Weekly Meal Plans

Thanksgiving 2009

Bread Machine Sweet Potato Bread
Bread Machine Olive Oil Bread
Bread Machine White Bread
High-Heat Roasted Turkey
Apple-Raisin Bread Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Cream Cheese and Chive Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pumpkin Bread
Vanilla Ice Cream
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Bundt Coffee Cake

It’s hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner but the calendar assures me that it is.  I’m feeling completely unprepared!  As Lance reminds me, though, I do the same thing every year.  At least, in the main, it’s the same from year to year.  My table, and our stomachs, can only hold so much.

Since I do all of the Thanksgiving cooking by myself, and usually when Art, my sous chef, isn’t home, I have a very detailed schedule of how to get everything taken care of. 

On Tuesday I handle all of the baking.  This means I make all of the bread machine breads, the pumpkin bread, the pecan pie, and the pumpkin cheesecake.  I also get the ice cream base made so that it will be ready to freeze on Wednesday.  (My mom handles the coffee cake, so I don’t have to make that myself.  Yay!) 

On Wednesday I handle the casserole prep.  So I get the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole assembled and in the fridge.  I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to stack things in the fridge using cookie sheets as makeshift shelves by resting them on top of the casserole dishes.  I also pick up the turkey from the butcher, we’ve been getting a fresh one for the last 8 years and love it. 

Then, on Thursday morning, Art and I get the turkey in the oven, prepare stuffing and mashed potatoes, and bake the green bean and sweet potato casseroles. 

Easy, right?

(I’ll be adding pictures to these recipes after the feast.)

Menu 11/15/2009

1. Out of town
2. Spaghetti
3. Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto w/ orzo
4. Salmon with Hoisin, Orange Lemon and Bok Choy w/ rice
5. Steak and Bacon Tournedos Roasted Filet Mignon w/ Béarnaise Sauce w/ Roasted Acorn Squash (Sadly our butcher was out of flank steak so I defaulted to roast filet.  No one was sad about this except for me.)
6. Bruschetta Chicken Bake w/ salad
7. Mom’s Chicken w/ Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Pine Nuts

Art is gone all week in the Land of Steak so it’s just Lance and me at home.  This means we get to indulge in salmon, a rare treat for me!  We’ll be having salmon with some CSA boy choy for meal 4.  CSA spinach will also feature in meal 3.  I’ll also be using as much winter squash as I can fit into the week.

Menu 11/8/2009

1. Linguine with Chicken, Lemony Broccoli and Sundried Tomatoes
2. Burgers w/ Sautéed Turnip Greens
3. Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto w/ Roasted Potatoes
4. Szechuan Green Beans with Pork
5. Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken w/ Spaghetti Squash with Lemon and Capers
6. Lance and Gwen out of town, Art to fend for himself
7. Lance and Gwen out of town, Art to have dinner with Aikido folks
Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

This week will be a relatively short one for cooking since I’ll be out of town with Lance Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  I’ve got a lot of veggies to use up this week and my meal plan is based around that goal.  I actually picked a vegetable to use for each day and then planned my meals around that vegetable.  Broccoli, turnip greens, spinach, potatoes, green beans, and spaghetti squash.  It should be a delicious week. 

I will also be baking cookies on Wednesday.  Our dojo is having a big grand opening and open house this weekend and I offered to send some cookies along with Art who will be going alone, since I’ll be out of town.  Then I decided, since I was already baking cookies, that I might as well bake some to share with my choir and then why not bake some to give to the farmers are the market as well?  I’m aiming to bake twelve dozen cookies, so this will probably take a good chunk of time on Wednesday.

Menu 11/1/2009

1. Samosas, Butter Chicken, Chana Pulao, Coconut Sorbet, Chocolate Chai Cake
2. Spaghetti
3. Chicken Pot Pie
4. Marjoram Chicken w/ Cabbage and Potato Gratin with Sage
5. Chicken Strips w/ Cheater Turnip Greens
6. Filet Mignon w/ Kohlrabi and Cress w/ Creamy Parmesan Orzo
7. Unclear at time of postingBaked Spiced Nuts, Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Sundried Tomatoes, salad, Garlic Cheese Bread, Pecan Pie Bars

This week started out with another Game Day and I was inspired to go with an Indian theme for the meal.  Everything was delicious; I just wish that I had tripled the Butter Chicken instead of doubling it!  

The rest of the week is geared around putting a dent in the vegetables that have accumulated in the house.  Due to our full share of vegetables for two weeks I’ve had to work harder at using everything up and, thanks to the hardiness of winter vegetables, I’ve got quite a stockpile of winter squashes, sweet potatoes, and onions.  I’ll be using up the less hardy vegetables in meals 4, 5, and 6.  

Meal 7 may or may not be another Game Day.  I’ll update the meal plan when I figure out what’s going on!

Here’s my photo evidence of the vegetable stockpiling I’ve been doing.  This doesn’t include the squashes – spaghetti x2, acorn x4, buttercup, butternut, and sunshine.  

Menu 10/25/2009

1. Asian Pork Chops and Baby Bok Choy
2. Fried Rice
3. Beef Stroganoff w/ egg noodles
4. Grilled Flank Steak w/ Winter Squash Risotto
5. Sausage and Lentil Soup w/ Sweet Potato Bread
6. Chicken Pot Pie
7. Slow Cooker Pulled Pork w/ rolls

And, finally, everyone is back home.  At least for this week.  We have no idea what next week will bring!  

As we approach winter, our vegetables have turned heartier.  This means that there isn’t quite as significant of a need to use everything right away.  If I don’t get to a winter squash this week, it will keep until next and many weeks to follow!  It’s nice not to feel quite so pressured to use everything all at once.  Meals 1, 2, and 4 will all use vegetables from the market.  

Meals 2 and 5 are easy meals to prepare because they’ll be eaten after Aikido and choir.  Then I’ll be going with another slow cooker meal for Saturday since that worked out very well this Saturday and I know I’ll have lots of cooking to do to get ready for the next Game Day.

Menu 10/18/2009

1. Salsa, Chicken Enchiladas, Loaded Yellow Rice, Mexican Sundaes (Loaded Yellow Rice is just yellow rice from a box with chopped tomatoes and green onions added.)
2. Out
3. Amazing Italian Lemon Butter Chicken
4. Grilled Asian Pork Chops and Baby Bok Choy
5. Soba with Chicken and Peanut Sauce w/ Chilled Sesame-Ginger Tatsoi
6. Szechuan Eggplant and Pork Stir-Fry w/ rice
7. Roast Chicken in Slow Cooker with Crispy Skin w/ Peas and Turnips with Bacon and Dill Butter w/ salad

This week is an oddity since Lance is gone for meals 1-6.  In addition, we had Game Day for meal 1 and I went with a Mexican theme for the gathering.

We’re in the midst of late-fall greens and I’ll be using those in meals 4 and 5.  Market vegetables are also going to be used in meals 6 and 7.  

Since I’ll be picking Lance up at the airport around dinner time for meal 7, I’m opting for a roast chicken in the slow cooker and a simple side that Art will be able to prepare while I’m gone.  

It should be another tasty week!  And soon I think I’ll need to start planning Thanksgiving.  Ack!

Menu 10/11/2009

1. Out of Town
2. Emergency Indian
3. Skillet Pasta with Chicken, Peas and Prosciutto
4. Tacos
5. Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
6. Amazing Italian Lemon Butter Chicken
7. Tater Tot Casserole

I wonder if life ever does “go back to normal?”  Or what “normal” even is?  This week normal seems to be me fighting off being sick and wanting easy meals to make in the meantime.  

I always keep a few jars of Indian sauce in the pantry for nights when cooking isn’t going to happen and that was dinner for meal 2.  I usually have chicken in the freezer and rice in the pantry, so it’s a super simple meal to throw together!  

Meal 3 is designed to use up the fresh ricotta I picked up at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market.  

Lance will be gone for meals 6 and 7, as well as the rest of next week, so I’m going to need to find all of my nutty recipes to make while he’s gone.  

I think things will be back to normal in January.  :)

Menu 10/4/2009

1. Delivered Pizza
2. Leftovers
3. Grilled Prime NY Strip Steak w/ Super-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
4. Penne with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce w/ added chicken
5. Mom’s Chicken w/ Penne with Vodka Sauce
6. Out of Town
7. Out of Town

I’m not entirely sure what happened with this week.  I never feel like cooking right after getting home from a trip, so we ordered pizza on Sunday evening.  On Monday evening, we had infinite leftovers from Lance’s supplies and Aikido, so we decided to just forgo cooking and feast on leftovers.  

Lance is out of town for meals 4-7 and, on top of that, Art and I are also out of town for meals 6 and 7.  So the rest of the meal planning was an attempt to avoid shopping as much as possible.  

Life should be back to normal next week!

Menu 9/27/2009

1. Baked Crispy Dijon Chicken Breasts w/ Mashed Potato Casserole w/ Bok Choy and Garlic
2. Skillet Macaroni and Beef
3. Chicken in Lemongrass Sauce w/ rice
4. Pepper-Crusted Pork Loin w/ Pasta with Butternut Squash and Lima Beans
5. Beef Stroganoff
6. Chicken Broccoli Divan
7. Leftovers/Lunch Meat Sandwiches
8. Penne with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce w/ added chicken
Kale Chips
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week is a strange week.  Come to think of it, the next 4 weeks are strange.  Art and I will be going away for a long weekend and then Lance has even more travel in the following weeks.  In addition to scheduling festivities I’ve got the market veggies to use up!  I will be posting some new, and hopefully amazing, restaurant reviews next week!

Two nights during the week I’ve got to plan quick and easy meals, those are meals 2 and 8.  For three meals, 6-8, Lance will be home alone so I planned things that I can make easily before I go away and that will reheat with no problems.  Market veggies will be used in meals 1, 3, and 4. 

Most of the recipes I’ll be making this week are new to me and I found them at Epicurious.com and in the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual.

Menu 9/20/2009

1. Stuffed Mushrooms, Traditional Lasagna, Artichoke and Mushroom Lasagna, Salad, Tiramisu
2. Leftovers from Game Day w/ Salad
3. French Chicken in a Pot w/ Sautéed Green Beans
4. Turkey w/ Stuffing w/ Boy Choy with Garlic
5. Mom’s Chicken w/ Mustard Green Gratin
6. Grilled Burgers w/ Potatoes Gratin (While the gratin was tasty enough, it wasn’t quite right, so I’m not going to post pictures or a recipe yet)
7. Eggplant and Summer Squash Parmesan w/ pasta w/ Caprese Sweet Potato Cake (Someday…)
Guacamole (This ended up being chunky salsa instead due to unripe avocados) 

Yet again, I’m going to try to get this Sweet Potato Cake made!  Last week was full of too many surprises.  This week has quite a few things to plan around and, hopefully, no surprises.  

Meal 1 is for Game Day.  The meal was planned around Art’s desire for Tiramisu.  As of Saturday, I’ve made all of the dishes for the game so it’s just a matter of baking and serving when we’re ready to eat.  

Two nights this week Art and I have plans to go to Aikido and I’ll be making meals 2 and 6 those nights.  Meal 5 is for choir night.  

Then, of course, there are market vegetables to be used up.  Those feature in meals 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7!  

And just to make life exciting, Lance will be gone for meals 6 and 7.  Fun times this week.