Spend much time around our house, and you’ll learn that I’m often a slacker when it comes to cooking. As a result, we often end up picking up food because I just don’t feel like making a last minute run to the grocery store. My cooking habits and enthusiasm (or lack thereof) are cyclical, and I am currently in a culinary upswing. This is partly due to the fact that I am a full time stay at home mom right now, since the semester ended a couple of weeks ago. Mostly, though, I have Everyday Food magazine to thank. I’ve been subscribing to this Martha Stewart publication for the past few years, and while I always find a few recipes to try, I’ve been really impressed with the last couple of issues.
I would like to thank the genius who came up with the magazine’s “One Grocery Bag: Five Fresh, Fast Weekday Meals” feature. It has inspired me to do more healthy, at-home cooking, and less lazy, lard-heavy meals to go. I plan to thumb through the old issues to find more of this feature. Here’s how it works. In one section of the magazine, there are five consecutive recipes, but with a shared shopping list. So, if you want to make all five meals, you can simply take the magazine to the store as your shopping list! Making a list is always my least favorite part of shopping, especially when I have to write down several recipe ingredients, so this “One Grocery Bag” thing is perfect for me.
Two weeks ago, I took the magazine’s shopping list to Sprouts Farmers Market. It was my first ever visit to that store, and I loved it! Good thing they just opened one down the street from us in Coppell. It was so easy to purchase everything I needed for the five recipes, that I had a relaxing shopping experience, even with Benjamin tagging along. Here are the recipes I made that week (I found links to all but one of them in case you’re interested):
- Grilled steak with tomatoes and scallions – Brad grilled the steak and vegetables, and I made roasted potatoes and fresh corn on the cob as sides. We invited my brother Patrick and his wife Lindsi over very last minute – not a problem since I already had my menu planned out.
- Pasta salad with goat cheese and arugula – We ate this as a light dinner, but it would also be tasty as a lunch dish, or as a heartier meal by adding in grilled chicken.
- Tomato-pepper soup with ham and arugula wraps – We also ate this as a dinner, but I think it would be a delicious change of pace for lunch. I made the soup by pureeing cherry tomatoes and a red bell pepper with some tomato juice in the blender. It was very fresh tasting! And the wraps were delicious, with a spread that was a mixture of goat cheese, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. Speaking of lemon zest, I use a micro grater instead of a traditional lemon zester, and it is so easy to use. It used to take me way too long to procure even one teaspoon of lemon zest, but now I can produce a tablespoon of it in less than a minute.
- Grilled pork chops with cucumber-dill salad – This was the other meal we had friends join us for. I made roasted potatoes as a side (because they are so tasty and easy), and we had Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for dessert (specifically Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch and Cherry Garcia).
- Asian noodle salad with shrimp and cilantro – We found the bean-thread noodles this recipe called for at our local Korean grocery store (thanks for picking them up, Cara), but it was the dressing that made this one a winner. I made the dressing by cooking fresh jalapeno, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in a skillet. The recipe also called for rotisserie chicken, but we used grilled shrimp instead (Brad really put our grill to work that week!). And we skipped the cilantro, since it’s just about the only food that me and Brad don’t like. We think it tastes like minty dirt. Gross!
Yum! Every meal was easy and delicious. And having friends over for dinner was more relaxing, as I was able to whip up the food without my usual last minute dash to the store. I certainly see the benefits of making one weekly shopping trip at the beginning of the week. It prevented me from feeling overwhelmed, and saved us from unhealthy meals out. One last benefit of the “One Grocery Bag” concept is that the magazine editors double up on ingredients, so that you aren’t left with extra food that you don’t know what to do with. For example, goat cheese, arugula, and lemon juice were used in more than one of the five recipes.
I can’t say enough about Everyday Food. It has made it somewhat fun for me to spend time in the kitchen, and it has kept our dinners fresh and interesting. Yesterday, I prepared this trio from the magazine for lunch, and it only took me 30 minutes:
Yesterday's lunch: roasted salmon with herbed yogurt, lemony smashed potatoes, and tender lettuce salad with a Dijon vinaigrette.
- Roasted salmon with herbed yogurt – The topping consisted of Greek yogurt mixed with Dijon mustard, fresh dill, and fresh parsley. The salmon was delicious – this is definitely a keeper.
- Lemony smashed potatoes – After steaming the potatoes, I stirred in lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Tender lettuce salad – The secret to this simple salad was the dressing: white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. For the greens, we used a blend of red leaf and upland cress.
I highly recommend Everyday Food to anyone who is tired of cooking the same old recipes, who wants to prepare meals that are both healthy and quick, and who likes to try new foods (since the magazine features both traditional and more exotic fare). Occasionally, some of the ingredients aren’t available at a regular grocery store (although I can usually find what I need at our Albertsons), but you can either substitute something else or have an adventure at a specialty store!
