Chicken parmigiana, pork & barley bowls, lasagne, creamy herb chicken & potatoes and chicken noodle soup
All of my feathered friends are starting to return, and it's finally beginning to feel a little more like spring. Honestly, I feel like the wind never stops blowing. but at least the sun is shining! This week brought back the Brown Thrasher, the Yellow-rumped Warblers, the Eastern Phoebes, and my favourite, tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglets. They are hard to photograph (because they are so fast and small) but just adorable!
In the kitchen, we had a couple of rousing successes. Pasta featured heavily this week with an amazing Chicken Parmigiana, homemade Lasagne and Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup. I also made a fantastic One Pan Creamy Herb Chicken and Potatoes dish. There is something so satisfying about taking a few simple ingredients and producing a great meal. What's been working at your house these days?
On the menu April 26 - May 2, 2020:
Sunday Chicken Parmigiana with spaghetti, zoodles and Caesar salad
This recipe is super pantry-friendly, not to mention kid-friendly, and just darn delicious! Plus if you're looking for an awesome and lightning-fast homemade tomato sauce, this is your recipe. I didn't have any fresh basil, so I added the last of a jar of pesto sauce to it and it was great. Real basil would have been prettier, but not having it didn't affect the taste in any way. I definitely don't make this dish often enough!
Monday Leftovers / takeout
Tuesday Pork & Barley Bowls
These were different but good. The pork was yummy, and maybe I just needed to be a bit more generous with the dressing on the rest of the dish. I also roasted some cauliflower because I didn't think spinach on its own was enough veg. We enjoyed the combination of lentils and barley, although I added some salt to the cooking water.
Wednesday Stretching a Buck Lasagna
Tonight's fabulous lasagne was the result of combining a few odds and ends, and it turned out so well. I had some of our favourite Bolognese Sauce in the freezer but it wasn't quite enough to make lasagne, so I added a jar of pasta sauce and some diced tomatoes to make it go further. I found ricotta on sale, so I used that instead of cottage cheese. As ever, Trick's Creek Farm ground beef takes it over the top! It's so nice to have some recipes in your repertoire that are flexible, and this is definitely one of them. It may not be pretty, but it tastes amazing! Another new family fave was small Naan breads spread with garlic butter, topped with cheese, and then broiled for a couple of minutes.
Thursday Leftovers / takeout
Friday One Pan Creamy Garlic Herb Chicken and Potatoes with broccoli and carrots
If "everything's better with whipped cream" isn't already a catchphrase, it should be... Or in this case, maybe "everything's better with whipping cream"... My only complaint was that 1 cup of potatoes was definitely NOT enough for 4 people, or even 3, at least not in this house. I would recommend at least 2 cups, and maybe more. I also found it challenging to cook all of the potatoes at once in a single layer in my pan. Not that the recipe really said you had to, but that seemed the most logical way to get them to cook and brown and still be able to turn them. In the end, I ended up microwaving them for a minute or two so they had a head start on cooking, and then I just browned them in the frying pan. I did it in two batches, but heck, you might even want to use two pans. I realize that would make this no longer a "one pan" dish, but trust me, they were that good and a second pan would totally be worth it. I used 1 tsp of Italian herbs instead of the fresh herbs and we didn't miss the fresh. This dish was awesome (surprisingly so considering the simple list of ingredients) and it was definitely the sauce that made it so good. And the garlic. Love garlic. Gluten-free (if that matters to you), and so family-friendly!
Saturday Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup with fresh buns and cheese
This is our all-time favourite Chicken Noodle Soup and the one I make most often. I'm always game to try new recipes, but when it comes to creamy chicken soup, I don't even bother. There's no point! This is simply the best.
#stayhome #stayhomeandcook #quickandeasymeals #weeknightmeals #mealplanning #eatmoreveggies #alltheveggies #ilovesoup #soup #iloveveggies #trickscreekfarm #canadianliving
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