Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for February 2nd

Marin Mama's weekly dinner menu - February 2nd

Ok, it’s 5:00 on Saturday and I’m up writing this post.  Yes, you heard me right, I’m up at 5:00 on a Saturday. Who am I?  What the heck am I doing up at 5:00 on a Saturday morning?  I set a new goal yesterday in my mind and I may have mentioned it to a few friends that I’m going to start getting up at 5:00 because I want to try to get out more posts, and mornings are my “on” time.  It’s the time of day when my noggin is the most creative.  Well, my noggin remembered that promise and held me to it. I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at exactly 5:00, I kid you not. It wasn’t 5:01 or 4:59 when I glanced over at my clock, it was 5:00 on the dot.  The brain is a marvelous thing I must say. So, it’s not 5:00 anymore, it’s actually 5:40. I had to get my coffee and cereal heated up and now I’m sitting here typing away with gusto!  The caffeine is kicking in and the house is silent, and all you can here are my little fingers typing away on the keyboard. I’m also getting my post out a day early because I want to get two recipes out to you this week. Fingers crossed that I get it done.

So lets talk food.  I mean that’s what we’re all here for right?  Food glorious food!  I’m happy to say that I had some great culinary success’ last week.  In last week’s menu, I posted that I was going to try out two new dinner recipes.  Well, I have to say that they were both winners!  We tried the chicken paillard on Sunday night and served it up with my lacinato kale salad and some kale mashed potatoes.  It was the perfect Sunday night dinner, and Zoe loves these potatoes so much that she went in for thirds.  You go girl!  BTW, I’m not going to post the chicken paillard recipe because it’s just to hard to take photos of and I’m not entirely sure that I made the clarified butter right, and I may have browned the chicken too much, but it was so good so who cares right? So here’s the link, for those of you that are interested, Bon appetit pan-roasted chicken paillard.

Chicken, kale and mashed potatoes on plate

I also made this super quick and easy one-skillet, one-bowl dinner.  It’s a sausage and white bean stew with spinach.  This is a keeper recipe and the perfect weeknight meal because it can be thrown together and on the table in less than 45 minutes. We served it up with some fresh bread for dipping and the bowls were licked clean.

Sausage white bean stew with spinach

I also made a new quinoa cake recipe.  These cakes are so good and totally kid approved. They are cheesy, as they are filled with chunks of mozzarella.  They sort of remind me of mozzarella sticks in a weird way.  The quinoa is toasted dry before it cooks in the stock, so it really has an extra nutty flavor.

Quinoa cakes

Ok, lets move onto this week’s dinner menu!

Sunday night dinner

Ok, it’s the Super Bowl tomorrow, (go niners) so we’re eating a meal fit for the super bowl.  John is making his favorite bratwurst dinner.  I must say that I’m not the biggest fan of hotdogs or bratwurst, but I happily eat John’s version. I will pair this off with a big serving of my lacinato kale salad to help balance the dinner a bit.  Ok, isn’t this photo so pretty?  John staged and took this photo.  Didn’t he do a great job?

Bratwurst

Kale Salad

Monday night dinner

Chickpea veggie burgers and kale salad with apples and aged cheddar (skipping the squash here, and adding fuji apples instead to make it more kid friendly).  After that super bowl of a meal last night, I want something light, healthy and meatless tonight.  I think these burgers are the perfect compromise.  I’m actually going to make the patties and yogurt sauce tomorrow and then just heat up 4 patties Monday night via the skillet. That’s what I love about these patties, you can make the patties ahead of time and heat them up when you want a nice warm veggie burger. This meal is basically a make-ahead meal which is perfect for those crazy and manic Mondays. It reminds me of that song, “Just another manic Monday.”

Chickpea veggie burger

Kale salad with delicata squash , almonds and aged cheddar

Tuesday night dinner

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup with grilled Gruyère cheese and ham sandwiches. I made up these sandwiches last week to pair with my cauliflower soup, and my family felt like we were eating at Rustic Bakery.  I made the sandwiches up on their fresh honey wheat bread, so maybe that’s why they got rave reviews.  I cooked them up in the cast iron skillet and the crusts got all browned and the cheese was melting off the edges and it got all crispy.  John and kids asked for another grilled cheese sandwich and soup night this week, so I’m happily obliging.

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Wednesday night dinner

I’m trying a new chicken enchilada dish.  I will pair it with some sort of salad, not sure yet.  I will let you know how it turns out.

Thursday night dinner

Roasted red pepper and arugula whole-wheat pizza and kid friendly caesar salad.  I’m going to roast up some extra red peppers when I make the soup on Tuesday so we can enjoy this pizza.  This is such an easy and healthy pizza to throw together.

Roasted red pepper and arugula pizza

Friday night dinner

TGIF!  Marin mama’s night off!  This past Friday I ate at my friend Cathie’s house. Eli was at this crazy Friday fun night at school (100 1st and 2nd graders going crazy in the school gym) so Zoe and I went to chow down at Cathie’s casa.  We had pizza, wine (well, Cathie and I had that) and caesar salad. It was a dinner full of giggles and fun, as it was Cathie, I and 5 giggly pre-teens.  Cathie and I had 15 minutes of alone talking time before each girl sauntered in and joined in our conversation. I love it that Zoe and her friends actually want to hang with us adults now, instead of running off into the next room to play. Thanks for a great dinner Cathie!

Oh and another thing, I’m addicted to Instagram!  Do you see my new follow photo button on the sidebar? Instagram is a great way for me to share quick little photos of my day.  I also love how you can manipulate a simple photo into a work of art. It’s all done via the phone, so it has really gotten me to use the camera on my phone more, and I must say that my phone camera is actually pretty darn good at taking photos. Here are two photos I took on my run this week.  This is California in the winter.  Instead of white snow we have an abundance of green (my favorite color).

Shoe up close

Close up of log with moss

Ok, I’m going to try to post two recipes this week. Fingers crossed!  Next in line, this hot quinoa and steel-cut oat cereal with goji berries. It’s my new breakfast fave!

Hot quinoa with goji berries

I also want to get these cupcakes out before Valentine’s day, so I will post them at the end of the week.

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Happy Saturday!

With love Jackie
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14 thoughts on “Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for February 2nd”

  1. way to get up at 5:00 on a saturday…when i saw your post today I got confused thinking wait is it Sunday. LOL but isn’t it great to get things done…and on time! yeah for you.

    I love the photot that your hubby took and staged…it looks great! Bratwurst are a big deal around here…I don’t like them but I do love me a cheddarwurst – of course why wouldn’t I it is filled with cheese. LOL

    I bet your pictures of the chicken paillard still look amazing..you still have me wanting to try it. and quinoa burgers. oh my goodness those look ridicously good…saw them on instagram 😉 isn’t instagram so much fun…the only bummer with it is i feel like it is ANOTHER social media to try to keep up with…but who doesn’t love pictures 🙂

    1. Hey Angela. I think I confused a lot of people by posting a day early. I am loving instagram! I love looking at people’s pictures and seeing how they capture a simple thing in their day. Instagram and facebook are so easy and fun for me, but Twitter I just don’t get. I don’t understand all the hash tags and what not. It feels like texting, but texting with strangers. Maybe I just don’t understand it well enough 🙂

  2. Your breakfast favorite looks seriously amazing! And coming from Germany it’s always cute reading people talking about “bratwurst”, but I can assure you your husband did a great job!

    I just wanted to let you know I absolutely love your blog. Since I’m studying medicine I don’t always have a lot of time on my hands to cook, but I still want to prepare something nice and fresh for my boyfriend and I – so I loved your quick recipes like the lemon pasta with broccoli! And I just tried out your chocolate chip cookies and they were seriously the best I’ve ever eaten. Since I just turned eighteen I still have a lot to learn, which is why I’m so glad I discovered your blog. So thank you!

    1. Hey Esther. I showed my husband your comment and you made his day! He grew up in Minnesota and went to college in Wisconsin, so he grew up eating bratwursts. You know what’s funny, I originally spelled them bratworsts, isn’t that hilarious? John wasn’t to thrilled when he saw that error 🙂
      I’m so glad you had two recipe successes! I also love that you’re 18 and cooking away and healthy to boot. I really love that broccoli lemon pasta as well and it’s a staple in our house and I of course LOVE those cookies. You know what my favorite pasta was at age 20? My roommate and I made up our own budget version of a healthy pasta. We would whip up some penne pasta and throw in green peas, garbanzo beans and black beans and then top it off with tons of grated parmesan cheese. We ate that pasta at least 3 times a week, and we never tired of that dinner!
      I’m so glad you discovered my blog Esther and that you’re cooking from it! I hope that you find some more recipes to try. Thanks so much for saying hi, as I really love hearing from readers. xoxo, Jackie

  3. I want to move in and be one of your kids so I could eat dinner at your house every night. Seriously, everything you make sounds right up my alley!
    John did a great job with staging the bratwurst, nice! I like bratwursts better than regular hot dogs but I forget about them so we haven’t had them for awhile. That’s a great super bowl dinner. We will be watching and rooting for the 49ers too! Well, I will. Rick for some reason is rooting for the ravens. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. 🙂
    I can see the appeal to instagram, just capturing the moment and being able to make it look great with the instagram apps. I take lots of pics on my phone, but they just stay in my phone. I’m still thinking of reopening my instagram account. Oh heck, I’ll probably just do it. HA!
    Funny how you wrote about getting up early yesterday morning to write your post. I just responded on the comment you left on my last post about being up early this morning and how it was nice and quiet, a good time to get online stuff done. And now I’m singing thanks to you…”just another manic monday, ohOOoh, wish it were Sunday, cuz that’s my fun day!” And since it IS Sunday, I’m in luck. 🙂 Okay girl, another great menu for the week and can’t wait for the oatmeal recipe, the cheesy quinoa cake recipe, AND stew recipe! Have a great day. xoxo, Sharon

    1. Yes, move on in, we would love to have you, but you have to help with the cooking 🙂 What’s up with Rick? I mean the 49ers are a west coast team, what’s he thinking? Oh well, it was a great game after the power outage (for what little I watched of the game).
      Yes, come back to instagram! It’s so easy to do and I find that I’m taking more pictures of life in general. I have been taking too many food pictures this past year and now I’m taking pictures of everything, especially more of the kids and the little moments in the day. Let me know when you join, k?
      BTW, it’s 5:00 and I’m up! I’m so proud of myself for sticking to my goal. I didn’t get up at 5:00 yesterday, but come on, it was Sunday! Ok, now I have that song in my mind again! Ahhh…
      Have a great Monday girl! xoxo, Jackie

      1. It’s just another manic Monday… 🙂
        It was a good game to watch after the power outage. The 49ers almost did it! Like you I was sort of in and out of the room when the game was on.
        I finished the mirrors! Well, the second one needs one more coat of paint I think, but one of them is done. I’m going to take pictures today if I ever get some decent daylight – I took some yesterday but will try again today. It’s challenging taking pictures in our house sometimes. I’ll try to write the post tonight. 🙂
        Have a great day! xoxo, Sharon

        1. Yaay! I’m so glad you finished up the mirrors. I can’t wait to see your post! I get it about taking photos of the house, my camera takes better photos of food for some reason 🙂

  4. I’m a five o’clock girl too! We have a table lamp with a soft light in our bedroom. My husband put a timer on it so that the soft little light clicks on at a few minutes before 5:00 a.m. I love it. It’s such a gentle way to wake up. Although on most mornings my mind, like yours, wakes me up a moment or two before the light goes on.

    We had your sugar-crusted popovers for breakfast this morning. It was so wonderful. I clicked through your page to order a popover pan like yours from Amazon. The lovely pan arrived on Friday just in time for the week end. We are fairly good at staying away from sugar on the week days but week ends are made for fun (and a little sugar too!).

    I’m happily planning several recipes this week right from your wonderful blog. Thank you for being so very inspiring! Your photos are great too, including your husband’s!

    Now, I think I’ll put on my snow boots and do a little hiking so that I can come home and feel just fine eating another popover! 🙂

    1. Hi Shari. Great idea about that little lamp. My mind woke me up at 4:40 this morning and I said, “hey, thats a bit too early.” I hope it listens to me and gets back to the 5:00 time tomorrow 🙂
      I love that you made the sugar-crusted popovers. Aren’t they the BEST? I don’t make them as often as I should because it can be a big sugar mess, but when I do, we don’t hear a peep from anyone till they’re gone. You’re so good that you can stay away from sugar during the week, I find that I need just a little bit each day. You won’t regret the popover pan. I make regular old popovers all the time, at least once a week.
      Thanks for the sweet comment regarding my photos. The hardest part about writing a post is getting and selecting the right photo.
      I love snowshoeing and I’m so envious that you can just walk out your door and do that. I miss the snow at times. I grew up in upstate NY and then moved to Minnesota so I definitely know a thing or two about snow. Have a great day Shari and thanks for saying hi!
      xoxo, Jackie

  5. Hi Jackie, I was thinking of you all last week as I promised you my recipe for a chicken stock and postponed it for a whole week (almost). I feel guilty, but it’s there and you can try to make your best chicken stock ever. Enough rumbling on that.
    Yes, who are you waking up on Saturday at 5 AM? Don’t you want to sleep? No matter how important blogging, or any other activity is for me, my well being is more important, and that includes good sleep. But wait, wasn’t I in your shoes until a couple of years back? Yes, I was until my daughter told me that I become more agitated and I need some rest (!). I love when my kid tell me I need to rest. And I also hate it too, because if kids have to say me to rest, there must be something I am doing wrong. Anyway, it took me roughly 15 years to understand that well rested and well taken care off mother (me in this case) can take better care of her kids, and does it in happy ways. Too bed my kids are all grown now, I wish I understood it earlier. (deep sigh…) Oh, and I am not criticizing you, I am just sharing my story. 🙂
    Your meals look fantastic, especially one with sausages: my teenager would love to eat that for dinner! 🙂

    1. Hey Marina! I was so upset that you never posted that recipe. I mean I checked your blog everyday last week wondering where the recipe was. I’m seriously kidding of course, but I’m glad you got it up and I will definitely check it out.
      I actually love my sleep as well, and the 5:00 a.m. wake up call is really for the 2 mornings a week that I post. The rest of the time, I get up at 6:00, but I’m an early bird and always have been. I usually hit the hay around 9:00 or 9:30 so I think (hope) that I’m getting enough sleep 🙂 I totally not a person who functions well at night.
      That sausage pasta was surprise hit. I wasn’t sure the kids were going to be up for a bean based dish, but they were! I will post that recipe soon!
      xoxo, Jackie

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