Meals for the week, Sept 21-26

We spent the weekend at LegoLand, so we’re just getting to this on Sunday night…So, we’ll steal the menu from a year ago and go with that…This is payoff of doing this right?

  1. Chicken stew and biscuits
  2. Spinach and Brie Chicken with Tomato Orzo
  3. Steaks with Citrus-Soy Sauce and Edamame Slaw
  4. Chicken Sausage and Peach Skewers with Green Beans
  5. Turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash

Meals for the Week, Aug 17-23

  1. Bulgar and Chickpea Salad with Cranberries and Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette
  2. Healthier Egg Salad Sandwiches with Pickled Celery on homemade bread if I can get around to it this weekend.
  3. Grilled zucchini nachos with ground turkey and other nacho fixings
  4. Pizza
  5. Saag or Saag Paneer is we can find some Indian Cheese
  6. Super Sloppy Joe’s with Apple and Red Cabbage slaw
  7. Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice and Snow Peas

Brown Rice Salad with Grapes

Brown rice salad with grapesSomehow I ended up picking a bunch of rice salads a few weeks ago. I think there were 3 on the menu in a couple of weeks–kind of odd given that we rarely make salad with rice…

But they were yummy and I made a couple of cups of brown rice early in the week and put it in the fridge and dinner was ready in no time! Worked out well. Also no cooking, which is always nice on a hot summer day.

This one came from TheKitchn. We switched out the walnuts for sunflower seeds due to allergies and maybe simplified things a bit here and there. With rice in the fridge, this can be ready in about 10 minutes. It’s a very hearty salad that could be a main dish.

Brown Rice Salad with Grapes

MealsWeLike.com adapted from theKitchn
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the salad:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 bag salad greens
  • 2 cups red grapes sliced in half
  • 1 cup crumbled ricotta salata Trader Joe's has this

For the vinaigrette:

  • 3 Tbs white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs brown mustard
  • pepper

Instructions
 

  • Cook the rice and cool. I found it easiest to make up a batch of rice in the morning, put it in the fridge for the evening or a day or two later.
  • In a large bowl combine the cold rice, sunflower seeds, salad greens. Toss.
  • In a small bowl mix the vinaigrette, whisking to mix.
  • Pour vinaigrette over the salad and mix.
  • Add the grapes and ricotta salata, toss a bit and serve cold.

 

Sweet Potato Torta Española with Chard

 

Sweet Potato Torta Española

This Torta Española with Rainbow Chard recipe on theKitchn sounded really good, though we tend not to eat regular potatoes. I wondered if it could be made with sweet potatoes and Googled around and ran into this recipe on Well Fed, Flat Broke. So, while I am sure Spaniards would complain that this has no resemblance to a true Torta Española, we mixed and matched between the recipes and came up with the delicious dinner. We increased the chard to 1/2 the bunch, and sautéed the rest with some garlic and served that on the side. Our only regret was that there were no leftovers!IMG_9026

Sweet Potato Torta Española with Chard

MealsWeLike.com adapted from theKitchn and Well Fed, Flat Broke
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Spanish
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Medium sweet potatoes thinly sliced
  • 1 Red onion thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 Bunch of chard sliced into strips
  • 8 Eggs beaten

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
  • Add the potato and onion slices, stir to mix and coat with oil.
  • Add the garlic and mix in.
  • Cover and let cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Put the sliced chard on top of the potatoes and cover.
  • Cook another couple of minutes so the chard wilts.
  • Pour the beaten eggs over the chard and cover, cooking another 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are mostly set.
  • Loosen the edges with a spatula and carefully slide the torta onto a plate.
  • Put the pan on top of the plate and invert so that the torta is back in the pan upside-down.
  • Cover and cook a few more minutes, until the eggs are cooked through.
  • Slice and serve.

 

 

Beef and Watermelon Stir-fry with Brown Rice

Beef and Watermelon Stir-Fry

It’s summer and watermelon is everywhere. I was curious if watermelon could be incorporated into a main dish and started looking around. I came across this recipe at MyRecipes.com (originally from Virginia Willis in Southern Living) and gave it a try. The sweetness of the watermelon is nicely balanced by the salt and spices. The original called for hoisin sauce as one of the main ingredients of the sauce part, but we’ve not found one that we trust as not being made on shared equipment with fish, so I made up something that seemed to work well for the sauce.

Beef and Watermelon Stir-fry with Brown Rice

MealsWeLike.com adapted from MyRecipes.com
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Marinade

  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp water
  • 2 tsp Low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs white cooking wine

Sauce

  • 2 Tbs water
  • 1 Tbs corn starch
  • 1 Tbs Low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs molasses
  • 1 Tbs white cooking wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

The rest

  • 1 lb sirloin strip steak cut into thin strips
  • 1 medium sweet onion sliced
  • 1 lb sugar snap peas
  • 1/2 lb carrots sliced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 lb watermelon sliced in long 1/2in square sticks
  • Brown rice

Instructions
 

  • Mix marinade: garlic, cornstarch, water, soy sauce, olive oil and wine and marinate the steak slices for 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile make the sauce: stir together water, corn starch, soy molasses, wine.
  • Remove steak from marinade, discarding the marinade.
  • Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook half of beef at a time without stirring, 45 seconds or until browned; turn beef, and cook 45 seconds or until browned. Transfer to a warm plate.
  • Stir-fry the onion until tender, about 2 minutes.
  • Add sugar snap peas, carrots, ginger, and crushed red pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes.
  • Add beef and sauce mixture; stir-fry 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Stir in watermelon.
  • Add black pepper, and red pepper to taste.
  • Serve immediately over brown rice.