stephmodo: Simple Recipes + Meyer Lemon Roast Chicken w/ Herbes de Provence}

Simple Recipes + Meyer Lemon Roast Chicken w/ Herbes de Provence}

• 23 February 2012

It's about that time again...the fridge is empty and we are officially tired of our leftovers!  Time to start cooking again and plan this week's menu.  Life is particularly busy right now, which means I'm looking for simple recipes (i.e. hands on time of 30 minutes or less).  I know many of you are in the same boat and sometimes when life is hectic we don't want to sit down and plan meals, even though we know it will make for a smooth, more delicious week.  But 20 minutes is all it takes.  Promise.  Just think of how great it will be to avoid the 5-o-clock-what-the-heck-am-I-going-to-make scenario..:) 

1.  Roast Chicken with Meyer Lemons + Herbes de Provence - must enjoy those Meyers before they are out of my life until next season.  Your kitchen will smell soooo good!

2.  Danni's Marinara Sauce, Pasta + Roasted Vegetables - paired with a good ciabatta and a simple salad (just lettuce and a Dijon vinaigrette--like they do in France) makes for a simple, weeknight vegetarian dinner.  I'm excited to try this new recipe for marinara sauce--it looks really good if you're judging on ingredients alone.

3.  Salade Niçoise - my kids especially love the hard boiled eggs and roasted potatoes, so I make a little extra of both in order to make sure everyone is full (something I worry about when serving salad for dinner, even if it is hearty).  The imported tuna is key and worth the splurge.

4.  Rigatoni with Broccoli + Sausage (from the latest Everyday Food, and is therefore not on the website just yet) - I've had a little tin of anchovy fillets in my pantry for awhile and they are calling my name.  I actually love anchovies, despite their bad reputation.  In general they are terrific in pasta dishes and this recipe looks really, really good.  I hope they load it onto their site pronto.

5.  Deb's Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin Crema - my friend Robin sent me the link to this soup recipe and since I trust her taste 100%, I am confident it's going to be as good as it sounds.  Plus, I have creme fraiche on hand that I need to use up, and since meal planning is all about using what I've got on hand already (to save $ and time), voila.  I'll likely serve the soup with buttermilk cheese muffins (recipe coming soon...) and fresh avocado chunks b/c 1. I think it will taste awesome with the beans and cumin and 2. Baby Gray doesn't do soup, but he does do fresh avocado.  Watching him eat an entire avocado for lunch is pure entertainment. 

6. and 7.  We typically do "brupper" one night (this is my latest favorite) and cheap Vietnamese takeout for the other (Time4Pho for Seattle locals).  Believe it or not, our family of 6 can eat a healthy meal there for about $20.  It's such a find!

Any good recipes on the docket in your home this week?  I'm always on the lookout for ways to branch out...it's so easy to just make the same old thing every week!

images by Stephanie Brubaker / stephmodo

14 comments:

  1. I'm excited to try the soup!

    One of our almost-weekly meals is Turkish Breakfast. It's so so so easy. Slice up a baguette or other bread and pile it high on a plate. Slice up a few different kinds of cheeses (we keep it pretty simple with sharp cheddar and havarti), pile it on a plate. Slice up cucumbers and roma tomatoes, pile it on a plate. Buy some nice olives, pile them on a plate. We also buy some grape juice to go along with it. That's it! Just enjoy the simple food however you want to. My favorite combo is bread, cucumber, havarti. It's such a simple, fresh meal and it's always so satisfying! Even when we've had it once a week for a while. Plus it works nicely with our baby who's very much into plain foods right now.

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  2. I always love your menu posts and find great inspiration. The link to the Salade Nicoise actually takes me to the roast chicken - can you update, because I'd love to try it!

    I saw that rigatoni recipe in the latest Everyday Food and bookmarked it as well. Looking forward to trying it.

    And I actually just used up the last of my Meyers in a roast chicken last week! Great minds...

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  3. Yep, Deb's black bean soup is to die for. I'm feeling guilty that I didn't pass it on since we've been enjoying that recipe since she posted it - it's a keeper for sure.

    I always love when you post your menus and refer to them often. Thanks for the constant inspiration dear friend. xoxo

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  4. Rik, I like the sound of that dinner. I buy havarti all the time...use it for my kids lunches with turkey :) Yum. Thanks for sharing your idea!

    Mary, I fixed the link...sorry about that! And thank you for bringing to my attention.

    Rebecca, I had no idea. Now I'm really excited to try it!

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  5. yummy! delicious ideas. the chicken looks amazing. thanks! xo

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  6. Hi! I love when you post about food! What brand of Herbs de Prov do you use? It took me forever to find a brand of italian herb mix that I liked, I spent lots of money on different jars of spice and ruined many meals because the balance of flavors was off. Would love to know what you prefer!! Thanks so much-Nancy

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  7. We made Heidi Swanson's broccoli crunch on Thursday night then served it up with giant slices of homemade rye bread (also her recipe), slathered in goat cheese and drizzled with honey. Both me and my sweet fiance loved it.

    http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/broccoli-crunch-recipe.html

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  8. When I say Thursday I actually meant Tuesday. Either way it was DE-Lish!

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  9. I credit your blog with my introduction to Meyer's Lemons...now I can't image winter with out them. I recently worked them into my sugar cookie recipe with a cream cheese/lemon frosting, oh my, they were so good.

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  10. Several of these will be making an appearance on our table soon!

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  11. Anon, I hear you on the spice search. I've found that good, dried spices make a huge difference in flavor and I've tried to seek out the best I can find. However, I regret to inform you that the best spices I've ever encountered were at a country market in France, near our home. I have a few here still, but sadly they haven't set up shop at the market for over a year now and I'm wondering if I'll ever see them again. So now I'm on the search for something comparable. If I do find something, I"ll post about it okay? In the meantime, I'm using some herbes de provence from France my in-laws sent over. I have a bunch, more than I need, so if you want some I'm happy to mail it to you! Just email me your address...and your name :)

    Miranda, that dish sounds amazing...as does your homemade rye bread!! Can I come over for dinner?! Thanks for the link.

    Erin, I'm so happy you love Meyers now! It's so great to know I've been a little part of that somehow. I too added Meyers to my sugar cookie recipe and loved the results. Your frosting sounds like a great addition though...do you share your recipes? If so, I'd love to peek at yours :)

    Bree, I'm glad to hear that! We can compare notes :)

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  12. GAH I LOVE a good lemon roasted chicken. The Zuni Cafe cookbook is another killer recipe that has never failed me!

    XO - Hilary

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  13. Hilary, thanks for the tip on Zuni...I'll have to check that cookbook out the next time I'm at the library!

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  14. I love your . Your readers might enjoy some personal favorites of mine on my blog http://SimpleEasyRecipes.org

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Thanks so much for taking the time to drop a line. I really appreciate it!

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