Hey there, fellow meal preppers!
Ready for a new week of planning and shopping and prepping and cooking and....
me neither.
but, peeps must eat, yes? So let's see if together, we can have some fun and make some pretty food and happy tummies, shall we?
Thursday: Poached Salmon, Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries
I'm looking for a little salmon redemption here, after turning a perfectly nice piece of salmon into a piece of salty overseasoned salmon colored stuff last week. I'll simmer/poach it in some white wine and olive oil. And... (and I'm mildly excited about this) trying a new way with coleslaw. Look:
http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-new-york-deli-coleslaw-356288
Salting the cabbage! What if that solves the pesky cabbage water swimming pool that forms in the bottom of the coleslaw bowl problem? I have a few changes in mind:
I will not be buying an entire jar of celery seeds so that I can use a spoonful of them in the slaw.
I'll be subbing plain greek yogurt for at least part of the mayo, and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for the white vinegar.
I'll be adding some chopped peeled apple. Because...well, mostly because I like it.
And, frozen sweet potato fries...because, well, because they're awesome.
Friday: Chicken and Mustard greens.
http://www.wholeliving.com/130698/chicken-mustard-greens-olives-and-lemon?center=0&gallery=135928&slide=131300
Here's a little curiosity quest I set myself a while ago- to turn myself into a person who knows the differences between collard, mustard and turnip greens. Love em all, can't always tell the difference between em (insert joke here about whether or not I'm any better with my children)
And, remember, you can sub spinach for the greens if you like it better or it's cheaper.
I'll be cooking enough extra chicken for chicken salad on Sunday and Stirfry on Monday.
Saturday: Salmon and spinach cakes
Y'know, I have friends who think of me as on occasion...insightful. And they're right. I offer as evidence the fact that it took me only THREE YEARS to notice that often, when I suggest turning leftover fish into fish tacos, my sweetie wonders if tonight might be a great night for him to stop on the way home for a pizza. And that little insight led, as one insight often does, to another: that although I often order fish tacos when we're out, he NEVER DOES. And, what's the use of an insight that doesn't lead to action? So- here's a non fish taco way to use Thursday's leftovers:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/salmon-and-spinach-cakes_n_1060877.html
I'm thinking these would be great with a couscous salad- I'm going to rehydrate some couscous, stir in some feta, some sundried tomatoes, some parsley and some chunked up frozen artichoke hearts, make a little dressing out of the oil from the tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar and call it done.
now for the variations:
if you don't have, or don't want to use, sundried tomatoes in oil, be sure to rehydrate the unoily kind in a little boiling hot water before you add them to the couscous
i'm seriously considering giving the larger Israeli couscous a try. It looks fun. I know one or maybe even two children that would have fun playing marbles with it..
I prefer frozen artichoke hearts to the marinated kind, but if you like the marinated ones, you're in luck; your dressing's already made- forget the oil and vinegar and use the marinade in the jar.
I'm typing this recipe using sundrie to-mah-toes. Feel free to use sundried to-may-toes if that's all you can find.
Sunday: Greek Chicken Salad
Here's an easy-peasy idea that you can make for Sunday lunch or dinner:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/herbed-greek-chicken-salad-10000001634766/
Easy-peasy, that is, if you use chicken that you've already got cooked and in the fridge. And, a word about the tahini in this recipe- it's a paste made of sesame seeds- sorta sesame butter- and adds a nice flavor to things (especially hummus) but this salad will taste nice without it.
Monday: Chicken and Broccoli stirfry
Take any leftover cooked chicken you have, slice it thin and throw it in a hot pan with a little oil in it. When it's edged with golden yumminess, put it on a serving plate. Reheat the pan and throw in some some thin sliced onions and broccoli. What else is languishing in the fridge? A carrot? Zuchinni? Green onion? In it goes. Just make sure that things are in bite sized pieces. That way they'll cook before they have a chance to get soggy. When the veg is tender, splash on a little sauce, and you're done.
Now, if you're feeding purists (you may sometimes hear purists referred to as picky eaters. Not so, not so. Or at least, not always)
If, as I say, you've purists at the table, practice a little drama reduction by serving the sauce and the chicken and the veg separately.
Sauces for stirfrys range from super easy (open a bottle of stirfry sauce) to super complicated. One of my fave homemade sauces? the one America's test kitchen came up with for their teriyaki chicken:
http://losangeleschronicle.blogspot.com/2007/09/americas-test-kitchen-recipes.html
Or, mix some soy sauce, honey, water or orange juice, ginger and a little cornstarch and simmer it till it thickens up.
Tuesday: Tomato pie and salad
okay okay okay- I am truly excited about giving this a spin-
I was looking for a recipe that would give me an excuse to go back to the farmer's market for more tomatoes, and boy did I find it! or them- there are so many variations of this basic, absolutely wonderful sounding thing! I think I'll start with this one:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_pie/
or this one with corn from smitten kitchen:
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/08/tomato-and-corn-pie/
I'll be making up for the gluten indulgence in the crust by subbing plain yogurt for some of the mayo, and putting together a simple salad of lettuce and cucumber.
the grocery list will be posted tomorrow morning, right after get it ready, and right before I leave to do the week's shopping-
No comments:
Post a Comment