Tilapia in foil
lasagna rollups
mini meatloaf
veggie soup & sandwiches
chicken & rice stir fry
steak & spinich salad
spaghetti with spinich pesto
veggie fritters
slow cooker BBQ chicken or pork sandwiches
potato frittata
BBQ pizza
orzo with squash
The goal is not to run the oven more than absolutely necessary. The tilapia & steak cook on the grill. The pizza could too if I felt like experimenting. The lasagna may be replaced by burgers, depending on the heat.
I love Dagoba Organic dark chocolate bars. They are kinda pricy $3-4 a 2oz bar but they are so good & they are slow eating chocolate. They are not Hershey's that you can just eat without really thinking. The dark chocolate bars *demand* you sit & pay attention to them & 2 small pieces is really all you need at a sitting. They come in an assortment of flavors but I have to go out of my way to find them just in general, & I have not come across all the flavors yet. These are my favorites
New Moon 75% cacao
Roseberry
and Lavender,which is not available individually on their website for some reason. It's a lavender essence with blueberries in it. Sounds weird but tastes good.
I have not encountered the XOCOLATL, which has chilis, the MON CHERI or the LIME flavored ones. The plain DARK is ok, but I prefer a Hershey's Special Dark.
I amnot fond of their milk chocolate flavors. I've tried the LATTE and the CHAI & was disappointed both times. Too sweet & bland & the spicing was too strong. I have not tried the HAZELNUT, BRASILIA or PURE MILK because I have not seen them yet.
So if you are looing for some good, bittersweet chocolate bars, the kind you indulge in when you have 10 minutes to slowly nibble your way uninterrupted through a couple of pieces, try the Dagoba bars. They are worth the price.
in no particular order:
broiled salmon
salmon patties (with leftovers)
deep dish pizza or calzone (toppings dependant on leftovers)
hamburgers on the grill (Saturday)
chicken with rice
spaghetti
london broil
pork loin crock pot
grilled chicken
veggie soup & sandwiches
baked ziti
steak & spinich salad (leftover london broil)
I think we will have the pasta tonight, since it is too late to start the pork. Tomorrow night is bunco at my house, so Brad & the boys will go out to eat. I'll make a sandwich. I'm going to have veggies & dip, guacamole & chips and the Cafe's spinich & artichoke dip with bread, plus cookies, for bunco. My folks will be here Friday & we'll probably get Chinese take out. Saturday we'll do the burgers and one day the weekend after that I am owed a Mother's Day dinner. So technically I should have more plans than actual meals. we'll see.
One of my favorite meals is a chicken & potato salad combo I've been making for a few years now. It is loosely based on a recipie in "Cooking for Two" by Suzi Smith (1996) called "Grilled Chicken Salad with sour cream dressing". I'll give the book version at the end, but first some commentary.
1. The original recipie has you mix the chicken, avocados, bacon & tomatoes together with the dressing & serve on a bed of spinich with potatoes on the side. I mix all of it together with the dressing at once.
2. I prefer to use sweet potatoes rather than white ones. They taste better. They add a nice flavor that you don't get with white potatoes. They are also more nutritious. It's still good with white potatoes but its better with sweet ones. Try the sweet potatoes. They are not just for pie & marshmellowy Thanksgiving side dishes. Really, they are wonderful in savory dishes.
3. Steam the potatoes, whichever you use, if at all possible. The flavor is much better than boiled.
4. If you are serving this chilled, mix the chicken & potatoes with half the dressing & let chill, then add the other ingredients & the rest of the dressing before serving. It is also very good warm
5. The easiest way to make this is to use planned leftovers. Grill some extra chicken for it when you make grilled chicken for dinner. Or if you are roasting a chicken, roast a slightly larger one than you normally would. Leftover turkey is also delicious in this. White & dark meat both work well.
6. The base recipie serves 2-3 people & it scales up easily. This is a great dish for pot lucks & picnics.
Some other things I change from the original when I make it:
I leave out the tomatoes because I don't like raw tomatoes.
I've used Miracle Whip when I haven't had any sour cream. It adds a nice zip. Regular mayo is not as good IMO
I experiment with the vinegar, my favorite is garlic wine, tarragon is second.
I often leave out the garlic clove in the dressing & marinate the chicken in garlic & olive oil before grilling.
I prefer prosciutto to bacon when I remember to get it.
I've left the spinich out many times & don't miss it a bit
Recipie: - serves 3
12oz chicken - cooked & cut into bite sized pieces
equal weight in potatoes (white or sweet) cooked & cut into bite sized pieces
3 slice cookd bacon crumbled
2 small tomatoes - diced
1 ripe avocado - diced
5ozs spinich or arugula
Dressing: (coats 3 servings)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon
1 clove garlic
salt & fresh ground peppper to taste
I have made 3 meals from the menu & since there have only been 4 meals since I went shopping for it; that is pretty good. Tuesday I made spaghetti with creamy pesto & chicken because the grocery store had no leeks for the Beguine soup I had intended to make. Wednesday I made the Salmon cakes. I had intended to make this asian version with fresh ginger & edamame beans. The grocery store had no fresh ginger & the bag in my freezer I had thought was shelled edamame was in fact, peas. So I made it with ground ginger & peas. Very tasty!! I bet the original version is even better (note to self: do not grocery shop on Tuesdays, everything is restocked tuesday night) Last night I was going to make veal milanese, but it became instead veal positano, with a creamy tomato sauce. Today's baked ziti is now baked penne (note to self: a glance is insufficient when checking supplies before grocery shopping) made with the extra positano sauce added to tomato sauce and leftover diced veal.
Tomorrow night I am taking the boys to Burger King for dinner & picking up sushi for myself on the way home. The boys liked the pesto pasta, were so so onthe salmon caked (try breading them next time) and very dubious about the veal. I'm fairly sure they will eat the penne, pasta is one of the few things I can be 90% certain they will eat. Sunday night is DH's problem. We may do a cook out with the neighbors or he'll make pork chops. If he asks nicely I may make the beguine soup or the chicken velvet soup. I forgot the ground beef while shopping so the meatball soup is out until I get to the store again.
really, I am going to get my act together on this. I swear.
I have decided to plan 12 means per 14 day period this year,and actually cook at least 10 of those, putting me one up from last year. We go out to eat one weekend night & the other can be fairly random, but this way we know at least *most* ofthe ingredients are available for something. May have to run out for fresh veggies but the basics will be there. This has been working out fairly well so this year, espeically since the random meal works out to be pasta with whatever veg is avaiable or veg soup.
Most of my meals have been coming from Rachel Ray's books lately, though I often end up altering them to suit me over time. This time I am using her
Mini Meatball Soup
Garlic Roast Chicken
Veal Milanese (new, we'll see what the boys think)
Salmon Cakes
Bracioli with mushroom tomato gravy
I've been into EveryDay Italian too
Chicken Parmesan
Simple Bolonese sauce (I put on several dished this time period)
There there are some soups
Beguine Soup - from 12 months of monestary soups
Velvet Chicken Soup - from complete book of soups & stews
An my own stuff
Pasta Carbonara
Baked Ziti
Salmon with leeks in foil
Next year I hope to have this main meal thing down & will work on side dishes
New recipies
Farfalle with sausage & peas
Rosemary beef (crock pot)
Pasta w/eggplant
Pot Roast with veg gravy
Split Pea Soup II
Chicken & bean antipasta
Stuffed Pork (crock pot)
Regular standbys
Chicken parmesan
Chicken & sweet potato salad
Salmon
Potato soup
Tilapia gratin
Veggie soup
Tuna & bean salad
Ravioli
Meatloaf
Steak & Spinich salad - x2
Pizza - x2
Monday - fish sticks - still recovering from vacation weekend
Tuesday - tuna & bean salad
Wednesday - out to dinner for birthday
Thursday - taquitos - really bad sinus headaches
Friday - braciole
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - cookout burgers
I need to make bolognese sauce & some honey white bread while the boys are napping. I think I can overlap the prep, if i get the veggies for the sauce chopped first.
I bought some pumpkin butter in Wheeling & I think it would go good with the honey white bread. I'll have to go through my recipies to see what other breads I have that it might go good with. Something with wheat germ or whole wheat perhaps.
Monday - chicken & artichoke pizza (Boboli)
Tuesday - beef & rice casserole. did not like the seasonings
Wednesday - split pea soup. Very good! Garlic breadstick were lousy though
Thursday - Sunday - out of town
were
Kabobs
Fish gratin (tilapia)
Stir fry with brocoli & brown minute rice (not an inspired dish)
Safeway baked potato soup (added spinich & pureed) & homemade brioche
Taquitos & toddler pasta (Brad was working late & I was tired)
Flaming Wok - sushi & tangerine beef
Chicken cook out at Ls
In no particular order after the first 2. Many new dishes are from Everyday Italian. I am making a 6 cup batch of 'simple bolognese' sauce from EI & freezing most of it so I will have sauce on hand for random pasta nights. I also plan on making her Mushroom Ragu if I can find some decent non-button mushrooms.
Leftover kabobs
Stir fry with remaning kabob meat
Beef & rice casserole (crock)
Braciole
Rosemary Beef & garlic (crock)
Chicken Parmesan (EI)
Skillet Chicken with Couscous
Chicken & Beans antipasta (c2)
Fish gratin
White Bean & Tuna Salad (EI)
Tarragon Fish toast
Salmon in Foil (EI)
Soup & brioche
Split Pea soup
Spinich & Mushroom stuffed Pork (crock)
Pizza- x2
Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce
Farfalle with Sausage Peas & mushrooms (EI)
Pasta with Eggplant sauce (30MM)
