Last Week In Dinners! Edition #1

O.K., so last week was a crazy week, back to reality after a nice, relaxing vacation. This week was crazy, with sports practices. On Monday, I had soccer and my brother had baseball. We were going to have an arugula steakhouse salad but we ended up just having pasta. The arugula steakhouse salad was from Parade Magazine. Since pasta is nothing special, the recipe is not included. 

Tuesday, I had a good recipe called Baked Panko Shrimp With Oregano And Garlic with Steamed Rice And Peas. On Tuesday, we only were supposed to have one sports practice (!) but because of the rain was canceled. But, because my Mom had 4 tutors, it was still a little crazy. The recipe was from a site called The Six O'Clock Scramble. You have to be a member in order to go on the site though. This is a good website for weeknight dinners as it gives you 5 recipes, and  a shopping list. We do not use all of the recipes every week. This week, we had for dinner 2 of this recipes (the other was on Wednesday). My aunt suggested this recipe, for us and she says that her kids love this. I agree with her, as this recipe is easy and delicious at the same time! The recipe is at the bottom of the post.


Wednesday, we had another Six O'Clock Scramble recipe. This was called Beef And Broccoli Terriaki. My family had had it a while back and we loved it. So, we decided to have it again this week. This time was better than last time because the beef was not too hard to bite.  We had two practices and my mom was tutoring 4 kids so, it was a really crazy day. I made the terriaki before I went to my practice, then when I came home I ate it. The recipe was super good and I am definitely going to share it with you.

Thursday we had 1 sports practice and we had a really good really yummy soup from Dinner A Love Story. It was called Chicken Soup With Orzo.  I was going to make homemade broth but I did not end up doing it. The soup was delicious. When I get home from school, it is usually around 3:30. This recipe takes 1 hr, 30 mins. So, if I started it when I get home I could finish it around 5:00, which is in between my hours of dinner which are 5:00-6:30. This is also a good recipe to make in advance, and is easy to freeze. One suggestion I would make is freeze the soup in single-serving batches and then defrost them as needed. That way you do not have to defrost the whole batch of soup, if you just want to have a little soup for lunch. Recipe is to follow.

Friday, we had take-out from a pizza place.

Saturday, we had take-out from a Chinese food place.



Baked Panko Shrimp  With Oregano And Garlic (Six O'Clock Scramble)
Prep + Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lemon, juice only

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tbsp. salt-free Italian seasoning

3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking brown or regular white rice

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 tsp. salt 

1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce 

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking brown or regular white rice

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (and preheat the broiler if it is separate from the oven). In an 8 x 8-inch baking dish, toss the shrimp with the lemon juice, and arrange the shrimp evenly over the bottom of the dish. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the butter and stir gently to combine. Spread the mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake it for 15 – 20 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through. (Meanwhile, prepare the rice and peas, if you are serving them.) Transfer the dish to the broiler for 1 – 2 minutes until the topping turns golden brown (be careful not to let it scorch!). Serve it immediately.

2. Cook the rice according to the package directions.  Mix the frozen peas and a few shakes of salt or soy sauce into the rice while it is still hot, stir and cover it for 1 - 2 minutes so the peas thaw.

Beef and Broccoli Terriaki (Six O'Clock Scramble)

Prep + Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 cups white or quick-cooking brown rice

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 lb. boneless beef steak

1 lb. broccoli, trimmed and cut into spears

2 carrots

3/4 cup reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce

4 scallions, sliced 

1. Prepare the rice according to the package directions.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Sear (cook without moving) the sliced steak for about 1 minute on each side.  Add the broccoli, carrots and teriyaki sauce to the skillet and toss to coat the meat and vegetables.  Reduce the heat slightly and cover the pan to steam the vegetables for 3-5 minutes.  Remove the cover and stir in the scallions until warmed through.

3. Serve the beef and vegetables over the rice, spooning the sauce over everything.

Chicken Soup With Orzo (Dinner:A Love Story)

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1 large onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

1/2 cup white wine

6 cups chicken stock, plus more as needed

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

Parmesan cheese rind

1 1/2 cups orzo

1/4 cups fresh parsley

Parmesan cheese

1. In a large stockpot over medium-low heat, saute the onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper in the oil for 10-12 minutes. 

2. Add the wine and turn the heat up to high; until the liquid has completely reduced. Add stock and bring to a boil. 

3. Add the chicken and Parmesan rind and bring the soup to a boil. Add more stock, if necessary, to make sure the chicken is fully immersed. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. After the chicken has thoroughly cooked through, using two forks, shred the cubes of chicken while it's in the pot. Just before serving, bring the soup back up to a boil and season with salt. Add the orzo and cook for another 7 minutes, until it is al dente. If the soup gets to thick from the pasta starch, add up to 2 more cups of stock until it reaches the desired consistency. Remove the rind and serve with parsley, pepper, oil, Parmesan cheese, and big hunks of crusty bread or Ritz crackers.