Menu Monday

Pull up a chair and a cup of coffee because I have lots o' recipes for you today.  I haven't done a proper Menu Monday in awhile, so this is a dump of different meals we've had over the past month.  Enjoy!

Veggie Soup {Moi}

I came up with this one in an attempt to clean out the freezer and to eat something healthy.  I didn't measure anything.  It just threw a bunch of veggies in the pot {frozen lima beans, frozen corn, frozen peas, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, and green beans cut in half} along with a can of whole tomatoes in puree, vegetable stock, and a little water, salt, and pepper.  I let it simmer away on the stove and used a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes and there you have it.  We ate this with some homemade bread.  It's not anything spectacular, but it hit the spot.  

Pork Chops with Kale {Dinner: A Love Story}

M doesn't like kale and he inhaled this.  That should give you a good idea of the tasty factor.  I kind of spaced out and undercooked the wild rice I served this over, so once you got past the weird chewiness, it was amazing.  Love that it's a one-pan dish! 

Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto {Everyday Food March 2007}

Roasted Grape Tomatoes {Ina Garten}

So, so, SO good.  I will most definitely be making this again.  Very easy, very fast, very tasty.  The roasted grape tomatoes are a favorite of ours; I only roast 1 pint, as opposed to the recipe's 4.  For the pesto, please do not skimp on the salt.  I put a teensy amount in, thinking that with the pasta water being salted and the saltiness of the parmesan cheese, the pesto probably didn't need much.  I was wrong.  It needs quite a bit.  Also, next time I may use walnuts instead of pine nuts.  I love pine nuts, but I prefer walnuts in a spinach pesto.  And they're a Gwyneth Paltrow-approved superfood, so there's that too.

 Spicy Lemon Trout {Cooking Light June 2008}

We've had this twice in the past 3 weeks. It's that good.  I don't get dressed trout filets; I just get rainbow trout filets from the seafood counter {Farmed in the U.S.A. trout is a sustainable fish population, so you get the bonus of knowing you're doing right by the environment!}  It takes maybe 15-20 minutes total to prepare, and while it cooks I just fix a side dish or two and we're good to go.  In the above picture, I served it with braised Brussels sprouts and frozen TJ's latkes.  Last time we had it I served it with frozen green beans and couscous mixed with feta, sundried tomatoes, and a little fresh parsley. All great combos.

Mexican Lime Soup with Chicken and Avocado {Williams-Sonoma}

I had such high hopes for this soup since it includes lots of things that I love, but it was SO boring.  I used the breasts from a rotisserie chicken instead of making my own.  I used feta instead of queso fresco because you can't find queso fresco in our middle-of-nowhere grocery store.  I even followed the user suggestion to double the amount of jalapeño, use 1 cup more chicken stock and 1 cup less water, and add diced white corn tortillas.  Nothing helped. It was just watery and bland and all together quite disappointing.  

 Coconut Shrimp Salad {Dinner: A Love Story}

Skinny Coconut Shrimp {Skinnytaste}

One of our detox dinners.  I used Gina's coconut shrimp recipe instead of the one listed in the salad recipe.  Baking them gave me hands-off time to prep the rest of the salad instead of constantly having to dote over shrimp in the pan.  I loved the curry dressing; M did not, but he loves coconut shrimp so he ate the salad anyways.  This would definitely be a great summer meal; it's very refreshing!

Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" Sandwich {Eating Well December 2005/January 2006}

I've made these once before, way back before I started meal planning.  They're about the same as I remember: good, but nothing to write home about.  They're a good recipe if you do Meatless Mondays, but have eaters who are mainly meat-and-potatoes types.  

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce {Skinnytaste}

These were so good and surprisingly easy to make.  I served with a side of pan-sauteed snap peas and broccoli, but next time I would also make some brown rice to sop up all of the yummy sauce.  After the kung pao chicken taco disaster, this may be the recipe I stick to when I want an Asian-inspired meal at home.

Roasted Salmon with Lentils {Barefoot in Paris Ina Garten}

This recipe comes from one of my favorite episodes of Barefoot Contessa {yes, I have favorite Food Network episodes} and one of my favorite cookbooks.  It's something I've always wanted to make, but just never got around to. I'm not sure why last week was any different, but I'm so glad it was.  I had some sort of a mental block against this recipe, thinking it was going to be complicated and time-consuming. Wrong. It was absurdly easy and was on the table from start to finish in well under an hour.    Great detox meal that didn't feel like a detox meal.

Whew! Now I'm finally caught up on Menu Monday.  Let me know if you make any of these; I'd love to hear your thoughts and tweaks.

Bon appétit!