Week of July 8

Can we all just agree that last week was plain weird? As grateful as I was for a day off - Wednesday is a strange day to have off and made the rest of the week feel out of sync to me.

If you still trust the folks at NOAA, we are due for a hot, humid week. Therefore, 4 out of 5 meals will use the grill (reminder: check the propane level in the grill tank today!). The only "inside job" is South of the Border inspired, and folks in Mexico know from hot.

To inspire you in your grilling efforts this week, here's a shot of the impressively smoky grill that we cooked on this weekend. (I love my gas grill, BTW.)

I thought I'd try something a little different for the next few weeks: First, I'll tell you what I'm up to on Sunday and then give you the whole week's menu. Let me know what you think.

What I did this Sunday:

• Baked granola. I make my own granola every month. Dave and I eat if for breakfast every weekday. It's easy to make and I always feel like I've accomplished something great when I have a few pans of it cooling on the counter.
• Made pizza dough. The dough is the one from this post. I like it a lot and it freezes really well. I made a double batch (enough for four large pizzas) and froze it all. On Friday morning, I'll pull one piece out of the freezer and thaw it out on the counter for dinner that night. I am trying a different method this week: grilling the pizzas - stay tuned.
  
• Made muhammara. This is a delicious recipe courtesy of 101 Cookbooks. I made it with Pastene brand roasted red peppers instead of roasting my own.
• Made galette dough. I used some of this in the peach tart for dessert tonight. The rest went in the freezer for a future savory or sweet treat.
  
• Made dinner. I made the Puffy Tacos with Beef as described over at Homesick Texan. I prepared the full amount of beef, but only half the amount of taco shells. We'll eat the leftover beef in a taco salad for lunch with corn chips (the shells wouldn't hold well for two days). For dessert, a peach tart.
  

This was a pretty light weekend in terms of advance prep, and that's just fine with me.

Menu - Week of July 8
Sunday
Taco Night
Puffy Tacos with Ground Beef
Carrot Salad
Zucchini "Carpaccio" Salad
Peach Tart with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Monday
Tofu Kebabs with Muhammara
Green Salad

Tuesday
Grilled Halloumi (cheese) and Vegetables (you'll notice this is a repeat from last week - we never ate this dish last week, so it's back in the lineup)
Quinoa
Green Salad

Wednesday
Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Pork
Steamed Broccoli

Thursday
Chilaquiles (from Twist of the Wrist)

Friday
Grilled Pizza