Dinners Past

I have been meaning to do this whole photographic evidence of my meals thing for awhile now. I often forget, but I have a couple saved up that I want to remember. Because they were tasty.

Gnocchi with Garlic, Spinach and Prosciutto Chips and Chipotle Spiced Sweet Potatoes

I used Trader Joe's Whole Wheat and Potato Gnocchi, which is dairy-free and super delicious. My husband is vehemently against whole wheat pasta of any kind, but I'm pretty sure this one fooled him... aaand now I'm busted. Crap.  Also, it's my duty as an American to share with you that prosciutto chips are the most delicious thing ever. Lay slices of prosciutto onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400-ish for 20-ish minutes, until chip-like. (Again, I'm not a recipe girl) You can add these to pretty much anything and have instant delicious. 

Potato, Green Bean and Salami Pasta

This was my cheater meal. Meaning I used (gasp!) frozen food as the main component. Trader Joe's makes these frozen potatoes with green beans and mushrooms that are crazy good. So I cooked up 1/2 a pound of penne, threw the TJ's potatoes in a skillet with olive oil and added some leftover blanched green beans and cubed up salami then tossed with the pasta. This was super yummy. I thought I hated warm salami for some reason, but it really made this dish. This is my new go-to for a busy night. The extra green beans were also key, would have been to carb heavy without them. In a pinch, I think anything green would have been great, spinach, kale, asparagus. I think this would be a good way to use leftover veggies. I just had a thought- some hard boiled egg tossed in this would be really perfect. The yolks would add creaminess to the "sauce" and I really like eggs and green beans together, plus you've got the egg and potato thing going on. Win, win, win.

Plan B. Or should I say Plan D?

I'm clearing out the fog and putting this blog to better use. On to Plan D- Dinnertime Showdown.
Seems to me that every night I ask the same question- What am I having for dinner? I consider myself a very capable cook, yet I always have the hardest time coming up with the weekly menu. I am definitely more of an on the fly kinda cook rather than a recipe follower and I think this where the problem lies. I can never remember what I made because there is no record typically.
So here is the plan: post a photo, and possibly a description, of my dinner every night. And yes, this includes the embarrassingly frequent burger or take out. Perhaps this will work as a new diet plan as well as a menu planning guide? I can shame myself into eating better! Woo!
Currently, thanks to my dairy-allergic, breastfed daughter, all meals will be dairy-free. But not vegan. We like the meat around here. And thanks to my culinary genius of a husband, meals are likely to feature his homemade sausages, bacon and delightful BBQ. (Yes, I said HOMEMADE BACON. The BLT's with that stuff are heavenly!) (Yup... healthy eating... hee) O is also just beginning to eat solids and I will most likely talk about baby friendly recipes and modifications to recipes. I am very excited to begin the challenge of raising an adventurous eater! No chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers for that girl, she's eating real food. I can't wait to share my and my husband's love of food and cooking with her.
This is really for my benefit, but perhaps someone else will enjoy being a fly on the wall at our dinner table. Just don't land on my food.

It's All About the Flog

I'm tired. A lot. I'm also awake. A lot. As a new mom to the greatest baby on earth (we just need to work on that whole sleeping thing), I have a lot of time to contemplate randomness in the ol' rockin' chair. So instead of allowing my mind to rot further by reading endless celebrity gossip and playing words with friends (ok, not so much rotting going on there, but when you begin to think in crossword form, you've gone too far.) I am attempting to release my thoughts from my foggy brain in blog form. Sometimes it might be funny. Sometimes weird. Probably often it won't make sense. Let's call it my love letter to sleep deprivation. I'll probably talk a lot about my daughter ( let's call her "O" or as I enjoy calling her, Pumkin Pants [use all the imagination you need for that one, folks]) because she's ridiculously awesome; also food, because, aside from O and her daddy, it's my one true love; fashion and style; and if you're lucky, I can keep you up to date on the where Bradgelina did their grocery shopping! (Stars- they're just like us!)
So enjoy, dear readers (all none of you), whilst I entertain you with my fogful mind!