Okay so I have half of last week (from NYE on) through the end of this week to share.
This was a “oh-crap-what-do-we-have-in-the-house” meal that I made after we got home in the later afternoon on Januray 1st. We were enjoying relaxing and watching football at my parents’ house and by the time we left to drive back to Davis there wasn’t enough time to go grocery shopping. Also not all stores are open on the 1st! I’m looking at you TJs.
It turned out totally awesome if I do say so myself.
We always have frozen salmon on hand so I knew that was the protein that we would be working with…and I initially wanted a kale salad to accompany it, but we didn’t make it to the store, so alas, that plan was out. [In truth: we tried to hit up TJ’s on the way out of town, but it was closed for the holiday!] Back to the drawing board.
I used the commute home to brainstorm meal ideas based on what we had at home (and what sounded good) and came up with teriyaki salmon with rice noodles and broccoli.
I made the teriyaki sauce myself (we didn’t have any in the pantry) using this recipe and it was SOOOOO good. I plan to make this forever more and not buy teriyaki sauce from a bottle. Easy and delicious. Totally recommend.
I also made the sriracha cream recipe on that same post to drizzle over the top of the final dish (subbing soy milk for the condensed milk).
With our filets, I put some of the sauce on each then sprinkled sesame seeds on, then wrapped them in foil. P got his own (entire) filet of salmon which I baked plain and in a separate dish (because of his sesame allergy).
I used the rest of the sauce to sauté the noodles and broccoli in (the noodles were already cooked and the broccoli was frozen). Dinner is served.
The next day we went grocery shopping so I planned out the following 8 days’ worth of food.
[One day was leftovers]
First up, pork tenderloin with cauli puree.
To make the cauliflower puree, I steamed 1 large head of cauliflower and then added a dash of beef broth and few ounces of chèvre goat cheese. Then I used the immersion blender to mash it to a slightly lumpy texture (I didn’t want it totally smooth, like baby food, just enough so that all the cauliflower was mashed). I used this marinade for the tenderloin (I’ve made it before) and it was just as good this time. I skipped the oven step and just left it on the stove after searing it. Way easier. I waited til the temp got >135 (so don’t be deceived by the photo). I also used all the marinade because it seems weird to dump the leftover yummy stuff when it could make a delicious sauce to drizzle on top.
Then I spooned the extra marinade over the top.
Fancy fancy.
You’ve seen this one before and you’ll see it again.
Baked spaghetti is just the easiest.
Why pretend it’s anything gourmet, it’s basically the lazy cook’s lasagna. But it’s the simplest vegetarian meal and we both love it. Win win.
Mexican bowls! Or burrito bowls. Or whatever you wanna call them.
Brown rice, romaine, crock pot salsa chicken, roasted corn, black beans, avocado, and extra tomatillo salsa on top. These were so freakin huge and filling.
This meatball and noodle soup was inspired by Thug Kitchen, which I got for Christmas from my sister. It’s an awesome read, even without the bomb recipes. Ha. But the recipes look fantastic as well. I have several bookmarked.
I overcooked the noodles a bit (oops) but I kinda like soggy food. It’s not for everyone though. In any event, it was delicious and I’m glad we have leftovers because lunches are made!
Mmmmm…soup. Or in the words of Joey…mmmm….noodle soup.
Next up this butternut squash recipe by Bon Appetit (from this month’s mag). I served it with shrimp (sautéed in tamari) and quinoa.
In the name of paranoia, I added sesame seeds after P was already in bed. And I nixed the green onions because I don’t love them and didn’t care about missing them. Thanks to the sriracha on the squash, it had a good level of heat. I roasted part of the squash plain for P and he ate a few, but wasn’t that into them. Squash and potatoes just aren’t his thing (unless I hide them in baked goods). Quinoa and shrimp, however, he is all about.
On the simple side, here are chicken Caesar salads (mine has nooch heaped on top, obvs).
Leftovers! I knew this would be a later day for me and P since we were coming back from Sac during rush hour, so Kyle and I split the rest of the baked spaghetti.
And last but not least, baked salmon with kale salad.
The kale salad had pistachios and dried cranberries with a home-made dijon red wine vinaigrette. I tossed the kale in the dressing while I was feeding P so it had time to wilt the kale and break it down a bit by the time we had dinner. The salmon was baked plain (I was lazy and knew it would just get chopped up into the salad anyway).
Do you like my new fancy salad tongs? Thanks Laura!
And that’s that. Next week’s planning is in the works…stay tuned.
