Midweek Meals
Reader faves + mini recipe 🌞
Happy Wednesday. Today, I have reader faves plus a mini recipe to inspire your meal plans for the rest of the week.
Midweek Update
We are doing gluten-free in my house for a few weeks (not for me), and that means getting a little creative with my carbs as I cook.
On Monday, I made a delicious chicken meatball and rice noodle soup. The chicken meatballs were seasoned simply with tamari, ginger, sesame oil, and garlic and bound together with an egg and gluten-free panko. I added them to a simple broth made with sautéed onion and seasoned with tamari, mirin, sesame oil, chili oil, and Yuzu furikake. I added the meatballs directly to the broth along with diced zucchini and ladled it right over a bowl of cooked rice noodles. So comforting, and I can’t wait to make it again! On the side, I served it with a tomato salad dressed in a sesame vinaigrette.
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MINI RECIPE
Last night, though, I made an outstanding shrimp and clam risotto. It was shockingly easy to make, and you don’t need many ingredients.
First, I peel and devein 1 pound of large shrimp if they aren’t already, and I chop up half the shrimp and leave half of them whole. I season them with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and about ½ teaspoon black pepper and transfer to the fridge until needed.
I sauté a diced yellow onion in a little olive oil until softened, and then I add two diced, ripe tomatoes (big ones; you want about a pound of tomatoes) and sauté until the water cooks out from them and turns into a jammy sauce. I season it liberally with salt and pepper and a generous shake of crushed red pepper.
I drain a 10-ounce can of chopped clams and reserve the clam juice (about 3/4 cup juice), which I add to a glass measuring cup with 4¼ cups warm chicken stock to create about 5 cups of liquid total.
From there, I add 1 cup of arborio rice to the pot and cook it in the tomatoes for 1 to 2 minutes. I start ladling the stock into the rice in 1-cup increments, stirring after each addition and only adding more liquid once the rice has absorbed what’s in the pot.
Once nearly all the liquid has been absorbed, and the rice is mostly tender (after about 20 to 25 minutes), I add the chopped clams and shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp are opaque and the rice is tender. I finish with the juice from half a lemon. A little fresh parsley or basil on top would also be nice.
I served it with a simple salad, and it was so delicious!
READER FAVES
Beau Monde Braised Chicken Thighs
Thank you, Charlotte! So happy you enjoyed this, and so glad you found a new spice mix to add to your pantry! It’s also great in chicken salad!
Harissa Chicken Meatball Salad
Thank you so much for the comment and photo, Georgia! So happy you loved it so much that you want to make it again! It’s the perfect blend of sweet, smoky, spicy, and tangy!
Grammy Bananny Upside-Down Cake
Thank you so much, Christen! One of my favorite cakes (for obvious reasons), and I’m thrilled you enjoyed it as a sweet way to end the weekend!
TWO MORE IDEAS
Braised Chicken Drumsticks with Corn
Celebrate summer produce with a braised chicken drumstick recipe that combines sweet, fresh corn with cherry tomatoes and savory sun-dried tomatoes.
Chicken with Corn Relish
This chicken with corn relish might be the perfect summer dinner. Juicy, spicy chicken is topped with a perfectly sweet and spicy honey-lime corn relish.
That’s all for Midweek Meals! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week, filled with lots of tasty food. If you make one of my recipes, please drop a comment on the post to let me know how it turns out; I’d love to hear from you! You can also respond directly to this email! Byeeeeeeee! 💖💖
-kylie
And if none of these recipes caught your eye, use the link below to view all my recipes.
Looking to incorporate more vegan dishes into your meal plan? View all the plant-based recipes I post on Exploring Vegan!