Thanks, everyone, for all the Butternut Squash soup recipes last week. I roasted a tray of pre-cut squash, onion, apple, carrots, garlic and ginger tossed in a little olive oil with some curry powder sprinkled over it, then dumped the lot into the slow cooker with a can of coconut milk and a box and half of chicken broth. The results were so good we’ll be eating it again this Monday. (Well, I made enough that we’ll be eating it again this Monday. But it was really good.)
I also highly, highly recommend the Mushroom Ragout with Grits/Polenta we tried last week. Polenta takes stirring, but that’s it. (I used the recipe on the bag, plus butter. Lots of butter.) We had a child guest for dinner who looked askance at the whole thing, but when he realized there wasn’t anything else, he timidly tried the polenta, and wound up asking for seconds. I don’t think he ate the mushrooms (and two of my children would eat them only as two separate dishes) but that’s good by me.
This week features a lot of moving parts at our house. There is a school event for all children Wednesday night (the annual Moonlight Trail Walk) and a middle-school dance for the oldest Friday (in costume). Saturday starts Halloween week, with the younger children (in costume) attending an afternoon party and the whole family hosting our own annual party Saturday night.
Dinner will not be the focus this week. But it still has to be planned and provided, even if not necessarily cooked. Sunday night I’ll be making the spaghetti and meatballs I never got around to last week with two extra batches for the freezer. I have to do it this weekend; I defrosted the meat. On Monday, we will once again be enjoying Butternut Squash Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. Tuesday, I have no idea. Wednesday, I’ll be making use of the oven timer for my personal favorite frozen dinner: Chicken Pot Pies. Thanks, Marie Callender. Thursday, lasagna from the freezer, which we didn’t end up eating last week. I did a pasta sauce from a jar with Italian sausage instead.
Somebody, give me a good idea for Tuesday. I’ll be home to throw something together but I’m not going to be in the mood to “cook.” I’ve worn out both tacos and macaroni for a while, and we’ve already got pasta on the menu twice this week. And don’t say “takeout,” because while I am all for takeout, we have only four options (Chinese/sushi, pizza, Thai and Korean/sushi) and I am tired of all of them. I want to eat something good. I just want it to be easy!