Week 1 Menu:
-Pizza: We do the cheap and easy Kroger pizza crust mix and always have sauce and pizza cheese on hand. It allows for a quick last minute meal and prevents us from ordering out. As expected, it was good. :) I need to start making my own crust....I know it really makes it so much more enjoyable.
Did I like it? yes. Will I use this again? yes. Changes? always. :)
-Chicken Philly Pasta: As I stated before in an earlier post, I went a little crazy by adding to whole jalapenos which made it too hot. I probably will add one next time since we like a little zip in our meals.
Did I like it? yes. Will I use this again? probably (although my husband didn't care for it) Changes? I would like to use a gooier cheese (possibly a melting Mexican cheese or more of an Italian blend added). I also added a splash of Celery Seeds and will add 1 jalapeno.
-Slammin' Salmon with Risotto (added grilled asparagus): This was a good meal. I marinated the fish for about 4 hours. I was surprised that it didn't have a ton of flavor, but the flavor was good. I used a similar marinade on the asparagus and we LOVED it! (check my Risotto Virgin post for details). The risotto was easy enough and was so good. This was my favorite meal of the week.
Did I like it? YES! Will I use this again? YES!! Changes? Maybe more garlic to the fish marinade, but that's because I'm a garlic freak.
-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Mashed Potatoes: Another good meal. My husband never had had an Italian style cabbage roll; he was used to the more vinegar based rolls. He enjoyed this meal and even went for seconds. I liked that I made a freezer meal for future ease.
Did I like it? yes. Will I use it again? yes. Changes? I'm going to look for a vinegar cabbage roll recipe (my husband is trying to track down his grandmother's recipe) and give that a try too.
-Chicken Marsala with Roasted Vegetables: This was another good meal. The chicken Marsala was quick and relatively easy. The roasted vegetables had a lot of flavor (with the jar of roasted red peppers and basil). I enjoyed the vegetables a lot. I used dried basil since that is what I had, but I would really like to try it with fresh...I think it would be even better. I used sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions, and mushrooms in my mix. Also, I burnt the daylights out of the first yam/sweet potato I roasted after only roasting it for 30 mins (the way the recipes says to do it). I threw it out and started over again, only roasting it 15 mins and then another 20 mins with the softer veggies. The sweet potatoes were really good in it.
Did I like it? yes. Will I use it again? yes. Changes? Alter the roasting time as listed above. I enjoyed the change in veggies that I used, but I think that any would be good.
Overall, I think that it was a successful first week. Since it is summer (and I'm a teacher), I've had more time to dedicate to the planning and executing of these meals. It will be interesting to see what happens when I go back to work full time. I'm sure some of the meals will be a little simpler, but I promise not to drop the quality and taste!!
I'm thinking of adding a dessert recipe for the week (which I did for week 2) and possibly a breakfast option (either one for grab-n-go meals throughout the week or a weekend breakfast meal). What do you think? Also, does the 5 meals for the week work for people? Is it too much or two little? Should I add a crockpot meal each week too? Let me know your thoughts!
