Menu Review: Week of 3/21

Some really good dinners from this past week's menu! Definitely some keepers to make again...

After a week of beautiful weather, we were hit with a few chilly gray days and were in the mood for something comforting but not too heavy. The Bistro Braised Chicken was the perfect recipe! Honestly, I could eat anything over egg noodles, but this really was delicious. We had a lonely parsnip leftover in the fridge that I threw in with the other veggies. Normally I'm not a big fan of chicken thighs, but they were great in this. It was rich and comforting, almost like a chicken stew. I could have eaten the entire pan myself.

We also really enjoyed the Lighter Chicken Enchiladas from Everyday Food. When we lived in NYC, a frequent date night activity was dinner and margaritas at a small Mexican restaurant a few blocks from our apartment building. These days our Mexican restaurant options are far more limited and our time available for date nights out of the house is pretty much non-existent... so I decided to turn this dinner into a date night at home. I mixed up a batch of easy and quick short-cut margaritas to serve with the enchiladas and we had a fun meal together reminiscent of our old date nights in our old 'hood (and old lives). When I was pregnant, the only time I ever missed drinking alcohol was over the summer when all I wanted was an icy cold margarita. So this was a long overdue treat and made dinner a bit more festive. :)

To make the short-cut margaritas (which are really good, even if they do contain high-fructose corn syrup), mix in a small pitcher:
- half a can of frozen limeade concentrate (I refreeze the other half in a small tupperware)
- one and a half cans full of water
- half a can full of tequila
- half a can full of triple sec
Pour it over ice, salted glass rims optional.

In keeping with the Mexican theme, the Smoky-Spicy Black Bean Quesadillas from Vegetarian Times magazine were also a winner. I try to make at least one of our meals each week a meatless one and we always have good luck with recipes from Veg Times. These were a nice change from typical quesadilla flavors and the bean mixture would be delicious on its own as a dip (I've filed that idea away for football season, for sure). I used pre-packaged Mexican blend (not taco seasoned) shredded cheese for these.

My husband is a huge meatloaf fan, so it's not surprising to me that the Meatloaf Burgers from Everyday Food were a big hit. The ketchup in this recipe was especially delicious. I may never use bottled ketchup again considering how easy this was to throw together with ingredients I always have on hand.

The other recipes (chicken stew, noodles and pork, sweet potato and lentil stew) were fine but forgettable. I'll probably keep the chicken stew recipe on hand because it's always good to have a supply of slow-cooker recipes. Overall it was a great week of dinners.

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What we're eating this week:
Pot Roast Carbonnade
Caramelized Asian Pork Chops + Sizzled Ginger Rice
Greek Chicken and Pita Casserole