MEAL PLAN - Thursday and Friday of Week Two

Way too tired last night to post about Thursday, so today's blog is two for the price of one!  I know. You can't contain yourself.  Let's get to it, shall we?

THURSDAY'S MENU: Shrimp Tacos with Black Beans

I'll post a few pictures, but since Evie couldn't be around this one (spitting frying oil and all that), I recognize Mark and I just aren't as cute, so we'll keep it to a minimum.  That, and this was so far my least favorite meal.  I enjoyed the black beans, we all do in this house, but corn tortillas are not on the favored list.  I also liked the idea of the cornmeal crusted shrimp, but the taste was bland, bland, bland.  I'm always up for a way to include cilantro, but I think something a little more fresh, like sauteed shrimp would have worked better for this.  We would have been happier skipping this recipe and going to El Rodeo for shrimp fajitas.

FRIDAY'S MENU: Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

You had me at pasta.  Seriously though, this was GOOD.  Pretty darn easy too.  The hardest part all night was cleaning the behemoth Al Clad Multi-Pot (thanks again Honey).  Not a lot for my sous chef to help with tonight either.  I guess I could have had her break up the tomatoes, but I had enough of a mess with just me doing it.

Mark got a new toy today in the mail, so I lost BOTH of my helpers. (He is by the way, still raving about the darn thing as I sit here and type 3 hours later.  That and rambling about non-linear equations or something or other.)

This is me pouting about it.

Enough of that.  I've never made sauce this way, it turned out really well though, so I might try it again.  We do have an entire freezer full of tomato sauce from our garden to experiment with all winter, but no canned whole tomatoes. This way was pretty darn easy, and no fuss.  A really cool way for a novice to make homemade "gravy" for guests. 

The sausages I got were very sage-y, a perfect compliment to this dish.  I'm very thankful I have a dual oven, but I suppose I could have cooked them in the same one since they were all destined for the same pot.

My dear Hubby is not a fan of cooked spinach, but the fact that the raw stuff goes in with the drained pasta, 1/4 cup cooking water, sausage, and tomato right before serving and therefore keeps some of the crunch saved it for him.  Personally, I could have done without it in the dish and, as Mark suggested, had a side salad with this meal. I also drizzled some EVOO prior to serving, I think that made a difference too.  Well, that and the shredded parm.  This one will most definitely be repeated in this house!

MEAL PLAN - Wednesday of Week Two

Tonight's recipe: Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Pistachios

This one was by far the easiest prep, only one pot and one baking sheet used.  I've never made quinoa before...much less eaten any, but it was super simple and very tasty.  I'm sure most directions will include this tip, but just in case: make sure you thoroughly rinse the quinoa before cooking.  I used my strainer.  There is a naturally occurring substance on the seeds that is rather bitter.

My sous chef returned this evening after goofing off during prep last night (see the post on Tuesday's meal for picture evidence).  After she announced that taking the thyme leaves off of their stems just takes too long, I put her on lemon duty. 

 

We had the quinoa cooking, the thyme and lemon ready for later, so it was time to take care of the veggies.  Evie was beyond proud to have a job all to herself...the mushroom de-stemming!  It offered some giggles too, those suckers get slippery after they've been washed!

You'll often find the dog near Evie when she has food

Ta Da!!

I think this meal has been the only one that was prepped and cooked in the time advertised.  I also felt the best about this one in terms of what I was feeding my family.  Mind you, this is the one Evie ate the least amount of, but in defense of the meal - she tasted it all, nothing was deemed "bad", and she's working on a cold.

MEAL PLAN - Week Two, Night Two

Having cooked Monday's meal on Sunday, then skipping the actual day of Monday, well, the plan - I didn't skip out on the whole day, but that would have been nice - we're now at Tuesday and actually cooking Tuesday's meal ON Tuesday.  Still with me?  I kidnapped my mom when I picked Evie up at her house, so we had enough people for the 4 servings for once.  Of course, this meant we lost our little sous chef, but I think we can let it slide this time.

TUESDAY MENU: Steak with Cognac Sauce and Salad

This meal was a pleasure to make and an even bigger one to eat!  We did have a little whoops in that while we like our meat med-rare, it was a little too rare, so on the grill it went.

You do have to do it at least a little in a saute pan so you have the drippings and juices to make the cognac sauce.

Mmmmm...cognac sauce.  My mouth is watering again just typing about it. The salad was fresh and with the homemade vinaigrette, very bright.  Even my 3 year old liked it! The waffle fries were good, but didn't seem to go with the rest of this meal, we'll probably leave it off next time.  And believe me, there will be a next time with this one!

We were so excited to sit down and eat that I can only share the aftermath, no plating pics this time...

MEAL PLAN - WEEK TWO

The first week of Real Simple's Easy Meal Plans went very well.  Very happy to report that all meals were successes in the house, and with only a few future plans for modifications (ugh, those oranges). 

We went shopping Saturday morning for the ingredients for week two (plus a few non-plan items).  This bill was under $200, a little more on the affordable side.  Still a lot of fresh produce, which did my heart good.  This week I think the big kids in this house can't wait for the steak, cognac sauce, and bleu cheese salad night.  We did manage to reign ourselves in and started with the suggested night one meal. 

Monday's Meal: Chicken with Wild Rice and Grapes (made on a Sunday instead)

A BIG note to all of you out there who, like me, were previous Minute Rice people: the wild rice blend that we purchased was DELICIOUS, but it also takes AN HOUR TO COOK.  Therefore, those of you coming home and relaxing briefly before starting your weeknight dinners might want to get this pot on the stove and going before putting your feet up!  Evie had her Daddy confused for a bit over it as well.

Evie: "Daddy! We're having crazy rice tonight!"

Mark looks at Mommy for help

Mommy: "Yes, Daddy, it's the WILD rice blend"

I hated making this meal, I wasn't feeling well, it's all of a sudden hot and humid again around here, and this meal felt like a thousand things at once going.  However, the end result was so good, I've decided to take back the "hate" and go with "much dislike."  I'm not sure how this would have gone after a long day at work, truth be told, but perhaps the more experienced cook would not have as many timing issues.  My sous chefs were immense help as well. 

Pulling the thyme leaves off of the stems

Seriously, are they not the cutest?!

The green beans were supposed to be steamed according to the recipe, but the bottom pot to my little steamer was being used by the rice and I didn't feel like pulling out my mega-Williams-Sonoma multi-pot.  Therefore, we did the saute pan, olive oil and kosher salt bit. 

YUM.

The Peanut's plate

Best quote of the night "Mommy, this chicken is so good that I can't stop eating it!!"  Good enough for me!  Not only did she devour her chicken, but she ate over half of her wild rice, two of the grapes, and most of her green beans. 

MEAL PLAN - Friday of Week One

The final night of the first week: A Pictorial Essay

MEAL PLAN - Thursday, Week One

Week One - Fourth Night
Thursday 9/22 - One month away from our 6th wedding anniversary!  What better way to celebrate than with bacon?!  I did this one all by myself, coming home straight from work and letting the hubby pick Evie up at my Mom's.  This one had a lot of irons in the fire at once for one less than experienced cook like me, but I persevered!


MENU: Chicken with Potatoes, Bacon, and Cabbage

I started with the potatoes.  I was not able to find "new" potatoes at the store, so I bought a bag of smallish red potatoes.  Worked fine.  I had more than I needed, so I quartered the leftovers, boiled them in salt water and made a little potato salad for tomorrow's lunch.  After I got the potatoes in the oven, I started prepping the other items.  The cabbage was easy, I just peeled away the outer, limper leaves and then sliced what was left.  I used a little more than half (the recipe calls for half) because after peeling away the outer leaves, I wasn't left with much.   I used kitchen shears to cut the bacon into strips, then into little pieces.  Nothing like the smell of bacon cooking...hmmmm....

I need a bigger kitchen

 Finally, I addressed the chicken.  "Hello, chicken..."  Any time I cook chicken breast now, I pound the snot out of it first.  I just wrap it between wax paper and pound away with the meat tenderizer-thingy.  Great way to expend some pent-up frustrations from the day.

I cooked the bacon, removed it to paper towels, and did NOT remove the bacon grease.  I cooked the shallots, mustard, vinegar, and cabbage in it.  Super healthy.  After tossing it a few times and the cabbage wilted and browned a bit, we were ready to plate.

I cut the chicken before placing it on the cabbage mixture.  This meal was great.  Evie again tried everything, took only one taste of the cabbage and potato but finished the bacon and the chicken.  Fair enough, we do not require clean plates in our house. 

MEAL PLAN - Wednesday, Week One

WEEK ONE THIRD NIGHT 
Wednesday 9/21 - Tuesday night was skipped due to a spaghetti dinner at Mom's.  Turns out starting this on a Sunday worked out the way we thought it would.  Tuesday for lunch I ate the leftover salmon and veggies (minus the bok choy, I will admit).  It reheated extremely well, I even brought a little thing of the sriracha to pour over after reheating.

MENU: Pork Chops with Roasted Beets and Oranges

Once again, life gets in the way of meal plans.  Evie and I had a dentist appointment scheduled for 3:45.  Mark has to leave for his graduate class no later than 5:30, and that's pushing it.  Thankfully, I'm home Wednesday afternoons with Evie.  Therefore, I prepped everything so all Mark had to do was season and cook.  NOTE for those of you who have not worked with fresh beets before...wear an apron, do not wear a favorite shirt, and be prepared for a little staining.  I love beets, I used to get them all the time at the farmer's market to make pickled beets and eggs...but, I digress.  At any rate, I used a potato peeler and then just cut off the bottom portion before slicing into wedges.  The oranges were more problematic believe it or not.  I had issues peeling them after cutting them in half.  Turns out, better to peel, THEN slice.

Evie and I did not leave the dentist office until 5:00, we made it home in time to watch Daddy finish his meal, give him a kiss, and send him on his way.  I plated up portions for the Little Miss and me.

Evie ate an entire pork chop, did not care for the beets, oranges, or arugula.  Mommy liked the beets and pork chops, jury is still out on whether I like the two together or not.  The oranges and arugula were just too bitter for me.  Also, if I had been the one making them, I would have seasoned the beets with a little more kosher salt.  Mark commented that he thought the chops were over seasoned based on the amount of oregano and thyme called for, but Evie and I loved them...so, there you have it. 

MEAL PLAN - First two nights

WEEK ONE FIRST NIGHT
Sunday 9/18 - as previously stated, we've decided we'll start our week on Sunday evening, thereby leaving a day free for whoops moments / dinners out / unforeseen circumstances.

MENU: Salmon with Gingery Green Beans and Bok Choy
Start time: 4:30 PM      Sat down to eat: 5:20 PM

Thoughts during prep

• thank goodness I'm not doing all of this prep on a Monday night
• I would never make it on Chopped
• I need a better knife

Evie came by "Mommy, what is that?"  Me: "Salmon honey"  Evie: "Ew! I don't like that"  Mommy: "Evie! You love salmon!"  Evie: "Oh! Well then, I will eat it!"  (Score one for Mommy)

Once the prep was done, things moved very quickly.  In retrospect, it wasn't all that bad...I would make this again on a rushed weeknight.  Again, a better knife would help.  This recipe calls for a lot of awesome fresh produce...but between using the potato peeler on the carrots and ginger, slicing garlic (and getting the garlic skins stuck EVERYWHERE), cleaning and cutting the green beans, and cutting carrots, it did feel like a lot of work.  However, I didn't have to do much once it was all in the pan.  Also, when they say you need a large skillet for the vegetables, they are not kidding.

Thoughts after eating

• could do without the bok choy - still not a fan
• Evie ate at least a 4 oz portion of salmon, she's totally a fan of this dish

• the sriracha MADE this dinner, so says my husband (we left the spicy sauce off of Evie's portion)

• The vegetables were fresh, crisp, and filling - a nice compliment to the salmon.  
• while we use "EVOO" (extra virgin olive oil) for most cooking, I went with what the recipe called for: vegetable oil.  I think I actually like salmon cooked in that with a little kosher salt better than in the olive oil.  

WEEK ONE SECOND NIGHT
Monday 9/19 - Evie's next session of dance class (creative movement) began this night as well.  They are holding it at the oh-so-convenient time of 5:15 PM to 6:00 PM.  After a few brief texts during the day once I realized the timing dilemma, Husband took dinner, I took dance.


MENU: Tomato Soup with Roast Beef, Cheddar, and Horseradish Panini
Start time: 5:15 PM by husband's admission: "I was lolly-gagging a little bit."  Therefore, the sit down time of 6:30 PM doesn't really count

My awesome Hubby on dinner duty

Mark's Thoughts from Prep:

• prep was pretty easy - most difficult was chopping onions
• thanks to our immersion blender, there was no need to blend in batches per the recipe for the soup
• we splurged on a really good white cheddar (yay Wegman's cheese shop) - it was awesome on the sandwiches, and as a snack during prep apparently. 

Family reports after eating:

• YUMMY, the sandwiches were a perfect fall evening meal, the roast beef and horseradish went nicely on our Oat Nut Wheat Bread. 
• Loved the horseradish/sour cream spread on the bread AND in the soup. Loved the double use.
• That was the best tomato soup we've ever had, hands down (patting husband on back now)
• Evie's soup was augmented with goldfish crackers...that was a hit too.