I did a pretty good job of meal planning that last week of the year.
First we finished off all the holiday leftovers we brought back from my parents’ house, including stuffing, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, and lima bean casserole.
One day, I jazzed it up and made a cheesy “gravy” sauce with nooch and water.
And another day, I paired it with a salmon burger for some protein.
Kyle took care of the rest of it.
There was also extra shrimp and veggies from my parents’ holiday party so I pulled the two together for a stir fry.
I used a Cooking Light recipe for shrimp and broccoli stir fry and served it over brown rice.
Simple and yum.
A Trader Joe’s run (holy condiments batman!) helped with the rest of the week’s meals.
Quinoa Caesar.
His had parm and home-made croutons, but I thought mine was perfect with TJ’s Caesar dressing alone. I could eat romaine coated in Caesar dressing all day long, but adding quinoa really bulks it up nicely.
The next day I made a huge enchilada casserole.
It had crumbled tempeh, corn, and sweet potato; layered between ripped up corn tortillas, along with TJ’s red enchilada sauce, Redwood Hill Farm’s goat’s milk kefir.
It may not look fancy, but it tasted dang good.
And made enough to provide Kyle with lunch for the rest of the week.
Topping it with avocado is advised.
The next night I made a coconut broth based noodle dish with veggies and tofu.
I used what we had on hand veggie-wise, which was half an onion, Brussels sprouts, carrots and celery.
I sautéed them with sesame oil and tamari until they were just barely cooked, then I added the coconut milk (plus a dash of curry powder, ginger powder, lime juice, and sugar) and let it simmer on low for a while. Meanwhile I pressed and cubed the tofu.
After the tofu went in, I put the lid on a turned the stove off until dinner time.
Right before we were ready to eat I turned the stove back on and added the noodles to the pot with a cup or so of vegetable broth.
They cooked quickly and soaked up lots of the remaining liquid.
This was a major success. Kyle and I were both mmmm-ing the whole time. Coconut milk (from the can) adds such depth to a recipe when it marinates with the other ingredients all day. And who doesn’t like tofu and Brussels when they’re drenched in such flavorful sauce!?!
Totally awesome.
And that’s that!
Lunches were simple salads or leftovers.
Breakfasts were eggs with savory quickbread.
I HAD to make another loaf because the first was so awesome.
So I did. And I doubled the recipe (like I said I would!) and it still went too quickly.
So I made another loaf!
If the idea of cheesy bread with kale sounds appealing to you, you MUST make this bread.
I have to force myself to not eat it for every meal.
Red wood Hill Farm’s makes a damn fine goat’s milk cheddar, and with some kale and cornmeal, it’s downright sinful to the taste buds.
And with that, I’m off to capitalize on nap time and do some meal planning for the next week!
How silly is this kid? He napped like that for an hour the other day.
he is trying to break free:)
I almost never make savory breads– can’t wait to try this one!
The coconut dish you mad
Accidentally hit submit…
*made looks delicious!
can you provide a recipe for any of these dishes? They all look delicious! So glad you can eat goat cheese. I have been afraid to try it. Do you ever use daiya anymore? If no, why not? Take care, Elise!
I really, really need to make that bread. It looks AMAZING. I rarely make savory breads at home (or buy them for that matter) but I always love them when I’m out at restaurants.
Speaking of restaurants…I went on a date last night to Spark Woodfire Grill (they have locations in Huntington and in the valley) and had the most amazing fig & goat cheese pizza. It was topped with arugula and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. SO delicious- I couldn’t get over it- and it immediately made me think of you!
Happy New Year to you and your family! xxoo
Thanks Emily! Happy 2014 to you.
Ps that pizza sounds right up my alley for sure.
This post is as close to a recipe as it gets. Enjoy!
Wow! I just recently found and started following your blog and I already want to make everything! The dishes in this post all look so delicious!
I miss the work eats posts!
But it all looks so good!
I think you and I are food twins.
Happy New Year to you guys!
Everything looks good! I love most anything with coconut milk so the veggie and noodle dish sounds good. The savory quick bread sounds different but good. I typically make banana, cranberry, or pumpkin bread but it might be fun to try something different.
Your meals look delicious and delectable and amazeballs!! I lovesit
Wow, that enchilada casserole looks amazing! I’m going to make it for dinner tomorrow! Do you have a recipe for it? Did you bake the sweet potato first? Thanks 🙂
i baked the potato first (microwave). no real recipe, just basically what i described in this post. layer until the ingredients run out, and top with lots of sauce and kefir in between and at the end. 🙂
i like your style 🙂
haha, glad you found me then!