Weekly Menu Planning – November 2022

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!

LLM - I think you were replying to @truman ? That green fluff your mother makes is likely pistachio jello salad similar to this https://www.cooks.com/recipe/2i8z43vr/pistachio-jello-salad.html

Yes, sorry, reply was supposed to go to truman. My mom’s “salad” doesn’t have cool whip, and uses walnuts or pecans and maraschino cherries, and is finished off with… a dollop of mayo. :no_mouth:

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I imagine that many of us of “a certain age” had a parent with a “special” Jello salad recipe. My mom’s had cottage cheese, pineapple, nuts, celery, and (I think) mayo. She wasn’t allowed to go to some family events without it. We served it at her memorial service, and I don’t think I’ve had it since…

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I’m fascinated that your mother’s salad may also have had mayo. This always seemed like such a weird aspect of it, to me. It was dolloped on top. But you’re so right that there were a lot of these types of salads when I was a kid.

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The only one in my family was one my uncle (by marriage) would bring to parties that was passed down from his mother. It was some flavor of red jello with grated carrots and walnuts, as I recall (it’s been many years). But no mayo or dairy.

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Both of my grandmothers had Jello specialties. Grandma K made a two-layer black cherry jello; the top had sour cream mixed in and the bottom had canned black cherries in it. Grandma E made what was referred to as “stained glass jello” which was mostly white (cool whip?) with tidbits of bright colored jello - I think she made the colored jello first, then broke it up and mixed with the white stuff?

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I LOVED stained glass! My grandmother used to make a version with a graham cracker crust, and for sure had Cool Whip. I had a very refined palate as a child :sweat_smile:

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