Two Kid Schoolhouse
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Sep. 8, 2006
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A dinner experiment that worked
I'm a big fan of meal planning. I love to look on my calendar or meal-planning sheet and see what to make each day. Everything works better when meals are planned ahead. The reality is that is doesn't always work so well for me. I'll plan something and then forget to buy some key ingredient, like... chicken, for the crockpot "roast" chicken I was going to make last night. I'd never done a whole chicken in the crockpot and was dubious that it would taste good, until last weekend when a friend did one that way - it was so delicious! I rebel at calling it "roast" though - it is not roasted! Roast chicken is cooked in the oven, dry heat. This is more of a braise.
Anyway, so last night I was without chicken and had to come up with something. E had a sore throat and I'd semi-promised a stay-home day, so no going to the grocery store. I had just bought a bag of frozen shrimp so pulled some of that out to defrost. It took a minute to find a recipe to use for it online. The recipe said to grill, but I planned to saute it on the stove. No matter.
E asked for "risotto rice" as that sounded soothing to her throat. Risotto is a dish that seems more complicated than it is. It's just a certain kind of rice - fat, short grain - cooked slowly in broth (and wine if you like). It looks very daunting because it calls for constant stirring, but I've never done that. I stir it a lot, but I don't stand there the whole time stirring. Maybe my risotto doesn't come out quite right. But my family never complains. So I made some of that, plain.
I had a few red peppers and of course some onions and garlic, so I sliced those up to saute with the shrimp.
Then I pulled a bag o'salad out of the fridge. This time of year it's cheaper around here to buy the fresh greens but I'd found a good deal so had a nice mixed salad.
Oh man, what a good dinner! Everyone but E gobbled up the shrimp. She doesn't much like it even without a sore throat, but she played the sick card well last night and just ate rice. The shrimp had a bit of spice to it from the marinade, but that didn't stop J from asking for more. He ate the bare minimum amount of peppers and onions, of course. Which just left more for me. Next time I'll make it a little more spicy, I think. Eating it with the rice cools it down a bit.
What are you having for dinner tonight?
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Musings of a slacker homeschool Mom
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• Sep. 8, 2006 - What's for dinner
I am fortunate that I am not the only cook in the family. Yesterday my youngest cooked us a steak and pasta dish. It was pretty good. (If you teach a kid to cook . . ) I don't ever feel overwelmed with the full responsibility of constant cooking, especially in the "grill season". I think this is why I still enjoy cooking.
Fall is upon us in the midwest. I need to finish putting the recipe book together and dust off my crock pot too. Time to take a family trip to the apple orchard and pull out the sweaters. Yippee! Harvest time is my favorite time of year - next to Christmas.