Lots of venison over the last two months (we have over 60 pounds in our deep freezer, yay!) which we've found makes a great substitute for beef. Also lots of dinners out and at friends' houses (tis the season). Oh well, it is what it is, still, we discovered some great new recipes.
LAURA'S HERBED GREEN QUINOA
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 lemons
* 1.5 cups of quinoa (uncooked)
* bouillon or vegetable stock cube
* approximately 9 ounces of broccoli
* a handful of frozen peas
* olive oil
* 1 leek, washed, trimmed and sliced
* a small bunch of basil
* a small bunch of mint
* 3 big handfuls of spinach
* 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
(Optional - avocado slices)
1. Cut one of the lemons in half and place in a pan with the quinoa.
2. Cover with 2.5 cups water and add the bouillon cube, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until most of the water has absorbed.
3. Just before the quinoa has fully absorbed all the water, lay the broccoli and peas directly on top of the quinoa, put a lid on, and allow to steam for a couple of minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil and cook the leek for 10 minutes or so, until soft and sweet.
5. Drain the quinoa, remove the lemon halves, and use tongs to squeeze the lemon juice onto the quinoa.
6. Put the quinoa, broccoli, and peas into a bowl with the chopped herbs, shredded spinach, seeds, and a cooked leek.
7. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and squeeze the remaining lemon over the salad.
- adapted very slightly from
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)
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WEEK 1
MONDAY - Dan makes venison steaks with baked red potatoes. YUM!!!
TUESDAY - Dinner at Farmers Fishers Bakers before Bright Star at the Kennedy Center (loved that play!!); Dan makes venison quesadillas for the kids and him.
WEDNESDAY - Laura's herbed green quinoa (via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)); mac and cheese for the kids. Loved this quinoa salad, I'll be making it a lot in the next few months.
THURSDAY - Warm salad of roasted kale, coconut, and tomatoes (via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)) ; tortellini for the kids. The salad was good, but not amazing.
FRIDAY - Dinner with friends at Marble & Rye before the Second City show at Arlington Drafthouse.
SATURDAY - Dinner at the neighbors' Christmas party.
SUNDAY - The neighbors' have us over for Christmas party leftovers.
_______________________
WEEK 2
MONDAY - Baja style cod tacos (via
Dos Caminos Tacos: 100 Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Mexican Street Food
). I find cod really tricky to cook, so after this I'm returning to tilipia, but the sauces were really good. I just didn't get the fish right.
TUESDAY - Sweet and sticky tomato and onion bake (via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)). We all loved this. As in loved. So we made it multiple times in December.
WEDNESDAY - Gwyneth's turkey chili (with venison instead of turkey) (via
IT'S ALL GOOD: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great
). This is one of our favorite cold weather recipes. There's never any leftovers.
THURSDAY - Lemon spaghetti with turkey sausage and spinach (substitute spaghetti squash for pasta, idea via Not-So-SAHM) (via
Clean Eating. I like spaghetti squash but I didn't love it with this recipe, every bite I kept thinking "but where is the pasta? I want the pasta."
FRIDAY - Kitchari (via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)). So this was a shot in the dark, I assumed everyone would hate it (rice and lentils with spices), but the kids loved it and so did Dan, plus it was relatively easy to put together. I think this is a keeper.
SATURDAY - Dan's parents for dinner - Venison steaks with chimichuri sauce; sweet and sticky tomato and onion bake via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)) (this is our new go-to-recipe, if you can't tell).
SUNDAY - NYC - Pizza dinner at our friends' house in Queens (thanks for having us!!).
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WEEK 3
MONDAY - NYC - Solstice dinner at the Forager's Table NYC (so. so. good).
TUESDAY - NYC - Street vendor food before seeing Something Rotten on Broadway.
WEDNESDAY - Baja Fresh at a highway rest stop on the drive home from NYC (the VERY RAINY drive home).
THURSDAY - Christmas Eve dinner with Dan's family at our house - Venison roast; last meal salad (via via
The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon: Simple and Inspired Whole Foods Recipes to Savor and Share
) ; brussels sprouts with bacon and apples (via
Martha Stewart).
FRIDAY - Christmas dinner at our house with friends and my mom - Lamb roast; sweet and sticky tomato and onion bake via
A Modern Way to Eat: 200+ Satisfying Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)); mashed potatoes.
SATURDAY - Leftovers (so. many. leftovers).
SUNDAY - We still have more leftovers. Wow.
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WEEK 4
MONDAY - Dinner out at Texas Jack's BBQ (have you been here? It's awesome!)
TUESDAY - Frozen pizza and peas.
WEDNESDAY - Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup (via
Pioneer Woman). This was shockingly good. A keeper.
THURSDAY - Progressive party for NYE
FRIDAY - Taylor Gourmet carryout
SATURDAY - Friends for dinner - Gwyneth's turkey chili (with venison instead of turkey) and roasted cauliflower (both recipes via
IT'S ALL GOOD: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great).
SUNDAY - Dan roasts a chicken with mashed potatoes.
_________________________________
WEEK 5
MONDAY - Cauliflower soup (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
) with mashed potatoes on the side. This soup was crazy easy (just a little olive oil, lemons, and cauliflower) and it tasted crazy good.
TUESDAY - Spiced braised lentils and tomatoes with toasted coconut (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook). Good but not amazing.
WEDNESDAY - Turkey meatballs in tomato sauce (we substituted venison for the turkey) (via
The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon: Simple and Inspired Whole Foods Recipes to Savor and Share). I had no idea meatballs could be this good. Even T loved them. Totally worth the extra work and effort.
THURSDAY - Cleansing ginger-chicken soup (via
Canal House Cooks Every Day
) and "Use a Spoon" chopped salad (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook). The soup was simple, yet good. The salad was a total keeper - easy and healthy.
FRIDAY - Leftovers.
SATURDAY- Dan makes beef brisket ((via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook) and mashed potatoes. Super yummy. We're totally in love with this cookbook lately.
SUNDAY - Leftovers.
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WEEK 6
MONDAY - 3 day juice/soup cleanse (Dan makes dinner for the himself and the kids)
TUESDAY - 3 day juice/soup cleanse (Dan makes dinner for the himself and the kids)
WEDNESDAY - 3 day juice/soup cleanse (Dan makes dinner for the himself and the kids)
THURSDAY - MY BIRTHDAY DINNER - Rose's Luxury (so. so. good.)
FRIDAY - Friends in from out of town - dinner at Marble and Rye.
SATURDAY - Friends in from out of town - takeout from Bangkok 54 before my birthday party.
SUNDAY - Friends in from out of town - Ledo's pizza while we watch the football game.
___________________________________
WEEK 7
MONDAY - Taylor Gourmet take out (total laziness)
TUESDAY - Chicken Tinga Tacos (via
Cooking Light). These were fine, nothing special.
WEDNESDAY - Kale sausage and white bean stew (via
Dinner: A Love Story: It all begins at the family table
). We've had this multiple times, the kids (somewhat shockingly) really love it, plus it's easy.
THURSDAY - Eggplant pasta sauce and spaghetti (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook) & "Use A Spoon" chopped salad (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook) . Dan hates eggplant, but I decided to try this anyways. And guess what, he loved it! Everyone loved it! Plus, this salad has become a go-to, super easy and super low in calories. A total win.
FRIDAY - Blizzard happy hour at our neighbor's house.
SATURDAY - Dan roasts a chicken with potatoes during the blizzard. YUMMY!
SUNDAY - Spaghetti with meatballs at a neighbor's happy hour.
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WEEK 8
MONDAY - Dinner out at P Brennan's. It felt so nice to escape the house!!
TUESDAY - The master hash (via
Cooking Light); I always forget how wonderful this recipe is until I make it again. Not a bite left over.
WEDNESDAY - Eggplant pasta sauce (via
Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook) and spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread (we still don't have our car shoveled out, so we're walking to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for easy dinners).
THURSDAY - Perogies for the kids; a chickpea/cilantro/cucumber/avocado for me.
FRIDAY - Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup (via
Pioneer Woman). A repeat from a few weeks ago. The soup is yummy and uses all the ingredients I have in my pantry/refrigerator.
SATURDAY - Dinner at our friends' house.
SUNDAY - Dan makes venison and potatoes. Yum!
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WEEK 9
MONDAY - Veggie night - brussels sprouts with apples; cauliflower with chickpeas (via
IT'S ALL GOOD: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great) ; and
tomato/lentil salad. Veggie night is always a winner!
TUESDAY - Black bean tacos (via
Dinner: A Love Story: It all begins at the family table). We eat these a lot (because they're easy and tasty).
WEDNESDAY - Italian sausage with cabbage and potatoes (via
Three Many Cooks). I almost forgot about this recipe, so easy and the kids love it. I need to do this more often.
THURSDAY - Arroz con Pollo (via
Dinner: A Love Story: It all begins at the family table. Yum.
FRIDAY - Hot dogs and polish sausage with Trader Joe's pickle sauerkraut. T's been asking for hot dogs forever, so I finally gave in.
SATURDAY - Leftovers.
SUNDAY - Dan makes a huge pot of venison chili for a small Superbowl gathering at our house.
- I have no idea if this tea really detoxes anything, but it has a light flavor that tastes perfect on cold winter days. 
- The Echo is basically a stand alone Siri, which might not seem that exciting. But when you're making dinner/drinking with friends/playing boardgames it feels wonderful to say, "Alexa, play x song." Like magic. 
- One bag of these lasts forever. They smell great and afterwards I fall right to sleep. 
- We have two dogs and Roomba makes all their hair disappear (ha! I rhyme). I love her (yes, I've given my vacuum cleaner a gender and a nickname) so much that the kids always ask, "Mom do you love Roombie for than us?" (If you're wondering, she's female because I didn't want to bring another man into my marriage, such things could become awkward). 
- As someone who loves to travel, this is one of my favorite photography books ever. The images are funny and snarky and super clever. It looks like the price has gone up considerably since I bought it two years ago (maybe I should start "investing" in more coffee table books), so if you don't want to pay $85, check out some of Parr's amazing photos 
- A few years ago my mother-in-law bought me a diffuser, one of my favorite gifts ever. I've found that when I diffuse peppermint oil, I get so much more done. It's like a huge burst of energy. 
- For most of my life I've slept in old sweatpants and stained sweat shirts, but this December I decided to splurge on "real" jammies. And now I never want to take them off. Waking up in "real PJs" makes me feel pretty and sophisticated, totally different from my usual "sloppy mom" vibe.
and coolio paint tip markers (similar to 
). Mainly because it was almost impossible not to buy a coloring book there - as the options are numerous, beautiful, and scattered throughout the store. And now, every morning, I see the girls and their friends coloring in the pages. 
