Indonesian spicy rice was the favorite dish of last week. I also like the fact that it’s very easy and uses up leftovers, yet tastes different than the previous meal. For this week, I’m roasting a chicken and making some standby’s including the speedy red beans and rice, a great one pot meal.
Breakfasts: Healthy oat and banana bars, boiled eggs
Lunches: Leftovers
Treats: Sweet and spicy pecans
Dinners:
Sunday: Crockpot roasted garlic chicken, steamed broccoli
Monday: Healthy Mexican Chicken Soup, salad
Tuesday: Easy chicken enchiladas, Aztec vegetables
Wednesday: Speedy red beans and rice, strawberry and greens salad
Thursday-Friday: out
Saturday: Braised pork chops, boiled potatoes, sauteed cabbage
shared at Menu Plan Monday
A couple of weeks ago, I cooked meals while we were staying with friends for a few days. They seemed astonished that a) I often cooked without having a recipe in front of me or specifically measuring ingredients; b) I planned the meal based on what was available in the fridge; and c) I tried to celebrate humble ingredients including tougher cuts of meat or inexpensive vegetables like cabbage and carrots. Through their astonishment, I realized that my cooking style has substantially evolved from several years ago. I used to plan elaborate menus that would require the purchase of several expensive ingredients, including a couple of new spices. The cooking process would take several hours, and I usually ended up wasting the leftovers, throwing them out after a couple of days.
I now find that menu planning centers on seasonal ingredients and availability. The emphasis is on health and appeal, not on showing off. I also find that with more experience, I am more comfortable using a recipe as a broad guide and substituting ingredients is more intuitive. I had outlined a number of steps in a previous post: My Modern Frugal Kitchen which is still highly relevant. Here are some additional tips:
–Menu planning is important, but don’t be afraid to revise menus based on what’s available, what’s in season, or what is on sale (which is often in-season). I generally draft a menu, shop, and then revise the menu based on the purchases made.
–Combine ideas from recipes or one technique with a different flavor profile for variety. One example is pot roast chili. The technique is slow, low heat in the slow cooker which tenderizes the pot roast, a wonderful comfort food; the seasonings are bright, spicy chili flavors, combining the best of both of both dishes.
–When you find a substitute or shortcut to a menu, change your standard recipe. I’ve recently remade picadillo and teriyaki sauce, eliminating several ingredients, and reducing the sugar in the latter. These revised recipes are now part of our regular rotation.
–Round out the meal with interesting side dishes — to incorporate more fruits and vegetables, I often like to pair a savory dish with a bright salad that includes fruit and greens, such as an apple, cucumber, spinach salad; or a strawberry and mixed green salad with strawberry jam dressing.
I would love to hear tips from your kitchen!
shared at Works for Me Wednesday, Frugal Friday, Pennywise Platter, and Food Renegade
This week, I will be baking a ham which will make for nice leftovers as well. Also, I’m serving the quick salmon teriyaki and whipping up a batch of individual chocolate custards. What’s on your menu?
Breakfasts: Peanut butter baked oatmeal, boiled eggs
Lunches: Tuna and white bean salad, leftovers
Treats: Chocolate coconut custard
Dinners:
Sunday: Baked ham, coconut roasted sweet potato, broccoli
Monday: Lentil soup with ham, fruit and greens salad
Tuesday: Teriyaki salmon, rice, sauteed spinach
Wednesday: Indonesian spicy rice, bok choy
Thursday-Friday: out
Saturday: Thai beef salad, fruit salad
shared at Menu Plan Monday
April 29th,2012
Food,
Menus |
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This is an edited repost of a previous article.
If you’ve read my posts on simplifying Christmas and Easter, you might think that I’m a curmudgeon with respect to celebrations and holidays. On the contrary, I like special days a lot. What I find problematic is the arms-race style of competition to outdo things bigger and better and more expensive than your neighbor. It is both stressful and costly and in the case of most holidays, seems to contradict some of the deeper meaning of the special day.
Recently, we had a birthday in the Modern Gal household (hint, not mine). In typical fashion, we celebrated the way we celebrate most special days, with a special home-cooked meal, a dessert made of dark chocolate, and the gift of a book that was of interest. Although this may seem austere by some standards, I can recall attending many birthday parties that had special printed invitations, gift bags, and fancy catering where hosts were stressed out and the guests didn’t have much opportunity to interact with each other or the birthday boy/girl. For special birthdays, look instead at the following:
–Aim for experiences, like a special outing, a picnic, or a day off. If there’s an activity that only one member of a couple likes (like antique browsing) offer to indulge the birthday person on their special day. For young birthday boys and girls, consider a family outing that the child would really like.
–Create rituals around birthdays so that the birthday person feels special. Breakfast in bed, a single red rose, a special note, are examples of things that are fun, appreciated, yet simple.
–Instead of expensive gifts, give a book on a topic that you know the birthday person is really interested in, showing that you pay attention to their interests. With multimedia options, this can be an e-book, audio book, or even a DVD movie.
–Let the birthday person pick their favorite meal and prepare it at home. For people who absolutely can’t cook, consider picking up the meal from takeout and serve it on your best dishes at home with candlelight. Or invite a small group over for a simplified meal.
Most of all, keep in mind that a day can be special without being exhausting, over-scheduled, or costly.
I would love to hear your ideas for keeping birthdays manageable!
shared at Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Friday
One of my favorite dishes at a Japanese restaurant is a well-made salmon teriyaki. I don’t like the sickly sweet kind that tastes like they dipped the salmon in candy, but rather the one made with a lighter teriyaki sauce that enhances, rather than masks the salmon. A restaurant that I went to recently steams their salmon lightly directly in the teriyaki sauce. Not only is the fish moist and flavorful, but the texture seems nicer than baked or grilled salmon that often gets over-cooked on the edges. I ran out of mirin wine and tried using white cooking wine which seems to work well. This recipe is very fast. I served this over rice and with a cooked green vegetable on the side, like a garlic sauteed bok choy. Note: if the steaming technique doesn’t appeal to you, you can cook the salmon, removed from the oven, under the broiler. Just be sure not to overcook.
Simple Salmon Teriyaki
2 filets salmon, boned
1 T soy sauce
1 T white wine
1/2 t sugar
1/2 grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
small squirt of sriracha
In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves, adding up to 1 T warm water to thin it if necessary. Pour the marinade over the salmon in a thin, heatproof dish (like corelle) and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes, turning once. Steam the salmon by placing the dish directly into a steamer, and steam for about 8-10 minutes, until just cooked. If you prefer, you can cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes per filet. Wrap the salmon in the marinade tightly with microwave proof plastic wrap, and microwave on medium-high until just cooked through.
shared at Pennywise Platter and Food Renegade
