Sunday: braised short ribs the Big Apron made. The smell rolled through the apartment for four hours. Worth it. We ate them with mashed potatoes and the cheap red wine that was open from Saturday.
Monday: leftover short ribs, this time over polenta. Pantry Minimalist's idea. Different meal, same protein. Polenta cooked while we caught up on the show.
Tuesday: takeout. Both of us were tired. We ordered the same Vietnamese place we have been ordering from for two years. No regrets.
Wednesday: sheet pan chicken thighs with whatever vegetables were left in the crisper drawer. 425F, 25 minutes, one tray. The brussels sprouts charred. The carrots got sweet. The kid ate three sprouts and called them tiny cabbages.
Thursday: pasta. Cacio e pepe. Three ingredients. Twenty minutes. Argued about whether the pepper should be cracked fresh or ground from a jar.
Friday: fridge tool dinner. Punched in chicken, lime, rice, cilantro. Got back five matches. Picked the one with the highest match. Cooked it.
Saturday: pizza. Not the good homemade kind. The take-and-bake from the grocery store. We watched a movie.
Five home-cooked meals, one takeout, one shortcut. That is the cooking-for-two ledger most weeks.