This week was busy busy so I needed supper to be on the table fast to free up our evenings for other priorities. The solution for me was food that I could prep, at least partly, the night before and both lunches and suppers that were familiar enough that I didn't have to be constantly referring to recipes - ie. I could prepare them in a zombie-like state in the late evenings (pardon the Halloween pun).
Recipe Index
Carrot Smoothie, Real Simple
Caesar Dressing, Recipe on my Salad Dressing and Dip Printout
Asian Salmon Cakes, Chatelaine
Kale Pomegranate Salad, Simple Provisions
Quinoa Patties, Eating Well Living Thin
Simple Turkey Chili, Allrecipes.com
Whole Wheat Tortillas, 100 Days of Real Food
Pumpkin Muffins, 100 Days of Real Food
Week in Review
Smoothie of the Week - Carrot, Pineapple, Orange. So good!!
Sunday
Supper - Breaded Chicken w/ Roasted Vegetables. This is one of those meals that I don't have to refer to a recipe. I mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese (roughly 2:1) in one bowl and whisk an egg and milk in another bowl. I dip the chicken pieces in the egg then coat well with the breadcrumbs and bake at 425 until done. At the same time I roasted some vegetables - for this I chop the veggies and toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them out on a cooking stone. The veggies typically take longer so I get them on first.Prep Ahead Ideas
- Double the chicken to have leftovers for Monday supper.
- Make the Caesar dressing for Monday salad and store in fridge
- Make double batch of quinoa for Monday and Wednesday lunches. (I prepared 1 cup)
Monday
Lunch - Quinoa Vegetable Fried "Rice". No recipe required again, this was just my regular fried rice with quinoa in place of the rice. I sauteed a mix of chopped vegetables (use whatever you have on hand), added the quinoa and a little soya sauce. I push that to that side of the pan once it's well mixed and add a couple of eggs that I roughly scramble. Once the eggs are cooked I mix it all up. Done.Supper - Speedy Chicken and Kale Caesar - The chicken and dressing were prepared the night before so this supper just had to be assembled. I chopped the Kale and massaged it with a little olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice before adding the Caesar dressing. We added Parmesan and croutons. While I was making the salad I popped the chicken in the oven to reheat and crisp up - totally optional. This was very popular with the kid in the house!
Prep Ahead Ideas
- Prepare the salmon cakes up to the step of forming the patties and store in the fridge overnight. Note: I used canned salmon.
Tuesday
Lunch - Kale Pomegranate Salad w/ Ryvita Rye Crackers. I was totally excited to try this salad because I had "attempted" to make my own dried cranberries on the weekend. I love the tartness of cranberries so I always find the dried versions too sweet. I won't share my experiment because it was a flop - right flavor, wrong texture. I'll keep trying. The salad was good, I added chickpeas to make it a meal but I think I'd prefer it as a side dish rather then the main course. |
| Kale Pomegranate Salad |
Supper - Asian Salmon Cakes w/ Avocado Mayo and Arugula Salad. I really liked these but they were not as popular with the kiddo as the previous night's Kale Caesar Salad. As mentioned I used canned salmon. I also cut way back on the mayo and supplemented with some plain yogurt. I thought the flavor was great and actually preferred it before I fried them up. I think it would make a nice sandwich or wrap. The arugula salad was our new go-to... Arugula, drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper and shaved Parmesan. So easy yet so good!
Prep Ahead Ideas
- Premix the Pad Thai sauce (see recipe below) and store in the fridge overnight
- Chop any vegetables you plan to add to the Pad Thai and store in fridge overnight
Wednesday
Lunch - Quinoa Patties w/ Veggies and Dip. The quinoa was made earlier in the week so this was a quick lunch to throw together. Last time I reported they had a good texture but were a tad bland. This time I actually found them to be perfectly flavorful... perhaps I missed an ingredient last time?? |
| Quinoa Patties |
Supper - Tofu Pad Thai. This is a quick meal regardless of how much prep you do the night before. I actually ran out of steam Tuesday night and opted to make this meal from scratch after work. No biggie. This is one of my sister's favorites from this blog.
Tofu Pad Thai (Adapted from Crazy Plates cookbook)
Cook Vermicelli Noodles according to package. Drain and rinse in cold water.
To make the sauce, combine the following and set aside:
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 2 Tbsp each soya sauce, lime juice, brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Serve garnished with fresh cilantro, green onion, chopped peanuts and a wedge of lime.
Prep Ahead Ideas
- Complete step 1 of the Simple Turkey Chili recipe and then add everything to the slow cooker and store the crock in the fridge overnight.
- Make muffins for Thursday breakfast
Thursday (Halloween)
Breakfast - Pumpkin Muffins & Latte. Since it was Halloween we started our day with Pumpkin muffins. I made them the night before because there is no way I could get myself out of bed early enough to pull that off! I also had to save time to make these cute "Boo"-nanas for Marin's daycare class. Marin was super excited about these! Thank-you Pinterest! |
| Boo-nana |
Lunch - Leftover Pad Thai. Gotta love leftovers!
Supper - Simple (Slow-Cooker) Turkey Chili. I think this is going to be a Halloween tradition. Nothing like nice bowl of comfort food before hitting the streets. I topped the chili with cheese and sour cream. Meant to take a picture since this is being added to Slow Cooker Favorites but I was too preoccupied to think about it.
Prep Ahead Ideas
- Make a batch of tortillas
Friday
Lunch - Ham & Cheese Wraps w/ Veggies & Dip. Ham, Havarti, Mayo, Mustard and Arugula all wrapped up in a fresh whole wheat tortilla. Delicious! Seriously... go make a batch of tortillas. You won't be sorry. We used them as a base for tuna melts last weekend - also delicious! |
| Freshly made batch of tortillas |
Supper - Quesadillas. Marin and I are on our own for supper tonight and although it will be my second time having the tortillas in one day I can think of nothing wrong with that. This time will be traditional Mexican style with cheese, refried beans (from the freezer) and all the fixin's....
 |
| Tortillas all loaded up! |
Can you believe it's November?!!
Sandra
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