Week of January 8: Aaackk

I looked at my blog stats for the first time today and WOW! 39 views yesterday. That may not seem like a lot, perhaps, to people who don’t have a relatively brand new blog, but that’s big numbers for me, and I’m thrilled. That’s more people than my holiday card list! Hopefully all of those 39 people will cook something fabulous, or at least not straight-from-a-box tonight.

After M&Ms and popcorn for meals on my work site, this was awesome- until I had to donate half the salmon to the keep-PMM-happy salmon drive.

This is an odd week to gain sudden stardom (let me have my moment, ok?) because I’m also about a week behind, thanks to the busiest week yet. That tag line ‘Real Food for Real (Busy) Lives’? This week we’ve been heavy on the busy. I was expecting a work trip Monday and Tuesday, but things were going so well on the project that I got a call Friday afternoon telling me to come Saturday. So, Friday evening was spent scrambling to get reservations change (thank you, Lisa in my travel dept!), get packed, and get dinner for company made. And get plenty of Perpetual Motion Machine time in, since the weekends are our primary time together. Then two 15 hour work days and a travel day later, I’m a mess. A mess with a plan.

Fortunately, the Ninja worked his magic and got decent food on the table Saturday-Monday (he even emailed me pictures!). He did not, however, buy enough food for Tuesday and beyond. [Aside: Weeks don’t stop at Monday. Hopefully.] With all of my weekend work, though, I have some flex time so I had plenty of time for the grocery store. I miss having her around at the store because she’s fun, but 2 hours without a toddler is as productive, according to my sophisticated mathematical calculations, as approximately 9.7 hours without her.

Here’s how the week’s been, and where it’s going:

Week of January 8:

Ninja skills do not extend to my camera

Sunday:Spinach turkey burger, fruit salad, and

grilled butternut squash (ninja skills!)
Monday: BBQ chicken tenders, grilled beets, and some other stuff (I was too rushed to take a pic, and the whole week’s been a blur, so I can’t quite figure out what went with this- broccoli?)
Tuesday: Grilled soyaki salmon and carrots, green beans, and fruit salad
Wednesday: Indian style chicken and squash with farro
Thursday: Tandoori chicken, curry cauliflower, and naan
Friday: Tuna casserole
Saturday: Leftovers- there’s a lot of food!

Monday: BBQ chicken, beets, we’ll assume it was broccoli
A note about BBQ sauce. I’m a bit finicky about (most foods) BBQ sauce. I think the vinegar based has it’s place- pit smoked and pulled pork/chicken- and I believe sugar should not be the boldest flavor of a good sauce. Sure, if it’s not explicitly made for diabetics or something it’s going to have sugar. But it need not taste like candy. It should be a little smokey and a little spicy, and just a hint of sweet for balance. I have tried a slew of different brands- store brands, national standards (e.g. KC Masterpiece), and fancy pants glass bottle Whole Foods types, and really have found that Trader Joe’s brand is by far the best and damn near the cheapest. It’s not too spicy for PMM, but definitely has a little kick; you won’t mistake it for a BBQ flavored jelly belly, and has a really solid blend of non-spicy spices, too. With the right sauce, bbq chicken is a super fast family friendly go-to.

Grocery list:

• Chicken tenders
• BBQ sauce
• Beets (or something else to throw on the grill- butternut squash is the new grilled winner around here, but I had these in the fridge and not much else)
• Broccoli (or salad- just add something green for color and nutritional balance)

Tuesday: Grilled soyaki salmon and carrots, green beans, and fruit salad

Simple, fast, and tasty. The only catch is that, and I’m quoting the Ninja, “If PMM is going to eat 1/3 of a pound of salmon, you need to start buying more than 2/3lb for the 3 of us.” Part of me wonders if I should worry about my toddler eating her weight in salmon, but then I remember it’s salmon, not Wonder Bread. There are better things to worry about. I will start buying more than 2/3 of a pound. In case you’re curious about what the experts say, the USDA appears to say that 3oz of salmon is a proper serving. That seems too small; I would aim for 4-6 oz. per person (1/4lb +). Salmon is full of protein and good fats for keeping you satiated, clever, alert, alive, and with nice hair and skin. Yup, it’s a super-food. I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: wild caught tastes better, is more ecology sustainable (if Alaskan), and is better for you. Buying it frozen or previously frozen will cost less, and with just a little seasoning it tastes great.

Grocery list:

• Salmon
• Soyaki/Teryaki sauce
• Carrots- I love these organic carrots because they’re just plain pretty on the plate; the regular ones are just as tasty, though
• Green beans
• Fruit for fruit salad- my mother is a terrible cook and a phenomenal salad creator. Her rule of thumb is 3 fruits make a salad. It’s good advice.

Wednesday: Indian chicken and squash stew

This recipe was taken from a Bon Appetite cookbook, which I find to be generally quite good. I substituted a couple things, because that’s just my nature (and we’re still out of cumin because I keep forgetting to buy more). Chicken thighs are cheaper than breasts; they are fattier and better for stewing because they don’t dry out and add a dark-meat savory flavor to the stew. You could use bone in (cheaper), but the Ninja has a vehement dislike of any food with bones in it.

Grocery List:

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 4 cups worth cubed butternut squash or sweet potato (or any other squash, really- I buy it pre-cubed because it’s faster)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can low-sodium chopped tomatoes
• salt, pepper
• olive oil
• Dried spices: cinnamon, curry powder, coriander (or use cumin)
• Fresh cilantro
• Dab of yogurt, if it suits you

Thursday: Tandoori Chicken, Curry Cauliflower, and Naan

It’s 10am on Thursday morning (Flex time!) and I’m just realizing that I used up the curry powder last night, so this recipe may be a little different. The naan I would normally just buy, but PMM loves kneading (i.e. playing with) dough, so we made some yesterday after school/work. It didn’t rise in time for dinner, so I put it in the fridge and will bake it tonight. It’s actually quite easy, but requires enough time to rise.

Grocery List:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
• Juice of 2 lemons
• One package Tandoori spices (available in any Indian market, also carried in the Ethnic aisle of most grocery stores)
• Yogurt
• (side note: read your package of Tandoori seasoning and follow the instructions for mixing it- some call for garlic or ginger paste, some are liquid and don’t require yogurt, etc.)
• Cauliflower
• Curry powder (oops- I’ll probably use turmeric, mustard seed, and/or some spice blends I have in the cupboard)
• Minced garlic
• Chopped onions or onion paste (I have the latter in the fridge that I need to use up)
• Naan

Friday: Tuna casserole

Tuna casserole was one of my favorite meals as a child. I’m not sure why, and I haven’t eaten it since I was 10 or 11, but I figured I’d give it a shot. This is a family recipe, sort of.

Grocery List:

• One bag egg noodles or, as I chose, whole wheat noodles shaped like egg noodles
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Some milk to thin out the soup
• 2 cans decent chunk tuna packed in water
• Pimentos (they come in a jar, either near the olives or the Italian food)
• Chopped onion and celery
• Cheese
• (my mother never put potato chips on it when I was young (thanks Mom!) but her mother and grandmother did- that was part of the original recipe if you’re an ardent traditionalist, or just love potato chips. I wouldn’t recommend it, though, as it adds nothing nutritionally and will just be mushy on day 2).
• (1/2 cup mushrooms says Mom, but I don’t love mushrooms so I’m skipping them)

This one looks, well, like a casserole, so I’ll skip the picture on Friday night and give you the recipe here. Basically, saute the onion and celery until a bit soft. Cook noodles till ‘al dente’ (just starting to be soft, but still a bit firm). Mix everything but the cheese together in an oven safe dish- use enough milk to loosen up the cream of mushroom concentrate, but not so much that the whole thing is soupy. Bake until hot at 350deg. Melt cheese on top (you can also add cheese to the filling, but I choose not to).