Weekly Menu Planning – November 2022

My cousin and his wife live in Knoxville, where winter is colder than where I am on the west coast, but of course, nothing like the Upper Midwest. Just based on weather, they can’t imagine returning to live in their native Wisconsin.

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Greetings, people.

Gearing up for the holidays! While we focus on gratitude for all things good in our lives (so much to be thankful for), Thanksgiving week also marks a kick-off to the holiday season. Yesterday we took our biggest cooler to Big Boxville and made our annual shopping trip for seasonal goodies. Among other things, we picked up some scallops – a treat for us - to start this week off right.

At home we’re making preps to throw the switch on the outdoor Christmas lights: ladders strewn about the yard and occasional cursing can be heard. Making gifts and holiday baking will be in full swing by the weekend after Turkey Day. Dinners this week are kept simple to leave more time for fun and creativity.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: Scallops of some sort.

SAT: Scallops of some sort.

SUN: The NYT version of beans and greens alla vodka. Italian sausages.

MON: Pork chops and roasted harvest veg (rolled from last week).

TUE: Hamburger soup from the freezer. Toasted bread for dunking.

WED: Cabbage and kielbasa soup from the freezer. Toasted bread for dunking.

THUR: Turkey Day! Our alternative Thanksgiving dinner for two will feature turkey-breast, bacon and Swiss cheese sandwiches on cranberry-walnut bread (gravy optional). Crispy potato wedges. Carrot salad. Pickled green beans. Fruit or berry shrubs to drink. Pumpkin ice cream for dessert (and possibly a cider donut cake).

Happy Holiday!

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It all sounds lovely–happy Thanksgiving!

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Hello everyone winter has finally arrived in Ottawa. After a springlike fall this year it snowed for the first time earlier this week and temperatures are hovering around the freezing mark which I believe is normal for this time of year. And now people are complaining how cold it is. I’m not sure what they will do in January when it is -40 out… Nothing special planned for this weekend since tomorrow is fridge and freezer cleanout day and Sunday is the Grey Cup game (football championship). Life will return to normal in December so I hope to go on some museum visits next month. Dinners this week for a singleton in Ottawa, Canada looks like this:

Today: Take out lunch is butter chicken and rice from a local Indian company that sells prepared meals which are available at many stores around Ottawa. I’m not sure if they have a storefront operation but there is a nearby health food store that has their butter chicken and various curries available for sale so today it’s butter chicken. Tonight I will have a salad.

Saturday: Chicken again! Good thing I like it 😉 I will be having chicken cacciatore for dinner. Probably rice on the side since I’ve been eating a lot of noodle based dishes these days.

Sunday: Grey Cup Sunday. Go Winnipeg Blue Bombers! Kickoff is at 6:30 so I will have ample time to do my grocery shopping in the afternoon and I will pick up dinner while I am out and about. So far it’s a toss up between steak and spaghetti and meatballs.

Monday: The last serving of cauliflower curry. Served with either rice or udon noodles.

Tuesday: Liver, potato, corn.

Wednesday: Dinner out with my dinner club. Tonight we are going to a Greek Retaurant.

Thursday: fettucine al pesto and a salad on the side.

Lunches this week will alternate between a composed salad (potatoes, beets, corn and chickpeas) and a couscous vegetable salad.

Have a nice week everyone. And a happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating!

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Hi, all! Cooking for 4 in Chattanooga. California-based DD is struggling with long Covid fatigue so can’t come for Thanksgiving, which is sad because it’s “our” holiday. We’ll still have fun with the Boston-based daughter, though!
Breakfast: Whole wheat buttermilk waffles from the Breakfast Book
Saturday, November 19: Squash soup, cabbage and grapefruit slaw, olive quick bread/muffins
Sunday: Root vegetable tagine, apple honey cake
Monday: “Mexican pizza” with salsa, beans, and corn, loosely based on an old Bon Appétit recipe
Tuesday: Roasted squash bowl
Wednesday: TBD: probably takeout due to T-day prep
Thursday: Turkey day! Just 5 of us with a giant bird, yikes! Bread stuffing loosely based on a lot of recipes, mashed potatoes, 2 kinds of gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, fennel and orange salad, maybe spicy green beans?, pumpkin and pecan pies.
Friday: DD and BF go back to Boston; we eat leftovers. I have the feeling I’ll be using my vacuum seal machine quite a bit and doing research on turkey recipes…
Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving if you’re celebrating! Happy cooking!

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In case anyone missed it… there’s a Thanksgiving 2022 discussion here The 2022 Thanksgiving Thread!

If you’re stumped for sides or planning your leftovers, stop on by…

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Cooking for 1 at the Jersey Shore

Sunday: vegetable lasagna with leftover red/veg sauce from the freezer
Monday: Sunday leftovers
Tuesday: Tomato and Corn Cobbler from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook
Wednesday: Tuesday leftovers
Thursday: dinner at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving
Friday: Angry Grandma pizza from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook
Saturday: Friday leftovers

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How are you liking the new SK cookbook?

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Hi, friends. Short but busy week ahead - buckle up!

Sat: spaghetti and meatballs (using leftover meatballs from last week’s orzo and meatball soup), steamed broccoli

Sun: sautéed cod, brown butter cornbread (Ina’s new cookbook, but I had some buttermilk to use up so subbed that for the whole milk), roasted asparagus. We did not love the cornbread so I think I’ll stick with the Pioneer Woman recipe.

Mon: chicken souvlaki and pita

Tues: old school tacos and refried beans

Weds: technically I’m working, but… Lots of prep cooking: Prep mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, clean green beans. Spatchcock and dry brine the turkey. Chop vegs for stuffing. Make Chex Mix. Make cranberry sauce? And baking - toll house pie, pumpkin pie (SK’s filling) (both of those in pie crust from Midwest Made), pecan sandie pie (NYT). Each of us is making one.
Dinner will be pizza - I need to remember to order tomorrow!!

Thurs: Turkey Trot 5k at 8am. We haven’t done it in a few years due to injuries (mostly mine), and there may be more whining than running, but… it’s always good to start such a food-filled day with some exercise!
Lunch is apps: Bagel Bites, spinach-artichoke dip and crackers, crudités, etc. and plenty of Chex Mix.
Dinner: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, cranberry sauce, green beans, rolls, “pink stuff” (Dream Whip, fruit cocktail, marshmallows, food coloring - MIL made this for holidays so DH wants it but he’s the only one who eats it).
Pies for dessert, and probably Friday breakfast too.

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Actuals for Nov 14 week, cooking… lots of reheating… for 2 in MN. Thursday’s terrific Waldorf salad was based on the Jo Cismaru recipe linked, but as a side so I omitted chicken and “bed of lettuce”. It has raisins added which I was hesitant about, but they enhance the mixture of textures and flavors. The simple dressing of plain yogurt/mayo/lemon juice made enough for two batches, lightly dressed as we prefer.

Mon: Reheat Beef Stroganoff Soup
with fresh spinach salad and Kings Hawaiian dinner rolls. Fruit compote over cottage cheese
Tues: Reheat pizza, salad
Wed: Scrambled eggs w cheese, naan bread, reheat chickpea/spinach/tomato side
Thurs & (reheated) Fri: Smothered pork chop mashed potatoes, Waldorf salad
Sat - Egg bake, Waldorf salad (a fresh batch)
Sun (today) - Reheated (from frozen) rotisserie chicken breast, Rotel/rice/black bean hotdish, Romaine salad w carrots & tomatoes

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Beef stroganoff soup sounds great!

Wed sounds like 3 days of work! Good luck!

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Hi everyone

Spent this week sick with an awful sinus infection, so it hasn’t been much fun, though I’ve been hungry all the time and so actually ended up cooking quite a bit.

No planning for the coming week other than stuff I’m carrying with me for Thanksgiving: orange olive oil cake(s), chocolate loaf (Nigella-ish), maybe brownies (impossible bite-size quiches to be made at the other end).

Actuals for last week:

Sun - Woke up feeling congested and with an aching throat courtesy sinuses. Ugh. Used the duck broth from earlier in the week to make “chicken” noodle soup. Dinner was Inverted Pizza with potatoes and rosemary + sauteed pea leaves.

Mon - Went to the doctor who put me on antibiotics. Ugh. Came home and assembled wonton soup using frozen shrimp wontons and the last of the duck broth. Dinner was the other half of the pizza dough with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella + sauteed snow pea leaves.

Tues - Lots of leftovers tided me through the day: Hainanese-ish chicken and rice, pea leaves, butternut squash soup, and lahmacun. I did bake a tiny loaf of bread, which I had started with the pizza dough.

Wed - Still sick, but soooo hungry! Tried my hand at beef chow fun for the first time, and it was delicious! Sauteed yu choy on the side.

Thurs - Cheesetoast from homemade loaf with chicken soup a la my dad but using only skin and bones.

Fri - Turned the rest of the giant can of tomatoes I opened (for the pizza) into Marcella-ish tomato sauce in the PC. Then turned half of that into vodka sauce. Made ricotta gnudi / polpette from the last of the fresh ricotta and poached them in the vodka sauce. So good! Sauteed yu choy on the side.

Sat - Dinner in Chinatown with NYC and visiting Onions. I made curry noodle soup for lunch with homemade chicken broth.

Sun - Leftover curry noodle soup with bok choy and snow pea leaves, and steamed buns with leftover Peking duck.

Looking back, it strikes me that I actually used the ideas list I came up with last week pretty heavily. Doubt I would have eaten as well while sick if last-week-me hadn’t thought about what could come out of my fridge / freezer.

So, thinking ahead to next weekend when I’m back (from Thanksgiving travel Tues-Fri):

  • Cauliflower-stuffed parathas (freezer) + tbd soup
  • Mustard salmon + rice + tbd veg
  • Steak + scalloped or mashed potatoes + tbd veg
  • King oyster mushrooms + either japanese mixed rice or oyako don or umami noodles
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We were supposed to go on a short trip this week, but we were too exhausted and canceled the trip. LOL Too tired for a vacation is a new level for us. Did go out to dinner a few times this weekend to make up for it. Taking it easy this week, relying heavily on the pantry and freezer.

For two adults in San Diego:

This week’s breakfasts: Pumpkin bread

S: dinner out

Su (tonight): Leftovers from the last two nights of dining out.

M: Purchased tomato soup and pumpkin cheddar scones from a local bakery - vegetarian

T: Repurposing leftover chipotle sweet potatoes into a pasta sauce, with leftover tri-tip and onions and peppers.

W: TJ’s green chile cheese tamales with green enchilada sauce and sautéed shrimp - seafood

Th: Thanksgiving, the small version - Honeybaked ham, doctored TJs cornbread stuffing, sweet peas au gratin, cranberry sauce, rolls

F: Thanksgiving leftovers.

Have a good week!

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Wow, impressive amount of cooking!

My mother makes something similar to the “pink stuff” except it’s green, and has nuts instead of marshmallows. I think she’s the only one who really likes it. She’s flown to Europe this year to visit friends, so no cooking the whole shebang for her.

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I know that feeling! Gearing up to go, then traveling, then coming back and catching up, I need a vacation to recover from a vacation.

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The Beef Stroganoff soup was “just OK” for us, and won’t get made again. Last week’s Chicken Stroganoff from the same cookbook was very good.

Thanks for the caution!

I made that beef stroganoff soup but used shaved steak at the end… delicious and easy.

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So true!