Week Plan Wednesday

Since I totally neglected to post a meal plan last week, I'm sort of obligated to be more on the ball this week.  Rest assured, we ate pasta no fewer than 4 times.  Because when I don't have a plan, it's either variations on a grilled cheese sandwich or pasta.  And as we no longer buy tortillas (so sad), there aren't a lot of grilled cheese options these days.

Wednesday- A long ER visit necessitated take out burgers.  At 9 PM.  So fun.

Thursday- Homemade chicken noodles soup.  Bread.  Fresh sliced cucumbers and orange peppers.

Friday- Wilted spinach salad with onion, feta cheese, and Polish sausage.  Loosely based on this recipe.    Cornbread muffins.

Saturday- Basic, boring dal.  Vegetarian vegetable curry.  I don't have a recipe in mind, but it will involve coconut milk and a lot of green and orange peppers, as I have those in the fridge, and a package of spice mix bought at the grocery store.  Because for just about a buck, I don't have to mix my own spices.  Bonus for ones with no salt added so you can adjust salt to your own preference.

Sunday- Mushroom Rice Pilaf and Braised Broccoli with Orange and Parmesan (recipe below).

Monday- Tacos.  Homemade tortillas (because, see above), Mexican rice, black beans, ground beef and onions seasoned with chili and cumin, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, no lettuce because I don't much like it.

Tuesday- The Gibbon really, really, really wants split pea soup.  I love The Gibbon, so I will make it one more time before it's too hot to even contemplate the dish.

Braised Broccoli with Orange and Parmesan
Liberally adapted from True Food by Andrew Weil

Cut two or three heads of broccoli into bite sized pieces.
Heat 1/2 cup orange juice and one 24 oz can of crushed tomatoes until boiling.  Stir in a pinch of red pepper flakes and a substantially more generous pinch or oregano.
Add all the broccoli you cut up, or at least as much as you can fit in the pot.  Stir until the broccoli's covered in sauce, then put a lid on the pot and cook for maybe three minutes.  Only let it cook until the broccoli's bright green, it still needs a bit of crunch.
Take the pot off the heat and add parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper a little bit at a time until your broccoli tastes amazing or is totally gone because you "tasted" it all.