Random Monday-night dinner win!
I was quite proud of the little dinner I whipped up on a recent random Monday night. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to cook dinner for just two. But the fact that we love to eat and my husband is always appreciative of whatever I cook up, definitely helps!
We’ve been empty nesters for a number of years and we typically sit at the dining table, but this summer we’ve been known to belly-up to the bar more often. My favorite evenings are when we grab our plates and sit outside at the bistro set with my lobster tablecloth and a vase of wildflowers and a glass of wine.
So last Monday late afternoon, I looked around the kitchen at what ingredients I could use to whip up dinner. Then I remembered the stack of cookbooks sitting on my counter (that I need to return to the library soon) and went there for inspiration as well.
Because I pretty much always have the ingredients for this chicken on hand and needed to use my limes, I decided on these tasty Honey Lime Chicken Skewers. Ideally, I would have marinated them longer, but 30 minutes was fine.
Tuesday is my pick-up day at the local farm stand, so my produce supply had whittled down. My week-old white and orange carrots from the farmer’s market became rock stars in this simple and pretty spiralized carrot salad from Salad for President. I figured the candied cumin seeds would go nicely with the cilantro and lime flavors from my chicken. Plus, I love the alliterative name: Curly Carrots with Candied Cumin. Don’t skip the orange zest. Ah I just love the way this looks, and it dresses up boring old carrots quite nicely!
Then I needed something green and decided tonight was the night to make Gem Lettuces, Avocado and Tomatillo with Buttermilk Dressing from Saladish. I confess that I had specifically gone to the store the day before and sought out these tiny little lettuces. The recipe says you can also use butter lettuce, but these gems were too cute not to buy. Even the young man checking my groceries commented on the cuteness! Salty roasted pepitas and tomatillos fit in with my little theme that was quickly taking form. Make sure your avocado is firm so it doesn’t mush up in the salad. The buttermilk (with smashed garlic) dressing was the most time consuming, but well worth it. I just drizzled it sparingly over the salad, followed by a drizzle of store-bought tomatillo salsa. Makes me smack my lips.
The colors made for a beautiful and fresh dinner that was ready in no time! A bottle of Topo Chico (because I’m obsessed since going to Cabo pre-Covid ) topped off a lovely Monday evening on the patio.
