A little behind (and totally out of order), but here’s my dinner recap from last week. Again due to illness, we changed things around a little but here was the original plan…
Saturday – Chicken Stir Fry
- This was a pretty basic and straightforward stir fry. In our attempts to clear out the pantry we used a store-bought stir fry sauce and cooked up chicken and veggies in the wok with the sauce. Served over steamed rice with crunchy rice noodles and unsalted peanuts for texture!
Sunday – Pork Fried Rice
- Over the summer we followed a pork roast recipe from our Cook’s Illustrated Cooking for Two cookbook and ended up with several pounds of leftover pulled pork. We vacuum-sealed and froze the pork in serving size portions. For the pork fried rice we used one portion of the pork along with leftover rice from Saturday’s stir fry. This was my first attempt at making fried rice and I was very pleased with the results. In general I tend to avoid fried rice simply because my first love is steamed rice (and usually there are peas in fried rice) but this was definitely a keeper recipe! It might make me a fried rice convert!
Monday – Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Before the school year started we made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes from Marker-Miller and Orr’s Farm Markets. We also made meatballs and froze them separate from the sauce. The sauce was frozen in gallon ziploc bags in 2 portion servings. This was a super easy thaw and serve meal.
Tuesday – Pear, Feta, and Ricotta Pizza
- Originally I had planned to make pizza from scratch this week…it ended up being an order from Roma’s night. We tried their featured pear pizza but substituted the gorgonzola for feta. It was a really nice mix of flavors and it’s something I’ll have to try to create at home. I think I’d add toasted walnuts for a little extra crunch.
Wednesday – Rosh Hashanah Dinner
- L’shanah Tovah!! I definitely didn’t get to do what I intended but we did have a belated Rosh Hashanah celebration. I made a batch of charoset substituting pomegranate juice for wine. I split chicken breasts and stuffed them with the charoset. Then I lightly breaded them with matzoh meal and baked them in the oven until golden brown. They were served with challah and honey…not the healthiest of menus but again, it was a crazy week. Finally I used Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for a Sunken Apple and Honey cake. When I saw her blog post earlier this week I immediately thought of Rosh Hashanah and it was perfect. Definitely a keeper!
Thursday – Lion’s Mane Soup
- This was one of my favorite meals my mom made when I was a child. I make patties out of ground turkey and put them in a large baking dish with slices of ginger and shredded cabbage. Then I fill the dish with chicken broth and season it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It bakes for an hour, covered, at 375. About five minutes before it’s done I cook a packet of ramen for each of us and put them in the bottom of a bowl without the seasoning liquid. Then we fill the bowl with a patty and lots of cabbage and broth. The patty makes the “lion’s” head while the cabbage and ramen make up the mane. Tasty, relatively easy, and nice for a cold day!
Friday – Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes and Cheesy Ricotta Polenta
- I was on my own for dinner Friday as Steve had 8th grade band night at Patriot High School and tried to use up some leftovers. I baked a chicken breast in the oven and served it with roasted tomatoes, and polenta with a spoonful of ricotta and some parmesan cheese. I drizzled balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes before serving. Tomatoes and polenta are one of my favorite combinations!
Saturday – Ham, Broccoli, and Cheese Stuffed Baked Potatoes
- We follow Alton Brown’s recipe for baked potatoes and I made up a cheese sauce starting with a simple roux with milk and shredded sharp cheddar. I seasoned it with a little mustard and white pepper. Finally I added steamed broccoli and diced Boar’s Head Maple Honey ham to the sauce and served it over the hot potatoes.
Anyway, that’s the meals for the week…I’m hoping this week will be a little more normal. *Fingers crossed*…
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