Salmon for me

My Monday started with a very pleasant surprise.  Valley waltzed into the childcare before my MOPS meeting and when I asked if she was ready for me to go she said yes and that was the end of it.  WHAA!?!?!  Amazing!

So I celebrated with a donut.  And egg casserole and heaps of coffee and other yums.

Things got even better for lunch when I made the same bomb salad from Sunday.

Let me remind you…as the base, there was kale and brussels sprouts that I sautéed and then topped with a champagne vinaigrette. Then I added roasted butternut squash, candied pecans, goat cheese, and dried cranberries.

And that’s the end of that.  Good thing I made all those greens for them to last for a whole two servings.  No shame.

This is what it looks like to buy short ribs for the whole family.  Bank account?  What bank account?

I made the Korean short ribs by nom nom paleo (again).

I made it to coach my friend through the same recipe because she got an instant pot for Christmas and is too intimidated to break it out.  I got her the Melissa Clark book to help her out.  I’ve actually managed to convince a few other friends to make this and it’s always such a hit.  Have I convinced you yet??  It’s super rich and flavorful.

Blood orange for afternoon snackage.  Some went into a smoothie for the kids, and some went into my mouth.

This time I made roasted carrots and polenta with the short ribs.

It was another hit.  All of it. The kids were confused by the polenta at first, but I think you could put the meat on compost and it would still taste good.

Kombucha as a night cap.  🙂

I had a teeeeny tiny bit of cashew butter left, but I made it work.  And then I scraped the rest out of the jar with a knife so that I could get into every groove and not miss any.

Don’t worry, I bought another jar already.  I was just too lazy to open it.

Back to my kale Caesar addiction!  Since I was out of coconut bacon I just subbed in the soy bacon I made last week.

Perfecto!

I had a different dinner planned but then I had leftovers and produce that needed to be eaten (also I really wanted the rest of this salmon) so I changed things up with the weekly plan and made what I wanted instead.

Ta-da!  Looks amazing right?  It was. 🙂

I sautéed just about every veggie in the produce drawer in olive oil until it was wilted – bell peppers, brussels, kale, shredded carrots, zucchini, snow peas, and I don’t even know what else.  It was the perfect bed of greenage to top with gorgeous heaps of salmon and caramel sauce.

I saved the second half of the veggies for lunch the next day.  Why slash how is salmon so good?

I made risotto in the instant pot for Kyle with some shallots, garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese.  He was in heaven because I never make stuff like that.

And the kids had exactly what they wanted.  What they’ve asked for over and over for the past several days.  Frozen veggies.  Yes, you read that right.  Frozen veggies.  They really like them “icy” (as in still frozen).  Geez.  So glad I put in so much effort to make nice fancy meals. Ok, not really.  They want the veggies in the Vietnamese chicken and rice soup so that’s a win in some way.

Day three (four? I’ve lost track!) without chocolate on the late night!  Crazy stuff happening over here.

Now I have an extra meal that I’d planned for this day.  Never hurts to have an extra dinner in your back pocket fridge. I’m really proud of myself for saving the salmon for myself too.  Normally I’d give it to Kyle or the kids even though I really want it.  It’s a mom thing (I’m told).