Couscous with Carrots, Spinach, and Pistachios (add shrimp)
The recipe for this meal is really boring- make couscous, add spinach, carrot and pistachios. Ryan improvised and actually cooked the shrimp with some garlic and crushed pistachios which gave the shrimp a nice, nutty coating. We added more pistachios on top, and used roasted garlic pine nut couscous for more flavor. Total prep took about 10 minutes. Following an explanation from Maevy about how couscous is teeny, teeny, tiny, tiny cut up pasta, she ate everything on her plate, sans carrots. She still doesn’t like carrots or grapes.

Happy Friday!

Black Bean Quesadillas
I actually found refried black beans at our grocery store. I think I prefer pinto beans, but this quesadilla was still delicious. Maevy and Ryan, of course, had their sans black beans. Oh well..

Happy Friday!

Thai Chicken Wraps
(Option 2 is super easy. I loved the dipping sauce.) I really just wanted a reason to show off my new plates! I’ve had the majority of our plates since I graduated college (10 years ago) and the rest since our wedding (7 years ago). Really I was sick of not having a complete set due to the cabinet disaster that happened 4 years ago. Needless to say, it was time for some new ones.

Thanks to some birthday gift cards, I got this modern set from CB2 for next to nothing. So far, I like them. They make me feel like we’re dining out and they photograph well.

Happy Friday!

Pad Thai with Chicken

I love homemade take out food. This recipe is simple and great for next day leftovers. Next time I want to add some bean sprouts for a little extra crunch. I  omitted cilantro; I hate cilantro! (Right, Suz?)

Happy Friday!

Winter Minestrone Soup

I was getting sick of fish; so this hearty soup was a great alternative for a Lenten Friday. I couldn’t find chopped, frozen butternut squash; so just used pureed squash instead, which made the soup thicker. I recommend serving it with a slice or 2 of crusty bread.

Corned Beef Swiss Wrap

We changed this recipe up a little substituting with white American cheese we had on hand, and added sauteed onions instead of sauerkraut. Our version was pretty good and a nice alternative to the typical St. Patrick’s day fare.

Happy Friday!

I didn’t get last week’s post up in time; so you get a double dose this week.

Foiled Wrapped Salsa Chicken (Avocado on the side)
The picture isn’t amazing, but this dinner was delicious. I just seasoned the chicken with cumin, chili powder, s&p, then some of our homemade salsa, and shredded cheese. Then just threw it in the oven. It made for an awesome lunch the next day too.

Roasted Asparagus with Scrambled Eggs

Super simple, but we added some leftover prosciutto to the eggs. I probably didn’t need the toast on the side, but ate every last bite.

Happy Friday!

Caesar Salad with Grilled Tilapia

This was our Ash Wednesday meal that Ryan made. He even spruced it up with some homemade croutons. I love homemade Caesar salads. Yum. (Sorry for the photo pic. I was lazy this week. )

Happy Friday!

Baked Sweet Potato with Black BeansAgain simple wins this week. How fun is loading up a potato with creative ingredients? Okay maybe I have a low tolerance for fun. Either way I loved filling up my savory sweet potato with sour cream, black  beans, cheese, and avocado. Also this meal took me a total 7 minutes to make. Nice!

Happy Friday!

Thin Crust Chicken Artichoke Pizza

We kind of made our own version of this pizza. I mixed a little Greek yogurt with a pesto cube, then added chicken, artichokes, spinach, and Parmesan cheese. Maevy assembled all the pizzas, under Ryan’s supervision. Maev picked off most of her artichokes, but enjoyed the pizza otherwise.

Happy Friday!

Chicken Enchilada SoupThis soup reminded me a Rachael Ray stew that I used to make all the time with pierogis on top. If my blog records are correct, then it looks like it’s been 2 1/2 years since I made that dish. Nice food/taste memory, Ames! I was super-mom/wife this week and actually did some major prep work Monday, making this soup (just on the stove, no crockpot), and rolling all of the meatballs after we ate dinner that night.

Other take-a-ways-
*Baking the chicken with that Trader Joe’s Bacon Cheddar Ranch dip was totally awesome. I might try smothering my chicken with other kinds of dip.

*Even though we avoided the Asian Tuna Salad for almost 2 weeks, mostly because I know Ryan’s not a big fan of canned tuna, the salad was pretty good. Sometimes it’s just refreshing to have raw ingredients for dinner. I don’t even think I knew Maevy liked tuna, but she ate most of this dinner up- while dipping all of her veggies in the soy sauce.

Happy Friday!