I’m not sure how, but some how a quarter of this year is *poof*. As in gone. In a blink. That seems to happen a lot since having a little one. Days are long and the years are short, as they say.
Anyway! Back to this week’s meals! Goal numero uno is to use what I already have in stock, so here it goes…
- Lunch update This weekend I made chicken-pot-pie-pockets, so we’ll be having those as leftovers plus a salad for at least a few days this week.
- Note one: the crust for these is my all time favorite savory crust by Lucinda Scala Quinn. It couldn’t be easier: http://www.marthastewart.com/341164/cream-cheese-pastry-dough
- These chicken-pot-pie-pockets are so so so frustrating to me! The crust is delicious and easy, the filling is great and all home made, but I have yet to execute the finished product in a satisfactory way. A good chunk of the liquid in this delicious & gooey filling tends to leak out. I think it’s time to bite the bullet and start making them in an actual pie pan, or mini pie pan, or muffin tin. So that will happen next time, and I’ll keep my pocket-pies for sturdier fillings.
- Monday Chicken stir fry, coconut curry broccoli on the side (YUM), and a whole lotta rice. Because my boys love rice.
- Side note!! I took meat out of the freezer way late for this week, as in yesterday afternoon. It’s guaranteed to still be at least partially frosty, so that means that I have to go with the chicken rather than the beef like I originally planned. I often speed up the defrosting of chicken by leaving slow-slow-slow running cool water over it. It works beautifully for poultry and fish, but not so much for beef. Beef can’t be rushed. If there’s even a tiny pin prick in the plastic (which there almost always is), then water gets in and dilutes all the delicious beefy-ness.
- Tuesday Kid-free beef night! I have steaks defrosting as I type this, and they will definitely be ready + happy by this time. Mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts on the side. I feel a little bit bad about it, but I am specifically planning this meal for a night when the boys are out of the house. Two steaks are a whole heckuva a lot easier to cook than four steaks.
- Wednesday Personal pizzas- I get the garlic & herb pre-fab pizza dough from Trader Joe’s, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough. It does magical things on my pizza stone. I’ll have just a few topping options prepped in advance, and will whip up some sauteed green beans while the oven is doing its thing.
- Thursday Monday-leftover-spring-rolls. Or- if Monday’s dinner gets all eaten up, then it will be marinated-and-broiled-chicken-spring-rolls. I’ll quick-pickle carrots and cucumber, then wrap it up in rice paper along with rice noodles and lettuce. The dudes will have a meaty filling, and I’ll make mine with some marinated tofu. Dipping sauce on the side, and that’s dinner.
- Friday Cheeseburgers, corn, and broccoli slaw. Super easy dinner to maximize my time with the boys.
There we go! I have a grand total of 5 items on my grocery list, and it wasn’t even painful to come up with a variety of things to cook this week. I’m so gosh darn proud of my pantry/freezer right now.
CrustyBeth 