Dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner...
Crispy pork lettuce cups (aka lettuce tacos), anything tlayudas are back (this time with chorizo), the world's easiest baked pasta, a springy salad, and a GIVEAWAY!
Some weeks feel like that, right? Dinner, dinner, dinner, and guess what? Dinner again. This week I had the incredible pleasure of cooking for people I love so much, my girlfriends from college, and their beautiful daughters. We made crispy pork lettuce cups (aka lettuce tacos), and a farmer’s market inspired salad (are there any words more annoying than that? Anyway, it had asparagus and crispy chickpeas and fresh greens and was delicious). Aside from those lettuce tacos and picking up bagels, I wasn’t that organized this week. I think it’s the time of year and how much gets crowded in and how many plans go out the window or bend around with time stretched by more warmth and daylight, and again many of my dinners happened on the fly with whatever was around. More on this below…
AND! before we get to the recipes, a little give away:
I love writing this newsletter—I love to cook, I love to write. That said, I also love talking to people and you may or may not know that I also do food coaching—helping people to eat the way they want to eat. This means different things to different people—feeling more like yourself as you approach menopause or after you have a baby, navigating a diagnosis that comes with a new dietary restriction for you or your family, figuring out how to make one dinner instead of being a short order cook. With clients, I get feedback all the time. With this newsletter, I hear from some of you, but I’d love to know how I can make it better, which parts are the most useful, etc. So, to that end, leave a comment and tell me if you’ve made something from It’s Your Kitchen and how it turned out, or let me know something you would love to see more of (more vegetarian recipes, ideas for how to use up a CSA, a tour of my fridge and pantry, a grilling primer, you name it). I’ll pick a commenter at random and that person will get to choose if they want a free one-on-one coaching session after which I’ll send them deliverables that make sense (most likely recipes and shopping list tailored to them, but could be something else) OR I can do a one-on-one cooking class (in person or via zoom) for a recipe or two that you want to make together.
Quick: Crispy Pork Lettuce Cups (aka Lettuce Tacos)
I posted this recipe back in the first week of this newsletter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this dinner. It’s my middle daughter’s favorite meal. It’s great for a crowd—bright and colorful, a lot of the prep can be done in advance, it encourages people to eat with their hands (fun and informal), and it can accommodate any dietary restriction. It’s already gluten free (just use GF soy sauce or tamari), and for the pork you can sub ground beef, turkey, crumbled tofu, chopped mushrooms, or cauliflower. They all work and are very delicious.
Sheet Pan: Asparagus and Chickpea Salad
As I said, I was hanging with my college friends this weekend and we made it to the farmer’s market on Saturday. While I love a farmer’s market, I’m not organized enough to plan my weekends around going, so it always feels a little special. It’s still early days where we were in the Berkshires, so we mostly picked up plants for the garden and a loaf of chocolate chunk bread to bribe our eight-year-olds to hike. We did get a bunch of mint and some very springy asparagus. Once back at the house I threw together this salad for lunch that really hit all the right notes—bright and crunchy, salty and satisfying. I always, always love the combination of cooked and raw vegetables in a salad, and bonus points for crispy chickpeas and briny ricotta salata. The sherry vinegar vinaigrette is almost always in my fridge and should be your go-to salad dressing, too.
Make Ahead: The Worlds Laziest Pasta Bake
I don’t know why, but the other day, I really had a craving for a baked pasta. I’ve given you the recipe for sheet pan lasagne twice and this is like the lazier version of that. It’s like baked ziti, but make it sheet pan, and it has an endless expanse of crispy pasta edges and golden cheese, and much less of the gloppy, wan, pasta underneath. I don’t usually have lasagne noodles around, but I do always have some kind of short pasta in the pantry. I happened to have a few meatballs that could be used up, so I threw those in, but you could always add cooked sausage, or any variety of veggies—mushroom, spinach, cauliflower, they would all be good. This was honestly so easy and satisfying it might even be replacing that sheet pan lasagne that I loved so much.
Wild Card: Anything Topping Tlayudas
They’re back again. Have you tried them? Can you tell that I love them? On Sunday night after being away all weekend I walked into the house at 5:30pm and began to figure out what to make for dinner. We didn’t feel like take out, the kids didn’t want to go out, and no one felt like pasta (our default when we need dinner quickly). After some poking around the fridge, freezer, and pantry, we landed on these. Corn and wheat tortillas from Trader Joes went on the baking sheet, I pulled some black beans from the freezer, and some shredded cheese from the fridge (see the pasta bake above). We had a few slices of bacon left in the package and about eight inches of chorizo. I cut both into small pieces and crisped them up together. A couple of ripe avocados got a squeeze of lime juice and the last few sprigs of cilantro to make guacamole, and that was it. Were there a lot of vegetables? No. If I had had cabbage I would have probably made a quick slaw, or some fresh tomatoes would have been great. But you know what? It worked. I encourage you to make extra beans the next time you make a batch and stick them in the freezer. This is such an easy, fast, flexible meal to fall back on—let it be there when you need it.
Did you read about the giveaway above? Please consider leaving a comment or giving that ❤️ a tap if you found this post helpful. Thank you so much for being here and cooking with me!
I found you from your comment on Anne Helen Petersen’s substack and thought I’d give you a follow. :) The dishes in this post look intriguing - I will give them a try! I suppose my biggest issue right now (as a working mom with 3 young kids) is how to prep or make food in a way that doesn’t feel like I’m always racing the clock (right before dinner) or adding an extra massive chore to my already full schedule. (For example, taking Sunday afternoon to prep the full week seems simultaneously brilliant and completely outlandish - a multi hour block of time is such a luxury!) It feels specifically tricky with vegetables which take so much chopping/prep. I feel like the real answer here is just, “Make the time and do the work consistently.” But if you have thoughts or tips, I would love them!