two for two going on three for three

This week marks our third week of new recipes.

We’re making it a priority to try one new recipe per week.  Cooking is one of our favorite things to do together and this is a fun way to make sure our weeknights don’t get away from us.  (Read this morning’s post for more on the background here.)

So far we’re two for two on choosing good recipes and recreating them well.

The first week we made a recipe I’ve been wanting to make for like 3 years: Rachel Ray’s Greek Beef Tenderloin in Togas.

This was a great, balanced meal and though it looks difficult, it really wasn’t.  It was a little time consuming but so worth it.  And the recipe made 6 servings so we had lunch for two days in addition to this dinner!

I loved that the steak, orzo, and vegetable salad recipes were all listed in one.  It was a complete meal in one recipe–no need to worry about finding multiple recipes to complete a meal.

Last week, our second week, we made Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto from SkinnyTaste.

This dish was so satisfying.

Mike’s thoughts:

“one of the best meals we’ve ever made”

“This is restaurant quality.”

I agree. It was delicious. And again, relatively simple. We love risotto so that wasn’t a problem and the scallops and spinach were super easy in a skillet.

Tonight, we’re trying Tyler Florence’s Cheese Fondue recipe! Hoping we go three for three!

what's for dinner? wednesday: 2 for 1

Saturday morning I put buffalo chicken in the crock pot. Isn’t making lunch on a weekend such an accomplishment?

After my favorite Saturday morning activities I went to the grocery store to get a few things for lunch and thought “we should go for a picnic!” I ran home, packed up everything for lunch, and called our friends John and Mindy to see if they wanted to meet us. They agreed! Isn’t calling a friend at the last minute and saying “hey-what-are-you-doing, do-you-want-to _____” and having it all work out just the best?

We had a picnic in Lafayette Park across from the White House. The weather was GORGEOUS. We had our buffalo chicken sandwiches, caught up, and then had a frisbee toss.

The next day was the 5k for Girls on the Run. When I got home we used the leftover buffalo chicken and made a pizza! Isn’t using leftovers in a different way so satisfying??

Between the 5k and eating a heavy pizza, I was kind of a zombie after that.  Regardless, the pizza was delicious and the sandwiches the day before were yummy!

Here are the recipes for both. (Do I owe you because it’s been so long since my last what’s for dinner wednesday? post?)

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Make this buffalo chicken recipe in the crockpot.

When the chicken is finished, put it on some nice big rolls.  Sesame seeds add a nice touch.

Serve with pickles, blue cheese, and maybe some potato chips.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Make this buffalo chicken recipe in the crockpot (or use leftovers from the sandwiches above).

Saute some about half a red onion, chopped.

Make a Pillsbury pizza crust according to package directions. After you pre-cook the crust it a bit, top with blue cheese dressing, onions, buffalo chicken, monterey jack cheese. Cook until the crust is done.

Top with watercress for a pop of freshness. Some chopped celery would add a nice crunch too!

Let’s chat:

What do you usually do for lunch on the weekends?

Have you turned leftovers into something special recently?

To see what we had for dinner tonight, like Things After the Rings on Facebook!

What's for Dinner? Wednesday: BLTs

We hosted some friends for a small brunch on Easter Sunday. I think it was the first time we’ve hosted that we were actually ready for the guests when they arrived. We had a minor spat and were super flustered prepping for our Super Bowl party, and when we hosted a Christmas party a few years ago we were rushing to finish homemade spanakopita triangles as the start time drew near. Oh, and we had friends staying with us at the time that witnessed this stress. Nothing like getting frustrated with your spouse in front of a friend.

Though this was a huge victory for us, being ready in time wasn’t the only way we prepped for success. We  invited a great group of friends. We planned a full menu: blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon, porkroll sandwiches*, homefries, and dessert pizza. We also told our friends exactly what to bring: stuff for mimosas and a fresh fruit platter.

Breakfast turned out great and everyone had a nice time.  I love hosting friends (hence my resolution to host once per month), I love feeding people. It was a good day. [I intended to have pictures taken at brunch so I could post about it.  I delegated this task to Mike.  He didn’t take any pictures and I totally forgot while the brunch was happening. Working on that.]

How does this relate to What’s for Dinner? Wednesday, you wonder. Well, we had about a pound of bacon leftover. So when we made our grocery list and menu for this week, Mike suggested we have BLTs.

A classic American sandwich, the simple BLT has a nice combination of flavors and textures.  You have the crunch of the lettuce and toast, the juicy tomato (must add a touch of salt to truly bring out the flavor), the crisp, salty, meaty bacon, and that special something that mayo adds.  And yes, you must use real mayo. [No, Hellman’s did not sponsor this post.]

Mike gobbled these sandwiches right up.  And then ate a third of my sandwich that I didn’t want. He now has a stomach ache.  I’m not sure if that’s from the 2.33 sandwiches he ate or from the mayo that was “best before Jan. 24, 2012.” Oops.

*Porkroll is a breakfast meat common in SE PA and Southern New Jersey. It’s like ham but much better. When we moved to DC we realized we had friends that had never had porkroll and we wanted to share the goodness. Oh, and this is my specialty.

Talk to me:

What’d you have for dinner?

Have you ever had porkroll? If you came over for breakfast, would you try it?

What's for Dinner? Vegetarian {Giveaway}

While Mike was away, I had to fend for myself when it came to meals.  (I realized how much I rely on Mike for things like meal planning, grocery shopping, and laundry. Boy, I am grateful.) Without meaning to I ate vegetarian for Monday through Wednesday lunch.

Instead of eating pancakes for every meal like I usually do when Mike’s out of town, I took this opportunity to make a meal that Mike doesn’t really care for: black bean soup in the crock pot.

This soup is super easy, super cheap, delicious, and filling. It makes a ton and yields leftovers. (Believe me, it’s better than it looks in the picture!)

Enjoy!

—————————–

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

4 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 14.5 oz cans of vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup of salsa (not pico de gallo)

optional toppings: monterey jack cheese, cilantro, lime

Combine beans, brother, and salsa in crock pot. Cook on high for 2-4 hours or low 4-8 hours. Puree with an immersion blender. Top with cheese, cilantro, lime juice.

——————————

My First Giveaway!

In honor of my vegetarian meals, I’m giving away the cookbook How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.  I’m giving away my copy so it’s slightly used (slightly just because we don’t often cook vegetarian) but it’s in very good condition and is a great resource for people looking to make vegetarian meals on a more regular basis.

There are three ways to enter:

1) leave a comment telling me your favorite vegetarian meal

2) Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment telling me you did “@thingsafterings is giving away a vegetarian cookbook. I want to cook vege!”

3) like Things After the Rings on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did

I’ll pick a random winner on Sunday at 6pm.

What's for Dinner? Wednesday: Risotto

Back with another What’s for Dinner? Wednesday! Tonight I’m sharing one of our favorite meals to make together and eat together: red wine risotto with peas!

Risotto is a great meal to cook with someone.  Not because it’s extremely complicated (it’s not really at all) but because it’s a time consuming meal and gives you time to chat in the kitchen (without the distractions of phone, computer, TV). It’s pretty much just stirring constantly for 25-30 minutes and it’s nice to have someone to keep you company.  Oh, and you put like a cup of wine in the recipe and drink the rest 🙂

Mike and I love to make risotto together because it gives us time to connect. We’ll take turns stirring and sitting, talk about things that are on our minds, and drink wine. Sometimes, though, much of the conversation is “mmm, this is going to be so good” or some variation of that statement.

Risotto is really just a fancy comfort food.  It’s warm, creamy, and you eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. What’s not to love?

Our go-to risotto is Giada’s red wine risotto with peas.

I’d love to know:

Do you like risotto?  Share/link up your favorite risotto recipe in the comments!

Are there any meals that you bond over with your significant other/family/roommates?

What's for Dinner? Easy Friday

Happy Friday!

Is it just me or was this week particularly tiring? I’m glad we don’t have any plans tonight and can just relax at home. I was super tired this morning, perked up a little bit this afternoon, and now I feel like I’m crashing again. Though there are a bunch of things I’d love to do tonight, I imagine I’ll stay on the couch watching shows on DVR or maybe we’ll get Moneyball onDemand.

Anyway, back to What’s for Dinner?.  Tonight’s dinner was super quick and easy, perfect for a Friday night after a long week.

Chicken and vegetable dumplings; Black bean and cheese taquitos

I bought these apps at Trader Joe’s for the book club meeting I hosted here on Wednesday night (we read The Happiness Project, in case you’re wondering) but we had so much food we didn’t need them. So I figured what a perfect Friday night dinner. This took all of 15 minutes to prepare and the clean up will be minimal as well. And who doesn’t love finger foods?

Making a meal plan for the upcoming week? Check out what else we’ve had for dinner recently:

Comfort Food

Butternut squash stuffed shells

Meals from How Sweet It Is

Date Night

I’d love to know:

What’d you have for dinner tonight?

What's for Dinner Wednesday: Date Night

Back again with another What’s for Dinner? Wednesday and tonight happened to be date night! We haven’t had date night in quite some time: either since my birthday date or when we went to the Nationals’ game. It’s one of my 2012 resolutions to go on one date night per month so tonight not only did I have a nice dinner with my husband but I also got to check a box on resolutions spreadsheet. Win-win!

Mike’s trying to “get into sushi” and we had a Living Social deal for Sushiko in Chevy Chase (Friendship Heights) that expires at the end of the month so we decided to go to Sushiko for our first date night of the year.

We started with some drinks: a rum and Coke for Mike and a mangotini for me.

Then I had a house salad with ginger dressing to start (which I pretty much inhaled and then had to tell myself to slow down, that I’m not in an eating contest, I’m on a date).

Don’t you love how vibrant and fresh that looks?

Next we ordered two rolls to share: the rock shrimp cilantro and the crunchy spicy salmon.  Mike chose both of these and I was happy to oblige.  Sometimes it feels so good to just trust your partner’s judgement. And it paid off.  Both rolls were delicious. The cilantro in the rock shrimp cilantro roll was so bright and fresh, it was awesome!

We topped off our meal with a soft shell crab roll.

Good meal.  I imagine we’ll be back again soon.

I’m glad we both enjoy sushi now.  Sometimes if we need a quick dinner we’ll stop at Whole Foods and grab some out of their pre-made case. It’s so funny how tastes can change.  If you would’ve told me 3 years ago that I’d like sushi by now I probably would’ve said you’re crazy.

I still kind of struggle while eating it though.  I feel like it’s a lot to put the whole thing in your mouth at once but it’s really poor sushi etiquette to not take it all in one bite.  (I learned that on a Bobby Flay Throwdown I think).  And honestly it just looks bad if you don’t. But I feel like it’s a lot to get down and I start to swallow it before I even get to taste it. Does anyone else have this problem?

I’d love to know:

Are you a sushi fan?  

What did you have for dinner?

What's for Dinner? Wednesday: How Sweet It Is edition

Happy Hump Day! Aren’t long weekends great?  Having an extra day or two to relax and unwind is a wonderful thing.  But long weekends are a gift that keeps on giving: a short work week before or after.

But after two short weeks of work, the last two days in my office have had me feeling wiped out by 3:30. All I wanted to do when I came home today was take a nap.  After my 15 minute power nap on the couch, I was still pretty drained so I was happy to see that the meal we had planned for tonight was actually pretty speedy.

Me, as we sit down at the coffee table to eat: “Wow, this is going to be soo good.”

Mike: “Yeah, where’d you get this recipe?”

Me: “Where do you think?”

Mike: “How Sweet It Is?”

Me: “Uh, huh.”

[I get most of my recipes here so this is no surprise. Like the sangria and cookies I made for NYE, the fish sticks we had for dinner earlier this week, and the crockpot recipe we’ll have tomorrow or Friday.]

Me: “Don’t you love Jessica?”

Mike: “Yeah, is she single?”

What?! Isn’t my referencing her blog and bringing her delicious recipes into your life enough? I mean, I know she has a good sense of humor but come on!

So anyway, this is what we had for dinner:

BLT Salmon Tacos

These were really good, though I think I’d have much more to say if I hadn’t literally inhaled my first one.  Yeah, I kind of felt overwhelmed after that.

After Mike wolfed down his tacos in like four bites: “Mmm, yeah, that’s a keeper. I’d definitely have that again. That would be good in the summer too.”

Remember when I told you to make “try one of Jessica’s recipes” one of your new year’s resolutions? Yeah, I meant that.  Have you?

For dessert, we shared a Karen’s Birthday cupcake from Baked and Wired that I picked up on a lunch walk with my friend Allie.

And, I just put in the last 5 loads of laundry from our bed bug situation.  Good. Day.

 

 

What's for dinner?

What’s for dinner? must be one of the most frequently asked questions between a married couple.  It’s definitely one of Mike’s favorite questions.  During high school, he’d call his dad at work almost every day after school to ask him what was for dinner.

What’s for dinner is also the title of a new series here on Things After the Rings where I’ll share what we’re having. And you’re in luck, today I have two meals to share.

Tuesday night we had grilled cheese and tomato soup, a quick, easy, comforting meal that is perfect for a chilly fall night.

Must use Land O’Lakes American Cheese, the taste is just so much creamier than other American cheeses. [Please do me a favor and give up on Kraft singles.  They’re not even real cheese and they taste terrible.  Believe me, you’ll thank me for it.]

I like mustard on the inside of one slice of bread.  Real butter is a must too.

Last night we had curried chicken and rice.

I was tutoring one night and this dish was cooking on the stove as worked.  It smelled amazing so I asked the mom for the recipe. Here it is:

Fast Curried Turkey with Rice serves 4-6, total time about 30 mins

  • 2 T butter, margarine or oil – your choice [of course I vote butter]
  • 2 tsp curry + ½ tsp cinnamon + pinch cloves
  • 2 cups diced onion
  • 1 lb. boneless turkey or chicken breast meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 apple, peeled and diced (or use a green apple & don’t bother peeling)
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup long grain or Basmati rice
  • 2 cups chicken stock or water, or combination
  • 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Heat a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and melt, then add the curry mixture.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, until spices become fragrant. Add the diced onion and sauté until soft and golden.  Add the turkey, apples and raisins and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the rice and stir. Add the stock/water, bring to a boil and cover. Cook on medium-low heat until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, about 20 minutes.  Add the peas during the last few minutes to heat through, then toss and serve.

Notes from the recipe I received:

You can eat the peas separately if you prefer. Another tip: if you cook it too long with the peas, they’ll get dull green and mushy. If you prefer green and crisp, add them right before you’re going to eat.  If you are a fan of Indian food, this dish goes well with yogurt and cucumber raita, or Greek tzatziki.

My notes:

Though it’s not spicy, it has a nice heat to it. I would definitely recommend serving it with raita or tzatziki on the side as suggested above. The first time I made this I let it simmer too long and it was a bit dry.  Last night I let it simmer for 15 mins plus a few more mins for the peas and it turned out better.

Enjoy!

I’d love to know:

What else would make the list of Most Frequently Asked Questions Between a Married Couple?

What are you having for dinner this week?