Last week's meal plan

Yummy stuff last week.

I made a simple dinner of the yellow and red tomatoes, and basil, from the garden paired with fresh mozzarella, some diced onions, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of olive oil. We ate it with homemade bread. This was truly why I planted tomatoes and basil. Mmmmm.



Big Salad night is a favorite in our house and it's usually vegan. It always involves romaine lettuce, canned beans, diced onions, and mandarin oranges; the rest depends on what we have on hand. This week we had green peppers, canned corn, and walnuts. Nate prefers his without dressing:



Lastly, I re-made Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta. I skip the feta in this recipe - I think the flavor is just too overwhelming, which makes it another vegan meal. It's truly fabulous and easy; I double the portion for lunches and dinner the next day, too.



This week will be a short one due to our upcoming vacation. We'll probably do a lot of eating out of the fridge, getting rid of the perishables. Maybe I can come up with something creative...

Meal plan recap

So last week was "shop from your pantry" week. We had lots of leftovers from two of the dinners, so I only ended up cooking 3 big meals (plus we were all out on the 4th of July).

Monday and Wednesday we had bean enchiladas. I used up: Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles, refried beans, shredded cheese, cilantro from a recipe last week, and a half-open jar of enchilada sauce. The only thing I had to buy was the tortillas ($2.50)



Tuesday we had salmon (no photo). Used up the salmon (obviously) and a half empty jar of lemon dill sauce. I paired it with jasmine rice and a bagged spinach salad from Trader Joes.

Thursday and today we're eating crockpot veggie chili. Used up the other pack of veggie crumbles, cans of beans, cans of crushed tomatoes, and a can of corn. The only thing I bought was the zucchini and squash.



I plan on using up a few more orphaned items in next week's meals! Stay tuned for the fascinating update.

Last week's meal plan

Tried out a few new ones last week:

Monday was a Spanish Tortilla.



I was a little wary of how simple it was, seasoning-wise, but it was very subtle and very good. I think it would be a great way to use up leftovers, and a kind-of fancy "breakfast for dinner." I didn't skin the potatoes (more work, less nutrition). Leftovers were even good cold (with a little ketchup, I admit.)

Tuesday was another new one: Bulgur with Apricots and Almonds. This was the first recipe that I thought was pretty disappointing - it was bland and boring. But I'm still very glad I made it because I really liked the texture and taste of the bulgur wheat, and I plan on using it again, albeit with another recipe.

Wednesday is "friend day" and Dave was over as usual. He brought along a kale salad and re-did the bulgur salad by sauteeing my block of tofu with some asian sauce and adding the bulger to it. Totally saved the recipe.

Thursday I re-made the Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad. Somehow it wasn't as good as the first time; maybe because I used canned corn. Still very good and very nutritious.

Friday and weekend were "catch as catch can" with leftovers and Trader Joes meals.

This next week will be a little odd - I'm throwing down a "use what's in your pantry" challenge. Wackiness ensues.

A challenge: shop in your pantry!

This week's meal plan is set, but here's what I plan to do for next week: shop out of my pantry and let it guide the meal plan. I hope to use up every odd can, strange jar of sauce, and frozen thing that's been there for long enough that I know I'm not going to use it otherwise.

I've pared down those items in the past few months, and donated anything I know for sure we won't be using. Here's what's left to work with:

Two jars of BBQ sauce
2/3 box of lasagne noodles
A jar of alfredo sauce
Two cans of refried beans
Block of tofu
Two packages of cream cheese
Beef broth & chicken broth
Tomato juice
Frozen salmon
Chicken burgers
Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles (meat substitute)
Honey
Pierogies

Got any good ideas for this mess? Send 'em along!

Last week's meal plan

We were away for 3 nights last week, so just a few items to review for last week:

Monday: Wheatberry Salad again. This is a good standard for us. I think I undercooked the wheatberries this time, but I kinda like the chewy texture. Nate and Stewart both liked it, but didn't love it. I love that it gets whole grains and fruit (apples and raisins) into their bodies.

Tuesday: Spinach Calzones with Blue Cheese again. We love it.

Wednesday: Soba Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables. This was the only new recipe I tried and it was pretty good. Not great, but good. I used a peeler to slide the carrots lengthwise and liked the way it looked. Nate liked it a lot, so I'm happy about that.



Definitely planning on trying some new recipe this week! Anyone have any good new ones?

The (meal) week in review

Decided it might make more sense to talk about my weekly meal plan after the week is up, so I can include photos and comments about what I chose.

This past week, I only ended up doing two recipes - we ate each for two nights. I always double-up my recipes and freeze half if it's freezable or eat it for two (or three) nights if it won't freeze well. Friday night we just picked out of the fridge for dinner and weekends we tend to be going in opposite directions. For example, Stewart's photographing a wedding tonight, so he'll eat there. I'll just eat a Lean Cuisine Panini or a can of soup.

So...

Monday and Wednesday we had Summer Rolls. I decided to practice a bit of frugality and omit the shrimp - I doubled up on the avocado and used a bit of fake crab in half. Next time I'll skip the protein altogether - it was great with just avocado and cilantro.



Tuesday and Thursday we had Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad. Oh my goodness this was good. Got lucky finding really nice ripe mangoes at the store. I'm not sure how much the dish benefitted from the roasting of the corn kernels; I might try skipping that step next time to save some time. I used half frozen corn kernels and half fresh. Truly delicious. Nate at bowl after bowl after bowl. I just can't explain how good I feel when I see him stuff healthy food down his throat!



(Emily - are you out there? I think you would love this recipe!)

Meal plan - week of June 2

It's gotten hot here, so I think it's time to work some cooler meals into the mix. Tonight we'll have the Tofu Parmigiana - I prepped the tofu yesterday but we ended up going out for BBQ and eating our weight in ribs. Leftovers for lunch today Yum.

So, in no particular order, our dinners for this week:

* Shrimp summer rolls (Stewart loves these) I do my own version with shrimp, chives, cilantro, and a peanut dipping sauce. They're a little complicated to make, so it'll definitely be a "after the kids are in bed" dinner

* Soba Salad with Tofu

* Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad

I think we'll have leftovers from at least one of those meals, plus the nice weather is encouraging us to eat out in our local restaurants. I'll just plan those 3 dinners and play the rest of them by ear.

Meal plan

This week's meal plan is intended to use up leftovers that are edging towards their death in the fridge.

English muffin pizzas - I've got open tomato sauce, open mozzarella, and english muffins that my dear husband wanted me to buy and has never glanced at since.
Spinach calzones - Wednesday if the spinach will last that long!
Tofu parmigiana - didn't get to try it last week - probably Friday

I'll play the rest by ear.

Meal plan

The meal plan for this week is going to be very sparse; it's a very social week for us.

Sunday - leftover crockpot lasagna. Very bland, but serviceable enough.
Monday - We're out to dinner with family (my baby sister is turning 30!)
Tuesday - I'm out to dinner with a friend. I'll let Stewart reheat something frozen or have a Trader Joe's Indian meal.
Wednesday - Dave over for dinner. I plan to re-make the Spinach Calzones since they were such a hit with Stewart.
Thursday - We're out to dinner with neighbors.
Friday - I'll probably try this recipe for Tofu Parmigiana for the first time.
Saturday - Dinner at a neighbor's house

Not too inspiring, huh?

Dinner recap

Tonight I made these Spinach Calzones With Blue Cheese - a recipe I found on the Cooking Light recipe pages. It was very easy to make with minimal prep work, and was a huge hit. Stewart said he'd be happy to have it for dinner every single night.

Here's a bad photo of how one turned out:



I'd estimate the cost for all four calzones to be around $12.00, so that's a relatively inexpensive dinner item. This recipe is definitely going into the rotation.

Neighborhood note: just as I was putting the calzone onto a plate for Stewart, my front door opened and my neighbor David just walked in with a homemade french baguette for us. I love this neighborhood.

Meal plan

Truthfully, I don't do a ton of "housewife" duties. We have a cleaning crew that comes in every other week, so you will never find me scrubbing a toilet or a shower. I do laundry and re-stock diapers and grocery shop and pay bills and straighten up and make meals and keep the children alive. Okay, I guess I do quite a bit of housewife stuff. Just no deep cleaning.

I've gotten into a routine where I spend a little time on Sunday coming up with a meal plan for the week, grocery shopping, and then prepping the food for the week as best I can. I chop up a bunch of fruits and veggies to put out with Nate's meals (or AS Nate's meal) and I chop up as much as I can for the recipes I plan to make during the week. It allows me to cook much more easily during a hectic week-day, and makes it easy for Nate to help out with the stirring and whatnot.

When I think of it, I'll post my meal plan for the week. I don't plan more than 4 meals each week because:

1) We often have leftovers that we can eat the next night (the is a BIG leftover house)
2) We sometimes decide to walk to a local restaurant for dinner
3) I occasionally just don't cook, leaving Stewart to happily heat up a Trader Joe's indian meal and feeding myself a delicious Lean Cuisine.

This week's plan:

Trader Joe's chili lime chicken burgers w/roasted potatoes (did this Monday, one of our easy favorites)
African Sweet Potato Stew (did this Tuesday for the first time, it went over very well with both the under 3 crowd and the over 40 demographic. We'll have it again tonight.)
Slow Cooker Lasagne (Maybe Thursday?)
Spinach Calzones

I'm always on the lookout for good vegetarian dinners if you have any to share!