Sunday's Menu

For once, I was more focused on the food and family than on the photographs. And that's a good thing. (I realized that I make too many food photos when Little Sister has to "photograph" her food before she eats it.) But this time when we had finished our meal, I was sad that I didn't snap a quick pic to share. So that I'd have one picture for this post, I made the salad photo—after we had eaten half of it!

This was our rainy Sunday lunch. It was all easy cooking. If you are a newer cook, you might pay attention to the recipe times and make a plan so that it all gets done at about the same time. But this is a menu that I want to remember, so I'm making a record of it here.

For Sunday's lunch, I made Bourbon Marinated Pork Tenderloin in the oven, baked sweet potatoes, fried apples, Roasted Asparagus, Romaine & Fruit Salad, and Mayonnaise Biscuits. This menu worked. Most of it was just stuck in the oven. Not much attention needed.

If you are short on oven space, the asparagus could be done in a skillet and it's just as good. And you could use bought rolls (which I would have done if I'd had any.) We said that homemade applesauce (instead of fried apples) would be good, too, and that could be done ahead. Take a minute to think before you cook and figure out what works in your kitchen.

Our ukulele band played at a church last week. After we sang, they served us tomato basil soup and Ham Delights, along with a lettuce and fruit salad (another good menu idea.) Every table had a bowl of this salad on it. We all talked about how good the salad was and wished for the recipe. I decided I'd make a good guess. It's pretty close to what we were served last week.

ROMAINE & FRUIT SALAD

romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
fresh fruit, cut up 
bottled sweet vidalia onion dressing

Mix the romaine and fruit. Add the dressing—a small amount at first because you want it lightly dressed. Toss gently. Add more dressing, as needed. Put a pair of tongs with the bowl for easy serving.


Because I was dealing with sinus woes all weekend, I wanted the least work possible. I bought bagged salad and cut it up a little smaller. (My first choice is cutting up hearts of romain, instead of using bagged.) I bought a bowl of fresh fruit at Publix that contained pineapple, strawberries and mandarin oranges. And I used Ken's Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing.  I'm keeping this in mind for the next covered dish dinner at church.