Real Life Dinners

As promised, here is our lineup of dinners this week!  Usually I am choosing newer recipes from my December magazine issues--something festive for the holiday, but I'm running behind this year, so I just chose from what I had in my recipe binder.  

Breakfasts: Smoothies made with frozen bananas + Aldi's organic baby spinach + whatever frozen fruit is in stock/on sale this week.

Lunches: My daughter is on a chicken salad kick, so I'll be picking up a container of Aldi's chicken salad to eat on sandwiches.

Here's what's for dinner:

MONDAY: BLT Pasta w/ Corn & Fresh Ricotta

TUESDAY: Leeky, Creamy Chicken-&-Dumpling Soup
(I'm saving money/health by omitting the actual chicken tenders--the gnocchi fills out the soup enough for us.  My fave chicken stock/broth is Costco's Kirkland Brand Organic Chicken Stock.)

WEDNESDAY: Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

THURSDAY: Leftovers!

FRIDAY: PW's Favorite Pizza

SATURDAY: Gingerbread Pancakes (Aldi mix) for brunch; Leftovers for dinner

SUNDAY: Leftovers or boxed Mac-n-Cheese for lunch; Popcorn for dinner

If you want to get super "real life," I have had most of the ingredients for BLT Pasta & Chicken & Dumpling Soup for awhile--I was going to make them two weeks ago, and then something unexpected came up and we ended up going out of town.  When that happens, I freeze the fresh ingredients if possible, and "reschedule" the meal for a later time...like this week!  (Luckily, I had not yet purchased leeks, which are in both recipes, so one of the main fresh ingredients was spared from spoiling.)

Ricotta Pancakes w/ Pancetta, Peas, & Corn

For some reason, I have to psych myself up to make this recipe, which I've held on to for about 6 years now.  I have this notion that it's going to take all this time, and after I've cooked it and served it up, I always think, "Hey, that was MUCH easier than I thought.  I need to make this again soon!"

Who doesn't love BFD (breakfast for dinner)?  But pancakes served in a savory way are a little out of the ordinary.  These are light and fluffy, and they compliment the salty, buttery pancetta, peas, & corn mixture nicely.  (If you can't find pancetta or want to save some money, bacon will do the trick nicely.)

INGREDIENTS:
5 oz thick-sliced pancetta, cut into small pieces
1/2 lb fresh green peas, shelled (1/2 cup)*
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels*
1 Tbsp butter, plus more for frying
Juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour

* While using fresh peas & corn will certainly showcase some yummy spring/summer flavors, I most often use frozen peas & corn, and they work just as well.

DIRECTIONS:
(In general, the "flow" to this recipe will be to get your pancakes going, & then work on the pancetta/pea/corn mixture in between flips.)

1. Preheat oven to lowest temperature it will go (150-200 degree range is good).  In a large bowl, using a fork, mix together the ricotta, yogurt, eggs and 1/4 tsp salt until smooth. Stir in the flour until blended.

2. In a large nonstick skillet or on a griddle, melt a little butter (1/2 Tbsp). Ladle ab 3 Tbsp batter into the skillet for each pancake, spacing evenly. Fry until the bottom is golden, ab 2 mins. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, 1-2 mins more. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the pancetta over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered, ab 3 mins. Transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain; reserve the fat in the skillet.

4. In the skillet, stir together the peas and corn & 1 Tbsp butter and cook until al dente, ab 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve with a couple/few pancakes on the side.

----

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  Next week: some recipe love for the first berry of summer!