What We're Eating When We're Not Having an Around the World Dinner

I tend to fall into the habit of making the same thing over and over again for dinner. I'm going to list our favorites so when I am doing the menu planning, we have some more ideas ready. The names are in our household's shorthand. If you are interested in more detail or a recipe, ask.

1.) Tacos
2.) Seitan fajitas (I haven't been able to make this in a while, as all of my seitan sources dried up. But seitan is back at the local co-op, so it's back on our menu. Yay!)
3.) Seitan stroganoff (ditto above, another Yay!)
4.) English Tea dinner (always a favorite with M, but it's labor-intensive, so I resist making it too often)
5.) Pinto and poblanos (I have a great recipe for healthier chile rellenos; with Spanish rice, pinto beans, and corn tortillas on the side, it's a terrific meal)
6.) Pasta (sometimes with traditional red sauce, more often aglio olio style, as M doesn't like tomatoes)
7.) Hoppin' John
8.) Tortilla Espanol
9.) Quiche
10.) Red beans and rice
11.) Breakfast dinner (poached eggs, toast, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, vege breakfast sausage)
12.) Stir fry
12a.) Moo shu (a la M's Flat Top Grill recipe, this was dinner last night and lunch for Steve and me today)
13.) Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup
14.) Baguette sandwiches (we're skipping these until M's front teeth come in but they have been a favorite for nights when we are rushing to soccer practice)
15.) Enchiladas
16.) Burritos
17.) Black bean chili
18.) Pizza
19.) Quesadillas with refried beans (check out Molli Katzen's Pretend Soup for this and other great recipes for parents and kids cooking together!)

OK, that ought to keep us well-fed for a while. I'll update as I remember more. And I am sure that M will have something to add when he gets home from his first day as a second grader.

On location: Chicago

Hi. This is M. We went to Chicago a few days ago. This trip included a baseball game, Shedd aquarium, Adler planetarium and The Field Museum. But in this blog post, the two most important places are Trader Vic's and Flat Top Grill.

My Flat Top Grill Recipe

Pineapples
Noodles
Broccoli
Edamame

Sauces

Soy

Sticks

Roti
Mu-Shu
Tofu


Mom's part
We had a great trip to Chicago. M listed all of the highlights, the attractions and the two best restaurants. We ate twice at Flat Top Grill, which is a create-your-own stir fry restaurant, and once at Trader Vic's. I enjoyed the seared tuna salad and a mai tai at Trader Vic's (which claims to have invented the mai tai in 1944). M had the macaroni and cheese and a "Kona Cooler" (mixture of fruit juices). He too enjoyed the meal. I took a picture of M next to one of the Tiki statues and will post it later, when I finally get those pictures off the camera.