Leftovers Saturday

To top off my week that has been completely off of meal plan tonight we ate leftovers. I literally took everything out of my fridge and put it all together:

I ended up throwing out the black beans and rice and the Chili Mac casserole since they both looked past their prime, but I heated up everything else.  And, since I knew Brian wasn't going to eat the pork, I also defrosted some shrimp and sauteed them to add to our buffet.  Incidentally this was Evan's first time having shrimp (he has only been allowed to have shellfish since he turned 2 a month ago) and it was my first time ever cooking shrimp.  Evan ate it all up and I think the shrimp were cooked well.

Of course Brian said it was hell week all over for him (since he didn't like most of these dishes originally except for the 2 added by his parents from Friday night) but I enjoyed having the pasta pesto with shrimp... it was even better than alone.  The only dish that didn't re-heat well was the pork.  It was really dry but it had a kind of Pork Lo Mein taste to it so since I still have a few slices leftover I might make that next week.

As for next week's meal plan... don't hold your breath.  I'm trying to work on it tonight but it's already 9:30 (don't go by my "posted on" time because something is all wonky with that) and that is really late for me (I know... exciting mom life I lead).  Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow night?

Happy eating!

I Made Soup... Just Soup... And We Survived

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.

Off to a So-So Start

So, Monday I was supposed to make Chili-Mac Casserole but the children were not cooperating and all the sudden it was 5:15 and I hadn't even started cooking.  So instead I pre-heated the oven and cooked Trader Joe's breaded Tilapia filets (frozen) and served it with Trader Joe's yummy tartar sauce, Trader Joe's awesome frozen sweet corn (seriously, I have a problem) and some leftover mashed potatoes I had from the end of last week.  Everyone was happy (although I have to take the breading off of the fish for Evan - he's an odd kid).

Since I had the beef for the Chili-Mac Casserole* defrosted I figured I would make it tonight.  And it was good.  I mean it was really really good.  I know it sounds weird but I really love Chili-Mac.  I first discovered it in college.  When I graduated high school my mom gave me my first cookbook, the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook that every single person should get before they go to college (mine came in a three-ring binder which is awesome if you can find it because I can pull out a page at a time when I'm cooking and not have to deal with the whole book).  In this cookbook I learned about all kinds of food I'd never seen (growing up every dinner was pretty much a protein, vegetable, and starch so Chili-Mac wasn't on the menu).  I came across Chili-Mac one night and I was like, "Okay, I love ground beef... I love macaroni... I love kidney beans... score."  And it was a score.  And this casserole just takes it one step further.

Evan feels the same way about Chili-Mac and he scarfed down tonight's dinner.  Brian, however, was a different story.  He came home late so he didn't eat with me and Evan**.  And his response was, "What's for dinner tomorrow night because I would like it to be something I want to eat."  Now, in defense of Chili-Mac, there are some confounders here:

1. Brian doesn't like beans (I know, he's a freak).  And even though he has liked Chili-Mac in the past, his serving tonight had a lot of beans.
2. Brian is stressed at work right now and when Brian is stressed he wants to eat the food of his childhood (chicken parm, big bowl of pasta and meatballs, braciola - for those non-Italians reading this you can get a description here, and other food heavy in red sauce).

Because of these confounders the Chili-Mac probably didn't stand a chance.  Poor little Chili-Mac.  But that just means more for me and Evan!  The dish make a lot so I put some in the fridge to give to Evan for lunch after school on Thursday and I froze the remainder in 2 portions for Evan and I to eat on nights when Brian is out or working late. 

Recipe: Chili-Mac Casserole
Ratings: Evan (I'm pretty sure I could give this a Brian but I'm not gonna push it... I do however plan on making it again so we will see how he reacts)
Future Recommendations: For the casserole, the only thing I would change is I would put less cheese on top at the end.  I know this sounds crazy since I LOVE cheese... but it overpowered the casserole.  For sides (I was going to have a salad but it never happened... you know how much work is involved with opening a bag of salad, putting it in a bowl, and adding dressing... come on) I would make sure to have that salad and I also think it needed something solid, like a corn bread... yummy Jiffy corn bread would do.


*This recipe calls for a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Turns out I didn't have diced tomatoes but I had whole plum tomatoes without the skin so I just cut them up.  It turned out really good and now I don't even want to use the diced tomatoes.  Also, I know that store brand is cheaper (I use them sometimes) but when you are going to actually taste the tomatoes you must use a quality canned tomato.  I use Muir Glen and highly recommend it.

**Cooking without Brian to distract the kids is always an adventure.  Check out what we were doing here.

Meal Plan Week of September 18 - 25

There are definitely some good stories from last week (and some good recipes) that I need to share with you at some point but let's look forward at the moment and I'll return to them when I'm having a no-cooking day or heating something up from Trader Joe's.

So, here is my meal plan for this week's dinners:

Sunday: Butternut squash ravioli from the Farmer's market (as yummy as always) with butter and parmesan, some chicken tenders that I simply sprinkled with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then grilled on my grill pan as a simple side for the ravioli.  I didn't have a vegetable because the butternut squash in the ravioli counts... no?

Monday: Chili Mac Casserole with a salad... I currently have a lot of ground beef in my freezer and wanted something a little heavier since the weather is starting to get cooler

Tuesday: Trader Joe's Santa Maria Tri-Tip Roast, Roasted Brussel sprouts (if you haven't had them they are like candy... I kid you not), and mashed potatoes

Wednesday: I was going to make Pasta with Shrimp but when I went to Trader Joe's today I couldn't find any cooked shrimp so instead I picked up the frozen Breaded Tilapia which I'll make with corn salsa, tartar sauce, peas, and any leftover mashed potatoes

Thursday: The BEST sloppy joe's you will ever have (I kid you not), fries, and carrot sticks

Friday: Brian and I are going to see Wicked and will probably go out to eat.  I'll have the sitter heat up something from Trader Joe's for Evan and her (I did a big run this weekend).

Saturday: Bonus day... which means I haven't planned anything so I will have to figure it out as it gets closer.

I'll let you know how everything turns out.  But in the meantime... I thought you might enjoy a photo of what happens to my oven mitts if I leave them too close to the edge of the counter: