Stuffed roasted acorn squash, cheesy beef goulash, Mexican lentil soup, lemon chicken orzo soup, a greek grain bowl with halloumi and zucchini.
This week, with the cooler temperatures and more colour in the trees, I'm definitely feeling fall. We went for a hike on Monday and the fall colours were much more prolific. It felt so good to get outside and hike, even if it was a little cold. The Maitland River is beautiful, and it was very peaceful today. I feel so privileged to live in such a wonderful area, and I am thankful.
On the menu October 13 - 19, 2019:
We had a roast chicken for lunch today, along with roasted potatoes, carrots and stuffing - a traditional Thanksgiving meal. After all of that, I thought it would be a good idea to keep supper on the lighter side, so I made this Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash. It was good but quite different. Oddly, my mom found it very sweet, even though I somehow omitted the third teaspoon of maple syrup it called for and just used two. I also used chopped raisins instead of currants since they were what I had on hand. My mom and our guest thought this was delicious. Personally, I wouldn't call this my favourite vegetarian dish. Maybe because I mixed all of my squash and the quinoa stuffing together and then didn't like the texture... It ended up being very "soft". I also couldn't taste the raisins very much, so maybe currants would have been better. This wasn't hard to make and maybe you and your family will love it! (More than half of us did...!)
Monday Slow Cooker Cordon Bleu Chicken with salads and rice
Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with a hike and some friends, including 6 teenagers. The linked recipe isn't exactly what I made but since I don't have permission to share the real one (Clubhouse Chicken from "300 Slow Cooker Favorites" by Donna-Marie Pye), it's close. I highly recommend her cookbook. I took chicken thighs and used a mallet to flatten them. Then I spread them with Dijon mustard and topped them with a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese. I rolled them up and used a toothpick to hold them closed. Then I placed them in the bottom of the slow cooker, sprinkled them with thyme and paprika and poured a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (the lower sodium kind) mixed with 1/2 can or so of evaporated milk over top. They were cooked on low for 5-6 hours and were really tasty! One of the girls is a vegetarian, so I just omitted the ham for her and served the bacon on the side. For 10 of us, I doubled the recipe and nearly everything disappeared. This was definitely a hit and super easy since it cooked in the slow cooker. The flattening and rolling were a little fussy but well worth it. My only suggestion is to watch the salt - I used one regular cream of mushroom soup and one with no added salt and mixed them together - we found the sauce a bit salty, likely because of all that ham and cheese!
Tuesday American-Style Cheesy Beef Goulash and Macaroni with green salad
I've been feeling a bit "off" this week, so comfort food seemed in order. This recipe is from Skinnytaste "One and Done". This recipe is delicious and so quick - it cooks all in one pot. If you don't have a pressure cooker (like me), you can cook the pasta in the sauce for about 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. This is really good and a nice change from the usual pasta and ground beef dishes I make.
Wednesday Leftovers / eat out / takeout
Thursday Mexican Lentil Soup with avocado, cheddar, tortilla chips, sour cream, and green salad
Today is really feeling like fall - it's grey and cold and rainy with strong winds. In my opinion, a perfect day for soup! I still have a few cans of lentils in my pantry, and I had all of the other ingredients for this on hand as well, and that makes me happy. We all love this soup, and it's nice that it's vegetarian. This recipe comes from the "Yum and Yummer" cookbook by Greta Podleski. I used some sweet potato and some carrot this time, and we topped it off with some crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, avocado and sour cream. So good!
Friday Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with fresh buns
I wanted to use up the leftover chicken from Sunday and since I had all of the other ingredients on hand, this soup seemed like a perfect dinner choice for today. I love the lemon and parsley - they give it a lovely, fresh flavour that is different than other chicken noodle soups I've made. This time I also added a handful of baby spinach as Greta suggests (not pictured).
In many ways, this year has stretched me and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Cooking and trying new foods is just one of those ways. I have never cooked bulgur before making this dish (from Good Food), but we all loved it, even my son (who is not a fan of lemon) as I may have mentioned before. (The spice mix that came in the box had some lemon pepper and there was also lemon juice and lemon zest in the bulgur). The salty, chewy Halloumi cheese was amazing, and searing it in a frying pan was quick and easy. The oven-fried zucchini were awesome as well, and so simple! It was all topped off with tzatziki and a lemon vinaigrette. Yum! This would be pretty simple to recreate at home on your own.
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