Thursday, December 29, 2011

Meal Plan

Well, I'm not quite in the swing of things yet, but I am cooking.  I keep forgetting to take pictures.  But really, how many pictures of roasted chicken on a bed of veggies can a girl take?

We arrived home late Monday night (I walked in the door at 11:30 pm and was asleep on the couch at 11:35), and I did the grocery run on Tuesday.  No farmer's market, the CSA doesn't start until the 12th of January, so I made do with Trader Joe's.

I got a kindle for Christmas and read a good book by Mark Bittman about cooking and food, and I don't remember what it was called.  It was pretty anti-processed food.  I have to admit, I've been hitting up the pre-prepared foods more lately, but nobody is perfect.  So I endeavored to cook more this week.

Tuesday lunch: cantaloupe, pork tamales (they were at the tasting station at TJ's, and son begged for them), snap peas with hummus.
Tuesday dinner: baked breaded chicken (from TJ's).  Carrot-ginger soup (my son's favorite).
Weds lunch:  salad with apples, leftover chicken, sharp cheddar, macadamia nuts, and raspberry vinaigrette.  Spouse was home sick and had PB&J.
Weds dinner: pasta with pesto (from a jar) and broccoli mixed with sauteed onions and sausage.  Now, this felt like cooking, even though I didn't make the sausage or the pesto.  But I did overcook the pasta and broccoli a bit (not quite at the top of my game), so the pasta got mushy and the broccoli fell apart.  Family loved it, tasted good, but not photo worthy!
Thursday lunch: my spouse's salad lunch from the day before.  He was home sick again.
Thursday dinner: baked organic chicken legs on a bed of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions. Carrot soup.
Friday lunch: leftover chicken and veggies, snap peas
Friday dinner: leftover pasta with broccoli and sausage
Saturday lunch: more of the pork tamales
Saturday dinner: NYE with friends, potluck style.  I'll probably make something with potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Not sure what.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Time to go grocery shopping

We are back from our 11 day trip back east to visit family over the holidays.  Our fridge is empty except for some take-out boxes from our house-sitter.

It was a very sad trip - my mother passed away the day after I arrived.  I didn't cook a lick.  I ate a lot of bad food the first half (people bring food when someone dies, and it's not vegetables).  I mourned with my step-dad and siblings.  I got pampered by my mother-in-law during the second half.  My father died on Christmas Eve 4  years ago, so I can officially say that the holidays sometimes really suck rocks.

And now it's back to the real world.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Meatloaf

Last weekend, I bought ground beef at the farmer's market (Rancho San Julian), and my husband made meatballs.  But one lb of  beef doesn't make a lot of meatballs, especially when  you are me and you are trying to eat paleo for lunch (any kind of grain whatsoever at lunch makes me fall asleep an hour later, which is when my boss wants to discuss projects and strategy.  Yawning is not an option.)
So this week, I bought 2 lbs and made meatloaf.  I was inspired by an episode of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives that I happened to catch - where an Italian place made meatballs with sofrito.  It made me realize that I could add cooked celery to my meatloaf (I never can finish up my celery).  I really like the "Triple D" show.  As much as the food is usually over-the-top in calorie counts, the restaurants featured really do make their food from scratch, and that is inspiring.

So I found this recipe.  Made it a little larger because of the 2lbs of beef.  And there are enough leftovers to last most of the week.  We served it with the last of the Thanksgiving cornbread stuffing (don't worry, it was in the freezer), some TJ's vegetable samosas, and roasted broccoli.  Delish!


Monday, December 5, 2011

Roast chicken and vegetables

It looks a lot like what we had for Thanksgiving, except with chicken parts.  The veggies were sweet potatoes, onions, and carrots.  Served with broccoli.  I wasn't hungry, so I ate it later, cold.  Had it for lunch today too.