Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for January 13th

Marin Mama's weekly dinner menu - January 13th

I don’t know if it was from being cooped up and lazy for the two weeks of Christmas vacation, but I cooked up a storm last week.  The house was quiet and empty and everyone was back to their routines.  I felt a sense of freedom and really just wanted to get back to the kitchen and just play.  Play I did, and here are some of the recipes I tried:

Kale, wheat berry and toasted coconut salad.  I had this for lunch two days in a row and I have to tell you that it tasted better day two. Love that!

Kale wheat berry and toasted coconut salad

Spinach, avocado and lemon smoothie.  I paired this with my kale salad above and it was a nice combination.  Don’t you just love that vibrant green color?  Green and pink are my two favorite colors.

Spinach, avocado and lemon smoothie

Pureed potato and leek soup.  I had a potato and leek soup at Rustic Bakery over the break, and it was haunting me because it was so good.  I vowed to my brother Brandt, that I was going to replicate it at home.  I LOVE this soup, it’s creamy, mild and oh so good!

Potato leek soup

I also whipped up an amazing new chicken parmesan recipe that my foodie friend Amanda kept telling me I needed to try.  I’m so glad I took your advice Amanda, because we loved it!  Its great because it can all be cooked via the skillet so its quick and has minimal cleanup, and its perfect for those with a gluten intolerance, (Jessica) because it doesn’t require any breadcrumbs or eggs.

Skillet chicken parm in a skillet on the stove.

I cooked up 2 batches of Robert’s absolute best brownies.  I delivered one to my friend Sharon for the BeBetsy’s pass the plate, and kept one batch for us.

Roberts absolute best brownie

Here’s whats on tap for this weeks menu:

Sunday night dinner

Spaghetti with turkey meatballs (recipe this Wednesday), lacinato kale salad.  This is a two-nighter meal.  We will use the leftover meatballs and sauce for subs on Tuesday.

Turkey meatballs

Kale Salad

Monday night dinner

Meatless Monday!  Pureed leek and potato soup (recipe next week) with quinoa patties.

Potato leek soup

Quinoa cakes

Tuesday night dinner

Turkey meatball subs & arugula salad.  Zoe started up dance again last Tuesday and she has 2 classes in a row right smack in the middle of dinner time.  She want’s to eat when she gets home from dance, so I need to have an easy dish each Tuesday that I can re-heat or throw together quickly when she comes home from dance.

Wednesday night dinner:  Salmon with almond lime yogurt sauce, leftover quinoa patties and roasted Brussels sprouts.  Salmon is the perfect middle between a meat based dinner and a meatless dinner.  I’m even going to use some of the extra sauce to top my quinoa patty.

Asparagus with salmon

Quinoa cakes

Roasted brussels sprouts

Thursday night dinner

Broccoli lemon pasta.  This is our go-to one bowl pasta dinner. I can literally make it with my eyes closed!

Broccoli lemon pasta

Friday night dinner

TGIF!  Marin mama has the night off as we’re eating out tonight!  Yippee!!

Wait!  Before you leave I have a few great links for those of you that want to know (Yvonne and Cara) how to clean and season your cast iron skillet!  Here’s a more scientific link on the right oil to use to re-season your cast iron skillet.  I may actually give this a try.  Yvonne, I did this for you since you told me how much you like helpful links.  Love you sister!

Stay tuned for Wednesday when I will post the recipe for turkey meatballs!

Happy Sunday!

With love Jackie
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26 thoughts on “Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for January 13th”

    1. Thanks Averie. I may just send you a batch of those brownies one of these days since I know you have been wanting to make them, but I also know that you have way too many sweets of your own to go through so you really don’t want or need anymore. I wish you lived closer as my kids would love to have all your blog leftovers 🙂

    1. Hmmm Yvonee! Hold your horses 🙂 I’m still working on that recipe and I haven’t quite gotten to where I want it yet, but when I do, you will be my tester, sound good?

  1. We just finished up the brownies you sent yesterday and they were such a decadent dessert to have tthe last few days, thanks so much!

    Mmmm, your pictures draw me in and so does your food choices. They look both healthy and delicious. I love that you have a weekend to just cook and experiment and play in the kitchen. That is soul satisfying to do something you love like that in such a fun relaxing way. I also love that green and pink color combo of the smoothie, it’s so fresh and happy.

    I hope you post that chicken parmesan recipe too soon. We love chicken and I’m always finding different ways to make it for my family. We have a recipe that we like but I like to experiment too and your picture is enticing!

    We just had brussels sprouts on Saturday with our dinner but get this – it was Jake who was craving them! He actually asked if he could go to the store and get the ingredients for it because he saw a recipe and wanted to try it. So he came home, roasted them up with olive oil and pancetta and they were delicious. He enjoys cooking and I feel so good to have passed that along along. 🙂

    And how interesting was that about seasoning the cast iron pan? I never knew! I’ve seasoned mine with vegetable oil because I never thought about it but it was always sticky and I didn’t think I really did it right. I do rub a little veg oil in it after I clean it before I put it back in the cabinet. I’m going to have to try that reaseasoning method. I haven’t done that in a long time and I’m sure its time.

    The Seahawks lost and it was a nailbiter until the last second. Oh it was heartbreaking but now I can root for my second favorite team, the 49ers! Go Niners!!! 🙂

    I’m afraid I’ve just written you another mini novel so with that – Have a great week Jackie! I always look forward to your weekly menu posts. xoxo, Sharon

    1. I love your novelish (word?) comments Sharon and all your super sweet compliments 🙂 That’s so cool about your son first off wanting and craving Brussels and secondly actually cooking them up. He is going to make a great husband someday! Barefoot has a great Brussel’s recipe with pancetta that I have been dying to make ever since we ate it at Tyler Florence’s restaurant in SF. Her recipe is actually from his restaurant. So good that Eli even liked it and he hates Brussels. I will post that chicken parm recipe very soon. It’s always fun to try new takes on classic recipes, don’t you think? It just makes dinner-time that much more interesting. Ok, my cauliflower curry soup is almost done and I have to pulverize it in the blender! I hope it turned out ok! xoxo, Jackie

  2. I love love love that you do these weekly menu posts – its like a little peak into your life when Im stuck so far away!! I may well take your lead with them in the future too – I LOVE a little bit of meal planning ya know 🙂 xxx

    1. Thanks Em! Now that you’re working hard for the money and full-time, a weekly menu could come in handy 🙂 I was just looking through my old what I ate last week posts, and I got a bit sad because they were pretty much done when you were in Cali hanging out with me 🙂 Miss you! Jackie

  3. you know what is crazy! The smoothie is what peaked my interest the most and i don’t usually like smoothies nor do i ever find them pretty or delicious looking but that one I do and so now i am kinda giddy to try it! Hope you have a fantastic week!

    1. Hey sweetie! It’s honestly super funny that you commented about that smoothie drawing you in. It’s actually from a gluten free magazine that I was going to send your way along with a few other things to perk you up 🙂 I will email you that recipe. In the meantime, you might want to try my spinach power smoothie. It’s green and vibrant like that one and gluten-free to boot! You have a great week as well sister 🙂

      1. Lisa MacGillivray

        Could you please post the recipe for that avocado, spinach and lemon smoothie?? I would really love to try it. Thanks.

        1. Hi Lisa! I will try and find the recipe and get the post out! I totally forgot all about that smoothie! Thanks for the reminder 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn

    1. Thanks girl! I thought you might like that smoothie shot being that pink is one of your favorite colors as well. xoxo, Jackie

    1. Yes, Michelle it is. I picked up mine at Whole Foods, how about you? My kids love those glasses, especially since there’s a cute little dog on it.

  4. love your meal plan for the week…that salmon looks amazing…and I want to try your broccoli lemon pasta. I love broccoli and pasta..have never added the lemon which sounds amazing. the linky for the cast iron skillet THANKS for sharing…i’ve been meaning to look up that kind of information since I know I need to take better care of mine…and I so love using the cast iron skillet…the parm chicken recipe…yes please and gluten free I love those added bonuses!

    Happy Week to you Jackie!

    1. Hi Angela! You should definitely try the broccoli lemon pasta. It’s a Barefoot recipe, so you know its good! I figured rather than writing a post on maintaining a cast iron skillet, I would leave it to the pro’s and link it out. I decided to post the chicken parm recipe a week early, so it’s going up tomorrow! Have a great week girl!

  5. Hi Jackie! I just wanted to pop in and say “Hi”. My sister turned me on to your blog and I have to tell you that my family and I love everything that I’ve made thus far. So please keep the recipes coming! And since you mentioned the broccoli lemon pasta… I recently took it to a potluck for a healthier choice and let me tell you, it got rave reviews! 🙂

    1. Hi Nicole! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! Hey, I rhymed there. I’m so glad to hear that your sister turned you onto my blog. Tell your sister thanks! I’m also super happy to hear that you made and loved the broccoli lemon pasta as well as some other recipes. I love hearing from readers, so thanks! Happy Sunday and I hope to hear from you again 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

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