Dinner for Oct 7 - 11

Despite succumbing to the "school" cold, I preserved, canned, and pureed food all morning in my kitchen. The end result is a whole lotta pesto, tomato sauce, and green salsa...also, a slight burning sensation on my finger from a hot pepper. Now, I'm pooped and want to nap for the rest of the day. I think I can nap/work on curriculum planning at the same time, right?

This week's menu reflects a more-than-normal fatigued cooking couple, plus I wanted to use what I have on hand and save some money.

Sunday October 7
Tortilla Pie
Not exactly inspired, but would you believe it? We still haven't had those tacos from two weeks ago (nor last week), so I have a stack of corn tortillas that really need to be eaten. I have never made a tortilla pie, but it looks less involved than enchiladas. I plan to smother it in my green salsa (roasted tomatillos pureed with cilantro, cumin, some onion, a dash of salt and pepper, and one finger-burning hot pepper).

Monday October 8
Beef Stir-Fry
We are the king and queen of stir fry. We don't really use a recipe, and actually, I have been making stir-fry since my college days, so I am sure at the beginning I used some sort of recipe, but now it is a "what's in the refrigerator/garden" recipe. Plus, beef is on sale and "in season". So, here's Monday's recipe:

thinly sliced beef (happens to be rump roast this time)
garden green beans
red onion from the farmer's market
strange claw-like hot pepper from the farmer's market
garden carrots
leftover rice noodles

sauce: chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, a bit of brown sugar, fresh ginger, garlic, a wee bit of rice vinegar (all ingredients to taste)

Stir-fry beef, then vegs, then throw in softened rice noodles, then the sauce. When heated through, eat.

Tuesday October 9
Tortellini Soup
Tortellini happened to be on sale last week, so I purchased a couple for easy meals later down the line. I'll be substituting fresh tomatoes from the garden and maybe kale if the spinach at the grocery store doesn't look that great. I have frozen chicken broth in the freezer--or do I? Better check.

Wednesday October 9
Pasta with homemade pesto
When quality pasta is on sale, I buy in bulk, so I typically have at least a couple of packages on hand...and I do this time too.

For pesto:
- Fresh basil...a whole bunch of it
- salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- garlic cloves

Puree alternating between olive oil and basil to create a smooth, thick sauce. Add garlic, salt, and pepper gradually tasting along the way.

Note: I do not use cheese nor pine nuts in my pesto to cut down on fat, but most people do add it. I figure I throw on cheese after the fact anyhow.

Thursday October 10
Lazy Chicken with Costco Simmer Sauce
Yes, I am opening up the freezer for this one, grabbing a pack of chicken breasts, throwing in some of the simmer sauce from Costco, and a head of broccoli. Put some rice in the rice cooker and call it good. Easy peasy!

Shopping List
Avocado
Ginger
Beef
Spinach
Parmesan
Broccoli
Maybe some sort of meat for the tortilla pie
Jack cheese

Already on hand:
Tortillas
salsa
black beans
string beans
rice noodles
hot claw pepper
carrots
red onion
four-cheese tortellini
chicken stock
tomatoes
pasta
pesto sauce
chicken breast
Indian simmer sauce
Basmati rice

Sheesh. This is a pretty lazy week. I am not ashamed; sometimes, we need to just chill out and not spend hours in the kitchen, right?

Bon appetit!