How many of last week’s planned meals did I make? Stay tuned for the thrilling answer!
But first, I wanted to give you an equally thrilling update on the fruit fly situation, which is that we still have them. Per Swistle and Steph, I tried a combo of boiling water and bleach in the kitchen sink drain. I really really thought this had done the trick, as the fruit flies seemed non-existent the following day. But then they slowly returned, although not to the intensity of before. The Zevo, which some of you LOVE, and SWEAR BY, continued to do nothing. Out of desperation, I bought a package of 100 sticky gnat traps to stick in my plants; they seem to operate by a similar principle as the Zevo, only without requiring a blue light. The traps only just arrived, so I don’t know whether they are doing anything yet, but I have high hopes.
Now back to dinner talk. Last week, I planned three meals. Of those three meals, I made ONE, the Sheet Pan Cuban Chicken and Black Bean Rice Bowls. We ate this meal as a rice bowl one night and as tacos another night.
I did not make Beef and Broccoli because, despite your assurances, I was concerned it would prove to be too much broccoli with the other meal I had planned. So I made Fire Fry instead. WHAT A GREAT IDEA. We ate leftovers a second night, and then I ate vegetarian fire fry for two – no, three lunches and loved every bite. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve eaten Fire Fry, and I do not know why we waited so long. It has everything I love: sauce over rice, spices, and bell peppers. YUM. I have found that the key to really good Fire Fry is whole milk yogurt, though, and I haven’t found a whole milk Greek yogurt that works quite as well as boring old Dannon… and Dannon’s downfall is that it’s got a much lower protein content than Greek yogurt. Oh well. You win some, etc.
The other meal I planned to make was Oven Baked Pork Chops with Something Green, and that Something Green was intended to be broccoli. Well, it’s on the meal plan again for tonight, but the broccoli I bought last week had developed a five-o’clock mold shadow, so into the garbage it went. That’s what you get for shirking your meal plan, I guess: moldy broccoli. I’ll sauté some peas and shallots for tonight’s Something Green.
Yesterday, I made some chili, which I find pairs perfectly with fall weather and football. We have plenty of chili leftover, so I’m anticipating a repeat of that this week. But what else?
DINNERS FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 26
- Oven Baked Pork Chops with Something Green: Let’s just put this back on the meal plan, for the sake of completeness.
- Fried Rice with Some Sort of Protein:I would like to eat fried rice with shrimp, but I suspect my husband would prefer chicken. I may end up mish-mashing some recipes together (doesn’t fried rice usually have ginger in it???), but I chose this one because it does not require oyster sauce. I don’t have oyster sauce on hand, and it’s one of those things I wouldn’t use very often if I bought it.
- Guiness Beef Stew: I’m in a stew sort of mood. This seems like a good option for a Halloween-y weekend.
Carla has a big test this week, and for her post-test treat she has requested Taco Bell and apple crisp. I plan to make the apple crisp because I’m not aware that Taco Bell has it on the menu, and… even if they did have it on the menu, I might choose to make it anyway. Do you have a favorite recipe for apple crisp? If it helps, I like mine to have lots of crisp oaty goodness in among all the apples.
What’s on your meal plan this week? Any carryovers from last week?
One out of three sounds about right. What is it they say about man plans and God laughs?
This reminds me that I haven’t had fried rice in a very long time, so I might do something about that. I do like a little oyster sauce in it, and if you ever want to get some, let me assure you that it keeps forever in the fridge.
I made a tofu stir fry tonight and learned the hard way that my assumption that I had hoison sauce was incorrect. Thank you Google for coming to the rescue with a substitute (a dash of miso and maple syrup).
Okay, Birchie, I will consider the oyster sauce. (What else do you use it in?)
Way to go with the internet substitute! It always feels so gratifying to find a workaround.
I have no meal plan this week. I did buy a jar of enchilada sauce, thinking maybe I would want to whip up another pan of skillet enchiladas (since they’re so easy) but then I realized the two nights I would be most likely to cook- Tuesday and Wednesday- I’ll be out driving my daughter to events right around the dinner hour. So much for that. Oh, she’s also requested Taco Bell for one of the nights. At least it’s cheap!
I feel like you could up this series even more by having us all vote on which meals you’re likely to make this week. I vote for…. the pork chops (since you seemed likely to make them tonight) and the stew- I think it would be excellent for Halloween weekend.
Hahahaha — yes, a poll! And you’re right, because we ate the pork chops last night! But which meal do you think I’ll SKIP this week, Jenny?
Mmmmm skillet enchiladas. I forgot how good that sounded when you posted about it, and now I want skillet enchiladas.
If you only chose one meal from last week, I think cuban sheet pan chicken was the right move. 😉 I don’t have an apple crisp recipe, but now that I realize I don’t – I wish I did. I’ll be back to add one to my dessert recipes.
This week, we are still eating some of the leftovers of the chicken and sweet potato sheet pan that I made last week. I def made too much, and didn’t factor in that we were all going out of town over this past weekend. It’s still yummy. Maybe Coach will grill one night this week. Maybe Mini will find herself at the grocery store. We’re living on the edge over here is what I’m saying. I do have a rotisserie chicken from Costco that smell bad. I’m anxiously awaiting garbage day to dispose of it.
I hope the fruit fly situation disappears soon. They are so annoying.
Ugh, those rotisserie chicken corpses are a nightmare.
Yes, how is it that neither of us has a go-to apple crisp recipe? We both need to remedy that.
I’m fighting small ants in one of my bathtubs, so I feel for you. I don’t know what to do. And yuck! Your meals always sound delicious and nutritious. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Taco Bell but I have tasted and made apple crisp, being from Washington State. My favorite recipes combine two types of apples–usually Granny Smiths which hold their shape and a red sweeter apple. Then I look for a recipe with lots of crumble; oats and brown sugar are a a requirement!
Oh, the small ants!!! They are so frustrating!
I would have never thought to use multiple apples in a crisp. What a good idea!
If you like a lot of the crunchy oaty goodness in your apple crisp, I have a great recipe. I’ve been making it for many years so I should know it…but…
I am currently in an airport heading away for a month so can’t check the recipe but this is close https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24127/apple-oatmeal-crisp/
Im pretty sure my recipe calls for 1 cup softened butter, and 1 1/2 cups each of the flour and oats it has a good crust on the bottom and the top I just slice up apples until the bottom crumb layer is well covered then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg I don’t add sugar to the apples! It’s a very forgiving type of recipe so you can wing it oh and it bakes about 1 hour at 350 until apple as are tender. It’s so yummy warm with vanilla ice cream
My mouth is watering based on your apple crisp description! And yes, the vanilla ice cream is ESSENTIAL.
My daughter HATES apple crisp. In fact, any cooked fruit is a hard no for her, aside from bananas (which she HATES) baked into banana bread (which she loves).
I think there should be an equal ration of topping to apples in an apple crisp 🙂
Your daughter and I are on the same page, mostly. Pretty much the only cooked fruit I like are apples. Although I adore the plum cake I make in the summer, which obviously has plums. They turn into jam though, so there’s no weird fruit texture remaining.
YES. You are right on with the ratio of apples to topping.
Good luck with the fruit flies. They are so irritating.
It’s just me and Noah at home this week and because he’s been working such long hours and having dinner at work I decided not to plan any dinners this week. Then yesterday he texted me around 6 to say he’d be home for dinner and he says he thinks with the election so close they may be over the hump, so I guess we’ll be improvising the rest of the week. Luckily, there are a lot of leftovers in the freezer. (He chose leftover chili last night with corn, green beans, and an almond flour biscuit from a batch I made over the weekend).
Hooray for leftovers in the freezer! It combines seat-of-your-pants dinner planning with actual good, homemade food.
Dinner plans? What are those!? It seems like you did a good job, and you ate the fire fry many times so it was well worth the one time cooking! I love those kinds of meals, where not only can you cook once, eat multiple times, but also they taste better the next day. My current meal plan is the “I am traveling but still trying to eat vegetables” plan, as in, I have eaten broccoli and potatoes for dinner or lunch for the last few days (with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, in a desperate attempt to get some protein). I am only here for a few days and I did not want things to go to waste. Oh also, rice noodle stir fry with tofu (and broccoli) in order to use up the broccoli (and tofu!) before I leave. Luckily I found an Asian food store on day one and so I have been having fun being creative while NOT buying oyster sauce or other sauces, as an entire bottle will not be used in ages!
You are eating an impressive number of veggies! That is such a challenge while traveling.
Guinness beef stew! Be still, my heart! Sounds fabulous!
Here’s my secret to baking: The Joy of Cooking. Look, any recipe in there is tried and true and easy to make. And it is my go-to apple crisp recipe. I have no shame in this. That cookbook is a classic for a reason!