Friday

Smoky corn and black bean pizza (recipe in the comments from January 26)
Sliced oranges with cinnamon

Hot tea
Oatmeal raisin cookies
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This is an easy dinner and, boy, do we need it! It's been a crazy week of planning for the move, having prospective new tenants for the house we're renting now over to look it over, trying to keep things normal for T, packing, etc. Anyway, we need a relaxing night and this is it. Tasty, easy, and comforting - if unusual. We made a few changes tonight (more BBQ sauce, yellow pepper) and both liked it, but not as well as the original. That said, we think the original could use a tweak too. Maybe red onion next time.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Tomato, oranges
Time: 20 minutes, 12 of which is cooking
Make ahead: This is actually good cold, but I make it fresh since it's so fast.

Reaction
J: "Is it pizza or is it BBQ?"
M: "It's like one step away from perfect. What is that step???"

Monday

Barbecue-style lentils with eggplant (recipe in the comments)
Rice
Mixed greens with fresh garlic dressing

Shortbread dipped in dark chocolate
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This is an unusual combination of flavors. We love eggplant, and it's a favorite of Ts, so this ranks highly as a unique way to use it. We often have this without rice, but serving a grain (white or brown rice, pasta of some sort, polenta) stretches the meal a bit further. With rice this serves two with a meal for T and a lunch for one of us adults. You can use canned lentils (which I didn't know were made until I saw this recipe, but it works equally well with 1 cup dry brown lentils cooked in 3 cups of water (add lentils and remaining liquid).

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Moderate
Chopping: Eggplant cubed, onion sliced, tomato cubed, oregano and parsley chopped
Time: 50 minutes
Make ahead: It saves ok, but is best fresh.

Reaction
J: "I didn't know you could barbecue lentils."
M: "Yee Haw."