August 24, 2019

WEEKLY MENU 08.25.19

Weekly Menu 08.25.19: How to make your meal planning astoundingly easy!

We’re still in the middle of Festival Season in Erieland, and it encouraged me to include a Chinese night on the Weekly Menu 08.25.19. We’ve picked all really easy recipes, so we don’t have to go and clean out the Asian food aisle at the Grocery Store.

We joke about the fact that when Bert and I were dating, he liked Chinese food, and I liked hockey. Turns out neither of those was true at the time, although I have gotten more invested in the Pittsburgh Penguins as we’ve gone along. Bert’s contribution to the cause is usually Chinese Saturdays – I order Chinese food from one of my favorite restaurants and enjoy it with the boys, who have varying degrees of love for Chinese food.

Weekly Menu 08.25.19 has a Chinese Food Theme Night

But it’s based on a recipe that probably isn’t Chinese at all – Mongolian Beef is a P.F. Chang’s knock off. It’s very Americanized, and it’s very delicious. Luckily, it’s crazy easy too. We’re starting off with a simple pan fried dumpling, and finishing off with Chinese Donuts – an ubiquitous Chinese Buffet staple. It’s likely you won’t find the donuts in China either.

I love broccoli and it goes great with Chinese food. My favorite way to cook it, is, believe it or not, in the microwave. I cut up a bunch into florets and put them in one of my trusty glass bowls (affiliate links follow). Sprinkle on a little olive oil, a pinch or two of kosher salt and the same amount of red pepper flakes. Then cover the bowl (I use a plate) and microwave on high for 3- 1/2 to 4 minutes, until the broccoli is tender but still green. Don’t add any water. It works great every time!