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!

Cookin in a NEW kitchen!

Y'all... Y'ALL. It's so nice cooking in our new kitchen!!! Bigger sink, more burners on the stove, dishwasher that actually makes dishes cleaner. It's all so miraculous.

So anyway, here's what's on tap for this week:

Sunday: Went to XGames. Was 1 billion degrees. Had a salad when I got home and passed out.
Monday: Melissa was over, we made a Thai Fish Curry that I need to post here at another time. There's no version online to link to. But it was awesome and pretty easy!
Tuesday: Meeting a girl for cocktails and oysters and other assorted appetizers. Ryan's on his own (aka eating wings or cheeseburgers bc his metabolism hasn't changed since he was 8).
Wednesday: Having ppl over to grill. They're making/bringing spring rolls and peanut sauce. I'm making rice and Korean Beef (if you haven't made this yet, you're a damn fool).
Thursday: I know we're supposed to hang with another couple, some of Ryan's friends, but not sure if we're cooking or going out yet. TBD.
Friday: Date night to Cru Wine Bar downtown. I see some tuna tartare, pizza, and great wine in my future.

If we cook at home on Thurs, I'm considering making Unstuffed Poblano Casserole because I heard it's easy and like sosososososo good.

I really wanna make Chancho en Pepsi but 2 liters of Pepsi literally gives me anxiety. I made the mistake of Googling the ingredients in Pepsi. Don't make my mistake.

Mich- I want the recipe for ribs and for choc mousse.