Thursday – Leftovers (or Meatballs in the likely case of – no leftovers left over) Going to post that meatball recipe here this week so it’s easier to find!
Friday – Pizza!!!
Saturday – Grill Party! Hot dogs, burgers, potato salad and all good grill food.
Monday – Husband threw the pork in the crock pot this morning. For dinner we’ll have Buddha Bowls with Rice, Pulled Pork, Roast Broccoli, and the leftover sour cream sauce from Sunday.
If you are in need of a simple and nourishing meal that warms you up from your insides out, you’ve found it here. I found this recipe in Ina Garten’s Go To Dinners (everything in it has been amazing so far), and it’s one that is going to be in heavy rotation at our house. I’m writing the recipe as I made it, which differs from the original. And of course, as always, you can make it your own by using different vegetables and grains, but you really should make the dressing as is. That’s what makes it all so very good. Now, please excuse me while I go add all of this to our shopping cart for next week.
Warm Vegetable and Grain Bowl
1 cup quinoa Salt and pepper 1/2 red onion, cut into 8 wedges through the stem 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, diced (I used a frozen bag for ease) 1/2 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into sticks 1 tablespoon olive oil 5 oz greens such as spinach, kale, arugula or a mix 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans creamy goat cheese, thickly sliced
For the dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make quinoa according to package instructions, set aside.
Combine the onion, butternut squash, and carrots on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and toss. Spread the vegetables out in one layer and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through until all the vegetables are tender.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, or in a jar with a lid. Set aside.
In a large salad bowl, combine your greens, cranberries, and toasted nuts (I just toast them in a cast iron skillet over medium for a couple minutes until they smell nutty and are golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.) Pour a little bit on your greens and toss.
Serve the salad into your bowls, add quinoa, the goat cheese to taste and roasted vegetables on top. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette on top and season with salt if needed.
When you hear the word Spring, what do you think of first? My answer: Lemon. Second answer: Daffodils. I’ll save the daffodils for another day, but the color, the smell, the feelings I get when I close my eyes and taste lemons – it just screams Spring. Don’t you think? I could admittedly go for lemon at any time of year. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon poppyseed bread, lemonade, yes, even lemon butter popcorn. Give them all to me. But especially around this time of year, I really crave everything lemon. I made this pasta on Sunday night, and I didn’t really know how much the lemon would come through, but it ended up being so very good. Different than Alfredo or Mac and Cheese, yummier than Pasta al Limone. The lemon makes it zippy and fresh. The perfect meal for a lovely evening in Spring. I highly recommend grilling chicken and trimmed asparagus (wrapped up into foil a foil packet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and adding that to your bowl too as we did. And if you needed any more convincing – even my kids ate this one.
Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta
1 pound angel hair pasta 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoon flour 3/4 cup chicken stock 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving zest and juice of one lemon kosher salt and pepper, to taste chopped/torn parsley, to garnish
Fill a large pot of water and add a few pinches of salt. Bring to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add butter, and whisk until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated. Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring often until it begins to thicken ~10 minutes or so.
Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice. Add pasta, mixing into sauce with tongs until all strands are coated. Serve, topping with grilled chicken, fresh parmesan, and parsley.
We’ve been home waiting out hurricane Nicole the last few days. You might, if you’re not in Florida, or maybe even if you are! imagine that involves lots of stress and what if’s and property preparations. It does a bit, but it’s been a lovely few days together. Days like this are such a gift. They make me appreciate our home so much. The weather has been mild and the hurricane passed in the night just north of us leaving us sleeping in our beds right through the whole thing.
But it’s been rainy and cozy and windy here and we’ve been occupying ourselves with drying oranges (instructions coming soon), playing with play dough, watching the rain, lots of movies, drawing and most importantly, hot chocolate. Hot chocolate on the stove in our special pot with popcorn was just the ticket yesterday. Shared this on Instagram yesterday, but putting it here too for easier future reference. The only thing that would have made it better is if I had made marshmallows to go with. Next time, next time.
Best homemade hot chocolate:
2 T sugar 2 T Dutch process cocoa powder 2 1/2 c milk I/2 c half and half I/4 c chocolate chips I/2 t vanilla
Combine ingredients and cook over medium heat stirring with a whisk until smooth and hot
Makes four cups but I often halve everything for a small batch!
For a small batch:
1 T sugar 1 T Dutch process cocoa powder 1 1/4 c milk I/4 c half and half I/8 c chocolate chips I/4 t vanilla
But between you and me – eyeballing it always works for me too!
Sunday – Lasagna with Caesar Salad. I use this recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. I’m sure there are much more complicated ones out there, but when I’m looking for a classic recipe I always look to Betty. She’s never steered me wrong. She keeps it simple enough that it’s manageable and she offers lots of tips and tricks. She’s very much for normal people like me.
Monday – Leftover Lasagna. Work smarter, not harder, friends.
Tuesday – White Chicken Chili. I’ve never tried this recipe before, but I love that it can be made in a crock pot. I love coming home to a meal already made. Feels like someone else has made dinner for us. I feel like white chicken chili is all about the toppings. Pulling out the corn chips, avocado, cilantro and sour cream to top it off here.
Wednesday – Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce. I bought the ravioli from the store because I’m a working mother, not a wizard. My husband is notttt a fan of butternut squash nor ravioli. He’s traveling this week though, so I won’t feel guilty making this for just the boys and I.
Thursday – Leftovers. Most likely the chili from Tuesday!
Cocktail – Hot Buttered Rum. Had it on my November list last year and never did get around to it! So I’m going to get to it this week!
Bake – Cinnamon Rolls. These are the best I’ve ever made. There’s another recipe that I want to try from Sarah Kieffer, but I’m so scared to deviate!! I KNOW these are always good, so why try another? But what if Kieffer’s are better. Ack! The indecision – I’ll let you know on Instagram what I decide!
Treat – Chex Mix. My mom always always had a tin full this time of year, so I’ve always kept with tradition and had it around the house for my family too. Don’t you love tradition?
Happy eating this week, friends! Please share if you make anything amazing this week!
A soup that I crave year round, but crave in these quiet, cozy weeks between holidays most of all. It’s healthy, hearty, and bright. Basically it’s fall sunshine in a bowl.
Red lentil soup
Olive oil 1 white onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 5 cloves minced garlic 8 cups veggie or chicken stock 2 cups red lentils 1 cup corn 2 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon curry powder zest and juice of 1 lemon salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute or so, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the stock, lentils, corn, cumin, curry powder. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are completely tender.
At this point, you can either blend the soup or not. I always do using an immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender too. Or just eat it as is! All equally yum.
Next, stir in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Taste and season the soup with a generous pinch or two of salt (I prefer Kosher) and black pepper.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon, grind of pepper, sprinkling of shaved warm, and a couple slices of fresh sourdough.
Well, it’s starting to seem like I don’t put anything but meal plans on here! But oh well, here it is! The week ahead. May it go smoothly for us all!!
Sunday – Chili. My husband makes a very classic version, and it’s so good. We pile on corn chips, cheese and onion. I’ll get him to type up his recipe someday.
Monday – Grilled Chicken, Cheesy Butternut Squash Casserole, & Kale Salad. The butternut squash recipe is from Feeding a Family by Sarah Waldman.
Tuesday – Burrito Casserole. Bit of a casserole theme going, huh? I saw a recipe on Diane Morrisey’s Instagram account that gave me an idea so I’m running with it! Will share the recipe if it’s any good.
Wednesday – Homemade Chicken Strips with Za’atar Ranch, and Mac & Cheese. One for the kids! The chicken strips and ranch recipe is from The Modern Proper cookbook which I highly recommend. If I have time, I’ll make the Mac and Cheese, but I have a box on hand just in case.
Thursday – Leftovers always!
Friday – Pizza night!
Saturday – Dinner in a Pumpkin. For Charlie’s birthday! Last year I made Ballerina Farm’s recipe, and this year I might switch it up a bit. You can really make any soup, and just transfer it to a pumpkin.
Bake – Charlie’s Birthday Cake. He’s gone from bat to witch to dinosaur, but the last week or two he’s seemed pretty set on dinosaur. I’ll probably make a layer cake. My favorite white cake recipe comes from Simple Cake by Odette Williams. Look for the Very Vanilla Cake.
Monday – Crockpot Carnitas Rice Bowls. We’ve gotten a carnitas roast from Aldi a few times before and it is SO good and so easy. You just toss it all in the crockpot and cook like a normal roast. I’ll make rice and a side of black beans when I get home from school and we’ll top with fresh salsa, guacamole, cilantro, drizzle sour cream thinned with lime, and a few dashes of sriracha and a dash of tajin on top if we’re feeling snazzy.
Tuesday – Carnitas Tacos. Kind of like yesterday, but on soft tacos that have been warmed in the oven and with pickled onions and a heap of taco slaw on top. Oof, yum.
Friday – Pizza night! Plus family movie after, obviously
Saturday – Charcuterie Board. My favorite kind of dinner. I’ll pick up whatever looks good, but I do have a pinterest board for inspiration! It only has six pins, so I really need to go add some more. I think I’d like to master the fine art of charcuterie board building.
Sunday – Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. Grilled Cheese on my sourdough, tomato soup from a can because call me crazy – that’s my favorite tomato soup. I think it just takes me back to my childhood! I’d be happy to hear suggestions for your favorite tomato soup – but don’t be offended if I don’t try it.
Treat – Molasses Cookies. I think I’ve put this on a couple past plans and haven’t gotten to them. I’m committed to them this time!
Cocktail –September Heatwave. I also had this on last week’s, but we switched to our pumpkin beer date night instead. Having this alongside a big fall puzzle on the coffee table for our weekend date & cocktail pairing.
Make anything good lately? Please share, so I can drool!
Is it brown butter or is it browned butter? My research has brought back answers for both. Whichever way you want to say it – I do believe it may be God’s greatest gift to man, much as I love my children. And around this time of year I can’t get enough of it. The brown butter, not my kids. But I’ll allow that they’re pretty great too. I have plans to put brown butter into a pumpkin sheet cake in October, in a pasta sauce with sage to nestle homemade ravioli into later this month, and perhaps most famously into my chocolate chip cookies on another occasion. Whether you’re using it in sweets or dinner, it adds a delicious nuttiness that is so distinct and dare I say, life changing? Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you might want to read this article on achieving brown butter rather than burnt butter. You probably think the cake should be the main topic of conversation here and I love it too! It’s a winner! The people will love the cake! But the frosting, oh yes, the frosting, is the part of this recipe that takes it to the next level.
Applesauce Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
For the cake: Baking spray 2 cups unsweetened applesauce 1¼ cups packed light brown sugar ¾ cup canola oil 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of cinnnamon, ginger and nutmeg) 1 tsp lemon zest 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2½ cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt
For the frosting: 1 ½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, divided. Two sticks should be softened to room temperature. The third stick, you’ll brown. 4 cups powdered sugar 2 Tbsp whole milk ½ t vanilla ¼ tsp salt
Prepare the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 9 inch pan with baking spray and dust with flour – alternatively you could make this in a 9 x 13 pan for a thinner cake or even in muffin form, but be sure to adjust your baking time. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, oil, pumpkin pie spice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, eggs, and applesauce in a large bowl until combined. Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely in pan, about 1 hour.
Prepare the Frosting: Melt 1/2 cup (one stick) butter in a medium saucepan over medium until it begins to bubble, forms little brown bits, and smells nutty. Transfer to a freezer safe container and put in freezer for 10-15 minutes or until room temperature. In a mixer, combine brown butter, 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, salt and vanilla. Mix on medium for about three minutes or until fluffy. Spread frosting generously over cooked cake with an offset spatula, cut and enjoy (preferably with a book and iced coffee on the side).
You will most likely have extra frosting, but the frosting is truly the best part of this cake. Just put it in a jar, and store in the fridge for another cake next week! This cake, after all, will not last long on your counter if your house is anything like mine.
The Metroka Family 