This week my husband is travelling but my mom is coming into town to help (yay grandma!!!) and child #2 starts a new Middle School.
I know grandma will cook some of her go to Cuban recipes so I included them below.
You do not need to buy any specialized kitchenware for these recipes but due to popular request will start adding some of my go to basic kitchen utensils I will use this week here for those interested (scroll down to the end)
As A reminder, beyond making weekdays easier, the idea is that the more we eat and cook at home the lower are exposure level too many harmful, environmental toxins, particularly hormone disrupting phthalates and PFAS chemicals!
…and with that here is this week’s dinner menu ( School lunch will return next week!)
Monday: steak bowl
my oldest son adores steak and requests it at least once a week. I used to be vegetarian years ago, but now my body craves steak too- basically, we all love it. I usually buy it at a local butcher shop which has the best quality meat I have found. However, I recently placed an order for me from a regenerative farm so if I like it, we'll share more once I receive them.!
Tuesday: Skillet Balsamic Chicken With California Figs
This is a super easy one pot recipe which is great to make now since fresh figs are in season..... I will probably serve with quinoa on the side and place some cauliflower in the air fryer (linking my PFAS free air fryer I love below, we have the smaller model but if I had to buy it over again I would get the larger one since you can cook more veggies in the larger one!)
Wednesday: cuban picadillo
This is a recipe I grew up with and maybe one of the first dinner recipes I learned how to cook… it is a go to because of how easy and quickly it comes together. In Cuban cuisine it is served with white rice but also with mashed potatoes or inside empanadas! This week this will be my rice dish ( I am trying to limit rice to 1-2 times a week because of arsenic content) and I will serve with a simple avocado and lettuce and cucumber salad
Thursday: Curried Red Lentils with Coconut Milk
another family fav that I make probably once a month. You can serve this on its own, with some naan (for those who are not gluten free) or even some rice. Since heirloom tomatoes are so great right now I will serve this with a simple tomato salad (thinly cut tomatoes and thinly cut onions and some olive oil, salt and a dash of balsamic vinegar- but my kids wont eat the onions!)
Friday: pasta night
I like to keep it simple on Fridays; pasta is perfect for Fridays because if a friend end up Staying over for dinner it's easy to make a little bit more last minute! I always keep pesto on hand, and I recently purchased pistachio pesto and absolutely loved it. It has a little sweet taste to it.
Shop Essentials for the Week
Cast iron pans
We have the No 10: https://tidd.ly/45BhLfV
We have the No 11 deep skillet with lid: https://smithey-ironware.pxf.io/LK3QrM