Dinners for January 20 - 25, 2013

This holiday weekend has given us more time than usual to make some dinners with prep times longer than 30 minutes. This week I chose two dinners from Dinner: A Love Story (the book), one that is quick and easy and one that takes little more time.

The turkey chili we made last night was a slam dunk with my 7 year old. When I first said I was making chili earlier in the day, he said he didn't like chili and that it was too spicy. But from the moment I started to sauté the onions and garlic till I added the cinnamon at the end, he was orbiting around me asking when... when... when... could he finally taste what smelled so good. He ate two bowls of chili and declared this the best dinner he's ever had. A quick note, I only added 2 tablespoons of chili powder because I was worried the spice would turn off my kids. It worked great and I think I am going to slowly up the chili powder amount over time.

Sunday: DALS book selection recipe - Turkey chili with homemade cornbread muffins

Monday: Spinach feta quiche with salad

Tuesday: DALS book selection recipe - Apricot mustard chicken, crispy broccoli and mashed potatoes (sorry, no link available)

Wednesday: Roasted salmon and brussel sprouts with barley pilaf

Thursday: Sausage, kale and pasta

Friday: Dinner out with friends

Saturday: TBD

Missing in Action - The Dinner Edition

Sunday: Dinner at a friends house

Monday: Roasted pork chops with kale and farro

Tuesday: Lamb meatballs with pita pockets and yogurt mint sauce

Wednesday: Butternut squash with pine and penne pasta

Thursday: Cobb salad

Friday: Butternut squash and kale pizza

Saturday: TBD

Oh my, where has the time gone? I have been so bad about posting menus, it's almost a shame to be trying again. But this is a new year and a new start, right? I was inspired by the Seven Days, Seven Meals challenge over at Dinner: A Love Story and for the past two weeks I have introduced about five new dinners into our repertoire, including two from this week's menu. Sadly we have not had many hits with this experiment! My kids each ate one lamb meatball and declared it inedible, but the adults inhaled them. The Spicy Black Bean Burgers with jalapenos omitted for the kids were met with a resounding "Um, no thanks!" Same goes for the Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers - they ignored them and ate the sweet potato fries instead. I almost pulled out my cottage cheese trick, but they redeemed themselves by inhaling the Crispy black bean tacos with coleslaw.This has not been an easy ride, folks. Oh well, I love trying new recipes and while all were not winners, we definitely have room to grow around here. Wish us luck. Have you had any success with new recipes lately?

Dinners for October 7-13, 2012

Sunday: Wine braised chicken with tomatoes, peas and rice

Monday: Chicken fried rice (twofer!)

Tuesday: Butternut squash soup and grilled cheese sandwiches *squash was roasted on Sunday*

Wednesday: Dinner party at Whole Foods (more on this later)

Thursday: Oriechette pasta with broccoli and sausage

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Dinners for September 9-15, 2012

Sunday: Greek Style Shrimp with Feta (DALS Selection of the Week - page 70) with Quinoa and Spinach Pilaf

Monday: 3 Ingredient Tomato Sauce with pasta and garlic bread

Tuesday: Sausage and Peppers with Polenta

Wednesday: Back to School Night

Thursday: Balsamic Orange Chicken with brown rice and broccoli

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Loving: Everyday Food on YouTube

*Updated!

I can't stop watching these less-than-five minute videos on quick dinners made by Sarah Carey, the Editor in Chief of Everyday Food magazine. I really like her easy, breezy approach to dinner and often watch these clips while planning my dinners for the week.

Take a look at how easy and delicious this Orange Balsamic Chicken can be. She sold me on it when she spilled part of the dish around the 2:50 mark. However, the most notable moment in this video is at the 3:15 mark when I noticed that a woman in the background of the kitchen looks like she is not wearing pants. Upon further inspection using my computer monitor at work, it turns out she is wearing orange leggings. Whew! For a moment there I thought Everyday Food was trying get more viewers by being risque. Yes, that makes total sense!

Loving: Whole Foods (again)

                                                           "Whole Foods Parking Lot"

I've never hidden the fact that I am in love with Whole Foods, which is like admitting to everyone that I also like to breathe fresh air. So you can imagine how high I jumped when I heard that a Whole Foods was opening up just a few short blocks from my home. I almost keeled over from happiness. Fact #48:  Having a Whole Foods open up near your home signifies that the gentrification of your neighborhood is complete.

I would drive by the construction site on my way to the gym just about every morning and watched it progress from a gigantic pit of dirt to a gleaming storefront in just under a year. The store has been all over Facebook with its fan page and when they offered behind the scene tour, my neighbor and I jumped at the chance to walk around it before it opened up last week. I didn't take any pictures (I wasn't sure if I was allowed to), but the store is bigger than any other Whole Foods that I know of and the selections is jaw- dropping. I know many call it Whole Paycheck, but all I can say is thank you for coming to our neighborhood.

Dinners for August 12 - 18, 2012

This week should be the calm before the storm since school starts next week. However, we have three birthdays within 18 days of each other and as a result we are busier than ever this week with a 3-year-old, a 41-year-old and a 70-year-old all celebrating birthdays.With family commitments, birthdays and appointments all colliding at once, we have a rare only-three-dinners-eaten-at-the-table kind of the week.

To make things easier on myself this week I chose two dinners from the Dinner: A Love Story cookbook. I'll post my review of last week's choice later this week. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the recipes as well.


Sunday: Kale, Sausage and White Bean stew <---- DALS Cook-A-Long selection of the week

Monday: My birthday girl requested "Sammin, a vegahble, bread, an a pupcake." For those not well-versed in preschooler, it translates into "Grilled salmon, steamed broccoli, some nice bread and a cupcake for dessert." Your wish is my command, Colette.

Tuesday: Out with family

Wednesday: Out with family

Thursday: Spinach, tomato and feta frittata <---- BONUS DALS Cook-A-Long selection of the week (p.117)

Friday: Out with family

Saturday: Out with family