Celebrate all the little things

Hello!

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day. I’m figuring out my new normal of having the big kids in school and just being with the little guy. We’re having a good time but the pace is so different than having the big girls around. I’m trying to make myself prep something for dinner while he naps but I end up just getting the breakfast and lunch things cleaned and a little time to read before it’s time to go again. Still in the phase of easy dinners. I’ll probably always be in that phase!

Quick Links

flautas // fattoush // turkey chili, veg chili

Weeknight Meals

• Chicken Flautas with Roasted Corn Salad

  • If I was going to be a paid subscriber to a substack, it would be Caroline Chambers’. She has such solid recipes that are so well written. If you join her free Substack, her first recipe of each month is free. We’ve made these chicken flautas many times and they are a huge hit for all of us.

  • The corn salad makes about two times the amount we need, so I always halve the amount. You can also cut the corn off the cob before cooking and toast the kernels on the stovetop which I find a little easier than roasting and waiting for them to cool.

  • For vegetarians, here’s from Caroline’s post: Use 1 1/2 cups drained and rinsed black (or pinto!) beans in place of the chicken. Smash them up a bit so that they really absorb the salsa verde. You might also end up wanting to add a bit more salsa verde for more flavor.

image from whattocook.substack.com

• Fattoush Salad with Chickpeas and Cheese

  • We were planning to have a salad with sourdough croutons this week, but I was delayed in making bread and I found a few pitas in our fridge that were a little worse for wear and needed a little help. So we fried them up and made fattoush! It was delicious. I really liked the dressing in this recipe. If you don’t have pomegranate molasses (I didn’t), you can use a combination of balsamic vinegar and honey. I added crispy za’atar chickpeas and fried halloumi (feta works too) to make it a main course.

• Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

  • This is a favorite summer dinner of ours. Here’s the recipe:

    • 2 Tablespoons olive oil

    • 3 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/4 in rounds

    • 1 shallot, diced

    • 3 tomatoes, diced

    • 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs

    • 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely grated

    • 1/2 tsp of italian seasoning or 1 tsp of fresh herbs like thyme and oregano, cut small

    • 1/2 cup (or more) of shredded parmesan

    • 1. heat a large pan over medium high with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add in the zucchini and let sit for a few minutes and then stir, repeat until soft and some pieces are starting to get brown spots on them. Add shallots and stir, cook for 3-5 minutes, until softening. Add tomatoes. stir and turn to low.

    • 2. preheat broiler, find an 8x8 or similar pan

    • 3. toast breadcrumbs with remaining Tbsp olive oil, herbs and garlic for a few minutes until they’re getting brown and the raw garlic smell goes away.

    • Put zucchini mixture in pan, top with breadcrumbs and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted.

Weekend Meal

• Turkey Chili and Vegetarian Chili

  • We had a big group to feed on a rainy day this past weekend and we made these two chilis. They were so delicious and well received. The vegetarian chili was especially good and surprising with the flavor coming from the chipotle chilis. They do make it a little spicy and with a mixed crowd we wanted to make it easier, so we used one less chili pepper and added some more non-spicy flavors with cumin, etc. from the other chili. We also added a can of black beans and a little extra water and that was perfect.

  • This is a great place to use late summer produce. Throw the tomatoes in in place of the canned tomatoes and cook a little longer. Chop up peppers and add them with the onions.

  • My experience with getting kids to eat chili is that it’s all about the toppings. sour cream, cheese, cubed avocado, Fritos, limes to squeeze and pickled onions all bring an element of fun and they end up eating a good amount.

image from smittenkitchen.com

Treat of the Week

• Celebration Ice Cream Sundaes

  • Adjusting to full day kindergarten has been hard on my kids. They are absolutely thriving, but it’s a big adjustment and has led to more tears and fights than normal. Tonight we decided to celebrate three weeks in school, taking a cue from How to Celebrate Everything and made ice cream sundaes. No recipe of course, but such joy to just get to celebrate something small (but not really small at all.)

Something to Listen to

• Here’s a summer playlist I’ve been adding to for the last few months. It’s a complete hodgepodge, but also a good time.

Have a lovely week.

Emily