I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I really love cooking.  But for the most part when I say I love cooking I really mean that I love the kind of cooking that involves lazily spending the whole day in the kitchen whipping up delectable homemade feasts.  I’m really not all that fond of racing around trying to get dinner on the table after Pilates at seven on a random Tuesday night (like tonight for instance…).  I’ve been really trying harder to have more quick and simple meals in my arsenal, especially now that we’re trying to rein in our takeout budget.

Here are last week’s meals.  I actually expected them to look healthier than they do all laid out together but what are you going to do? 

Burgers and roasted purple potatoes (made into lightened up crispy baked fries per this awesome technique from Oh She Glows). 

Yes I probably eat burgers absurdly often.  But when you use lean beef and low fat cheese and skip the bun (which I usually do during the week) it can actually be a really satisfying, reasonably low points option.  They also might be my favorite food and Eric never gets sick of them.  I serve them with any roasted root usually (yams, parsnips, celery root, butternut squash…) but really enjoyed the bright purple potatoes.  I figure something healthy has to be turning them that color, right?  Ok I just googled it and it’s carotenoids and flavonoids that make them that color.  Too early to read any farther to find out exactly what those things are, but I’m calling them healthy! 

Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Mac&Cheese

This is one of my favorite low points Trader Joe’s finds.  I happen to LOVE the original Trader Joe’s Man & Cheese but it’s a whopping 15 points.  This one is only 7 Points and it’s pretty tasty.  I wussed out on cooking that night and dinner was this topped with a whole bunch of sriracha.  I think Eric ate leftover ravioli. 

Salmon croquettes with kale. 

I promise I won’t tell you about Salmon Croquettes again (here’s the recipe if you’re curious).  They’re just so easy, tasty and cheap (whoops I just told you about them).  These were served with a big bunch of dinosaur kale with chili flake, onion flake and sesame seed cooked in olive oil drizzled with sesame oil.  Yum. 

Slow cooked marinated lamb cubes with couscous.   

I’ve been really liking having more slow cooker meals that get thrown in the crockpot in the morning and are done by the time I get home.  I had been eying the marinated lamb cubes in the butcher counter at Shopper’s Corner and finally brought them home.  They are marinated in plenty of garlic, olive oil, some vinegar and herbs.  I literally did nothing to them except toss them into my sprayed crockpot in the morning.

When I came home they were tender and shreddy and I served them over toasted pine nut couscous (in a box, it’s the Near East brand that’s my absolute favorite).  I tossed a pinch of salt in after tasting.  I would have liked a little heat or something in these but Eric absolutely loved this meal.

Ideally this would have been served with a veggie, or at least some avocado slices, but hey, I’m only one woman.  

Friday night’s dinner didn’t go as planned and I ended up having wine and a million pita chips and half a tub of hummus for dinner.  Since that doesn’t photograph all that well we’ll close with a photo of Saturday’s dinner which I already discussed.

Pan Fried Snapper and Kale with Bacon and Celery Root. 

Yum.

What’s for dinner in your neck of the woods this week?