The weekly menu

Sorry for the late post…do you guys like seeing these family meal plans?  They’re my favorite posts that other people do because they give me good dinner ideas, so hopefully others feels the same.  I always bookmark the recipes I like as I browse blogs/websites throughout the week and then on Friday or Saturday go through them with Kyle and plan out next week’s eats.  I factor in weekly grocery sales and what he is craving, so I often don’t get around to all my saved recipes but that’s why pinterest exists, right?  I admit, I was way late to the pinterest game but it’s a pretty decent way to sort out my saved recipes (I have folders based on dietary requirements and types of courses – i.e. allergy friendly, salads, meat, veg, fish, breakfasts, desserts, etc.).  It helps when Kyle says he is craving a soup and I can quickly reference the ones I’ve starred lately.

No real theme to this week, but I did try to pick super easy things because for some reason our week was packed with activities.  In a good way.

First, I made this chopped cashew and chicken salad by Jessica.  She is pretty close to reaching sainthood in our house to be honest.  This.  Was.  So.  Good.  But then, we all know I love a big a$$ junk salad.

I took a million photos and then realized I forgot to dust on the chili powder.  So then I did that, but didn’t take any more pics.  Take my word – her recipe is perfection – make it asap.

The only teeny tiny changes I made were omitting the sesame oil (allergen) and using garlic infused olive oil instead of shallots (to reduce fodmaps).  It turns out P loooooves mango.  He would have eaten as much as I would have allowed him, which almost left none for the rest of us!  Typical kiddo with his pricey palate.

This was a cheater dinner because we bought TJs ribs (which are already marinated and cooked) so all you have to do is re-heat them in the oven (or on the grill).  I paired them with roasted carrot “fries” and quinoa.

“AM in the PM” is always a favorite in our house.  I made a big egg scramble and hash browns and called it a night.  Easy as it gets.

This meal wasn’t a planned one, but Kyle had an impromptu business dinner out of town so I just made something easy for myself.  Which happened to be tuna salad with avocado on a bed of lettuce.  Plus a sleeve of gluten free joe joe’s cookies.  Too addicting!

I made up this polenta dish and it could not be more simple.

In a greased baking dish layer:

• 18 oz. (just over 1 lb) polenta, sliced (I used the pre-made kind from TJ’s)
• 8 oz. goat chèvre + 1/4 cup plain almond milk
• 3-4 strips cooked bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup red grapes, halved

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice polenta thinly (<1/2 inch) and layer in a greased baking dish.  I used an 8×8 dish and had some overlapping, but if you use a 9×13 pan you may need another tube of polenta.

Combine goat chèvre and almond milk and whip together to make a creamy sauce.  Pour atop polenta.  Next crumble bacon and grapes on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until you see bubbling and the grapes get burnt looking around the edges.

You could use any milk to whip with the goat cheese.

I prepped the dish in advance (while P was napping) and kept it in the fridge until dinner time.  Then I popped it in the oven so by the time he was fed and cleaned up and in bed for the night our meal was warm and ready to go.

I thought we would have leftovers, but I was wrong.

Kyle and I both finished off the whole pan.

The next night was supposed to be sushi (a treat and night off cooking) but my beloved Mermaid sushi friends weren’t around (they operate out of the Davis Co-op) and by the time I went over to see what they had on hand, the selection wasn’t super appealing.  As sad as it was, I decided to forgo sushi night and pull something together last minute at home.

Fortunately we always have salmon in the freezer.  So I quickly thawed three filets and baked two with a teriyaki sauce and one plain (for pacman).

I also used the very last bit of our lettuce reserves (a combo of kale and spinach) to throw some greens in the mix.  I just tossed them in oil, nothing else. and let the salmon’s marinade act as the dressing.

Last minute for sure, but good enough.

With super low fridge supplies, bagel pizzas were the very last meal of the week.

Mine had goat cheese and his had cow cheese.  And P got no cheese.  🙂

This was the first exposure to pepperoni and I’m not sure how he felt about it.  He ate everything on his tray (above) including the pear, but didn’t exactly beg for more pepperoni, so we will see if it’s a repeat option or not.  Either way, it’s a great applegate product that I feel comfortable giving him both for allergy safety reasons and meat quality standards.

Hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl…the weekend went too fast.  And now next week’s meal plan is already under way!