meals from the week and a mini-shop

Many of you out there can probably relate to the beginning of this post -- I've learned over the past six months or so that it takes a LONG time to adjust to living with a partner. Don't get me wrong -- I wouldn't go back to living alone if you paid me -- it's just that we're still working out the "kinks." For example, how in the HECK are we supposed to get all of the laundry, cleaning, dishes, whatnot done, and still have time left to hang out together, (AND see family and friends,) with my long work days and Dan's busy schedule??? We thought a little more about this issue this week, and have sorted out a couple of potential solutions, including doing the grocery shopping during the week, Dan being responsible for a little more of the housework right away when he gets home from work, (since he gets home so much earlier than I,) and both of us focusing on staying on top of the "clutter" in our teensie-tiny apartment. We are also seriously considering shopping every other week, and last weekend was kind of a trial effort. Here are meals from week one of this experiment:

A simple casserole to throw together the night before and pop in the oven after work:

VT's recipe for Asparagus Mushroom Bread Pudding pleased both the lighter eater (me) and the pig-out guy (Dan) in one pan! Even though I don't care much for eggs, I loved the light texture and load of veggies in this one, and Dan loved the filling bread and layer of goat cheese on top! Side salads rounded out our meal, and it also made fine leftovers for lunches the next day!

I've been working the Crock Pot more than ever these days, and managed to forget to snap a picture of a sweet potato stew I loaded in there on Tuesday night for Wednesday's dinner. (The busiest night of my week -- fifteen minute turnaround between getting home from work and having to leave for choir practice!)

The butterscotch pudding was such a hit, I made a batch of vanilla-chai pudding later in the week:

Yum!

Thai Soup with tofu and lemongrass is a frequent request of Dan's:

Even though this recipe has a couple of major steps to it, (including straining the broth before adding the mushrooms and tofu,) it's pretty quick to the table -- only about an hour!

I used a lump of Artisan Bread dough and some leftover fresh basil as excuses to make pizza:

Mmmmm Margherita!

AND, since we polished off such a huge grocery shop last weekend, our list was so short this week I was able to sneak off to Mississippi Market during my break and fill in the gaps for this week:

(Pardon all of the lettuce -- we're bringing a green salad to Thanksgiving!) I picked up red and gold beets, organic baby mixed greens, local hydroponic lettuce, parchment paper, parmesan, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, pecans, non-GMO cornstarch, whole-wheat pasta, and locally-roased, organic, fair-trade coffee! Even though I had to haul the groceries home on the bus, it's nice to have that errand out of the way so we can enjoy our weekend a little more!

V.V. IMPORTANT QUESTION:

We're taking a beet and goat cheese salad to Thanksgiving. The great debate is . . .

Walnuts vs. Pecans.

Please offer your opinion!