Weeks of Suppers: Weeks 1 & 2

I'm assuming most of you who read this blog also reads Carrie Snyder's Obscure Canlit Mama. It's one of my few daily reads as she writes about so much that really speaks to me--motherhood, writing, spirit, food. If you already read it, you probably know what I'm talking about. If not, start now!

One of her regular posts is This Week in Suppers and Carrie has graciously allowed me to steal this idea. I have been wanting to be better at planning our dinners and to keep a better track of what we eat. I know that I have a few fall-back recipes that we probably eat to often, so it will be good to see it all laid out in front of me.

So, here's what we ate for the first two weeks of January.

Sunday
Menu::home made pizza
Details::I made a multigrain dough (still trying to perfect it) and the boys went with Kevin to pick out toppings and dressed the pizzas themselves (with a little bit of help). They were delicious.

Monday
Menu:: Chicken strips and veggie fries.
Details:: When Kevin isn't home for dinner, this is an easy standby for me. Cut up chicken breasts or thighs, marinate in lemon juice and olive oil, and bake. Baked potato, carrot, and yam fries and garlic mayo for dipping. Every last bite consumed.

Tuesday
Menu::Lentil loaf and roast veggies
Details::Devoured. I think it might be because the lentil loaf is receptacle for ketchup and mustard, but they do eat so much of it, I can't complain. Veggies: potatoes, beets and squash. A1 won't eat squash or roasted potatoes (but has no problem with the fries made the exact same way, but cut differently!) but ate his beets.

Wednesday
Menu::leftovers
Details:: I usually do leftovers on Fridays, but we had a plan to go over to dinner at a friend's house, so I put it in the middle of the week. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough lentil loaf leftover, so I defrosted a jar of turkey stock I made after Thanksgiving and supplemented the meal with noodle soup and hummus with raw veggies. It was a mish-mash of a meal, but it was all eaten.

Thursday
Menu::Shepherd's Pie
Details::Kevin makes this and he prepped it all the night before. It was delicious, as always. We had a side of steamed broccoli for extra veggies. So good.

Friday
Menu::Dinner with friends
Details::This was cancelled as there was an accidental double-booking and for the life of me I can't remember what we ate instead. I think Kevin made his mac and cheese, but can't be certain. Hmm...must keep better notes.

Saturday
Menu::Roast Leg of Lamb
Details::Kevin was going to make this, but with the show he was working on, the schedule didn't allow it, so I made an easy standby for our family: bean and tomato quesadillas, with salsa, guacamole and sour cream toppers. A2 doesn't like quesadillas, but loves sour cream, so I managed to get enough bites into him to appease me.

Sunday
Menu::Roast beef
Details::Had three friends over for dinner and a very delicious roast, with roasted veggies (potatoes, carrots, beets), salad, and apple/rhubarb crumble for dessert. Yes, it was gobbled up. (When we were in Edmonton, we bought a small deep freezer and every autumn we bought an organic quarter cow from Rose Ridge Ranch, seriously the best beef I've ever had. Now, in Vancouver, we had to find a new supplier. That night was our first real taste of it. I found it a little tough, but tasty. We'll see how it goes over the winter.

Monday
Menu:: Three Sisters Stew
Details::I couldn't find my recipe for this so I did it from memory and knew I forgot something, probably a spice. We call it chilli so the kids will eat it and grate some cheese on top. Bought a crazy delicious organic loaf of bread to go with it. (I used to make my own bread, but when I got pregnant with H, I gave it up and have only made it once in the last year. Hope to get back to it...one day.) Carrot sticks and hummus for extra veggies. Used some squash I had cut up in the freezer specifically for this dish. Everyone ate a lot of it.

Tuesday
Menu:: Chicken
Details:: Kevin was at the theatre so we had chicken fingers again. Didn't make enough for some reason, or we were all extra hungry. Had strawberries on hand for dessert.

Wednesday
Menu::Burritos
Details::Used the Three Sisters Stew as the base. A2 didn't want burritos, so just ate the stew instead. Kevin was at opening night, so no dinner with us.

Thursday
Menu::unplanned
Details::I hadn't made plans for Thursday as I wasn't sure if Kevin would be at the show or not and his parents were coming to town. Decided to do a roast chicken with roasted potatoes, beets, carrots, and a green salad. Boys love to eat the drumsticks and managed to eat both beets and carrots. Success!

Friday
Meun::unplanned
Details::Had to do something fast as the boys are back at skating, so not a long turn around time for dinner. Made spinach tortellini (*not homemade!) in an alfredo sauce with a pre-smoked salmon cut up and mixed with sauce. Green salad. Quick and easy, and thankfully everyone ate it.

Saturday
Menu:: unplanned
Details:: SUSHI! Kevin's parents treated the family to takeout sushi. Yum! A huge treat and everyone gobbled it up.

Sunday
Menu::unplanned
Details::The dinner party that didn't happen last week happened this week. SO good.


:::
What I learned was I really need to make a set menu each week and perhaps mix up the veggies a bit. Yes, roasted beets, carrots, and potatoes almost always get eaten, but a little variety might be nice. Also, I know we had asparagus one night that first week, but can't remember with which meal. Perhaps the roast beef?