The weekly menu

You see this?

This is the look of an empty grocery cart.  My mom came on Thursday to give me an extra hand and after P was down for a nap I left her with a full and happy V and went off to TJs on a solo trip.  The luxury!!  It was so fast!  Just getting in and out of the car alone was like moving at warp speed.  Amazing.

But before that shopping trip I had minimal groceries in the house with which to work (since we had just returned from LA at midnight before the week kicked off).

Soup from the freezer – a vegan and gluten free option from TJs with kale and quinoa.

I made meatballs to bulk it up.  P ate way more meatballs than I was expecting (they had lentils and carrots in them).

On Tuesday we were at my parents’ house for my birthday family dinner.

On Wed we were back in Davis where I used leftovers from my dad’s grilling to piece together a dinner.

First I roasted kabocha squash (my new favorite thing).

Then I massaged some kale to satisfy my cruciferous cravings.  Adding sunflower seeds, pepitas, and dried cranberries to mustard dijon vinaigrette coated kale.

Kyle and P shared beef tri tip but I stuck to a meatless portion.

On Thursday we went to market (we were already downtown for me to pick up my bike so we decided to grab food there too).  Let’s just call it a(nother) birthday treat.

Pulled pork Caesar salad times two.  Kyle transported them home in the car since I was cycling my new wheels home.

I went for a fancier meal on Friday (my actual birthday) because why not?

Organic whole chickens are on sale at TJs so I got one without any real plan.

After cleaning it and removing the gross crap, I coated it in olive oil, sage, thyme, salt and pepper and stuffed half an onion in the cavity.  Then I put it in the oven and waited.

Once the top looked bronzed enough I added broccolini around it and loosely covered it all in foil then continued to cook it until the internal temp told me it was ready.

I made tricolor quinoa on the side.

And then we feasted.

We ate 3/4 of the meat, so I took the remaining part (plus the carcass) and placed it in the slow cooker (along with the onion and leftover quinoa).  I cooked it on low overnight and then once it had cooled enough to handle the next morning I (easily) removed all the rest of the meat from the bones.

Rather than have the same(ish) meal back to back nights, I saved the chicken stew for Sunday night.  I knew we’d be coming home later anyway thanks to our Disney on Ice outing, so I figured having the crock pot meal warm and waiting for us then would be perfect.

So on Saturday I hit up the freezer for the last of our vacuum sealed salmon.

I made a simple cole slaw on the side with Asian flavors, so match the tamari salmon.

My boy ate a filet of fish that was as big as mine!  Daaaaang son. He also enjoyed the slaw very much.

The stew we had the next night, however, was NOT his favorite.  Despite liking all the ingredients individually (as well as the concept of making stew – which he has “made” in the toy kitchen soooo many times), it was like pulling teeth to get each bite of this dinner down.  He made it through, but not without our help and some bribery.  Real talk.

Beyond the aforementioned leftover chicken parts, onion and quinoa, I also added celery, carrots, wild rice and peas and then a few cups of water.

No measurements.

But it was definitely rich and hearty and filling.  I’m bummed P wasn’t into it though because soups and stews are basically my favorite meals to make between November and February.

I can’t believe it’s almost Friday and I’m just now posting this, but whatever.  Hopefully I can get caught up on this week’s menu before next week starts!