Dinner Time: Bacon Potato Chowder and Butternut Squash Risotto

I've always considered myself a "planner." During the first year that Greg and I were dating, he lived in St. Louis and then moved to Columbia, Mo. He would come to Kansas City every weekend, and he claimed that I had his weekends planned out for him the Tuesday prior. This was true. I had to make sure that my plans revolved around seeing him and my girlfriends. This is also when we used to go out every weekend. My how times have changed.

Now, my planning revolves around what to prepare for dinner each night. I used to just have a meal plan for the week in my head. But most nights that quickly turned into the following conversation.

Me: What do you feel like for dinner?
Greg: What do we have?
Me: We could do chicken kabobs or turkey tacos.
Greg: I don't care. You choose.
Me: No, you choose.
Greg: How about shrimp pasta?
Me: Sure, but we don't have any shrimp. I'll have to stop at the grocery store on the way home from work.
(by the way, I detest having to make extra trips to the grocery store during the week.)

Now I use an amazing weekly meal planner that has a section for grocery items on the right side and the days of the week on the left. I simply fill this out Saturday night or Sunday morning before I make my weekly trip to Trader Joes and/or Hen House, and I'm good to go for the week. We pretty much stick to the plan. If it is written down, that is what we are having for dinner that night.

My weekly meal planner has also assisted with my goal to try new recipes and widen our meal variety. I attempt at least one new recipe a week. This was a good week and I made two new meals, both of which were extremely tasty and easy to prepare. I will definitely make them again. Try them for yourselves!

Monday Night: Slow Cooker Bacon Potato Chowder (from Campbell's Soup's website)

Ingredients:

    4 slices bacon*, cooked and crumbled (*I used turkey bacon because that is what I had on hand.)

    1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

    4 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Potato Soup

    4 soup cans of milk

    1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

    2 large potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

    1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

    2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)

Directions: 

1. Stir the bacon, onion, soup, milk, black pepper, potatoes and 1/4 cup chives in a 6-quart slow cooker. (NOTE: I did all of the prep work the night before and just dumped everything into my slow cooker right before I left for work.)
2. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours* or until the potatoes are tender. (*I set my slow cooker to LOW for 9 hours and then left for work. It turned out great!)
3. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with the remaining chives.

 Tuesday Night: Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash (from Real Simple magazine)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups
(NOTE: Trader Joe's has pre-cut butternut squash right now. This is what I did, so easy)
1 onion, finely chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup pearl barley* (*I couldn't find pearl barley, or any barley for that matter, at Trader Joe's. So I just substituted Arborio rice and it worked.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
5 ounces baby spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces), plus more for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large oven-safe saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the squash, onion, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Add the barley (or Arborio rice) to the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a boil; cover the pot and transfer it to oven. Bake until the barley is tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
3. Stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and butter. Serve with additional Parmesan. (NOTE: I made this dish on Monday and then immediately put it in the fridgerator. I reheated it for Tuesday night and it still was awesome.)