What's for dinner? 12/23

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes by Donalyn Ketchum

Here's our meal plan for the upcoming week.

Christmas is this week.  We'll have one dinner Christmas Eve with my family and one on Christmas Day with my husband's family.  I'll likely be helping my mom with her cooking for Christmas Eve.  For the larger family I married into, I signed up to bring my mom's famous yams (sweet potatoes).

My sisters are also both in town this week, so although I plan to cook, impromptu dinners out may be in order!

By the way, if you missed my Two-Week Meal Planner printable, check it out!

This Week:

Monday

Pork Ribs
Baked Beans (new)
Salad

Tuesday

Christmas Eve dinner
Help Grandma cook!

Wednesday

Christmas Dinner
Mom's Famous Yams

Thursday

Grilled Shrimp Scampi
Herb-buttered pasta
Spinach salad

Friday

Breakfast for dinner
Crab quiche bake
Fruit salad

Saturday

Meatloaf pumpkin (new)
Steamed asparagus

Sunday

Seasoned flatiron steak
Homemade refried beans*
Peruvian-style white rice

*Notes:  Dry Beans

We used to buy all of our beans canned.  They're so easy to use!  I tried using dry beans long ago, and I could never time the soaking enough ahead of the cooking so they'd be ready.  I tried doing the hot soak method where you bring them to a boil, cover, and remove the heat, and wait.  They were always weird looking afterward.  Then I learned about using the 90 minute no-soak method.  It changed my life!  I now make a whole bag of beans, use some and freeze the rest in can-like portions.

In case you're wondering, we still buy some canned food (but not nearly as much as before) to limit our exposure to potentially harmful BPA in can lining, especially for our kids.