Dinner - a status report

So when last we spoke I was pondering a week's worth of meals, trying to put a little pizzaz into our week night dining. I did neglect to mention on weekends we typically eat very well. John is an excellent cook and loves preparing meals when he has time to spend on it. We routinely enjoy the fruits of his labors.

Monday night we had Hot and Sweet Chicken Drumsticks. I modified the recipe a bit, leaving out most of the hot sauce - Ava often complains that spaghetti sauce is too spicy, so 2 teaspoons of Tabasco would have been a non-starter. I did add some to mine after they were cooked.

The verdict?

The girls gobbled them up...

I thought they were pretty good. They were easy, the chicken legs were $2.99 for 3 lbs of them and the ingredients for the sauce would be simple to keep around.

John turned up his nose at them. Literally. He tried to muster some vaguely encouraging remarks like "I really appreciate you making the effort," but he scraped off the sauce, shredded the chicken off the legs and re-purposed the meat for an entirely different dinner when he got home from swimming. Whatever. I would probably make them again, but would wait for a night John is out of town.

Tuesday night was Pork Chops ala Pizzaiola. I used to make this recipe a lot, but hadn't made it in awhile. The verdict?

I wondered why I hadn't made this recipe in so long.

John didn't alter it a bit and seemed to appreciate it when he got home from swimming.

Ava ate like a champ.

Amelia told me she didn't like mashed potatoes.... what? Who's kid are you? But she ate quite a bit of her 'chicken' (it's pork, whatever) with the sauce scraped off.

Wednesday night we ended up eating at my folks house.... it was a yummy beef vegetable stew, made all the more delicious by the fact that I didn't have to cook or clean up!

Last night we tried Baked Lemon Pasta. I am mixed on this one... maybe because I was worn out from a busy day (week? year?) at work, it seemed to be a bit time consuming for a recipe that should have been very simple. But it was tasty, the girls both pounded it down, John seemed to like it, the ingredients are certainly ones we routinely have on hand. I would probably give it another try in a better frame of mind! And I would probably add some vegetables to it. I served it with broccoli on the side, but it could have used some color/increased nutritional value.

I scooted out of work early today to get a head start on the weekend. Tonight John and I are going to see Dave! Matthew's! Band! and Meghan is sitting with the girls. It is leftover time, but I did set out the ingredients for the pea-pesto crostini. I'll let you know how it goes!