Weekly Meal Plans

1. Avgolemono Soup w/ Art’s Bruschetta
2. Leftover Night
3. grilled Pizza
4. grilled hot dogs w/ Lumpe w/ Sweet Potato Fries w/ Aioli
5. Sour Cream Noodle Bake w/ zucchini something
6. taco salad (ground meat, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, tostitoes, etc.)
7. TBD (something with zucchini) G&L: Out for movie day, A: fends for himself

My goal for this week was simply “plan a menu.”  This meal plan mainly revolves around the produce we got at the market.  We picked up hot dogs from our meat farmer a few weeks ago and I’m sort of excited and scared to have them for dinner.  I haven’t had a hot dog in over 20 years!  I’m not really sure how people eat hot dogs other than the pigs in blankets my mom used to make.  We’re going to grill them and have them with Norwegian Lumpe.  Hopefully this will be tasty. 

The rest of the week should be fairly easy and I’ll figure out meal 7 before too long, I’m sure.  Now I just need to feel the inspiration to cook tonight’s dinner, meal 6 from last week!  The chicken is thawing, I need to get it marinating.  Then I need to pull the tomato stuff from the freezer so it can thaw as well.  And get paneer going so it can drain before cooking.  What was I thinking when I planned this meal?!

Edit: My health has, again, taken a turn for the worse so this week’s meals did not happen anywhere close to as planned.  This has been a summer of suck.

1-2. G&L: Out! A: fend for himself
3. Out
4. Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes 5. pulled pork sandwiches w/ Potato Salad (I made tuna salad for myself after realizing the pulled pork had HFCS in it.) 6. Butter Chicken w/ Butter Paneer w/ Chana Pulao 7. Grilled Pizza We ended up ordering pizza instead.  I’ll do better next week.

This week has already not gone the way I had planned because Lance and I got stuck in Cincinnati on the way home.  So instead of only have two nights out this week, we ended up with three.  Oh.  And Lance and I both managed to contract the Con Crud. 

Meals 4 and 5 are planned to be super simple using ingredients we have around the house.  Meal 6 will be a big production because Indian food takes a lot of work.  Lance requested grilled pizzas, so I’ll be giving those another go now that I’ve got better equipment than the first time I tried.  The pulled pork is from the meat CSA. 

I’ve also got a ton of blog posts to catch up with – 4 restaurant reviews, 2 local food posts, and everything else that piles up in the meantime.

1. Enchiladas
2. Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Out
3. Baked Ravioli w/ garlic bread
4-7. G&L: Out! A: fend for himself
Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Egg Pesto Pasta

This week is a basic week for food planning.  Lance and I are heading out of town on Wednesday to go to GenCon.  (Yay GenCon!)  So I’ve only got three dinners to prepare this week before Art will be left to his own devices.  I’ve planned those meals around things that Art asked me to make in bulk so that he’ll have lots of leftovers to tide him over while I’m gone. 

He’ll also be making Egg Pesto Pasta because he loves it and we have tons of eggs in the house thanks to the CSA.  (Edit: Art also ended up making Pasta with Sausage Etc while Lance and I were out of town.)

It’s a nice, short week in cooking, and I’ll return with lots of photographs for restaurant reviews.

1. Chicken Sancoche
2. Mom’s Chicken w/ Balsamicy Pasta Caprese 3. OUT - Lithotripsy
4. Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant
5. Hoisin Chicken with Noodles and Green Beans
6. Chicken in Mustard
7. Ham and Swiss Baked Egg Soufflés

I’ve got my lithotripsy on Tuesday and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I’m cheating and revisiting lots of old (recipes this week.  Art requested meal 4 and bought the eggplant at the market just so I could make it, so I couldn’t say no. 

I guess chicken is a comfort food for me since I tend to cook with it often when I’m feeling a bit blah.

Meal 7 is my excuse to buy ramekins.  I’m a fan of only buying kitchen supplies when you actually find you need them and I’ve never needed ramekins before.  I’m looking forward to their arrival.

1. Leftover Night
2. basic grilled chicken w/ Pasta Ponza
3. Grilled Balsamic Chicken w/ More Than Salad
4. Grilled Skirt Steak w/ Chimichurri w/ Cartofi Aburiti
5. Waikiki Meatballs w/ rice
6. Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with Cucumber-Green Onion Relish w/ rice
7. Baked Italian Chicken w/ Pasta with Sicilian Green Tomato Sauce
Lunch: Gazpacho, Tuna Salad, Fresh Cheese, Zucchini Bread
Storage: Roasted Tomatoes, Caribbean Curry Powder

There is a chance that I am biting off more than I can chew this week, no pun intended.  I went a bit crazy at the market and then had to figure out ways to use everything up.  This is the story of my life during tomato season.  Someday, I might learn, but they’re just so pretty and colorful and I can’t resist their siren call!! 

Anyway… I’ve got a lot of cooking planned around using up local foods.  I’ve already roasted tomatoes for the freezer, they’re just waiting to cool down for chopping.  I’m out of Caribbean Curry Powder and I want to make some to send to some friends as a gift, so I’ve got to make more of that for the food stores as well. 

Infinite tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers will be used up in Gazpacho (which can be frozen) and Zucchini Bread.  I’m going to hard boil a dozen of the eggs in my fridge for various lunch usage which will include Tuna Salad the way my mom makes it.  (Note to self: Ask mom how she makes her tuna salad.)  I’m also tip-toeing into the realm of cheese making and making my second batch of fresh cheese in the slow cooker.  I’ve done one batch already, but wanted to make a second batch before I posted a recipe. 

Then there are more cucumbers, more tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and bell peppers to use.  Aaaaaah!  Lots of delicious food to cook this week!

1. Beef Kofta Burgers w/ Garlic Sauce
2. Leftover Night Changed to Out
3. Crescent Cabbage and Beef Bundles
4. Out for Wicked
5. Mustard Roasted Tilapia w/ Colcannon
6. Bacon and Beer Carbonara
7. Lemon Grilled Chicken w/ Tomato Zucchini Tart with Herbs and Parmesan
Other: Hummus, Fresh Cheese, Bread

We had the realization last week that I should always plan a Leftover Night, even if scheduling doesn’t demand it.  Otherwise we end up with entirely too much food in the fridge!  As a result, meal 1 of this week is a holdover from last week. 

The rest of the meals are planned around the veggies from the market this week.  Art came home with zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, and more even more tomatoes.  Everything looks delicious and I can’t wait to try out all of these new (recipes to use up great produce. 

We’ve got a trip into DC this week to see Wicked and we’re planning on revisiting DISH, since we had such a great meal last time. 

Sadly, in spite of all this awesome food, I haven’t had much of an appetite at all and the only thing that seems really appealing is hummus wraps.  I make these with cucumber, lettuce, and tomatoes in flour tortillas and they’re scrumptious even when nothing else sounds good to me.  I’ll be making hummus again this week so I can have more tasty wraps.

1. Out to celebrate life!
2. Grilled Marinated Leg of Lamb w/ Quinoa with Garlic Roasted Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Feta w/ green salad
3. Cheesesteak Sandwiches w/ Baked Summer Squash and Tomatoes with Pesto
4. Beef Kofta Burgers w/ Garlic Sauce Switched to a leftover night due to having way too many leftovers!
5. Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce w/ Crispy Potato Roast
6. South of the Border Chicken and Rice Bake
7. Buttermilk Baked Chicken w/ Zucchini Fritterwaffles
Lunch: Hummus (for tomato, cucumber, lettuce wraps)
Snack: Kale Chips I never got around to these

I have finally figured out why meal planning takes me forever and a day!  It’s because I feel like I’m cheating somehow to use (recipes that I’ve cooked before.  So I sort of go a bit crazy trying to find new (recipes each week.  This is, of course, silly. 

A lot of the meals this week are planned around recent local food acquisitions.  Meals 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 use ingredients from the market and the meat share.  I’ll also be making hummus as a vehicle for using up the cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions I picked up at the market this week.  And I’ll be giving kale one more chance by trying out a recipe for kale chips.  If this doesn’t make me like kale, I’m giving up on it for good.  Take that, kale! 

We’re having company over for meal 2 and we’re heading out to the new local Japanese place for meal 1 to celebrate our lives together.  It should be a delicious week with lots of great new taste sensations.

1. Out
2. Hoisin Chicken with Noodles and Green Beans
3. Chicken Broccoli Alfredo w/ Rough Caprese Salad
4. Butter Poached Tilapia w/ rice and arugula
5. grill roasted marinated London broil w/ Sweet Onion Pie
6. Chicken Saltimbocca w/ Pasta with Zucchini Sauce
7. Beer Can Chickens with Potatoes w/ Crispy Potato Roast w/ grilled zucchini slices w/ corn on the cob
Lunch: Gazpacho!

What a great week this will be for food!  There is a lot of chicken because I’m still bemoaning the loss of the meat in our freezer and I’m also not 100% sure what meats we have left.  The freezer will be fixed on Tuesday, though, so I’ll be able to get a better grasp on things then.  In the meantime, chicken! 

I’m also excited because I’ll be home ALL WEEK and all except for tonight (awesome dinner out with aunts, uncles and cousins) I’ll be able to devote time to cooking.  This is grand for me and something that will help to recharge my internal batteries.  Cooking new food for my family is something I find very rewarding.  I love that this week only has two (recipes I’ve made before. 

This week’s planning is based on a few things.  First of all, there’s the market haul where I went just a teeny bit overboard on produce.  But, it will all be used and enjoyed in every meal this week.  Then there were Art’s requests.  Now that he’s not traveling every week he wants to grill at least once a week.  Sometimes more.  He has an idea for the London broil we got in our most recent CSA and I’ve also been wanting to try beer can chickens for quite some time.  We’ve got two chickens from the CSA in the freezer, so that will work out well. 

And then, of course, there’s gazpacho. Which I’ve been waiting for an entire year.  Yay gazpacho!

1. G&L: out of town, A: Fends for himself
2-3. Out
4. eggs to order w/ Mini Pommes Anna
5. Pasta with Eggplant and Sausage
6. burgers w/ Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
7. Out
Lunch: Egg Salad

This is not a great week.  I was out of town for the weekend and, when I went to grab some pulled pork from the stand freezer today, I found out that it died at some point.  Probably over the weekend, but it was unclear and the temperature was far into the 40s with the meat thawed.  So… we emptied out the freezer, felt glad that it happened before the trash was collected that day, called the insurance company, and bemoaned the loss of so much amazing meat. 

And then life went on. 

We’ve got a number of meals out this week due to a variety of happenings but the weekend meals out involve spending time with family.  The rest of the meals are just simple things because I’m sad about the loss of meat.

1. Out
2. Broiled Cod w/ Pasta with Mascarpone and Prosciutto
3. Beef and Noodle Skillet
4. grilled burgers w/ Roasted Potatoes with Pesto
5-7. G&L: out of town, A: Fends for himself
Snack: Roasted Beet Hummus

I think my main goal for this week is to make a nice dent in the ground beef supplies.  I also have spinach, beets, and potatoes from the market to use.  I’ve only got three cooking nights due to a planned outing after the choir concert on Sunday and a trip to Kansas City at the end of the week for Lance and me.  It’s a pretty straightforward, if short, week in food here.