Did you know my husband is a smoker? The good kind, that is—the kind that’s going to smoke a brisket on Wednesday! We’ll get several dinners and lunches out of that, and probably freeze some for later. Last week’s mac & cheese meal got postponed a day, so we still have one day’s worth of leftovers for that. Visit the original Menu Plan Monday for lots more menus.

Monday: Homemade macaroni & cheese, green beans (see recipe below), carrots

Tuesday: (guests for dinner) Parmesan crusted chicken, green beans, salad, focaccia

Wednesday: Smoked brisket, hashbrown potato casserole, cole slaw, biscuits

Thursday: same

Friday: same

Saturday: Homemade pizza, salad

Sunday: same

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Recipe: Sautéed Green Beans w/ Garlic and Herbs (Cook’s Illustrated)

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed, halved
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Combine butter, garlic, and thyme in small bowl; set aside. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Add beans, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add water, cover, and cook until beans are bright green and still crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to high, and cook until water evaporates, 30 to 60 seconds. Add butter mixture and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until beans are crisp-tender, lightly browned, and beginning to wrinkle, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer beans to serving bowl, toss with lemon juice and parsley; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

(Note: They seem to like their green beans crisper than I like mine, so I usually add a little more water and cook them a little longer during that phase.)

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