What We Ate Last Week

I apologize for the non-existent "What We Ate Last Week" posts as of late.  But truth be told, when Justin is on the road, I don't cook full meals!  Some nights it might just be cheese and crackers for supper :-)  In fact, some of the meals right before he left weren't all that exciting--ie Chili Dogs--but I wanted to make sure he had some of his favorite meals to eat before he left!  If you missed the story of Justin going to New York City with Hurricane Irene, check it out here.

Now that Justin's home, things are back to normal with planned meals!  God only knows that if we didn't get back into a routine and soon, it'd be take-out for the next two months!

So...

What Did We Eat Last Week?

Wednesday--Dirty Rice with Black Eyed Peas* and green bean casserole

Thursday--Coca-Cola Porkchops with Brocolli and Quinoa casserole

Friday--Chicken Jerusalem* over Saffron Rice with roasted brocolli, carrots and yellow squash

Saturday--We attended the wedding of our friends and neighbors, Kyle and Lori, at their family ranch just south of Clinton Lake.  We feasted on margaritas, a chips and salsa bar and an amazing Mexican buffet.  We wish the two of you a very blessed future together!

Sunday--Chichen and Black Bean Enchiladas Casserole

The Learning Curve(s):
*In the African-American community, black eyed peas are thought to bring good luck and prosperity to those who consume them on New Year's Day...well, we are still quite a ways from January 1st but I love black eyed peas with my dirty rice.  And honestly, can't we all use a little good luck and extra money every now and then?!  Rather than going the usual route of opening a can and seasoning them, I slow-cooked the peas with a hamhock and a bunch of veggies all day long.  When supper came, Justin was very appreciative of the extra effort and the tasty results.  As expected, a little pig fat always saves the day :-)

*I had seen a recipe for Chicken Jerusalem II on Allrecipes.com several weeks ago...As it involved making a reduction for the sauce, I knew it would have to wait for the weekend.  If you like chicken and artichokes, this is your dish...the creator definately knew what they were doing when they paired it with saffron rice.  Great combination!  Feel free to check out the recipe here.