I don’t know what it’s like in all parts of the world, but here in the Baltimore area, its been pretty dreary for about a week now.  And it’s supposed to continue the trend for most of this week.  We were having this really nice, warm/hot, spring-like weather and suddenly April Showers decided to go out with a bang, or something.

Devon and I randomly went out to dinner this past Wednesday (yeah, we broke our plan that night; it’s Devon’s fault; all his fault) and I said “it feels like fall out here.”.  And it does.  It smells like spring with all the pollen in the air, but it legitimately feels like fall. It’s sort of killing the spring buzz that I had going on.  It made me crave a lot of heartier, more comforting foods.

So, the types of meals I went for were a bit heavier than what they had been in the few previous weeks.  There’s a bit more pasta than there has been in previous weeks (which I’m really NOT THAT mad about, because if you know me, you know I have a weakness for pasta), but I really tried to infuse more veggies and proteins throughout everything else in an attempt to balance out the carboloading I’m unintentionally doing this week.

My big three meals this week are my Spaghetti and Meatballs, which always go over huge here, plus I make enough to have more during the week (typically without the pasta though; just by themselves with extra sauce).

Sunday night, I did one of those things where I threw random things into a crock pot to see what happens.  I wanted chicken since we hadn’t had it in awhile, so I took some chicken thighs, potatoes, green beans, and onions and threw it into the crock pot with tons of seasonings, lemon juice, and chicken broth.  It turned out pretty good.  Now I just need to fully remember what I put in there.

I also prepped lunch on Sunday, which was pretty easy because it’s something I’ve made for years.  I made a couple big dishes of Kugel, which is one of my favorite things of all time.  Now if you’ve never had it or aren’t Jewish, you’re probably like “what the hell kind of sorcery is….kugel…..?”  It’s delicious.  It’s essentially an egg noodle casserole kind of thing.  There are so many variations to it that I basically say that every family has their own recipe, and it’s probably pretty true.  Typically it’s served as a side dish if you want it savory, or it can also be a dessert because of how sweet it tends to be.  I typically just eat it by itself.  I do also, admittedly, make it pretty sweet, so it’s not low on the calorie scale, but still delicious.

Given all of this gluttony, I tried to make everything else kind of simple and healthier than the above.  I also had to keep in mind that we are (meaning the faculty I work with) being given lunch by our Parent Association in recognition of Teach Appreciation Week.  Not sure what that will entail, but it was amazing last year, so hopefully it will be again.  I also had to remember that Devon will be home late one night as he was asked to help review portfolios for intern teachers that are set to graduate from his alma mater, so he won’t be here for dinner.

So I came up with:

Breakfasts:

• Activia
• Special K Flatbread Sandwiches (they had an awesome Target Cartwheel deal last week)
• Special K cereal

Lunches:

• Kugel
• Teacher Appreciation Lunch
• Smart Ones Meals

Dinners:

• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Chicken and potatoes in the crock pot
• Takeout
• Rice/veggies
• Leftovers
• BBQ chicken strips w/ veggies
• Minestrone Soup

Snacks

• Sliced cucumbers
• Cheezits
• Goldfish
• String Cheese/boccocini balls
• Ritz Chips

 

Here’s hoping that next week, the weather brightens back up a bit and I feel more spring-like again.

Have a great week!