Sauerbraten Meatballs & The Food-Lovers Cleanse

I’m alive! January has been an insane month, and I’ve been running around like crazy doing what feels like twenty million things at a time. Because of that, dinners have not been very exciting lately. I do have fun recipes planned though and will post them as soon as I have the time to work out a few last details and type them up. Think soba noodles with sautéed chicken and roast mushrooms, cornmeal crusted tofu with quick ratatouille, and a buffalo chicken chili that I’ll try my hardest share before the game this weekend.

In the meantime, how do sauerbraten meatballs sound? Sauerbraten is a great dish – a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and extremely rich – but it takes days to make. I’ve figured out a way to replicate the flavors in a quick stovetop sauce that’s delicious served over meatballs for a delicious and easy twist on the original. Check out my recipe on the ShopRite PotLuck blog! (Speaking of ShopRite, you know how I said I’ve been running around like crazy? Their Shop at Home service has been a lifesaver. I place my grocery order online, then pick it up at the store a few hours later all packed up and ready to go – and for no extra charge! What would easily take me an hour in the store can be done in 15 minutes online – plus it keeps me from putting all sorts of random impulse buys in my cart.)

I also wanted to mention that I spent the earlier part of this month doing Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse and I loved it! It’s a two week plan meant as a kickstart to healthy eating. The recipes are great and I loved that it included three meals a day plus a snack and dessert. I didn’t have to think about or plan my meals at all. We both loved the recipes and some – like the brown rice and carrot pilaf, cumin roast sweet potatoes, and pumpkin-shrimp curry will definitely be seen again on my kitchen table. It also really got me thinking about preparing things ahead of time so that meals are quicker to prepare – I now have a freezer full of cooked lentils and caramelized onions and I have no idea how I used to survive without it. It you want to check out the cleanse for yourself, you can find it here.