October 2, 2021

WEEKLY MENU 10.03.21

We’re prepping for sports in the Weekly Menu 10.03.21 ~ because we’re so glad they’re back!

This Weekly Menu 10.03.21 celebrates the return of all things sports, but specifically the NHL Hockey Season. Last year, with the dearth of regularly scheduled games, was a tough go. Sure, the sports weren’t the main reason it was a rough year, but it certainly contributed. It made me realize that I actually DID like hockey.

I grew up with four brothers, but we weren’t a huge sports family. Mostly because we were allowed to play a sport only if we could get ourselves to and from practices and games. Plus we weren’t to expect the parents to attend said games. It wasn’t their thing, and they didn’t feel the need to see us flailing about. (Those were the days, huh?) Sure, we watched the Wide World of Sports Saturday afternoons, but that was about the extent of it. The first time I met Bert he was wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins t-shirt. What did I ask?

Is that a… Football Team?

It’s a wonder we ever went on a date, because Bert is a diehard hockey fan that even played on his college team. Watching him skate is a thing of beauty. I quickly learned that the shirt represented a hockey team from his hometown, the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had just recently won their first Stanley Cup (the holy grail of hockey awards) so I became a fan, and fast. It took years to understand what icing was, but I finally got there. Bert always says it was a good thing I didn’t break an ankle jumping on the Penguins band wagon.

Sure, I would complain occasionally about the sheer number of games: this year there are 82 regular season games – and hopefully a whole lot more if they get into the playoffs. (Fingers crossed!) The pre-season is going on now, and the final Stanley Cup game in a normal year is about mid-June. So yeah. That’s a lot of hockey, and that’s if the Pittsburgh Penguins are the only team you’re watching. Sometimes (always) I’m on my Kindle while the games are on TV. (Affiliate links precede and follow – see Disclaimer Page for Details.)

So, I wasn’t completely bereft when the season wasn’t ON last year. Until I was.

I missed hockey.

There. I said it. So what did we do about it? We bought partial season tickets. Why partial? We haven’t won the lottery yet. Each ticket is good for ten games throughout the season. (Plus we get a 15% discount on food – but, alas, not on beer.) Last week, Bert and I went to a preseason game (that didn’t count against our ten) and the boysies stayed home because it probably wasn’t worth getting out of work early.

How does this impact the Weekly Menu 10.03.21?

I made one of their favorites that night – Chicken Fiesta Slow Cooker Soup. I popped in all the ingredients before Bert and I hit the road for our two hour run down to Pittsburgh. That’s my go-to for pretty much all sports when they impact dinner time. Using the crockpot means that dinner is ready whenever the participants are. I have a post of my favorite slow cooker meals too:

31 Easy Crockpot Dump Meals

I bet you didn’t think I was going to be able to bring it back to food and dinner from Hockey, did you? Yet here we are.

This week, we’re using the crock pot three times, even though the hockey season hasn’t even begun yet. We’re doing my favorite “dump meals” on Sunday and Thursday night. The dump meal just means that there is no pre-cooking of anything, so you don’t have to clean up the kitchen twice. On Saturday, I have lunch plans with my seester, and there is no knowing when I’ll be home, so I’ll make up a batch of soup and leave that to warm in the crockpot. YAY!