This week has completely gone awry. For Wednesday's dinner (supposed to be the Tilapia that I made Monday night) I just made some pasta with Trader Joe's Pesto Genovese (yumminess in a container), some frozen fire roasted meatballs, and a salad. Then Brian's parents came down on Thursday to babysit for us when we go see Wicked and since that was last minute I ran out to Trader Joe's and made their spice pork roast (hello - 2 for $14 which fed 5 people with leftovers), frozen peas with a mint sauce, salad, and mashed potatoes. And tonight Brian and I are eating out. So, phbbt to the meal plan this week.
Instead, let me tell you a little story about last week. For last week's meal plan I tried to do some new dishes that would use old ingredients in a more economical fashion. For instance... mushrooms and chicken. A few weeks ago I was making dinner when I saw that I had some baby portabella mushrooms about to go bad so I decided to roast them and add them as a side for dinner. They were a huge hit with Brian and Evan so I thought since I love mushrooms let me see what else I can make with them. I added using chicken (because I had a lot in the freezer) and wild rice (since that was on my mind after cleaning out my pantry). Voila - I came across this recipe: chicken and wild rice soup. It looked very filling (was going to double the amount of chicken) and easy (2 important things in my household) and I figured I could just add some biscuits and it would be a meal.
As I was cooking dinner, Brian made his daily phone call to ask what we were having for dinner... and I hesitated. I knew if I said "soup" he wouldn't take it well so I said, "chicken and mushrooms". He asked, "What else?", and I answered, "Wild Rice". He got very quiet and said, "Is that all?" And I said, "Well... it's soup with chicken, mushrooms, wild rice, and some biscuits". And then came the silence. He said, "You're feeding me soup for dinner?" (and understand he pronounced soup like arsenic), and I said, "What's the difference between soup for dinner and sausage on a plate?" (longstanding joke - when we first met Brian said he wanted sausage for dinner and nothing else and I said, "you just want sausage on a plate?" because that was so shocking to me having grown up in a meat, veggie, starch for dinner and that has become a common phrase in our house). He let it go.
When he came home he was in a foul mood that he was having soup for dinner. Evan gobbled up his portion (he had most of the contents with just a little bit of broth), I ate all of mine, and as Brian begrudgingly ate he stopped complaining... slowly. At some point he said, "You know, this is really good... but it's just soup", and I said, "What is the difference between this soup or me just putting chicken, sauteed mushrooms, and wild rice on the plate?". He couldn't answer and at one point he even admitted the problem might be more his perception of soup than the soup itself. And... he had seconds.
I'm not sure how soon I can do a soup night again... but I bet with some more practice he will learn to love soup (or maybe I need to add a sandwich for him).
Anyway... here is the consensus:
Recipe: Chicken and Wild Rice soup
Rating: Evan - I can't give this a Brian for 2 reasons... 1) Brian didn't love the idea of a soup dinner, and 2) The soup needed a little but more flavor for my taste buds.
Future Recommendations: If I make this again I would make sure to cook it a little bit longer (the wild rice was a little underdone) and I definitely need to add some fresh herbs (I didn't have any in the house). Maybe some rosemary... or tarragon... or something distinctive.
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