Things to Eat - 9 Week Meal Plan (September - October 2017)

As far as dinner goes, things have changed A LOT this fall.

F has loved cooking for awhile now, but up until this fall she concentrated on desserts. So we decided to try the meal-delivery service Plated and ask F to cook dinner two nights a week (I picked Plated because it appeared to have the largest recipe selection, but we're up for trying others as well).

Since she's the chef, F chooses the entrees and then when she comes home from school she arranges all the ingredients, references the recipe card, and cooks us an AMAZING feast. We're working on making P and T help her (though F often doesn't want their help).

Am I am so so happy.

Plus, Dan shot his first deer of the season and has made A LOT of incredible venison recipes. So so good!

Basically, I rarely cook at all anymore - which I'm totally okay with. Happy autumn!
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WEEK 1

MONDAY - Labor Day BBQ at a neighbor's.

TUESDAY - Black bean chilaquile (recipe here). When the kids were little they didn't like this that much, but now they request it regularly, which makes me so happy.

WEDNESDAY - Hot dogs and chicken sausage with brussels sprout/endive salad (the salad is from this book, super easy and so so good).

THURSDAY - Dinner out before Depeche Mode.

FRIDAY - Pizza at the back to school picnic.

SATURDAY - I have a photoshoot, Dan makes the kids dinner.

SUNDAY - Date night out at BrickHaus (the new beer garden on Columbia Pike). The kids eat mac and cheese.
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WEEK 2

MONDAY - Bacon, corn, and parmesan pasta (via Smitten Kitchen's blog).

TUESDAY - Brussels spout salad (via this book) and TJ's frozen lamb chops.

WEDNESDAY - Friends for dinner - veggie tacos two ways - corn and cauliflower/ black bean.

THURSDAY - Carry out from Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita (the new taco place on Columbia Pike). The food here is crazy good, we can't get enough.

FRIDAY - Dan makes venison medallions with garlic bread.

SATURDAY - Dinner at our friend's 40th birthday party.

SUNDAY - Maggie's pasta (recipe here).

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WEEK 3 - I have dental surgery on Monday and ignore my family all week.

MONDAY - Plated - Salmon and Creamy Dill Sauce with Sautéed Kale and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

TUESDAY - Plated - Seared Steak with Bell Pepper Panzanella.

WEDNESDAY - Dinner out with Shannon (Farmers and Fishers), Dan makes pasta for the kids.

THURSDAY - Dan make dinner.

FRIDAY - Pizza at the neighbor's happy hour.

SATURDAY - We eat dinner at William Jeffrey's after Aasif Mandvi's comedy show at the Cinema Drafthouse. F makes pizza at home.

SUNDAY - Dan planned a huge venison feast, but the garbage disposal broke and he has to spend all day fixing it - so carry out from Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita.

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WEEK 4

MONDAY - Dan's venison feast.

TUESDAY - Plated - Brown Butter Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Peas.

WEDNESDAY - Plated - Salmon Burgers with Chive Aioli and Mâche.

THURSDAY - Back to school night - I leave out apps for the kids.

FRIDAY - Friends for dinner - Dan makes venison steaks (yum!).

SATURDAY - Dinner at the wedding I'm photographing.

SUNDAY - I have a photoshoot and Dan has a Nationals' Game, so we order Ledos pizza for the kids.

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WEEK 5

MONDAY - Plated - Cuban Beef Bowls with Mojo Sauce and Avocado-Pineapple Salsa.

TUESDAY - Plated - Chop Steak with Crispy Brussels Sprout Home Fries and Herb Compound Butter.

WEDNESDAY - I FINALLY MAKE DINNER!! Brussels sprout salad (via this book) and pasta with tomatoes and sausage.

THURSDAY - Family dinner at Politics and Prose.

FRIDAY - Dan makes dinner for him and the kids; I eat at the wedding I'm photographing.

SATURDAY - Dan and the kids in Richmond; I eat at the wedding I'm photographing.

SUNDAY - Family at the neighborhood Ethiopian restaurant (I've been craving Ethiopian all week).

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WEEK 6

MONDAY - Dan makes a venison feast for F's birthday.

TUESDAY - Plated - Crispy Flounder with Spinach Orzo and Tomato-Olive Tapenade.

WEDNESDAY - Plated - Meatball Parm Heroes with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce and Charred Broccoli .

THURSDAY - Black bean chilaquile (recipe here).

FRIDAY - Breakfast for dinner - pancakes and bacon.

SATURDAY - Order pizza after T's paintball party (yes, I know his birthday was in June, but sometimes it takes awhile to get a birthday party together).

SUNDAY - I have a photoshoot, Dan makes orzo with pesto.
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WEEK 7

MONDAY - Plated - Baked Pennewith Cauliflower Cream Sauce, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.

TUESDAY - Plated - Seared Steakwith Blistered Shishito Pepper Salsa and Smashed Potatoes.

WEDNESDAY - Nachos for dinner with black beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes (yum!).

THURSDAY - Trader Joe's lamb chops with broccoli salad (via this book).

FRIDAY - Order pizza after P's escape room birthday party.

SATURDAY - Dan makes dinner for him and the kids; I eat at the wedding I'm photographing.

SUNDAY - Make your own pizza.

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WEEK 8

MONDAY - Plated - Spicy Chicken Arrabbiata with Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower.

TUESDAY - Plated - Carne Asada Sopes with Avocado-Corn Salsa and Refried Black Beans.

WEDENSDAY - Chili's restaurant for dinner outside Cornwall, NY.

THURSDAY - Pizza at Jenny's house (Long Island, NY).

FRIDAY - Dinner at the Anthem before the Head and the Heart concert (kids have pasta at home).

SATURDAY - Hobo snacks (italian sausage, red peppers, shrimp, and corn in aluminum foil) on the fire while we camp at Shenandoah River State Park (still one of my favorite places).

SUNDAY - Dan makes venison osso buco (so so good) with asparagus and garlic bread.

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WEEK 9

MONDAY - Plated - Cuban Beef Bowls with Mojo Sauce and Avocado-Pineapple Salsa.

TUESDAY - Pizza at the neighbors' before trick or treating.

WEDNESDAY - Friends over for dinner - Black bean chilaquile (recipe here) and beef tacos.

THURSDAY - Easy dinner of bacon, avocado, almond butter sandwiches after the kids' tennis and soccer practices.

FRIDAY - Dan is out of town, F is babysitting, and P is at a sleepover. So I take T and two friends to Silver Diner. We are, by far, the loudest group in the restaurant.

SATURDAY - I have a photo shoot, Dan and the kids eat at his brother's house. I make a sandwich.

SUNDAY - Dan makes pork chops and salad.

Things to Do - Random Links & 5 Hours 'Til Bedtime

Happy Friday everyone! Last week the kids and I drove to Storm King scultpure garden in NY (about an hour north of NYC) to see the fall colors and we had a blast. I'll post more photos next week. In the meantime, don't forget to check out this week's awesome on 5 Hours 'Til Bedtime.

RANDOM LINKS:

* Explosure. Love these photos.

* 6 big fall books.

* Passivity.

* Family album - more amazing fine art photography involving children.

* Read this. ("What happens now? Honestly, I’m not sure what the best steps are. Is it to share loudly? “When we share, we unlock other women’s stories, and suddenly secrets don’t seem so necessary,” says Jenni Konner in “Our Voices Are Our Superpower.” Is it for men to speak up? Is it to raise good children? What else? There must be something else.")

* I want to try sheet plan chili.

* This road trip looks AMAZING!

* A secret to a happy marriage. Love this idea (and this couple).

* A few new awesome families are up on my professional blog - click here to check them out.

* I really want to see this new photography exhibit.

* Compelling portraits of people who abandoned civilization to live in the wilderness.

Things to Do - Project 52, Weeks 37 & 38

I'm still posting/editing photos from September, but I'm catching up. I'll admit that I've totally failed at my goal of photographing every day. During my busy season (which is now), it becomes harder to take photos of my own family after I've spent the morning and afternoon taking photos of other families.

But I still like to document what I can. Plus, it helps that I now do most of my personal work on the super light Sony a7 and all my professional work on my Canon Mark III, so there's a separation between "working" and "playing" for lack of better terminology.

Anyways, here are a few snapshots of our life. I stressed about whether or not to post the deer photo, but Dan hunts and we eat meat. AndI'm a big believer that if you eat meat you should know (and be okay with) where your meat comes from. Plus, I'm also a big believer on posting real life - in all it's messiness.













WEEK 37

(1) Fort building in the neighborhood cut-through/walking path.
(2) The first deer of the season.
(3) Dog walking with two of my favorite kids.
(4) F helping me with homework for a black and white photography class I'm taking online.
(5) After soccer practice.
(6) The dog park with P and Coco.















WEEK 38

(1) I love how all of P and T's friends meet at our house and then walk to school together.
(2) Halloween costume planning.
(3) The pogo stick is back in action.
(4) P and her best friend are trying a new sport this year. The games are very long.
(5) Dan and T mowing the lawn together.
(6) Since I've been working a lot the kids often bring a book into my office and read while I edit, which makes me super happy.
(7) Sisters.

Things to Watch - Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, & HBO (October 2017)

When I stopped blogging for Netflix, I also stopped blogging about "What to Watch." Mostly because after two years of monthly Netflix posts, I needed a break.

But now I'm ready to post about TV again.

When I edit photos, I often keep an iPad on my desk and watch/listen to movies/shows in the background, which means I've watched A LOT of TV in the past two months (autumn is my busiest season). I've tried podcasts too, but listening to other people talk makes me lonely (like I wasn't invited to the party, where when I have TV in the background I feel like I'm at the party, just not in the particular conversation. If that makes any sense).

Oh well, here's what I've really liked.

What have you been watching??



NETFLIX

The Meyerowitz Stories - I really loved this quirky family comedy(dramady?) about siblings dealing with their self-involved father. The cast is amazing and the dialogue (full of characters talking about themselves rather than listening to each other) made me laugh. (For more info, read this review).

Mindhunter - The first few episodes move a little slowly, but then I binge-watched the whole series in two days.

Shameless - Still my favorite show on TV.



HBO

Insecure - I binge-watched this in two days (and left a party early on Friday night to come home and watch more). It is just so so good.



HULU

Broad City - Truthfully, now that we're in season 3, I sort of wish the main characters would grow up a little. But they still make me laugh.

Places to Go/Things to Do - Location Scouting with T (Washington D.C.)

I really miss blogging and being in this space, but my "real" job has been crazy busy lately, so some things had to be put on hold.

In the meantime, a few weeks ago I photographed a wedding in DC and the couple wanted to take photos close to their apartment before heading to the venue. So I brought T and his friend location scouting and discovered a gorgeous park with unbelievable light (the wedding photos turned out AMAZING!).