Easy Week

Who loved last week's stir fry? Oh man, it was good and will definitely make a future appearance. This week is all about simplicity. Easy, easy, easy. And, time to break out that crock pot!

Sunday Dinner

Chicken Chili Verde

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (10-11)
5 garlic cloves, not peeled
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles
1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
2 chicken leg halves and 1 bone in chicken breast
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 Tbsp of dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
Pinch of ground cloves

Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 5 unpeeled garlic cloves, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven, let cool enough to handle.
Roast the poblano or anaheim chilis over a gas flame or under the broiler until blackened all around. Let cool in a bag, remove the skin, seeds, and stem.
Place tomatillos, skins included, into blender. Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from their skins, add them to the blender. Add chopped Jalapeño peppers, other chilies, and cilantro to the blender. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed dutch oven over medium high heat and brown chicken well on all sides. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, lift chicken out of pan and place in bowl, set aside.
Pour off excess fat, anything beyond a tablespoon, and place the onions and garlic in the same skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan. Add the oregano to the pan. Add the tomatillo chile verde sauce to the chicken and onions. Add the chicken stock (enough to cover the meat). Add a pinch of ground cloves. Add a little salt and pepper. (Not too much as the chile verde will continue to cook down and concentrate a bit.)

Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cook for 1 hour or so uncovered or until the chicken is cooked through.
Prep tonight: pre-chop the veg for the pot roast and pre-brown the meat. I put my browned roast in my crock pot and put that in the fridge. That way, I just pull out the crock pot, dump in the veg and stock and push start before running out the door to work.

Monday

Breakfast: yogurt with fruit

Snack: nuts

Lunch: left over chili verde

Snack: radishes

Dinner:

Italian pot roast

3-4 lb pot roast
1-2 turnips cut into cubes
10-12 cremini mushrooms
1-2 yams or sweet potatoes cut into cubes
1-2 cups of baby carrots
1 onion cut into chunks
1T dried thyme
Salt and pepper
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes (or other organic tomatoes)
2-3 cups beef stock

Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Brown the roast on all sides in a little olive oil. Put the roast, thyme and all the veg (including tomatoes—undrained!) into a crock pot. Add enough stock to where the roast is almost covered. Set the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours.

Tuesday

Breakfast: yogurt with fruit

Snack: nuts

Lunch: left over pot roast

Snack: radishes

Dinner:

Seared pork loins with kale

4 pork loin chops
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup golden raisins or dried currants
1 bunch kale, tough stem centers removed (if any) and discarded, greens chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Roughly 1/2 cup dry white wine or water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large sauté pan hot on medium-high heat and add the pine nuts. Toast them until they are fragrant and begin to brown. Pay attention as pine nuts burn easily. Stir or toss the nuts frequently. Once they are toasted, remove from pan and set aside.

Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl it around. Brown the pork on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm. To the pan, Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds; the pan should already be hot, so it won't take long for the garlic to begin to brown. Add back the pine nuts, add the currants or raisins and the greens and mix well. Sauté, stirring often, until the greens wilt and begin to give up some of their water, 4-5 minutes.

Sprinkle a little salt and red pepper flakes on the greens. Add the white wine (can substitute water) and add the pork (and all accumulated juices) back to the pan. Toss to combine and let the liquid boil away. Once the liquid boils off, remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wednesday

Breakfast: yogurt with fruit

Snack: nuts

Lunch: left over pork with kale

Dinner:

Salmon en papillote with zucchini

3 salmon filets
1-2 lemons sliced (zest one of the lemons and reserve for Thursday dinner)
½ onion sliced
Fresh dill fronds
Salt and peper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut two (or three) parchment paper hearts. Salt and pepper the fish, lay two slices of lemon on one half of the heart and put the fish on top, place onions around fish. Lay some fresh dill fronds on top of the fish. Slice a little butter and put on top of the dill, place lemon slices on top. Splash a little wine on onions. Fold edges of parchment paper and put fish on a baking sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

In the meantime, slice the zucchini into half moons and sauté with some butter, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Thursday

Breakfast: yogurt with fruit

Snack: nuts

Lunch: left over salmon salad

Snack: fruit

Grilled sirloin steaks with spinach

3-4 sirloin steaks
1 bunch spinach
1T lemon zest
Dried currants or golden raisins
¼ c white wine

Season steaks with salt and pepper, then brush with olive oil. Grill for approximately 4 minutes each side, or to desired doneness.

While steak is grilling, put spinach in hot pan, wilt briefly, add wine and raisins/currants. Once wilted and water has cooked out, add lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Friday

Breakfast: yogurt with fruit

Snack: nuts

Lunch: left over steak salad

Snack: fruit

Dinner: free night out!

Grocery List

1 ½ lbs tomatillos
Garlic bulb
2 jalepenos
5 anaheim or poblano chilis
Cilantro
2 chicken leg halves
1 bone in chicken breast
4 onions
Chicken stock
3-4 lb pot roast
1-2 turnips
10-12 cremini mushrooms
1-2 yams or sweet potatoes
1 bag baby carrots
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
Beef stock
4 pork loins chops
Pine nuts
Golden raisins or dried currants
1 bunch kale
3 salmon filets
2 lemons
Fresh dill
2 zucchini
1 bunch spinach
3-4 sirloin steaks
Bag salad
Peaches
8-10 yogurts
Plums
1 bunch radishes