Menu of the Week

Go figure the week that Jim thinks I hit it out of the ballpark I miss the pic of my chalkboard menu wall. At least I snapped a few pics of the dishes before we devoured them.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP
I started the week by making Ina Garten's Mexican Chicken Soup because I was quickly coming down with an illness and I remembered this warm bowl of soup from 2008. I roasted a handful of tomatillos and 4 jalapenos that I seeded first. The charred veggies added a mild spice and tang to the finished soup. This is one of my FAVORITE soups ever - I swear it is full of healing properties.

One shortcut I took which really paid off was to purchase chicken in bulk, both breasts and thighs, and cooked them in the pressure cooker with lots of aromatics. Jim helped me pull the meat off the bones which I don't like doing, and I used the shredded chicken in two different meals this week.

PORK RAGU OVER CREAMY POLENTA
I'm not one to enjoy leftovers, unless it is this flavorful shredded pork on top of super creamy southern polenta. I don't think this is the first time I've made this meal but it must be the first time I've blogged about it. The recipe comes from Epicurious and it's an absolute winner I tell ya! The steps are really simply. After you brown the meat, you build a super flavorful cooking liquid with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, red wine, chicken stock, tomatoes and fresh herbs. I make my polenta with cream cheese and parmesan, chicken stock and a dab of butter - oh it's creamy!

CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE
This recipe is from Trisha Yearwood on Food Network, and I haven't made many of her recipes. My impression is that they are not very "special," sorry that sounds harsh.  This comforting casserole recipe could very well be printed verbatim on the backside of the cream of chicken soup. BUT... Jim literally ate the whole pan all week long for lunch. I wasn't even going to blog about this, but my dear husband insisted this go on the blog so I would remember to make it again. This is a great make ahead meal, very flavorful and best of all, easy to dump together.

GARLICKY SALMON OVER QUINOA, SPINACH AND TOMATO SALAD

Then there are those nights you don't really have a plan, wing it, and decide it was pretty dang good. The sad part is I don't even remember exactly what I did. I seasoned the Salmon with salt, pepper and lots of fresh garlic, then roasted in the over at 400 degrees for 14 minutes. For the salad, I cooked quinoa, and tossed the warm grain with fresh spinach and chopped fresh tomatoes. I know I put some sort of dressing on the salad but I'm struggling to remember exactly what I did. My best guess is olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice.