Sunday suppers

our Sunday rhythm follows a predictable pattern most weeks. Nick leaves the house first to play for 9 AM mass. I hustle the kids into the van so the older girls can get to catechism classes at a different church at 9:15, then we drive across town for 11 AM mass. at this stage in my parenting journey (with kids ages 11, 8, 3, and 21 months), I'm at a sweet spot where I can truly focus on the service for about half of it. a quarter of the time is spent completely dedicated to child-directed activities (doling out snacks, preventing toddlers from escaping the pew, reminding older children to participate, and sometimes taking a particularly fractious child out to the vestibule). and a quarter is spent mentally suspended between the two extremes, gauging when to let Victoria quietly chatter to herself as she reads one of her board books and when to intervene (for example, when the chatter escalates to screaming "NO! NO! NO!" if Elizabeth snatches her book away). Greta is happy to play "teacher's aide" and take Elizabeth out to the bathroom if she needs it, although I also sometimes have to redirect the older girls to pay attention to mass instead of to their younger sisters.

walking to mass. Greta and Cece are pretending to be the respective teachers for Victoria and Elizabeth's "classes", hence why Greta is gesturing towards an imaginary line of children behind them

under Nick's direction and thanks to the generous support of the Oratorians in earmarking funds for professional singers and music development programs, the church choir creates absolutely beautiful music each week for mass. Elizabeth and Victoria love to turn around and point to Daddy up in the loft, and fortunately they usually are pretty quiet during the offertory and communion motets. in those moments, the choristers' clear, rich voices dance with each other in tightly woven polyphony as the incense wafts up from the thurible to the dark wood rafters of our small chapel, and time is transcended.

after mass, we often swing by Starbucks or Dunkin for a little treat especially if the girls' mass behavior has been exemplary. sometimes we'll go out to lunch at the Chinese buffet, but usually we come home and have lunch in the style my dad calls "every man for himself and not one for the others" (i.e. leftovers or sandwiches). 

and then ... and then! the babies go down for the naps, the older girls scatter to their rooms, and the afternoon is quiet. I realized several months ago that Sunday evening is the perfect time to plan a more time-intensive supper, as I'm usually home all afternoon and we don't have evening events to cut short a leisurely meal (unless it happens to be a Broadway show night for me). although preparing food is technically work, to create a special dish in the stillness of a Sunday afternoon feels like a quintessentially Sabbath-ish pursuit.

so, here are some of our tried-and-true Sunday suppers. some require more hands-on labor than others, but all feel like a gift to my family, and to myself.

Easy Beef Bourguignon (from Damn Delicious). served with mashed potatoes and a generous glass of Malbec or Cabernet to wash it down, it's hearty and satisfying. 

Chicken Parmesan (from Spend with Pennies). my family absolutely devours this dish. I serve with spaghetti or angel hair pasta, and a green salad. 

Chicago-Style Pizza (from All Recipes). not exactly fancy fare, but I rarely have the time or energy to make pizza on a weeknight, so its rarity on our dinner menu rotation gives it red letter status. 

this version, with mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage is for the grownups. the kids get plain cheese.

Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings (from Family Circle magazine -- apparently now defunct so I will copy the recipe below). this is a simpler, slow cooker version of beef bourguignon. perfect for a chilly autumn evening. 

Makes 6 servings // Prep 10 minutes // Slow cook 5 1/2 hours on high or 7 1/2 hours on low

1 lb chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 TBSP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 medium size carrots, cut into 1/4 inch thick coins

1 - 10 oz package sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz frozen pearl onions

1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth

3/4 cup dry red wine

3/4 tsp dried thyme

one 17.5 oz package gnocchi

1. In large bowl or Ziploc bag, toss together steak, flour, salt and pepper. Place steak in slow cooker with carrots, mushrooms, garlic, onions, broth, wine, and 1/2 tsp thyme. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 7 hours.

2. Remove lid and stir in remaining salt, dried thyme, and the gnocchi. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes, or until gnocchi is tender.

 

photo from October, if you couldn't tell

 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (from Damn Delicious, again). this incredible recipe cooks entirely in the slow cooker. throw fresh or frozen chicken breasts directly in the crockpot and combine the other ingredients over top. the original recipe says to use cooked chicken, but you absolutely don't need to. I cook this for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. and I leave the sliced mushrooms big enough for anybody who feels so inclined to pick them out. 

Ina Garten's Roast Chicken (from this recipe). this is the absolute pinnacle of Sunday supper cooking. the prep time is less than ten minutes. as it cooks, it fills the entire house with savory aromas from the lemon and garlic inside the bird, and the final result is mouthwateringly tender. I serve it alongside Costco's frozen sheet pan vegetables (although I can't find a link to them now so maybe they were a seasonal item?!). 

the seasonings got a bit blackened in the oven but still tasted absolutely divine

do you have any tried and true special dinner recipes to share? I'm always looking for new dishes to add to our rotation ... with the caveat that we are unapologetic carnivores here (except on Fridays -- meat-free meals are absolutely a penitential act in our house).