This past week was like a sweater slowly unraveling. By the end of it, we were buried in yarn and beset by kittens.
Sunday: Chili
Up to my old tricks again with some Instant Pot chili, using the gist of one recipe (the Wendy’s copycat chili recipe) and the seasonings from another (the Best Damn Chili recipe). i could sense that my family was suffering from chili fatigue. Sure enough, by the end of the week, we still had 3-4 servings left over in a container that are going to get pitched. Next week, i need to try something new.
Monday: Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos
Another favourite. But again, there were 1-2 leftover servings that went to waste this week. The gene pool is too small. My food is inbred. My chicken is playing Dueling Banjos with my chili. Need new recipes.
Tuesday: Blackened Chicken and Dirty Rice
Leave it to Cheryl to inject a little variety with this recipe, which turned out totally great. This was made without the benefit of the Instant Pot, because after all the wet fare that comes out of the Pot, Cheryl had a hankering for something a little more crisp. It was a welcome change. The rice was terrific!
Wednesday: Instant Pot Butter Chicken
This one is on my “Keepers” list of the best Instant Pot recipes, so i figured it was a safe bet. What i discovered is that a few factors can really throw it off.
The kind of coconut milk you add can really change this recipe. This time out, i used that rooster brand, and it wasn’t as creamy or delicious as the last stuff i used. The recipe unhelpfully calls for a “small” can of tomato paste. i know that tomato paste tends to come in 3 different sizes here in Canada, and so i used the smallest one (after having to run out to the store at the last second to buy the stuff)
Thank goodness it was on sale and i grabbed 8 cans of it, because one small can left the butter chicken thin and runny. i added a second “small” can to thicken it up, which worked a treat. As usual, i adjusted my own portion with salt to help it out.
Thursday: Uhhhhh…
It was Cheryl’s night to cook, but she wasn’t feeling well enough to make dinner. The trouble is that i got this info at the eleventh hour. My youngest was taking tapdancing lessons, which left the eldest and me to forage in the vast kitchen wilderness. The place looked like that ramshackle garbage muppet from the end of Labyrinth.
i’m not proud of what we came up with, but we DID eat food, so there’s that. We supped on a hastily-prepared course of Stove Top Stuffing and home made french fries.
Friday: Bangers and mash
Back on track, back on plan, i made a rare non-Instant Pot meal. i was out of broccoli, so this meal turned out primarily starch-fatty, but it always does the trick. My favourite sausages these days, which also happen to be gluten-free, are the Marc Angelo brand. The honey garlic ones are especially good.
Saturday: Pizza
By the time we reached Saturday, Cheryl was still unwell, and our larder was stripped as bare as a grizzly at a peeler bar. i had made six out of seven meals, and couldn’t muster the GAFs to make anything, so we phoned in a pizza air strike.
Regardless, thanks to a lot of home-cookin’, keeping up with that 10k Fitbit step goal, and swimming twice a week, my weight was still on the decline. Next week will be another story.
