This week has been a mix of light dinners and quick dinners, along with a lot of cooking from Dann! Being back to school, after Easter Break, always comes with some hiccups, and having meals that are much faster to make is just what’s best for our family as we go back to the routine of getting up early and being back at clubs. I am so looking forward to the slower paced summer that is right around the corner.
Caesar Salad Pizza
Sometimes, I see a food on the internet and my mind just things – wow, Kai will love this. Kai is a huge fan of Caesar Salad, and he loves foods that feel weird and chaotic. He quite enjoys talking about the foods I create to his friends, and when I see something that is going to be a chaos food, I always ask him if he wants me to make it. A Caesar Salad Pizza starts off with a chicken pizza crust, which is already wild. I took mince chicken and added it to a bowl with bread crumbs and egg, along with seasonings. I used paprika, garlic powder and Italian herbs, I might have added parm if I remembered. I then spread them out into a pizza shape on a tray and cooked it in the oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Then, I added Caesar dressing to the top and piled on a Caesar salad kit. It’s basically like the chicken from the salad below the salad, which is so fun. Amelia and Robin don’t like Caesar dressing, so I covered their pizza with BBQ sauce, then just added the non-dressed salad on top. Everyone, surprisingly, really liked this. I served it with stove top mac n cheese.
Salmon Bowl
We’ve got a few big fish eaters in our house, and with Robin getting to pick a dinner, she wanted a salmon bowl. We went for a really simple salmon bowl as the weather has been warmer and we’ve all been eating a bit less. This bowl started with making some rice, and putting salmon in the oven with a bunch of teriyaki sauce. Dann makes this sauce with brown sugar, soy and ginger. Once the salmon was fully cooked, the rice was done, and so we poured some of the teriyaki sauce from the cooked salmon in the rice, then put the rice in the bottom of the bowl. We added the flaked salmon on top, and I boiled some edamame to add to the bowl too. You could also add carrots or cucumbers, etc. We then sprinkled some sesame seeds on top too.
An Entire Roast Dinner
Amelia loves roast dinners, and this was her pick of the week. She specifically wanted a chicken roast. I am going to share with you my secret to the best roast chicken skin; seasoning. We take two medium chickens (as one large isn’t quite enough for our family of five) and pat dry the skin with paper towels. Then I take butter and rub the skin, making a layer. From there, I season with salt and Italian Herbs. I stuff the chicken with a lemon, and put it in a roasting try on top of some cut carrots and onions, so the chicken isn’t directly on the tray. I add in a bit of water to steam the chicken as well. While the chicken is roasting, I peeled some carrots and put them on a roasting tray with salt and olive oil. I split some small potatoes and did the same. I also made up some stuffing. When the chicken was done cooking, took the drippings and made a gravy, by making a roux and then adding in the chicken drippings and some stock. This is always a hit at our house!
Beef Pho
Beef Pho is another family favorite. If you ask any of our children what their favorite dinner is, often it’s beef pho. This is a dish that Dann cooks without me, as I am primarily the chef of the household! He makes the broth through charring onions, ginger and a bunch of spices, then creates the beef stock around this char, which is full of depth. There is a lot of seasoning with soy sauce, fish sauce, and the like. His beef pho is my absolute favorite! Dann also cuts up limes to put in, spring onions, cuts of beef, and vermicelli noodles. Often pho has thicker noodles and herbs like mint, however we like the thin ones and don’t tend to eat all the herbs. I add chili oil to mine, where as Kai adds a massive amount of lime. It’s fun to get to customize your dish!
Beef and Broccoli
Beef and broccoli was something I was craving this week. I made up some rice, and while that was cooking fried some beef in vegetable oil in a wok, then set aside. I added more oil to the wok, then added in broccoli until tender, before setting it aside. Then in the same wok I fried off ginger and garlic, before adding in beef stock, soy, brown sugar, and wine vinegar. Once the sugar had dissolved, I added in some corn flour mixed with more beef stock, to thicken it all up. When the sauce was a good texture, I added back in the beef and broccoli, tossed it, and then topped the rice with it. I added on some spring onions and sesame seeds too. This was a really flavorful recipe!
I think the Caesar salad pizza is such a great idea. I pair those together so often anyway. It makes sense to put them together!
I really want to try that chicken caesar pizza and your other dishes too.
Your creative dishes like the Caesar Salad Pizza and the Salmon Bowl sound absolutely delightful, and I can’t wait to give them a try.