Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu – September 22nd

Marin Mama's weekly dinner menu - September 22nd

So you’re all probably curious on how I did on my meatless and no-caffeine week, right?  For those of you that didn’t even give it a second thought,  let’s just pretend that you did, ok? 😉

Let’s start off with the positive, I did amazingly well going meatless for a week.  If you had asked me to go meatless for a week 5 years ago, I really don’t know if I could have pulled it off.  I could have done it for 1 or 2 nights, but 7 nights, no way!  Going meatless on Mondays over the past 5 years has really helped me accrue a bunch of great meatless recipes.  We honestly didn’t miss the meat this past week and we not only saved money, but trips to the grocery store as well.  I found myself getting creative at lunch and made up some great lunches using leftovers from dinner.  I also made these amazing roasted red pepper, tomato, avocado and arugula paninis that I topped with cilantro-lime mayonnaise.  I have to tell you that these were more satisfying than any meat based panini that I’ve ever had.

Roasted red pepper panini with cilantro lime mayo

So, I totally failed on the no-caffeine thing, as I caved on day 2.  Lame, I know, but I was falling asleep at 7:30 and had to force myself to stay up till Zoe made it home from dance at 9:00. I can’t be doing that, so I added back the cup of coffee the next morning, and I have to tell you that I felt great!  I didn’t think I needed it, but apparently I do, and I’m ok with that.

We woke up to rain yesterday morning and it was awesome and so cozy.  Don’t you love an occasional rainy Saturday morning?  We all stayed snuggled in our pajamas and I put a fire in the fire-place and we just chilled.  It was a much needed break after a jam packed week.  I also got to break out my favorite rain boots for Zoe’s soccer game!  I love wearing rain boots!

Marin Mama in rain boots

Since it was rainy and cool, I made us up a batch of cauliflower soup for lunch.  This is one of our favorite fall and winter soups and we haven’t had it since last winter, so it was kind of like a welcome back to fall lunch.   You will be seeing this soup a lot on my weekly menu this fall and winter, not only because it tastes great and is family approved, but it’s super simple to make and requires only 5 ingredients!

Cauliflower soup

The only bummer about the rain yesterday was that Eli’s soccer game was cancelled.  He was bummed as he wanted to play, but he cheered up when the sun came out and we got to go to Zoe’s game.  John let him warm up with the girls and he loved that.  Eli loves just being outside.  Give him a park or a field to run around in and he’s a happy guy.  There’s my happy little guy sporting his Wisconsin hat!

Eli on grass field

Zoe was psyched that her game wasn’t cancelled, but she was a bit bummed that it wasn’t raining as she loves to play soccer in the rain.  The girls love running, sliding and getting all muddy.  I was actually glad I didn’t have to watch the game in the rain though, because that’s not what I consider fun.  Zoe and her team (Beckam’s Babes is their team name and I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you all that, so shhhh…) played a great game and Zoe had some great plays as well.

Zoe kicking soccer ball

I could watch my kids play sports all day.  When I see kids play sports or just play in general, it just reminds me how free and fun life can be.  There’s nothing better than sitting outside, feeling the warm sun on your back and hearing the laughter and play of kids.  It always just brings me to a happy place and takes all of my worries away. It’s the best medicine.

Zoe playing soccer

Ok, lets move onto this week’s menu.

Sunday night dinner

Buffalo burgers with sage-jalapeno pesto, onion rings with sriracha mayonnaise and grilled sweet peppers.  It’s a great night for burgers as the sun is already shining and the temps are going to warm up.  I’m hoping that we can eat out on the deck tonight!  I’m trying to fit in as many dinners on the deck as I can before it gets too cold.  We’re taking the sriracha mayo that we used on the vegeterian banh mi’s and using it as a dip for the onion rings.  It’s so good!

Buffalo apple burger with jalapeno pesto

Monday night dinner

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup and popovers.  I know that I said Monday night was going to be sandwich night until soccer and baseball season were over, but soup and popovers as just as easy to serve up, especially if you make up the soup the day before. I’m going to make up the soup today (Sunday) and then just re-heat it tomorrow, and keep it warm on the stove so everyone can ladle themselves a bowl when they get home.  The popovers take about 35 minutes total to make and bake, but if you’re pressed for time, then you can make them up ahead of time as well, and then just re-heat the them in a 250 degree oven until warmed.

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Popovers with rosemary sprigs

Tuesday night dinner

Chicken enchiladas with pumpkin sauce and lacinato kale salad.  Everyone in my house has been craving pumpkin, so I’m going to try and make up some chocolate chip pumpkin bundt bread this week as well as these enchiladas.  When fall arrives these are the first two recipes that the kids request. I love these enchiladas because they are a two-nighter meal and they taste amazing!

Pan of chicken enchiladas

Kale Salad

Wednesday night dinner

Leftover night.  I’m re-heating and serving up the enchiladas again along with a simple arugula salad.  Eli has soccer practice tonight and this will be an easy dinner to heat up when he gets home.

Thursday night dinner

Broccoli lemon pasta and bread sticks.  It’s back to school night so we’re eating this early.  This is one of the kids favorite pastas and I’ve been making this up for years and they still crave and love it.  That should tell you something, right?  Cellentani pasta is our favorite pasta to use for this recipe and for those of you that are local, Whole Foods has it on sale.  I just picked up 4 boxes.

Broccoli lemon pasta

Friday night dinner

TGIF!  It’s Marin mama’s night off!

Zoe and her soccer teammate

I’m ending with a picture of Zoe and her buddy Catherine that I took yesterday as they were hanging out on the sidelines.  I just love these girls and I love that they’ve known each other since they were 6 months old and they’re still great friends!

Happy fall and have a spectacular Sunday everyone!

With love Jackie
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7 thoughts on “Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu – September 22nd”

  1. That sounds like such a fun morning all cozied in around the fireplace, I’m jealous of how relaxing that is! Maybe I will pretend and draw a fireplace on my wall! 😉

    Great job going meatless! In the last few years I’ve definitely added more and more veggie friendly meals to the list although I feel like my husband would like to eat meat every single night, personally I could go meatless alot more often! Per the caffeine, I know what you mean – I get it in tea form. For me it’s headaches I deal with- I get headaches because of the caffeine levels in some tea, but have you ever got a caffeine withdrawal headache? It’s the worse. It pretty much shuts me down for a day, so then I grab a cup and it makes it better.. but the cycle continues! Ow!

    Those enchiladas look delicious!

    1. I’ve been cutting animal products, (not fish), and caffeine from my diet. I only get wiped out if I don’t keep up with a steady flow of veggie meals. And to give myself a pickup when I need it I put some pepermint oil in a mug of hot water and breath in the vapor. Refreshing and invigorating!

      1. Great advice, especially on the peppermint oil and hot water. I’m totally going to try that next time I start getting sleepy in the middle of the afternoon. That’s my least productive time of the day. I will also try the no-caffeine thing on a better not so busy week. I think a lot of my tiredness came from the busy weekend and flowed into the week. 🙂

    2. Hi Pamela! The fireplace is definitely a plus and the best part is that it’s a gas fireplace, so we don’t have to deal with wood etc. You know, I was surprised that I didn’t get a headache from cutting out the caffeine, I just got tired, but it also could have been just the normal tiredness from a jam packed weekend. The meat thing was easy for me, but by Saturday, John and Zoe were ready for some meat. Eli could have cared less as he isn’t the biggest meat fan. 🙂

  2. From all the research I’ve read, one cup of coffee is not a bad thing-it’s actually good for you. Everything in moderation, right? And if there is one person who lives that it’s you-so go enjoy that cup-o-joe tomorrow morning:)! I’ve never tried those enchiladas, I think I’ll put them on my menu this week! Love the pic of the girls……can we press the pause button;)

    1. Yes, lets press the pause button, please. I looked at a picture of them last night when they were 3 and it seemed just like yesterday. Yes, try those enchiladas, I think your family will love them. You will notice that I used and credited you on the chicken shredding tip in the post. Your name is all over this blog girl! xoxo, Jackie

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