It’s been a busy week. The night before Thanksgiving has always been a kind of “whatever” meal. However, this year, the Wednesday night before was the first night of Hannukah. A full traditional meal was served as we lit the menorah, opened gifts, and when the dinner dishes were done, I continued to prep for the next day’s feast. Needless to say, I needed the weekend to recuperate.
I did take a little bit of time for myself this weekend (lots of walks, a yoga class, and a few movies – I highly recommend Philomena), Sunday it was back to work. The kids will go back to school on Monday, which equates to the morning rush, packing lunches, lots of driving, and planning the evenings meals. Sunday’s are all about the prep for the week ahead (you can read about my planning here, here, here, and here) and today is no different. By noon, all of my veggies will be cleaned and chopped, vinaigrettes, enchilada sauce, scones, waffles, and muffins are made. A little bit of planning and prep goes a long way.
This tomato soup has become a household favorite. The prep takes about 15 minutes and while the pot simmers on the stove, I do all my prep for the week ahead. Served with custom grilled sandwiches for the kids and millet cakes for M and I, it’s the ultimate meal. Try a millet cake dipped in this tomato soup – you can thank me later!
A weeks worth of Meals:
Sunday 12/1/13:
Non-Cream of Tomato Soup (recipe below)
Grilled Sandwiches
Millet-Kale Cakes
Monday 12/2/13:
Simple Grilled Citrus Chicken(place boneless chicken w/skin in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons olive oil, equal parts(1 of each citrus) fresh squeezed lemon juice, lime juice, + grapefruit juice. add zest from each, 1 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt, 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper. cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate for 1 -2 hours). Grill
Roasted Cauliflower w/Lemon Parsley Dressing
Artichokes
Tuesday 12/3/13:
Chicken Enchiladas (using leftover chicken from the night before)
Butter lettuce salad with avocado and hearts of palm and this dressing
Wednesday 12/4/13:
Leek + Turkey Patties
Yam Fries
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Thursday 12/5/13:
Homemade Pizza Bar (Recipes to follow)
Chopped Veggie Salad
Friday 12/6/13:
Going to Friends for Shabbat Dinner
Making this cake and these cookies
Saturday 12/7/13:
Make Reservations!
“Non-Cream” of Tomato Soup
ingredients:
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped red onions (about 2 onions)
2 carrots, peeled and rough chop
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, rough chop
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 pounds ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 cups homemade vegetable stock
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Croutons, for garnish (optional)
Basil leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional)
instructions:
• in a 7 1/4 quart dutch oven, heat the olive oil. over medium heat, saute onions, peppers, and carrots until very tender, about 15 minutes. add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender. take off heat and let cool completely.
• once cool, puree in batches using a vitamix or blender.
• place a strainer over a large stock pot. pour pureed soup through the strainer. using a rubber spatula, gently press the mixture against the strainer. repeat until all the soup has been strained.
• reheat over medium heat.
• laddle into bowls and garnish with julienned basil and croutons.
* this recipe was inspired from here.