Today was a pretty good day in the realm of food reform — the FDA began two days of hearings to investigate the possible link between artificial food dyes and behavioral problems in children, such as ADHD. While the UK and the European Union have already outlawed the dyes (along with a host of other additives we still allow into the American food supply, in abundance), the official stance of the FDA has always been that there’s no conclusive proof that artifical dyes in food causes any sort of harm to consumers. The fact that they are finally willing to re-examine that opinion is good news for eaters all over the nation, for sure.
However, in the midst of my inner celebration about this particular turn of events, a co-worker of mine today mentioned something that I can only refer to as a certain Sign of the Apocalypse: His sister’s brand-new oven has something called a “Chicken Nugget” setting. That’s right — next to bake and broil is “chicken nugget,” much the same way you might see a “popcorn” setting on a microwave. Disturbingly, a quick Google search implies to me that any such range may also have a “pizza” setting. My response: “How about something useful to a daunted home cook — like a ‘perfect roast chicken’ setting or a ‘lovely braised dinner’ setting?” Of course, I couldn’t help but snort as I offered those suggestions. I’m optimistic about the state of food and cooking in the U.S., but I’m not naive.
Sigh. At least it’s meal plan day! That always makes me feel better. Here are all the things I’ll be making in my (chicken-nugget-settting-free) oven this month.
Friday, 4/1: Fend night (yeah, I know. I hate when months start on Fridays, too.)
Saturday, 4/2: Whole-wheat pasta with pancetta and peas, salad, crusty bread
Sunday, 4/3: Orange braised chicken, salad of wild rice and roasted vegetables
Monday, 4/4: Salmon blts, fruit platter, veggie chips
Tuesday, 4/5: Slow cooker — veggie pot pie with cheesy puff pastry crusts
Wednesday, 4/6: Pork with red peppers and sweet potato gnocchi, greens
Thursday, 4/7: I’ve got a rehearsal, so I’ll leave a chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole for the guys with some fruit
Friday, 4/8: Dress rehearsal. Good thing it’s fend night!
Saturday, 4/9: Performance evening — slow cooker meatball subs for the whole family before I head out the door.
Sunday, 4/10: Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner (to restore my sanity!)
Monday, 4/11: Whole wheat pasta with beets and goat cheese, green salad, crusty bread
Tuesday, 4/12: Slow cooker — Midwest chicken-lentil soup, cornbread
Wednesday, 4/13: Panini, fruit platter, and antipasto salad
Thursday, 4/14: Turkey tacos
Friday, 4/15: Fend night
Saturday, 4/16: Fish supper
Sunday, 4/17: Ham and cheese stuffed shells, roasted vegetables, bread
Monday, 4/18: DIY wraps and salads, fresh fruit
Tuesday, 4/19: Slow cooker — French dip sandwiches, veggies
Wednesday, 4/20: Shrimp oreganato over whole wheat pasta, roasted broccoli
Thursday, 4/21: Frittata, sweet potato fries, fruit
Friday, 4/22: Fend night
Saturday, 4/23: Vegetarian chili-mac casserole, salad
Sunday, 4/24: Easter Sunday! I’m still deciding on what we’re doing and what we’ll eat — more to come on that later this month.
Monday, 4/25: Calzones and sauteed greens
Tuesday, 4/26: Slow cooker –West Indies chicken, rice, fruit
Wednesday, 4/27: Spinach and mushroom quesadillas, salsa, corn and rice
Thursday, 4/28: Breakfast for dinner
Friday, 4/29: Fend night
Saturday, 4/30: Linguine with clams, salad, garlic bread
As always, feel free to ask questions or leave comments if you’re interested in one of the recipes. Have a great month!
Red, Round, or Green 
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Great post! I’ve been slacking on reading all of them, hopefully I’ll be able to go back and catch up.
Any chance of getting your West Indies recipe? It peaks my interest every time I see it!
Oops, sorry — didn’t see this question initially when you first posted it. 🙂 I’ll give the West Indies recipe soon! It’s a remake of something that contained some questionable stuff in its original form…more to come on that later!
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I second that, except with more exclamation points and my eyes bugging out of my head!!! Are we now so lazy that even if we stoop to making these horrendous chicken nuggets, that we can’t be bothered to read the box? Good grief is right!
I just keep trying to picture the product development process for something like that. Who was their focus group? Who was their test-market research audience? Yikes.
chicken nugget setting? Good grief!
My thoughts exactly!
Excellent post thanks for sharing. I love food and sharing recipes. I really enjoy reading your blog. Feel free to stop by sometime and check out our recipes at Recipe Chefs
I give you so much credit for planning the entire month. we are working on one week at a time but im sure with kids it takes a lot more. i’d LOVE the cheesy puff pastry recipe….my newest love of homemade pop pie could really use a homemade crust 🙂
🙂 I have to admit, the cheesy puff pastry crust is one of the few places where I take a shortcut. I figured out a long time ago that homemade puff pastry is WAAAAAYYYY more trouble than it’s worth — and when I found out that Jamie Oliver doesn’t make his own puff pastry either, I felt a whole lot better! I borrowed this idea from him, actually. You just use one sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed, obviously) and roll it out to about one to one and a half inches larger all the way around than your pot pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg, then put the crust over the top and seal the edges. Brush the pastry all over with egg wash, sprinkle liberally with grated sharp cheddar or Parmesan cheese (we really like the cheddar), and poke a couple of little holes in the pastry top before you bake. It usually takes about 20-25 minutes at whatever the temperature on the package says to get the crust nice and browned and cooked through.