This is going out pretty darn late. I’m surrounded by Tamiflu, Mucinex and cough drop wrappers as I try to get my oldest well and keep everyone else healthy. Hold, please, while I douse my house with Lysol. I haven’t done my typical Monday morning grocery run, but since our pantry is stocked with good-quality canned tomatoes, I’ll be able to get tomato soup and grilled cheese on the table tonight. Fingers crossed that by tomorrow she will have turned a corner. I had visions of stocking the refrigerator with a casserole, extra bolognese sauce and pre-marinated meats for my family since I’m supposed to leave town this week. I may be walking around my house burning sage later on, because I really REALLY don’t want to miss a trip to Cal-a-Vie in San Diego and the opportunity to teach a cooking class while I’m there. If there was ever a time to pop echinacea, zinc and Emergen-C, the time is now!
Monday: Tomato soup and grilled cheese. I’m making Barefoot Contessa’s tomato soup (minus the orzo and grilled cheese croutons) and trying Serious Eats tips for grilled cheese (I’ll save you the time and tell you the secret: Lots of butter, low heat, white bread and American cheese). For the big kids, I’ll use Trader Joe’s raw white cheddar and pesto in the grilled cheese.
Tuesday: Marcella Hazan’s bolognese, broccolini and salad with my super simple salad dressing. I always double the bolognese recipe. Trust me on this, just freeze what you don’t use.
Wednesday: Chicken pot pie with phyllo crust, salad with homemade buttermilk ranch. I use Thomas Keller’s recipe for the ranch, but substitute non-fat Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. The potpie recipe is one I did years ago for Cooking Light; I’m testing and tweaking my old recipes in order to post the best ones on the site. If you prefer, use pie dough or frozen puff pastry sheets for the crust.
Thursday: Honey hoisin pork tenderloin, bok choy, steamed rice. This is another Cooking Light recipe of mine from years ago — my kids love this one, I also like cooking it on the grill (which saves you a pan to wash).
Friday: Leftovers or Trader Joe’s pizza dough. Can’t wait to try Shutterbean’s genius recipe for pizza rolls that Gaby Dalkin also wrote about this week, but I’ll need to file it away under “Super Bowl Food.”
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