Monday, July 23, 2012

weekend review: thyme three ways

Fresh herbs can be expensive, so sometimes I plan my weekend meals so they all use similar herb profiles. This weekend, I bought a package of fresh organic local thyme and chose my recipes carefully. Thyme in the asparagus on Friday, thyme in the gratin on Saturday, and thyme in the chicken on Sunday. But, no thyme in the granola - that would be weird.

Figure 1. Friday night's dinner: salmon paprika (one of my standing favorites) served alongside black rice with cashews, and lemon-thyme asparagus.

 Figure 2. Out of the oven: tomato, squash, and red pepper gratin. Made with Gruyere cheese (also in the cordon bleu!), thyme, quinoa, and fresh summer vegetables.

Figure 3. Saturday night's dinner: tomato, squash, and red pepper gratin with an arugula salad with cashews, golden raisins, and this homemade lemon vinaigrette

Figure 4. Saturday afternoon baking: healthy peanut butter honey granola.

I've now made three delicious variations on this (my new favorite granola):
1) using All-Bran, brown rice crispies, and no protein powder
2) using All-Bran, Cheerios, protein powder, and almond butter instead of peanut butter
3) using All-Bran, puffed wheat, protein powder, and peanut butter

Figure 5. Sunday night's dinner: chicken cordon bleu (delicious!), wild rice (Near East), and sauteed spinach with shallots and red pepper flakes.

32 comments:

  1. Yum!!!! I love thyme & I'm always looking for new ways to use it! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. i love thyme too and i don't use it nearly enough! you are quite welcome. :)

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  2. I'm glad to see some black rice lovin' over here :D Will & I tried it for the first time a few months back & fell in love!

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    Replies
    1. i made it for the first time pretty recently. i agree it is really great!

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  3. Wow, you really have been cooking up a storm. That salmon looks amazing!

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    Replies
    1. cooking is my favorite weekend activity!

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  4. Wow! Everything looks so delicious! For me, my weekends are my lazy days. We just eat leftovers from the week.
    And I know what you mean. I hate getting herbs and using them for one recipe. Since our fav is cilantro, I actually started growing it. But I think it's dying...no plants survive under my care :(

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    Replies
    1. thanks, min! weekends are the only time i can actually think about cooking and really enjoy it. weekdays are leftovers for me!

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  5. Who says you can't be the culinary genius that makes thyme work? But seriously, I feel ya on the herbs. It's tough to get through an entire package before they go bad!
    PS - the link for the gratin says the recipe is no longer available. I'm excited to try it out next week though...do you remember what all went into it?

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    Replies
    1. fixed the link! http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tomato-squash-pepper-gratin-50400000122481/

      let me know if you make it. thanks for the heads up!

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  6. Ooooh that chicken cordon bleu looks heavenly!

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    Replies
    1. it was really, really, really delicious!

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  7. Omg that gratin looks amazing!! I need to make that one night this week!

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    Replies
    1. do it! i fixed the link so you should be able to access it now. let me know if you try it!

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  8. WOAH that tomato squash and red pepper thing sounds soooooooooo good!!!

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    Replies
    1. it was great and i have tons of leftovers!

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  9. That chicken cordon bleu brings back memories... my mom used to make it all the time growing up. I couldn't get enough!

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    Replies
    1. aw then you should make it and it will take you back!

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  10. Thyme is mt FAVORITE herb. It always reminds me of bread!

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  11. That is such a good idea that you used all the same herbs so none go to waste! I rarely buy fresh herbs because I hate having to throw some out if I don't use them all! That tomato, squash, and red pepper gratin looks absolutely incredible! :)

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    1. i totally agree! let me know if you try out the gratin!

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  12. I always forget about thyme! It's such a delicious spice but I feel like it gets overlooked quite a bit. I definitely need to start incorporating it more! Your gratin looks amazing.
    And I've literally had your granola bookmarked for months. I completely forgot about it! I'm making it this week...no questions asked. Thank you for the reminder. (:

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  13. Wow your meals look so yummy! Thyme is easy to grow. In fact I have it in my garden right now :) perfect with chicken

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  14. You're a protein granola genius! And I don't know where you find these recipes, but that gratin sounds FABULOUS. I can't wait to make!

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  15. Oh my goodness that gratin looks to die for! Perfectly summery, and packed with all my favorites! I've never made my own granola either...but yours sounds awesome, and I love how many variations you have. I'm for sure putting both those recipes on my list to try!
    ps. I've been reading your blog for a while now and love it! I just started one of my own a few weeks ago, and would love if you checked it out sometime! Can't wait to see more delicious recipes!
    xoxo

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  16. Wow you've been doing a ton of cooking! I love using fresh herbs. I'm lucky that living with my parents right now and since they grow tons of them in the backyard I have access to them all the time. But normally living on my own I wouldn't buy them too much because of the price. You definitely put them to use wisely :)

    And I disagree- I think thyme in granola could be very tasty- maybe with some apple? lol I am going to try this ;)

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  17. Figure 3 was scumptious ;-) haha

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