The easiest Christmas dinner ever, menu for another week plus 2; then a short vacation

It is that time again - time to hit the grocery stores and figure out a basic menu plan to get us through the week plus two days. We leave very early on January 4th to head to LA for an uncle-in-law's 90th birthday celebration and the bonus of spending time with our kids and their sweethearts along with many other in-laws. Lots of my favorite people and we are giving ourselves a night at a boutique hotel in downtown LA so we can explore the changes that have taken place in the 15 years since we moved to the SE. Lunch with old grad school friends (has it really been 35 years since we met?), celebrate my older son's birthday and generally enjoy ourselves. And of course the poodle gets to go to "camp" at her former foster family's house while we are away which she finds so exciting!

But back to food and cooking. First I want to share the easiest Christmas dinner ever. It was just the two of us so we cooked a turkey breast, heated a jar of gravy, microwaved an acorn squash and added dried, sweetened cranberries to a wild rice mix. All delicious and it think adding the cranberries was my favorite twist. The poor poodle princess made such a fuss while the turkey was cooking that she was banished to her crate during dinner and had to settle for kibble only. She might get some scraps today if she doesn't fuss. She also went crazy over the scent from the Cranberry Pomegranate Sugar Scrub by Burt's Bees that was one of my gifts. I think it was a food scent overload day for her and she needed a time out LOL.

So here's what I am thinking we will eat for dinner these next 9 days although the order may get changed as I make sure we empty the fridge before going out of town. Also, I still have to go to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods so there may be some other changes. I am planning on us eating veggie burgers when we get home from our trip as they are in the freezer and super easy.

W – Wild rice mix leftovers, butternut squash, spinach, leftover cornbread
T – Open face turkey sandwiches, broccoli

F – Breaded cod, coleslaw w. pineapple, squash & onions

S – BBQ chicken, coleslaw

S – Barley stew with carrots & green beans

M – New Year’s Eve: Pork roast, sweet potato, salad

T – New Year’s Day (aka parade and game day): Minestrone, salad, biscuits

W – ???

T – Pizza, salad