Week of March 29, 2011

Lasagna soup (crockpot)
 Chicken Scaloppine with Sugar Snap Pea, Asparagus, and Lemon Salad
 Sliders with chipotle mustard
Pot roast carbonnade

Week of March 17, 2011

Sliders with chipotle mayonnaise 
Chicken broiled with mustard, herbs, and breadcrumbs (julia child recipe)
Guinness pot roast with bacon and parsnips
Meatloaf
Tacos
Chicken nuggest


Almond cookies

Shaun weekend meals: Corned beef sandwiches, pizza

Week of March 11, 2011

Chicken nuggets, per E's request
 Lasagna soup (crockpot)
Cowboy dinner
Southwestern chicken barley chili (adapted for crockpot)
Baked southwestern egg rolls
Shaun makes sushi
Apple pork chops

Beef steak stir fry with veggies

What a saga this meal turned into! I couldn't find the beef for stir-fry and spent five minutes digging in the fridge. I gave up and turned to the chicken that I had reserved for Chicken with Olives. I cut up the chicken thighs, all the while thinking that there was an odor that reminded me of cat abscesses. That couldn't be a good thing, so the chicken got chucked in the trash. I pulled out the beef for the Pot Roast and cut it up. My knife was mildly dull and the meat was tough ...

Finally, we were ready to cook! And, then I needed to head to an appointment and I didn't get to eat any of it! Shaun actually ended up cooking most of it.

He says it was a good meal. Here's how it went down (loosely based on this recipe):

1 40 oz beef chuck roast, cubed into one-inch squares
1/2 cup red cooking wine
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar


Cover beef with liquid and let sit

-----

Slice vegetables for stir fry. I used: 2 leeks, one onions, 4 carrots (cut thinly) and a bag of frozen broccoli.

Mix together 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 inch grated ginger (unpeeled) and 2 tablespoons coconut oil

-----

Heat wok with 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Add beef in a thin layer. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, until brown. DON'T OVERCOOK. Remember, this will be cooked again later. It took 3 batches to get all the beef cooked because I didn't want to overcrowd the wok. I did cook the beef in all the liquid marinade.

Remove the beef and set aside. 

Add the vegetables and garlic/ginger liquid. Mix gentle. Cook until soft (~5 minutes). Add beef and stir together for 1-2 minutes.

Remove and eat immediately.

Week of March 4, 2011

Weekend:

Shaun makes chili
Shaun makes sushi

Split pea soup (crockpot)
Loose meat sandwiches with hidden veggies (crockpot)
Borscht (crockpot)
Pepperoncini beef sandwiches (crockpot)
Chipotle bean burritos


Fudge mocha brownies

Spaghetti with spicy peanut sauce

This was a tasty meal that was relatively easy to make. I didn't modify it much from The Perfect Pantry's recipe. I will say, though, that it didn't quite hit the spot and I don't know if I would make it again. It didn't seem ... substantial. I got filled up with pasta without actually feeling satiated.

This is what I used:

1 inch unpeeled ginger
5 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 TB chili paste with garlic
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 pound spaghetti
1 napa cabbage, cut into thin pieces
1 green pepper, diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced

I mixed the first eight ingredients in my small cuisinart (a great holiday gift from S. Thanks, S!).

While that was mixing, I cooked the spaghetti al-dente.

I diced the last four vegetables and stir fried in the wok on 350, with a few TB of sesame oil. When the spaghetti was done, I mixed the stir fried vegetables with the spaghetti and coated with peanut

Perhaps if I were more of a vegetarian, I would enjoy this dish. I think it would've benefited from some meat. :) Also, the lack of Worcestershire sauce and Soba noodles may also have hurt.

I'm curious to see what true vegetarians think of this dish, if they make it.