Instant Pot Quinoa
Plus, a life update. I've got news!
Hi Friends! I’ve got news!
This month I started a new full-time job working as a Behavioral Aide at the elementary school in my neighborhood. Shifting from a full-time food blogger and recipe developer into an entirely new career is something that I’ve been mulling over for a long time. When the opportunity to work at my daughter’s elementary school came up, I knew the timing was right.
Don’t worry - I’ll continue to publish my food blog Kitchen Skip and write this newsletter, but a few things will change. I still love creating and sharing recipes, but I need to do it at a pace that is sustainable with my new job.
So, Here’s the Plan:
All subscribers to the Kitchen Skip newsletter will continue to receive the weekly Thursday newsletter with recipes, real-life dinner ideas, cookbook reviews & more. It will now be sent out 3x a month, with a fourth newsletter when I have the time and bandwidth.
Going forward, a paid subscription is a way for you to show support for my work and will continue to include extra bonus recipes, but on a looser schedule. There are also a few new things that paid subscribers will be getting - like an occasional peak at my Sunday meal prep for the week and essays & conversations about shifting careers, juggling work and family life and packing easy but delicious adult lunches.
Here’s the Best Part
If anything, I think my new job is going to make this newsletter even more focused on its mission to provide easy dinner recipes for busy parents. I am seriously busy these days!
Working outside of the home five days a week is forcing a lot of changes in how I plan and cook meals. I leave the house at 7:20am each morning and don’t return until around 4pm. Plus, my kids have evening activities, which means that dinner time is getting a little crazy around here! I’m learning to be extra-efficient in the way that I plan and cook meals and I will be sharing everything I learn with you.
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear from you!
Recipe of the Week: Instant Pot Quinoa
When I started my new job, I quickly realized that I needed to pack my lunch the night before. Most mornings, I’m already packing a lunch for my 4th grader and there is hardly any extra time before we leave at 7:20am to pack a second lunch for me. Especially since what I’m packing for my 10 year old and what I’m packing for myself are entirely different.
To make lunch-packing easier, I’m trying to get in the habit of cooking one type of grain in my Instant Pot each week. I then use the grain as the base for a salad. I’ll toss something like quinoa or farro or barley in a Tupperware with any combination of raw or roasted vegetables, canned beans, leftover chicken or tofu, fresh greens, olives, cheese, etc...
I often use lemon and olive oil as the dressing, unless I have a jar of lemon-miso dressing or tahini soy sauce dressing on hand.
This week, I made quinoa. Quinoa is really easy to make in your Instant Pot. Just combine quinoa + water + salt, and cook for 1 minute. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and it’s done. Find the full recipe for Instant Pot quinoa → HERE.
5 Dinners in Real Life
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? I hope that my week of real life dinners will provide helpful recipes & cooking ideas for your family.
With two parents working outside of the home now, things are getting real at my house. Before, when I worked from home on my own schedule, it was much easier to prep dinner early in the day so we weren’t in a mad rush at 5pm.
So, here’s what my crew ate last week:
Monday: My husband sautéed broccoli and mushrooms into a delicious side dish, and then we didn’t have time to make a main dish. The kids ended up adding frozen Trader Joe’s chicken to their meal. I think Sorin and I supplemented our light dinner with cheese and crackers later that night while we watched TV (currently binging Slow Horses)
Tuesday: I made Instant Pot black beans that we used as the main filling for tacos and/or quesadillas.
Wednesday: It was time for mid-week take-out. We ordered roasted chicken and some of our favorite sides (like hummus and tzatziki) from a neighborhood Mediterranean/California restaurant.
Thursday: I made crisp gnocchi with Brussels sprouts and brown butter, which is a delicious recipe from the NYTimes and would’ve been a hit if only I could convince my family to like gnocchi (I also made buttered noodles for the kiddos).
Friday: We had an early dinner of sautéed broccoli and mushrooms (again) plus tofu and rice before we left for a thrilling evening at the theater to finally see Hamilton. This was the first performance our kids have seen live in a theater and it was an incredible experience. We’re all huge Hamilton fans, and the kids are the perfect ages (10 and 13) to enjoy theater.
Cookbooks
I don’t have time to write a longer cookbook review today, but it doesn’t matter. The only thing you need to see is the cover of Zoe Bakes Cookies, which will make you want to dive into this cookie-focused book immediately.
How good does that cookie look?! There is a cookie or bar recipe for everyone in this book, from simple shortbread to cocoa Nutella brownies to peanut-butter maple sandwich cookies and wholesome breakfast cookies. The only problem with this cookbook is that it will give you intense cravings for cookies!
That’s it for this week! As I told paid subscribers earlier this week, thank you so much for your support! It means a lot. It feels good to evolve and try new things and I’m grateful that I can do so while continuing to nurture this newsletter and community.
It’s never too late to do something new!
xo
Jenny
