new food

Confession:  When I watch TV, I almost always watch the Food Network.  I have certain chefs that I love watching, and then there are others that make me change the channel pretty much immediately.  Recently, I started setting our DVR to record the The Pioneer Woman so that I can listen to it while I pack up the millions of glass jars/vases/pitchers/etc. that have been taking up space in my kitchen cabinets for the last who knows how many years.  As I was packing and listening yesterday, Ree Drummond whipped up the following meal for her hungry ranchers: 

Pan Fried Pork Chops
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
The Best Green Beans Ever
Peach Cobbler 

Honestly, I don't normally get all that excited about pork chops (the really big thick ones freak me out a little bit), but these were really thin and coated in a layer of seasoned flour and then fried to perfection.  Now that's the kind of pork chop I can get behind.  The whole menu made me really hungry and also a little sad that I was eating salad for dinner.  

So I'm adding that to my menu for next week along with Jenny Rosenstrach's "Emily's Meat Loaf" and "Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Corn-Bacon Hash."  Sounds like a fun week of eating to me. Actually, scratch that...I'll have to move those recipes to the following week because I just remembered that, oh yeah, we're moving next week.  So frozen pizza, scrambled eggs, and stromboli will likely be the meals of choice.  Fortunately for me, my family is equally as happy about those meals as they are the cookbook ones.  

But over the last two weeks I've been cooking from my favorite cookbook as our schedules have allowed.  Here's what I've made so far:

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Curried Chicken with Apples

Porcupine Meatballs

Everyone in my house raved over the chicken cutlets.  Tommy declared them his "most favorite chicken ever."  Win!  The curry didn't go over quite as well with him since 1) it's yellow and 2) there are cooked apples in it (and as he reminded me yet again, "Mom, I don't like cooked apples!")  But I thought it was really good, Annabel ate the chicken, Will actually liked it (I didn't think he would...again, the whole yellow food thing), and everyone ate plenty of rice.  So maybe not a total Win! but still a win.  And then there were the meatballs.  I wasn't sure about Will again because he's not really a meatball fan (although he loves meatloaf, go figure) but he scarfed them down and ate seconds!  I thought Tommy would really loves these because the rice puffs up and makes them look like, well, porcupines, but he wasn't a huge fan in the end.  We didn't know it at the time, but Annabel was coming down with a stomach bug so she didn't eat much of them, but I think under normal circumstances she would have loved them.  I thought they were great and loved having the leftovers for lunch over the next couple days.  Overall, I'd say this one was a Win.  Tonight we're having Breaded Vinegary Pork Chops (I bought the thin ones).  

I'm thinking of starting an Instagram hashtag for pictures of my DALS meals.  What do you think?  #wethreedals?  #wethreecooksdals?  #eatdalsfordinner?  #onewethreeeatsdals?    #cwwethreedalsobsessed?  Goodness, the choices are endless. I've never really been much of a hashtag girl myself, but I think this could be kinda fun.  I'll let you know what I decide.

Oh, and also this past week, there was this:

Fall food.

One of my most favorite things to eat.  It helps that it actually felt like fall here these last couple days.  I'm happy to be getting out my jeans and jackets. 

Hope you have something fun planned for this weekend!  I'm getting out my fancy red heels for a wedding and of course, packing more boxes, or "bokus" as Annabel would say :)  Have a good one!