Weekly Menu Planning - February 2024

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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Hello everyone from the sunny and “cool” Twin Cities of MN where it’s currently 37 F out, and compared to the 50s early in the week it qualifies as cool. Things have been all over the place here so I haven’t been posting much cause we were in survival mode. So I’m posting here instead of fighting the laundry pile. Thankfully big kiddo is done with the Winter One Act plays- last performance was yesterday- but the theater bug has bitten her and Spring Musical! A few weeks reprieve where we just have all of the skating going on. And I got a jury duty summons for March.

Actuals and plans for 2 adults and 2 growing girls:

Fri 9: Per the Activities Department at work, the white board announced National Pizza day. Big kiddo had a pot pie before her performance, we ordered Pizza. Must celebrate holidays

Sat 10: Big kiddo had tortellini salad and spinach between performances. Mexican takeout for the rest of us. I baked 2 pork shoulders cause I bought 2 since they were on sale, then fell asleep on the couch with them sitting on the stove and woke up at 430 AM with them still sitting there. My half awake self stuck them in the fridge and went to bed. And proceeded to have dreams about food poisoning. The pork is in the garbage now.

Sun 11: Mr Autumm is going to a super bowl party. Girls and I are staying home (Puppy Bowl!- no we are not getting a dog!) with bacon wrapped smokies and other assorted nibbles. Big kiddo wants hot crashed potatoes but will probably get tots from the freezer instead. Might make up some shrimp cocktail for myself

Mon 12: Both kiddos skate. Plan was cuban pot roast but see oops from Saturday night. Freezer dive anticipated

Tues 13: No skating due to hockey fight! They have been begging for chicken parm

Weds 14: Big kiddo skates. I think there is a container of italian beef for sandwiches in the freezer. Spinach salads

Thurs 15: I have a skating board meeting. I might move the chicken parm to this meal as with pre-breaded chicken this is something Mr Autumm can handle. Leftover cuban pot roast was the plan, See oops above, again.

Fri 16: Most likely takeout, probably Thai

Have a great week everyone!

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Ugh on the potential food poisoning but I would have also thrown the pork out rather than risk it. And yay(ish) on the theater bug! It is fun to see the kids perform. Parent volunteer commitments are not as fun, but at least the school auditorium and surrounding areas are warming than skating rinks (usually).

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49

Doing my best to keep up with the meal planning.

Actually accomplished from prior post:

  • Curry (several nights meals but had to do some major doctoring to make tasty; need to start or find a thread on cooking with “curry” pastes/sauces/cubes)
  • Split pea soup (will freeze what’s left this evening)
  • Cornbread (portioned, wrapped, and froze a second batch)
  • Roasted sprouts/garlic
  • Pumpkin bread (critter emergency resulted in it scorching so had to toss it)

Looking forward:
2-12 Mon (today): Leftovers of sprouts, cornbread, and split pea soup, plus salads

2-13 Tue: Salads, minestrone from freezer

2-14 Wed: Salads, veggie burgers, make or purchase something chocolaty for dessert

2-15 Thu: Salads, meatball subs, something else with vegetables
Bake pumpkin bread mini-loaves for freezer

2-16 Fri: Repeat
Bake zucchini bread for freezer

2-17 Sat: Salads, spaghetti with meatballs (frozen marinara if I can find it; if not then jarred sauce)

2-18 Sun: TBD

As a Southern Californian, thank you! Pasadena did end up with ~ 9 inches of rain, but we were unscathed. It was actually rather lovely, to my way of thinking - having grown up in arid lands, and with this region gradually becoming hotter and drier, I treasure the wetness.

Not a great photo, but if you zoom in you can see some wild parrots in the tree. We had a flock of > 100 come in and scream/screech/do parroty things in the midst of a downpour. Partner had to end an online meeting because of the cacophony!

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image3024×4032 1.72 MB

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That’s sort of magical sounding!

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Smiling at the “if I can find it” description of your frozen marinara. Last week I had to unpack 2 freezer baskets to locate the 4 oz of sliced fresh mushrooms I KNEW were in there, having prepared them less than a month ago and labeling the bag “for egg bake”.

On these WMP discussions (here or over on Chowhound) there was once a lively round of “unlabeled brown goop” meal ingredient recipes and required adjustments to same.

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I am toying with doing a meat-free Lent.

Fat Monday : chicken gumbo and maque choux. I’m consistent. :rofl:

Tonight, it’s bits and bobs, leftover tamale pie, leftover chicken gumbo, thin pork chops fried tonight.

Valentine’s Ash Wednesday: Greek calamari, tomato and rice pilaf.

Thu: probably lamb for my dining companions and not sure what for me

Fri: salmon, I think this Bonnie Stern recipe that I like.

Sat: steak for the DCs, and I think I’m going out for dinner pre-opera.

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53

Hi everyone

Tough week, so looking for easy or indulgent, based on my mood and interest in distracting myself.

A Flushing Chinatown visit meant some cooked foods as well as ingredients to use up, and I haven’t done a lot with COTM Ethiopia yet but would like to, plus there’s silly storm stock-up now to utilize or freeze.

Actuals so far:
– Fresh ho fun noodles turned into Beef Chow Fun and Pad See Ew
– Superbowl potluck feast with Arayes, Buffalo chicken momos, and Orange Olive oil cake

Ideas for the rest of the week:
— Ants climbing a tree + Chinese steamed egg – finally restocked vermicelli for this
— Doro wat / chicken stew from COTM Ethiopia (have to decide if I’m going to make faux injera crepes again, plead with one of the Ethiopian places to sell me injera, or just eat it with rice)
— Dapanji / Big Plate / Tray Chicken (referencing this, this, and this) + rice or noodles
— Ikea copycat broccoli & potato medallions + roasted salmon
— Tortilla pizza redo (bec now I have a bag of tortillas) + arugula & orange salad

Good week and weekend to all.

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Hope your tough week gets easier, or that at least the comfort/distraction food helps.

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Thank you

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Greetings, People.

All day long I’ve been thinking it’s Wednesday, but it’s Thursday. Ouch!

Cooking for two adults in the PNW.

FRI: Salmon Caesar salad.

SAT: Lidia’s butternut squash soup. Salad greens. Biscuits.

MON: Carnitas with corn tortillas. Refried beans. Pico de gallo.

TUE: NYT’s longevity noodles (gift link).

WED: A repeat of the carnitas.

THUR: Steak night. Loaded baked potatoes.

FRI: Pork and onion vareniki. Spinach gratin. (Rolled from a previous week.)

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57

It’s Friday already.

We’re going low sodium for the foreseeable future, so that changes some of my prep.

I have 2 big bowls of fruit salad in the fridge to last a few days.

There’s also large bowl of roasted spaghetti squash with sugar, pumpkin pie spice and butter, as a quick side dish, and Calabrian-style eggplant parm (roasted eggplant rather than breaded/fried), as an ongoing side dish in the fridge.

Tonight, Friday,
Vegetarian Russian cabbage soup ,
salmon, either Plaki-style with tomatoes, or the Bonnie Stern recipe with oranges.

Saturday
Made-ahead biftekia
Made-ahead lemon potatoes

Sunday
Probably roast chicken and potatoes
Purchased Crème Caramel from a bakery.

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I am now wrapping up a busy yet fulfilling week. I made it out to a couple of meetups this week and more to come. I have been spending too much time by myself these days and I need to do some peopling. I went to a movie then dessert on Monday and a very last minute dinner out last night bumping my film society screening. Off to another movie and dessert tonight then a lecture or two next week. Meals got rearranged/bumped so I will post actuals from last Monday to planned through next Thursday.

Last Monday: I decided to go on an impromptu movie screening with a meetup group I recently joined. I didn’t have time to make dinner at home beforehand so I went to a nearby pub for dinner then off to the movies. We met up at the back of the theatre when the movie was over then went to a dessert place across the street for desert and to discuss the movie. It seems to have an Asian twist which includes bubble tea, egg waffles, and shaved ice but also includes traditional desserts like pastries and sundaes. Most of the clientele seems to be university aged so I’m not sure if it’s due to its proximity to a nearby university a couple blocks south of where we were or if it’s just the type of restaurant that would appeal to that age group. We were initially looking for a restaurant in the area where we could go for dessert and to discuss the film but most restaurants seem to be closed on Mondays. The dessert place we went to is a favourite of one of the younger people in our group and it was open. I ordered a New York style cheesecake and it was the worst cheesecake I’ve ever had. The bottom crust was packed brown sugar and the cheese filling was absolutely void of flavour. It had the right texture but it just didn’t taste like anything. What hurts the most is that I paid $10 for it and I could have bought a much tastier mango cake in Chinatown for half the price. (Sadly they didn’t have any mango cakes where we went.) The movie itself was enjoyable (we saw a Tunisian film called The Four Sisters) and the discussion was lively.

Tuesday: I completely forgot it was pancake Tuesday. I headed over to the market to pick up sausages and maple syrup (I already had pancake ingredients) so that’s what was for dinner.

Wednesday: I had intended on having a kale salad planned for this week but by the time Wednesday rolled around the only salad ingredient I had left was the kale! :slight_smile: Actually I found half a red pepper in the fridge and another one of the sausages I bought yesterday so I made a stir fry similar to this but using different veggies.

Thursday: I had a film society screening last night however the movie they were showing truly didn’t interest me. One of the meetup groups I’m in was having dinner at a nearby restaurant that has a burger special on Thursdays so all of their burgers are $10. At the very last minute I decided to join the meetup and I had a lovely time.

Tonight: I am going to another movie with a meetup group (we will be seeing The Promised Land) then coffee and dessert after for a discussion. I will be having another quick dinner before the film.

Saturday: Curry chicken with fresh pineapple, rice on the side.

Sunday: Linguine with scallops and leeks, salad on the side.

Monday: Vegetarian Thai red curry, rice on the side.

Tuesday: I may or may not be going to a lecture tonight. It’s in the west end which would mean bussing it out there and having another dinner out. I may be reaching my saturation point with dinners out by then so I may just stay close to home. I’ll see how I feel when it gets closer to the day.

Wednesday: Weeknight spicy pork and rice noodle bowl.

Thursday: fettucine al pesto, veggies tbd.

Have a lovely week everyone.

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Hi, all! Cooking for 4-7 in Livermore, California. Enjoying cooking for and with my family here.
Actuals and vague plans for the week:
Thursday, February 15: After a fun trip to Berkeley Bowl, we cooked up a feast of broiled garlic shrimp, eggplant adobo, sweet potatoes, and rice.
Friday: Spinach and tofu wonton soup from Family; chocoflanes
Breakfast: Brown soda bread scones
Saturday: The kids will be gone but vegetarian sister still in town. Up for debate, but maybe ricotta gnocchi with asparagus sauce? I noticed asparagus is in season here…
Sunday: Usually a restaurant day around here
Monday: Paprika chicken
Tuesday-Thursday: Probably out or leftovers; my dad and stepmom have a lot of activities in the evenings!
Friday: Back to Chattanooga; hard to say what we’ll have, but most likely out if DH can handle it after a week of fending for himself…
Hope everyone’s doing OK with the weather coming through. Have a great weekend and happy cooking!

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Glad for a long weekend. This semester has started off busy and stressful. The students, faculty, and staff all seem to feel that way. sigh Gonna be a long semester. So, this week is about simplicity and trying to use up stuff we have on hand.

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: Maybe this week I will bake. Maybe… starting off with toasted chocolate bread from a local bakery.

S: (tonight) takeout - pizza, wrapping up “stuff my husband would request” week. :slight_smile:

Su: Kielbasa, roasted potatoes, and salad.

M: Pasta with light cream sauce and peas, topped with fish - seafood

T: Kielbasa, onions, peppers, yellow rice… kind of a pseudo-jambalaya

W: TJs green chile tamale topped with Hatch green sauce and cheese, with salad and avocado - vegetarian

Th: Leftovers from the freezer - chicken, gnocchi, veggies added to tomato soup. Who knows how this will turn out? - soup

F: Chicken tacos

Have a good week!

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Oh wow, such great plans and news.

When I was in grad school in the SF Bay area decades, and I do mean decades, ago, as someone from the East coast (North Carolina and Boston), I remember with much fondness and enduring wonder at the strawberries and asparagus in season in February! I still have some ancient photos of picnics at Foothills park eating those things!

Sounds like you have had a wonderful time away and I hope when you get back to Chattanooga, you and DH go out or get take out as you adjust to the time and seasonal and cultural differences.

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Actuals for Feb 12 week, cooking for 2 in MN where winter snow found us, at last, on Wed. That Feb 6 pound of Costco spinach kept nicely in two tight sealed “leakproof” clear plastic containers (9.6 C/2.3 L each). After daily salads for husband (joined on alternating days by me), one final serving remains, 12 days later. A Friday excursion to the NordicWare factory outlet with my baking buddy resulted in additions to my Bundt collection - a pair of microwave mug-cake mini-pans and a factory-2nd loaf pan in their newest design - Pirouette.

Mon: Lunch - Hot ham & swiss on homemade wheat buns. Dinner - me -OUT, fancy fundraiser event, he - eggbake
Tues: lunch reheat Tamale Casserole & spinach. Supper OUT - Chick Fil A
Wed (Valentines Day): Cold shrimp w/ cocktail sauce. Steak, mushrooms, sweet potato, reheated spinach souffle, reheated mixed veggies. Red grapes. Strawberries w/ whipped cream.
Thurs: Sheetpan – Sausage/potatoes/peppers, sliced fresh orange
Fri: reheat Sheetpan – Sausage/potatoes/peppers, sliced fresh orange
Mug cakes microwaved in new Nordicware mini pans – more practice needed, they did not release cleanly/hold shape. But each had great flavor – Chocolate Peanut butter and Cinnamon Snickerdoodle
Sat/Sun - noon: Creamy Alfredo Tomato bacon pasta – Julia Pacheco. Spinach salad. Baguette. For Dinner: Curry Cod, coconut rice, peas with cashews

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It truly is wondrous!

Yep, I had to laugh at the “minestrone” I thawed: turned out to be a mixture of summer vegetables with no broth. (I will, someday, remember the importance of labels!)

Cooking for two adults, both vegetarian, in Pasadena, California. I tend to batch cook, due to some health issues that constrain energy, cognition, and physical abilities.

After giving my attempts at WMP some pondering, I’ve come to realize that my life/body/cognition are such that trying to hold myself to a daily plan is too stressful. In looking at how some of the rest of y’all approach things, I’m thinking of trying something different to see if it works for me. Instead of a daily plan I’m going to see if I do better with more flexibility.

With that in mind, for the next week I’d like to:

  • Bake two types of quick breads (for freezer and to send to FIL)
  • Make another batch of beige soup (to eat/freeze/send to FIL
  • Cook/make something with the pierogis that are taking up too much space in the freezer

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

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Whatever works best for you! Menu planning is the only thing in my life that needs to have some kind of order, mostly so I don’t get stuck in a food rut, and also to effectively use up everything in a very full freezer.

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This recipe? https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/crispy-black-bean-tacos-with-feta-and-cabbage-slaw

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Cooking for three in Asheville, one who eats primarily carbs and another who decided to eliminate a lot of them from his diet, while also lowering dietary fat to help cholesterol. Fun times. I’m not making myself crazy over it.

A bunch of ideas for the next 2-3 weeks. Many sides/veg still TBD.

-Tonight - Afghan-rubbed “lightly smoked” slow-roasted salmon, zhoug, sauteed coriander Brussels, and leftover brown rice stir-fried with shallot, and tossed with TJ’s lemon pesto, dried cherries/cranberries, pistachios, and chopped parsley. Leftover poppy seed slaw. Kiddo will have breaded fish filets with doctored leftover boxed shells n cheese, leftover corn pudding, and mini peppers with dip.

-Pulled chicken tacos/tostadas w creamy cilantro slaw. Kiddo’s fave in heavy rotation.

-Chipotle chicken chowder

Seared peppered tuna Niçoise salad with haricots, redskin potatoes, and Kalamata olives. Not authentic but :woman_shrugging:t2:

Grilled Kufta kebab in TJ’s handmade ww tortillas with hummus, feta, cukes, tomatoes, and turmeric yogurt sauce. Probably more zhoug.

Baked b/s chicken thighs with peppers, onion, garlic, and rice. Loosely based on this recipe, but I’m planning to use partially cooked brown basmati rice and add a little Schmaltz and powdered gelatin to make up for the missing skin and bone.

Amylu Teriyaki chicken meatball lettuce wraps with cucumber, pickled carrot, fresh chili, sticky rice, and hoisin sauce and garlic-chili vinegar. The meatballs weren’t the hit I’d expected, so hoping this disposes of them.

Ina Garten’s [chicken] meatloaf with cauliflower puree and sauteed haricots

Homestyle braised tofu with [crimini] mushrooms, carrots, and [sugar snaps] over rice

Shrimp burgers with Old Bay remoulade on sesame brioche buns

Peanut chicken stew (Azin Nsonou) with okra and bay-infused fonio. (“View details–>view all details” to see ingredient list).

Pinchos morunos and boxed red beans and rice.

Harissa-orange chicken thighs with freekeh

Chicken Rahmschnitzel with trofie and mushroom sauce from the freezer

Jackfruit crab cakes (can you sense my dwindling enthusiasm?)

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