The Sticky Menu Plan does that for me. Sometimes I have more menu ideas than I have slots on the calendar, and sometimes I have no clue past tomorrow, but I can always look at my pages of stickies and pull something out of the hat. This week was one of those no clue weeks. Nothing exciting was on sale at the store, there were no special events, and I honestly had no motivation. So, I just thumbed through my sticky options and my freezer inventory and got started.  No fast food for us. Here’s where we went.
After spending the weekend at Aaron’s, Simple Saturday’s football pizza baked into a simple Sunday supper at home. No frills there.
Relying on my weekly plan, I tried to make Monday meatless by pulling some Manicotti out of the freezer. Whoops! Although I often prepare my manicotti with just spinach and ricotta, this package was the chicken variety, and didn’t even have both sauces. Dinner was served.

Tuesday’s supper was more successful, but not of the international theme. Good old American Stuffed Peppers also came from the freezer. I have found that if I blanch the peppers before I stuff them they freeze very well. I also leave a hollow in the peppers’ stuffing for the sauce and add a little water to the bottom of the dish before I put them in the oven.
The freezer food continued with Baked Chicken Salad. The key to success with this dish is to leave off the toppings when freezing. After the casserole was baked covered until hot, I uncovered it and added crushed potato chips and cheese, then baked until the cheese melted. The potato chips also came out of the freezer. I save all those little pieces that are left in the bottom of the bag. Ok, I get a bit compulsive at times, but why waste what you’ve paid for?

By Friday I was finally back in the cooking mode. Browsing through my recipes I found another one for Shrimp and Grits that I haven’t used in a while. This recipe was inspired by the shrimp and grits that are served at Boss Oyster in Apalachicola, FL. This isn’t a diet dinner, but Boss Oyster’s shrimp and grits bring memories of dinner on the dock. It’s worth every creamy calorie.
I’m more excited about my dinner plans for the coming week, but let’s see if circumstances let me carry through.  There may be some busy days on the way.
Be thankful for what life gives you.