Wednesday's "What We Ate Feb 11-17, 2013"

Last week was kind of a blur. Let's just say that it was definitely a week where eating out every night or getting take out was definitely at the front of my mind. For some reason, our almost 19-month old decided that she was anti-napping for three days, so that left me scrambling. The house didn't get cleaned, my tasks were left undone, & on Friday, I finally gave in & we went out to eat. I think John saw the desperation in my eyes, so when I suggested a breakfast diner, he was all about it.

We had a nice valentines day meal, though, & we only ate out twice, so I consider the week (food-wise) to have been a success (if it were up to me, we would have eaten out 7 times. Yes, 7). I was able to cut up a bunch of veggies & steam some rice on Tuesday for some quick fried rice. And then we had a work party on Saturday, so that left me without having to plan a meal (although we did eat pizza twice last week...) We also had salmon burgers in the freezer from the last time we made them, so that was another easy meal after a busy weekend.

I'm lucky that my kid usually naps for at least 2 hours every day & I'm realizing how much I savor those times. It gives me time to breathe, enjoy cooking, be present, & do some of the things that are impossible to do with a toddler hanging on your legs. I'm also realizing how much I still love freezer-ready meals! They are a total life-saver when you have weeks like we had & it reminds me to start saving up for that massive additional freezer that I've been drooling over for some time.

What are your favorite easy or go-to meals when life gets crazy?

Tuesday's dinner: John's Korean version of vegetable fried rice (uses sesame oil & roasted sesame seeds in addition to soy sauce & olive oil when cooking)

What We Ate Feb. 11-17, 2013
Monday: Homemade coconut chicken nuggets with a side salad (red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, sesame seeds, & ranch)
Tuesday: Vegetable fried rice
Wednesday: Heart-shaped pepperoni pizzas
Thursday: Homemade four cheese ravioli (fontina, mozzarella, ricotta & parmesan) with alfredo cream sauce & prosciutto served with a side salad. We had devil's food chocolate bundt cake drizzled with chocolate espresso ganache for dessert (check out our valentine's day post).
Friday: We ate at a local breakfast diner
Saturday: We had John's Christmas work party, so we ate pizza while bowling
Sunday: Salmon burgers with raw red peppers, carrots & hummus