dinners

On the Plate: 9.21.15-9.27.15

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Avoid the dreaded “What’s for dinner?” by coming up with a menu for each week. It simplifies grocery shopping and makes it easier to get dinner on the table each night when you have a plan in place.

On the Plate 92715

Monday: Pork and Pepper Curry over Rice with Green Beans A simple, light curry that comes together quickly. I like to make my own curry powder blend (many of the commercial blends have onion or garlic powder in them, making them High-FODMAP).

Tuesday: Cabbage Roll Soup from SimplyStacie.net Tuesdays are often sloggy days at work, so being able to put everything for this soup into the slow cooker in the morning and add the rice when I get home? Perfection! And the leftovers were even better later in the week for lunch! I did simplify things a little bit  by using a jars of Rao’s Sensitive Formula Marinara since I had it in the pantry. It’s made without onion or garlic, making it Low-FODMAP. I also did not cook the rice separately–that defeats the benefit of the one-pot meal, in my eyes–so I just added it to the slow cooker along with a little extra water, switched it from low to high, and left it for another hour.

Wednesday: Dijon-Pretzel Crusted Chicken Breasts with Salad This was one of my favorite meals this week, and (again) super simple. I crushed a cup or so of gluten-free pretzels in the food processor for the crust. Then I mixed up some Dijon mustard, olive oil (part regular, part garlic-infused), and some white wine vinegar into a sauce. Placed the salt & peppered chicken breasts in a baking dish, spread the mustard mixture over them and then topped with the crushed pretzels. Bake at 375F for 30-45 minutes (until thickest part of the chicken has  reached 165F) and done!

Thursday: Asian-Style BBQ Ribs with Coleslaw from WholeFoodBellies.com Another slow-cooker meal, I skipped the layer of onions in the crock pot and added 1/2 cup of water before setting the ribs to slow cook throughout the day (you really should never use a slow-cooker without at least 1/4 cup of liquid inside). I decided to serve the sauce on the side and it ended up being a lot less messy than drenching the ribs in them completely. But for lunches I went ahead and removed all the bones and poured on the sauce, a la pulled pork.

Friday & Saturday: Dining Out If we go out two nights in a row, it usually means we’re out of town. This time was a fluke. First, a friend invited us out for “Therapeutic Sushi” for Saturday, so we shifted our plans for that. Then, when I got home Friday after work there was a bit of a problem in the kitchen. A problem that required Todd to solve, and by the time he got home I was over the whole idea of cooking. So the Fish Taco Nachos I’d planned for Friday will hold until the following week, and we went to Barbarito’s instead.

Sunday: Chicken & Rice Casserole This was my other favorite meal of the week–excellent comfort food! Any search will find you several recipes for chicken and rice, most of which involve a can of cream of something soup. I have attitude about ‘cream of’ soups–they’re something I prefer not to use and I couldn’t even tell you the last time I purchased one. Even before I went Low-FODMAP to control my IBS symptoms, I was interested in ways of working around them (see my Scratch-Made Green Bean Casserole recipe for a perfect example), but now it’s to control what ingredients are in my food.

But when you substitute ingredients, you have to keep in mind all of the attributes you’re trying to replace. In the case of cream of something soups, there’s a certain fat content and richness, along with some thickening power. So I had a flash of inspiration and decided to see if a can of coconut milk (not the lite stuff!), seasoned as I would any other chicken dish, would work. Not only did it work, it was probably the best chicken and rice I’ve ever had! And now that we know this will work reasonably well, Todd’s happy because it means he doesn’t have to pass up on those canned soup-based recipes that sound good out of deference to my dietary needs and preferences.

See something you liked? I hope I’ve given you some ideas for upcoming suppers and that you have an amazing week!

 

What’s For Dinner: 8/24-8/30

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Last time I posted my menu plans I had a lot of links and no pictures. This time I decided to post after I’d finished the weeks meals because then I’d have pictures available to go with. We’d also just made a run to Sam’s Club for our bi-monthly* freezer stock-up, so I was planning around what we’d picked up rather than shopping for the specific menu. It reminds me of when I’d go to the Farmers’ Market, first, then figure out what I was going to make and what else I needed. I’m not sure if we have a regular Farmers’ Market up here (though there’s no shortage of farms!), but maybe joining a CSA will provide that same impetus?

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Monday: Caribbean Mahi Sliders with Pineapple Salsa and Sweet Potato Fries.
The fish burgers and fries were purchased, we had the rolls in the freezer left over from a previous week so I split the burgers to fit. The salsa I did make myself, though. I wasn’t following a particular recipe, but it was similar to the Low-FODMAP Pineapple Salsa I’ve posted about in the past.

Tuesday: Pork Chops, Yellow Rice, and Pesto Green Beans
The pork loin chops were seasoned simply (salt, pepper, paprika and some sage) and cooked in olive oil, the yellow rice was a mix we picked up at Sam’s that cooked beautifully in the rice cooker (creates less heat in there than on the stove), and the beans were inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s Green Beans with Almond Pesto. And when I say inspired by, I mean I skimmed the ingredient list and went my own way of convenience with frozen green beans and cubes of frozen basil, steamed in my microwave steamer, then topped with garlic olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Wednesday: Gazpacho and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I more-or-less followed Alton Brown’s Gazpacho recipe, which is to say I subbed several things but the spirit was still there. We had 2 lbs of cherry tomatoes to use so I used half those and half canned diced tomatoes and didn’t need any extra tomato sauce. We went with Muenster in the grilled cheese, with just a little Dijon mustard on one slice. Quick and easy mid-week meal.

Thursday we went out for fried seafood (not pictured) at George and Louie’s.

Friday: [Grilled] Chicken Ceasar Pasta Salad from Gimme Some Oven
No surprise, by now, that I didn’t exactly follow her directions, right? I grilled the chicken breast and the romaine lettuce (it’s so good that way) and tossed some eggplant that Mom brought me from her garden on the grill and into the pasta as well. I did make her yogurt-based dressing, and it was okay, but I would have preferred something with more body. We also served the pasta salad warm as gluten-free pasta doesn’t always do so well cold. At least not without a lot more dressing than this recipe called for.

Saturday: Bacon-Artichoke Scramble with Hash Browns
When I was making out the menu I had a craving for our party staple: bacon-wrapped artichoke hearts. It was a short leap from there to a breakfast for dinner experiment that turned out very tasty. The artichoke hearts did turn the eggs slightly green, but they tasted delicious. The hash browns are cooked with a bunch of green onion tops and more of those cherry tomatoes.

Sunday: Stuffed Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes
This meatloaf is actually from my own cookbook and is half beef, half pork, and rolled up with layers of spinach and mozzarella cheese inside. The potatoes are diced large with the skin still on, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, sage, red pepper, and sage, tossed with olive oil, and roasted right next to the meatloaf. A very meat-and-potatoes meal but good for Sunday supper, which always feels like a good time to roast something–even in the summer.

This week is Todd’s week to cook and I am happy to turn the range over to whatever he comes up with. What’s for dinner at your house?

*It frustrates me to no end that bi-monthly can either mean twice a month or every 2 months. Silly English. I mean every 2 months, for those who were wondering.

Menus For An Average Week

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I’ve been making weekly menus since I first got married in 1995. I couldn’t fathom going to the grocery store and not knowing what I’d need for the week or how other people did just that. It’s somewhat ironic that the menus fell by the wayside while I was in culinary school, but understandable when you consider that I worked until 5pm and usually ate a Lunchable or some such in the car on the way to classes that started at 5:30pm and went to 10:30 or 11 at night, four days a week.

With so many ingredients on the no-list due to their high FODMAP content, it was a bit of an adjustment when we first started cooking this way and I still get asked exactly what we eat, as if the restrictions are abject deprivation. While I do miss asparagus and broccoli from time to time (for instance), I think we do okay keeping a variety of foods in rotation so that we don’t get bored with any one ingredient or flavor combination.

So here’s what the last week looked like.

Monday: Chicken Florentine with Whipped Sweet Potatoes

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We had a partial package of gluten-free spaghetti in the pantry so I added that just to round out the meal, and added a couple of parsnips in with the sweet potatoes. Florentine on a menu, of course, just means “with spinach” so what else you add is completely up to you, but some cherry tomatoes cooked just til bursting adds some nice color to the dish.

Tuesday: Dinner with friends at Momo’s

On the first Tuesday of each month we get together with folks from the TNG (Tallahassee Nerds & Geeks) meetup group at a local pizza place for “Beer & Cheer.” Momo’s in known for their incredible pizzas, with slices as big as your head, but thankfully they have a good salad selection. I forgot to grab a picture, but I ordered their Buffalo Chicken Salad with oil and vinegar dressing while Todd got a calzone and cheese sticks.

Wednesday: Pineapple Pork with Brown Rice and Green Beans

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The combination of Todd working late and some extra vegetables leftover in the crisper turned the brown rice into Fried Brown Rice (though I didn’t add a scrambled egg into this batch) with Sweet and Sour Pork (the sauce made with water, gluten-free soy sauce, a big of raw sugar and thickened with an arrowroot slurry). The pork was dredged with rice flour and seasoned with 5-Spice Powder and it really made all the difference.

Thursday: Corn Chowder

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I had a commitment after work, so this was the perfect night for a slow-cooker soup so supper would be ready when we got home. Quick enough to prepare on the stove under normal circumstances, it works just as well in the Crock-Pot.

Friday: Dinner out at Old Mexico Restaurant

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We don’t normally go out twice in one week unless our schedules are abnormally hectic, but since we were headed up to Thomasville to spend the night at the new house and get some projects done and the kitchen is bare, we use this as an excuse to try out some of the local restaurants to find our new regular haunts. I ordered the Chiles Rellenos and, yes, they are battered and fried and this means I knowingly ate wheat products.

Hypocritical of me? Not really. The thing about the Low-FODMAP diet/protocol/whatever you want to call it is that it’s not meant to be super-restrictive forever. It’s good to re-challenge foods over time and, sometimes, you just want what you want. My outlook on it is that if I follow a Low-FODMAP diet 99% of the time, the few times I “splurge” with a High-FODMAP option, I won’t generally have as severe of a reaction as I would if I were constantly eating High-FODMAP since the effects are cumulative. Did I have a small reaction after this dinner? Yes. Did I regret it? Not in the least. It’s about choices, and this was the choice I made and planned for this week.

Saturday: Dutch Baby Pancakes with Strawberries and Sausage

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Breakfast for dinner is a favorite of ours and usually fits into our menus each week. Todd’s fond of omelets and hashbrowns on his breakfast nights while I tend towards the breadier options. These were made using my go-to Low-FODMAP flour blend and they cooked up just fine with the substitution–something you’re never sure of unitl you try it. Saturday was a particularly good night for these since they (the Dutch babies) don’t keep well and we didn’t need to worry about having leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

Sunday: Shrimp & Orzo with Minted Carrots

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There was much rejoicing in our home when we found a wheat-free orzo pasta on the grocery store shelves. We love it so much that we frequently keep a spare bag in the pantry just in case the next time we look for it, it’s gone. We’re devoted to our orzo and this shrimp dish is a favorite from the pre-FODMAP-awareness days–making it with rice just isn’t the same.

Planning our menus in advance helps us keep from having back-to-back chicken or beef nights, usually allows for a vegetarian options, and almost always includes a shrimp or fish dish. We get variety with the convenience of not having to stop for “just one more thing” each night or dread coming home to cook each night.

And now you know it’s not all Daring Bakers and Mac & Cheese doughnuts up in here.

3 Tips for Making Mealtime Easier

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With the part last weekend wrapped-up, I fully admit I didn’t feel much like cooking. But rather than resort to fast food and microwave meals, I bucked up, made a menu and managed to have a week’s worth of fairly quick and easy meals on an other-wise inspired week.

Having a few leftovers helped, of course, as it’s a lot easier to refashion one dish into another than to start from scratch. But whether you’ve got some soup stocked away in the freezer or just got your goodies from your local CSA (community-supported agriculture), planning your meals is the first way to make mealtimes easier to tackle. And if you’re starting from scratch, checking out the store’s sales papers or what’s in season for your area can be a good kick-start to your list-making.

Of course, if you know you’ve got a busy week ahead–like this week we had our anniversary and then the Greek Food Festival–it’s okay to give yourself permission to have a night off from the kitchen. It’s okay to go out one night (or two) if it’s part of the plan. And if you’re concerned about the health benefits (or lack thereof) of a night out, remember it’s all about balance. If you’re going to indulge one night, balance it out by going a little healthier the night before or after. What you want to avoid is planning to cook, getting overwhelmed by your schedule, and pulling in for fast-food and–just like a dieter that falls off the wagon–getting off-track, discouraged, and throwing the plan out of the window for the rest of the week or month.

So you’ve got your plan and you’ve looked ahead at your schedule, what else can you do to make getting dinner on the table something other than mission impossible? Prepping ahead! If you know you’re going to need diced onions for 3 meals this week, go ahead and chop them all when you’re preparing the first dinner and put the extra in containers in the fridge so you can just pull them out the next nights and get cooking. If you need hard-boiled eggs for a salad in a couple of days, go ahead and boil and peel them one evening after you’ve finished dinner for the night. Think ahead about what and when you can get some of the work out of the way and the next night will be so much easier.

So, to sum it up, here are my Top 3 Tips for Making Mealtime Easier:

    1. Plan your meals ahead so you never have to wonder “What’s for dinner?”
    2. Give yourself permission to take a night off if you or your schedule demands it.
    3. Prepare what you can ahead of time to make night-of preparation quicker.

What are your tips for making mealtime easier?

Division of Labor

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The stereotype seems to be, among couples, that one cooks more than the other and it’s usually the woman. Is it this way in your home, too?

My first 2 husbands (I say that like there’s been more–Elizabeth Taylor I am not!) were both non-cooks. Oh, sure, they could handle some basics, follow directions on a box, that sort of thing, but they weren’t really comfortable in the kitchen. Each had a specialty, of course. Ex #1 made tacos (from a kit, but he still considered it his specialty) while Ex #2 made chili (at least his was from scratch). Neither were very adventurous eaters.

Which is why I’m lucky that Todd is not only quite good in the kitchen, he’s more than happy to share supper duty with me and willing to try just about anything (as long as there are no nuts or mushrooms, lol). At first he would have dinner started when I got home (nice!) but now that his job has changed and I wanted to be able to test recipes for the cookbook, we tag-team it.

For a while we were strictly using the Menu Mailer each week but, well, that’s starting to be phased out. While it was nice to have everything decided and done, we were craving a little more variety, even if it sometimes means a little bit more work (and having to make our own grocery lists–the horror!). We still have years of archives to fall back on, though, should we not want to think too much on any given week. Instead, he’s pulling things from cookbooks, sites online and even things we’ve seen on Food Network (gotta love that channel!).

So who does dinner in your house?