Menu July 21-July 27

It's Wednesday again which has now become one of my favorite days. Not because it's half way through the week (although that is nice too) but it's The Produce Box delivery day!

This week we got a fruit heavy box. Our box includes 1 Watermelon, a Sprite Melon, 7 Peaches, 2 striped (Korean) Melons, Cherry Tomatoes, Potatoes, 2 Butternut Squashes and Heirloom & Yellow Tomatoes. My box also held a pleasant surprise, a Carolina Crisp Peanut Bar.

I've already put together a delicious fruit salad. I have 3 different recipes I am eager to try. Maybe I can stretch this fruit to make all 3 this week? I began my fruit salad journey first with Honey Fruit Salad.
As with any fruit salad, it's very versatile in that you can put together any combination of your favorite fruits. My salad has from my Produce Box, watermelon, sprite melon, striped melon and peaches. I did omit the poppy seeds. The fruit salad has been a refreshing snack and side dish with all the hot weather lately.

Wednesday I am keeping dinner simple with Bacon Cheeseburgers topped with slices of tomato, Garlic Grilled Potatoes and Fruit Salad.

Thursday will be Sour Cream Potato Salad made with half the potatoes and cherry tomatoes (Boil potatoes until tender, Quarter potatoes, Mix mayo and 1/2 cup of sour cream into potatoes, add 2-3 cut up hard boil eggs, cherry tomatoes, 3 chopped green onions, bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese) and Chicken Cordon Blue Sandwiches (for simplicity I used a frozen breaded chicken breast, after heating add a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese).

Friday my daughters and husband have their Daddy-Daughter evening so depending upon my mood it's either take out, maybe Sushi?, or breakfast for dinner (eggs over onion potatoes- Produce Box potatoes of course).
I suspect by now the Honey Fruit Salad will be gone. With the remaining watermelon, peaches, and melons, I will make another fruit salad variation, Glazed Fruit Bowl. I will not be using pineapple, so I will be using water to replace the pineapple juice. Also per another Allrecipes reviewer, I will use instant pudding mix.

Saturday I will be making Butternut Squash Casserole to accompany Cranberry Pork Chops. I intend to use my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker in the microwave to avoid heating up the house too much. I also plan to use cran-raisins, apricot preserves and I will spoon the mixture completely over my pork chops rather than make stuffed pockets.

Butternut Squash Casserole- from Williams-Sonoma

Casserole:
4 cups butternut squash puree
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup vanilla wafers, crushed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly grease a casserole dish (4 - 6 cup capacity).
2. Combine squash puree, sugar, milk, vanilla, orange extract, salt, flour, eggs and melted butter. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until set.
3. Meanwhile, make the topping. In a medium bowl, combine crushed vanilla wafers, melted butter and the brown sugar. Sprinkle over top of the cooked casserole and return to the oven to brown for an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Sunday will be Haitian Voodoo Sticks (aka Beef Kabobs) served with grilled tortillas, corn on the cob (picked up at DJ's Berry Patch or Western Wake Farmers Market over the weekend) and either sour cream or I'll use Yah's Best Herbal Delight to make a sauce (I received a sample in a previous weeks Produce Box).

Monday will be either leftovers or pizza. I think my girls will be rooting for pizza!

Tuesday by now most of my Produce Box should be consumed. I foresee some potatoes, if they haven't gotten cooked with breakfast over the weekend, and cherry tomatoes, if they weren't used up in the potato salad or kabobs. So I will wait to see how the week goes before deciding on Tuesday's menu. Got to know what I have before I can make it, right?