Beef Ragu over Cauliflower Gnocchi + 140(ish) Days of Dinner

This is the first year in a long time that we haven't done an official January Whole30. I really liked the macro coutning and intermittent fasting program I was doing throughout last summer, but had just really fallen off through the fall and holidays. So I decided to go back to that. We briefly attempted a dry January at least, but quickly adjusted that to dry weekdays and I've been holding to that.

Nevertheless, many of the recipes I cook are still fairly clean (free of dairy products, legumes, and grains), but I add some of those in as sides now. You'll see lots of dinners out and lots of repeats and I knew in my head that we eat broccoli a lot, but OMG we eat broccoli A LOT. It's easy, tasty, and everyone always eats a ton of it. So ....

For the top recipe, I'm sharing one of our favorite cold-day dishes. Although this Beef Ragu takes some time to cook, the hands on time is so minimal that I can still get it done on a weekday -- I just have to remember to put it in the oven or slow cooker earlier in the day. I serve mine over Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi and the kids often have theirs over pasta or polenta. Some extra roasted veggies on the side and you are set!

Beef Ragu over Cauliflower Gnocchi 

(slightly adapted from Simply Delicious)

Ingredients
- 2 lb chuck roast
- 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1, 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp sugar (or sub honey)
- 6 garlic cloves peeled, left whole
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef stock
- salt and pepper to taste

- frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi
- parmesean cheese and parsley for serving (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Place beef, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, garlic, herbs, and soy sauce into a dutch oven. Lightly mix. Add wine and stock and cover.

2. Place in oven and cook for 4 - 5 hours until meat is tender and pulls apart easily. Shred meat with two forks. Then turn oven up to 425F and return ragu to oven to cook for another 20 minutes. If you're roasting veggies for a side dish, I put these in the oven now as well.

3. Cook cauliflower gnocchi. Spoon ragu over gnocchi, top with parmesean cheese and parsley before serving.

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Day 1 (M) - Back-Pocket Bolognese
Day 2 (T) - Loaded Turkey Taco Bowls
Day 3 (W) - Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce; brown rice; roasted cauliflower
Day 4 (Th) - All American Chili
Day 5 (F) - dinner out
Day 6 (Sat) - Whole30 Baked Salmon with Creamy Avocado Sauce; Israeli couscous; roasted corn with cotija cheese
Day 7 (Sun) - Grilled Paleo Basil and Cracked Pepper Sausages (I can't get these through Instacart at Costco anymore and it's making me bananas -- everyone loves them!)

Day 8 (M) - Baked Salmon Cakes; roasted veggies; black beans
Day 9 (T) - Shredded Crockpot BBQ Pork
Day 10 (W) - dinner out
Day 11 (Th) - leftovers
Day 12 (F) - One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet
Day 13 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 14 (Sun) - Ground Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Crema; brown rice; Mexican street corn

Day 15 (M) - Stiry Fry Tofu; veggies; brown rice
Day 16 (T) - grilled New York strip steak; cauliflower gnocchi; roasted broccoli
Day 17 (W) - dinner out
Day 18 (Th) - Freezer-to-Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Day 19 (F) - Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs
Day 20 (Sat) - Trader Joe's falafel; carrot spirals; couscous; pita
Day 21 (Sun) - Teriyaki Salmon; jasmine rice; roasted broccoli

Day 23 (M) - dinner out
Day 23 (T) - Crockpot Korean Beef - served ours as buddha bowls with brown rice as quick-pickled carrots and radishes
Day 24 (W) - The Mr.'s birthday dinner! Panko Chicken Parmesean; caesar salad; pasta; and Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie!
Day 25 (Th) - leftovers
Day 26 (F) - flank steak with Chimichurri; roasted potatoes; roasted cauliflower
Day 27 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 28 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 29 (M) - dinner out
Day 30 (T) - Stiry Fry Tofu; veggies; quinoa
Day 31 (W) - dinner out
Day 32 (Th) - Make Ahead Freezer Chicken Fajitas; brown rice
Day 33 (F) - polenta with Trader Joe's Bolognese
Day 34 (Sat) - dinner party at our house catered by the awesome Sara's Savories -- Red Wine + Herb Braised Short Ribs; Maple Dijon Herb Seared Salmon; Garlic and Lemon Sauteed Spinach; Roasted Potatoes with Olive Oil and Thyme. I made a Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie which was fab!
Day 35 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 36 (M) - Chicken Enchiladas (I didn't freeze these because that seemed to cause lots of issues for people)
Day 37 (T) - Big Batch Meatballs but used this Red Sauce
Day 38 (W) - dinner out
Day 39 (Th) - ginger and garlic stir fried rotisserie chicken and veggies; brown rice
Day 40 (F) - Kane's birthday dinner! Had his favorite Chicaog Giordano's pizza delivered; caesar salad; I made Chocolate Cheesecake
Day 41 (Sat) - leftovers
Day 42 (Sun) - leftovers

Day 43 (M) - dinner out
Day 44 (T) - Tofu Tacos with Black Beans
Day 45 (W) - out
Day 46 (Th) - Freezer-to-Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Day 47 (F) - out
Day 48 (Sat) - Cast-Iron Pizza with Fennel and Sausage (OMG SO GOOD)
Day 49 (Sun) - Soba Noodle and Steak Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing

Day 50 (M) - Grilled Paleo Basil and Cracked Pepper Sausages; salad
Day 51 (T) - One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet
Day 52 (W) - dinner out
Day 53 (Th) - BBQ Cranberry Chicken
Day 54 (F) - dinner out
Day 55 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 56 (Sun) - our neighbor kindly made us this delicious Chaia Mexican Veggie Soup

Day 57 (M) - Teriyaki Salmon; rice; roasted broccoli
Day 58 (T) - Lemon Pepper Chicken; couscous; green beans
Day 59 (W) - Cast-Iron Pizza with Fennel and Sausage; salad
Day 60 (Th) - All American Chili; salad
Day 61 (F) - dinner out
Day 62 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 63 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 64 (M) - leftovers
Day 65 (T) - Back-Pocket Bolognese; gnocchi
Day 66 (W) - brinner
Day 67 (Th) - Big Batch Meatballs but used this Red Sauce
Day 68 (F) - dinner out
Day 69 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 70 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 71 (M) - Thai Chicken Curry -- again from our nice neighbor!
Day 72 (T) - White Bean, Sage, and Sausage Soup
Day 73 (W) - Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Mexican Style
Day 74 (Th) - brinner
Day 75 (F) - Back-Pocket Bolognese; salad
Day 76 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 77 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 78 (M) - Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup
Day 79 (T) - All American Chili; salad
Day 80 (W) - dinner out
Day 81 (Th) - Chicken and Polenta with Broccoli
Day 82 (F) - Thai Beef Drunken Noodles
Day 83 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 84 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 85 (M) - dinner out
Day 86 (T) - Instant Pot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken Tacos
Day 87 (W) - dinner out
Day 88 (Th) - Thanksgiving!! I put out shrimp cocktail and a monster party board for apps. I made Maple Bourbon Glazed Turkey Breast; Caramelized Onion and Bacon Gravy; Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios and Lime; Crispy-Topped Mashed Potatoes; Grapefruit Apricot Cranberry Relish with Rosemary; Brown-Sugar Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows; Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Corn Nuts; and boxed stuffing for the Mr. My mom made my favorite Brownie Pecan Pie and my in-laws brought additional pies and rolls.
Day 89 (F) - dinner out
Day 90 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 91 (Sun) - Sweet-and-Saucy Pork Chops; couscous; broccoli

Day 92 (M) - Teriyaki Salmon; rice; roasted broccoli
Day 93 (T) - Easy Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce; orzo
Day 94 (W) - filet mignon; mashed potatoes; green beans
Day 95 (Th) - dinner out
Day 96 (F) - dinner out
Day 97 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 98 (Sun) - Loaded Turkey Taco Bowls

Day 99 (M) - Oven Fried Chicken with Honey Mustard Glaze; green beans; quinoa pasta
Day 100 (T) - Best General Tso's Tofu
Day 101 (W) - 15-Minute Lemon Garlic Butter Steak with Zucchini Noodles
Day 102 (Th) - leftovers
Day 103 (F) - Slow-Cooker Pot Roast with Chickpea Salad
Day 104 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 105 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 106 (M) - Pork Lettuce Wraps
Day 107 (T) - dinner out
Day 108(W) - dinner out
Day 109 (Th) - Chicken Bolognese
Day 110 (F) - dinner out
Day 111 (Sat) - Oven Fried Chicken with Honey Mustard Glaze
Day 112 (Sun) - Loaded Whole30 Sweet Potato Fries (we had ours as nachos)

Day 113 (M) - Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup
Day 114 (T) - Christmas Eve cheese fondue!
Day 115(W) - Christmas dinner! We grilled out some gorgeous filet mignon and my father-in-law made a fabulous sauce for it. I made a big party board for apps, Broccoli Caesar Salad (I LOVED this!), Twice Baked Loaded Potatoes (I used regular baking potatoes), Best Green Bean Casserole, Maple-Bacon Popovers, and Fallen Chocolate Cake for dessert.
Day 116 (Th) - leftovers
Day 117 (F) - Hanukkah dinner -- we always order from Wagshals - chicken matzoh ball soup, brisket, latkes, apple sauce, creamed spinach, knot rolls. And Cam made a cake for dessert!
Day 118 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 119 (Sun) - Nacho Beef taco bowls

Day 120 (M) - Baked Chicken Parmesean; Broccoli Caesar Salad; pasta
Day 121 (T) -NYE dinner out at Little Coco's
Day 122(W) - dinner out
Day 123 (Th) - Easy Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce
Day 124 (F) - Salmon and Broccolini with Citrus-Chile Sauce
Day 125 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 126 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 127 (M) - Slow Cooker Greek Beef Stew with Gremolata; cauliflower gnocchi
Day 128 (T) - Trader Joe's porchetta; green beans; cauliflower gnocchi
Day 129(W) - Chicken Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes; salad
Day 130 (Th) - Spicy Beef and Lamb Kofta; broccoli; roasted potatoes
Day 131 (F) - dinner out
Day 132 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 133 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 134 (M) - Trader Joe's cabernet pot roast; kale gnocchi; broccoli
Day 135 (T) - Paleo Balsamic and Rosemary Chicken grilled; cauliflower gnocchi; green beans
Day 136(W) - Paleo Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
Day 137 (Th) - Za'atar Fish and Chips
Day 138 (F) - One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet
Day 139 (Sat) - dinner out
Day 140 (Sun) - dinner out

Day 141 (M) - filet mignon; roasted potatoes; salad
Day 142 (T) - Beef Ragu over Cauliflower Gnocchi; roasted broccoli

Belgium + The Netherlands: Days 9 & 10 -- Amsterdam

Well those three months flew by. I was doing so well getting our summer vacation posts out and then, well, life. I've even had all of the photos edited, but just couldn't get around to writing it up. But seeing as I'm now working on our plans for next summer, I figured it was time to get this trip wrapped up before I forget!

I'd left our last Friday in Amsterdam purposefully open. We'd toyed with the idea of heading to Haarlem or the beach in Zandvoort for a day, but I didn't want to commit to that ahead of time. Kane was sort of chomping at the bit for some WWII history, so I looked up a guide on the fly and was able to book Al Walet for an afternoon tour (I'd wanted to book Amsterdamsel, but she was unavailable). So we did something unusual for this trip and slept in first! We had brunch at our hotel and then Al met us there.

Al was armed with maps and tons of historical knowledge. He gave us an overview of the war first and then we set out for a tour of the bulk of the city. We did a trail through the Amsterdam City Archives (a really neat destination in and of itself), Thorbecke Square, Rembrandt Square, Dutch National Opera and Ballet over the Amstel river, the Portuguese Synagogue, through the flea market to the Spinoza Monument.

We rounded out our walk by heading across the Skinny Bridge (where lovers leave locks) and ending in the Flower Market. All the while Al was able to give us a great perspective of the city during WWII. He also knew a ton about architecture, water management, and just pretty much any and all random subjects. Kane would have liked a little more WWII-focused tour, I think, but it was a great way to get the lay of land (and we probably should have done it towards the front of our stay there).

After taking photos all day on our tour, I intentionally left my camera at the hotel when we went back out for dinner. We were getting a chance to makeup our planned visit to Indonesian Restaurant Blauw. We had a little bit of a tense ride there as Joel tried to manuever moving money around (remember, my wallet was stolen the day before and we'd canceled all our joint credit cards!) to make sure we could actually pay for dinner. After a frantic search for an ATM, we were set. We knew we wanted to try all the Rijsftaffel (read up on the cuisine here) they offered, so we just let the waitress pick a wide variety for us. I thought everything was amazing and it was such a fun way to try so many different flavors.

After dinner, we were all totally stuffed. So we decided to take the long walk back to our hotel. We were basically at the top of Vondelpark, the largest park in Amsterdam, so we decided to walk down through that towards our hotel. It was one of the best decisions we made in Amsterdam. Right away we walked into a kids playground that was adjacent to a beer garden (Vondel Tuin). So Joel grabbed us some cold brews and the kids got to get their after dinner energy out. The park was buzzing on Friday night -- full of families and younger groups. We walked along the edge of a lake that had enormous mansions on the other side, all lit up with Friday night parties. I had to know where we were, and after a quick google search, discovered that we were looking at the back of one of the most affluent neighborhoods of the city -- Willemspark. It was really spectacular. We wandered our way through beer gardens and groups of kids partying until we made it back to our favorite ice cream stop by our hotel. Such a great end to a busy day!

No rest for the weary, though. We were up bright and early the next morning to meet our guide for our Eating Europe Food Tour! If there is one thing this crew will get up early for, it's more eating.

We met our group and very energetic guide Marjolein at Cafe de Spiegel for the traditional sort-of-pancake-like and totally delicious poffertjes. We got an overview of where we'd be going for the day and got to know the group a bit. Then we headed out for the rest of our tour.

In what will forever be known as the Amsterdam Pickled Herring Incident, our adventurous eaters followed through on their promise to at least try everything. Kane was particularly excited to check out the Seafood Bar Shop because he loves seafood. Against all our better judgments he took a bite of pickled herring and I knew it was instantly a mistake -- he is a die-hard foodie but also has an incredilby sensitive sense of smell and trigger-happy tummy with certain things. He didn't even get his mouth closed and I knew everything was coming back up. Joel pretty surreptiously scooted him outside and he yakked off to the side like a champ. Then everyone came outside to enjoy oysters and I tried to scoot the vomit away without anyone noticing -- seemed to do the trick. Cami went back in for several humorous photo ops with the leftover herring.

Kane seemed to have rallied by the time we got to Patisserie Holtkamp and tried out a bunch of yummy sweets. Then we ate outside at Bar Bitterbal, which was delicious, before moving on to Glandorf & Thijs for a wine tasting. Marjolein kindly left the adults to try wine and took our kids on a little adventure to pick up some charcuterie (critically, the kids remembered where the meat and cheese shops were becuse we looped back there later!)

After biterbals, we all hopped on a super cute canal boat for a tour around the city while drinking the wine and cheese we brought on board -- a perfect end to the tour!

But given that we are Greens, everyone was still hungry after the canal ride. So we went back in search of cheese and charcuterie (and more wine!) from the handful of shops the kids had visited earlier -- Slagerij De Leeuw for charcuterie and Kaashuis Tromp for cheese and bread. We set up a picnic in Amstelveld Square and the kids eyed up the locals playing a game of soccer. Kane tried repeatedly to work himself into the mix, but reported that the kids were not very welcoming. So then both of our kids, again being Greens, plotted revenge until the locals took off.

We walked back to our hotel and happened upon the cutest neighborhood playspace -- De Leidse Dwarstuin. The kids got to play a bit longer before and we all followed the rules.

As he'd been doing the entire trip, Kane tried to hop/walk over all the pedestrian protecting pillars back to the hotel. And continued to give me a heart attack as bikes and cars zoomed by him. It was time to go home. We had dinner at the hotel bar that night, took one last stroll around Amsterdam the next morning, and then we were off! Such an amazing trip. I included my other Amsterdam recs below as I did with the other cities. On to the next one!

Other things on my list!

Activities + Sights:

- Clara Maria Cheese & Clog Farm 

- Stedelijk Museum

- Rijksmuseum

- Jewish Historical Museum

- Jewish Heritage Tour with Larae Malooly

- Rembrandt House Museum 

- Museum of Bags 

- NEMO Science Museum 

- National Maritime Museum 

- Houseboat Museum

Food + Bars:

- Foodhallen (annoyed that we didn't get here!) 

- Ben Cohen Tel-Aviv Street Food

- Tempo Doeloe

- House of Bols Cocktail Experience 

- Reypenaer Cheese Tasting Room

- Brasserie Nel