The meal plan this week is still pretty CSA/leafy greens heavy, but the good news is that non-leafy vegetables are starting to show up at the CSA. They’re still green though. This last week we got broccoli (we still have to use it) and this coming week is the beginning of pea season. I knew that peas would be showing up there soon, mostly because I spent the entire 4th of July afternoon de-shelling peas at my parents’ house. It was like old times, watching a movie and working on shucking peas. Gabbie loves peas anyway, and was thrilled to get to eat fresh raw ones. It was no surprise to me that she didn’t eat much dinner that night since she probably ate nearly her weight in peas that afternoon.
The other thing happening with this week’s plan is that Aaron has been complaining about how I never make the same dish twice and he has trouble remembering if he liked a dish or not in the past because it has been so long since he had it. So, I’m going through my archives and noting which meals he liked to bring some of these dishes back into rotation.
Monday: Sautéed Collard Greens with Tomatoes and macaroni and cheese
Why fix something if it’s not broken, right? Since we got more collards this week, we did this again. I did change up the recipe a little bit though, and the changes made it even better. I started by chopping up and frying 4 slices of bacon and used the bacon fat instead of the olive oil in the original recipe. Then I added a dash of red pepper flakes to give it a little bit of spice. It turned out so good!
Tuesday: Pineapple Chili and Tex-Mexed Salad
This is one of Aaron’s favorites. I mentioned it over the weekend and he practically begged for me to make it again. Since it takes all of about 15 minutes to throw this one together, I happily acquiesced.
Wednesday: Indian-Spiced Kale and Chickpeas, basmati rice, and naan
This is another delicious way to use up kale, and I got to use the garam masala I bought a while back as well! I used much less kale (by about half) than the recipe called for, and added the chickpeas a little earlier so they’d have more time to soften. The finished dish was a little too mild for our tastes so we spiced it up with some sriracha. Delicious! I also made the rice with vegetable broth instead of water and that turned out to be a great way to add a little more flavor to the meal.
Thursday: Mom’s Sloppy Joes and sweet potato fries
This recipe is just the thing for an easy nearly-end-of-the-week dinner. Plus it’s super comforting and delicious. You really can’t beat that.
Friday: Chicken Korma and Rice
This is yet another meal that Aaron loves and that he has begging for since I mentioned it last week. So yes, two Indian-inspired meals in one week, but when you love curry the way I do, two is nearly perfect. We add sliced zucchini and double the tomatoes called for in this recipe, which makes it more hearty and more delicious.
The collard greens sound amazing -- I have found in life that bacon grease makes everything taste better.
ReplyDeleteThat pineapple chili really was delicious. I'm going to have to make that again soon.