Tasty Thursday

     First off, I would like to say thank you to my friend Katie for suggesting the new title of my menu blog. My normal Menu Monday blog will now be on Thursdays  same format, new name. 

     So to start off, this Saturday is an exciting day for me. One of my favorite food bloggers, Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman, is getting a show on Food Network. (Can you tell I don’t get out much anymore?) Anyway, her 30-minute episodes will air on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. I already have my DVR set just in case I forget (Like I could). Really, it's so I don't have to miss it when college football craziness commences and my husband parks himself in front of the TV every Saturday until January. 

     Anyhow, Pioneer Woman is really clever and funny and she makes some really fantastic meals. Of course, with country-fried steak with mashed potatoes as one of her specialties, some people complain that her cooking isn’t the most healthy diet-friendly fare. But who would want to cook just healthy food all the time? Oh, skinny people, you say? Well, good for them. But I like to eat. So without further ado, here is our menu for the week. Complete with several recipes by the Pioneer Woman herself.

Thursday: Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp from Pioneer Woman Cooks. This recipe roasts the shrimp in the oven and contains all the good things in life—butter, lemon and garlic. The only thing missing is chocolate, but I'm pretty sure that would nasty. I love shrimp and I’m always on the look out for new recipes that use them. I buy a huge bag of frozen shrimp and we are generally set for at least three or four shrimp dinners. I’ll serve it with a vegetable side or two, maybe a salad. And then we’ll eat the shrimp with some French bread to soak up the aforementioned goodness.

Friday: Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork. This is another Pioneer Woman recipe and one I’ve been attracted to for some time. She cooks hers in a Dutch oven (I’m dying to have one), but I’ll have to try it in my slow cooker. It uses Dr. Pepper and chipolte peppers in adobo sauce to flavor the pork. I will then shred the pork and we will wrap it up in tortillas with shredded lettuce, salsa, cheese (for Tim), and avocado (for me.) The pork used in this recipe is pork shoulder, but a lot of times it is labeled as pork butt. My family has a long-running joke about our family friend Mark’s delicious pork butt recipe, i.e. “We just love Mark’s butt” and “Isn’t Mark’s butt great?” Maybe after I make this recipe, people will start making jokes about my butt. Wait, that doesn't really sound like a good thing.

Saturday: We’ll use the leftover shredded pork on sandwiches with a tasty slaw from Pioneer Woman on top. Tim won’t eat it, but sometimes I’m selfish and I make food just for myself. The idea of creamy, dreamy, crunchy coleslaw sounds wonderful for summer. The only problem is that once it’s gone, I know all calories involved with the slaw are in me (and my thighs, more accurately). The slaw uses both red and green cabbage, cilantro, and jalapeno and I am drooling now just thinking about it.

Sunday: After all that Pioneer Woman mania, I am going to take it slow and give myself my kitchen a break for a day and have Tim grill some bratwursts that we have in the freezer. They are my great-great-grandmother Matilda’s (who immigrated from Germany) recipe. Not really. They are on sale Albertson’s special, but hopefully they will be good. We will not put mayonnaise on them (because that is a sin punishable by death). We I will eat them with leftover coleslaw. We will also have fresh corn on the cob.

Monday: It’s our second anniversary. Which means that calories don’t count today! Yay! And because we went all out with a trip last weekend, tonight we will be making dinner at home as a team (Team Rumely to be exact). Yes, we call ourselves that sometimes, and no, it is not lame. We’re actually thinking of getting T-shirts. Anyway, we plan on making Pioneer Woman’s Pan-fried Rib-eye Steak.Though we may grill it because I’ve never really cooked steak in a pan before. We will have it with mashed potatoes of some variety and steamed asparagus. We will also be having a super yummy decadent dessert, which has yet to be determined. The whole plan of course hinges on our ability to get Owen to sleep before dinner is ready so we can actually eat together. Pray for us.

Tuesday: Easy Mulligatawny. What's that you say? I'm not exactly sure. But it was Tim's pick for this week from the Pioneer Woman's web site. I can tell you that it has chicken in it and is some sort of soup. The rest is a mystery. 

Wednesday: Pasta Alla Marlboro Man. Yes, this is another Pioneer Woman recipe. Did you forget about the part where I'm celebrating her new TV show this week? Besides, there are worse things to be addicted to. Anyway, this is another of Tim's picks for the week. Meat and pasta. Need I explain further? And in case you were wondering about the name of the dish, it's because Pioneer Woman calls her husband Marlboro Man on her blog and it's his favorite meal. The name is because he's a cowboy, not because he smokes. At least I think that's the reason. It does make me wonder if I should have a nickname for Tim on the blog, though. Hmmm... what to call him. Frisbee Man? Likes to Cook Meat Over Fire Man? Super Ticklish Man? None of those have quite the same ring to it. Oh, well. Back to dinner. We will eat this with a salad or some other green vegetable. 

P.S. All of the above photographs are from Pioneer Woman's blog. I do not take credit for any of them. I can't even pretend to take photos of food that look that delicious. The lighting in my house sucks.