Dinners Last Week
I’m sure you missed my ‘Dinners Last Week’ posts during NaBloPoMo, so here I am back at it. Maybe I can give you an idea for something to cook, because THAT is the hard part for me. Figuring out what to cook. And like the meme, above, sometimes I have ideas earlier in the week, or even earlier in the day, and then when it’s time to cook, I think, “Couldn’t we just eat cheese and crackers? What about eggs?” I generally stick with my plan, because I have the ingredients. I like cooking, it’s just that by 5:00 when I get off of work, I’ve lost my verve. I don’t know how those of you who have to commute do it. Luckily I work from home, which means that often I can start dinner before 5 even, or if not, I’m usually downstairs by 5:02. Anyway, here’s what we came up with last week.
Monday – Inspired by Suzanne’s decision to not have a meal plan last week , I shopped my freezer and found some leftover turkey chili and tomato soup. My turkey chili recipe is all that is left from a Sunset magazine cookbook that was destroyed by a leak from our upstairs bathroom into the kitchen years ago. It’s kind of a different recipe (soy sauce? Really?) It’s really good though. The tomato soup recipe is Ina Garten’s, and is SO good with grilled cheese on my favorite sourdough. So Ted had chili, and Maya and I had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
Tuesday – Roasted Split Chicken with Mustard Crust – from my Jacques Pepin More Fast Food, My Way cookbook. I felt like making a tasty chicken. This was delicious, though I will admit that I thought it could have used more salt. Maybe my chicken was too big, so my proportions were off. We had it with leftover Brussels sprouts and green beans. Modification for family needs – I bought Maya a vegetable pot pie at Whole Foods. She liked it, didn’t love it.
Wednesday – Garlicky Broiled Salmon and Tomatoes – This dish is popular around here, at least with me and Ted. It’s quick, salmon was on sale, I had some tomatoes that I wanted to use. Nothing improves December tomatoes so much as roasting them in the oven. I cooked some baby carrots we had in the fridge to go with it. Modifications for family needs – Maya is not generally a salmon fan (unless it’s sushi), so she had leftover pasta.
Thursday – Brisket and latkes. The first night of Hanukkah I worked 1/2 day, put the brisket in the oven, and then focused on latkes and apple sauce. I love latkes. I made two kinds, russet and sweet potato, plus apple sauce and so on. Modifications for family needs – 2 kinds of latkes, since Ted doesn’t really eat potatoes, but he loves sweet potatoes. Maya loves both. I’m team potato. I thought Maya might want something to go with her latkes besides apple sauce, so I was going to make her a fake burger sans bun. Just the meat, to sort of copy the brisket idea. Nope, she’s with Nance and feels that just the latkes and applesauce were enough.
Friday – Fridays we get takeout for dinner, which this week meant pizza. Ted can’t eat much in the way of simple carbs and cheese, but he can eat 1 slice of pizza. So sometimes we’ll order from a local pizza place we like, and he’ll have something else and then a slice. Maya likes her pizza plain, just cheese, though sometimes she’ll do a Margherita pizza. I go back and forth between Hawaiian (I know, pineapple on your pizza is controversial, but I am not afraid of controversy) and a veggie pizza with eggplant, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, basil, and fresh tomatoes (meaning, they put slices of tomato on after the pizza comes out of the oven). Ted had chicken Marsala with veggies instead of pasta, and a slice of my (veggie this time) pizza.
Saturday – We went to a holiday party, so we did not have to cook. Our friends Cari and Ali always put on a beautiful spread. Ali is from Iraq (though he moved to Wales as a boy, and then to the US in High School), so often the menu is delicious Iraqi/middle eastern food. This year was no exception, and dinner was an Iraqi eggplant casserole, Tebsi (Wikipedia says Tepsi, but I suspect that is just a different translation), a tabbouleh salad, and a cauliflower stew. Really good. Of course I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t filled up on ruffles and onion dip ahead of time. (And Ali’s delicious hummous and veggies!)
Sunday – Ted’s mom had some neighbors over for a potluck holiday tea, and she invited me. I brought smoked salmon tea sandwiches, which are delicious, though she has some tummy issues and cannot have onion, garlic, or lemon anymore without suffering PAIN, so I omitted those from the herbed butter. They were still REALLY tasty. I had 1 slice of bread leftover, and a smidge of herbed butter, so I toasted the bread and smeared it with the butter, and had that with a scrambled egg on top for breakfast. So tasty!
I came home not very hungry, but ready for a bit of something. Ted was in the midst of making European Dinner, which is a snacky dinner of cheese, bread, fruit, and sausage. I had some of that, especially my beloved Mt. Tam cheese. Overall, a great week of meals!
23 Comments
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
I made the mistake of reading this before I had breakfast so I am starving now. I’d like a feast of the brisket and latkes, followed by a slice of Haiwaiian and veggie pizza, and then a smoked salmon sandwich for a nightcap. Yum!
J
I hate reading peole’s food posts before breakfast, it makes me hungry!
Suzanne
You really hit the nail on the head with this: “I like cooking, it’s just that by 5:00 when I get off of work, I’ve lost my verve.” HARD SAME.
We had latkes for the first night of Hanukkah and I think my “main course” was cheese and crackers. I did not make a single meal last week and it was lovely!! My husband was less of a fan than I was, though, so I’m back at it this week.
J
I’m glad you enjoyed your reprieve last week! And I’m glad I was motivated by your post to dig through the freezer for one night’s meal…
nance
Maya is a girl after my own heart.
I can also make my entire meal just tabbouleh. That’s definitely a nonstarter with Rick, however. We do eat vegetarian about 2-3 times a week, and he doesn’t complain at all, but he does like Meat (or MEAT).
I think the only reason Hawaiian pizza is controversial is because of Pizza Snobs. I can’t say too much against them, though, because I am often called a Wine Snob because of my insistence on the proper glass for wines. It does matter, and I will die on that hill, but I am happy to have pineapple on my pizza.
J
I know different glasses are good for different wines, but I stick to my stemless whatever I am drinking. I have some beautiful wine glasses that are made for Chardonnay, but they are SO delicate and I am afraid to use them.
Nicole MacPherson
You had me at eggplant casserole.
I plan every week’s meals because I am just not good at doing things on the fly. I am not great at being hungry and then figuring out what to eat, only to find I don’t have the right ingredients. So everything is planned! Otherwise I would have a daily nervous breakdown at 5pm.
J
I used to be a meal planner, but maybe 20 years ago I decided I was DONE, and started buying groceries daily instead. It does cause problems sometimes, like if work is crazy and I can’t get out of the house, but somehow we have never starved to death.
coco
I like seeing how others organize meals. I agree that figuring out what to cook is a challenge and i am low maintenance on that front. Usually rotating around staples that family will eat during the week and I’ll make something fun/new on weekends. Fortunately my girls are okay eating same things over and over. 🙂
J
It helps to have family that goes along with it, isn’t it? My family is the same way, very thankful and just happy to have a meal in front of them every evening.
Margaret
I’m not a good meal planner but I do love reading about others’ dinners! I am also a fan of Hawaiian pizza. I also love veggie though.
J
I like most pizzas, actually…these are just my two favorites…
Melissa
I think it’s more of a chore to think up what to cook and do the cooking when you have different needs to cater for. I must admit, I often get to the end of the week and have lost enthusiasm for something I put on my menuplan.
J
YES, it’s such a pain to THINK of things. If anyone else has ideas, I almost go along with them.
Rachel
This looks like a great week of meal!!! And I love cowgirl creamery. Yum!
J
Oh yeah, Cowgirl Creamery is SO GOOD.
Lisa's Yarns
We only make about 3 meals/week and then get by on leftovers and simple meals the other days. I can’t imagine making a meal every night of the week!! Dinner time is so rushed for us since we get home at 5 and then boys want to eat by 5:30 since they are “starving.” So I try to make our meals Fri-Mon when I’m home/WFH. The only things I’ll make on a week night when I’m in the office is something super fast like ground beef tacos!
J
That’s a great way of dealing with it Lisa! My mom used to cook everything on weekends, and just heat it up. She was single and lived alone, and knew if she was going to get home and be tired, there was no way she was going to cook, and would end up ordering pizza. Nothing wrong with pizza, but she didn’t want to eat it EVERY day, and the town she lived in didn’t have a lot of other delivery options.
San
I always love a peek into how other people plan their meals. We always meal plan for the whole week and usually stick to it. By the end of the week, our fridge is virtually empty.
You had some great meals this week. I should make some potato pancakes/latkes again. It’s been too long.
J
It’s interesting to me too! I used to plan for the week and got really tired of it. I may get back to it at some point if I get tired of going to the store every day.
Anne
I have been wanting pizza the last few days – I might need to break down and get some over winter break. I’m only one person, so leftovers are a challenge (and also – freezer space is not available… love the apartment-sized fridge!).
I make the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. Have for years. And dinner is just a rotation of “weird protein” + veggies + occasionally a carb. Recently it’s been a mixed up salad of roasted and raw veggies, which works well. 🙂 The benefits of being one person, for sure!
J
Benefits of cooking for 1…you can eat what you want, when you want it!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I am always amazed how precesily you plan your dinners.
And how early you eat. If the husband and I have dinner it is rarely befor 8 pm. If I am on my own I try to eat a bit earlier.
I have tried to do more meal planning. But so far from what you are doing.