Normally this is where I’d be thanking you for reading yet another edition of the newsletter, but this week there isn’t one. I mean, I’m sending one, but there’s nothing here. Real life has been extremely busy and mentally taxing lately, and the first cut my brain made was “thinking of something to write for next week.”
One of my favorite easy meals is just a quick pasta using frozen tortellini. They cook in just a few minutes and give a little more substance and heft than regular pasta. You can simmer some crushed tomatoes with garlic, oregano and red pepper while it cooks and it comes together pretty much instantly. You can dress it up with some meat and veggies if you want, or just play it simple.
My wife's cousin just had their first baby last month and so we of course signed up to take them a meal. We weren't quite sure what to bring them but having done this a few times for various friends, we have found the best move is to bring a light and healthy meal along with a casserole or some sort of easy to reheat meal that should provide a handful of meals on its own.
This time we settled on a salmon salad as the fresh meal, and enchiladas as the reheatable dish. We also figured we could make several pans of enchiladas that we ourselves could eat for lunch this week, and some to freeze. So on Sunday I set out to make enchiladas while our almost two year old got to napping.
As far as the prep goes, it was incredibly easy. In my cast iron, I browned almost 5 lbs. of ground beef (in two batches), seasoning each batch with 3 packets of taco seasoning. I then scooped that into flour tortillas, rolled them up like burritos, and lined an aluminum baking pan with them. Then topped with red enchilada sauce from a can, and sprinkled on some mexican blend cheese. This yielded 3.5 pans of red enchiladas. For the chicken enchiladas, I boiled chicken breasts, shredded them, seasoned them with some complete seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, then did the same thing, filled tortillas, rolled them up, topped with green enchilada sauce, and mozzarella cheese. But things got interesting.
In the process, I realized I did not have enough chicken to make the same 3.5 pans of green enchiladas so I had to try to quickly unfreeze more chicken breasts to cook to finish off the tortillas and the pans I had already planned to use. Except now we were approaching the end of my kid's naptime, and we had plans for visiting her grandmother after she woke up.
This was when all hell broke loose.
So I was rushing to thaw frozen raw chicken in the sink so I could get it boiling. I was having a hard time getting the styrofoam tray off of the chicken, tearing it several times in the process, then couldn't get the little absorbant gel pack thing they place between the chicken and the tray out either. I tried breaking the frozen chicken breasts apart to help get the gel pack thing off, and in trying to break them apart by using the sink divider as a brace, managed to break the entire sink free from the kitchen countertop. Undeterred, I moved to the bathroom sink to continue this saga, running through the house holding wet, frozen, raw chicken because I am a psychopath. Well, I also managed to break open the gel pack thing, which was now dripping that weird absorbant goo throughout the house, actively creating a contamination warzone. I got the chicken thawed enough to separate the gel pack thing, but I'm almost certain enough of that stuff ended up down a drain that it is currently forming a nearly solidified barrier in my plumbing network somewhere that I will have to contend with in the near future. I managed to get the chicken cleaned off and started cooking that while I thoroughly cleaned the bathroom and the floor between said bathroom and the kitchen. It was around this time that our child woke up from her nap, none the wiser. My wife, bless her heart, got her ready for Mimi's house while I finished making the enchiladas. Couldn't clean the kitchen up too thoroughly though since I broke the damn sink.
Last night, we were getting ready to drop off the meals we had prepped for the new parents, and I said to my wife "hey, do you think 3 pans of enchiladas is too many to take over there?" and there was ZERO time elapsed between my saying that sentence and my wife saying "YES." So we took them a single pan of enchiladas. We now have SIX (6!) pans of enchiladas in our fridge/freezer and we laughed the entire ride over at how absurd it would have been to show up with 3 pans of enchiladas plus a salmon salad. We would have been branded the enchilada cousins and never invited over again.
Yesterday was a lazy fried rice day. Roommates and I just pooled together random leftovers, foods we had frozen, frozen vegetables and threw it in a big pan with a couple cups of rice we made in the rice cooker. (Almost) instant dinner.
Depending on how quickly you can chop onions, my go-to is sausage and peppers. Start your water boiling and cook your past (I prefer rotini, but any shape pasta will do). My kids (and now I) prefer just the ground Italian sausage meat without the casings, cooks faster and better spread out. Brown your meat, then remove the meat with a slotted spoon and leave in the excess fat. Toss in one or two onions, sliced, add salt and saute until soft (or caramelized). Next toss in one or two peppers thinly sliced. My wife does it the opposite order, but whatever floats your boat, and cook to desire softness. After your veggies get done you put it on low, add back the sausage. If you have picky kids, you can just give them pasta and sausage or add veggies diced up. I find kids do better with things diced up (meat/veggies) if they are texture sensitive. When you pasta is done, toss with your sausage and peppers. Serve with some grated parmesan. Or you can serve over some spinach or other greens if you want to be healthy. Makes a fantastic lunch the next day, if there is any left. It's a reliable meal, and my favorite meal.
Non-vegetarian: Cast iron pork chops with asparagus, sweet potato, and canned green beans (for the kids.) Pork chops don't take long at all in the cast iron, and are just salt-pepper-garlic powder (or your preferred spice mix.) Our microwave has a setting for potatoes, so stab the sweet potatoes a few times, toss them in the microwave, set it and go (usually ~8 or so minutes.) And the asparagus can be steamed in the microwave between two wet paper towels in 3-4 minutes.
Vegetarian: This dish we got from Purple Carrot not to long ago. We started using it to learn some more varied vegetarian dishes to mix things up, and this one was INCREDIBLE. We change it a little to make it easier to prepare during a hectic day (sub quinoa for freekeh, leave out the sumac, use regular yogurt, etc) . But otherwise, 10/10 would recommend. https://www.purplecarrot.com/recipe/grape-leaf-pilaf-with-dilly-red-beans-sumac-roasted-carrots
A few years ago we found a recipe for weeknight shortcut Korean BBQ Beef Bowl. Jasmine rice in the rice cooker for 35 minutes. Ground beef and garlic and a 6 ingredient sauce (Soyce, brown sugar, sesame oil, red pepper, ginger, sriracha). Easiest from-scratch meal I can make. Matchstick carrots or snap peas in at the end if you're feeling fancy. Sorta like Korean Beef hamburger helper.
When we're exhausted (happens often nowadays with the baby) and haven't planned ahead well enough so that we don't have leftovers and don't feel like getting takeout, the absolute go-to is a jazzed-up instant ramen. While the water for the noodles is coming to a boil throw in a handful of frozen veggies before you add the noodles and the spice pack. In another pan fry up some diced onions and ham (or any other odds and ends) and break an egg or three in there. When the ramen is ready, dump the whole thing into the frying pan and stir it all up with some soy sauce and whatever your hot sauce of choice is. Filling and a balanced meal to boot.
Tacos! At least once a week, often 2X/week. We pretty much always have some tortillas around, a jar of salsa going, and several backups in the pantry. Owen loves just ground beef tacos with the El Paso mild taco spice mix and shredded cheese. He puts his veggies on the side and everyone else can dress up their tacos to their own liking (I like to add a mix of avocados, cilantro and chopped carrots and cabbage or lettuce). I began to worry that this really too much ground beef to be eating on a regular basis, so I started making up half-and-half ground beef and fake ground beef (we like Impossible Burger) and nobody noticed. Now I usually make it with 100% Impossible burger. It is not remotely gourmet or creative and uses every short cut possible. But it works.
We were caught with no dinner last week and I did an extremely Midwestern thing: Pork chops encrusted with barbecue potato chip crumbs and mixed vegetables tossed in olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper. Baked both on the same sheet pan. Would do it all again.
One of my favorite easy meals is just a quick pasta using frozen tortellini. They cook in just a few minutes and give a little more substance and heft than regular pasta. You can simmer some crushed tomatoes with garlic, oregano and red pepper while it cooks and it comes together pretty much instantly. You can dress it up with some meat and veggies if you want, or just play it simple.
My wife's cousin just had their first baby last month and so we of course signed up to take them a meal. We weren't quite sure what to bring them but having done this a few times for various friends, we have found the best move is to bring a light and healthy meal along with a casserole or some sort of easy to reheat meal that should provide a handful of meals on its own.
This time we settled on a salmon salad as the fresh meal, and enchiladas as the reheatable dish. We also figured we could make several pans of enchiladas that we ourselves could eat for lunch this week, and some to freeze. So on Sunday I set out to make enchiladas while our almost two year old got to napping.
As far as the prep goes, it was incredibly easy. In my cast iron, I browned almost 5 lbs. of ground beef (in two batches), seasoning each batch with 3 packets of taco seasoning. I then scooped that into flour tortillas, rolled them up like burritos, and lined an aluminum baking pan with them. Then topped with red enchilada sauce from a can, and sprinkled on some mexican blend cheese. This yielded 3.5 pans of red enchiladas. For the chicken enchiladas, I boiled chicken breasts, shredded them, seasoned them with some complete seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, then did the same thing, filled tortillas, rolled them up, topped with green enchilada sauce, and mozzarella cheese. But things got interesting.
In the process, I realized I did not have enough chicken to make the same 3.5 pans of green enchiladas so I had to try to quickly unfreeze more chicken breasts to cook to finish off the tortillas and the pans I had already planned to use. Except now we were approaching the end of my kid's naptime, and we had plans for visiting her grandmother after she woke up.
This was when all hell broke loose.
So I was rushing to thaw frozen raw chicken in the sink so I could get it boiling. I was having a hard time getting the styrofoam tray off of the chicken, tearing it several times in the process, then couldn't get the little absorbant gel pack thing they place between the chicken and the tray out either. I tried breaking the frozen chicken breasts apart to help get the gel pack thing off, and in trying to break them apart by using the sink divider as a brace, managed to break the entire sink free from the kitchen countertop. Undeterred, I moved to the bathroom sink to continue this saga, running through the house holding wet, frozen, raw chicken because I am a psychopath. Well, I also managed to break open the gel pack thing, which was now dripping that weird absorbant goo throughout the house, actively creating a contamination warzone. I got the chicken thawed enough to separate the gel pack thing, but I'm almost certain enough of that stuff ended up down a drain that it is currently forming a nearly solidified barrier in my plumbing network somewhere that I will have to contend with in the near future. I managed to get the chicken cleaned off and started cooking that while I thoroughly cleaned the bathroom and the floor between said bathroom and the kitchen. It was around this time that our child woke up from her nap, none the wiser. My wife, bless her heart, got her ready for Mimi's house while I finished making the enchiladas. Couldn't clean the kitchen up too thoroughly though since I broke the damn sink.
Last night, we were getting ready to drop off the meals we had prepped for the new parents, and I said to my wife "hey, do you think 3 pans of enchiladas is too many to take over there?" and there was ZERO time elapsed between my saying that sentence and my wife saying "YES." So we took them a single pan of enchiladas. We now have SIX (6!) pans of enchiladas in our fridge/freezer and we laughed the entire ride over at how absurd it would have been to show up with 3 pans of enchiladas plus a salmon salad. We would have been branded the enchilada cousins and never invited over again.
Anyway, the sink gets fixed today.
Yesterday was a lazy fried rice day. Roommates and I just pooled together random leftovers, foods we had frozen, frozen vegetables and threw it in a big pan with a couple cups of rice we made in the rice cooker. (Almost) instant dinner.
Depending on how quickly you can chop onions, my go-to is sausage and peppers. Start your water boiling and cook your past (I prefer rotini, but any shape pasta will do). My kids (and now I) prefer just the ground Italian sausage meat without the casings, cooks faster and better spread out. Brown your meat, then remove the meat with a slotted spoon and leave in the excess fat. Toss in one or two onions, sliced, add salt and saute until soft (or caramelized). Next toss in one or two peppers thinly sliced. My wife does it the opposite order, but whatever floats your boat, and cook to desire softness. After your veggies get done you put it on low, add back the sausage. If you have picky kids, you can just give them pasta and sausage or add veggies diced up. I find kids do better with things diced up (meat/veggies) if they are texture sensitive. When you pasta is done, toss with your sausage and peppers. Serve with some grated parmesan. Or you can serve over some spinach or other greens if you want to be healthy. Makes a fantastic lunch the next day, if there is any left. It's a reliable meal, and my favorite meal.
We have two- one vegetarian, one not
Non-vegetarian: Cast iron pork chops with asparagus, sweet potato, and canned green beans (for the kids.) Pork chops don't take long at all in the cast iron, and are just salt-pepper-garlic powder (or your preferred spice mix.) Our microwave has a setting for potatoes, so stab the sweet potatoes a few times, toss them in the microwave, set it and go (usually ~8 or so minutes.) And the asparagus can be steamed in the microwave between two wet paper towels in 3-4 minutes.
Vegetarian: This dish we got from Purple Carrot not to long ago. We started using it to learn some more varied vegetarian dishes to mix things up, and this one was INCREDIBLE. We change it a little to make it easier to prepare during a hectic day (sub quinoa for freekeh, leave out the sumac, use regular yogurt, etc) . But otherwise, 10/10 would recommend. https://www.purplecarrot.com/recipe/grape-leaf-pilaf-with-dilly-red-beans-sumac-roasted-carrots
A few years ago we found a recipe for weeknight shortcut Korean BBQ Beef Bowl. Jasmine rice in the rice cooker for 35 minutes. Ground beef and garlic and a 6 ingredient sauce (Soyce, brown sugar, sesame oil, red pepper, ginger, sriracha). Easiest from-scratch meal I can make. Matchstick carrots or snap peas in at the end if you're feeling fancy. Sorta like Korean Beef hamburger helper.
When we're exhausted (happens often nowadays with the baby) and haven't planned ahead well enough so that we don't have leftovers and don't feel like getting takeout, the absolute go-to is a jazzed-up instant ramen. While the water for the noodles is coming to a boil throw in a handful of frozen veggies before you add the noodles and the spice pack. In another pan fry up some diced onions and ham (or any other odds and ends) and break an egg or three in there. When the ramen is ready, dump the whole thing into the frying pan and stir it all up with some soy sauce and whatever your hot sauce of choice is. Filling and a balanced meal to boot.
Tacos! At least once a week, often 2X/week. We pretty much always have some tortillas around, a jar of salsa going, and several backups in the pantry. Owen loves just ground beef tacos with the El Paso mild taco spice mix and shredded cheese. He puts his veggies on the side and everyone else can dress up their tacos to their own liking (I like to add a mix of avocados, cilantro and chopped carrots and cabbage or lettuce). I began to worry that this really too much ground beef to be eating on a regular basis, so I started making up half-and-half ground beef and fake ground beef (we like Impossible Burger) and nobody noticed. Now I usually make it with 100% Impossible burger. It is not remotely gourmet or creative and uses every short cut possible. But it works.
My favorite of ALL TIME, add a bagged salad or steam-bag green beans & voila, dinner. https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/
Another good one is baked sweet potatoes (more time intensive but hands off, mostly) with a canned of seasoned beans from Wegmans, topped with cheese.
We were caught with no dinner last week and I did an extremely Midwestern thing: Pork chops encrusted with barbecue potato chip crumbs and mixed vegetables tossed in olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper. Baked both on the same sheet pan. Would do it all again.