We’ve gone out to eat a handful of times, have most of our groceries delivered, went to the beach once and went kayaking once. Other than that we’ve stayed home for the entirety of 2021. The last four months of the year always fly by for our family because all our birthdays fall in the last quarter, and we also have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, so it feels like nonstop celebrations. Can you believe 2022 is already around the corner?!
When you’re home 24/7, you cook, cook, and then cook some more! I create a loose meal plan every week based on what meat and produce is available, a couple new recipes I want to try, and go-to meals that I can almost always make with what I have in my freezer and pantry. I’ve been trying a lot more variety that I probably wouldn’t have if not for the pandemic, because we eat at home so much. This is what’s on my meal plan this week!
Garlic Butter Pasta – This is an easy go-to lunch that I make when I’m lazy or my fridge is empty because I always have all the ingredients on hand – any type of pasta, butter, garlic, parmesan cheese. I also add sliced black or green olives, and my kids always devour it.
Crispy Pan-Fried Fish – I recently bought some lovely red snapper fillets because I want the kids to eat more fish. It’s actually hard to get fillets here because most fish is sold fresh and whole. I like to pan fry fish fillets with this simple recipe that you can use with any white fish. If I add an egg, panko, parmesan crust, my kids like it even better, but they already eat a lot of cheese and I want to preserve the delicate flavor of the fish.
Beef Asparagus Stir Fry – We only have asparagus available a couple times a year here, so I buy a lot when it’s available and cook it as a side dish or in a stir fry. Have you heard of a technique called “velveting?” Apparently it’s a method that Chinese restaurants often use on chicken and beef to make meat more tender, and it’s especially good for cheaper cuts of beef for stir fries. Simply rub a little baking soda on the meat, leave for 30 minutes and then rinse off. Don’t leave it for any longer than that — I made that mistake and my chicken came out so soft that it tasted like fish!
Monte Cristo Sandwich – I’d never made a Monte Cristo sandwich and only had the idea to make one this week when the recipe showed up in my Facebook feed. It’s simply a mayo, ham and cheese sandwich with french toast bread! This is good with thick slices of bread rather than regular sliced sandwich bread.
Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole – I’ve made enough spaghetti to last a lifetime and wanted to try a new twist. The canned chilies in this recipe are not available here though so I do not add them, and my kids sadly do not like spicy food. The Stay at Home Chef is one of my favorite recipe blogs, and everything I’ve made from her site has turned out great!
Ganjang Bibim Guksu (Soy Sauce Noodles) – This is another simple noodle dish that takes no time to prepare. It’s just a couple ingredients that I always have on hand – Korean noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and rice vinegar – garnished with cucumber and a soft boiled egg. The egg is what takes the longest time to cook!
What has been on your meal plan this week?
guest
Yes, I do the velveting technique, there are several different methods, but I typically do chicken or pork when I want to stir fry it!
guest
You forgot my most dreaded chore…clean up! When you phone you cook and cook and cook some more. And send hours cleaning up!