Day 6: Chicken and Orzo Soup

Day 6 of the weekly meal planner was actually delayed a little bit, because we received a visit from Drew's parents this past weekend.  We had a wonderful time with them, as always.  They are building a new house and listing their current house for sale this week.  So, they decided it was a great time to bring up a whole SUV full of boxes of some of Drew's childhood things (baseball cards, transformers, legos, and even High School shop class projects that he made for them).   It was fun to go through Drew's art projects from elementary school--he was pretty creative and had a very impressionistic style.

Anyway, Drew didn't want me to try any new recipes out on them, so we decided to finish Day 6 and 7 of the meal planner this week.

  

This was the easiest soup I have ever made!  I will guess it took me about 20 minutes total to cook this soup.  Plus, I saved 10 minutes by preparing the orzo pasta when I had to cook it for the last meal that required it. I will add that it is probably the most delicious soup I have ever made.  Drew had a bit of a sore throat today and said the soup was a perfect match meal for it.  So, without further ado....

Here are our verdicts:

Heather:  This was an excellent combination of flavors and textures.  The crunchiness of the celery balanced the mushiness that I dislike about mushrooms.  The orzo and chicken were complimentary as well.  I really enjoyed the lemon flavor of the broth.  The parsley gave the soup a very healthful taste.  I loved that the soup contained so much protein, with the combo of cannellini beans and chicken.  I rate this an 8, which is a high rating from me for a soup.

A happy Drew enjoying the soup

Drew:  Mushrooms again!  Hooray!  A very fresh tasting and healthy dish.  It soothed my sore throat.  I liked having the orzo pasta in the soup.  This sounds strange coming from me (not a celery fan), but I think I would prefer even more celery in the soup.   My rating is an 8--delicious and I think this should stay on our meal rotation. 

Luke liked it also!

And here's the recipe in case you're interested:  Chicken-and-Orzo Soup Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Update on Luke's Healing

Drew and I took Luke to another follow-up appointment at the Orthopedic Physician's office late yesterday.  We got another set of X-rays, which revealed quite a bit of new bone forming around the radius and ulna breaks.  The radius looked very straight (the radius was the bone that Luke initially broke).  The ulna appeared bent (the ulna was not broken initially, but the doc had to break it during the reduction procedure when trying to get the radius straight).  However, the doc told us that in 6 months or so, we would not be able to tell he ever had any broken bones.

He removed some of the old tape that had become quite dirty from Luke's normal activities and put some new, very white, tape on the splint.  I'm sure this will become gray soon with the normal little boy activities Luke likes to be involved in (playing in rocks, dirt, eating with that hand, etc.)  Doc ordered the splint on for two more weeks, and then we'll remove it to see how his arm looks on the afternoon of March 11. 

Day 5: Peppers ’n’ Potatoes Beef Skillet Supper

Because we had onion Risotto leftovers on Day 4, I cooked our next weekly meal planner dish on Day 5.  Drew and I really enjoyed this dish.   My only recommendation would be not to add as many noodles as the dish calls for.  I think the plethora of noodles took a little bit away from the delicious flavors of the dish.   The recipe called for cooking the baby red potatoes in the bacon grease.  I will admit this was very hard for me.   I actually poured some of the bacon grease out of the skillet before cooking the potatoes.  I like to cook healthful dishes and cooking a veggie in bacon grease just didn't seem right.  It did taste pretty good though.

And now for the verdict:

Heather:  This is really good--I think it would be a perfect meal for a cooler day.   And, of course, bacon toppings makes just about anything better.  The only thing I would change as I mentioned above is to reduce the amount of noodles in the dish.  I rate this dish a 7.5

Drew:  I really liked this dish--I liked it more than the Buffalo Chicken and less than the tacos.  Those tacos were REALLY good.  Therefore, I need to change my rating on the tacos to an "8" so I can rate this dish a 7.5.  Loved the flavors and, of course, the bacon.  I agree with Heather on less noodles though.

Here is the recipe in case you are interested:  Peppers ’n’ Potatoes Beef Skillet Supper Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Day 3: Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens

One word can be used to describe day 3's meal by Drew:   Onions.

When we first started dating, I learned one thing about Drew pretty quickly--he hated onions.  In fact, the first day that I met his parents, we went to lunch at North by Northwest (a local restaurant).  Drew and his parents all ordered dishes that came with onions and made sure the waiter knew they wanted the chef to hold the onions.  In fact, I remember them saying it again after he repeated our order back to us before delivering it to the kitchen, and right before they ordered onion rings.  I found this so ironically funny--hold the onions on our entrees, but we'd like some onion rings please.  :-)  However, over time, I think Drew has realized that onions really do have a place in a meal.  I learned that he actually enjoys them when they are cooked in a dish.  Cooking them makes them deliciously sweet.  Onions are to Drew as mushrooms are to Heather.

Well, this dish called for 1/2 onion, finely chopped (and cooked), but 6 scallions, thinly sliced (and uncooked).  I have to admit, I was leery of putting 6 scallions in the dish-it seemed like a lot.  But, I made the recipe as it was listed, except we added some heated, crumbled, dry coppa in it (I know it's strange, but we had that in the fridge).

In preparing today's meal, I discovered something else wonderful about these weekly meal planners.  Rachael provides tips along the way to cut back on preparation time.  For example, the tip for today was to save 10 minutes on another dish later in the week by cooking the orzo pasta for today's dish and that day's dish all at once.  Just put the other day's cooked orzo pasta in a container and you're ready to go.  We did this---10 minutes saved on our next meal!

And, now for the verdict:

Heather:  I would rate this dish a 6 as it was prepared.  I am willing to try it again, except this time I would eliminate 4 or 5 of the scallions.  Luke and I actually cleaned our very full bowls of this dish.

Drew:  Onions.  They were a bit overwhelming, taking over my taste buds; therefore, I rate this a 4.  I think this dish could be a 7 without all of the scallions.  I'm definitely willing to try it again. 

(A little note about our rating scales (1-10):  Drew says a "5" is an average dish.  A dish is rated a 7 if it is really good in Drew's rating scale.  9's are extremely exclusive--Drew rates his favorite dish (cheesy chicken roll-ups) a 9.   I'm not really sure what would warrant a 10.  At times, I have said Drew is somewhat pessimistic---he always responds, "No, I'm a realist."  He calls me an optimist.  Perhaps that tells you something about how we rate things.)

We actually ended up eating leftovers on the evening of Day 4, because we had quite a bit left from Day 3 and we both already had lunch plans on Day 4 (we don't like to be wasteful).  I spent a lot of time trying to pull some of the green onions out of the dish for Drew.  There were WAY too many though.  He did, however, get a dish on this day 4 with fewer green onions, and he cleaned his bowl. 

Here is the onion, I mean, "Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens" recipe if you are interested:  Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Day 2: Beef-and-Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Salad

Day two's meal was DELISH (even though it contained mushrooms)!!!!!  I have always disliked mushrooms for three reasons.

1.  Because I have always hated the idea of eating a fungus that grows on the ground.
2.  I don't enjoy their strange texture in my mouth.
3.  I have always felt they had no flavor.

But, cooked in a lot of garlic and mixed with beef and jalapeno chilis, they were tasty.  If you are looking for a different type of taco to get you out of your traditional taco rut, you should definitely try these.

Now, I did a few things differently than the recipe called for that I think really helped.  First, I actually cooked the onions in a little butter to almost caramelize them.  This made them even sweeter and added a great offset to the saltiness of the tacos.

Second, and this is a must, I bought the flour tortillas that are ready to cook (in an uncooked state).  You cook them fresh within minutes on a griddle or in a hot pan. They are so much better than regular, premade, store bought tortillas.  You can usually find these in the section of the grocery store with the tubes of biscuits and such.  I think that these tortillas make a huge difference.  Once I purchased these tortillas a few years back, I will never go back to the pre-cooked, reheat kind.    They look similar to the package below:

The other thing that I did differently than the recipe-I added a blend of mexican cheeses (Asadero, Manchego and Queso Quesadilla) to the tacos.  The meal took about 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of cooking time.

Now, for the verdict: 

Heather:  LOVED THEM!   You can see the reasons as listed above.  The cheeses added a good salty creaminess to the dish.   I finished both of my tacos before Drew finished his first one.  I rate this dish a 9.5 out of 10.  And, the leftover tacos tasted just as great the next day.

Drew:  I really liked having mushrooms in a dish (Heather doesn't buy them to cook in dishes for me often for reasons as listed above).  I was really surprised that the jalapenos didn't overpower the dish.  Overall, very good flavor.  I would like to try it sometime using skirt steak instead of ground beef.   I rate it a 7.5.

Here is the recipe in case you want to try it:  Beef-and-Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Salad Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Day 1 of the Rachael Ray Weekly Meal Planner Trial

On Sunday night I cooked the Baked Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Salad (10 minute prep, 35 minutes cooking)--this coincided with day one of Rachael's weekly meal planner in her March magazine.   I loved how easy it was!  I prepared the chicken before our 4:30pm church community group meeting so that it was ready to go in the oven right after the meeting around 6pm.  All that was left to do after our meeting was throw it in the oven for 35 minutes, create the dressing for the salad, and then plate everything.

Our verdict of the meal

Heather:  I liked it.  It offered a great balance of flavors.  I enjoyed how the heat of the buffalo sauce on the chicken balanced the rich creaminess of the homemade blue cheese dressing.  I was really surprised I liked this so much, since I usually despise white sauces and dressings.   On a scale of 1-10, I rate this meal a "7".

Drew:   Liked it.  I really didn't think I would like celery in a dish, but it added a nice crunch without being overpowering.  The meal continued to grow on me.  I appreciated the flavors the more I ate it.  I rate this meal a "7".

Here's the link if you would like to try the recipe:  Baked Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Salad Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Overall, we were pleased with day one and excited to try day two.  And something else nice about this--there were just enough leftovers for Drew and I for lunch the next day!

Yummy, Yummy in our Tummies--Meals for the Week!

I began a subscription to Rachael Ray's Magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray, last month for two reasons:

1. We were getting sort of tired of the same rotation of home-cooked meals and wanted to try something different (that didn't take a lot of time).
2. I found a really good deal on the magazine.  I think I got a year's subscription for $5 or something crazy like that.  I am not a magazine subscriber (mainly because I do not have time to read them) so I would only subscribe if the deal was crazy good like that.

I made some of the recipes in last month's magazine, and they were, as Rachael would say, "delish."  But, I didn't try her 7 Days of Dinners section last month.  I LOVE this section of her magazine.  She creates recipes for meals for every night of a week, and even includes a shopping list for you, arranged by section of the store.  She really leaves no excuses for you not to cook the meals for your family.  That is, unless you are picky.  Last month, I wasn't sure if we would enjoy some of the dishes, so I opted not to try this out.

Well, this month, I'm not sure what changed in me, but I decided I was going to cook every meal in her weekly planner, regardless of picky feelings.  I decided to take the plunge, fight the picky urges, and plan the meals for the week using her planner.  (Qualification--I had to remove the Tilapia dish from the plan for Friday, as Drew has a fish allergy.  Friday is the night of the week that we enjoy going out to eat anyway, so we are okay with this.)

Step 1.  Go shopping.  Not sure if you can see the picture below, but this is her menu planner.   You can actually get a new menu planner every week by going to rachaelraymag.com/menu.  It didn't take me as long as I thought at the store, thanks to the handy dandy shopping list she provided me.   The shopping bill totaled $58.63, but that included some snacks for Luke.  $58.63 actually bought 24 meals, considering each dish provided four servings, and there were 6 dishes I planned on preparing.

 Something else that I love about this weekly planner is that you can really tell Rachael is trying to conserve on groceries.   For example, I purchased a 16 ounce container of mushrooms--8 ounces will be used in one dish and 8 ounces in another.  So, there will be no leftover mushrooms.

Since I am going to try this, I thought we may as well share our experience with you. So, I decided I would create a blog post for each meal we prepare.  My plan is to give each of our verdicts on the recipes and then list the recipe in case you want to try it.  At the end of the week, I will let you know my favorite meal of the week and Drew's favorite.  For the 5 of you or so who read this, enjoy!  :-)

Now...for step 2.  Prepare the meals!