May Meal Challenge: June Justifications

You've probably spent much of the last month wondering how things were going with my overzealous May Meal Challenge. I apologize if you've lost any sleep over it. And I applaud your commitment to my commitments. 

Allow me to congratulate both of us on my success. I did it! 

Well, I mean, you might say I technically completed the challenge. Sort of. 

If you don't count the 4 or 5 nights I just didn't eat dinner at all because I couldn't be bothered. 

And, if you overlook those evenings when I only went through the motions of making a unique meal, and didn't embrace the spirit of the challenge by seeking out exciting new recipes. 

Sure, there were a few highlights from my culinary discovery: 

Chicken stir fry

Falafel salad with cucumber tzatziki 

Mushroom ravioli

Then, there were some low lights:

Don't judge me

It was a Friday night

Some old favorites I haven't made in a while:

tacos! 

Tune noodle casserole

Shrimp pad thai

Some surprisingly delicious improvisations:

Black bean burger on salad

Cheese plate, chinese take out vegetarian orange chicken, salad, lots of wine

It wasn't like this was very hard to do. In the first two weeks, I thought it was almost easier than my old scramble and forage method. I'd actually go to the store with a proper list of things to buy. I had focus when couponing. Then, to be honest, I don't know what happened. It sounds like a real cop-out to say "life took over."  But it did.

Still, I think it's worth trying out, if you've got a bad case of the dinnertime blahs. I'm sure any of you would be more successful than I was.  And if you're looking for recipe ideas, I've got a great one for a dish called "Take Out from The Cheesecake Factory."

Crab artichoke dip and kale salad