Toward the end of the summer, I found myself in a "dinner rut." I was pretty much making the same thing for dinner most nights: chicken, sauteed vegetables, and salad. Sometimes I'd turn it into a pasta dish just to switch things up, but I was mainly using the same ingredients every night. I blame it on feeling overwhelmed with a new baby who was almost always fussy during the prime dinner prep time. Bless my husband's heart, he ate every dinner I made with no complaints, but I was tired of being boring in the kitchen.
I love to cook. I am a big recipe-follower and feel most comfortable when I have some sort of guide to lead me through it all, but I'm getting better at experimenting and taking some liberties with some of the recipes I try. Cooking more elaborate meals with a 5-month-old isn't devoid of its challenges, but it's a bit easier than it was a few months ago. Max has an uncanny ability to start fussing when I'm trying to peel and mince garlic. Seriously, every time. And I cook with a lot of garlic. Hope that phase ends soon!
One of my favorite sites for great, healthy recipes is skinnytaste.com. I have made several of Gina's recipes and have been beyond thrilled with the end results. Girlfriend knows her way around the kitchen! Her website is so user-friendly and organized by types of dishes (soup, casserole, pasta, sides, etc.) and main ingredient (chicken, turkey, lamb, seafood, beef, etc.). She even has seasonal and holiday recipes. And she has a new cookbook out...add that to the Christmas list!
The hubs LOVES soup and requests it frequently now that the weather is getting colder. I made Gina's Beef, Potato, and Quinoa Soup on Monday and Oh. Em. Gee. Delicious! I've been a bit obsessed with quinoa lately so this soup was right up my alley. I used an entire yellow bell pepper instead of just 2 tbsp, and I added some yellow squash and celery to increase the veggie content. I also didn't have coriander or achiote to make the sazon seasoning she references, nor could I find any sazon in my grocery store, so I just used some Mexican seasoning and increased the cumin to 1 tsp. I recommend this recipe for the fall/winter months. The quinoa makes it thicker than most soups but still gives it a light texture. I actually prefer it to noodles in the soup. Give it a try soon!
I also made these Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos on Tuesday to switch up our regular Taco Tuesday menu. Another win for Gina! I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful the fish was simply by cooking it with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. I also omitted the jalapeno peppers because I'm not big on those. Still very good! Victor loves fish tacos, too, so he was quite happy with my meal choices this week.
And as a bonus, please draw your attention to these Spinach Lasagna Rolls; they find their way to our table at least once every couple weeks. I've been making these for a while now...total crowd pleaser.
New to Max's menu this week is pureed peas. So far on our Baby Solids adventure, Max has hated rice cereal and enjoyed sweet potatoes. But peas?
Dude LOVES them! He can't get enough!
Hope everyone has had an excellent week!
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