| Breakfast | Lunch (Snacks) | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2 slices of Friendship Bread and Coffee | Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, 2 string cheese (4 rich tea biscuits w/tea) | Pelmeni w/ sour cream, sauteed kale, cream cheese stuffed sweet peppers |
| Tuesday | Scone and Coffee | Sauteed kale, black beans and rice, carrots (string cheese, tea) | Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice |
| Wednesday | Apple and Coffee | Chicken and Barley Soup / Sugar Cookie * | Chicken Picadillo, black beans and rice |
| Thursday | Mango slices, baby bell cheese and Coffee | Almonds/roast soy bean mix, sliced red and yellow bell pepper, baby carrots (3 string cheese w/tea) | Vegetable Stuffed Crepes |
| Friday | Scone and Coffee | Pizza Party at work! Freebie meal! | Heavy hor d'oeuvres and wine at a church function! Freebie meal! |
* I admit, I didn't leave time to pack lunch that day. I had to rely on the coffee shop downstairs. Fail. And crazy expensive. Seriously, $4 for a cup of soup and a cookie. Gah!
This was a performance week for me (meaning I had rehearsals or concerts every night except Friday). Because of that, dinners had to be particularly quick and light. Each recipe this week had to take under 30 min. to prep and cook..leftovers featured prominently.
Recipes and notes for this week after the jump...
My style of menu planning:
Breakfast:
Whatever is ripening too quickly in the kitchen gets thrown into my lunch bag for breakfast at work. Also, breakfast is where I throw in leftovers I don't know what to do with and food that finds its way to my home (note the Friendship Bread -- a gift that needed to be eaten). Not traditional fair (usually) but I like it.
Lunch:
I am a total nibbler. I would much rather eat several small snacks throughout the day than a few big meals. Often, I'll throw together a no-cook lunch and nibble from 11am-2pm as the mood strikes. This usually consists of whatever vegetables were on sale in bulk at the farmers market, a few pieces of string cheese, and McVities Rich Tea biscuits, surprisingly not very rich. Otherwise I'll pack up a bento of leftovers.
Dinner:
This is where I'll try to cram as much cooking as possible into a little space. Recipes below.
Friendship Bread
So called because you end up making so much starter you have to give it to your friends. Don't buy starter, you can make it with a few simple ingredients. You don't even really need the yeast because with flour, milk, and sugar (and 10 days) the yeast in the environment will populate the starter...like with a sourdough! Only use wooden or plastic utensils when you make your own...metal messes with the yeast.
Pelmeni
Pelmeni are little Russian dumplings (think Slavic soul food). They are wonderful. You can eat them either in a broth soup or with butter and sour cream. They can be a little labor intensive to make but they freeze very well. Seriously, if you've never made dumplings before, do this on a weekend afternoon when you have some time to play around and make mistakes. If you make more dough than needed, no problem. It still works well with traditional pelmeni toppings (aka, sour cream). I usually make the dumplings small (bite-sized) and a couple hundred at a time (it goes fast).
The link above will take you to a comprehensive page on making both the dough and a meaty filling for the dumplings. Here are my personal family tweaks on the meat:
Use beef and pork in equal amounts (I typically go for 2 lbs total)...
Add to it: chopped onion, a dash of salt and pepper, a pinch of nutmeg (with 2 lbs. a pinch is around 1/2 tsp), and a liberal dosing of parsley (fresh or dried). Mix well. Yum yum. This filling also makes for AWESOME burgers.
If dumplings are too scary you can make the filling into meatballs -- add 1 egg (beaten) and a cup of bread crumbs so they will hold together.
Sauteed Kale
I like this recipe for sauteed kale but make a few changes...
- I use 4 cloves of garlic, not 2
- I also add a chopped shallot
- And replace the red wine vinegar with balsamic
Just what it sounds like.
Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds
Fill with cream cheese (or some variant mix...I like to include jelly or bacon, or powdered salad dressing)
Bake on a cookie sheet for 15-20 min. at 400F
Nom, nom, nom.
Multigrain Scones
I am so psyched this recipe is online! This recipe is straight out of the first cookbook I ever bought while living on my own. Before this cookbook, I had pretty much learned everything I needed to know out of the Joy of Cooking my mother gave me upon leaving for college. That being said, The Healthy Kitchen is also really good (but the ingredients required can be a little more expensive).
Chicken Picadillo and Black Beans and Rice
This was the last of the chicken. ::sniff sniff:: Oh 7-lb chicken, we hardly knew ye.
Vegetable Stuffed Crepes:
Crepes are super easy -- my rule of thumb is 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 egg. That's it. That being said, this is a great crepe recipe and is the one I used this week.
The vegetables are left over from last week ratatouille (eggplant, pepper, squash) and are sauteed.
**Bonus Recipe!** Easy Cheese Crackers
These cheese crackers look like peanut butter cookies when you're done. This recipe was given to me at the above-mentioned church function.
2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter
Dash of red pepper flakes (to taste)
Blend in a food processor until mixed thoroughly
Roll into balls, place on cookie sheet, and flatten into a criss-cross pattern with a fork
Bake at 350F for 7-10 min.
Haven't tried it yet, but it seems like it would be a tasty recipe! If you have it, you might want to try some paprika mixed with the red pepper flakes or even a splash of Worcestershire sauce for some variation.
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