Meal Planning Week 8

The past week was a little crazy with one recipe taking MUCH longer than expected to cook and a couple last-minute discoveries of pantry staples that had run out. Let's just say we ate out more than I'd planned for.

As for last week's recipes the pea soup turned out a bit different than expected. For one thing it wasn't ready to eat in time for dinner even though it had been simmering in the slow cooker for 6 hrs on high (peas were still slightly hard and grainy). When we finally got to eat it the flavor was good though it wasn't exactly your traditional pea soup. The lentils had turned the color brown and were more visible so it seemed more like lentil soup. I did substitute the water for vegetable broth and cut the amount of butter in half which seemed more than adequate.

I wound up (accidentally) modifying the pumpkin pasta recipe by adding the whole 1/2 pint of half and half (was subbing that for the heavy cream) instead of 1/4 C. Then I only half cooked the macaroni and divided it into 2 9x9 baking dishes. I added the sauce and some frozen peas and then sprinkled the parmesan cheese over the top and baked it at 350 degrees until bubbly and melty. To tell the truth I like it better this way and it made 2 meals for the work of one (I only baked 1 pan. The other I stuck in the freezer for another day).

This week's meals I've kept pretty simple since Derek's still not around most nights and dinner is usually the meal where David eats the least (if at all). For some reason I just don't feel as motivated to cook real recipes when I'm the only one eating them. At least we're not living off of McDonalds or convenience foods I guess.

• Sunday: Still haven't made the burritos from last week so we'll eat them today
• Monday: Tomato basil soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (I've made several versions of tomato soup but this is my favorite. I do use whole milk or half and half instead of the heavy cream and it's still got plenty of flavor. You can used canned diced tomatoes as well to save time but fresh do taste better. It also freezes well. This week I'll just be reheating some frozen soup from an earlier batch.)
• Tuesday: Baked cinnamon yams and salad
• Wednesday: Pesto pizza topped with broccoli, tomato and spinach
• Thursday: Fried egg sandwiches with fruit salad
• Friday: Leftovers or eat out
• Saturday: Poppy seed chicken casserole with steamed broccoli