Weekly Menu: Finals Week

My weekly menu is rather uninspired.  Though you will see there are a few things I've never had on the blog before.  I just picked the first things that came to mind.  It's finals week so I'm happy I created a menu and had the opportunity to shop at all! This blog is about the real life cooking and eating adventures of a graduate student, a part time museum program presenter, a wife, a friend and a cat owner.  In other words, I have a lot of obligations but I still have to eat!  This blog reflects the wonderful fancy meals I prepare and the not so fancy ones too. So here it is!

P.S. I have lots of things to write about once I'm done with final exams and papers!

veggie quinoa bowl (3rd week running... this is quickly becoming a new go-to meal. asparagus price went up so it will probably include peppers and green beans)

black bean burritos with brown rice and cheese!

wild rice salad with pears, apples and blue cheese:  this recipe comes from a church cookbook my Grandma gave me some years ago.  While recipes from sources like these can be, in a word, interesting (more on that another time) this is a solid and tasty quick recipe.  I included it below.

Ryan's Pick of the Week:  Ryan's tuna salad. I also included the recipe below, from our blue binder.

Leftovers and sandwiches and cereal will also be eaten this week along with Cara's delightful avocado and pea soup for lunch (also 3rd week running... it is convenient to make a batch to eat and save the rest for lunch the next day!). 


Ryan's Recipe for Tuna Salad
Adapted from an allrecipes recipe.
This is a lot for two people, but we like to have the leftovers!

ingredients:

20 oz canned tuna, drained
5 Tbsp Mayo/Miracle Whip (more or less til mixture reaches desired texture)
3 Tbsp grated parmesan
1.5 Tbsp relish
1/4 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 tsp curry powder
3 tsp dill
"a shake" of garlic powder

mix all ingredients. serve on whole wheat bread or bun.  refrigerate the leftovers!  

church cookbook wild rice salad with blue cheese, pears and apples

ingredients:
1 C wild rice (served warm)
1 pear, cored and cubed
1 apple, cored and cubed
1/4 toasted, chopped almonds
2 oz. blue cheese
1/3 C dried cranberries
8 C salad greens (I would just eyeball a handful or so per person when serving)
olive oil and red wine vinegar vinaigrette


Cook the rice while you prep the other ingredients.  Toss salad greens with dressing.  Mix rice, fruit, cheese, nuts and cranberries in a bowl.  Add a scoop to the greens for serving, or mix everything together and serve that way. 

I will probably add about 1/4 C chopped celery and sub walnuts for almonds, as I type it, that just sounds good.  I will also make a 1/2 recipe as I remember that this recipe doesn't keep very well in a large portion.