Meal Plan for December 11-17
Good meals for cozy days
Hi!
The countdown to Christmas has begun in earnest around here. I love this time of year so much, especially with kids. We’ve done some fun crafts and I love getting them involved with making and planning gifts. We have had a lot of sweets lately though so I’m including a treat that’s a little more wholesome if you also need a little break from the sweets.
Quick Links
pretzel chicken, goat cheese salad // lemon rice, baked feta, chickpeas // tostadas, chicken tinga // pomegranate pork loin, fall pasta // apple muffins
Weeknight meals
Big salad with pretzel chicken or goat cheese croutons
We love a big salad around here. So I made this chicken and then we added every veggie we had (greens, grated carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and red onions. Would have added more if we had more!) and toasted some bread cubes in the oven with olive oil and garlic salt. One of our daughters only ate the bread. What can you do?
I liked this chicken a lot with a mustardy dressing. I made my own vinaigrette with dijon mustard in it, but the dressing she includes in the recipe looks great as well.
I haven’t personally made this goat cheese salad, but when I was in Vienna in 2010, there was a french bistro that made breaded goat cheese like this and when I went back in 2016 I made sure to go there and have it again. I’m definitely going to try my hand at the goat cheese salad soon.
Baked feta with chickpeas and lemon rice
Oh this rice! So delicious. And the melty but also crispy feta! I loved this dinner. I didn’t have enough tomatoes so we also threw in a sliced bell pepper and it was so good that I will do that again next time.
Ok, so this is three things you need to cook. All of them are made quite quickly and I was able to crank it out in under 45 minutes. But I think that you could cut corners and make this a lot faster. Instead of making the crispy chickpeas separately, I think you could use a larger baking dish for the feta and tomatoes and add them to the same dish. Or forego the rice and serve this with bread or pita.
When I ask my kids what their favorite dinner is, one of mine always says “Tostadas!!” I had never really gotten into them before a couple years ago. Once I started frying the tortillas myself, I was completely converted.
You only need a few tablespoons of oil and then if it starts to get low, add a little more. I would not recommend using a lot because disposing of used oil is very annoying. I use tongs to push the tortilla down and have it briefly submerge before I flip it.
We eat these with refried beans, limey cabbage slaw, pickled onions, avocado and cotija cheese. That is a pretty satisfying tostada, but if you would need another protein, can I recommend chicken tinga? It’s a little smoky and very quick to make.
Project meal
This is one of the most comforting and delicious ways to eat cabbage. The pork is really good but for whatever reason, it’s the cabbage I keep coming back for when we make this.
We have served this on rice but it would also be great with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to mop up that sauce.
Usually I try to just do a vegetarian version of the meat dish I recommend but sorry, can’t make pork vegetarian. This pasta dish is supremely cozy and comforting almost-winter fare. My only change I would make is to brown the butter! I love that flavor with winter squash.
Treat of the Week
I’ve been making these since college and they are a perfect mid-morning snack when you need a little pick me up but don’t want a lot of sugar.
Something to listen to: Wiser World Podcast! It’s a podcast that helps busy people stay connected with history so we can understand what’s happening in the world today. My friend has been creating this podcast all year and done an amazing job. I’ve learned so much and it’s really helped to put historical events in context. I just finished listening to the North Korea episodes and I’m looking forward to listening to her episodes about Iran.
Have a great week!
Emily