Menu Monday: Summertime Menus

102F...That's what the thermometer in the shady part of the front porch read yesterday afternoon at 2pm...and you know what?  It FELT like 102.  The only part of our lawn that is green is over the drain field from the septic tank.  The grass everywhere else is as tightly twisted as the corn in the fields without irrigation.  Sigh.  I think I'm just going to put a hiatus on buying anymore plants to pot. It seems too cruel to put them through this heat. 

I bought Maddie a wading pool, thinking she'd get herself wet  and find someplace cool to lie after but my water dog is not too keen on water it seems.  Well the Mockingbird this morning was having a nice bath and seemed to appreciate my efforts so I might just keep the pool going with a bit of water for them.  I was reading earlier about the necessity of rocks and things for the bees to sit upon to drink, so I'll have to see what I can do about that.

In the meantime, it's time to plan meals for the week ahead and frankly I'm not too keen on it.  I'll be doing my best to eat 'cool' meals to help offset this heat.  And can I just thank the good Lord above for AC?!

Monday:  Turkey Chef Salad, Cheese Biscuits, Strawberry Cobbler
I found turkey luncheon meat, NOT Spam, on sale last week and bought two packets.  One cut into thin strips along with Swiss cheese and boiled eggs will make a nice salad. I thought cheese biscuits would be a nice go along and I might skip the cobbler and make a couple of plain sweet biscuits and have shortcake instead...But there's something about cobbler that my husband likes and he doesn't mind strawberries a bit when they are in cobbler.  Strawberries were a good buy last week too.  I froze a half gallon of them when I got home.   

Tuesday:  Corned Beef on Rye, Coleslaw, Watermelon
I bought a corned beef during the St. Patrick's Day sales and put in the freezer.  I'll cook it in the crock pot and we'll have a nice sandwich from the meat today.  I'll freeze half the meat and plan to make another meal from the other half.  Fresh cabbage is plentiful and inexpensive right now, so take full advantage of it.  A very fresh tasting coleslaw: diced tomato and green bell pepper into the shredded cabbage, dress with mayonnaise, salt and pepper.    Chance commented the other day that chilled watermelon was about the best thing he'd tasted in a long time.  With the weather this hot, I'll be sure to keep plenty of melon on hand!

Wednesday:  Cream of Asparagus Soup, Quiche, Green Salad, Biscuits with Jellies
I froze the ends of asparagus spears back in during asparagus season.  Now I'll cook them in chicken broth and make a creamy asparagus soup.  Quiche is one dish that may be made ahead and served at room temperature and still taste very good, so I'll make quiche in the early morning.  I'll make my own pastry shell and while I'm at it, I might as well make two shells.  I'll use one for dessert later this week.  Our dessert for this meal, warm buttered biscuits with a variety of jellies to garnish them.  We'll toast biscuits with cheese for breakfast tomorrow, too.

Thursday:  Corned Beef Hash, Steamed Green Beans, Corn Muffins, Fruit Hash
Boiled new potatoes will be heated in a frying pan with cubed corned beef and a little bit of onion and cooked until crisp and tender at once.  A cool fruit hash will temper the heat of the meal.  I'll make it early in the day using a variety of fresh and canned fruits, marshmallows, and a sour cream dressing.


Friday:  Broiled Ground Sirloin Steaks, Panzanella Salad, Steamed Corn on the Cob, Coconut Cream Pie
Panzanella always sounded so good to me: fresh juicy tomatoes and bread cubes.  To Chance, it didn't sound so great until one day we had this salad by default.  The bread proved too crusty to eat, so we ended up dipping it into our tomato salad to eat!  Chance discovered that he actually liked it and now this salad is on our summer menu.  That pastry shell I baked earlier this week becomes today's pie crust. 

Saturday:  Chinese Takeout
Sometimes the coolest way to deal with the heat is to get takeout!  I'll be out all morning and can't cook in the cooler hours today and since I go right by two Chinese restaurants on my way home, why not pick up a meal that is already cooked? 

Sunday:  Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard, Potato Salad, Squash with onions, Peaches n Cream
I can cook chicken tenders very quickly, so don't mind cooking them just at dinner time.  Peaches n Cream isn't really anything special but then again it is.  Grandmama used to always have frozen fresh peaches on hand and she'd thaw them until they were just icy cold, sprinkle with sugar and pour over canned evaporated milk.  I do it just a wee bit differently.  I take fresh peaches and slice them, put them into the freezer until almost frozen, then drizzle with sweetened condensed milk.   Tastes just like my childhood all over again without the gritty sugar, lol.  Always makes me think of summers past.