Cauliflower Leek Soup

Makin' a new recipe tonight - Cauliflower Leek Soup. I have allergies like crazy, so soup will be so nice in between sniffles n sneezes. Extra bacon plz. And serving w/ french bread.

I'll report back tomorrow to let y'all know if it's good or not :)

One pot chili mac is also on the menu this week :) I love that stuff.

Week 50 Menu! 50!

I can't believe it's almost the New Year, but more importantly it's almost Christmassss!! We leave for Nicragua in almost a week (who's counting!?) and will be there through New Years and I'm so excited to get out of the cold.

This weekend was supa busy - our company holiday party was on Friday. Started drinking at 11am, stopped at 8pm. I'm still hurting. Then Saturday was our friends' annual Kissmas party so more drinks. Today we had brunch with Santa - Annelise would have none of the Italian Santa. Tonight we tried to go to Zoolights but the traffic/parking was so bad we bailed. We'll go again sometime this week when it's less crowded.

Amelia asked for a dog and a pink dress. Annelise just hung on to me for dear life.

I've had a lot of after work holiday events (one last week involved a shopping spree at a high end cosmetics/beauty store- um yes!), and I'm supposed to have more this week though I might cancel. This is what I have going on this week for food:

Sunday: Irish Beef Stew with mashed potatoes
Monday: Roasted Chicken in walnut sauce
Tuesday: Whiteboy Tacos
Wednesday: Meatloaf meatballs
Thursday: Leftovers for Will and the girls, I'm going out with a friend.
Friday: Out for a friend's bday - hopefully not too late of a night!
Saturday: Shrimp Scampi

What do yall have going on?? xo

Hi my dears,

The weather is nasty here today and B is sick, sick, sick with her first cold & fever. She won't stop crying unless I'm holding her or watching her favorite show (Jack's Big Music Show) so... I've let her watch it on repeat all day (best parenting ever!) While she was occupied, I decided to get into the holiday spirit and make some cookies for our annual Girls Christmas dinner tomorrow night. I found this new recipe online and it's the EASIEST batch of sugar cookies I've ever made-- the ingredients are simple, there is no chilling required, they roll out easily, are not overly sticky and bake up to delicious perfection! A must for your holiday baking this season.

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

PRINT SAVE

YIELD: 3 dozen cookies

PREP TIME: 30 minutes

COOK TIME: 6-8 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 38 minutes

Soft cut out sugar cookie recipe that keeps its shape and dough does not need to be chilled before baking- perfect edges every time!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in extracts and egg.
4. In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
5. DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
6. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

NOTES:

• PLEASE NOTE: This recipe has been edited to make a smaller batch than originally published to accommodate the size of stand mixer that most people own. The original recipe was this exact recipe just doubled proportions.
• If you must chill the dough just leave it on the countertop for 10 minutes before rolling or work the dough with your hands for a few minutes.
• You can omit the almond extract if you do not have it available, however the taste is really fantastic with the hint of almond.
• Keep in mind that the recipe yield will vary according to how thick you roll your cookies and how large or small your cutters are.

Original recipe and images © In Katrina's Kitchen 

I can't wait to try her icing too!

Here's a shot of my cookies. Will post some decorated too-- if I ever get around to it :)

Cheers!

-Lou

Week 48 Menu + Annelise 2nd Birthday!

Hello helloooo!

Hope yall had a great Thanksgiving! We had a lovely, relaxing time in Knoxville. Steve planned a couple of excursions for us. Tropical Bird Sanctuary, Dixie Stampede (Medieval Times meets Dolly Parton and Baby Jesus), and ice skating.

Will dropping his extensive parrot knowledge on Amelia.

Annelise didn't love it.

52 card pickup!

Annelise didn't love it.

Amelia loved it!

Here's what we have going on this cold cold week.

Monday: Chili
Tuesday: Chicken Marbella (love this!)
Wednesday: Chicken Broccoli Quinoa
Thursday: Leftovers. I have the industry holiday party that I'm way too old to attend. I'll be sneaking way as early as possible.
Friday: Annelise's Birthday!! Hopefully we'll go out
Saturday: Spaghetti Carbonara - old family recipe that is super easy.
Sunday: Annelise's birthday party- I'll be making all sorts of little sandwiches (baked ham sandwiches, turkey and cranberry, and blts) for the adults, and the usual (mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and pigs in the blanket) for the kids.

What do you have going on? xoxo

Aji de Gallina

Aji de Gallina is a traditional Peruvian dish that we grew up eating at my cousins' house in Dallas. I always loved it, but never tackled the recipe myself- until today. It turned out to be pretty easy. And came out delicious. The hardest part was combining the 3 different recipes that I was given, and translating both the language and the foreign measurements (like kilos). The simplified version is below. Happy eating! 

Note: I ordered the aji paste from a gourmet foods site online (which is really second best to using the real aji peppers). 

Aji de Gallina

Ingredients:

-       4 chicken breasts

-       2.5 yellow onions

-       1 large box of chicken broth (32 oz)

-       4 garlic cloves

-       4 slices of white bread, with out crust

-       2 cups of chopped walnuts

-       2 cups of shredded parmesan cheese

-       1 can of evaporated milk

-       aji paste (to taste)

-       4 russet potatoes, boiled and chopped - optional 

Directions:

-       boil chicken breasts in chicken broth with salt and 1/2 quartered onion

-       Once chicken is cooked, remove from liquid and set aside to cool

-       Shred chicken thickly, and set aside

-       In a separate bowl, shred bread and allow to soak up a bit of chicken broth

-       Finely chop 2 cups of walnuts in a food processor. Set aside.

-       In a skillet, heat oil

-       To skillet add 2 onions chopped and 4 pressed garlic gloves

-       Once onions are translucent, add aji paste to taste (start with 1 spoonful; I used 6)

-       Once onion and aji mixer has cooled, blend in food processer

-       Add soggy bread to processor and blend as well 

-       In a skillet over low heat, add shredded chicken, can of evaporated milk, parmesan cheese, chopped walnuts, and onion & bread mixture (add optional potatoes here too)

-       Once all ingredients are blended together, taste and add more aji paste if necessary

-       Season to taste (for more heat, I decided to add a bit of cayenne pepper)

-       Traditionally, this dish is served over rice, with chopped hard boiled eggs and olives sprinkled on top (I never liked those toppings, so feel free to skip)

Week 45 Menu + Back to the routine

Hi everyone, I'm so exhausted I want to give up right now and crawl into a hole. Annelise was sick the entire car ride home from Minneapolis. Minneapolis was great and always so comforting to see Eli and Alex. The car ride home was terrifying. I had to pull over to the side of the road twice because of Annelise getting sick and it was already dark out so I had images going through my head of getting hit by an out of control 18-wheeler. Terrifying. We abandoned a sweatshirt on the side of the road because it was so covered in sick and there was no way in hell I was letting that in the car. Poor dear was sick when we got home too so she slept in my bed (after she got sick all over her crib) and I was so scared she'd choke on something I was up all night just staring at her. We struggled.

I took a whole wardrobe full of maternity clothes for Eli (whoop!) and we had pizza and cocktails (for Alex and me) and went to brunch with Brad. The girls had a blast and hearing Annelise say "Donde esta mi padrino?" is the most adorable thing I've ever heard.

Here's what we have going on this week - hope to stick to it as much as possible!

Monday: Order in
Tuesday: Baked Chicken Mushroom Skillet (didn't do this last week)
Wednesday: Zuppa Toscana. I know. AGAIN. It's so good and it's cold out.
Thursday: Chili
Friday: Lasagna (the frozen kind. yep.)

What are yall up to? xo

Week 9 (of pregnancy, not the year hahah)

Welp, the first trimester exhaustion everyone talks about is starting to hit me. I get so tired much earlier than I used to! I'm also starting to feel "thicker" in the midsection, even though I don't have a bump yet by any means, and not thrilled in general about upcoming body changes. But all I can do is be healthy and exercise, so that's what I'm gonna try to do! Honestly, all I wanna eat are PB&Js but I will do my best to resist.

I've been blogging a lot lately for that site I write for because the money is so, so easy, but it also means having to go to restaurants when I really just wanna stay at home.

Here's what's on tap menu-wise this week:

Sunday: Chipotle lime salmon with roasted broccoli and a rosemary dinner roll.
Monday: Going to Taco Flats with another couple cause I need to blog about it by Thursday. Tortilla soup and a taco sound pretty good.
Tuesday: Going to Juiceland with a girl friend cause I need to blog about it by Friday. They have tons of ultra healthy food and smoothie/juice options so this will be good. Pilates class after.
Wednesday: Mushroom poblano tacos with tomato avocado salad. Candlelight yoga after.
Thursday: Turkey meatloaf, asparagus, rice
Friday: Fish sticks, roasted potatoes, salad. Afternoon barre class (wanted to barf the entire time I went to this last week but was so sore after- always a good sign).

Might need to sub out Thurs for Michi's One Pot Chili Mac recipe- sounds so good.

Eli, how are you feeling?

Everybody else, whatcha cookin?

xo bef

Week 43 Menu!

Hi everyone, I'm taking it easy this week since I'm recovering from the Dallas wedding and Will is traveling. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time. Always too short of a visit though. It was great to see all the cousins and so funny to see all of our kids playing together.

Amelia slept until 7am, which is when I woke up too so this morning was crazy rushed to get Amelia ready for school and out the door.

This is what we have going on this week. Lazy and uninspiring, but, for consistency sake, still posting :)

Sunday: Ordered in Mediterranean food
Monday: Homemade Tuna Mac and Cheese with veggies (girls loved it!)
Tuesday: Chicken Broccoli Casserole (don't judge)
Wednesday: Frito Pie
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Halloween! No plans yet.
Saturday: Date Night. Much needed.

What do yall have going on?

A semi-lazy week

I think the week ahead might be semi-lazy for me. Not feeling up to cooking anything extravagant, so will be keepin' things simple!

Mon- Meeting a girlfriend for dinner. Leaving Ryan with marinated chicken, couscous, and broccoli to make for himself (and extra for me for lunch tomorrow)
Tue- Chipotle lime salmon, asparagus, rice
Wed- Going to a new place called Taco Flats cause I need to blog about it on Thursday
Thur- Turkey chili with cornbread (prob need to throw in a veggie here...)
Fri- Going to friends house for dinner

I'll be tryyyyyying to hit the gym 3x this week. I walk Fonzie for like 3/4 mile every morning, but it always feels good to get my blood moving after sitting all day at work (when I can manage to motivate myself to get outta the house). If I don't go to the gym, I try to do the Kayla Itsines (have y'all heard of her yet?) circuit workout, which is actually way, way harder than going to the gym, but shorter and more convenient. If anyone's interested seeing those workouts, lemme know and I'll send ya the PDFs. They're 30 min workouts but will kick your ass. The trainer's Instagram is good motivation and the before/after photos are always kinda amazing to me.

Other than that, probably just lots of Netflixing. I started watching Parenthood from the beginning and I really like it so far! I have tons of episodes left, so that makes me happy.

Week 42 Menu - A short week!

Hi everyone! Hope yall had a good weekend!

We totally laid low on Friday night - had another movie night. Annelise has decided The Nightmare Before Christmas is too scary, so we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was ok. Can't wait for Christmas when we can really dive into all the classics!

Saturday, Will took the car in after Bubbles and Ballet so the girls and I had a day of fun. We walked to the zoo, even though it was too far and too cold to walk. We had a great time, though.

Yesterday we went to brunch with Lydia and Karla, then went to look at some puppies. We were SO CLOSE to getting a dog, but Will talked as away from the point of no return. I think we'll revisit after New Years when all the holiday traveling is done.

It's a short week because of Ali's wedding this weekend! The girls are in the wedding and they're so excited to wear the pretty dresses. Here's what's on the menu for the short week.

Sunday: White Fish Special for me and Will, Fish Nuggets for the girls

Monday: Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. Made this on Sunday so we can eat as leftovers all week

Tuesday: Chicken with Sherry and Mustard Sauce

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Out/Leftovers

Friday- Sunday: DALLAS!

What are yall up to this week?? xoxo

Week 41 Menu

Hello hello! Hope yall had a great weekend!

We had an awesome, jam packed weekend. Will and I went to dinner and saw Gone Girl on Friday. Really good. Then Saturday, we met with the contractor, went to a Bubbles class for Annelise and Amelia was the teacher's helper (by helper, I mean riled up Annelise and all the little kids to not pay attention and run around like chickens instead of participating in the class). Afterwards we went to a pumpkin patch with another family - Amelia and Nola are super friends even though they only see each other a couple of times a year. They love each other and it's so fun to see her form relationships. Saturday night I made white boy tacos and we watched The Walking Dead until 1am. Sunday was the marathon, we saw our friend running in it, then we met them up for margaritas and tacos at Big Star.

Lunches for Amelia have been going smoothly. I have a good rotation of pasta with peas (tortellini or elbow or something like that), sandwiches (peanut butter, turkey) or wraps (turkey, hot dog). Every once in a while, I'll do leftovers, but she had to have really liked it. My focus with her is protein - she doesn't naturally gravitate towards it so I have to make sure she's getting enough. I'll add in a fruit, cheese, carrot sticks, and a cookie- usually a few nilla wafers or a milano. She devours her lunch which I love to see. On Fridays, I've ordered her the hot lunch at her school to give me the day off. I keep an eye out for good/easy lunches though because I don't want to wear out the lunches I'm currently using! Any ideas are super welcome :)

Here's what I have on the menu for the week:

Monday: Shepherd's Pie
Tuesday: Slow cooker Tikka Masala - I have a Junior League event so this will be ready for Will and the girls.
Wednesday: Lou's Chicken Marbella 
Thursday: Honey Garlic Chicken
Friday: Out or leftovers

What have yall got going on? xoxo

Week 40 Menu

Hi everyone! Hope yall had a good weekend. We had a really great time. Friday night we did a movie + pizza night. We watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and the girls loved it. We ate pizza on the floor while watching the movie. They were riveted. Scared at times, but nothing too bad.

Saturday we had Bubbles and ballet class, then went to a deli to get sandwiches and matzo ball soup. The girls also got haircuts.

Sunday we went to Ikea to look at kitchen layouts and then to Fall Fest at Amelia's school. Bouncy Houses, huge slides, face painting and ice cream. It was a great time - below was the post-fun bathtime.

Here's what we have going on this week:

Sunday: Brisket, veggies, and beans. Dad sent these beans- they were sooo good.
Monday: Shrimp Scampi
Tuesday: Korean Beef with rice and broccoli
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Braised French Onion Chicken
Friday: Out

What do you have going on? xo

Week 38 Menus

Hi everyone, hope yall had a good weekend! We had a lot going on, but at the same time, felt like nothing really happened :) Friday I randomly saw Julie on the train so we grabbed a drink on the way home. That was fun and so nice to see her and catch up. Saturday, Ballet and Bubbles, then Will took me shopping for pants for Abu Dhabi. Those bad boys were at Nordstrom Rack for $69! Whoop! Got a few other ones. Tight pants are not allowed (neither are bare arms or cleavage) so I needed to get some new things to wear.

Saturday night we had a date night. We went to Osteria Langhe and then to a bar. Great to get out and have a real conversation. Then yesterday we went to mass then to lunch in Vernon Hills with the Callejas. Since we leave for Abu Dhabi this Thursday night, it'll be a short week for us and the girls are headed out to Minneapolis with mom to see the Taveras!! Lucky girls.

Sunday: Leftovers for the girls, Will and I scavenged - we were so full from lunch!
Monday: Irish Beef Stew (didn't make it last week.)
Tuesday: Chancho en pepsi cola
Wednesday Beth's Korean Beef
Thursday-Sunday: Out of town!!

What do yall have going on?? xo

Week 37 Menus!!

Hi everyone! After moving and getting settled, I'm finally posting. Been cooking a ton, but didn't feel inspired to post. We've also been sending Amelia to school with lunch everyday which adds a fun new complexity to menu planning. So far so good though! It's fun to plan everything out.

We had a fantastic weekend of ballet and Bubbles class, apple picking, dim sum, and parks. One of the best weekends in a long time.

Below is our menu for the week.

Sunday: Lighter General Tso's Chicken and rice *First time making this and turned out really well! Lot of work so peepeepared.
Monday: Chili mac and cheese  *Made this a few weeks ago and it was a HUGE hit with Will and the girls.
Tuesday: Slow cooker Irish stew and mashed potatoes *An oldie but a goodie
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Herb roasted chicken with roasted broccoli
Friday: out

What do you have going on?? xo

Week 31 menu @ The Mirshaks

Hi everyone, hope you had a good weekend! We had Will's dad visiting. He took the girls to the zoo on Saturday and Will and I went to a movie. We saw A Man Most Wanted. Really good and Philip Seymour Hoffman's last movie.

I have a few work outings this week, so I did a ton of cooking over the weekend to have leftovers for Will and the girls. Below is what we have going on:

Saturday: Moroccan chicken with couscous and caprese salad
Sunday: Spaghetti and bolognese sauce. I generally wing this recipe.
Monday: White Boy tacos
Tuesday: Leftovers for the family; I'm going to Embeya
Wednesday: Lou's Chicken Marbella 
Thursday: Leftovers for the family; I'm going to Nico Osteria
Friday: Garlic Butter Shrimp and Quinoa
Saturday: Out with Eli and Sal who are visiting from Minneapolis!! I'll be making a reservation soon.

What are yall up to??

xo

Week 29 Menus @ The Mirshaks

Hello! I'm so excited for this week because it's a short week!! Leaving for Houston on Thursday night with Annelise. Will and Amelia join us on Friday. I have a feeling Amelia is not going to take well to being left behind. Not only is she already fighting me on it ('But last time we went all together on the airplane!'), but she has also been a big mamma's girl lately so Will might have an interesting time traveling with her on his own. We'll see!

Given that, this week's menu is light, so here's what we have going on:

Sunday: Spicy scallops and couscous That recipe was awesome- really recommend it! Girls loved it. Annelise stole a scallop from my plate when I wasn't looking. I also made this basic vegetable soup for the girls to eat throughout the week. I used to have that for dinner all the time when I was living in Paris. Hope the girls eat it!
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs. Will's out of town, so something easy and brainless :)
Tuesday: White boy tacos (just ground meat- turkey, beef, or bison) with seasoning and beans. Low brow.
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie
Thursday - Monday: Houston for dad's birthday!! Can't wait to see everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well! xo

Whew, what a weekend!

Had a great weekend with my sister, bro in law and nephew here in Austin! So many fun things happened-- great Mexican food, went out on the boat, took the dogs to Barton Springs, went to the new children's museum. And now I am soooo pooped. Just enough energy left to clean the bedding (clean sheets on a Sunday night? Da best), sweep, and empty the dishwasher - a good start to the week.

Sun: Pecan crusted rainbow trout, roasted brussels, smashed baby potatoes

Mon: Turkey chili, cornbread, grilled okra. I always just buy this and add beans, corn, meat.

Tue: Out to dinner at Cru with a girl friend cause I'm supposed to blog about it

Weds: Breakfast casserole I've been meaning to make

Thurs: Chipotle lime salmon with tomato avocado salad

Fri: Almost never cook at home on Fri nights

I feel ridiculous doing this, but I've been getting groceries delivered lately.  Absolutely no reason I should be doing this instead of going myself but whatever. There's a new service in town that delivers within 1 hour of placing your order online and it's just soooo nice.

Week 27 Menu

Hope everyone had a good Fourth of July!! We had an awesome time with Eli and Alex in Minneapolis. There are a ton of mosquitos in Minneapolis- tons! As of yesterday, Will was still recovering from drinking with Alex until 2am. The girls had so much fun and Annelise especially loved hanging out with Alex - it was adorbs. Eli can't wait to have you and Sal in Chicago!

I am going a bit crazy with work this week so I don't have too much exciting to write. Here's the menu though. Womp womp.

Monday: Sausage pasta
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday: Chicken Curry
Thursday: Crockpot Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Friday: Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Saturday: My cousin Lydia and her boyfriend are coming over so I'm thinking burgers or something like that

xoxo

Week 26 Menu + Fish nuggets

Hi everyone, hope you had a good weekend! I didn't do anything but I'm exhausted for some reason. Here is our menu for the week. What are yall up to?

Sunday: Fish nuggets with green beans (recipe below)
Monday: Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday: I don't know yet... either leftovers, take out, or burgers :)
Thursday - Sunday: Minneapolis for the 4th with the Taveras!!

***********************

Fish Nuggets
*This was supposed to be White Fish Special, but Sunday came and I didn't have anything planned for the girls and I didn't want them to starve. This came out awesome though. Totally made it up on the fly.

2 filets of Tilapia
3 egg whites
Panko bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Garlic salt

Cut up the fish into bite sized pieces
Combine panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt
Dredge the fish in egg whites and toss in bread crumb mixture
Cook in oven at 425* for 25 minutes (I didn't have to flip because the pieces were really small, but perhaps consider flipping if they are bigger pieces)

It was ridiculously easy and delicious. I made a salad and ate the fish nuggets on top of the salad with the cilantro dressing.

Strawberry Bread

I forgot to mention that we went to a farmer's market this weekend and there were strawberries everywhere. Amelia chose the perfect box of strawberries and she helped me make this strawberry bread. It was really really good and I recommend making it as soon as possible because it's really really good.

Strawberry Bread 

(from Cookies and Cupcakes)

Week 25 Menu + Taco Bar

Hey hey hey! Hope everyone is enjoying the summertime! Things are pretty slow for us on the home front, but it's just the calm before the storm. We have to move out end of August and don't know where we're going to live yet. That's not panic inducing at all...

Things have been going great in the kitchen - hitting a great stride of bringing my lunch in to work, preparing the lunch for the girls before I leave, and then cooking dinner at night. Lunch for the girls is usually chicken soup (girlfriends LOVE soups and stews) or ground turkey with vegetables. Annelise hates potatoes right now so I have to work on that. We had friends over for a game night and I did a taco bar. I'll post all the recipes below.

Here's what we have this week:

Sunday: Beer Braised Brats and baked beans
Monday: Chinese takeout. It was glorious
Tuesday: I'm at a work event, will is tackling this bad boy: Butter Chicken. I'm having him just make the sauce, the chicken I already cooked and pulled so he'll pour the sauce over the pulled chicken.
Wednesday: Lou's Chicken Marbella and roasted broccoli
Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo. Made this a few months ago and it was amazing.
Friday: Out or leftovers

and now.....

TACO BAR!

This was really fun and honestly rather easy to put together. I did start early on Saturday morning so it wasn't at all a rush before our friends came over. Below is the menu and a breakdown of when I started on what:

Chicken Ropa Vieja - cooked the chicken in the morning, and then heated on the skillet with peppers just before serving

Beth's Poblano and Mushrooms - cooked while the girls were napping (at around 4pm), heated just before serving

Green Rice with Corn - made at the same time as the Poblano and Mushroom filling

Kale, Brussel Sprout and roasted corn salad with cilantro dressing - I made up this recipe on the fly. I roasted some corn earlier in the day, then chopped up the kale and brussel sprouts, tossed the vegetables together. Then I made the cilantro dressing (dad's recipe) and served that with the salad and the tacos. I can't remember when I made this, but I think it was around 4pm as well.

It was all a huge success! Really fun way to entertain and I had everything prepped earlier in the day so when friends came over, it was a breeze.

Miss you all! xo

Week 24 Menu - June 16

Here we go! I have a feeling we're going to run out of food before the week's out...

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Ribs
Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Eli's Copycat Lemon Chicken with pasta
Friday: Out with the girls while Will is out with friends
Saturday: Game night with friends!! Still developing the menu. Can't decide if I want to do a lot of small plates to eat while we play, or do sit down dinner then game night.... decisions decisions.... 

week of june 16

Hi lovely ladiessss

Monday: Leftover fajitas
Tuesday: Unstuffed poblano casserole. Honestly, I love anything with poblanos.
Wednesday: Thursday: Mama in town! So excited about it! Gonna make steak with mushrooms in a red wine sauce and cauliflower puree. I've made this recipe a bunch of times and always love it.
Friday: Taking my mom here. The only Cuban/Caribbean food in Austin and it's so so delish.
Saturday: Ugh.... So my mom will be in town still (staying with us), and Ryan's parents will be in town too to go out on the boat (staying 20 mins away at the lake). And Ryan's dad wants us all to go out to dinner together. Like why would anyone wanna do that? Putting together the 2 sets of parents is so weird. Going to try to avoid it completely. I don't wanna share my Marcia time.

Anybody else? Lou, any other new recipes from Blue Apron?


xo bef

Hi Everyone!

This week is a bit crazy for me, and I'm trying to clean out the fridge/pantry/freezer. But below I posted a few of my most recent discoveries. 

• Copycat Lemon Chicken - I did sub about 1/3 of the butter with coconut oil and it still tasted amazing. I love it with asparagus on the side. 

• Faux Fried Chicken - I used chicken thighs. Amazing! And easy. 

• Grilled Corn with Bell Pepper Butter - I made this at a BBQ last weekend. It was a big hit and perfect side dish. I also added jalapenos to the bell peppers to add some heat.

Happy Eating! I'll have it more together next week. And I can't wait to try that Korean Beef, the freekah, and, of course, the Chancho en Pepsi Cola. 

Baby food and Blue Apron

Hi, hi, hi, hi.
I've missed ya'll, but love reading weekly meals. I've been doing a lot of cooking these days (more than ever), but it's mostly baby food since B is a monster baby and loves to eat everything I put in front of her. The doctor said that baby food isn't necessary and that I should just be pureeing up whatever we eat, but since you usually do delivery or frozen (TERRIBLE), I'm now more motivated than ever to get cooking. Can you imagine how much she'll love the shepherds pie?!?

I guess it hasn't all been delivery or frozen because I have been doing Blue Apron. Have ya'll heard of it? It's pretty fun and a great concept. They send you a box that has the ingredients for 3 different meals, usually chicken, fish, and pork or beef. This pork recipe is by far my favorite thing we've made. It would be perfect for a dinner party because it seems fancy with the rhubarb, but it's really easy and well balanced. Really crisp and delicious for summer! What I love most about the recipes is that you use ingredients you'd never otherwise choose! Who knew that Freekah was healthy and delicious?!?! If you guys want, I have 3 week free trials. You can try it out.

Also, I'm not afraid of the Pepsi. Putting it on the list.

Ingredients

• 6 Ounces Rhubarb

• 1 1-Inch Piece Ginger

• 1 Bunch Thyme

• 1 Lemon

• 1/2 Bunch Asparagus

• 1/4 Cup Whole Almonds

• 1/2 Cup Cracked Freekah

• 6 Pork Tenderloin Medallions

• 2 Tablespoons Honey

• 3 Tablespoons Currants

• About 585 Calories Per Serving

• Makes 2 Servings

Cook the freekah:

Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Add the cracked freekah and cook 22 to 25 minutes, or until tender and cooked through. Drain thoroughly and set aside as you continue cooking.

2

Prepare the ingredients:

While the freekah cooks, wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut the rhubarb into ¾-inch pieces . Peel and mince the ginger. Pick the thyme leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Using a peeler, remove the rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest. Quarter the lemon and remove the seeds. Trim off and discard the woody ends of the asparagus; cut the asparagus into 2-inch pieces. Roughly chop the almonds.

3

Make the rhubarb chutney:

While the freekah continues to cook, in a small pot, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the ginger and cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until softened. Add therhubarb, honey, lemon zest and the juice of 2 lemon wedges. Bring the mixture to a simmer then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes, or until saucy and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

4

Cook the pork:

While the chutney simmers, pat the pork medallions dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add theseasoned pork medallions and cook, loosely covering the pan with aluminum foil, 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until browned and the juice runs clear. Transfer the cooked pork to a plate, leaving any drippings in the pan. Set the pork aside to rest as you continue cooking.

5

Toast the almonds:

While the pork rests, heat the reserved pork drippings on medium until hot. Add the almondsand toast, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until browned and fragrant.

6

Finish & plate your dish:

To the pan of almonds, add the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until softened and bright green. Add the currants,cooked freekah and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until well combined; season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. To plate your dish, add any juices from the cooked pork to the freekah, then divide the pork medallions andfreekah between 2 plates. Top with the rhubarb chutney and garnish with the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!