Weekly Menu Planning – August 2022

This sounds great!

How were they? They sound great.

I love making this dish. Not only delicious, but we get so many tasty leftovers out of it.

While the chicken is good cold straight from the fridge, this week lot of the extra meat will get turned into a pasta dish. The potatoes will get re-crisped in a cast iron pan for breakfast or lunch.

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@Saregama

I should add: when I make this, I spatch-cock the chicken, and I do not par-boil the spuds. I did the par-boiling thing once, and they didn’t hold up for the roast. I use store-bought franken-chickens, and it takes about 90 minutes.

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@ChristinaM

They came out really well! Here were a few of my notes on how it went.

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Lot of eating out and eating prepared food this week, and it made me lazy: I didn’t get to most of my plan.

We did have a fabulous HO Goan group dinner on Wed which I had forgotten was on the schedule when I made last week’s plan. It was near Sahadi’s, the home of our COTM, so that was a fun browse and a teeny bit of neighborhood shopping too.

I’ve got produce and other things to use up between the fried and the freezer, so I’m trying to be disciplined and make a plan to use it up. I’ve already defrosted ground chicken inspired by @MunchkinRedux’s tsukune and @ChristinaM’s meatballs in coconut curry.

Fri - Gigantes beans with harissa (inspired by the beans I bought from the Sahadi’s deli) plus lahambajeen I bought next door.

Sat - Supposed to be out for the day and a meal with the friend leaving for Europe (got pushed back because someone in her office got COVID). I want to try a new Thai place, so maybe that. I’m hoping to cook a bit earlier in the day for later in the week.

Sun - Likely out with the friend who’s having surgery (and the family members coming to help who will have arrived by then).

Mon - Carryover from last week: Tsukune and king oyster yakitori (I used up the shiitake in the rogue but delicious Japanese mushroom and salmon rice) + plain rice + steamed broccoli or Brussels sprouts

Tues - Ginger meatballs in coconut lemongrass curry (this recipe or this one) + leftover rice & veg

Wed - I think this is surgery day for my friend. I may head to the hospital for moral support, in which case dinner will be whatever is around there. Or maybe I’ll cook something simple and take it with me if I have time, at least for the patient (hospital food makes everyone I know feel even more sick than the reason they’re there, lol)

Thurs - Tentatively on for dinner with a local friend I haven’t seen since last summer, but also still on standby post surgery, so let’s see.

Fri - Friend goes home; I thought I’d cook something homey but tasty for everyone and take it over. I’m thinking mom’s fish curry + rice will hit the spot.

Sat / Sun - Play by ear. A friend I haven’t seen in a while should be back in town after her summer break, so I’m hoping to catch up with her.

Also thinking about baking banana bread and brownies, or orange olive oil and brownies, for the patient and his caregivers.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

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I’ll be back in the classroom full time this semester, starting in a few weeks, and I’m already bummed about not being able to do things like make pot roast while in office hours or bake scones between online classes. Teaching online was more labor intensive than being in the classroom, but it did have some perks. And I really enjoyed the extra time with my husband (who has worked from home for years) and dogs, even if it was just being in the next room.

For two adults in San Diego:

This week’s breakfasts: Last week’s blueberry scones were very good. Just used Caitlin McGrath’s cream scone recipe with about 2/3 cup of fresh berries and an extra sprinkle of sugar on top. This week, chocolate is calling again. Might make these again (so good): https://smittenkitchen.com/2022/05/double-chocolate-chip-muffins/

S: (tonight) takeout - red chile beef and bean burrito

Su: Dutch baby pancake with blueberries and sausage

M: TJs Santa Maria tri-tip, creamed spinach, garlic toast

T: Might give these a try, with salad: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2022/07/zucchini-corn-fritters/ - vegetarian

W: Tuna melts with chips - seafood

Th: Pasta with leftover tri-tip, onions, peppers, spinach, cream, parmesan

F: Eggs scrambled with leftover taco filling from the freezer, hash browns.

Have a good week!

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Good luck with your return to the classroom! Hope you find some silver linings being in-person. Your breakfast for dinner tonight looks outstanding :slight_smile:

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Actuals for the 1st week of August, cooking for 2 in MN. Where we got rain! And maybe the lawn isn’t completely gone - a few green spots are springing up fast so we’ll need to mow today…

Mon - OUT – Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia, on the patio overlooking the lake, marina and island. Outstanding fish sandwiches, fries - enough for a 2nd meal Tues.
Tues - reheat Leftover Ground turkey/Spanish rice tacos

Wed - me OUT at a fundraiser – sandwiches, fruit, dessert squares, he -last of the Tortellini with sausage
Thurs - OUT – Bakers BBQ (sandwich), beans, rice
Fri - Sun lunches: Awesome Hot ham & Swiss w poppyseed sandwiches (recipe in comments), tossed salad, tater tots (Fri), corn on the cob (Sun), fruit (Sat/Sun)
Fri dinner - Breaded fish (Schwans), corn on the cob, cherries,
Sat dinner - Gyros in pita w/ chopped tomatoes, tzatziki. Bag salad.
Sun dinner - Grain salad (cooked farro not frekkah) with haloumi, zucchini and apricots, http://www.purewow.com/entry_detail/recipe/2532/A-hearty-salad-made-with-the-hottest-new-grain.html w gyro meat/tzatziki on the side

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Awesome Baked Ham and Swiss Poppy Seed Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings

6 T. butter
1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T prepared mustard
2 T. brown sugar
4-6 buns - whatever it takes to fill 8 x 8 pan
- I’ve used whole wheat dinner buns, white hamburger buns,
and leftover bratwurst / hot dog buns
8 oz. thin-sliced cooked deli or packaged ham
4 -5 ounces shredded Swiss cheese, or enough sliced Swiss cheese to cover each bun.

Directions

Best if refrigerated a few hours or overnight, but fine if baked immediately.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Into a medium microwave safe bowl, measure butter, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and prepared mustard. Heat to boiling to melt butter & sugar. Stir to mix well.

Coat an 8x8 baking pan lightly with vegetable spray.

Slice rolls in half horizontally and set aside tops. Arrange bottoms in a single layer in the 8 x 8 pan. Drizzle about 1 tsp. sauce on each. Top generously with ham and evenly sprinkle with shredded Swiss cheese. Dip each top quickly in sauce. Replace tops. Spoon remaining heated butter mixture over each roll, about 1-2 T per bun.
Cover with aluminum foil & refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake, covered, in the preheated 350 degree oven 25 minutes (or 10 minutes if not refrigerated), then uncovered 10 minutes, until rolls are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

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My mother used to make these.

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Oh, thank you! As for tonight’s dinner, I saute the blueberries in butter and a little maple syrup, to make kind of a quick compote. I never liked blueberries as a kid, but as an adult have realized I do like them, but not blueberry “flavoring”. What was that blueberry syrup in the 70s? :joy:

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Feeding two adults and a tween in the Boston burbs.

Sun: cheesesteak sloppy joes, Italian chopped salad (Rachael Ray)

Mon: grilled chicken, baked beans for the guys, SV zucchini fritters using a gigantic summer squash (all for me!), carrot sticks

Tues: bbq meatballs (https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/instant-pot-bbq-meatballs/), cornbread (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/skillet-cornbread/), green beans

Weds: pub night - fish and chips and (non-mushy) peas

Thurs: cheese tortellini with red sauce and extra ricotta, roasted broccoli

Fri: tbd as usual

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So, reporting back on the zucchini corn fritters: I cut the recipe in half for me and my husband, and it came out underseasoned. I’ll call that user error, not necessarily the fault of the recipe. The batter held together nicely when frying.

We both decided it would have been better with crab, but then it would not have been our vegetarian meal of the week. :joy:

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Greetings, People.

A no-shop week, my meal plan is driven by a need to make space in the freezer and fridge for the influx of summer produce. Will use up some proteins that are on hand, as well as a lot of leftovers, bits, and bobs.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: Chicken teriyaki. Sichuan green beans. Steamed rice.

SAT: Leftover black bean chili. Homemade tortilla chips.

SUN: Beef and veg on the grill.

MON: Leftover lamb and scallion ragu with pasta. Roasted green beans.

TUE: Fish chowder. Garlic bread. Salad.

WED: Pasta with cherry tomatoes and kale (flex meal – may need to cancel).

THUR: Chicken kebabs. Homemade soft pita wraps. Chopped salad or slaw.

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Hi Everyone, we’re back from vacation. We had a wonderful week in Puerto Rico. I expected things to return to normal this week, but Lulu ended up having two meals away, plus we had a Bulls game, so plans were changed. I may need to contemplate that this is the new normal. I’m fine with it, but advance warning would be much appreciated and save us from wasting food. So far this is falling on deaf ears. Anyway, I only cooked twice this week:

Sunday: LLD made seared salmon, roasted potatoes, and roasted Brussels sprouts

Tuesday: beef and broccoli lo mein

Wednesday: roasted cauliflower and chickpea curry with basmati and raita

Hoping to do a bit more cooking next week and try to get back in the swing of things. Hoping everyone is enjoying their summers!

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Welcome back LLM! Hope your new normal leads to some great menus. Or at least easy pivots.
Any memorable meals in PR?

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Thank you Rasam. I’m trying to keep in mind that changes are bound to happen, and have one of the planned meals be easily held off for a few days. Wish me luck.

We found an absolutely wonderful place in PR. The chef/owner has all sorts of fancy experience, so it could have gone either way (sometimes they let the resume fill seats), but it ended up being great. The place is called Santaella, if you or anyone else makes it to the San Juan area. We liked it so much the first time that we made reservations again later in the week. Both meals were completely made up of appetizers/starters.

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Cooking for 1 at the Jersey Shore

Saturday: beer cheese soup from New Midwestern Table made without the red pepper
Sunday: weeknight chicken parm from Comfort In An Instant served over zoodles
Monday: leftover turkey meatloaf, baked sweet potato, pickled carrots
Tuesday: leftover beer cheese soup
Wednesday: leftover chicken parm and zoodles
Thursday: farfelle with pesto ricotta cream sauce from the freezer
Friday: leftover farfelle

Ugh. Cooking for 1 is difficult for me since I was used to cooking for 2–but I’m Italian so you know that means like cooking for 10.

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Hello to everyone from the Twin Cities of MN, where we finally got some much needed rain. Of course rain produces mosquitos . . so my evening stargazing on the patio left me with some itchy bites last night. We are a month out from the start of destruction for our Reno so reality is sinking in: I have to empty out the house into a small apartment in less than 4 weeks! GAH! Mr Autumm will be traveling for work this week and I am soooo excited cause I can work and make all the noise and get some progress made.

Actuals and plans for 2 adults focusing on emptying out the freezer/pantry and staying ahead of the CSA produce:

Thurs 11: Both kiddos skated back to back. Mr Autumm heated up freezer ravioli with store bought pesto. Cherry tomatoes (CSA) Corn on the cob (CSA)

Fri 12: Fancy cheese night. Made the double chocolate zucchini bread from Sally’s baking addiction so there are no unused zucchini or summer squash in the fridge. Hooray (the bread is pretty good too)

Sat 13: Our 17th Anniversary; Scallops (freezer) something with baby potatoes TBD, pea pods (CSA) and corn on the cob (CSA)

Sun 14: Possibly take out otherwise freezer dive.

Mon 15: No Swimming lessons as they ended last week! BLTs? tomatoes CSA, more CSA corn on the cob. Get the keys to our apartment.

Tues 16: Big kiddo skates and CSA pick up: Cuban pot roast (freezer), black beans/rice veggie TBD

17-19: Mr Autumm in TX. Use up freezer odds and ends and kiddo favorites. See what the CSA haul is.

Take care everyone!

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