January 2 - 6, 2012

So we're giving the planning thing a go again.  I'm leaving Tuesday as an open day -- it's the day that's the toughest for us to actually cook -- so that might be "leftover" or "cheese and cracker" or "make a bad choice about dinner" day.  Gotta leave myself a little wiggle room.  But the rest of the week looks pretty solid, and the grocery list is actually really small...  we already have most of what we need here.

Monday
Grilled salmon filets (perhaps with a bit of barbecue sauce)
Asparagus (done in a bit of olive oil in a pan)
Roasted potatoes (chop small, toss with some olive oil and seasoning, spread out on a cookie sheet and cook for 20 - 30 minutes -- depending on size -- at about 400 degrees)

Tuesday
???

Wednesday
Veggie fried rice:
1.  Chop whatever veggies are around.  Be sure to include onion and mushroom, then find whatever else there is (I'm thinking asparagus from Monday, some red pepper from the freezer, some edamame from the freezer, maybe some bits of broccoli, maybe a tomato).
2.  Saute the veggies.  Add some pre-cooked brown rice.  Mix it all together.
3.  Stir in some soy sauce and sriracha.  Sometimes some rice wine vinegar gives it a bit of zing.
4.  The egg:  either make a well in the middle and add an egg, then scramble it in with the rest, or fry an egg and serve it on top of the bowl of rice.

Thursday
Slow cooker day!  We're trying Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup, but instead of ham, we're using a pork chop, because that's what we have in the freezer.

This recipe is from the January/February 2012 issue of Eating Well.  I tried to find the recipe on their website so I could just link it, but no luck.  So here it is:

3c yellow split peas
4c reduced-sodium chicken broth
4c water
2c diced yellow onion
1c diced carrot
1c diced celery
8 oz ham, trimmed and diced (or a pork chop, in our case, left whole, then shredded at the end of cooking and mixed back in with the soup)
1 tbsp minced fresh (hah!  Or a jar -- that's just us) ginger.  On second thought, we might use garlic instead.
1 tsp dried marjoram
fresh pepper to taste

1.  Place split peas in a medium bowl.  Wash with cold water until the water runs clear; drain and spread in a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker.
2.  Add broth, water, onion, carrot, celery, ham/pork, ginger/garlic and marjoram to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine.
3.  Cover and cook for 5 hours on high or 7 - 8 hours (or 10, if you're us) on low.  Season with pepper.

Friday
Trying for home-cooked on a Friday night.  Our pizza is better than take-out anyway, and if we plan for it, we should have all the stuff at home to make it.

Pizza dough in the Kitchen Aid:
1.  Dissolve 2 1/4 tsp (or 1 packet) yeast in a cup of hot water.
2.  Add 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 1/2 c flour (I use equal mix of white and whole wheat).
3.  Mix for about 3 minutes with the dough hook.
4.  Put in a greased bowl and cover, let rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
5.  Put the pizza together on the pizza stone.  Top like this:  yummy sauce, slices of chicken pesto sausage, onion, mushroom, roasted red pepper, whatever other veggies still exist in the house by Friday night.  Top with mozzarella.
6.  Bake at 450 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, depending on how thick all the toppings are.

Yum.