Weekly Meal Plans

Menu 12/14/2014

  1. eye round roast, horseradish cream sauce, fried Brussels, flourless chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream
  2. guinnes beef stew 
  3. chicken lettuce wraps
  4. nakkikastike (finnish hot dogs in sauce), roasted potatoes
  5. G out of town, A&L fend for selves
  6. out
  7. chicken enchilada bake, rice for guys

This meal plan is based around using up more things from the freezer - yay!  Well, aside from meal 1.  For meal 1 we’re having company over for dinner so I’m making exciting things.  Not that the rest of the week isn’t exciting, but you know what I mean.  

I’ll be using a rump roast, hot dogs, slow cooker chicken, and a bunch of beef broth from the freezer for these meals.  I’ll also be making a mushroom and pea risotto for Lance to take to his office party - it’ll use beef broth and red wine instead of the usual chicken broth and white wine.

Menu 12/7/2014

  1. out with parents
  2. chicken and turkey drop biscuit pot pie
  3. leftover night
  4. jalapeno peach chicken, rice, veggie
  5. leftover night
  6. grilled steaks, grilled butternut squash with fresh ricotta goat cheese, pine nuts, and sage
  7. roast beef hash

This is sort of a strange week because of the number of times I won’t be cooking dinner.  I have a voice recital for day #1 and we’re going out to eat with my parents afterward.  On day #3 I’ve got a choir concert and I’ll be eating with my choirmates after the concert so the guys will be fending for themselves for dinner.  Then there’s day #5 which is the normal leftover night due to choir and even though I don’t have choir this week due to winter break, I’ll be meeting up with some friends on Thursdays until choir starts back up again.  Phew.  Busy times!  

Every other meal is planned for using up foods from the freezer.  All the meats are from the freezer and I’ve already got buttermilk and butternut squash.  I’m really working hard to make a dent in our stored foods even as I’m cooking beef broth that will fill the freezer back up!  (My fourth, and last, batch of broth is working away in the slow cooker right now.  I’ll be able to finish up The Great Beef Brothing of 2014 tomorrow.)

Menu 11/30/2014

  1. tetrazzini sauce, pasta
  2. burgers, sweet potato fries, aioli
  3. chicken parm (from freezer), pasta
  4. crispy curried chicken, indian potatoes with peas
  5. leftover night
  6. mom’s chicken, Brussels sprouts gratin
  7. cottage pie (leftover mashed potatoes)

The week after Thanksgiving.  It seems like I shouldn’t have to think about cooking “normal” food so soon after a grand holiday feast but, as they say, life goes on.  I’m leaving meal 7 unplanned since I have a suspicion we might run out of room in the fridge at some point and need to add in an extra leftover night.  But I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it!  (I ended up planning cottage pie to use up the leftover mashed potatoes.)

Since I don’t eat pasta anymore, I’m going to try to make tetrazzini as a sauce this time and see how that works.  Fingers crossed!

I’m working on clearing out both of the freezers, but the chest freezer in particular.  I’ve got a number of random leftovers in there that I want to clear out and I’d like to be able to defrost the thing at some point in the near future.  I also really need to start making beef broth at some point as we got a HUGE number of beef bones with the last cow from the farm.  Sadly this is one of those things that takes quite a bit of time and time isn’t something I have a copious amount of anymore.

Menu 11/23/2014

  1. thai sweet and sour stir fry with pork, rice
  2. grilled steaks, fried Brussels sprouts, bordelaise mushroom sauce
  3. chicken parm from freezer, roasted broccoli with balsamic dressing, pasta
  4. out
  5. bread, turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, gravy, pumpkin bread, molten lava cakes, ice cream
  6. breakfast: coffee cake, eggs to order, sausage, grapefruit; lunch: cold cut sandwiches; dinner: chili, hot water cornbread
  7. breakfast: croissants, eggs with parsley and goat cheese, bacon; dinner: leftovers

Sometimes meal planning feels like a chore.  Especially right before Thanksgiving when I wonder why we can’t just eat out until Thursday.  But, here is a meal plan.  Easy stuff to leave time for all of the pre-holiday cooking I’ll be doing!

Thanksgiving 2014

It seems way too early to post this, but here goes.  

Thursday
No Knead Bread (for eating) Bread Machine White Bread (for stuffing) bread machine died
High-Heat Roasted Turkey (We’re getting another heritage turkey this year!)
Apple-Raisin Bread Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole (2014 Note: reduce this in the future)
Cream Cheese and Chive Mashed Potatoes x2 (2014 Note: reduce this in the future)
Sweet Potato Casserole
Gravy
Pumpkin Bread
storebought vanilla ice cream
Molten Lava Cakes x1.5

Friday
Breakfast: Bundt Cake, eggs, grapefruit, sausage or bacon Lunch: sandwich stuff
Dinner: chili, hot water cornbread

Saturday
Breakfast: croissants from local pastry chef, eggs, sausage or bacon
Dinner: Leftovers!

**Cooking Plan
**Previous week - Make double batch of chili for dinner and freeze extra

Monday - Casserole assembly day.  I need to get the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole together so that they’ll be ready to bake once the turkey comes out of the oven.  I’ll also try to get the pumpkin bread made so I can take a loaf to my voice teacher.  

Tuesday - Bread day.  I’ll do the stuffing bread in the machine and get the no knead bread started so that I can bake it on Wednesday.  

Wednesday - Bake the bread in the evening.

Thursday - Get turkey roasting.  Make stuffing and mashed potatoes.  Cook casseroles after turkey comes out of the oven.

Menu 11/9/2014

  1. spaghetti, pasta, garlic bread
  2. easier chicken tikka masala, rice
  3. hamburger cabbage stir fry, rice
  4. out
  5. leftover night
  6. grilled steaks, roasted broccoli, garlic balsamic vinaigrette 
  7. A&G out, L fends for himself

This week was a lot of really easy stuff since it was not a really easy week outside of the kitchen!  Lots of tasty food, though, and that’s pretty much all that matters.

Menu 11/16/2014

  1. maple glazed pork tenderloin, deep fried Brussels sprouts
  2. chili, rice
  3. slow cooker roast beef with mushroom gravy, roasted acorn squash
  4. broccoli bacon quiches
  5. leftover night
  6. thai sweet and sour stir fry with pork, rice out due to shoulder pain
  7. slow cooker beef stew, drop biscuits

This week is a bit more complicated than last one for cooking.  I’m also a bit more busy than I was last week, so here’s hoping I’m not setting myself up for failure with the cooking plans.  There are some easy meals, so hopefully those will serve me well on the busy days.  I’m making chili this week because a) it’s cold and b) I need to have leftovers of it for the day after Thanksgiving.  And Thanksgiving is the following week.  EEEEK.  When did that happen?!

Menu 10/12/2014

  1. out for L’s birthday
  2. crack slaw (burger, cabbage, daikon)
  3. stir fry (steak, zucchini, broccoli, red bell pepper)
  4. mom’s chicken w/ butternut squash and bacon risotto
  5. leftover night
  6. G&L: out of town, A: fends for himself
  7. out after hopefully surviving my first race ever

This is a weird week since my plans changed partway through.  We’re eating out more than normal due to L’s birthday dinner and then L and I racing on Saturday.  I’ll be running my first ever 5k and I’m super nervous, anxious, scared, and excited.