We made it through another week! Like everyone, I had my ups and downs but fortunately I had some awesome food to help me get through:
- Vegetarian chili: This was my second attempt at a vegetarian chili. It’s hard to find a recipe for vegetarian chili that sounds appealing. I don’t love the idea of including sweet potato or pumpkin and those are common substitutes. The first attempt was okay, though Mike didn’t like it very much. We both liked this one better. The consistency is definitely more chili-like, though a little too puree-esque and I feel like the carrots are a little more noticeable than I’d like them to be. I did not add water because I like a thicker chili. I would make again but also wouldn’t be opposed to trying something new.
- Corn bread. I totally deviated from this recipe and it still turned out tasty and moist, so I have full faith the actual recipe is just as good if not better. Ways in which I failed and/or purposefully deviated: 1) corn meal was super expired (but still looked okay), 2) used vegan butter because I wanted to use it up, 3) forgot to bring egg to room temperature, 5) only had 1/2 c of buttermilk so used regular almond milk for the other 1/2 c, 6) whisked things together in a totally wrong order.
- Crockpot parmesan chicken with orzo. I’ve made this many times but often forget about it or decide not to make it if I don’t already have a dry white wine open since it only uses a small amount. I used a sweet wine that I didn’t love drinking since that’s what I had open, and I put the full quantities listed in the recipe into the marinade instead of saving some for later. I put a little broth in the Crockpot to prevent burning. No negative impact from the wine swap, but overall this was a little more bland than I remember it being.
- Chipotle tahini bowls. When I first learned I would be teleworking full-time for the duration my first instinct was to be excited I didn’t have to meal prep my salads for the week anymore. I bought some Lean Cuisine-type meals and immediately regretted it. I hate those things. They are bland and never fill me up. This is easy, tasty, and so much better for you than a frozen lunch. My topping combo was spring mix, roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, avocado, feta, and the dressing from the recipe.
- Soft pretzels! I finally bit the bullet and and tried both baking with yeast and using the dough hook on my KitchenAid for the first time. This recipe was easy to follow and the results were excellent. Kneading the dough was a PAIN (I think my dough was still too sticky and/or my surface wasn’t floured enough) and I really hated rolling the dough into the pretzel shape. Next time, I would make pretzel bites instead. Also, I oversalted. 😩 However, this was a fun quarantine activity so I’d recommend trying it.
Until next week…