Saturday July 16th-
I made Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole for dinner. This recipe is one I clipped from a magazine last fall, when I usually start to gravitate towards casseroles and heavier dishes. Mike is a big fan of broccoli and it is a vegetable I'd personally rather eat when it is cooked in smaller pieces and hidden in a casserole or soup.
My original intention was to make this homemade "cream of" soup mix to have on hand and use in this recipe, but I ended up caving and making a stop at the store for a $2 can of cream of onion soup because Saturday was a very rough day here. I vow to make the homemade mix soon and report on its success here.
Recipe adaptations:
- I use cream of onion soup instead of cream of mushroom.
- I use shredded supermarket rotisserie chicken when I make this because I don't normally buy chicken breasts (whole chickens are cheaper and already cooked is a plus)!
- Broccoli crowns were 10/$10 at Mejier so I cut and steamed my own broccoli, even through the original recipe uses frozen broccoli.
- I use crumbled butter crackers for a topping instead of potato chips.
Verdict: Mike was very enthusiastic about this dinner, I enjoyed it, and the kids weren't interested at all. Orion took two bites and didn't seem to hate it...The meal also provided three lunch servings of leftovers. I may have ate one portion in the middle of the night when I got uncontrollably hungry due to third trimester craziness.
Sunday July 17th-
We has family friends over for Sunday dinner and I had the inspiration to go off of the meal plan and add an unexpected expense to our grocery bill for the week: Brisket.
The only two places I know to buy a brisket around here sell huge pieces that are quite an investment, but considering we can make three separate briskets out of one cut and then eat that brisket for 3 meals or so, it's a meal worth doing. Especially since I have pregnancy related anemia and can use all the extra iron I can get ;)
I am devoted to the recipe for Maya's Sweet and Sour Holiday Brisket from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. I always make it in the oven and use my Le Creuset dutch oven.
The brisket was served with an arugula, feta, and dried MI cherry salad, along with Parmesan-garlic potatoes brought by our guests. I made a lemon based vinaigrette for the dressing.
For dessert I went with a frugal recipe for Maple Pudding Cake, which was also by Smitten Kitchen. This made exactly enough for four adults and I served it with vanilla ice cream. I used maple syrup from my dad's trees and therefore I think the sweetness of my sauce wasn't overpowering as that syrup is milder than the typical commercial sold maple syrup.
Verdict: Everyone had clean plates! And I may have heard some words of praise... The kids had a separate meal, but ate well too.
Monday July 18th-
We had leftovers tonight. Not very exciting, but there was enough broccoli and chicken casserole to go around and now I'm content knowing it is gone. Having a quick meal also boded well because Mike was able to mow our lawn and do some tree trimming afterwards and then we all went outside to play until bedtime!
Tuesday July 19th-
It was just the kids and myself tonight for dinner. I was tired from a long day of playing outside, attending a magic show, and trying to chase Otto around the library. We had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.
Wednesday July 20th-
This was a busy and stressful day. I had to pick up my sister from the airport, but the flight was delayed and our whole day was a little thrown off. Luckily, I had made the Roasted Potatoes with Chicken Sausage and Maple Mustard Glaze ahead of time around 3pm so I was able to quickly re-heat it for dinner (and eat more when we all arrived home from the airport at midnight). I used Golden Delicious apples.
Thursday July 21st-
Had dinner at my parent's house. Papa cooked up a pork butt, so there were BBQ sandwiches, potato chips, and a nice cucumber salad.
Friday July 22nd-
Another exhausting day here. The last night of having Mike away though! We drove back from Ludington and laid low at the house due to really really hot weather. I made the kids macaroni and cheese (Annie's brand--our favorite and a steal at Sam's Club) and I had another grilled cheese sandwich because nothing else sounded good.
Hopefully next week I'll have a bit more of an inspiring or interesting week of meals to share with you! "Just keeping it real" and all that, y'know...
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