Day 1: Curry with spinach and chickpeas (with radish), Orange slices
Day 2: Mozzarella stuffed turkey meatloaf, Mashed sweet potatoes
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed spinach salad with carrots and radish
Day 4: Baked salmon with yogurt dill sauce, Wild rice with mushrooms and garlic, Sauteed kale
Day 5: Baked potatoes with steamed broccoli, salsa, and sour cream
Day 6: Black bean soup, Corn muffins
Day 7: Root vegetable hash topped with fried eggs
Notes: I’m all about shortcuts when it comes to cooking. Here are my hacks for this week to make cooking from scratch simple(ish)
– Curry is one of my favorites because it is great for throwing in whatever veggies you have on hand. I don’t have any regrets about using canned tomatoes, coconut milk, or chickpeas. Aluminum is easy to recycle and you aren’t going to find fresh local tomatoes this time of year. Look for unsalted tomatoes so you can add your own seasoning. You can cook rice or cauliflower rice while you make the curry. This meal should take less than 30 minutes to make.
– Even if the main dish takes a little longer (meatloaf this week), I try to make sure the sides are quick so they can be made at the same time or while the main dish is cooking. This means I try to cap the side dishes at 5 ingredients max. And most are 3 ingredients or less. Fruit slices or vegetable sticks are just right. Steamed broccoli is one ingredient and sauteed kale is 3 (olive oil for cooking and salt to season).
– Another quick side is mashed sweet potatoes. Poke a sweet potato with a fork all over then put it on a plate in the microwave and cook until you can pierce it easily to the middle with a fork. This takes 7-10 minutes depending on how big your potato is. Then just cut it in half, scoop out the insides and use the same fork to mash it. Most sweet potatoes taste just fine the way they are, but a little butter and salt never hurt. I make my “baked” potatoes the same way in the microwave.
– Salmon is also super quick. Drizzle some olive oil in a glass dish then place the salmon filet in the middle. Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until it flakes off easily with a fork. While it bakes, mix up some dried dill, fresh lemon juice, salt, and a little garlic powder with some yogurt and you’ve got a tasty sauce.
– I love risotto, but don’t love the intensity it takes to make it. This creamy rice dish requires constant supervision for at least 30 minutes. Instead I prefer wild rice that you can boil and set a timer. While it boils, heat a little olive oil in a pan until it shimmers, then melt a pad of butter and saute mushrooms and garlic for a few minutes until soft. When the rice is tender, drain it then toss with the mushrooms.
– The black bean soup is one of the easiest dinners ever. It is one that I call a dump, dump, dump. You just dump the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth, then pour right out into bowls and top with some sour cream.
– Make a double batch of corn muffins so that you can freeze the extras. I try to make my muffins on the weekend or other spare moment so dinner is not so hectic. With kids off of school two days, I’ll have some helping hands.
– Did you know that for many vegetables, peeling is optional? Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes. I don’t peel any of these. There is nutrition in the skin and I don’t see any reason for peeling as long as you’ve scrubbed off the dirt. You will save yourself loads of time and food waste if you skip this step. However, some veggies do have a more fibrous, tough skin that should be peeled and you will probably want to do this if you use turnips or rutabaga in the hash. Beets don’t have to be peeled, but I usually do since it helps to take out some of the earthy flavor and is easier to convince everyone to eat.
