Weekly Menu Planning - January 2024

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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Hi everyone. Is it spring yet? DH and I got bundled up yesterday evening to take the dog out and were shocked to see it was snowing again… sigh. It was just a dusting and the roads are mostly clear again. Doggo is mad that he can’t see the grass and his feet are cold.

We’ve got a week full of comfort food coming up. Wednesday night is a parents’ meeting for high school orientation, and I’m trying not to be freaked out by the thought of almost having a high schooler. Of course, DS is thrilled about having an evening to himself!

Sun: DS has requested quesabirria tacos this week after watching a really tempting TikTok - I’m using a different recipe that I’ve made before. Improvising some sort of Mexican slaw on the side. (I had thought to do carrots and jicama, but the jicama that I bought at the grocery store wasn’t actually jicama so… carrots and ???.) I also made a batch of Turkish red lentil soup (thanks to @MunchkinRedux ) for my lunches this week.

https://iamafoodblog.com/wprm_print/31388 but waaaay less heat per my previous notes

Mon: lasagna, green beans

Tues: cheeseburger totchos. I picked up “Nachos for Dinner” at the library yesterday and was inspired to try the cheeseburger nachos, but with tater tots. Salad to go with!

Weds: encore presentation of birria and/or lasagna

Thurs: marinated chicken breasts (lemon/dijon/soy sauce/honey, NYT), baked potatoes, roasted broccoli

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I left North Carolina for college in Boston. I had no idea what was in store. I did have a winter coat (not waterproof) but I didn’t know what snow boots and waterproof back packs or EDIT book bags were. I was wearing suede sling backs during the first snow. I needed a rapid infusion of cash from my parents to buy boots.

Boston averages 49 inches of snow a year. 108 inches in 2015.

This trip to Pittsburgh might help Lulu to make some decisions. I wanted to go towards snow!

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Happy Sunday, y’all! I am reporting actuals and plans for two in the burbs outside of Philly. Snow this week moved around meals a few times but was a good excuse for hearty cold weather meals.

Thursday 1/18- Ended up ordering stromboli from our local spot. I was so tired I accidentally ordered two pepperoni stromboli instead of one pepp and one sausage. Thank goodness my husband is an understanding man.

Friday 1/19- Iranian Lentil and Tomato soup. One of our new favorites; I have made this twice in the last month or so. Besides the parsley and lemons, everything is stuff I normally have in the cupboard so its a wonderful pantry meal. We skipped finishing with the parsley as snow delayed our grocery delivery but I did have lemons in the produce crisper so we still had that pop of brightness lentils need.

Saturday 1/20- Macaroni w/ meatballs and sauce. A ‘Sunday’ style sauce using a beef shank I had hiding in the freezer. Meatballs are two parts ground beef, one part ground pork. Groceries finally arrived on Saturday so we had the parsley for the meatballs and I am growing basil in my Aerogarden and its going wild so we had plenty of that as well. Husband ate his meatballs on a sandwich while I had pasta.

Sunday 1/21 (today)- Top round roast medium rare which will be served with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans. My baby sister is coming over for dinner before she heads down to Alabama on Tuesday to house hunt before her move. I am excited for her but very nervous too; she’s never lived this far away and she’s moving by herself.

Monday 1/22- Pulled pork sandwiches with some kind of freezer veg and either potato cakes (made from leftover mashed potatoes) or corn cakes. We got a double pack of pre cooked carnitas on accident with our Costco order a bit ago so that will be put to good use.

Tuesday 1/23- I have to go into the office in the afternoon for my yearly review. If I have the energy for it, I will make a Vietnamese Chicken Salad. If not, my husband will make hotdogs.

Wednesday 1/24- Best friend dinner night. We will probably order out.

Thursday 1/25- Jook w/ leftover chicken from whatever I roasted for the Vietnamese chicken salad.

The rest of the week will come to me as it goes. I hope all of you have a great (and warm!) week.

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I have freshly-picked basil envy…

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If it’s the Del Real brand, they’re excellent. (I’ve liked the pupusas too, not the birria though.)

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Sunday: I roasted the lamb. I tried Brown Sugar Potatoes which we liked a lot. I warmed up some frozen beet borscht I bought from a Ukrainian vendor at the year-round Western Fair Farmers’ Market in LdnOnt. I also slow roasted some frozen squash with butter and spices, and some frozen artichoke hearts from Egypt that I had bought at a Middle Eastern grocery store. I’m trying to work through the older stuff in my freezer.

https://nordicfoodliving.com/danish-sugar-browned-potatoe/

The bone from the leg of lamb is now braising in the oven, for a small batch of Harira tomorrow (Monday).

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Aw, thank you!

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That was a rabbit hole for me…

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Mind linking? Can’t resist.

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I’m going to make it tomorrow.

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Hard to imagine it being bad. Kind of reminds me of Black Southern mac and cheese…but with Gruyere.

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Iranian Lentil Tomato Soup

It was originally posted by the Washington Post but this link isn’t behind a paywall :grinning:

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Thank you! I actually have this one saved (I subscribe), so your endorsement is a good nudge to try it.

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I’ve made that one, too (several times). It’s a keeper.

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Voting for the February COTM is happening now. Please join us!

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Did you like it?

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Greetings, People.

Another soggy week in the forecast. It will be comfort food for dinner all week long.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW.

FRI: Pork and cabbage stir fry – most likely the Epicurious “better than takeout” verson.

SAT: ATK’s red beans and rice. Veg TBD.

SUN: Sauteed chicken breasts. NYT’s spinach and artichoke pasta (gift link).

MON: Somebody’s birthday (not mine). DH is making M.K. Fisher’s potato chips (yay!) and cooking a cowboy steak on the grill. My job is a salad for dinner, and a pie with ice cream for dessert.

TUE: Salmon in some form. Inevitably a green salad to go with.

WED: NYT’s skillet rosemary chicken and potatoes (gift link). Salad greens.

THUR: Pork and onion vareniki. Ina Garten’s spinach gratin.

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where we’re riding that winter weather rollercoaster!

Breakfast: Peanut butter banana muffins
Saturday, January 27: A salad for the warm weather: poached chicken and broccoli in a lemon dressing. Maybe some bread or flatbread on the side.
Sunday: Beef satay from the Complete Asian Cookbook, rice, sautéed cabbage, chocolate cake.
Monday: Off to Nashville for a concert; will have dinner with a friend
Tuesday: Scrounge
Wednesday: Tofu sambal, rice, green beans
Thursday: Scrounge
Friday: Placeholder for Family recipe
Have a good week, everyone, and happy cooking!

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Hello from Ottawa where it is very soggy and I’m looking forward to this part of winter being over. We got freezing rain on Wednesday night and continued yesterday so our sidewalks and roads were covered in ice. Today the temperature warmed up and it’s raining out so yesterday’s ice melted. There are puddles the size of lakes forming everywhere. I wish the city would plow the snow… I had intended on getting a hair cut tomorrow then spend the rest of the weekend going on some museum visits but I think I will bump everything to next weekend when hopefully the walking conditions will be a little better. Onto my menus actuals from last Sunday to planned through next Thursday.

Sunday: I went to see an art exhibition at City Hall. They are showing works of art recently acquired by the City of Ottawa which will eventually be installed in various municipally owned buildings around the city. I went errand running after so I got home a little later than anticipated so I made a dinner that could be thrown together quickly. I had peanut butter noodles with cucumbers.

Monday: I had a basa fillet poached in a tomato sauce with olives and capers, rice on the side. I was going to boil some potatoes for potato salads for lunches this week but I managed to dirty every pot and pan I own while preparing dinner. Since I didn’t feel like washing dishes so I could have a clean pot to use I thought I’d make lunch the next morning before my in-the-office day. Ha!

Tuesday: The making of the potato salad never happened so I bought lunch - a Thai chicken curry from the Thai place in the food court. I made a potato salad for dinner making enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Wednesday: Chili, puréed acorn squash, peas.

Thursday: Fettucine al pesto to finish up the basil I had in the fridge, wedge salad to start.

Today: Off to the drugstore and liquor store for provisions for the weekend :slight_smile: No more ice on the sidewalks! But copious amounts of water everywhere. I only got splashed once! Then I stopped at the shop across the street that sells a combination of prepared meals and locally sourced goods and they have a lunch counter near the cash. I was hoping to score a cheese tray but there was none today but they did have a salade nicoise that I love. I wish they would sell the very addictive salad dressing by the bottle. Probably a garden salad for dinner.

Saturday: bbq pork chow mein.

Sunday: Stirfried boneless skinless chicken breast with peppers. Rice on the side.

Monday: Risotto with leek and sundried tomatoes.

Tuesday: Salade nicoise again but my own homemade version. Not as good as the one I had for lunch on Friday but good none-the-less.

Wednesday: Chili, squash and peas again.

Thursday: Pasta with a marinara sauce. Veggie side tbd.

Have a nice dry week everyone!

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Hi everyone

Cooking just for myself for a bit, back in my own kitchen. Bleak and grey outside, but at least it’s warmer than just before I got back!

Goal for the next week or two is to use up some freezer proteins. There isn’t a lot, but it’s mostly red meat which I usually eat infrequently (and why it’s still there), so it’s good weather to get to it.

I’m a bit short on ideas, so I went back and looked for things on old plans that never got made or sounded appealing again:

– Ants climbing a tree + Chinese steamed egg
– Oyako Donburi
– Spanish tortilla + alioli + sauteed chorizo
– Vietnamese pork chop (marinated and frozen) + slaw + Umami garlic noodles
– Homemade pizza (either my modified Roberta’s dough or super lazy tortilla or naan pizza)
– Miso salmon (Nobu) OR Mustard salmon (Bengali) + rice + garlic spinach
– Lamb biryani (meat marinated in the freezer)
– Kati roll (TJs kababs + egg paratha + pickled onions + zhoug)

Also in the plan:
– Ikea copycat broccoli cakes / medallions
– Chinatown trip for mushrooms & greens I’ve been missing
– A few lbs of beet-cured salmon for the freezer, so I can take some to my sis, and to my aunt before that (who apparently didn’t get any at Thanksgiving, even though I made it specifically for her)

Wish you all a relaxing weekend!

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