Menu Planning – 13 days worth

I’ve planned two weeks at a time this time around, because we’ve got Spring Break coming up and we’ve decided to stay in town this year (really – does it make sense to leave this city during the only time of year that it’s actually pretty here? methinks not). I’m going to do lots of cooking (because when I have free time, I’d rather be doing that than anything else in the world) and we will be at home A LOT because I’m also planning on painting a few rooms in the house next week. After spending the day on the ladder, it will be nice to come down and have a good meal.
The reason that we have 13 days here, instead of 14, is that today was actually Day 1 of this little experiment. We had leftovers for dinner tonight, but I made a fabulous dessert (Hey, it’s all about priorities, people!) See the next post for details.
Also, I will round out these menus when I actually serve them. I’ll scramble some eggs and cut up some fruit for breakfast; I’ll add a green veggie at dinner, etc, but I don’t usually figure out exactly what that’s going to be until it’s time to get to work – it depends upon what I have on hand and/or what looks good at the store. I don’t usually plan lunches, because we usually eat leftovers or will have a simple soup, salad or sandwich. With all of the heavy cooking that I’m planning to do, we may not even eat lunches!
So…here goes, if you want to join in:
Disclaimer: It’s entirely possible that I may be too exhausted and sore from painting that I don’t actually get any of this done and we have pizza for 13 days straight. I’m just sayin.
Day 1

Chicken and White Bean Soup with Herb Swirl
Parmesan Toasts
Dessert:Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter- Pecan Frosting
Day 2
Breakfast: Buttermilk French Toast
Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw (I’ll probably sub queso freso.)
Cocktail: Micheladas
Dessert: Flaky Blood Orange Tart with Salted Caramel Sauce (finally – yes, it’s been in the freezer this whole time, but it’s tightly wrapped and I’ve checked it – it looks perfect)
Sometime today: prepare kimchi-style cabbage to eat next week (it has to sit in the fridge for a week)
Day 3
Pork Chops Oreganata
Butternut Squash Polenta
Dessert: Chocolate Malted Creme Brulee, originally from the “R.S.V.P.” column in Bon Appetit
Day 4
Breakfast: This will be my Amish Friendship bread “baking day”, so we’ll probably do pancakes for breakfast.

Pepperoni Bread (with assistance from the kids, hopefully. I plan to let them make their own and adapt the fillings as they choose)
Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Dessert: Orange Sherbet (made with Cara Cara oranges, natch)
Day 5
Breakfast: OK, I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’m going to make…Cap’n Crunch French Toast. I knew when I saw it on the Serious Eats blog recently that I had to try it. I love the idea of breakfast cereal on French toast and it will be the first morning of Spring Break, so…forgive me, please. Actually, I already have the Cap’n Crunch in the house (it was on sale last week) and Hubby has already pulled the box out of the pantry and said “What’s the deal with this?”
Thai Noodle Salad with Sauteed Tofu
Dessert: Lemon Creme Brulee Tart (How in the world did I miss that one during my Lemon Dessert round-up?
Day 6
Breakfast: Orange Rolls (not sure if I’ll use this recipe or this one)
King Ranch Chicken Casserole (I have lots of versions and I’m still trying to figure out which one I’m going to use.)
Salad
Dessert: Ginger-Squash Cake with White Chocolate Frosting
Day 7
Summer Rolls (I have lots of versions of these, too, and will probably let the kids help make them and stuff them with whatever they like.)
Wok-fried edamame with garlic and chiles
Dessert: Lemon Ginger Cake with Pistachios
Day 8
Panuchos Yucatecos con Chorizo
salad, some version of Mexican rice
$100 pecan cookies (click on “related stories” to see the recipe…I’ll just apologize to my conservative friends now for this story…you know I love you!)
Day 9
Pan-fried Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa
salad or green veggie
Dessert: Coffee Caramel Creme Brulee
Day 10
Chicken and Dumplings (some version – still deciding which one)
Espresso-Blackberry Macarons (I haven’t made these in a million years!)
Day 11
Korean Beef (still choosing between several recipes) and Kimchi-Style Cabbage (prepared previous week)
Day 12
Breakfast: The Greatest Waffle Recipe Ever (how could I not try that?)
I’m planning to watch the movie “The Big Night” on this night, hopefully to celebrate a successful (and completed!) painting job.
Italian Timpano (either this recipe or this one)
Tiramisu Affogato
Day 13
Breakfast: Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls
Banh Mi sandwiches (either this recipe or this one)
To my Catholic friends and family: feel free to sub out the vegetarian entrees (Thai noodle salad and summer rolls) to use on Fridays.