Weekly Menu Planning - July 2024

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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Actuals for the first week of July, cooking for 2 in MN. Where folks who privately bought fireworks have been disturbing the sleep of neighborhood dogs and the rest of us all week.

Mon: Sheetpan kielbasa coins, with potatoes, peppers, zucchini, onion. Broccoli / bacon/raisin salad
Tues: Chicken meatballs marsala over noodles, shredded super greens slaw w poppy seed dressing
From a Smitten Kitchen cookbook, via Shutterbean.
Wed: Appetizer – Portobello Pizzettes – baked large mushroom caps stuffed with finely chopped spinach, pepperoni and mozzarella. (Recipes to the Rescue cookbook). This recipe online has tomato in place of the pepperoni but is otherwise the same . Main - Teriyaki pork tenderloin, coconut rice, corn on the cob
Thurs: BAKED – chocolate chip cookies
Leftovers – teriyaki pork with rice, spinach and shredded super greens slaw w toppings and poppy seed dressing
Fri: OUT – burger, fries, chocolate malt
BAKED – Bread machine raisin/dried apple bread a Melissa Clark recipe via @MunchkinRedux
Sat: Grinder/Hoagie sandwiches using brioche hot dog buns as the base for the last of the teriyaki pork, thin-sliced smoked turkey lunch meat and turkey pepperoni with Swiss cheese. Topped with iceberg lettuce “grinder salad” from the recipe —use 1 tsp dried oregano, with halved cherry tomatoes. Corn on the cob.
Sun (today): Coho salmon, sweet potato, shredded super greens slaw w poppy seed dressing

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Hi everyone, cooking for two adults and a teen in the sunny-rainy-humid Boston burbs. We finally had a hot sunny weekend afternoon today, so I took my Kindle and a chair to the town pond and read for most of the afternoon. I had not realized there was a concert there, so I enjoyed some background reggae-ish music as well.

Last week’s plan got shuffled around a bit because DH and I got (won) last-minute tickets to see “MJ” - the musical about Michael Jackson - on Friday night. It was excellent, but a late night and a not-great dinner before the show that messed me up yesterday.

And now, back to real life.

Tonight: pizza - though I will switch out the millet flour for something else as we don’t like the taste. I also made some mango curry with chickpeas (based on the RecipeTinEats recipe) for my lunches this week.

Mon: baby back ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans. DS is off this week and so I’ve told him he will make the ribs… we’ll see how well that works.

Tues: marinated chicken breasts, a broccoli-rice salad based on the NYT recipe called citrusy couscous salad with broccoli and feta - I’ll use brown rice.

Weds: spaghetti pie (rolled from last week), asparagus

Thurs: out for bbq - DS’s birthday, the big 1-4!

Fri: tbd

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Let me add my condolences for your loss. It sounds like he had a good long life but its still hard to say good bye.

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Thanks, ginnyhw, I had been meaning to add my condolences to Munchkin for the loss of her father. I remember some great posts about what she baked for him. I think they had a very loving relationship and loss from a loving relationship is hard at any age.

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Happy birthday to your DS!

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My condolences, @MunchkinRedux. May your father’s memory be a blessing.

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Mid-week report:

The pizza was a dud. :frowning:

The broccoli salad, however, was a huge hit! Here is a gift link:

I used two broccoli crowns (cut into florets and steamed in the microwave), about 2.5 C cooked brown rice instead of the couscous, and no herbs or chilis. I might have to fight DH for the leftovers.

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48

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: Not in the mood to bake, so once again, local bakeries to the rescue.

S: Takeout - chicken pies

Su: Kielbasa, onions, peppers, spinach with yellow rice

M: Pasta with fresh tomato sauce, parmesan - vegetarian - rescheduled from last week, because we weren’t very hungry for dinner that day.

T: (tonight) Italian chopped salad - salad

W: Beans and greens with the last of the kielbasa

Th: Beef stew with braised beef/onions from the freezer - “soup”

F: Fish tacos - seafood

Have a good week!

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This past Sunday: Indian take-out. Mulligatawny, Chicken tikka, Karahi Lamb, eggplant Bharta, Bombay Aloo, naan and pilau

This past Monday: tomatoes baked with feta, orzo, Thursday’s salmon turned into salmon cakes with basil and green onion.

Tuesday/ yesterday: Greek pork meatballs, yogurt sauce, briam ( Greek ratatouille, this simple one was made with fresh local tomatoes, Vidalia Onion, homegrown eggplant, Shepherd pepper, evoo , pepper and oregano) , roasted turnips, roasted Shepherd peppers, Greek green salad (lettuce, arugula, green onion, oil, vinegar)
Purchased Pasteis de Nata and Apple Fritter Bread for the DCs.

Wednesday:Farçous, Swiss chard fritters with the Swiss chard I’ve been growing.
Roasted beets.
Corn on the cob.
Cannellini beans soaking, not sure how they’ll be prepared yet.
Potato salad made with Yukon Golds.
Maybe Okroshka.

Protein to be determined.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to use some smoked oysters other than in a dip or straight up?

Thursday:
Lemon oregano chicken, pilaf.

Friday:
Salmon, style to be determined. Salad to be determined.

Saturday:
T-bone and perogies.

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50

Smoked oysters on crackers as an appetizer or tossed in a potato salad. When I add them to a potato salad I just wing it - boiled new potatoes, celery finely diced, and the smoked o’s and an evoo and lemon juice vinaigrette.

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I’ve added them in at the end to stews and risottos! Works well there. Also, although you’re avoiding dips, they are a nice addition to aioli.

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Oh, I love dips and spreads. I often mix smoked oysters with sour cream, and eat that on toast. Just looking for ideas that are new to me!

Thanks for the stew and risotto ideas!

I suppose I could make smoked oysters cakes, in the way that I make tuna cakes, salmon cakes or other fish cakes.

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Smoked oysters on crackers with a little basil-pesto … delish!

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Greetings, People.

It’s a “no shop” week. Will be both eating leftovers and using up open packages of proteins from the freezer. The garden is abundant with fruit, berries, and veg, so lots of choices for ad-hoc sides and baked goods there.

FRI: Chili shrimp. Rice. Slaw. Or maybe shrimp Caesar tacos, as somebody on HO mentioned recently. That sounded delicious.

SAT: Tri-tip on the grill. Roasted carrots.

SUN: Leftover chowder and biscuits. Salad.

MON: Leftover pan pizza. Salad.

TUE: Leftover merguez meatballs. Couscous. Slaw.

WED: Scallion pancakes. Rice.

THUR: Cabbage and carrot stir fry. Noodles or rice (or leftover scallion pancakes?)

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Delicious sounding week - amazing you can do it without shopping. I made Caesar shrimp tacos during the pandemic and absolutely loved them. Should do again. Thanks for bringing them up.

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I’m sorry for your loss, @MunchkinRedux

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Cooking for 2 adults and sometimes a grown son or two in the VA 'burbs of DC.

This week:

SU: Sauerkraut dog with mustard from an NYC food card before boarding a bus for home
MO: Snackie dinner including salami and crackers and leftover mac and cheese made by son’s girlfriend while we were away
TU: Quesadillas with black beans and pickled jalapenos
WE: Hetty McKinnon’s tomato, dumpling, and chile crisp salad; 2 tiger shrimp sauteed with scallions and garlic, 1/2 ear of nuked bicolor corn
TH: Tofu Mushroom Curry from COTM Evergreen; some veggie accompaniment involving cucumbers or cabbage TBD
FR: On my own as the guys go to a rugby game. Might invite a friend over for lamb burgers or perhaps those Merguez burgers from NYT
SA: Recreating menu from a recent cooking class: Ricotta gnocchi with pesto, zucchini carpaccio, blueberry clafouti

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not a week but a weekend report from July 4
We started with no company so it was meatless Thursday Hibachi Vegetables
Friday they arrived having missed the NYC fireworks because for the first time in many years they launched over the Hudson not the East river
We had cheeseburgs, coleslaw and a fattening pasta salad https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/bacon-ranch-pasta-salad?hid=af889a3367f596ecdcca0fbd3e61fbfac675fac2&did=13454587-20240625&utm_source=slv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sl-whats-cooking_newsletter&utm_content=062524&utm_term=recipe-of-the-day&lctg=af889a3367f596ecdcca0fbd3e61fbfac675fac2&lr_input=71a43dd748b0abf0915105d9a4b9cf279993013f66022d0c5fef66bea3d84c0d
Sat breakfast was Aldi breakfast pizza. Ok but not a winner.
Out to lunch
Dinner was grilled shrimp, steak, swordfish and boneless ribs. Potato salad and corn from the farmers market. Swordfish was the winner. Storebought chocolate ice cream cake by Friendlys. Another winner!
Sunday we went to a pancake breakfast at a local fire department.
Now we play is it too hot to grill. Maybe freezer diving and nuking.

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Ha, ha…I’m in Somerville/Boston (I think you are in the Berkshires). When I saw “freezer diving” the first image that popped in my head was actually diving into a freezer or frozen water!

I grew up in North Carolina and we didn’t get central air conditioning until I was in high school. Our heat wave is no where near as bad as it got in North Carolina decades ago. Still, I hate the heat, and freezer diving sounds good! Good to know the supermarket Friendly ice cream cake was a winner.

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We have been lucky so far out here this year mostly high 80s but its only early July!

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