June rolled into July and our days of summer rolled on. I went into the office a few hours a day, we picked up groceries regularly and Trever worked from home. Occasionally we got away to the cabin on a weekend.
July 1st was a Wednesday night and I made shrimp and grits. I didn’t follw a particular recipe, just sauteed the andouille and dumped on lots of cajun seasoning; then sauteed the shrimp in the pan after. I made the grits according to the package and added butter and cheese!
On Thursday night, we had chicken and waffles – my waffle iron doesn’t really get hot enough so they never got super crispy but the result was tasty. We had pan fried potatoes on the side.
Friday night was takeout night as well as being the premiere of Hamilton on Disney. Honestly, I don’t remember what we had that night but I think it was Chinese food! On Saturday morning, we had biscuits and bacon gravy and bacon and eggs. Saturday was also July 4th so we went to my brother and sister in laws for burgers. No fireworks though – it just didn’t feel very celebratory this year.
I have no record of what we had for dinner on Sunday night, the 5th of July. Monday was apparently a stressful day because we had carryout and on Tuesday we had burgers and Mexican street corn – on the cob.
Recipe for corn:
https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/recipes/grilled-mexican-street-corn-recipe-elotes
On Wednesday we had chicken tacos with crispy fried onion strings. These are a bit of a hassle but worth it! And when I make a meal involving a lot of ingredients that are packaged, adding a bit of something prepared fresh jazzes things up.
This is my go to recipe for onion strings:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/onion-strings-recipe-3381887
Thursday was a stress filled day – we got a diagnosis of diabetes for our oldest cat, Jack – and that is my excuse for having yet another night of carryout. Friday night was our regularly scheduled takeout night and then Saturday was homemade pizza night.
Sunday, July 12th I tried a new recipe – Chicken Paprikash. It was serviceable but did not have the flavors I had hoped so I won’t use that recipe again.
On Monday we had takeout yet again and on Tuesday, we had the Creamy Artichoke and Spinach pasta I posted about a couple of months ago. So easy.
On Wednesday, I cooked a pork loin in the crockpot in some carnita seasoning and we had carnita tacos, black bean bake, and more corn – off the cob this time.
Thursday night, I tried a couple of new sides – a squash casserole and a paprika potato salad to go ahead with some simple sauteed sausage. I wasn’t crazy about the casserole – too much cheese, it almost had the consistency of a dip, but the potatoes were quite good.
Roasted Potatoes with Paprkia Mayo :https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/roasted-potatoes-with-paprika-mayo-5301375
Yellow Squash Casserole:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18045/yellow-squash-casserole/
On Friday, Sarah and I went up to the cabin with my mom. We prepped and brought food, including the leftover potato salad, which we had with avocado toast for lunch. That night, we had a shrimp salad with baked potatoes. And on Saturday, we had the enchiladas I had prepared at home with the leftover pork.
Sunday night, July 19th, was predictably takeout since we had been gone all weekend. Monday night was Chicken Broccoli Casserole – I made the mistake of trying a new recipe and it was far too dry.
On Tuesday we had a Chicken, Corn, Bacon Pasta with Mustard Chive Biscuits. When I have just a little chicken or other protein, I find pastas like this make it easy to use up bits and pieces. Recipe that I adapted here:
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipes/a48822/bacon-corn-pasta-recipe/
Wednesday night was Taco Salad over chips and Thursday was yet another cupboard clean out of Broccoli and Sausage Skillet with Fried Squash.
Taco Salad 
Broccoli with Sausage and Fried Squash
Friday night was takeout night and Saturday was homemade pizza and a musical (Grease Live!) Pizza wasn’t pretty because I didn’t take pics until after I cut into them.
Sunday morning, July 26th, I cooked breakfast – pancakes, sausage, and eggs and Sunday night we had a delicious seared steak over roasted veggies with fried green tomatoes.
Monday was my birthday and Trever, the girls, and my mom all planned a party for me with burgers, roasted potatoes and a red velvet cake.
Tuesday night is a blank and Wednesday was a pizza delivery night.
On Thursday, Trever, Abby, Chris and I went for a couple of days up to the cabin. We wanted to go on a weekday to try and go float the river when the crowds were down. On Thursday night, we just grilled hot dogs and had our little float trip Friday. After some fun in the sun, we got Mexican takeout from nearby Marshall for our last meal of July.
I hope August will have less take out and more home cooked meals!
-Karri Temple Brackett
July 2020