Menu Plan Monday: Hail to the Chief (and Chef)

   Regardless of political leanings, you still have to feel proud and blessed to live in a country that has peaceful elections every four years. We sometimes even take it for granted until we see headlines of the violence in many countries that blows-up just to put the people's choice in office. So this week, let's celebrate that fact and show honor to our great nation on the 20th.
   Here's how we're doing it.

The Black Horse Troop of Culver Academy in 1913

   My middle brother's fam is coming East to watch their son, a member of the prestigious Black Horse Troop of Culver Military Academy, ride in the Inaugural Parade!!  And it's especially special because it is exactly 100 years since the first time they rode back in (quick, do the math) 1913. And he is LEADING the troop. I think he might even get to doff his cap or salute or whatever when they pass the President. And if that wasn't enough, my youngest brother's son's Boy Scout Troop has been selected out of all the troops in his region of New Jersey to provide community service at the parade.  So my family is representing quite well, thank you.
   But the broken foot thing prevents me from watching live curb-side with them. You can imagine the scene: crowds are huge, you have to get there hours in advance, and then stand, stand, STAND in the cold.  Looks like I'll be watching on TV like everyone else across the nation and around the world like I've always done. Maybe 2016? Nah, they'll all be grown up.
    Now on to the eats.
    Continuing with the 5Dinners1Hour.com. plan, I can easily whip out this menu.  I looked over the weeks from both the January list and some from previous months that I have paid for--weeks that I haven't used for one reason or another--and settled on TWO week's worth of menu-planning. I'm only gonna list one here now. You'll have to come on back next week for the other one! Oh, snap!
     Not surprisingly, I'm utilizing any and all shop-by-internet advantages I can find. My biggest groan right now is imagining thump-da-thumping with cane in hand through miles of grocery aisles while somehow also maneuvering a cart and then laoding and off-loading those bags. I hat doing it on TWO feet, much less one-and-a-half. So to avoid that, I am brushing off my dusty grocery-delivery account. I use Peapod by Giant for my service. (available in Maryland and PA; there are others out there.) Between the clearly written list on 5Dinners1Hour and the simplicity of the on-line browsing at Peapod, I can have two weeks worth of food picked out in less time than it takes me to drive to the brick-and-mortar store and back. Which is only fifteen minutes away. Clicked on yesterday, delivered to my counter-top today. And yes, you can use your coupons. Sweet.
    Now for the menu:

Monday

Leftovers to clean out for my 5Dinner cooking today

Tuesday

Roasted Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
Mixed vegetables
Jasmine rice

Wednesday

Almond Crusted Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Sugar snap peas

Thursday

Slow-cooked beef stew
Green Salad
Whole Wheat dinner rolls

Friday

Date night (The youth group is going snow tubing at Ski Roundtop! )

Saturday 

DITK (Dad In The Kitchen!)

Sunday

Hoping to have a family dinner while all those celebrities are in town. In honor of refilling the Oval Office, we should at least have cherry pie!

What's on your menu? Anything patriotic? Find more menu ideas at Organizing Junkie and then get out those flags. Hail to the Chief (and all you chefs)!

Rise and Hobble

Another day, another prop-up

Week 3 of Peg-leg Leslie and the Broken Foot
So my new morning routine is this. cautiously lean out of bed to reach my cane (or crop as Mei, the equestrian calls it), come slowly--and painfully--to my feet. Hobble into the bathroom for a few minutes of wake-up duty. Thump-da-thump to the closet for some old jeans, and a sweatshirt. Got to be comfortable sitting in a chair all day! Re-wrap the injury with a stretched-out Ace bandage given to me at the ER (love, love the edging of sewn-in Velcro for grip!) and strap on the stylish also-Velcroed bootie. Match up the heel height with the most similar thing I have: a navy L.L.Bean felt clog from around 1992 that has the toe area chewed out by the dog. Skip the make-up. Who's gonna see me?
   Take on the most challenging part of the day: descending the stairs. Ours are long and CURVE adding to the excitement. Good foot down, bad foot brought along-side while stepping perpendicular to the riser.This keeps the useless one from flexing, the most agonizing position the appendage can assume. Phone in pocket. Water glasses and yesterday's newspapers left behind. Need the hands for bracing myself! Father R will collect those on the weekend, hopefully before we run out of clean ones.
   Thump-da-thump-da-thump to the kitchen wishing we had a two-bedroom rambler. Nuke tea water, pour into Thermos mug ( saves getting up for the re-heat later), and plop in the easy chair for the rest of the morning, my laptop waiting to take me out into the virtual world, a place I have only been chauffeured to twice in as many weeks.
   The poor dog, whose own morning routine for five years has been to find a toy and be chased around the house in a catch-and-fetch version of Keep-away tries again to engage me, but gives up and lays at my feet again for another long day wondering what he did to deserve my rejection. If only he could read the blog.