This is an ongoing post to track our dinner plans and ideas. There will be links to the recipes I am trying. If I don't like them, I'll delete it. If they are yummy, and I made adjustments, I'll make a note. If you struggle with meal planning like I do, maybe this will help you, too! *Note: We usually plan on 5 meals with 2 nights of leftovers, since we almost always have at least some leftovers. Meal Ideas for Oct 7-13 Links to recipes: Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes Apples and Brussels Sprouts Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash QUICK GARLIC LIME MARINATED PORK CHOPS Vegetarian Tacos - our own recipe. I'll post at some point and add the link in. We make it all the time. whole30 skillet italian meatballs: easy, paleo, low carb One Pot Chicken And Rice Review Time!Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Brussel SproutsMy modifications: Not many mods on this one. I Used yellow onions instead of red, because that's what I had on hand, and just used Herbs de Provence because I didn't have a bunch of fresh rosemary (or dried, for that matter). I also added a splash of lime juice in the marinade, because the acid tenderizes the meat a little bit. Review: The kids loved it. My family loves Brussel sprouts. Me, not so much. Same with broccoli. Long story. But this was a hit dish, for sure. The apple got super mushy, despite cutting it into large chunks, and didn't really add that much to the overall dish, I think. Maybe if I was doing it again, I would add a little applesauce into the chicken marinade to give more of the apple flavor to the chicken, or only add the apple chunks after removing the chicken while the rest of the veggies cooked. Anything to keep them from getting so mushy. The only other thing I would change is to use thighs instead of breasts. Even when just cooking them to temperature, breasts are always drier than thighs. Verdict: Will probably made again with those few modifications. 4 out of 4! Quick Garlic and Lime Marinated Pork ChopsMy Modifications: My husband is the only one who does spicy. The rest of us have pallets just as white as we are. So skipped the chili powder and instead used some Ras al Hanut curry powder. You get the yummy curry flavor without the spice. Used a bit more lime juice than called for, and mixed it with some olive oil (around 2-3 Tbs), and about a tsp or so of minced ginger for the marinade.. Didn't have an actual lime - they are ridiculously expensive in Norway, so used lime juice and 2 drops of DoTerra lime essential oil for the extra lime oomph. We paired this dinner with some creamy risotto, green beans and sliced mushrooms. Paul makes killer risotto, I'll post his recipe sometime. Verdict: River said it was the best pork chop ever! The kids absolutely loved the whole meal. Definitely a hit, and will for sure make again. 4 out of 4! Whole30 Skillet Italian MeatballsModifications: For the meatball: - Couldn't buy ground pork sausage, just plain ground pork, so added 'sausage' seasonings: cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, ginger... - Didn't have parsley, rosemary and thyme separately, so used the equivalent measurements (little less) of our usual Herbs de Provence. - Added about 1/4 cup of GF cracker crumbs The sauce: - small can of diced tomatoes - Added to the jar of marinara: herbs de Provence (roughly 2 tsp or so), garlic powder (maybe 1/2 tsp?), and about a Tbs of brown sugar, cuz I like it, and the sauce didn't have any sugar. - It was still super tart and acidic, so Paul added at least 1/4 C of dairy free butter. It was perfection. And now I know how to bring down the acidity of tomato sauce. ;) - We like veggies with our meal, so I put in mushrooms and kale into the sauce. We put it all on top of GF noodles, and sprinkled some authentic manchego cheese on top (because I don't have a problem with sheeps milk). *I cooked all the meatballs thoroughly without any sauce, because my toddler can't stand tomatoes or anything red. He just had plain meatballs and plain noodles without any sauce. I added the rest of the meatballs back into the sauce 5 minutes or so before serving. Verdict: A HUGE hit from everyone except my 4 year old. He mostly just goes to town on the plain noodles. So this gets a 3 out of 4 vote for doing again! One Pot Chicken And RiceModifications:
This is actually our 2nd time making this dish. It was a hit the first time, and went over even better the second time. So with or without these mods, it's delicious. We added a few things this second time around, mainly to help us fight off the colds we had this week. - Added fresh garlic, ginger, and turmeric, chopped finely. About 2" of the ginger and turmeric, and 3 cloves of garlic instead of dried. Sautéd them in butter until soft before adding carrots. - Used 1/2 fresh onion instead of dried, and skipped the parsley flakes. - Flavored with, of course, herbs de Provence instead of parsley. Verdict: Ultimate comfort dish. Will add slightly less turmeric next time, and go back to chicken thighs instead of breasts. This will be on our permanent rotation, for sure. It's quick, it's simple, and it makes excellent leftovers! Even my toddler had 2 bowls! 4 out of 4!
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AuthorPart time Dessert Goddess, part time dinner slinger, part time recipe hacker and full time mom. ArchivesCategories |