This week’s menu caused a stir! I heard from quite a few of you about that Peruvian chicken and its magical green sauce—both people who’d enjoyed it in restaurants and couldn’t wait to cook it themselves, and folks who were intrigued by this marvel they’d never heard of before.
You really are going to love it.
It’s so good, we need GIFs of Liz, Rowan, and Ron. (I love how similar Rowan and Ron are…)
You can’t wait any more? Me neither. Let’s go.
Sunday
You’ve got one must-do and several optional preps. The must-do: That chicken. It needs marinating, baby. Double the recipe and get both birds bathing before you go to bed tonight.
The optionals:
Make a double-batch of the aji verde. If you’re nervous about the heat level and your kids, scale back on the jalapeños. And if you’ve got an infant or toddler—someone you hold in your arms a lot—be verrry careful when handling the chiles. Wear gloves or wash thoroughly with soap and water.
Cook a double-batch of quinoa, following package directions.
Cook the lentils. If you’re using them for Thursday’s quinoa bowls and Friday’s sloppy Joes, cook the entire pound in a large pot of simmering water, seasoned with some smashed garlic cloves and a chunked-up carrot if you feel like it, for 20-25 minutes, until tender. Drain and season with salt. If you’re only using them for the quinoa bowls, measure out 1 cup and cook in a large saucepan instead.
Refrigerate everything.
Vegetarians: Move the frozen lima beans to thaw in the fridge overnight.
Monday
Peruvian Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa
It’s time to roast! Follow the recipe instructions, using a large roasting pan (or a large rimmed sheet pan) to cook both chickens at once. Once the chickens are in the oven, get the vegetables ready for roasting: Trim the green beans and cut six large or eight medium carrots into one-inch pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. If you didn’t make the aji verde on Sunday, do it now. As soon as the chicken comes out, tent it loosely with foil and pop the vegetables into the oven for 15-20 minutes, until tender and browned. While that’s going, either cook all or reheat half the quinoa. Carve the chicken and serve with roasted vegetables, quinoa, and aji verde. After dinner, remove the meat from the second chicken (toss the skin, but save the bones for chicken broth) and refrigerate it, the extra roasted vegetables, any extra quinoa, and the remaining sauce.
Vegetarians: Add the defrosted lima beans to the green beans and carrots for roasting.
Tuesday
Quick Vegetable Tortellini Soup with a Tossed Salad and Crusty Bread
The soup is so simple you don’t need me to tell you what to do. For the salad, use the rest of the baby spinach, one cucumber, a scallion or two, and half the grape tomatoes, with olive oil and your choice of vinegar.
Wednesday
Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Hash with a Fried Egg on Top
Epicurious’s how-to shows you everything you need to know about transforming the leftover chicken and roasted vegetables into a killer hash. (I won’t tell if you drizzle some aji verde on top—you should have enough for tomorrow, too.)
Vegetarians: Drain the tofu and press it dry between layers of paper towels. Cut it into cubes roughly the same size as the potato, and brown it in the pan before you cook the taters.
Thursday
Quinoa Bowls with Lentils, Cheese, and Aji Verde
If you didn’t pre-cook your lentils on Sunday, get hopping using the directions above. Chop the other cucumber, the rest of the grape tomatoes, scallions, and the avocado. Put everything from the quinoa and queso fresco on down into separate bowls, and let everyone assemble their own mixture.
Friday
Sloppy Joes with Dill Pickles, Carrot Sticks, and Potato Chips
Close out the week with a kid-friendly, deliciously messy sammich. This takes 35-40 minutes from start to finish. Here’s the recipe:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar OR red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar OR maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger buns, toasted
Note: You can chop all the vegetables together in the food processor. Before you put them in cut them roughly, so that the pieces are about the same size.
Heat the oil in your largest nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the onion, garlic, and red pepper, and cook until the vegetables soften a bit, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the ground meat, raise heat to medium-high, and cook, breaking up the meat with the back of a spoon, until it’s no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in everything else except the buns, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Serve on hamburger buns.
Vegetarians: Use the remaining lentils in place of the beef, but add it at the same time as the sauce ingredients.
Watch your in-box on Thursday for the new menu and shopping list. And hit me up with feedback or suggestions by responding to this email.
Have a great week,
Debbie