Food I’m loving

Over the summer, food has been incredible. I’ve always loved food. I like to get my hands in dough, wait for flavors combine in a marinade, and watch heat transform ingredients. I also love to eat. For some reason, lately, food has been more exceptional than usual. I don’t have an explanation for it, so I’m just receiving it as a gift. 

Here’s a few meals that we’ve been eating and loving lately. 

For a while during the pandemic, we got Hello Fresh meals once a month and Justin and I cooked them for a date night meal after the boys were in bed. These firecracker meatballs are still a favorite. 

These chicken fajita bowls drew raves from the whole family. I did go all out and make the tortillas too because I think that’s fun when I have the time. 

A local farm sells the best garlic bratwurst and we make them like this and serve with roasted potatoes and veggie sides. 

I have a subscription to What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers and last week she shared a recipe for a low country boil that didn’t feed 16 people. We made it the same day and it was heavenly. Maybe we’ll eat it once a week until the weather gets cold. (For those of you who don’t know, that will be at least November.)

A friend made us curry last year and I promptly asked for the recipe. We eat it at least every other week. It’s fast, delicious, and craveable. Sometimes I make the yogurt flatbread from Weekday Vegetarians to go with it (though I double the recipe). I’m going to outline the curry recipe. Adjust amounts to number of people you are feeding. 

Cut chicken (1.5 lbs) into one-inch cubes and brown in heavy pot with much more curry powder than you think you need. Add 3-4 cups of largely chopped vegetables (1 inch cubes of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions). Cover with chicken broth. Simmer until chicken is done and vegetables are fork-tender. Add a half can of coconut milk and serve over rice. 

One of our kids asked where we found the recipe for curry and we told them that Miss A gave it to us and he gasped, “So she can’t make it anymore?” We assured him that she also still had the recipe and made it often. 

I made this stone fruit and scone cobbler just today with cherries that I pitted with a metal straw. It is delicious and I’ll make it again with other fruits as well. 

It should be noted that I don’t make all of these meals back to back. They are sprinkled in the meal plan with things like spaghetti and chicken alfredo and taco salad that require little thought and only a smidge more effort. 

Extras:

My kitchen workhorses are my Le Creuset dutch oven (a large one because there are six of us) and a cast-iron skillet. The Dutch ovens are not cheap, but I bought mine at an outlet and use it almost every day so it’s cost is low overall. I bought some tongs lately that I use for the brats and the tortillas (and other things). I also suggest music and a drink while cooking.