Monthly Archives: April 2013

Monday Menu and Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu and tagged with

Can I take a moment to praise the dinner swap one more time?

We pride ourselves on trying to serve home cooked meals most every night of the week, saving our restaurant budget for a few well-chosen outings instead of last-minute takeout or a run through the drive-thru. But I’m not going to tell you that it doesn’t get tiring sometimes. It takes advance planning, careful shopping, and a daily commitment to an hour of cooking and eating. Oh, and there are always dirty dishes. ALWAYS.

So I have to thank Jen one more time for initiating our dinner swap arrangement. Having a night off from cooking but still having a home cooked meal is such a boost. Today I’m looking forward to an unusually lazy evening in which I don’t have to cook dinner or go to choir practice. Maybe we’ll play a game after dinner and I’ll listen to Mr. Ten read aloud some more of The Mysterious Benedict Society. Maybe we’ll ride bikes around the block. WHO KNOWS?

This week

Sunday: Hoisin-glazed salmon, new potatoes, broccoli, arugula salad with toasted walnuts and goat cheese

Monday: Crock-Pot Chicken, Rice and Green Chile Casserole (from Jen)

Tuesday: Skillet Lasagna with Italian Sausage

Wednesday: Silky Tortilla Soup, fruit salad

Thursday: Turkey Kibbe Kebabs with two sauces (but I plan to make them into meatballs and skip the skewers), pita, salad (swap with Jen)

Friday: Black Bean Quesadillas, salad

 

Last week

Monday: Chicken chopped salad (I think I’m going to set out all the components–leftover chicken, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, carrots, etc.–and let everyone assemble their own bowls)

This was so much more successful than I expected! I lined up all the salad components on a big platter, put the dressing in a pitcher, and let everyone serve themselves. We also added some crackers and cheese to the mix. The kids ate a little of everything, and there was a nice salad left for the Hub’s lunch the next day!

Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers (out of the freezer), kale chips

I’m looking forward to making these burgers again, adding a little more moisture. But they were still good, with a sauce of plain yogurt and some roasted plum tomatoes and garlic that I found in the freezer, blended smooth.

Wednesday: Ecuadorean pork stew (the recipe linked is for chicken, but I’ll streamline the recipe, just searing the cubed pork and then adding the sauce–omitting the beer–straight from the blender), rice, fried plantains (double for Jen)

So delicious, and a great make-ahead meal. The achiote paste (or annatto-infused oil) gives a unique flavor, but it wouldn’t be terrible without it. You can follow this recipe with whatever meat you have…chicken, beef, pork, mutton, goat…

Thursday: Crockpot beef and broccoli, rice

I didn’t follow that recipe at all, and instead made a quick beef and broccoli stir fry, using a little garlic black bean sauce from the jar.

Friday: Buttermilk pancakes, apple slices

The Hub was not home for dinner, so we got crazy and had breakfast for dinner. I always use the pancake recipe from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, but there isn’t a link online except for this scaled up version for a crowd. I try to keep buttermilk always on hand, and if I’m afraid it’s going to go bad before we use it up, I freeze it in 2-cup portions for pancakes.

Saturday:  Creamy Baked Pasta with Chicken (by request of Mr. Ten), salad

I simplified this recipe, didn’t add any topping and didn’t really bake it (just kept it hot in a warm oven for a few minutes), but it was still tasty. Mr. Ten was happy and we had some extra for Sunday lunch.

 

What was your favorite home cooked meal last week?

Real food

Posted by Melissa in Food, Garden, Health, thoughts and tagged with , ,

The radish seeds I planted ten days ago have popped out of the soil in little pairs of round leaves. My reading tells me I may have been too generous with my seeds, scattering them in shallow furrows rather than spacing them apart. I expect to thin the seedlings in a day or two so they aren’t too crowded. The next few days promise to be sunny, so I hope to see a few more of my tiny crops pop up in their raised bed, too.

I’ve been on a steady reading diet of books about food. At long last, I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I’m tearing through Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss. I have a stack of gardening books from library, and my first issue of Urban Farm magazine arrived yesterday. My brain is swimming with conversations about what we eat and where it comes from.

All of this reading has crystallized my dissatisfaction with some of the food we eat (don’t get me started on the candy pushed at my preschooler at every turn). To be fair, our kitchen probably contains less processed food than in most houses on the block, and I’ve always been a proponent of moderation. I buy chips, but usually only if they go with a meal I’ve planned, not as an everyday snack. I don’t buy soda, water bottles, juice boxes, or any single-serve beverages unless we’re having a party (not counting the ginger beer and tonic water we keep on hand for cocktails). We rarely buy single-serve snack packages. Recently we bought a case of Pirate’s Booty at Costco for the kids to take for snack at school, but it’s just too easy for them to grab it as a default snack whenever they have the munchies.

The trouble is, some things are hard to moderate. For example, I haven’t been too picky lately about what kind of breakfast cereal I buy. My personal line in the sand stops at Red Dye Number Whatever, marshmallows, and chocolate. I like convenience as much as the next harried parent, but I’ve gotten more concerned lately as Little Five clearly prefers Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch over plain Cheerios, and regularly asks for (and is refused) them for lunch and after school snack. He craves sugar like nobody’s business, and wants dessert after every single meal. He doesn’t get it, but that hasn’t affected his demands. Honestly, I’m tired of the daily argument. Miss Seven, like her father, isn’t a big fan of cold cereal, but she will condescend to eat the sweetest ones. Anyway, I’m fully aware of the contradiction that while I’m busy packing their waste-free lunches, my kids are eating junky cereal for breakfast.

We had a long dinner conversation about better breakfast choices we could be making. Mr. Ten asked if there are different cereals we could buy that are healthier. This morning he learned to make his own oatmeal in the microwave and he confronted us with the ingredient label on the Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread that Miss Seven was spreading on her whole wheat mini bagel, so we had a little conversation about portion size.

Speaking of breakfast, we’ve embraced smoothies in our daily breakfast routine. It’s a good first step, but I’d like to work on finding other quick and healthy breakfast foods, since none of us finds a smoothie alone a satisfying meal. Some of us like oatmeal and other hot cereals with fruit, and some like eggs, but it seems everyone wants variety. Yesterday I baked a batch of healthy muffins (multigrain applesauce muffins, with just a splash of olive oil and honey), so that’s a good start, too. It might be as simple as refusing to buy cereal and forcing myself to bake and stock healthier choices that still taste good. I’m not putting my family on any kind of extreme diet, but we can continue our journey toward more whole foods, locally produced, prepared at home. And it’s just two more weeks until the farmer’s market opens!

The Donation Pile

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with ,

Remember Project Simplify? This week’s theme is “piles.”  (Last week’s theme was closets, but I didn’t manage to post anything about it. The Hub attacked the hall closet with extreme prejudice last week and now it’s looking–and functioning–much better. Winter gear purged and stored in the basement, and all the other bits that had accumulated were returned to their proper places.) Today I’ve got more than one pile of stuff that needs to be dealt with, including dishes in the sink, papers to be recycled, and more stuff lurking on and around my desk. I’m fairly certain I won’t get to much of it today.

But on Sunday I did tackle one pile that has been sitting in the basement for months: the donation pile. It was a combination of outgrown kids’ clothes, toys and games, as well as some adult clothing and housewares slated for donation.

Did I take a “before” picture? I did not. Let’s just all imagine that it was a big pile at the foot of the basement stairs: half a dozen overflowing boxes and bins, with more bags and bundles teetering precariously on top.

The St. Vincent de Paul truck was in our church parking lot on Sunday, so I dropped one large bag of clothing there. I sorted out a small bag of hand-me-downs to give to some friends with younger children, and set aside the box of clothes destined for a niece. Another pile of toys, games and tricycle is awaiting pick up for another friend’s toddler. I made an itemized list of everything else, and then posted the list to my local Freecycle group. By the end of the day Tuesday, all but one item had been claimed and picked up from my porch. All that remains is a trip to the post office to send the box to the niece before she outgrows everything in it, and arrange a time to deliver the toddler toys.

As always, clearing away one pile motivates me to tackle another one. Next: the family room. It’s all one big pile of toys, Wii games and accessories, newspapers and dirty socks, but I’m confident that it will only take 15 minutes to whip it back into shape.

Monday Menu and Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

My usual morning routine was waylaid today by a trip to doctor for a throat culture for Miss Seven, who does indeed have strep throat. Since she’s not cleared to return to school until midday tomorrow, I’m planning a menu that doesn’t require an immediate trip to the grocery. Luckily, there’s some good stuff in the freezer right now. I grabbed some milk while we were at the pharmacy (where I spent a week’s grocery budget just on antibiotics, since our patient is allergic to amoxicillin), so if all else fails, we’ll have something to wash down the three-layer  masterpiece of a chocolate cake that the Hub baked yesterday. The occasion? It was Sunday.

This week

Monday: Chicken chopped salad (I think I’m going to set out all the components–leftover chicken, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, carrots, etc.–and let everyone assemble their own bowls)

Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers (out of the freezer), kale chips

Wednesday: Ecuadorean pork stew (the recipe linked is for chicken, but I’ll streamline the recipe, just searing the cubed pork and then adding the sauce–omitting the beer–straight from the blender), rice, fried plantains (double for Jen)

Thursday: Creamy Baked Pasta with Chicken (by request of Mr. Ten)

Friday: Crockpot beef and broccoli, rice

Last week

Monday: Chicken and biscuits (swap)

Our grocery had rotisserie chickens on sale last week for $4.99, so I bought two, shredded all the meat, and made a beautiful dark stock from the carcasses in the pressure cooker. That stock gave the sauce for the chicken and biscuits an extra depth of flavor. I made some buttermilk biscuits, which were not as light and fluffy as storebought, but I thought their sturdier texture paired well with the sauce. The kids practically licked their bowls.

Tuesday: Jen’s Lasagne (swap)

Homemade lasagne on a weeknight. Hallelujah!

Wednesday: Lamb and Couscous, pan-roasted asparagus

More leftover Easter leg of lamb from the freezer, plus whole wheat coucous cooked with tomato, onion, chicken broth, raisins, and spices (cinnamon, cumin and coriander). 

Thursday: Pork Fried Rice, edamame

Last week we cooked a double batch of rice, sliced up extra pork tenderloin, and put it all in the freezer to have on hand for fried rice. 

Friday: Jen’s Chili and macaroni

We helped Jen out by taking some chili off her hands that didn’t fit in her freezer. Not knowing how spicy it might be (it was just right), I also cooked some macaroni. We had enough for a few more lunch servings over the weekend and to put in Mr. Ten’s thermos this morning!

Saturday: Broiled yogurt-marinated chicken thighs, lentil salad, roasted beet salad with goat cheese

This chicken recipe is ideal for the grill, but until the weather warms up, I’ve been cooking it under the broiler. It takes 15-20 minutes and stays moist, but gets a little charred on the edges–a perfect combination, if you ask me. Lentils cooked in broth and dressed with vinaigrette made a great warm side dish. I’d forgotten how quickly they cook! I cooked the whole pound of dried lentils and saved half in the freezer for a future meal.

Monday Menu and Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

After a week of April showers, Sunday’s sunny day came right on schedule. I sowed seeds in my little raised bed, transplanted some perennials, and rode bikes around the block with Miss Seven. It’s threatening rain again today, but at least it’s not too cold. I’m determined to squeeze a short walk into my morning schedule, so I’ll leave you with some menus. If I had to recommend one thing, it would be that meatloaf recipe. It’s both homey and intriguing, with the chorizo and the smoky chipotles. Just make double–you’re going to want some meatloaf sandwiches with that zingy sauce.

Last week

Monday: Tex-Mex Meatloaf, homemade mac and cheese, corn and black bean salad (doubled to swap with Jen)

Best meatloaf I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t pour more glaze on at the end, but heated and served it separately so it wouldn’t be too spicy for the kids, who had ketchup. I might have to buy The Homesick Texan cookbook.

Tuesday: White Bean Soup with Kale and Turkey Italian Sausage (from Jen)

Yummy. The kids ate it without much fuss, too. Unlike spinach, the kale didn’t wilt and turn black during reheating. 

Wednesday: Pizza (toppings: mushrooms, asparagus, pepperoni; dough is in the freezer)

Still trying to get the crust baked through in the middle without overcooking the toppings. Looking forward to pizza-on-the-grill weather.

Thursday: Locro de papas (Ecuadorean potato soup–I don’t follow a recipe, but that one is similar), avocado, pickled red onions

It was such a rainy, chilly week that soup was exactly what I wanted to eat. Again.

Friday: Pork medallions in creamy pan sauce, rice, asparagus salad

Pork tenderloin makes a fancy meal really fast. Our pan sauce had wine, tarragon and cream. Mr. Ten set the table, cooked the rice and chopped the garlic, and helped make the sauce. We made extra rice and sliced extra pork for this week’s fried rice.

This week

Monday: Chicken and biscuits (swap)

Tuesday: Jen’s Lasagne (swap)

Wednesday: Pork fried rice

Thursday: Broiled yogurt-marinated chicken thighs, lentil salad, roasted beets with goat cheese

Friday: Panini Night

Decluttering with Project Simplify

Posted by Melissa in Cleaning, Organizing and tagged with , , ,

One of those tasks that never ends is decluttering, and the longer days of spring seem to illuminate the dirt and clutter that have accumulated throughout the winter. To motivate myself to tackle some of these problem areas, I’m linking up with Project Simplify 2013 at Simple Mom. Sure, I can see what areas in my home need work, but it’s awfully nice to have someone else map out a timetable and a plan of attack.

This week’s project is about decluttering flat surfaces. Shelves, drawers, tables…you know the ones. In our house, the usual suspects are the family room coffee table, the hall table, the mail center cupboard, and my desk in the kitchen. At the moment, my desk is the problem. It regularly gets so stacked with stuff–much of which is NOT MINE, that I just lift up my computer and go elsewhere to work.

This was mostly paper, so I sorted out everything that could be recycled, and then filed the rest appropriately. I put away all the bits of toys and hair accessories. I assessed the notes on the memo board and culled anything outdated. Then I dumped out the entire container of pencils and pens. Though I love the oatmeal tin, it’s just too tall to use as a pencil cup–things get lost in the bottom. I threw away all the dried up pens, sharpened all the pencils, and resurrected this cute flower pot that I bought in Spain to hold them all. After a good dusting, I can once again work at my desk!

If you’d like to join Project Simplify, click on the graphic at the top of this post to get all the details. It’s a great way to get a handle on Spring Cleaning!

The Dinner Swap

Posted by Melissa in Food, Organizing and tagged with ,

You may have noticed in my Monday Menu posts lately that I’ve been swapping meals with my friend, Jen E. (not to be confused with my friend Jen V., my personal gardening expert and all-around partner in crime). Jen E. introduced me to the idea of the dinner swap, and we’ve been talking about it for months, but finally made it happen. Three weeks in, I’m calling it an unqualified success. The Plan: We each cook a double batch of one of the week’s dinners, and then exchange the extra meal. One less meal to plan each week! One night of home cooked take out! More variety in our menu!

Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t have any complicated rules or monthly calendars. We both plan our week’s menu in advance, then email each other what we’ve planned to swap and decide which day to make the exchange. We’re not exactly neighbors, but Jen’s kids have skating lessons near my house, and I can make it to Jen’s porch and back in 30 minutes (assuming I don’t stop at the T.J. Maxx on the way).

Obviously, you can’t swap meals with just anyone. You’ve got to have similar tastes and expectations. Our families like a little bit of everything, with an emphasis on fresh, unprocessed ingredients. We all try to cook and eat healthily, but we’re not going to be militant about it. It might be difficult to swap with a family that requires a special diet because of allergies or other health concerns. Your families should probably be a similar size. The E.’s have two preschoolers to our 10, 7 and 5-yr-old, but I just double what I make for our table, and if they get more leftovers out of the deal, lucky them!

I’ve read about larger meal swap groups, and some of them exchange freezer meals instead of fresh (for example, five families each prepare five batches of two freezer meals, and then everyone goes home with 10 different meals to stock their freezers). I don’t know whether we will try a version of that in the future, but so far, things are going swimmingly.

Monday Menu and Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

I had a bad case of Spring Fever yesterday and spent all day working in the yard. We got our raised bed prepped for planting (just waiting for those seeds to arrive in the mail–any day now!), raked up all the leaves and dead perennial foliage, and started assembling our compost pile. The Hub cleared the pine needles out of the gutters and went a little crazy with the spring closet cleaning. There are muddy boots by the door and bikes on the porch. Ah, Spring!

This morning I took my achy self to the store for a few groceries and finally made up our menu. We have a lot in the freezer, so I didn’t need much. It’s another busy week–something planned for every single evening–followed by a busy weekend. I’m hoping to prep dinners early in the day to take the pressure off the dinner hour. If plans go awry, I have the makings of angel hair with spinach pesto–my favorite emergency meal.

Last week

Monday: Mexican Rice Casserole (swap from Jen), guacamole and chips

Another winner of a casserole from Jen! Loved the big slices of tomato (they are also easy to avoid when serving tomato-averse children).

Tuesday: Chicken with Lemon, Cumin and Mint, farro, Greek salad (doubled, to swap with Jen)

I loosely followed the recipe: I used boneless chicken thighs, added plain yogurt to the marinade, and let it marinate several hours longer–overnight, actually. They broiled nicely in about 12 minutes, but would also work great on the grill.

Wednesday: Ali Baa-Baa Sandwiches, Greek salad

A post-Easter lamb favorite. I set aside a small portion of meat without the onions and apples for the picky eaters. Leftover sandwich filling was good for lunch atop the farro from Tuesday.

Thursday: Baked Potato Soup

This recipe has gone into our regular meal rotation. I don’t think it’s nearly as fattening as it seems (though it is filling!). I double the recipe as a matter of course, and we all had soup for lunch the next day.

Friday: Pasta and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

Next time Mr. Ten is going to be in charge of making the sauce, now that he knows the recipe. I caught someone licking their bowl after the pasta was all gone. Even Miss I-Don’t-Like-Tomato likes this sauce, so long as I purée it well with the immersion blender. I made a batch and a half so there’s a little extra to go on this week’s pizza.

This week

Monday: Tex-Mex Meatloaf (doubled to swap with Jen)

Tuesday: White Bean Soup with Kale and Turkey Italian Sausage (from Jen)

Wednesday: Pizza (toppings: mushrooms, asparagus, pepperoni; dough is in the freezer)

Thursday: Locro de papas (I don’t follow a recipe, but that one is similar), avocado, pickled red onions

Friday: Pork medallions in creamy pan sauce, rice, asparagus

 

What was your favorite meal last week?

The Garden Project: Ordering seeds

Posted by Melissa in DIY, Garden and tagged with , ,

The snow has finally melted, the sun is shining, and I can see blue sky out my dirty windows. The daffodils are inching their way up. Spring is whispering in my ear. It ought to be saying, “Get on with the spring cleaning already,” but instead it’s telling me, “Plant a garden!” One morning last week, before coffee even, I ordered seeds and–on a whim–strawberry plants. I found that Home Depot has some reasonably priced raised bed kits that are in stock at my local store. There is still plenty of work in the back yard that requires the professionals, but I don’t want to wait until everything is perfect (that could be a long wait) before we start growing some vegetables this year. Right now I have a sunny spot that is clear and seeds on the way, so I have to make it happen!

I have no gardening expertise. A few times in years past we have planted a handful of vegetables, with mixed results. I am trying to start small this year so I don’t get in over my head. (“Baby steps, Bob!”) I’m not starting seeds indoors. I chose my seeds based on what the almanac tells me I can sow directly into the ground in March and April. I bought lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, sugar snap peas, basil, parsley and beets. I plan to set up two four foot square beds, one with some trellis at the back for the peas, and see how it goes. Later in the spring, I hope to add some tomato plants, and maybe cucumber and squash.

In other landscaping news, we had our big tree and the remaining hedge cut down. We took advantage of a city program tree trimming program that gave us a reduced rate.

BEFORE

BEFORE

We are still waiting for the crew to return and grind out all the stumps. The front of the house looks dreadfully bare right now, and you can see all the pine needles the tree left in the gutter.

DURING

DURING

But thanks to Dig Right In, we have a beautiful plan to work from, and once the stumps are gone, I plan to work on amending the soil and adding some new plants in front of the porch.

AFTER

AFTER

I’m calling it officially Spring!

 

Are you making any plans for your outdoor spaces this spring?