Some Things We Ate in April

Apparently, people are interested in what ends up on our dinner table. (Wait – is it dinner? is it supper?) Either way, I’ve been asked to share more about our everyday meals, so I documented a general sampling of what we ate this April.

I didn’t start taking photos until a week or so in, and some meals were repeats. If something looked the same as the last time, I didn’t take another picture. We also had plenty of leftovers — hooray for meals that stretch. And other times I just forgot about pictures.

No pictorial evidence, but fondly remembered…

• Company: We hosted a family from church on Good Friday. The menu: sweet and sour meatballs, rice, and corn. Our guests brought garlic bread, homemade biscuits, and Caesar salad. For dessert I made cinnamon coffee cake served fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream. You’ll have to use your imagination in terms of a visual. Everything was delicious.

• Boxed Mac n’ Cheese. This is the kids favourite go-to when John and I have at-home date nights. Belle prepares it, and she and Indy devour it. This was on the table 2-3 times in April.

• Breakfast for Supper: A few times – when I had zero energy left in the tank – the kids made themselves bowls of oatmeal and I had my beloved cottage cheese with all the fixings. We also had toast at least once.

• Burger Nights (x2). Burgers on buns, potato wedges, and roasted broccoli (from frozen — convenience matters). We had burgers twice in April.

• Salmon risotto. This was the runaway hit of the month — I made it twice and it was devoured both times. The first time with peas, the second with a salad, roasted broccoli, and toasted bread. (I’ve posted the recipe at the bottom of this post.)

• Deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie. Very much not a hit with the kids.

• Savoury crepes (at least x3). Pictured was the time we had salmon, egg, cheese, and Dijon. Delish. The kids can’t get enough savoury crepes these days, and we had various other combos throughout the month. (Here is my go-to crepe recipe.)

• Grilled cheese + sides. Sandwiches with fruit, veggies, nuts, crackers, and hummus = a meal!

• Giant salads. A big bowl of greens and whatever else we had on hand. We ate salad for supper multiple times.

Soup.

• Vegan smoky chickpea lentil soup. I make it based off this recipe. The next night I poured it over some leftover risotto and it became next-level delicious.
• A “kitchen sink” soup. The last few handfuls of wilting spinach, some chorizo, ¼ bag of pasta — delicious. One child told me it tasted like “watered-down spaghetti.” It was soup. Of course it had liquid. I chose to ignore any and all comments from the peanut gallery. The second night I served it with spring rolls on the side.
• Cheeseburger soup — one of Belle’s favourite meals. I made a huge pot expecting leftovers…but each kid invited a friend by the time the the soup was ready. There wasn’t much left.

• Salad, prosciutto, and egg. With a few slices of cheese on the side this was such an easy, delicious meal.

• Homemade tacos (at least x2). John made these for an at-home date night. I can’t remember exactly what went in them, but I remember they were tasty. Not pictured was a night we had beef tacos in hard corn shells with salsa and cheese. We also had scrambled eggs in wraps for supper once as well.

• One-bowl sushi. Not much to look at, but surprisingly delicious. Sticky rice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, diced veggies, canned tuna, a little mayo. Put a dollop of the mixture on a sheet of nori and it’s finger-lickin’ good.

• Lemon Chicken and Butter Rice. Steamed frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Easy Lemon Chicken (I used the slow cooker this time and it worked like a charm, I just drained off the sauce at the end and thickened it with a corn starch slurry), Spiced Butter Rice (in the rice cooker). It made enough for leftovers.

• Track Meet Supper. I packed some things to eat while waiting: Riceworks crackers, cottage cheese with seeds and fruit, and nori. The girls wanted to stop at McDonald’s on the way home. I had a plain McDonald’s burger for the first time in quite a while. It hit the spot!

Your turn:

• What are some things you’ve eaten recently?
• What’s your go-to meal when you’re too tired to cook?
• Any family-favourite meals your kids unexpectedly hate? Our kids don’t like spaghetti (“watered down” into soup or not).
• Do you meal plan or wing it most nights?
• What’s one meal you’d happily eat every week?

Salmon Risotto

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced (I skip the onion)
240g risotto rice
1 L chicken or fish stock
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp double cream
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
120g smoked salmon (I didn’t have smoked salmon either time, so just used regular salmon; the kids prefer when it’s mixed in vs. served on the side)
Dill, to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Add the oil and onion to a large pan
Bring to a medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes, until soft
Stir through the rice and mix for 2 minutes to toast
Add the stock and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring regularly
If the rice has absorbed all of the liquid before it is cooked, add a little more stock
Remove from the heat and stir through the butter, cream and cheese
Mix through the smoked salmon and top with dill, if desired.