Weekly Menu Planning - December 2025

[GretchenS]

Welcome to the December edition of the thread where we share our weekly menus and more.

Some of us share a day by day plan, others report last week’s actual meals, and some put together a list of ideas to work from the week. You do you, and take comfort that the best laid plans do change for all of us!

If you have recipe links or sources, do share them, as we all love picking up new ideas from everyone else’s menus! For context and because we’re interested, please include your location and how many you plan and/or cook for.

December means Christmas for some, trying to avoid it for others. There may be lots of parties to plan around and veggie-heavy dinners to make up for holiday cookie / latkes binges. Be kind to yourself amidst the craziness!

(The November thread remains available for reporting actuals and any follow-up discussions.)

[truman (Mara)]

Feeding three in the Boston burbs, where we are still recovering from our Thanksgiving dinner of barbecue (pulled pork, brisket, and sides from our favorite bbq joint). I spent today rearranging the garage to get my car inside, before the anticipated snowstorm coming this week!

Sun: stuffed peppers and salad

Mon: chicken parm, pasta, red sauce, green beans. Trying to get DS to cook since there’s no school (teacher in-service).

Tues: chicken quesadillas using the leftover “fancy chicken nachos” chicken from last week.

Weds: carne asada mashed potato bowls (an Instagram recipe: carne asada, potatoes, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes - sort of a burrito bowl with taters instead of rice)

Thurs: fried rice

Fri: tbd. DH and I are going to the theater… the high school production of Legally Blonde. I miss DS’s theater days but it’s nice not having to see every show.

[Saregama]

It’s a short week for me, as I wrap up to head away early to attend a wedding plus a centenary celebration for one of my alma maters, before the usual family gathering at the end of the year. Hard to believe that I have almost finished my holiday shopping as a result of the insanely early departure. But also – everywhere was empty and everything was neat, so maybe I’ll remember that for next year.

Thanksgiving was somehow more stressful than usual, while also being a lot of fun (and a first for me to spend at home in nyc). I have minimal actual leftovers but plenty of assorted leftover ingredients, so I’ll be thinking about ways to use them up or freeze them before I leave.

So far:
– Pan-roasted chicken thighs + leftover mushroom leek bread pudding + mashed potatoes+ fasulye / Turkish stewed green beans
– Leftover roast lamb sandwiches
– Leftover lamb plov

Ideas for the next few days::
– Chicken thigh Rendang or Korean Chicken Stew ( dakbokkeumtang / dakdoritang) + something green + rice
– Thai pork jowl with jaew / dipping sauce + greens + quinoa/rice
– Fish pie or stew + salad
– Meatballs with pasta in vodka sauce + something green
– Something soupy

I might bake a bit before travel.

Wish you all a gentle start to December, and a peaceful rest of the year.

[dustchick]

I hope everyone had successful cooking adventures last week.

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: After a week of pastries, it’s back to granola and fruit this week.

S: Takeout: Carne asada burrito

Su: (tonight) Chicken, yellow rice, salad w/feta, tomato, and cucumber

M: Thanksgiving pot pies (leftovers under a pie crust with cranberry sauce on the side)

T: Chicken and rice - soup

W: Thanksgiving pot pies (leftovers) before an evening outreach event

Th: Pasta with chicken and spinach in a spicy tomato cream sauce

F: Seafood tacos (one shrimp, one fish) - seafood

Take care of yourselves!

[Phoenikia]

Hi everyone !

Kalo Mina! That means have a good month in Greek.

Cooking for 3 in southwestern Ontario.

Dec 1
pork shoulder with porchetta spices
buttered spaetzle
roasted parsnips

or I might make a riff on this Spaetzle Gratin with béchamel and parsnips and monastery cheese.

roasted red peppers.
mixed salad
creme brûlée and cheesecake slices from a neigbourhood coffee shop being forced to close on Jan 31, 2026

also, a roasted chicken being made at the same time, so there’s chicken in the fridge for lunches and soups this week

Dec 2
repurposed pork
roast potatoes
maybe tortilla soup

Dec 3
tuna casserole

Dec 4
lamb or veal chops, maybe with an herb and nut crust

Dec 5
probably Moqueca

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Still cooking for 2 in the place FKA Happy Valley. Temps have been decidedly wintery, and we’re already looking forward to the upcoming holiday break —despite having just finished Thxgiving break, which ended on a rather devastating note given the awful news we received about at least one of our sweet boys.

As predicted in the November thread, I am making the NYT lemony shrimp and bean stew today, and for the first time ever with LEEKS! I’m excited about it, having simmered shrimp shells I’ve saved in the freezer and making a wonderfully aromatic broth.

We have our first ‘major’ snow storm predicted for tomorrow early morning. In the unlikely event of us being stuck at home, we still have quite a bit of leftover lamb mapo doufu from last night’s skrompshiss meal, extra baby bok choy, and I always have dumplings in the freezer to supplement if necessary.

Wednesday could be Greek BISO chicken breast with my PIC’s pilaf & maroulosalata.

Thursday might be takeout sushi, since our favorite place gets their fish delivered that day.

Friday we take our other boy to the vet to find out how shitty things are. Dinner may just be martinis and cigarettes, for all I care.

Sat & Sun TBD

Hope your week’s better than ours. Keep your loved ones close, and feed them the good stuff.

[truman (Mara)]

Hugs to you and your critters.

[Madrid]

oh, I am so sorry.

[ChristinaM]

I’m so glad to be back home and cooking after our Thanksgiving trip to the Midwest. I spent most of the day today puttering around the kitchen, baking and making breakfast and dinner.

For three in Asheville, NC:

Mon: chicken enchilada lasagna w/salad

Tue: Honduran red bean soup with all the fixings and white rice

Wed: my take on Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup (repurposing some cacio e Pepe gnocchi from TJ’s that we never get around to eating)

Thurs: Makheua Yao Pad Tao Jiao (Stir-Fried Eggplant [and tofu] With Minced Pork) with brown jasmine rice

Fri: @LulusMom1’s soyrizo chickpea stew w/homemade sourdough bread; I will probably add some chopped Tuscan kale.

Sat: roasted local kielbasa roasted over onions and baked beans

Sun: Thai green curry flounder, brown rice, cuke salad; the kiddo will probably have homemade chicken tenders or beer-battered cod, which he has now decided he likes.

[GretchenS]

@ChristinaM

beer-battered cod, which he has now decided he likes

His palate is expanding!

[MunchkinRedux]

Greetings, People.

This week for us it’s anything but turkey.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW.

FRI: Salt-and-pepper chicken wings. Italian pasta salad with sweet peppers, spinach, and ham.

SAT: Thin-crust pizza. Salad greens.

SUN: NYT’s baked spinach and artichoke pasta – a comfort-food favorite.

MON: Cajun chicken Caesar salad.

TUE: ATK’s red beans and rice.

WED: Steak. Creamed spinach. Potato gratin.

THUR: Salmon Caesar.

[dustchick]

Sending hugs and gentle scritches.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Thank you. After having had time to process it all, we are all in for these two for as long (or short) as they are around. It’s been helpful for me to keep in mind that it is more about affording them a loving home than us and our silly human feelings. They don’t know they’re sick. They just live in the moment, and I’m trying to do the same

[LulusMom1 (Kari)]

I’m so sorry.

[ottawaoperadiva]

Hello friends it’s hard to believe Christmas, Hanukka, and New Year’s are only a couple of short weeks away. Where does the time go? I continue to keep myself busy with a few more outings planned before the holidays arrive. The temperature took a dive yesterday so it is freezing out today. Admittedly it’s not that bad by Canadian standards (-20C/-4F) but it’s been warmer than usual this fall IMO so the cold is a shock to the system. I’ll get used to it My last drawing class in on Sunday and there is a Christmas market near my class so I will probably head over after class to take it in. I also have two book club meetups and two film screenings just before Christmas so I will be busy. This is my menu for this week:

Today: I was hoping to make a trip to Farm Boy (grocery store) since they have a sushi station in the store and I really like their sushi but I decided today it’s too cold for the 20 minute walk. Yet I am the one that braved the 50 kph/30 mph winds during my lunch break to go to the grocery store yesterday and still managed a 40 minute walk home from the office in that cold So I went to the nearby deli for a caprese sandwich. It’s a bun that includes prociutto, tomato, bocconcini, and basil with a little balsamic glaze drizzled over it. And if I haven’t had enough pork today, I have two slices of ham left in the fridge which I will have for dinner with a tomato cucumber salad on the side.

Saturday: This will be my first Saturday at home in a few weeks so time to clean the fridge and organize the freezer. I bought my body weight in sweets at a Christmas bazaar last Saturday and wrapped everything up to freeze for treats to have over the Christmas holidays. Except for the nanaimo bar I had last Saturday night because I wanted to make sure it tasted okay and it did I will have a scallop chowder for dinner.

Sunday: Off to my last drawing class then lunch and a trip to the Christmas market after. I will have a kale sweet potato salad for dinner.

Monday: Vietnamese carmelized pork bowl.

Tuesday: Off to a dentist appointment before work then off to pick up my glasses after work. (I got new lenses since I needed a stronger prescription.) I will have some leftover dal for dinner.

Wednesday: Peanut butter noodles with cucumber.

Thursday: The second-to-last screening of 2025 with the Ottawa Film Society. I work in the office on Thursdays so I won’t have time to eat before the show so I will probably run across the street to the Chinese restaurant I like and pick up some take-out.

Have a nice week everyone and I hope those of you in northern climates don’t freeze to death.

[mbcraw4d (Maria Crawford)]

Hi, all! Cooking for 2 back in Chattanooga (at least for several precious days before our next trip). The focus is on holiday baking and making sure it remains a joy rather than a stressor! I’m making the NYT cookie week cookies plus some Maida Heatter and Betty Crocker favorites.
Thanksgiving was a great success–it is such a delight to be able to share the cooking and hosting with the kids! Otherwise while we were in CA, I made palak dahl, tofu larb from Family, and pasta with sautéed mushrooms.
Friday, December 5: If DH goes on a pub crawl with graduating students, I’ll make a cashew cream pasta recipe from Family. If he’s home, we’ll have chicken with avocado salad.
Saturday breakfast: Chocolate chip muffins before a day out at a local festival and hopefully some cookie baking.
Saturday: There will be a lot of food at the street festival, probably no cooking involved for me.
Sunday: White bean gratin, wedge salad, more cookies before a holiday concert
Monday: Whatever didn’t happen tonight
Tuesday-Friday: TBD but certainly more baking

Hope everyone has a good week and stays warm. Happy cooking!

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Heya HOs!

Still cooking for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting middle-aged folks in Happy Valley.

With this week having ended on a rather positive note, what with the amazing news we got about our boy Jonesy, we feel ready to tackle what the next one might bring

My PIC’s been down with a cold since Thursday & has not shown any signs of improvement, the poor guy! I’ll try to knock those damn germs out with some extra-spicy egg-fried rice tonight with various leftover meats and veg.

Tomorrow depends on whether I want to sacrifice 45 min of my early evening on a documentary the students one of our friends made, and that is playing at the local theatre. It’s about a local road, so I’m not so sure I’m up for it OTOH, one of my gal pals will be there & we could grab a drank & a bite afterwards to catch up… we’ll see.

IF I end up staying home, chicken soup with TPSTOCAL (carrots & leeks) over egg noodz will be a likely meal, having stripped the carcass of a gigantic roti chicken from Sam’s Club earlier today, and simmered said carcass along with the floppy skin parts I didn’t immediately shove down my gullet & a chopped onion to make a flavorful chicken broth

Tuesday either chile verde or MS roast with pork butt, since chuck roast is damn near unaffordable

Wednesday or Thursday could be the postponed jour fixe with my chile heads at a Sichuan restaurant.

Friday might be a poker game if my boo’s up for hosting/playing, which usually means takeout/delivery.

Saturday one of my gal pals has a show I would like to attend = another dinner out.

Sunday will be spicy. Maybe another Thai red curry with shrimp is in order.

Happy cooking & eating, and plz stay healthy!

[dustchick]

We’re honestly going through something a bit similar here and just became “those people” who push a dog around in a stroller to give her the best life. Wishing you all well. hugs

[dustchick]

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: Might bake chocolate chip scones. Heading into the last two weeks of the semester, so chocolate is required. Granola and fruit until then.

S: Went out for ramen

Su: (tonight) Incorporating leftover ramen into one more dinner, adding shrimp and veggies - soup/seafood

M: Curry chicken salad sandwiches

T: Chicken fajita tacos with all the fixings

W: TJs spinach tortellini, with peas, spinach, and mushrooms in a light garlic cream sauce. My husband is going to roast the mushrooms to try to get them to a texture he’ll enjoy. (Likes the flavor, hates the texture, feels guilty that I don’t eat them much because of it.) - vegetarian

Th: Chicken, creamed spinach, garlic bread

F: Pizza with sausage and spinach

Take care of yourselves!

[LulusMom1 (Kari)]

I’m sorry to hear this, but love that you’re doing what you can to pamper him/her.