and watermelon at my produce stop, too. 

I have been far too ambitious with this menu plan. I know there are tooooooo many recipes and I’ll bail out on a day or two. Maybe. But they’re pretty tempting!

The good thing is, I won’t be bringing any grocery into the house that must be used in a certain way. All the foods needed can be prepared quite simply or held over, so nothing will be wasted if I get lazy life gets in the way. Yay!

Here are links to the recipes I found in my print magazines that sounds oh-so-perfect for this week!

Mini Beef Wellingtons — great for the skinny end of the beef tenderloin we thawed and ate the big portion of!

Chile Pork Tenderloin with Charred Corn Salad — they caught me at charred corn; caught my hubby at Chile LOL

Pickle-Brined Chicken — And I have an almost empty jar of pickles! Perfect! Can’t wait to see how that juice works. There’s always that pizza coupon ;)

Cauliflower and Chickpea Quinoa with Tahini Drizzle — this hearty grain, bean, and veg salad will be a great side for some low-cal grilled fish! I’ll be adding shredded or shaved carrots to it, too.

Spinach and Ham Stuffed Baked Potatoes plus Apple Salad bonus recipe — FC Seattle Sounders game night! With some pre-game shrimp snacks, the carb count from the potatoes won’t have a huge impact on hubby’s bloodsugar levels. Balance! This meal can be done ahead and be ready to reheat (potatoes) and serve!

Bonus finds!

Sur La Table (my FAVE cooking store!) has their Fall recipes up! Go check them out — yum! 

Take advantage of those last days of grilling weather when they show up — toss whatever fruits and veggies on the grill even if you’ve planned a cook-inside meal. Check these out!

Soon it will be all kale and butternut squash and stews, but I’m hanging on to summer while I can! 

Oh, oh! I grabbed some very wrinkled and bright red Anaheim chiles from the produce stand the other day. They had obviously been picked quite a while ago, but I knew they deserved a chance. Opened them flat, had hubby grill the skin side only, peeled them. This morning I made the best-ever breakfast relleno/quesadilla thing: low-fat tortilla, 2 eggs, Monterey Jack cheese, one of those roasted chiles all folded together like a soft taco. Never pooh-pooh those old-looking veggies; those chiles were sweet and rich!

Eat well, eat healthy, eat YUMMY!

Gail