MPM--No Foolin'

Boy, last week's recipes looked great, didn't they? Too bad I didn't do any of them! Completely whiffed that I was going to the beach overnight one night and to the baseball game another. I did do the scallopine, which was ok but I need to try again (I have trouble working the temperature when pan-frying and so it wasn't as tasty as I would have hoped, and dark brown went to charred faster than I could finish the chicken. It's how we learn. I also had chicken leftover, so I found some sauce from a pork recipe that we loved enough that I saved the extra sauce and found we loved it as much on the chicken tenders. And the rest were freezer meals--including, finally, the Real Simple ravioli. With all that buildup it couldn't be a home run, but it was a solid ... well, single maybe. My kids won't eat ravioli, as it turns out. But the lemon added a nice springy touch, and I was able to use more of the out-of-control canned tomato collection to make Aid for Friends meals with the extras. For something similar, but better, I point you here, to this recipe, courtesy of the Accidental Hausfrau; it's Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas but I'll bet it would work well with ravioli too. Maybe I'll add my leftover spinach and some cream to the leftover sauce on Tuesday.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrated, with people and traditions you love.

Monday: from Smitten Kitchen, chicken with almonds and olives, lemon quinoa-chick pea salad, asparagus

Tuesday: leftovers, including ravioli

Wednesday: trying again on black bean burgers from Gourmet, with tacos for my taco-crazy kid. Sweet potato fries on the side.

Thursday: onion quiche. salad, and again, either this bulgar chickpea salad or kasha with onions from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Friday: back to pizza night, which will make my youngest dance with joy. How can I skip that?

I've gotten better lately about not overshopping...well, not by as much. I seem to only be able to cook for two or eight, so I need to continue to work on that. And I do like being able to see more of my fridge, and I'm getting calmer that maybe 7 people won't pop in for dinner so I don't need to be able to feed them at the drop of a hat. Progress.

What are you making this week? Go here for more inspiration!