This Weeks Eats 4.27.14 and an Ode to Indian Food

Nearly twenty years ago, I tried Indian food for the first time.  I will never forget it, because I've been so very lucky that my mom has shared her love of travel with me.  No, I've not been to India; but to get authentic tikka masala, you only need travel to England.  The origin of everyone's favorite Indian dish (isn't it, though?) is far from India.  My mom and I did a quick three day trip to London to take advantage of a Virgin America deal, since they had just starting flying out of O'Hare.  We hit all the usual tourist spots, caught musicals (Tommy and Starlight Express) and ate in a tiny little hipster Indian Cafe.  It was one of those meals that you never forget, heavenly.

Fast forward many years later and my husband and I had a few favorite haunts in the city and we found a few when we moved to Seattle.  Since having kids, however, we just don't go out for it as much as we used to.  It's not usually a first choice for date night.  We've introduced our kids to it (mostly naan), but it just doesn't hold that allure like the oh so gourmet Red Robin.  And as much as we've tried (and believe me, we've tried - making ghee, the whole shebang) cooking tikka masala at home never comes close to restaurant quality.  We had just a couple hours free on Friday and it was the perfect meal for a mini date night.  

Our other favorite curry is veggie korma, on the left.

So, yeah, you won't see Indian dishes often on our weekly menus.  I'm thinking that we'll probably make an effort to go out for it more though...

• Monday - Cajun Quiche in a Rice Crust (very old Cooking Light recipe)
• Tuesday - Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Blue Cheese Slaw (from Mountain Mama Cooks)
• Wednesday - Enchilada Quinoa Bake with Ground Turkey (trying this recipe from Pink Parsley and changing up the meat)
• Thursday - Angel Hair Pasta with Pomodoro Sauce
• Friday - Pizza (switching things up and having pizza on Friday for baby girl's birthday dinner!)
• Saturday - Top Sirloin Steaks, Baked Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus
• Sunday - Chicken BLT Chopped Salad with Fresh Lemon Garlic Dressing

The spinach and quinoa casserole we tried last week was a little dry, I'm making up for it by trying the Pink Parsley recipe this week.  The meatballs we ate on Saturday were deeeelish.  Although, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to meatballs and I'm always a fan of something I can freeze.

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!