bacon mayo (and meal plan)

This week I wanted to give you a glimpse into what our menu plans have been like lately.  Although I'm submitting this to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie, our menu plans actually begin on Thursday each week and run through Wednesday of the next week.  This is because we get our magnificent farm delivery box full of meats, eggs, cheese, veggies and fruit on Wednesday afternoons.  (Blog post on the amazingness that is our CSA forthcoming.)

So, because I base what we will eat for the following week on what we get in the box on Wednesday, I'm going to give you our menu plan for what we ate from last Thursday 9/6 through what we will eat on Wednesday 9/12.  Adequately confused?  Okay.

Also, a note on breakfast.  I am boring and eat the same thing every morning (unless we go out).  Two eggs scrambled in butter or bacon fat.  Coffee (either hot or iced) and milk.  Sometimes some bacon.  Sometimes I add a little fruit if we have it and I want it.  But I love my eggs and they do wonders for me.  Skipping grains in the mornings leaves me feeling full right up to lunch time.

Thursday 9/6
Lunch:  leftover chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes; banana bread; kombucha
Supper:  Watanabe with Jeff's folks for his birthday dinner (sushi & seaweed salad!)

Friday 9/7
Lunch:  Used a $25 giftcard at Longhorn Steakhouse to split fried shrimp, steak and baked potato with Jeff
Supper:  Pork chops with djion sauce; mashed apple & celery root; flat beans with bacon

Saturday 9/8
Lunch:  cheese, bread, mustard, leftover flat beans, half a peach, olives
Supper:  Chinese Democracy salad from Pied Piper

Sunday 9/9
Lunch:  Memaw's for dinner after church (pot roast, creamed corn, broccoli and carrots, rolls, tomato & mozzarella salad)
Supper:  Family Dinner (we brought maple-glazed butternut squash and pumpkin)

Monday 9/10
Lunch:  leftover squash and pumpkin, cheese, mustard, sourdough bread, kombucha
Supper:  BBQ chicken, summer squash pancakes with sour cream, okra creole, rice

Tuesday 9/11
Lunch:  leftover BBQ chicken, okra creole, rice
Supper:  Cheeseburgers, buns, pickles, tomato jam, onion, bacon mayo, grainy mustard

Wednesday 9/12
Lunch:  leftovers
Church Supper:  chicken & dressing, broccoli & cheese, sweet potato, cornbread

As a bonus, find my recipe for bacon mayonnaise below!  I love making my own mayo because it's very difficult to find it at the store not made with soybean oil (in fact, I don't think I've ever seen it without soybean oil there).  But I don't like the strong flavor or off color that olive oil imparts, and I don't want to keep any special oil on hand just for making mayo.  One night, after cooking up bacon for cheeseburgers, it came to me:  use the melted bacon fat!  It was perfection.

Bacon Mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
1 t dijon mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 C liquid bacon fat (but not so hot it burns your hand when you touch it - you don't want it to cook the egg)
salt and pepper

Whisk the egg yolk, mustard, and vinegar together.  Add the bacon fat in a slow stream, whisking constantly.  The mayo will begin to thicken.  Season with salt and pepper.  When it reaches your desired stiffness, it's ready to serve!  Store whatever you don't use in a mason jar in the fridge for several months.  Particularly delicious on cheeseburgers.