Cooking For Grown Ups

The kidlets are generally very open to any food. The Little Lady will eat ANY vegetable (spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms are her favorites) and Mr. Boy will eat any sauce.

And so betwixt them both, you see, they lick the platter clean.

(couldn’t help myself with that one)

For the most part, I don’t worry about them very much when I meal plan . . . I choose meals that sound good or use ingredients I’ve wanted to try. If it ends up being a recipe the kidlets don’t inhale the moment it hits the table, they both know that have to at least try it before they turn up their noses . . . yep, even the 19th month old has learned what 2, 3, or 4 more bites means.

Even so, there are various meals that I would LOVE to add to my meal plan but I’m always hesitant to do so . . . Middle Eastern and Greek recipes are usually the ones that fall in this category.

YUMMY looking Lamb Meatballs - click for image source

I hate to think about spending all that time making these (usually) ingredient intense meals and then have them wasted on the kidlets.

So dishes like hummus, spicy lamb meatballs, naan, and tandori chicken have to wait . . . for times like THIS week. Thanks to two very, very, very lovely people (called Nina and Poppy, AKA Hubby’s parents), the grownups in our house will have several kidless days and nights.

(I’d go on and on, with GREAT details and LOTS of adjectives, about how EXCITED I am to have a brief respite from toddler and preschool tantrums antics . . . but we’ll settle with a humble WOOT for now.)

We going to enjoy our time as two grown-ups by trying a new local restaurant and making the food I’ve been waiting to make.

The Plan

Monday: (Rachel’s) Grandma’s Pepper Steak over Brown Rice — one of my favorite comfort foods that I always want my grandmother to make when I’m with her. It’s amazing — any leftovers will be frozen for a future, quick meal.

Tuesday: handing the kidlets over to their grandparents . . . SEE YA!

Wednesday: Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara, with hummus and Naan (or Roti — can’t decide) — I may make a few extra meatballs for freezing . . . you know, since I’m on this “freezer meal” kick.

Thursday: Mommy and Daddy Eat a Grown Up Meal at a Restaurant that DOESN’T offer “Kids Eat Free” Meals.

Friday: Grilled Shaved Asparagus and Mushroom Pizza (this is a recipe I’ve been meaning to share for 9 months — hopefully I’ll get enough good pics that I can post it next week!)