Weekly Meal Plans

Menu 8/30/2015

  1. [stir-fried pork with string beans](http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/easy-stir-fried-pork-with-string-beans-recipe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+seriouseats%2F(recipes+(Serious+Eats%3A+Recipes)), rice
  2. breakfast for dinner
  3. make coq au vin, creamy lamb and eggplant casserole
  4. coq au vin
  5. indonesian meat and potato fritters, indonesian coconut rice with zucchini (sans the chicken that the recipe calls for)
  6. leftover night
  7. roasted chicken thighs with creamed shallots and bacon, bacon, tomato, zucchini salad
  8. slow cooker hawaiian pizza, english muffins

And for lunches I’ll be making smoked salmon salad with cucumber.  

This is another 8 meal plan because I was gone for most of the previous week, but I got home on Friday and am cooking tonight which is Saturday.  

This week is the first week of the next stage of my life.  Starting on Wednesday, I’m going to be a full time student for the first time in 18 years.  I’m both scared and excited.  Aaah!  I think that Tuesdays and Thursdays will become leftover nights and I’ll also be making something for lunches as often as needed since I’ll be eating lunch and dinner at school most Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Menu 8/16/2015

  1. loaded egg salad, bread
  2. samosa mashed potatoes with ground lamb
  3. rustic pasta sauce with zucchini and sausage
  4. za’atar roast chicken with green tahini sauce, greek style bell pepper salad
  5. leftover night
  6. grilled chicken, summer pasta with smashed tomatoes, peaches, and mozzarella
  7. burgers maybe grilled, sweet potato fries, aioli, one large tomato
  8. [cobb salad](http://www.babble.com/best-(recipes/classic-cobb-salad-with-red-wine-lemon-vinaigrette/)

Unlike last week, the days for certain meals don’t matter so much this week, aside from #1 and #8.  I am planning 8 meals, since I’ll be leaving next Monday so I might as well plan for next Sunday and do all the shopping at the same time, right?  I’m also planning on making lemon lemon lemon loaf to take to chemo when I’m out of town, so I’ll link to that recipe as well!

Menu 8/9/2015

  1. grilled chicken caprese salad
  2. something TBA, crustless summer zucchini pie
  3. black bean bacon chili
  4. roasted/grilled chicken, tahini eggplant
  5. leftovers
  6. taco beef cabbage stir fry, rice
  7. fajitas (zucchini, peppers, bell peppers, onions)

Gone are the days when I can just plan meals for the week and figure out when I’ll cook them as the week goes on.  Now that my life has lost almost all of its flexibility, I need to actually plan specific meals for specific days.  Rough life, eh?  

This meal plan pretty much came together in my head while I was at the farmers market buying veggies for the week.  I still need to figure out a protein to go with meal #2, but that just involves looking in the freezer to figure out what my options are.  

I’ve also started to think forward to September when I’ll be a full time student for the first time in 18 years.  Tuesday dinners are going to need to be slow cooker meals and I’ll need to start planning a lunch recipe a week so that I’ll have food to take in my lunch boxes on the days I have classes.

Menu 7/26/2015

  1. chicken salad, croissants
  2. zucchini, bacon, gruyere quiches
  3. grilled chicken caprese
  4. tex mex pasta bake
  5. A&G out of town, L FFS
  6. A&G out of town, L FFS
  7. A&G out of town, L FFS

Has it really been two months since I last posted a meal plan?  EEK.  Life has been super hectic.  My dad’s cancer has come back, which puts me out of town quite a bit.  Then I was in Norway on vacation for a week and then in Michigan on vacation for most of another week and sheesh.  I’ve not had much time at home or much time to cook!  But August will be the calm between two storms - all I’ve got going on is chemo for two weeks with my dad and I’ll be home the rest of the month.  Then, in September, I’m going to be a full time student.  Eek.  So meal planning and cooking will be interesting…

But I’m doing what I can, when I can, and that’s got to be enough.

Menu 5/24/2015

  1. slow roasted arctic char (and chicken) with lemon-mustard seed topping, mac and cheese cheesecake, cheater chard with garlic scapes
  2. holiday strip loin, [green sauce](https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/7225-salsa-verde?ref=(recipes_related_content_2), [broccoli with parmesan and bacon](https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/7226-broccolini-with-pancetta-and-parmesan?ref=(recipes_related_content_3)
  3. chicken stir fry - [spicy szechuan stir-fry sauce](http://www.fortysomething.ca/2012/05/15_basic_stir_fry_sauce_(recipes.php)
  4. oslo kebabs
  5. leftover night
  6. baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms and sausage
  7. roasted pork tenderloin, asparagus gruyere tart

I feel like this is a lot of food to be cooking for the week.  I definitely overbought by one veg at the farmers market this weekend and now I’m trying to figure out how to get everything in.  Not my best choice.  Lots of tasty things, though.  I’ll be using up lots of veggies, some meats from the freezer, and the carrots and celery are leftovers from my party a few weeks ago.  No Chipotle leftovers this week, I’ll probably work them into next week’s dinners.  

I picked up green onions, chard, spinach, broccoli, garlic scapes, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes at the market.

Menu 5/17/2015

  1. out with mom and dad
  2. teriyaki flank steak with green onions, rice
  3. slow cooker chicken fajita chili (chicken, mild salsa, bell peppers, beans, sofritos)
  4. slow roasted arctic char (and chicken) with lemon-mustard seed topping, mac and cheese cheesecake - out
  5. leftover night
  6. random grilled steaks, oven roasted asparagus and bell pepper salad
  7. smoked beef brisket, cheater chard - random food from freezer

This week is built around using up stuff in the freezer.  I’ve still got a ton of Chipotle catering leftovers as well as a bunch of cow cuts.  It’s also market season, which means I’ve got chard, asparagus, and green onions to use!

Menu 5/10/2015

  1. fried eggs, hash browns, bacon, roasted cherry tomatoes
  2. fish taco salad
  3. shrimp sweet and sour stir fry, rice
  4. rainbow trout with lemon, capers, and brown butter, roasted broccoli and cauliflower
  5. leftover night
  6. stir-fried cucumbers with spicy ground pork, rice
  7. mexican casserole

This is a fish week!  A is out if town for business, so L and I will be eating a lot of fish.  I haven’t planned meals 4 and 5 yet, because I noticed that Mom’s has a few different fish options than my local grocery store does, so I want to get some fish that I don’t normally get.  I’ll plan those last two meals once I know what fish I’ll be cooking.  

The other big thing for the near future is that I’ve got a freezer full of Chipotle leftovers.  We recently hosted a large party with Chipotle for catering, and now we’ve got a ton of things to work through.  I’ll be using lettuce with meal 2, bell peppers with meal 3, cucumbers with meal 6, and a bunch of stuff in meal 7.

Menu 4/26/2015

  1. skirt steak, chimichurri, roasted potatoes
  2. beef chuck tender roast (the site this is from is sickening, so I can’t bring myself to link to it), slow cooker barley and pine nut casserole
  3. chipotle
  4. G – out, AL – FFS
  5. G – out, AL – FFS
  6. chicken pineapple meatballs, rice, stir fry veg
  7. GL – out, A – FFS

I won’t be cooking a lot this week due to a trip up to PA, a late night choir concert, and a race on the weekend.  The nights I am cooking will help to make a further dent in the freezer stores of meat.

Menu 4/19/2015

  1. white chicken chili, slow cooker chicken, rice
  2. grilled steaks, lentils and mozzarella caprese
  3. breakfast for dinner (eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage)
  4. slow cooker bacon garlic short ribs, baked potatoes
  5. leftover night
  6. chicken, jar sauce, rice
  7. smoked bottom round roast, as sandwiches

I have a LOT of cow in my freezer right now.  But no ground beef.  I’ve got a lot of big roasts and a lot of steaks.  There are also some briskets and, of course, the pork belly that has been in there for forever.  There’s a random teeny single whole chicken.  The problem with roasts is that I can really only do one a week otherwise the leftovers will go to waste.  I think we’ll be getting another 1⁄2 pig in two months or so, which will give us a nice injection of different meat.  

The short version is that I really need to start working on using up the meat in the freezer so that we can replenish.  But I also don’t want to have cow 7 nights a week.