Meal Planning: Week of January 12th

Review from last week:

We finished off the sausage-potato chowder from last week on Monday - I have to say, we are getting a lot better at eating our leftovers.  

On Wednesday, after an all day training in Kent and awful/slow traffic on the way home (thanking my lucky stars I don't have a commute every day), we went out to dinner at the MLT Diamond Knot brew pub instead of sitting in MORE traffic to go home and cook.  The fun part of the day was that Greg and I got to commute together - I REALLY enjoyed having his help in the morning with Ben, too :)

I LOVED the Thai Shrimp Soup from Blue Apron.  I love that I'm learning how to cook in that style, too.  I think I need to keep more ingredients on hand that will help me whip up this soup more often.

The Beef Bolonese was okay (but nothing compared to the soup) :)

We really liked the chicken tacos (Blue Apron) as well.  Greg, of course, added a bunch of Mexican cheese to his, but I didn't and it was still really delicious.  (And it paired very nicely with a couple Margaritas).

In the morning before we headed down to Tacoma for Monster Jam, I decided to get our favorite tomato soup started in the crockpot and we were SO happy to come home to that!  Soup and salad after a day of greasy food....(and people.  Just kidding.  Kind of).

Yesterday I prepped a big batch of Italian Vegetable Bean Soup that I'll be having all week for lunches.  

Italian Vegetable Soup, from the book A Homemade Life

Note: The author says that this requires a LARGE pot (8-12 gallon) and makes a LOT of soup, so you can easily halve this recipe.

1 pound dried white beans, such as cannelloni
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed under the side of a knife
3 fresh sage leaves
Water
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
8 medium carrots, sliced into thin rounds
2 medium zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced into 1/4 inch thick half moons
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 pound Swiss chard (about 1 small bunch), stalks discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
3/4 pound green cabbage (about 1/2 of a medium head), trimmed and coarsely chopped
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon salt
Best-quality olive oil, for serving
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving (optional)

Put the beans in a medium bowl, and cover them with cool water by at least 1 inch.  Set aside at room temperature, uncovered for 6 hours or overnight.

Drain the beans, and put them in a Dutch oven or other (approximately 5-quart) pot.  Add the garlic, sage leaves, and 10 cups cold water. The beans should be covered with water by at least 1 inch.  Place the pot over high heat, and bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.  Skim away any brownish foam that rises to the surface.

While the beans cook, start the rest of the soup. In a large (8-quart or more) soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the zucchini and broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Then add the Swiss chard, cabbage, and tomatoes, cover the pot, and simmer gently, adjusting the heat as necessary, for 1 hour. At first, it will seem as though there is far too little liquid for all the vegetables in the pot, but don't worry: the vegetables will give off a good amount of water as they cook, and it will even out.

After 1 hour, add the cooked beans and their cooking water, discarding the sage leaves. Add the salt and stir well.  Simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently, until the beans and vegetables are very tender and the broth has taken on a creamy pale orange hue. Taste, and add salt as needed.

Serve with a hearty glug of good olive oil over the top of each bowl and a dusting of Parmigiano-reggiano, if you like.

Note: Refrigerated, this soup will keep for up to a week, and it gets better with each passing day. It also freezes nicely.

For dinner, Greg grilled fillets and we had steak salads.

Plan for next week:

Monday: Fish tacos/fish and chips

Tuesday: Mexican Style Quinoa and Beef Casserole 

Wednesday: Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Thursday: Chicken Wedge Salad

Friday: The Christensens are coming over for dinner, so Greg will make a big batch of my favorite Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya. 

Saturday: Creamy tomato basil soup and grilled cheese)

Sunday: Raleigh's birthday party! Out to eat for Indian Food!