Planning The Week
This week will be the American holiday of Independence Day (4th of July), and we are hosting a party for friends and family. The best way I have found to do this, is planning and trying to make some stuff ahead of time (and really lean on my pressure cookers). Here is a peak into our dinner plans for the week, including for the party. Life does happen, so changes might be made on the fly, but I will try to update throughout the week (via Facebook) so you can see how it goes.
Monday
Tex-Mex Inspired Black Beans and Rice (using dried beans). I’m going to cook the black beans in stock herbs/spices (dried oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder). Once beans are cooked, I’ll add canned green chiles, canned tomatoes, sliced black olives, frozen corn and rice. Once rice is cooked, I’ll stir in some fresh chopped cilantro. Each serving can add it’s own avocado, cheese or sour cream, if desired. Notice I didn’t use meat (although I will probably use some red chile flavored chicken stock, but vegetable stock would work with extra chili powder or with some dried red chiles would work), but remember that rice and beans make for great protein.
Tuesday
Thai style stir fried rice noodles. When I was I one of our local Asian food markets, I found some rice noodles in the refrigerated section. I had tried these before when my step-mother (from Thailand) had made them for me and I loved the texture of them. She had sauteed them in a combination of sauces, browned pork sausage and blanched broccoli, and I hope to make something similar to it. (Wish me luck!)
Day before party cooking: Make Fresh Herb Compound Butter, Cheesecakes (Citrus Cheesecake and Vanilla Bean Cheesecake), Potato Salad (I make Better Homes and Gardens classic version).
Wednesday (Independence Day party!)
About 2 hours before the guests arrive: I will cook the St. Louis style pork ribs (3 racks into my 12 quart GoWise pressure cooker), and beer bratwurst (7 pounds into my 8 quart Instant Pot pressure cooker). When they are done in the pressure cookers, they will go in the refrigerator until guest arrive and need to be fed. Pinto beans will be cooked up in the leftover cooking liquid from the pork ribs (2 pounds of dried beans will be cooked).
About 20 minutes before the guests arrive: I will put corn on the cob to cook (in my 8 quart Instant Pot), once done it will be finished with the Fresh Herb Compound Butter.
Thursday
I’ll be making a family favorite (and quick weeknight meal) of Red Curry Chicken. This time I planning to add in a little fried tofu (another Asian market find) and some canned sliced bamboo shoots in, along with the chicken and zucchini. Luckily, my Thai basil has been going crazy, so I will have no worries having fresh Thai basil for this dish!
Friday
I will try a new recipe, that I have never made before and post a picture of it on social media. It may be from another website or a magazine, although I would prefer to showcase another home cook’s recipe. Trying a new recipe is a great way for me to try new flavor combinations, techniques or something that I had forgot about. My husband and I also encourage our kiddos to try new foods, and we lead by example.
Feel free to submit to me your recipes to try by emailing me at Kayla@KaylasFoodObsession.com along with any information I can use to properly give credit to you (such as website address or social media page). You can also find me on Facebook or Instagram, if you would like to direct/private message me there.
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For all my recipes, check out Complete List of KFO Recipes