As I confessed last week, for the first time in my cooking career, last Sunday I managed to burn a pot roast. I didn’t just overcook it, I flat out burned it crispy black through and through! Do not ask me how I managed to do that. I do not know. It was not a new recipe. I did not set the oven too high. I did not leave out any of the ingredients. I DO NOT KNOW! Go figure. Anyway, it happened, and we had plenty of vegetables for dinner, but no leftovers. The Mississippi Roast makes more than enough for our Sunday dinner, so those leftovers  were planned for Wednesday night’s Drippy French Dip Sandwiches. Well, that obviously wasn’t going to happen. The simple solution was to slide Thursdays sticky up to Wednesday, and that’s what I did.  The Sticky Menu Plan solved the problem.  I didn’t have to give it a single thought.
Monday’s dinner was an old standby, Eggplant Parmesan. Even though I try to follow the recipe as written, (I’m always looking for kinks and problems), I tend to get a little generous with the creamy rich Fresh Ricotta Cheese. I’m afraid between that and the Homemade Marinara Sauce the eggplant becomes an afterthought. Luckily, the recipe made just the right amount to provide a substitute dinner for Wednesday evening as well.

Tuesday’s Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu is another old stand by. The recipe calls for creating a pocket in boneless chicken breasts and stuffing that pocket with ham and cheese. I often get lazy and just slice the breast nearly in half and sandwich the filling in the middle. The cheese does tend to leak out a little more, so it’s a bit of a trade off. I do it both ways.
By Thursday the carnivores in both of us were getting pretty tired of veggies and eggplant. Crickhollow Pork Tenderloin solved that craving nicely. When pork tenderloins go on sale I generally pick up a few, then select a couple of recipes and prepare those ahead of time for the freezer. That was the case this time. I moved the meat from the freezer to the fridge a day ahead of time and we were good to go.

The highlight of the week was a quick trip we made to visit my brother, Bill, and his wife, Kim, in Smithville, TN. The occasion was a surprise sixtieth birthday party for Kim. The surprise, however, was on us. Kim wasn’t 60, but several years younger! Bill made the age up. Kim had to work Friday afternoon and I thought we would be decorating for the surprise party. Nope! Instead, we enjoyed ourselves at the Blue Water Grill on Center Hill Lake. One of my favorite dishes in the world is shrimp and grits, and I’ve tried them all over the South. I’m not kidding when I tell you that the shrimp and grits we had at Blue Water are some of the best. The Fried Green Tomatoes were excellent as well. I wish this restaurant were closer.  Well, maybe not,  I’d probably put on too much weight, but I sure would enjoy it! Thanks for the photo, Billy.
Be thankful for what life gives you.