Or letting go of perfectionism.

My cousin has a travel delay, and poor guy, he is stuck here in one of the “flyover” states until tomorrow.  So, we chatted through Facebook (isn’t technology grand) and he’s going to come on down for dinner tonight.

Historically, this would send me into a tizzy.  My house isn’t spotless.  My 2 year old has scabs on her face from a run-in (fall-in?) with our concrete patio on Father’s day, and I wouldn’t have any idea what I was making for dinner for my family, much less for my cousin and my folks who also are really looking forward to seeing him.

Today, that’s not how things are going though!  My house isn’t spotless, but it is clean enough.  I need to sweep up some cheerios from morning snack, and put away the cheerios and raisins which are still on the counter in the kitchen, but that’s it cleanup wise.  My house doesn’t NEED to be spotless.  Clean enough is totally clean enough!

I know what I’m making for dinner thanks to FlyLady and ChiveTalker.  I just need to run out to the store, which was already on the agenda today, and pick up a little more stuff to fill the meal out.  Two fish fillets won’t feed 5 adults and 2 toddlers, no matter how much rice goes with the curry. 

So, basically, I’m not flipping out and running around like a chicken without a head.  I’m letting my children watch Dinosaur Train while they play.  I’m enjoying my coffee.  Heck, I’m writing a post on my blog.

You know what, letting go of perfectionism is a really good thing for my sanity!

Monday: Sauteed chicken thighs in creamy leek sauce, brown rice, and collard greens

Tuesday: Whole wheat pasta, shrimp in garlic butter, sauteed bok choy

Wednesday: As always, the plan is SnB, the back-up plan is take out! I think I may also make a fruit cobbler

Thursday: Fish curry with pineapple, pea pods, and whatever is left in the crisper

Shabbat: Not my week to cook!    As the “Fiesta Shabbat” went over so well for my sister’s birthday, I think that plan is being revamped for this week with some minor alterations.  I love Mexican food, so no complaints here!

I’m uninspired this week for some reason, so we’re going with all the old standbys.

Monday: DH has requested lasagna, so lasagna he shall have, along with a garden fresh salad

Tuesday: BBQ chicken, basmati rice with raisins, garden salad again

Wednesday: Hopefully for the first time in 3 weeks, I’ll be able to get to SnB and have a night off!  Otherwise, we’ll have takeout sushi

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner. Hole-in-ones (sliced rye bread with fried eggs in the middle), fruit salad, hash browns

Shabbat: Challah, roast beast (we’ll see what’s on sale this week), “creamed” spinach, pasta, and another veggie for those odd ducks who don’t like spinach.

These are crazy good, easy to make “carmelized” onions.  Less than 5 minutes of work, all day in a crock-pot, and you have the yummiest onions imaginable.  They are a great base for French Onion Soup, or Onion Dip, and fit well in any recipe where you want onion flavor without the sharpness of raw onions.  I usually have a container of these stashed away in the freezer somewhere.

Ingredients:

4-6 big onions

2 Tbl butter or shmaltz*

Instructions:

Slice the onions.  Dump them into your crock pot.  Put the butter or shmaltz on top.  Make sure your pot is plugged in, and set it to low.  Walk away.  Ignore it.  Really.  Eight to twelve hours later, the onions are all brown and wonderful, your house smells great, and you can use or freeze the onions as you wish.

*This recipe used to call for an entire stick of butter.  I’ve cut it down to make it healthier, and honestly don’t notice a difference.

I fell off the wagon and missed 2 weeks of meal planning, but I’m picking right back up where I left off!  No whining here!

Sunday: Grilled steaks, salad fresh from the garden (letttuce and spinach from my garden, bought tomatoes), brown rice, tabhoulli

Monday: Whole wheat spaghetti with meatballs (actually leftovers)

Tuesday: Chicken curry with cauliflour, green beans, and whatever other veggies I have in the crisper, brown rice

Wednesday: Supposedly my night off, so either I’ll be at SnB or we’ll order in

Thursday: Brisket, mashed potatoes, garden salad (I’m going to modify the recipe slightly as I don’t use packaged onion soup mix, but you get the idea).

Shabbat: It’s my wonderful sister’s birthday this week and she asked for a Fiesta Party, so we’ll be making motzi over flour tortillas.  No need to bake challah this week!

2 medium zucchini

1 shallot

1 lemon

1 Tbl olive oil

Parmesan cheese (optional)

salt & pepper

Mince the shallot finely and place into a large bowl. Using a vegetable peeler or v-slicer, slice or peel the zucchini as thinly as possible.  Use the peeler or v-slicer again for the cheese.  In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, juice of the lemon, and the salt & pepper.  Pour over the zucchini, shallot, and cheese.  Toss to combine.  Cover and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.  If it lasts that long. 

Sunday: leftovers, beer, and cookies

Monday: Prime Rib, before it gets all freezer burned because we accidentally broke the wrapping today,Gr asparagus, and potatoes

Tuesday: Cheese blintzes for Shavuot, cherry and blueberry toppings, sour cream, salad, and cheesecake

Wednesday: SnB night, the family will have leftovers

Thursday: Grilled whitefish over rice with veggie skewers

Shabbat: Mom’s turn this week, all I’m responsible for is the challah

Mother’s Day: I don’t cook!  My sister is cooking for us, and she is making an amazing seafood boil!  Love ya M.

Monday: Leftover violated chicken from Shabbat, double baked potatoes, kale cooked with onions

Tuesday: Stuffed shells and salad

Wednesday: SnB night, so I don’t worry about dinner.

Thursday: Gumbo z’herbes, bread

Shabbat: not my week to cook, so I’ll just be making challah

Sunday: Hamburgers on the grill, homemade french fries, grilled romaine lettuce, pickled beets, pickles, and grilled pineapple with cinnamon.

Monday: Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, salad, pasta

Tuesday: four cheese ravioli with marinara sauce

Wednesday: Cinco de Mayo, so chicken enchiladas, homemade pico, guacamole, rice, black beans

Thursday: leftovers

Shabbat: homemade challah, wine, roast chicken, Aunt Syd’s potatoes (family recipe), asparagus, fruit pie

Saturday: up in the air right now, so I am not going to plan a meal that will just be postponed anyway

Lots of people have been asking me for my challah recipe recently.  I’ve tried countless recipes over the years, and honestly this is the easiest and tastiest one I’ve ever found.  My family likes it so much they have me make the challah every week.  Homemade is better than any store bought, from a grocery, bakery, or wherever.  My recipe is based on Recipezaar’s “The Best Bread Machine Challah”, which in turn is based on Susie Fishbein’s Kosher By Design – Picture-perfect food for the Holidays and every day.

My recipe calls for a bread machine, if you don’t have one (and I didn’t for the longest time), you can use your stand mixer with a dough hook.  If you don’t have one of those, you’ll have to knead by hand.  I’m assuming that you already know the basics of bread baking. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 5 extra-large egg yolks (yes, the extra large eggs make a difference!)
• 1 1/8 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 4 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or honey
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• sesame seeds or poppy seeds

Directions

Add the first 7 ingredients to your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or in the order given combine them in a large bowl.  If using a bread machine, set it to the “dough” cycle and walk away until it is done.  Otherwise, use your mixer’s dough hook and allow to rise once then punch down before moving on to the next step.  If kneading by hand, knead everything until well combined, allow to rise for 1 hour, then punch down and knead again.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide in half.  Set one portion aside.  Divide into 4 equal portions and roll them out into snakes.  On a Silpat
pad or parchment paper lined cookie sheet, braid the 4 snakes together.  Repeat with the second portion.  Cover with a dish towel and allow to rise for 35 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350F. Brush the risen loaves with beaten egg, and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.  Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Immediately remove loaves to a cooling rack.  Let them cool at least 20 minutes or you will burn your mouth!!!  (It’s difficult, I know).

Celebrate Shabbat!