Month: March 2020

Quarantine Meal Plan: 5 Easy Meals & Tips

~ servedwithloveincolorado ~ 1 Comment

The last couple of weeks have been surreal to say the least. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of us are now trying to work from home while homeschooling our kids. We’re all cooking a lot more simply because we have to so I wanted to share 5 of my work night meals and a few tips to help make dinners easier during this situation. Finally, there is also a grocery list to make all of these meals at the end.

Tips:

  1. Meal plan: Make a plan so you only have to go to the grocery store once a week. We’re trying really hard to do this just to limit our potential exposures. My guide for how I meal plan is here.
  2. Make double batches: If you’re getting tired of all the cooking, make double batches of anything you can. Then you get two meals out of one cooking effort. You can then:
    • Save the second batch for another meal that week
    • Use the leftovers for lunch the next day
    • Freeze the second batch for another meal later on
  3. Eat fresh: There are many items unavailable at groceries store right now but fresh produce has been well stocked. Finding fresh products is easier and has also helped us feel good during the day. We also have our freezer stocked with meats, veggies, and fruit just in case we don’t want to get out for several days but still want to eat healthy items instead of non-perishable items.
  4. Cook your way through a cookbook: Open up that cookbook you’ve been meaning to cook out of for awhile. Add a couple of different dishes to your meal plan each week and try something new. My friend starting doing this and I thought it was a brilliant way to mix things up. We’re both cooking through The Defined Dish by Alex Snodgrass, which I highly recommend.

The Plan: The 5 meals listed below are lined up for the work week. You could have leftovers/carryout Saturday and something from your favorite cook book Sunday to fill your plan.

Monday: Lemon Pepper Salmon with Roasted Broccoli

If I have fish in my meal plan, I like to make it at the beginning of the week so we’re enjoying it as fresh as possible.

Tuesday: Go-To Taco Meat

You can use different meats or different tortillas/lettuce wraps to mix this up each week.

Wednesday: Crock Pot Chicken Salads

You can turn crock pot chicken into many different meals. I give you the possible variations (from salads to tacos) in the recipe.

Thursday: Go-To Pasta Sauce

This recipe sneaks lots of different veggies into the meat sauce you are used to.

Friday: Grilled Chicken with Rainbow Veggies

Soak up some fresh air and sunshine while you make this easy dinner. If the weather isn’t good for grilling, switch to a oven roasted chicken and veggies instead (400 degrees for ~30 minutes.)

Grocery List:

This list has all the items for these 5 meals for 4 servings each meal. Add your lunch, breakfast, and other staples and you’ll be ready to go for your grocery trip. Make sure you have olive oil, salt, pepper, and butter on hand.

  • Salmon (1.5-2 lbs)
  • Ground beef (1 lb)
  • Ground turkey (1 lb)
  • Chicken breasts (6-8 pieces)
  • Broccoli crowns (3)
  • Carrots (2 lbs)
  • Red pepper (3)
  • White onion (2)
  • Red onion
  • Zucchini (2)
  • Tomato
  • Avocado
  • Salad mix
  • Croutons
  • Lemon
  • Pineapple (or container of fresh prepped pineapple)
  • Diced green chiles (4 oz can)
  • Fire roasted diced tomatoes (14 oz can)
  • Black beans (14 oz can)
  • Lemon pepper seasoning
  • Barbecue chicken rub
  • Taco seasoning packet
  • Taco shells
  • Spanish rice mix
  • Box of your favorite pasta
  • Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Bottle of your favorite salad dressing
  • Chicken broth (2 cups)
  • Shredded cheese
  • Sour cream (small container)

I hope this is helpful during these crazy times!

Happy cooking and stay well!

Work Night Dinner: Lemon Pepper Salmon and Roasted Broccoli

~ servedwithloveincolorado ~ 1 Comment

If you ask my son, Bear, what his favorite food is he will typically say salmon. And he means it. Whenever I make salmon he will eat at least a half pound by himself (at age 6). I can’t imagine how much he will eat as a teenager! If I ever ask what he would like for dinner while I’m meal planning, he’ll request salmon. So, we eat salmon at least 3-4 times a month.

Bear eating his massive piece of salmon.

Ladybug can do a number on salmon as well, hence why we have to buy 2 lbs of salmon for our family of four!

Ladybug eats her fair share too.

I sometimes hear from friends that they do not like fish but that they especially do not like salmon. I think in most cases that means they do not like poorly cooked fish and salmon is often very, very poorly cooked. Typically, it is way overdone which makes it taste fishy. Properly cooked salmon does not have that overly fishy taste. Moral of the story: Don’t overcook salmon and you may actually like it (or love it)!

Today I am sharing the way I cook salmon most often. This recipe is great for when you want to have a light, healthy dinner that is made quickly on one pan. If you wanted a heartier meal, you could add some roasted potatoes as well.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 to 2 lbs fresh salmon
  • Lemon pepper or other seasoning mix
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
    • substitute with olive oil or ghee to make Whole30 compliant
  • 3-4 slices of fresh lemon
  • 3 crowns broccoli
  • Olive
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Recipe:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Open up a bottle of rosé and pour yourself a glass
  3. Put down a layer of foil to cover half of a large baking tray
  4. Place the salmon skin side down on the foil
  5. Sprinkle a nice layer of lemon pepper or other seasoning mix directly on the salmon
  6. Cut pads of butter and lemon slices
  7. Arrange butter and lemon slices on top of salmon
  8. Place another layer of foil on top of the salmon
  9. Roll the edges of the foil together to create a packet around the salmon
  10. Cut florets of broccoli off the broccoli crowns
Wrap salmon in foil packet.
  1. Place broccoli on the other half of the pan
  2. Drizzle broccoli with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper or other seasoning mix
  3. Place pan in oven for 30 minutes
    • 30 minutes will give you salmon that is cooked just all the way through. If you like more of a medium rare cook, reduce the time to 20-25 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes, open foil packet and slice salmon
    • The salmon should be moist and tender, not firm.
  5. Use a turner/flipper to slide between the salmon and skin so you can serve it skinless
  6. Add broccoli to the plate and serve
This salmon is not overdone or fishy tasting.

And just like that, a healthy dinner is done and on the table!

Happy cooking!

Mel

Colorado Gardening Timeline and Tips

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I started gardening in Colorado the summer of 2008 when we bought our first house. It came with raised beds that had sprinklers and I quickly over-planted and over-watered. Each year has been a bit better than the last mainly thanks to the many classes offered at Tagawa Gardens, my favorite garden center, and making sure to utilize plants and seeds that grow well in our high altitude climate.

I highly recommend the High Altitude Bucket from Seeds Trust. I have been using seeds from this bucket for several years now so the $64 investment has been well worth it.

Probably the biggest thing I have learned over the years is that you cannot just do it all on Mother’s Day (as many people recommend) and think everything will work out. Mother’s Day is perfect for about 1/3 of what you will plant but too early for another 1/3 and too late for another 1/3. It is best to spread everything out from March to June and plant when it is ideal for that individual vegetable.

Here is my Colorado gardening timeline, tips, and some of my favorite resources learned from over 10 years of amateur gardening experience.

March 1:

  • Clean up your beds
  • Add a good mix of garden soil, compost, and composted manure (do not use fresh manure because it will burn your plants)
  • Cover the beds with plastic sheeting so the soil will start to get warm
  • Read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver to get inspired and excited about gardening season.

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day

  • Uncover cool crop bed
  • Sow peas, snap peas, or snow peas directly in your garden (old American tradition that brings good luck to your garden)
  • Also sow kale, radish, and spinach seeds directly in your garden.
  • Start seeds for warmer weather crops (tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, herbs, broccoli, cabbage, peppers, etc) inside
    • I like to make mini greenhouses with egg crates, seed starting mix, labeled popsicle sticks and gallon sized plastic bags. You can buy lights to help things get started but I have had success simply placing my mini greenhouses in windowsills on south-facing windows.
Mini greenhouses are a cheap and easy way to start seeds indoors.

April 1: April Fool’s Day

  • Plant seedlings of cool crops in garden (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts etc)
  • Plant bare roots of asparagus
  • Sow beet, carrot, celery, and lettuce seeds directly in your garden

Some green beans and other vegetables waiting to be planted outside.

Mother’s Day:

  • Uncover warm crop bed
  • Plant green bean and herb seedlings
  • Sow additional green bean and pea seeds
  • Plant additional cool crop seedlings and sow second round of seeds
  • Take pictures with family by garden and celebrate what feels like the real start to gardening season!
Mother’s Day 2017

June 1:

  • Plant tomato, cucumber, zucchini, other squash, melon, eggplant and pepper seedlings or plants purchased from garden center
    • Do not feel like you are cheating if you purchase plants!
Garden caprese is for sure one of my favorite things to make.

Perennial plants I highly recommend:

  • Asparagus (ask for bare root variety recommendation at local garden center)
  • Blackberries: Triple Crown
    • This is a variety recommended by the CSU Master Gardener Program. It does not produce suckers and does not have thorns. The berries are huge and sweet. I have two of these plants now and plan on adding more due to how well they are producing and how much fun it is to see my kids enjoy eating straight from the vines.
  • Grafted fruit trees:
    • Fruit salad or multi-variety apple trees are a great option for small gardens. These trees are self-pollinating so you do not need multiple trees to achieve pollination, which is necessary for fruit to grow. It is worth going to a quality garden center and spending a bit more on your tree to make sure you get every variety that is advertised and varieties that will grow well in your climate.
    • Your garden center will likely advise you to pick 100% of the flowers off the first year, 75% the second year, 50% the third year and 25% the fourth year. While that is hard to do when you really want to see fruit growing on your tree, it will help the tree to put down good roots and grow strong branches that will not break under the weight of the heavy fruit.
  • Triple Crown Blackberry
My kids absolutely love being able to go out to pick blackberries and eat them right off the vine.

Tips:

  • Keep trying! Gardening in Colorado is a little hard. Sometimes it feels like a bit of an experiment each year. Our summers can be very different year-to-year so if something doesn’t work well one year, ask your local garden center for advice and try again. If something works really well, write down what you did (when and how you planted, etc) so you can do it the same next year.
  • Consult the CSU Extension Yard & Garden resources regularly
    • They have lots of advice, how-tos, etc. I always consult this before making a perennial purchase in order to make sure it is a variety that will do well in Colorado.
  • Hold your seedlings and plants carefully by the leaves, not the stem
    • I probably crushed the stem of a 100 fragile plants before I learned this one and then the plants would promptly die after I planted them outside.
  • Let the ground around your plants dry between waterings
    • Watering too much can cause lots of problems including bug infestations that are hard to control.
  • Plant a flower or butterfly garden near your vegetable garden
    • This will encourage bees to visit your garden and pollinate your vegetables.
I have a butterfly garden surrounded by perennial herbs.

I will make sure to add things as I learn them but this is what I have for now.

Happy gardening!
Mel

Kid Gift Idea: Lemonade/Cocoa Stand

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Bear and Ladybug had been asking us to have a lemonade stand all summer last year and unfortunately, we just never got around to it. When Christmas rolled around, we thought they would still be excited to have a lemonade stand even if it was a few months late.

I built the stand in our entryway in one afternoon.

I started pinterest searching and found lots of different plans. The plan we went with is here: Fantabulosity Lemonade Stand. Building this took one trip to Home Depot and one afternoon of time. It was built entirely my yours truly with some simple power tool use. I did make a few small changes to the plan:

  1. Only one crate is flipped to the front. I did this in order to provide more storage in the back.
  2. I put the rods for the sign on the inside of the crates, not the outside. This was to clean up the outside edge of the stand and make sure little bodies wouldn’t bump into the rough edges of the rods.
  3. I used a drill and sturdy screws in addition to hammering in small nails. This was just to make sure it would last, especially since we were planning to have it live in their playroom when not in use outside.
Examples of the small edits I made to the plan.
We celebrated our family Christmas a little early since we were traveling over the holiday. They ran first to the stand and were most excited about that gift.

And the result…. Very happy kids who happily sold hot cocoa and homemade cinnamon rolls to our neighbors on a December Saturday morning. I posted on our neighborhood facebook page that the kids were out and what they were selling. I also put a cup with some quarters at the corner just in case someone didn’t have cash but still wanted to come by. The kids had a lot of fun and were excited to count the money they earned and put it in their banks. They are looking forward to having a lemonade stand this summer already.

We had hot cocoa with marshmallow and peppermint toppings plus homemade cinnamon rolls.
They had a lot of fun!

When the stand is not in use in front of our house, we have it in their playroom where they use it as a grocery store and restaurant.

They have used it to sell groceries, cookies, meals, toys, and all sorts of things.

I thought I would share this now in case anyone was looking for Easter or birthday ideas for their kids.

Have a great day!
Mel