Meal Planning: Jan. 13 - 19, 2020
Sometimes when I sit down to plan the weekly meal menu, I get everything ready, have paper and pen at the ready, and cannot think of a single thing I know how to cook. See? It happens to the best of us. Sometimes in these situations, you need to impose a set of limitations on yourself because clearly, having everything too open-ended isn't working. Too many options are not always helpful. So this afternoon, I decided I would choose meals out of a variety of cook books. It was enough to get me over the hurdle of having forgotten how to cook, and I was able to come up with a week's worth of meals.
Monday
(From The New Basics Cookbook, which isn't so new anymore having been published in the last 1980's. But it is one that I refer back to pretty consistently.
Polenta, Sausage, and Tomato Layers
I really like this recipe, but really don't like making the polenta. But in my new Italian cook book, there is a recipe for making polenta using a double-boiler which looks as though you don't have to stand in front of the stove stirring the stuff for what seems like forever. So I'm going to give it a try.
Salad
Garlic bread
Tuesday
Macaroni and cheese
Homemade. This is an easy dinner, and since Tuesdays are long, it makes sense.
Sauteed spinach
Do you make this? I saute a bunch of fresh spinach in some olive oil, then add a good dash of balsamic vinegar. It's even better with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese added, but I rarely buy pine nuts these days.
Wednesday
(This recipe comes from the Momys Cookbook. It is one of those group contributed cook books, and Momys stands for Mothers of Many Young Siblings. It is one of the very few cook books I don't have to double or triple the recipe to use.
Sausage crock pot dinner
This is pretty good and pretty easy. Essentially, put a bunch of potatoes in the bottom, then layer a bunch of green beans (I use frozen), top with smoked sausage. Finally add a stick of butter to the whole thing and cook all day. It is not fancy or terribly healthy, but everyone eats it and it is a great meal for a cold night.
Salad
Thursday
(This is from my new Christmas gift, The Italian Country Table. It is one of the recipes I copied out of it when I first checked it out of the library.)
Sweet Squash with Crisp Polenta
I love this meal, but rarely make it because of the polenta. Not only do you have to make the polenta, but then you need to cool it, slice it, and brown it in a skillet. I'm going to use the extra polenta from Monday, so all I'll have to do it saute it as the squash cooks. I've had butternut squash in the pantry for a couple of months now, having bought it on sale. It's a good use for it.
Salad
Friday
(This is from Fermented: A Beginner's Guide to Making Your Own Sourdough, Yogurt, Sauerkraut, Kefir, Kimchi, and More. I have a couple of recipes I make out of this, but on the whole, if you are interested in making fermented foods, it is frustratingly vague. Far better to check it out of the library, copy the couple of good recipes, and send it back.)
Tandoori-style Chicken with Yogurt
I'm trying a new recipe from the book. It will make me feel a wee less guilty over having bought it in the first place. Plus, I was craving Indian food when I was making the week's menu.
Naan
From Aldi. I'm thrilled Aldi carries naan now.
Cucumber Riata
Also a recipe from the book... yogurt, cucumbers, mint, and cumin
Saturday
(From The Art of Simple Food, which I mentioned that I found at a library used book sale.)
Spicy Cauliflower Soup
This is also a new recipe for us, and fills my effort to have at least one meatless meal a week. Plus, my people are surprisingly fond of cauliflower.
French bread
Homemade. I need to make a new batch of dough to keep in the refrigerator.
Sunday
(From The Best Mexican Recipes: Kitchen-Tested Recipes Put the Real Flavors of Mexico Within Reach)
Baja Fish Tacos with pickled onion and cabbage
I've made this a couple of times, and we love it. I had a leftover cabbage in the refrigerator so this would be a good use for it.
Corn tortillas
As I've mentioned, I'm pretty good with the tortilla press these days.
Yellow rice
From a mix
_____________
I have a new article published. Feel free to click and share as much as your heart desires, which I hope is a lot. Bringing Your Child Home For the Very First Time
Monday
(From The New Basics Cookbook, which isn't so new anymore having been published in the last 1980's. But it is one that I refer back to pretty consistently.
Polenta, Sausage, and Tomato Layers
I really like this recipe, but really don't like making the polenta. But in my new Italian cook book, there is a recipe for making polenta using a double-boiler which looks as though you don't have to stand in front of the stove stirring the stuff for what seems like forever. So I'm going to give it a try.
Salad
Garlic bread
Tuesday
Macaroni and cheese
Homemade. This is an easy dinner, and since Tuesdays are long, it makes sense.
Sauteed spinach
Do you make this? I saute a bunch of fresh spinach in some olive oil, then add a good dash of balsamic vinegar. It's even better with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese added, but I rarely buy pine nuts these days.
Wednesday
(This recipe comes from the Momys Cookbook. It is one of those group contributed cook books, and Momys stands for Mothers of Many Young Siblings. It is one of the very few cook books I don't have to double or triple the recipe to use.
Sausage crock pot dinner
This is pretty good and pretty easy. Essentially, put a bunch of potatoes in the bottom, then layer a bunch of green beans (I use frozen), top with smoked sausage. Finally add a stick of butter to the whole thing and cook all day. It is not fancy or terribly healthy, but everyone eats it and it is a great meal for a cold night.
Salad
Thursday
(This is from my new Christmas gift, The Italian Country Table. It is one of the recipes I copied out of it when I first checked it out of the library.)
Sweet Squash with Crisp Polenta
I love this meal, but rarely make it because of the polenta. Not only do you have to make the polenta, but then you need to cool it, slice it, and brown it in a skillet. I'm going to use the extra polenta from Monday, so all I'll have to do it saute it as the squash cooks. I've had butternut squash in the pantry for a couple of months now, having bought it on sale. It's a good use for it.
Salad
Friday
(This is from Fermented: A Beginner's Guide to Making Your Own Sourdough, Yogurt, Sauerkraut, Kefir, Kimchi, and More. I have a couple of recipes I make out of this, but on the whole, if you are interested in making fermented foods, it is frustratingly vague. Far better to check it out of the library, copy the couple of good recipes, and send it back.)
Tandoori-style Chicken with Yogurt
I'm trying a new recipe from the book. It will make me feel a wee less guilty over having bought it in the first place. Plus, I was craving Indian food when I was making the week's menu.
Naan
From Aldi. I'm thrilled Aldi carries naan now.
Cucumber Riata
Also a recipe from the book... yogurt, cucumbers, mint, and cumin
Saturday
(From The Art of Simple Food, which I mentioned that I found at a library used book sale.)
Spicy Cauliflower Soup
This is also a new recipe for us, and fills my effort to have at least one meatless meal a week. Plus, my people are surprisingly fond of cauliflower.
French bread
Homemade. I need to make a new batch of dough to keep in the refrigerator.
Sunday
(From The Best Mexican Recipes: Kitchen-Tested Recipes Put the Real Flavors of Mexico Within Reach)
Baja Fish Tacos with pickled onion and cabbage
I've made this a couple of times, and we love it. I had a leftover cabbage in the refrigerator so this would be a good use for it.
Corn tortillas
As I've mentioned, I'm pretty good with the tortilla press these days.
Yellow rice
From a mix
_____________
I have a new article published. Feel free to click and share as much as your heart desires, which I hope is a lot. Bringing Your Child Home For the Very First Time
Comments
Once I get started with something (ANY-thing), the rest seem to fill in.
I must say, though, that more often than not, at least one day of my week is blank and I fill it in on the fly with something new or a makeup dish from earlier that was shifted for some reason or another.
I can't say I enjoy meal planning, but I sure do like the results of doing it. Meal planning an hour before dinner time gets old pretty quickly.
At one point, I wrote down a list of all the recipes we have regularly. When it's especially hard to come up with anything I can get that out and look it over to see what we haven't had in awhile.