I've got nothing left but menus. I've been useless at work (well, almost useless - I did schedule a meeting today about an upcoming infographic - doesn't that sound fun??), and even more useless at home (has anything been cleaned yet or prepped or baked? nope). But I think I know what my menu plans are -- knowing that it's fine if plans change, there is no such thing as a perfect Christmas -- for the nights when my parents and sister are here:
I'll back it up to this week's menus, just for kicks.
M (last night) - I got a last-minute invitation to dinner with my girlfriends, at a steakhouse that Shawn and I had just decided we wanted to try sometime soon. Sorry honey, that I had to go without you. It WAS good enough to go there again, so now I"m looking forward to Valentine's Day. Shawn, BLESS HIM, offered to take the kids out, too, which stopped the figurative bleeding of my injurious decision to leave Kate on a weeknight. How dare I?! She told me in high decibels that "whenever they invite you, you GO! Every DAY!" Also, I'm The Worst. But as soon as Shawn mentioned Waffle House, guess what? The wailing stopped on a dime. I may never understand her but I do appreciate the humor (!!) she brings to the family.
T - We'll either have soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, or Omaha Steaks hamburgers, a gift we received last week from Shawn's Mom. Either way, YUM. Also, our first non-restaurant Tuesday meal since October!
W - Tacos. Alex already spied the Old El Paso box in the pantry and he can't wait.
Th - I do have to go to the last choir rehearsal before Christmas (boo), so we'll eat something quickly at home. Maybe pizza, maybe the other option from Tuesday, either burgers or soup and grilled cheese.
F - The day everyone arrives!! I plan on Happy Hour first, of course, and then if I can swing it, our turkey breast and dressing dinner, with salad and cranberry sauce (jelly), and rolls. Aunt Jilly didn't have our family's special dressing on her Thanksgiving, so she requested it.
S (Christmas Eve) - I'm torn. Last year we went to Bahama Breeze after Kate's early church service, and it was really nice. Cozy, no cooking required... I'm considering that again. OR I'll make potato soup in the crock pot. We'll see how everyone feels ("oh, whatever you want to do, Lee...")
S (Christmas Day!) - for Breakfast, we'll have crepes. I had an egg casserole on my list of possibilities, but yesterday one of the kids mentioned crepes. Yay! I've made a tradition that they ask for! So I'll make those while they're playing with their new presents and the Christmas carols are playing on Pandora, and I'll have my Christmas morning punch in-hand, and it will all be lovely! Then for late lunch/early dinner, Lasagna! With some kind of festive salad (maybe the one R. mentioned in her Christmas menu: Mandarin Orange Salad with leafy lettuce, green onion, cilantro, cucumber, mandarin orange slices + red wine vinegar dressing)... and garlic bread. And I'm planning on Cherries Jubilee for dessert after a long, lazy, wonderful day with family and food and presents and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and other merriment. It's supposed to be rainy, which is just FINE with me.
For the following two days, we'll wing it a little, but a Snacky Dinner is a possibility, as well as taking everyone to one of our favorite restaurants, Fish Thyme.Or some good Georgia BBQ, maybe. Lots to choose from. Here's to your menus! Stay present and calm.
1 comment:
Nice! I was worried about Christmas eating because we are driving back from Georgia on Christmas Eve. We are seeing both sides of the family. Too much driving, but it will be fine. And I'm in the show at the theatre the two days after Christmas so I probably won't cook/shop on those days. BUT today I went shopping and we'll have turkey, beans, mashed potatoes, garlic bread (the only good-looking frozen bread I could find), and Edwards Key Lime and Lemon Meringue pies. Doable! The turkey can be thawing the three days we're gone. And cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We are going to be totally sugar overdosed. YES!
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