I need to look for that quiche recipe - sounds like the right combo of ingredients for our house. Hope your conference is worth the travel – will you have free time to explore the city restaurants or see the surrounding area a bit?
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Hey everyone,
Cooking for 2 adults and a 3 year in the sunny Toronto suburbs
Friday - went out for dinner. Local Italian place 3 year olds dress shirt is coated in tomato sauce. We all thoroughly enjoyed
Saturday- BBQ burgers, https://cookieandkate.com/raw-kale-and-brussels-sprouts…/
Sunday - korean pork belly lettuce wraps. The 3 year old loves kimchi for some reason.
Monday- sheetpan Chow mein (Smitten Kitchen)
Tuesday - black bean burrito bowls
Wednesday- my husband’s problem, rescheduled from his usual Thursday since Thursday is now golf night. Last week, he got takeout Chinese.
Thursday- the toddler and I are solo. Think we will do IP Mac and cheese
Have a fabulous week everyone!
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It all looks great, and I love the image of the 3-year-old covered in red sauce 
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I hope getting to Pittsburgh wasn’t too difficult, and that it ends up being a nicer, quicker feeling trip than expected. I always pack dried fruit and nuts so that I’m not stuck with nothing that appeals to me - your fresh vegetables sounds even better.
I made that quiche subbing olives for the bacon, and we all enjoyed it.
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Greetings, People.
Typically, this would be the most beautiful time of the year in our region – blue skies and everything fresh and in bloom. This year, however, constant rain makes for a soggy damper on tender blossoms. We managed to find a dry window this week and snuck in a two-night camping trip which we thoroughly enjoyed, but packed up in the rain this morning. There is more rain on the horizon for the foreseeable future.
Cooking for two adults in the saturated PNW:
FRI: Pork chops on the bone. Roasted asparagus and butternut squash.
SAT: Deb Perelman’s ground pork and asparagus stir-fry. Steamed rice. Homemade chili crisp.
SUN: A repeat of the spring Bolognese: lamb with garden veg in white sauce.
MON: Ina’s crispy chicken breasts with lemon orzo. Sauteed spinach.
TUE: Family dropping in for a casual dinner. A double order of Serious Eats pan pizza. Garden salad.
WED: Beef on the grill. Veg of some sort.
THUR: Leek, bacon and asparagus quiche.
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Hi, all! Cooking for 2-4 in Chattanooga, where we’re hoping the tornado watch doesn’t interfere with our food tour plans tonight…
Saturday, May 7: Out for dinner (2 nights in a row, so crazy!) for Mother’s Day. May make lemongrass-coconut tofu (Milk Street Tuesdays) for lunch if I’m feeling so inclined
Sunday: Mushroom sugo (Simply Recipes) over cheese tortellini, wedge salad, chocolate-peanut butter lava cakes (Pioneer Woman)
Monday: Herbed summer squash pasta bake (SK)
Tuesday: Potato cake, fontina and herbs (Nigel Slater), asparagus
Wednesday: Daughters leave; scrounge and sulk
Thursday: TBD
Friday: Char Kway Teow (Bon Appetit)
Have a great week, everyone, and happy cooking!
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Your plans sound great, enjoy the daughters, and best wishes for no tornado action.
I hope you can do something easy and comforting and delicious for you after daughters leave.
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Back in my kitchen, lacking both inspiration and motivation (also - jet lagged and a bit said).
I’ve been cobbling together meals the past few days, but as I fill online grocery carts willy nilly, a plan is desperately needed. I’ve surveyed the freezer, so I’m going to try to use up what’s in there before I buy too much more.
I’m not going to put days to meals, but here is what seems appealing for the next few days.
Bengali mustard salmon (again) – I made this the first time I cooked this week, and am craving it again. Sides will be a roasted vegetable of some sort and dal.
Tom Kha Kai / Thai coconut chicken soup – I poached chicken cantonese-style and also have the broth from cooking it, plus galangal in the freezer. Will need to add mushrooms and scallions, but this is sounding good given the gloomy, wet weather outside.
Mom’s roast chicken – Maybe this will make me a little less sad. Plus, delicious. Side of some roasted veg, or maybe cauliflower cheese with the cauliflower florets in the freezer.
Fish tagine – I have pompano in the freezer, which made for a nice tagine before. Have to think about vegetables. Maybe a bit of quinoa in place of couscous.
Lamb stew – I’ve got lamb chops in the freezer, and this seems the most appealing use while I’m trying to minimize carbs (otherwise I’d skew Indian). Maybe some mashed cauliflower alongside, and fennel salad.
Thai chicken larb – I don’t have any of the ingredients for this, so maybe it’s better on next week’s menu.
Yogurt chicken – kind of like the Italian pork or chicken cooked in milk, but Indian. I think this will go well with roasted butternut squash.
Coconut carrot soup – an old COTM favorite from Chrissy Teigen, and apparently I froze the rest of a bag of carrots when I left, so…
I’m also planning to make some mini (crustless) quiches or egg muffins for snacking, if I can find the motivation.
That’s all I can come up with at the moment. Look forward to reading everyone’s menus and getting my mojo back!
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Actuals for the first week of May, cooking for 2 in Minnesota. Where the month long gloom of clouds and chilly temps lifted (AT LAST) and we were able to take walks without our “space suits” of layers of sweaters, coats, hats, gloves, boots. The BOGO frozen pizza special at the grocery inspired me to try getting some veggie pizzas with white sauce and use them as the base for breakfast/brunch pizza. This worked great - scramble some eggs to top after baking and/or add cooked bacon or ham before baking and we had terrific breakfast-for- lunch meals.
I’d often heard hints of “start with a plain frozen pizza for dinner”, but I’m not willing to do the prep work to top a plain cheese pizza with added veggies or cooked ground meats – may as well make fully from scratch. Starting with all the veggies included is a game-changer.
Mon: Reheat Fajitas beef/onions/peppers, rice in tortilla (me), hard shell taco (he). With guac, salsa, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese.
Tues: Schwan’s Shrimp Lemongrass wontons, Shrimp warmed in skillet with lemon olive oil and Old Bay seasoning. Bow tie pasta dressed in butter/lemon juice, topped at table with Parm, Bacon, Pine Nuts. Based on this NYT recipe
Wed : Cod fillet with peas and reheated lemony bow-tie pasta w/toppings.
Thurs: Smoked turkey oven chimichangas , guac, with leftovers-clear-out sides
Fri: Pizza – thin crust mushroom/spinach with our chopped ham added. Sunflower crisp bag salad. Sliced fresh orange
Sat: Beer. Porterhouse steak, Layered microwave torte (potato/olive oil/onion/tomato/cheeses, Italian seasoning,). Fresh fruit with whipped cream.
Sun (today) :Cheater Chicken Tortellini Soup - broth, rotisserie chicken, frozen mixed veg, frozen cheese tortellin, Greek seasoning. Chicken mini egg rolls (Schwan’s frozen). Dessert: Strawberries & whipped cream on bran muffin
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Hi friends, writing from gray and chilly Chapel Hill, NC. It is only 51 degrees here right now, which is insane. I hope you’re having a wonderful Mother’s Day, and either someone else is cooking, you’re able to cook for your mom, or you’ll make something that makes you think of your mother. Here’s what we’ve eaten since my last post:
4/29: Jamie Oliver’s Proper Blokes pasta, an old favorite. So nice to have it again. Carrot salad with capers.
4/30: carry out
5/1: dinner at a Bulls game, surprisingly wonderful fish tacos
5/2: cod with soyrizo, potatoes, tomatoes, sherry from Diana Henry’s From the Oven to the Table. This was delicious, and the cod haters even loved it and asked me to make it again.
5/3: steak salad from last month’s COTM, baguette. Another that they asked to have again.
5/4: carry out
5/5: white chicken chili (thanks autumn2!), chips
5/6: penne with potatoes, turkey bacon, baby spinach from Cookish.
5/7: LLD cooked, WFs crabcakes, mashers, salad
A friend who works part time in Edinburgh asked me if I wanted to come along when she goes over next month. Yes!! Nervous about the covid situation, but thrilled to be going somewhere.hope to get my second booster next week. Going to try to see my father in Michigan before that if possible, so it sort of feels like going from 0-60, but it’s so nice to have a trip to look forward to again.
Have a delicious and happy week!
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For two adults in San Diego:
This week’s breakfasts: Milk chocolate chip hazelnut cake from Snacking Cakes. Only change: topped with pecans, not hazelnuts (didn’t have any). Good stuff.
S: takeout - Chile verde burrito
Su: (tonight) Chicken Italian sausage, yellow rice, onions, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, parmesan
M: Chopped salad (greens, salami, feta, tomatoes, spiced pecans) with garlic toast
T: Pork chops, Brussels sprouts, leftover hash brown casserole from freezer
W: Clam chowder with bread - seafood
Th: Pasta with Boursin cheese and assorted veggies (carrots, spinach, caramelized onions, peas, leftover Brussels sprouts, etc…) - vegetarian
F: Cheeseburgers with chips
Have a good week!
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Welcome back - your ideas sounds fabulous. I’m sure it’s a hard transition so be patient with yourself!
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Not sure how I missed the Deb Perelman recipe but now have bookmarked it and am looking forward to making it this spring!
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One of those recipes that’s super easy, tasty and requires no special ingredients. We loved it, and have put it on the rotation line-up for asparagus season going forward.
I hope you enjoy it!
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Hello from sunny southwestern Ontario, where spring has finally sprung!
I haven’t posted in a couple weeks as our menus were very basic as we had a lot on the go. We just returned last evening from four days in NYC. It was our first trip out of the province since February 2020. We have been extremely COVID-cautious, so this felt kind of scary. At the same time, we lost two years of opportunities to travel with our 9 yo daughter and decided to take a calculated risk. The plan was to spend as much time outside as possible, but unfortunately the weather conspired against us, particularly on Saturday with wild rain and wind in the city. In any case, we had a wonderful time and it was such a joy to see my daughter experience NYC for the first time, and at an age when she has such a thirst for knowledge and was enthralled by a tour of the Tenement Museum and every exhibit we were able to take in at the Museum of Natural History.
We kept our meals fairly simple, even cancelling a reservation at Serendipity 3 on Saturday evening to order takeout sushi after a long day of walking around the city. With a picky 9 yo, food was not the focus of this trip. We did enjoy a reuben at Katz’s though
We arrived back last evening and this week will also be pretty simple, as I hadn’t even had a chance to plan a menu until I sat down at my desk this morning. Cooking for two adults and a 9 yo.
Monday - We ordered pizza on the drive home from the airport and picked it up on our way by
Tuesday - Sausage on a bun, grilled mixed veggies, a salad of some sort - I’ll see what prepared salad my grocery store has available
Wednesday - Cacio e pepe primavera (Caroline Chambers’ Substack), green salad
Thursday - Baked chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, broccoli
Friday - Takeout
Saturday - My mum’s coming for a belated Mother’s Day celebration. Haven’t planned a main course yet, but am planning coconut cream pie for dessert
Enjoying reading through everyone’s spring menus as I plan for a more “normal” week next week
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Hi everyone, belatedly posting the plan (even though we’re halfway through the week) for two adults and a busy 11yo in the Boston burbs. The school play is this week, thank goodness.
Sun: pad see ew (NYT) with chicken. Probably not a keeper.
Mon: kitchen sink burritos from The Dinner Plan: shredded sweet potatoes, black beans, corn, in a tomato-based sauce with cumin and smoked paprika ( instead of chipotle). Good, easy, and a nice meatless option.
Tues: sheet pan macaroni and cheese from Bread Toast Crumbs - omg this was amazing. I used an entire pound of pasta (orichiette) and a little extra mozzarella, and no parsley because I always forget to buy it. I want to eat this every day. Not gonna happen, it isn’t that healthy, but it was good and worth the extra effort (vs my usual IP recipe).
Weds: takeout
Thurs: sandwiches (DS has to be back at school at 5:30pm for opening night!)
Fri: tamale pie (Rachael Ray, adapted)
Sat: pizza before show 2 of 2.
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What noodles did you use?
I would love to be able to add pad see euw amd chow fun to my home repertoire, but easy access to the right noodles has been the roadblock (and I can’t reconcile a different noodle mentally… that’s on me)
Our Wegmans seems to have a really good selection of Asian ingredients, but the widest rice noodles they carry were the width of fettuccine, and they seemed thicker (but maybe I didn’t soak enough… way more than the 40min the recipe suggested). The sauce was fine, tasted pretty close to what I’d had in a restaurant last week. It just wouldn’t be worth repeating, based on my “okay” rating and the “fine, I guess I can eat this” reactions from DH and DS.
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Break a leg to your son! I started out in high school drama backstage (costumes, progressing to prop manager, then stage manager) until spring of my senior year, anyone who wanted to do backstage had to audition…new rule. I would never have auditioned in any other circumstance…I ended up cast as one of the old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace and it was such a huge, wonderful growing experience for me. The teamwork for play production is at least equivalent to participation in sports. And so many different skills get developed in a group environment.
I love the sheet pan mac and cheese recipe and we will try it here, where homeschooled-by-necessity adopted son is exploring voice over. I am thrilled to “practice” with him and remember my own sense of wonder of discovering my own dramatic inclinations (far less than his ability, but I can identify a little).
And, he’s starting a DVD cooking class this weekend after he finishes his Cold War internet class on Friday. So we’ll see how that goes!
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Cooking for 1 at the Jersey Shore
Wednesday: beef stroganoff with egg noodles and sauteed baby spinach
Thursday: lasagna, green salad
Friday: leftover stroganoff
Saturday: leftover lasagna
Sunday: Butcher’s kraut (COTM), green salad
Monday: Sunday leftovers
Tuesday: homemade meatballs, cavatappi, steamed broccoli
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