It’s recipe rating time once again; that time of the week that I review the Hits and the Misses of the new recipes that I incorporate into my weekly meal plan. Week #15 was filled with great leftovers as well as a second try at the Carolina Pulled Pork that we liked so much the first time.
Monday brought leftovers to the table with possibly my very favorite dinner of late, Bobby Flay’s Meat Loaf and Bobby Flay’s chipolte sweet potatoes. As a side I served roasted asparagus. Love this! I made a new Greek pasta salad to accompany our leftovers. Huge HIT! It was fabulous and will be a perfect summer salad for the months ahead.
On Tuesday I combined leftover beef enchiladas with a Mexican Kale Salad.
Fresh kale at the Farmers’ Market made tonight’s feast possible. I have made this salad before but I had forgotten just how amazing it is. It made a leftover meal a banquet on a plate. If you have not tried this amazing salad do it AND keep this dressing in your back pocket for another night.
Creamy Mexican Kale Salad – iFOODreal
Oh, this Mexican kale salad is sooo good! A heat wave hit Vancouver and I have been spending every day at the beach. Plus, my mom has been visiting, which is a precious gift. Needless to say, it’s too hot and little time to cook.
Wednesday Night was Family Night and every single recipe was new and untried. We started with a new chicken dish.
Chicken Paprika – Chef in Training
An amazingly flavorful chicken that is coated in an incredible batter and has an unbelievably delicious gravy. This will be one meal you will want to eat again and again! Growing up, we had quite a few dinner staples in my home. My mom is such a talented cook and actually created nearly every recipe she …
OMG…This was an amazing chicken recipe.
In fact after 2 helpings the 12 year old leaned over at the dinner table and said, “Granma, this is the best chicken you have ever made.” Now that is a supreme compliment! We served the “gravy” (sauce) over the chicken and cauliflower rice. To accompany the chicken a vegetable casserole by Giada caught my eye.
Initially I thought that this casserole might be a little bland, but it was delicious. A truly great accompaniment to any meal. With the approach of the summer season and the abundance of vegetables, I see this recipe as a new dinner staple, substituting whatever is in season.
Source: Vegetable Casserole
For our Dessert I used leftover rice and subbed a combination of almond milk and skim milk and this recipe was still delicious. Possibly not as creamy as it would have been with whole milk…but more healthy.
Source: Rice Pudding
Thursday brought late night eating after the Portsmouth/Norfolk Middle School Championship Track Meet. The 12 year old’s relay finished 4th and she had her best time. That’s the good part. The other part…we got home at 9 and we were starving. The meal plan was once again set aside. I quickly pulled out 3 left over beef enchiladas and popped them into the oven. We enjoyed the rest of the Mexican Kale salad as we waited for the enchiladas to warm up. A quick dinner, but it certainly satisfied hungry appetites.
Friday delivered yet another change of plans. There was a community wine party planned with an Italian Theme. The weather called for a perfect outdoor evening, so we decided at the last minute to make it a go. Everyone was to bring an Italian wine and an Italian dish to share. I had the ingredients for an Italian pasta salad (new recipe), so Italian pasta it would be. This was the first time I needed to make an unplanned grocery run since I began serious meal planning. I needed Italian wine and pepperoni. The pasta salad was fine, but since I have so many other outstanding pasta salads, this one will not be added to my repertoire.
The wine night was delightful. Outdoors on the first warm rainless night in days. We had plenty of great wine and met new neighbors. A well needed change from the norm these past weeks.
Saturday. Let me just say this….Loooong day! The Ole Buckeye and I took a class, an all day class, a class that began at 8:30 and ended at 5:30 with a lunch break that ended up being a Q&A. The class….the Constitution. The class included the history leading up to the Declaration of Independence, the entire process of how the Constitution was written and ratified, and what the Constitution has become with the amendments and judicial decisions. A course that every American should take.
By the time we reached home we were exhausted and we had an 8 AM soccer game scheduled for Sunday morning. We had a quick dinner of left overs…Italian pasta salad. Quick because there was an invitation for birthday cookie cake for the soon to be 10 year old. Off we went for the blowing out of 10 candles and sweet treats with good friends of the birthday girl.
And then came Sunday. I forgot to mention that I had a pork butt brining for 24+ hours and popped it into a slow oven when we went to bed on Saturday night. It needed to slow bake for 12-14 hours. It would be done by the time we returned home from the Sunday soccer games. Since it was my son’s last day home before he left for another 2 weeks, I decided to have a family dinner…birthday eve dinner. I quickly made a chocolate bundt cake (the only thing unplanned for the evening.) We were to feast on Carolina pulled pork, a ramen slaw salad, baked beans, and birthday cake.
Crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad
What a delightful evening we had…good food, a birthday eve celebration and cake and candles. The 9/10 year old was delighted.
Although the week was filled with family favorites and leftovers, we did experience one of the best new meals I have tried. Our Wednesday evening family dinner was outstanding and each of us to a person enjoyed it thoroughly. In addition, the Carolina pulled pork for the second time was even better than the first. Our son is a pulled pork connoisseur and he gave it a thumbs up as well.
A great week of food and family, topped with a celebration for the last person in our family reaching double digits!
