You know it's been busy when I miss posting the Weekly Menu

It has been a fun and wonderful few days around here.  My sister in law, niece in law and great niece arrived in the early morning hours on Thursday.  We visited for a very few minutes and then caught some shut eye.  In the morning, we feasted on sausage, eggs and fruit.  Both my niece, Natasha, and her daughter, Molly, are gluten intolerant so this is a great learning experience for me.

We all piled into the car in the afternoon and headed to the park with plans of going to the Aquarium.

We stopped and enjoyed the fountain.

But when we got to the Aquarium, we found it is only open on the weekends. So we went next door to the Conservatory where we enjoyed the koi pond and this turtle resting on a log.

Then we went inside and enjoyed all the beautiful flowers.

We were famished by the time we got home so I threw together this easy, peasy, fast and delicious skillet that only takes as long as the rice takes to cook.  I am including the recipe below, right before my Weekly Menu.

The following day we had Little Miss Melody.  Molly was beyond thrilled.  We went to the area park where they played on the splash pad.  We came home to a lunch of hot dogs and beans and then took our naps.  In the afternoon we played in the kiddie pool on the deck and we served up chicken and beef kabobs for dinner.

Saturday we headed downtown for Eastern Market.  I love going to Eastern Market, it is huge and we left with bags upon bags of fresh fruits and veggies to get us through the week.  I also picked up some gluten free pastas.

After shopping, we stopped again at Belle Isle State Park to hit the Aquarium before heading to Hamtramck for an authentic Polish lunch.   We ordered in pizza for dinner before we had to leave to pick up our son, Chuck, at the airport.

This morning we were up bright and early.  I fried up some bacon and made a frittata for breakfast. After breakfast, Mary, Natasha, Molly and Mary's sister, Pat, left to go to the west side of the State to their sister, Sue's, house for a few days.  My brother, who came across country on his motorcycle landed at Sue's on Thursday and has been waiting for them to join him.  They will all be home on Wednesday.

Tonight Amy, Doug, Tingting and Mel are joining us for dinner so they can see Chuck.  I threw some Swiss Steak into the crockpot.

Tomorrow my friend, Sue and her daughter, Kelly are joining us for dinner.  Kelly lives in Nashville and is home for a visit.  I introduced you to Kelly and Lou during the summer when we went on our road trip.   Kelly reviews recipes for Cook's Illustrated as well as creating her own recipes.  She is currently working on a formula for Crab Bisque so we are having a Bisque Cook Off.  That should be fun.

I'm not sure yet what the rest of the week will hold but I do know for sure we are going to need to eat so after the recipe that I am sharing for the Italian Sausage and Shrimp Skillet you are going to want to scroll down for the Weekly Menu.  Enjoy!!

Italian Sausage and Shrimp Skillet

adapted from Real Simple

1 1/2 lbs. Italian Sausage, casings removed if links

1 T. olive oil

1/2 of a large sweet onion, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes 

1/2 T. Italian Herb paste

12-15 Large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 c. frozen peas

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet over med heat.  Add the sausage and brown pressing with a fork or potato masher to break into small pieces as it cooks.  Drain the fat from the pan reserving 1 tablespoon.  Return meat and reserved fat to the pan along with the pepper and onion slices.  Season with salt and pepper and cook until tender, 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes along with their juices and the herbs.  Bring to a boil, stirring to loosen any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the shrimp and peas, reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked through.  Serve over rice.  Print Recipe

Weekly Menu

Saturday

Order in Pizza

Sunday

Swiss Steak over Egg Noodles

Monday

Crab Bisque

Fish Skewers

Grilled Asparagus

Rice Pilaf

Tuesday

Venison Stroganoff

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Wednesday

Grilled Chicken

Potato Planks 

Green Beans

Thursday

Pork Chop Suey

Steamed Rice

Fish Friday

Fried Perch

Mac and Cheese

Cole Slaw