Let’s use this thread to share concise weekly dinner menus for each week in July. It’s helpful if you can include your location and how many people you are feeding. Links to recipes are always appreciated, and sources help. We all know plans can change, so it’s fine (practically expected) when your week gets rearranged from your posted plan. You may choose to report actuals for the prior week to share ideas with others.
Will you be cooking in a different kitchen while on vacation this month? Any succssful campfire / camping meal ideas to share? What are your favorite “beat the heat” meal techniques? Stovetop recipes, salad extravaganzas, picnics at the park? Or just let someone else cook (spouse doing the grilling outdoors, restaurant meals or delivery).
The June discussion is still available for reporting the last week and follow-ups.
Reminder – Keep your comments menu / food related. And in the interest of faster viewing times, please use the knife&fork under a comment to indicate you liked it or want to echo what was said by another, rather than posting a separate comment.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
2
It’s a slightly weird week at Casa Harters. We’re just back from holiday, so nothing organised and , during the week, Mrs H is having surgery (should be home same day but will be a while till she’s back to top form)). So, plans may change but this is what we’re shopping for today
Friday - tortilla, salad, bread
Saturday - roast chicken , gravy, spuds and veg , apricot stuffing (discovered in freezer this morning). Eton Mess for “afters”
Sunday - spicy lamb sausages (merguez-ish from local butcher), vegetable tagine, couscous
Monday - salmon, spuds (maybe there will still be Jersey Royals) veg (maybe there will be fresh peas or broad beans)
Tuesday - pasta puttanesca
Wednesday - surgery day. Maybe takeaway. Maybe cheese on toast for Mrs H. Maybe gammon steaks, croquette potatoes, veg (all in freezer)
Busy week for both of us, so I’ll let Trader Joe’s do the heavy lifting again.
For two adults in San Diego:
This week’s breakfasts: Starting off with TJ’s chocolate croissants.
S: (tonight) Instead of takeout, we are throwing together a simple snacking dinner: toasted sourdough, peppered salami, gouda, cheddar, grapes, apple, cashews, pickles
Su: TJ’s carnitas, avocado, salsa, cheddar on tortillas
Hi, friends. Why does it always wait till the weekend, and an almost-3-day weekend, to rain?? Grrr… Cooking for two adults and an almost-teen in the Boston burbs.
We had a low/high trip to the grocery store this morning. Wegmans announced about a month ago that they are closing the store closest to us (Natick, MA) this summer due to low volume. I’m still in denial, and was saddened to see non-food shelves empty and signs throughout directing customers to visit other nearby locations (which aren’t nearby) or Instacart. BUT the fancy cheese department had many varieties on sale for 50% off. I had to tell DH to put down the 6.4-lb block of Irish Cheddar (only $51!) and pick a normal sized one. We came home with 6 kinds of cheese, only one of which was actually on the shopping list.
Sun: chicken fajitas, refried beans, salad
Mon: mochiko fried chicken (NYT, but I’ll bake rather than frying as directed) sweet potato fries, vegetable tbd
Tues: burgers, watermelon-tomato-feta salad (hold the watermelon for DS, possibly deconstructed for DH who is skeptical and didn’t buy my argument that tomatoes are fruit so it’s just fruit salad). I need to make burger buns for myself and I’m really hoping it stops raining so the baking chemistry works!
Weds: IP spaghetti and meatballs, asparagus. This will be DS’s first day of summer drama workshop, and I’m hoping that all the drama stays on the stage! Also my first day of a planned 3+ weeks of working in the office every day (at least, between 9:15 and 2:45). It’s been more than 3 years since I have worked not-at-home for more than 2 days in a row…
Thurs: whatever fish I find in the freezer with corn and tomatoes and browned butter (Dinner in One, more or less)
Peak monsoon in these parts, making me crave fried things and hot tea constantly. The best mangoes are gone, but the juicing mangoes are keeping us going lol. Cooking for 3-4, including one recuperating vegetarian.
I only managed to work in two of last week’s plan ideas into actuals given what people were in the mood for:
Full-on summer in our neck of the woods. Things are moving at a leisurely pace this year (not always the case), and life is good with plenty of time to enjoy it.
MON: Panko-crusted halibut – either tacos or fish-wich. Veg TBD.
TUE: Chicken-zucchini patties – either meatballs or burgers. Veg TBD.
WED: Leftover Kiymali Ispanak with lamb. Yogurt sauce. Green beans. Pita.
THUR: Pizza. Salad.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
10
Yes, it should be summer in northwest England. Which, of course, means we should be having weather as warm as it gets on this small, cold damp island. And last month was the overall hottest June ever recorded. But, for the last couple of mornings, the heating system has clicked on and it’s been very wet. So, no steer from the weather as to what to cook. So, I’m going with what I find easy as I am in charge of the kitchen until chef is fully recovered from her surgery yesterday
Thursday - gammon steaks with a mustard/honey/orange sauce, croquette spuds, steamed cabbage. Cheese for “afters”.
Friday - savoury ducks (moved from last list), spuds, veg, onion gravy. Note to foreigners - savoury ducks do not have duck in them. Made from pork offal, these are known as faggots elsewhere in the country (stop giggling at the back).
Saturday - Lemon sole goujons & tartare sauce. Chicken & butternut squash pie (not an actual pie - more a stew with slices of crisped ciabatta as a topping). Green veg. Soft fruit and ice cream
Sunday - Roast tomato tart. Salad
Monday - Pork meatballs & pasta
Tuesday - Courgette, broad bean and mint pilaf (Nigel Slater recipe)
Actuals for July 3 week, cooking for 2 in MN. Where we’re having chilly 60 F mornings and moderate (for summer…) daytime temps while headlines blare about “warmest worldwide days ever”. YMMV. I baked muffins 2 days in a row and oven-roasted main dishes twice. Not shown are lunches using up previously frozen commercial and homemade mains.
Mon: Tossed (bag) salad with added cherry tomatoes & cucumber, Greek-seasoned skillet chicken, naan bread
Tues: Mushroom Swiss burgers, deli Potato salad, coleslaw, tossed salad
BAKED Morning Glory muffins
Wed lunch/Thurs dinner: Pork chop with Margaritaville burger seasoning, zucchini/feta baked bundtlet, sliced orange. Wed side - Farro/haloumi/zucchini/apricot casserole, Thurs side - mashed potatoes
BAKED Rhubarb orange pecan muffins
Thurs lunch/Fri Dinner: Oven beef stew w carrots, potatoes, green beans. Breads.
Sat & reheat Sun: Oven BBQ Country style ribs w onion, Corn on the cob, Fresh peaches w/ vanilla ice cream
Hi everyone! I took Lulu to the airport early this morning, and LLD is visiting his mother, so I’m ready for a week of fun with the dog as company. I’m almost finished with The Bear, considering Queen Charlotte as my next “I get to watch whatever I want” series, but open to suggestions if you’ve got them. Here’s what we ate this week:
Sun: LLD made tuna tacos with guacamole and homemade pico. Delicious.
Mon: sausage vindaloo with potatoes and greens, basmati
Tues: chicken fricassee with mushrooms and leeks, French rolls
Wed: Canadian-born LLD decided I hadn’t done the holiday right (he was correct) so he made burgers (mine Impossible), tater tots, and salad
Thurs: LLD flew out, so we started Beanapalooza with black bean tacos with feta and cabbage. Lulu had a friend to dinner, which was fun
Fri: burrito bowl for me, burrito for Lulu
Sat: rice and chickpeas with tahini sauce and dill
Hi, everyone. Feeding three in the Boston burbs. The big event this week is that as of Tuesday, I will be the mom of a teenager! Yikes! I am NOT emotionally ready for this…
Sun: fried grouper, corn on the cob, green beans
Mon: chicken burgers - I was thinking of Buffalo-ing them but haven’t really thought through this (hot sauce and Jack cheese?), carrots/celery, chips. I have GF burger buns proofing as we speak - fingers crossed they turn out okay!
Tues: out for the big 1-3 (probably for barbecue)
Weds: Greek-ish chicken, tomato/feta salad (basically, chicken souvlaki minus the pita and tzatziki…)
Thurs: IP mac and cheese, peas for them / zucchini for me
Still cooking for 3 to 4, including one recuperating, vegetarian senior.
Actuals still varied quite a bit from plan based on interest / appetite:
Pizza using Roberta’s dough recipe (but only AP) and the pan-fried technique
Quesadillas with leftover roast chicken, cabbage and carrot slaw dressed with chipotle mayo, and pico, plus a side of Mexi-rice
Yakisoba-ish, Taco bell delivery (yep), plus homemade chapati quesadillas for mom stuffed with potato, paneer, and a bit of melty cheese, with a side of guac
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