SUNDAY
It’s the Oscars and we’re hosting an exclusive party for five (plus one dog). My family has been talking menu all day, but we finally went with my 11-year-old’s request for lemon chicken picatta. The last time I made this, I served it with mashed potatoes and sautéed kale. The mashed potatoes are insane — if you’re dairy-free, substitute chicken broth for the milk and sour cream and use olive oil instead of butter. For dessert, I’m making Darcy Miller’s chocolate popcorn bark. Beyond easy. Make it even easier by melting the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave — I promise it works!
MONDAY
Meatless Monday. I’m working on a fresh crop of recipe photos today, so I know I’ll have tons of leftover food. I plan to serve my family coconut-lime cauliflower rice and sheetpan roasted ratatouille with chickpeas. Thank you, Disney, for making my kids think ratatouille is cool. I’ll post the recipes at the end of the month, in the meantime if you’re looking for an easy, meatless dinner try some of these vegetarian pasta dishes from Bon Appetit.
TUESDAY
Baked chicken taquitos are a must! You can use the recipe for these taquitos with cheddar and cream cheese. You could also use just the shredded chicken, or shredded chicken, cheese and green chilies. Serve with a big green salad tossed with super simple salad dressing and guacamole for dipping. If you have extras, place them in a freezer bag and toss in your freezer. To make the shredded chicken, I used three whole boneless/skinless chicken breasts with about 1/4 cup enchilada sauce. Instead of enchilada sauce, you could use red or green salsa or just salt, pepper and fresh lime juice. Seal your Instant Pot and set to manual for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release and shred the chicken with two forks.
WEDNESDAY
I have a private cooking class for Cadence Bank today and I’m heading to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo tonight with a fun group of friends. Yeehaw!!! I’ll leave my family with a crockpot pull of shredded BBQ pork shoulder, cole slaw and baked beans. Pulled pork sandwiches are tasty and super simple: Use Hawaiian King rolls, gluten-free Udi’s dinner rolls or hamburger buns. I use the BBQ sauce recipe from my Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Ribs and place it in the slow cooker with a 2-pound pork shoulder. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4-5. You can also use a jar of Carolina-style Bone Suckin’ Sauce, which is a thin and tangy BBQ sauce.
THURSDAY
I’m shooting cooking videos with Tripp Films Thursday and Friday and don’t want a messy kitchen to clean up for our morning shoot. We’re making pesto Thursday, so I’ll probably cook some pasta, toss a salad and call it a day. My husband has been requesting Treebeards Red Beans, so if I don’t make it tonight, I’ll add it to the menu soon (leftovers freeze well). There was a great article on Treebeards and a recipe for the beans in Wednesday’s Houston Chronicle.
FRIDAY
After a week of teaching cooking classes, shooting cooking videos and what’s sure to be a late night at the rodeo, I might curl up in a ball and let my family fend for themselves. Ha! Even cooking teachers get burned out. My ultimate comfort food growing up was a fried egg sandwich on toasted sourdough bread (with a generous amount of mayo and salt). That may be just what the doctor ordered tonight. Or follow the directions in this step-by-step stir fry for an easy Friday night dinner at home.
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