Meal Planning: Week of February 17th

Review from last week:

Due to us unexpectedly being in town this weekend, I added a few items to our meal plan.  After a few months of it sitting in my Amazon cart, and after a little encouragement from a fellow foodie, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased Kitchen Revelry.  I made 2 dishes from it last week and so far, it's a big hit.  It seriously makes me want to throw a dinner party every single night.

This was the Layered Chili I made on Friday night (served with honey cornbread).  The recipe called for ground turkey, but offered a ground beef alternative.  I used ground top sirloin, and I could absolutely tell a difference using a higher quality meat.  



Layered Chili (from the cookbook, Kitchen Revelry)

3T chili powder
2T ground cumin
1/2t dried red chili flakes
1/4 cup EVOO
3 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped seeded green bell peppers
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced - (or if you are like me, buy an enormous jar of minced garlic from Costco and forget about mincing your own.  1t = 1 garlic clove)
2 lbs ground turkey meat (or ground beef)
1T dried oregano
1T cocoa powder or 1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped
1 12 ounce bottle lager beer
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 15.5 ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Mix the chili powder, cumin and chili flakes in a small bowl.  Heat a heavy large nonstick pot over med-high heat.  Add the chili powder mixture to the pot and stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the oil to the pot, then the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and saute until beginning to soften (about 5 min).  Add the meat and saute until no longer pink (about 5 min).  Add the oregano, then the tomato paste, salt and cocoa powder; stir 1 min.  Add the beer and simmer 5 min.  Add the diced tomatoes and the beans.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to med-low and simmer slightly covered until the flavors develop, (about 30 min).

On Sunday Morning, after a few hours of playing in the fresh snow, we came in side and enjoyed some skillet eggs with smoked bacon and spinach, also from Kitchen Revelry.  This just might be my new favorite breakfast.  You use bacon and sourdough bread (cubed) to form a crust, and then layer it with spinach, shallot, eggs, and top with fresh chives.  I'm going to attempt to make this a little healthier next time using turkey bacon and fewer bread crumbs...but if that is a bust, I have zero problem returning to the original recipe.  Yum.

This bruschetta was such a crowd pleaser.  We had it on Saturday night when the Cougans were over.  The next time I make it, I will make the bread slices a little larger by slicing them diagonally.  I also might just lightly brush them with olive oil and toast them in the oven instead of sauteing them in SO MUCH BUTTER, (although, I didn't hear any complaints about that).  

My gluten-free coworkers always keep a big bag of this homemade granola in the freezer at work.  A few weeks ago I decided to try some on top of my yogurt and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was.  I made a big batch to keep at home.  Greg even liked it!

On Sunday evening, I made a batch of our favorite tomato basil soup.  If I haven't mentioned it before, should you make this for yourself, try using less cream than the recipe calls for.  Like WAY less.  The recipe calls for 2 cups heavy cream (?!?!?) but I use about 1/4 cup.  Still creamy, still delicious.

The salad tacos were a huge hit.  It was hilarious watching Ben pick up a taco and take an enormous bite right out of the middle (and then watch as lettuce, tomato, meat and cheese fell into his lap).

Here is what we have planned for the week:

Friday: Valentine's Day!  Our official plans aren't until Saturday night, but I when I mentioned dinner on Friday to Greg, I was told, "don't worry about it, I've got it".  I'm intrigued. 

Saturday: My parents purchased us a gift certificate to our new favorite restaurant, Tandem Wine Bar, along with an offer to babysit :)  Planning to do a little wine tasting beforehand and then having dinner while Ben stays home with my mom.  

Sunday:  My mom and I are going to see Spamalot at the 5th Ave Theater, so I think I will get another batch of tomato basil soup started in the crock pot before I leave.

Monday: Halibut.  There are 2 recipes in The Can't Cookbook I'm debating between.  I'll report back.

Tuesday: Ricotta Meatballs with Chianti Sauce (another one from Kitchen Revelry - I'm clearly obsessed).  I'm planning to make "zoodles" (zucchini noodles) to go with it.

Wednesday: Left overs

Thursday: We have talked about walking down to check out the new Zeek's pizza that opened just down the road from us on Thursday night.