The other day, I saw a headline that said something like, “People Living in [My State] Should Expect to See Higher Food Prices in 2023.” That was a head scratcher because we have been seeing higher food prices for quite a while thanks. Can’t wait for the grocery bills to climb more steeply, I guess.
(The container of honey we have is leaking. But it’s doing so in a way I cannot figure out. I have tried having it rest on its top and on its bottom, and both ways seem to leak, but not in any discernible way, i.e. the top isn’t swimming honey. But I am constantly scrubbing honey off our spice cabinet which is not my favorite. Anyway, my husband discovered the honey leakage yesterday and after hearing my explanation his solution was to throw the entire jar of honey away. Um, no???? It is 3/4 full???? And honey costs a million dollars $4.99 on sale???? I will scrub honey off the shelf every day if it means I can delay paying eight dollars for honey by even a couple weeks.)
That’s all I have in the way of preamble this week, so let’s get to the dinners.
Dinners for the Week of January 9-15
- Brussels Sprouts Tacos: This is a very specific craving I’m having lately, based on the memory of the amazing spicy Brussels Sprouts tacos I ate with a friend at a local restaurant this summer. I like the sound of the one I linked in the headline, but I also think this smoky version with black beans, sweet potatoes, and crema sounds amazing.
- Thai Larb: Last week, my husband and I tried the Lemongrass BBQ from the sampler of Southeast Asian sauces he got me for Christmas; it was delicious. I want to try the Thai Larb this week.
- Beef with Snow Peas: This is one of the simplest stir fries in our rotation, but it is so delicious. And all the peas make it super crunchy and green, two characteristics I find very appealing.
- Creamy Chicken and Orzo Soup: Yum, this sounds so good and hearty and nourishing.
- Soy Ginger Salmon Rice Bowl: I could probably swap out the salmon for chicken on behalf of my husband. I am just not in the mood for chicken lately, plus if there is an egg shortage a chicken shortage must not be far behind, right?
What are you eating this week?
Maybe Jasper put all the honey in a jar?
I literally never considered doing this? But it is so simple? (I have to admit, I spent way too long trying to figure out what you meant by “jasper,” even after reading your correction, so that gave me a good giggle.)
Just not Jasper
Sometimes I find that the drips from the honey collect in the lid and seep out underneath it and down the container. Usually after a *ahem* child has used the honey container and didn’t turn the container back upright before closing the lid. That is to say, they close the lid WHILE the honey is still coming down the spout. So it collects, and leaks out the crack where the lid opens. I don’t know if that makes any sense. What I’ve always done is just place the honey container in a plastic storage container, to keep any leakage off the shelf.
Yes, I can picture exactly what you mean! Putting a plastic container under it is genius!
I mean, the honey container will still be sticky and annoying, but at least the shelf will not be sticky and annoying. Therefore you will have halved the annoyance of the issue, which frankly is the most I hope for any given day.
You could put the honey jar in a glass or bowl, and at least contain the drips? I’m with you, who would just throw it out?!
I literally never thought of either option!!!
BRUSSELS SPROUTS TACOS. I have never even considered such a thing but I sure am now.
They are so good Nicole!
Ha I would throw it out! But there was a time in my life when I would have fought for every drop, so I respect it.
We got hit with the egg shortage a week or so ago, and the hubs researched it and said that it’s pretty quick to get a chicken from egg to grocery store but that laying hens take longer to grow, so the egg shortage will be here for a while. I haven’t been interested enough to look into this for myself, but it sounds reasonable. All I know is that there were no eggs at the store back then and it’s back to normal now. My current grocery approach is just not to took at the prices.
I’m all about the snow pea stir fry. Yum!
That is usually my approach, too. But I also get a lot of enjoyment out of squawking, “Are you kidding me?!?! $4.99 for three ears of corn!?!”
I’m laughing at all the solutions to the honey problem. We buy honey in 5-pound jars and decant them using a funnel into a smaller honey bear that we have had for years, so I am an expert on getting honey from one container to another. Also, we go through 5-pounds in about six weeks, so don’t get me started on price increase in honey! (We buy from a bee farmer. I literally have their phone number programmed in my phone because we buy so much honey. My husband drinks A LOT of honey-laden tea.)
Can I admit something that I think you’ll understand? I don’t like Brussels sprouts. I think it’s because most of the time they are cooked with bacon (*yuck*), but they’re also really bitter? Is it possible for me to get over this sprout avoidance?
Okay, so HOW do you transfer honey to a separate container? Just… let the original container sit upside down and dripping for days?
I DO understand, and while I wish I could say, yes! you can grow to love them!, I don’t know. I adore Brussels sprouts and yet I still think they have an underlying bitterness, and sometimes if they are cooked wrong they are not pleasant.
I prefer them when they are caramelized beyond recognition AND coated in something delicious — like maple dijon sauce or balsamic vinegar reduction. Things like that. I am suspicious of things like Brussels sprouts salads and slaws that use raw sprouts — even though some sound very delicious, I would worry that they would remain so bitter. If you wanted to try them, I would think of something saucy you love and try to recreate it with the sprouts, as long as you cook them until caramelized. Like… you could probably find buffalo wing style Brussels sprouts or candied Brussels sprouts and maybe that would be a gateway? I agree that they are too often paired with bacon — even though I love bacon.
We use a funnel to transfer from one container to another. When there’s just a little honey left to be transferred, we just lean the whole contraption (bear container on bottom, funnel in the middle, 5-lb container on top) in the corner of our counter and leave it until it’s done.
I love the sound of those brussels sprouts tacos. My daughter does a similar recipe but adds either feta or goat cheese to them.
I love a Brussels sprout taco with goat cheese! YUM!
Brussels Sprouts tacos! Why haven’t I thought of this? Sounds delicious.
Honey bottles/jars always seem to get sticky… I haven’t found out why, but does whipping the jar help? Or do you have some “sloppy honey users” in the house?
Hahaha – the only sloppy honey user is me, unfortunately. (I use 99% of the honey, I would guess.) I hope you try the tacos, they are so yummy.
I am kind of blissfully unaware of food prices since Phil does all of our grocery shopping. My mom did regale us with a story of how cauliflower was priced at $12 a head (!!!) at the grocery store in their tiny town. HOW!! Who is going to pay that much for cauliflower? That is bananas! My husband did comment on how many dollars worth of eggs we have in our fridge. I had put eggs on the grocery list because we usually need a dozen/week. Apparently we already had nearly a full dozen in the fridge – and then we got a dozen from his coworker who has chickens. I mean, I just can’t keep track of things like this. We had a light egg consumption week? Whoops. So now we have, I don’t know, $18 of eggs in our fridge. I assure you no eggs will go bad since we do eat quite a few eggs.
I’m only making 2 meals this week as we have some leftovers to work through. Last night I made picadillo and tonight I am making pork tacos! I need to come back to your meal posts later this week when we are framing up our menu for next week! I could use some new items in the rotation!
I think eggs are good to have in abundance, especially with all the egg production issues. And it takes a looooong time for them to go bad. I only just learned what picadillo is but it sounds yummy!
Brussels Sprouts Tacos sound like the most amazing dinner ever! This week, I’m trying out a lemon chicken soup I got influenced to attempt and black bean tacos which may be too spicy for my child.
I love black bean tacos. Yum.
Well, everyone else beat me to it re: honey…decant into a new container or set the original in a bowl – but no, why throw it out?! That’s just crazy talk.
Sorry Suzanne, all your dinners sound delicious…except for the Brussel sprout tacos. Brussel sprouts are a hard no for me.
It’s okay, Gigi! I understand completely. No hard feelings. 🙂
Oh good. Your hatred of peanut butter and mine of sprouts should never come between friends! 😉
Never! 😂😂😂
I’m astonished how ambitious you are. I mean, these are all, like, real dinners! I’ve gone into “emergency mode” this week because we’re going out of town Wednesday. But maybe when life calms down I’ll try those Brussels Sprouts tacos- they sound good!
I love Brussels sprouts, but seem to be in the minority. Sauteed in a little butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper. DIVINE!
I have a child that is obsessed with honey (like loves it so much – way more than peanut butter or Nutella); I’m kinda “meh” about the flavour, but we go through a lot of honey. I would also move it to another jar/container. You can heat the honey up slightly by resting it in warm water to make it flow more quickly/easily.
I used to hate Brussels sprouts, but now I love them. I like them raw in a salad, a specific salad with apples and pomegranates. I like them roasted in the oven until browned and crispy, with oil and salt and pepper. I like them with balsamic reduction.
Your recipes look great to me. I am glad you are getting some good advice on your honey issue!
ooh! last year sometime, I got a packet of the Omsom Lemongrass BBQ sauce in my Hungry Harvest box, and it’s been sitting in the fridge for ages because it didn’t come with instructions and I couldn’t figure out what to do with it, particularly since I was on a no-meat kick at the time. And now I’m seeing it pop up everywhere. I really should have just Googled it. Now I’m feeling a little inspired to figure it out and get the packet out of my fridge.
I just used it as a marinade Diane! It was super yummy.
I wouldn’t throw out the honey either. The Brussels sprouts tacos sound good.
One thing we’re having for dinner this week is breakfast for dinner tomorrow, which will include spice muffins. Apparently when I wrote it on the whiteboard neither kid could read my handwriting and North wanted to know what “spile muffins” and Noah wanted to know why we were having “spite muffins.” I don’t even know what would be in those.
HA! I love the idea of spite muffins. They would be delicious and nutritious but instead of being made with love, they would be made with spite. And then you could give them to the object of your anger.
I have a thing for brussels sprouts, and I’ve never heard of them being used to make a taco. I’m intrigued. Must try.
We have a huge amount of leftover pasta, of course – so there’s that. Last night was Reg’s bday, so he got to pick dinner. I made honey mustard chicken. I considered making another chicken recipe in a crock pot that I got from you and now I can’t remember what it was. I know it involved a bit of wine. Hoping that clue will help me remember, because I know the fam liked it. My mind is tired. Apparently, so are my dinner offerings.
I might do chicken tacos because Tank has been begging for them, but I’ve not been interested since I tend to overdue them.
I laughed at your shrugging at us with your ‘this is all I’ve got in a way of a preamble.’ Cleaning up honey in a cabinet – is there anything worse? Well, besides liking a recipe and now not remembering which one it was?
I was also wondering why you don’t just transfer the honey to a jar? Sounds like that may have already happened. I would definitely not throw it out Jasper!
I love Brussels Sprouts and want to try those tacos! It may have to wait since we are in Mexico for the winter and I haven’t seen sprouts in the store…yet.
Hahaha 😂 If you try them, Pat, let me know – Brussels sprouts tacos are SO good!
This week I’m eating whatever my mom is cooking as the kids and I are visiting my parents. It’s a delightful break. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your meal plans! I find them helpful inspiration!
A leaky honey jar is a sticky situation. I’m surprised you don’t have a colony of ants yet. I’d try and put it all in another jar and save yourself the frustration.
I’m looking at your chicken soup and brussell tacos; they both sound great.
I was never a fan of Brussels sprouts until I started roasting them, and now I love them and occasionally crave them also, but I confess Brussels sprouts tacos don’t sound good to me. I have been wanting to try to make larb, though. Partly because it’s fun to say larb. We’re eating sausage and tortellini soup, peanut chicken with peas and pulled pork because my son is home and he works out every day and it seems like all I do when he’s home is cook meat.