First, a warning: I bought myself a bag of Easter-themed peanut butter M&Ms. They are delicious, but they are the exact shape/heft of a peanut M&M, which means that I am always, every single time, surprised when there is no peanut inside.
Now, a heads up: Looking up a link for the peanut butter M&M eggs, I discovered that there is something called M&Ms Easter Mystery Mix Eggs, which is a bag full of eggs and some are chocolate and some are peanut butter and some are double chocolate. FYI. There is only so much time left until Easter, so I advise trying them right away to determine how many bags you need.
This week is my birthday and birthday plans are in the offing. We are having not only tacos on The Day, but we are also getting Mexican takeout (including margaritas) on the weekend. AND my husband is making me a lemon cheesecake, which is VERY exciting and also darling (he has never made a cheesecake before! he is also planning to make his own lemon curd! plus he took the afternoon off to make the cake and spend extra time with me!). AND a friend is taking me out for birthday tea (we plan to park next to each other and chat between cars). In non-food fun, I have a Zoom happy hour planned with my high school girl friends; it has nothing to do with my birthday, which is ideal. AND my family and I have an outdoor excursion planned with another family. If we have any energy leftover, I have requested that Carla and my husband and I play games; I bought Clue for this very reason, but we have many other games as well. (Apparently there are TWO Clue movies?!?! Perhaps I will force encourage my husband to watch one or both with me!) I am going to buy some champagne to sip while we play. Should be a lovely celebratory weekend!
Since not everything is about me (gasp), Purim falls during this week, so I will be attempting to make hamantaschen. (They will be filled with apricot and raspberry preserves, per my husband’s request. The recipe makes plenty for sharing with the neighbors.) Also also, I am cooking dinner for a friend and her family one night this week and I am planning to make some chocolate brownie cookies for them. I have already made a banana chip snack cake with the inevitable overripe bananas that accumulate when I try to meet my family’s banana needs; there is no way to achieve an ideal number of bananas at an ideal level of ripeness: I have either too few bananas or far, far too many; they are either mostly green or nearly black. Thank goodness for banana snack cakes, amirite?
It is indeed a food filled week! Which, as you know, is my favorite kind of week.
Dinners for the Week of February 23-March 1
OMG INTERNET NEXT WEEK IS MARCH.
- Chicken and Zucchini Stir Fry: Have I noted in the past that I add a sliced onion to this stir fry? I do and it adds a little extra something. Onion pairs very well with zucchini, I think.
- White Bean Enchilada Soup with Southwest Salad: This is what I’m making for my friend; the salad will be a side salad, with no salmon.
- Crockpot Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup: Or maybe I will do this soup for my friend instead; I haven’t decided. (I will make the other soup for me and my husband.) Because I am a recipe developer’s worst nightmare, I plan to eject the quinoa and add some beans and corn for oomph.
- Tacos
- Caprese Salad with Balsamic Chicken and Balsamic Dressing
- Birthday Mexican takeout!
- Probably leftover cheesecake!
If nothing else, I will start my fifth decade with a full, happy belly. And I will definitely report back on the cheesecake.
Happy birthday! Lemon cheesecake sounds good.
Ooooooo lemon cheesecake!!
Ha, I love “I advise trying them right away to determine how many bags you need.” (I HAVE ADDED ONE TO MY CART.)
I was curious about “hamantaschen” — I’ve not heard of it…the link didn’t work so I googled. They look so delicious and kind of fun to make – but I do love to bake. Happy birthday! Enjoy your Mexican themed week and your lemon cheescake. I think that’s another recipe I’d like to try. I have made lemon curd before and it’s so delicious!
Sounds like it’s going to be a great birthday week, especially the delivered margaritas, woo hoo! And I LOVE peanut butter M&Ms, I wish you hadn’t reminded me. 😉
Happy birthday week!
Happy birthday week!!! Your plans sound absolutely perfect. I did not know that there were two Clue movies BUT I can heartily recommend the original movie with Tim Curry – it is one our family’s all time favorite movies; so much fun.
I do not need anymore candy – as I just finished off the half-price Valentine candy that I gifted myself. (Note, I did not say that I shall REFRAIN from the candy…).
While reading The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, I learned that the Brits call the board game Clue Cluedo. That is all I have to add.
Happy birthday!!
Happiest of birthdays! It sounds like it is going to be a wonderful day and wonderful week. Including lemon cheesecake! How lovely. Mmm. Also, mixed M&Ms.
happy birthday! I made Smitten Kitchen’s hamantashen and they worked out great. The only thing was the ones where I put too much filling burst open. Other than that, it was problem free. Check it out.
Nice! I made the Tori Avey recipe and they were delicious! My only issue is that they lost their crispiness overnight, even though I stored them in an air tight container. Still yummy, but without that nice crunch on the corners. I will have to try the Smitten Kitchen recipe next time!