What I Ate This Week: 8-12 February
Okay okay. So this was a lazy week. So what! Sometimes those are needed. But as far as lazy weeks go, I have to say, it wasn't too bad. I wasn't eating pizza all day every day, even if that is my dream. And there aren't any recipes for the weekend because I'm taking a break from cooking to relax on Valentines weekend! But there are lots of yummy recipes coming up next week, so stay tuned.
MONDAY: TOMATO SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE
Picture by Two Peas and Their Pod
You can take the girl out of America but you can't take the American out of the girl. Some days, you just need a little comfort food from home. Sometimes you gotta throw all the healthy business out the window and have a buttery grilled cheese sandwich. I did make the soup from scratch, with this recipe. And it came out so yummy! I changed up a few things: I added 2 more cloves of garlic, I used dried basil (I'd recommend fresh for sure, our grocery store was just out this week), and I added another half of onion. For the grilled cheese I added slices of cheddar cheese with some shredded mozzarella on wholemeal bread and it came out so unbelievably yummy. To really indulge, spread butter on the outsides of the bread for that perfect golden crispy outside.
TUESDAY: WORLD PANCAKE DAY
Picture by Mom on Timeout
We had to celebrate pancake Tuesday, so what better option than a good traditional buttermilk?! I used this recipe from Ebay. What?! Who knew that was a thing! They came out nice and fluffy and rich. We topped ours with butter, syrup, Nutella, and lemon juice. I also made some bacon and eggs for the side. I added mozzarella to the eggs and it totally brought them to life!
WEDNESDAY: PITA PIZZAS
Picture by Tastes Better from Scratch
I picked up some wholemeal pitas from the grocery store this week and wanted to make some kind of pizza with them. I found this recipe and decided to use it as inspiration. I made their base sauce using greek yogurt instead of mayo and adding in a little but of turmeric. Also, for the chicken, I boiled it (which I prefer to do when shredding) and then once I'd fully shredded the chicken I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, paprika, and a little garlic. I piled on the chicken, bacon, tomatoes, and added a sprinkle of diced shallots on Killian's because he's a fan of onions. I will say, it did not taste like ranch. Not at all. However, it did come out pretty yummy. It was a bit too heavy on the dill for me, so I'd add in less next time and maybe add more garlic so it was a bit more savoury. Not too bad of an option for a slightly healthier pizza.
THURSDAY: SHRIMP SCAMPI
Picture by Just a Taste
This was the closest we came to healthy this week. Substituting courgettes (or zuchinni) for noodles, this came out pretty yummy. I tried cooking the "noodles", but I think I prefer the slight crunch and volume of raw spiralised courgettes.
FRIDAY: HONEY BALSAMIC CHICKEN
Picture by Cafe Delites
For the last recipe this week let me start off by saying that I did not use the above recipe. The picture simply comes closest to looking like what I made, and I totally forgot to take a picture of my dinner on Friday! Oops. I experimented with a sauce made of one part balsamic vinegar to two parts honey with a dash and a half of soy sauce. I also added a hefty pinch of Italian seasoning, a small dash of cayenne pepper, some ground black pepper, and about a teaspoon of paprika. I let the chicken sit in the sauce for about 5 minutes before pouring the whole deal into the pan. The sauce came out super sticky. As the chicken was finishing up I added in a few slices of halloumi cheese and let it cook until the chicken was done a minute later. It soaked up the flavour of the sauce really nicely and tasted so good with the chicken. Add a veggie or two on the side and you have a meal, my friend!