Weekly Menu Planning – October 2022

Re. chicken parm meatloaf, in case they’re helpful, here are two chicken parm meatballs recipes we like:

https://altonbrown.com/recipes/chicken-parmesan-meatballs/ (though the backstory in his cookbook credits someone else with the name)

1 Like

Thanks!

Whoops, trottole

Greetings, people.

No theme this week, and no new recipes. After a summer spent occupied with family matters, followed by a busy harvest season, I’m wiped out - too lazy even to bake bread this week despite a hankering for tuna melts for lunch. Instead, I’ll go to a nearby artisan bakery and purchase a loaf (or two). Looking forward to a quiet week at home with not much going on (fingers crossed).

Cooking dinner for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: Pasta with tomatoes, bacon and kale.

SAT: Fish chowder. Garlic toast.

SUN: Pan pizza. Salad.

MON: Burgers on the grill (assuming the burn ban ends on the 30th).

TUE: Roast pumpkin with bacon and assorted garden veg.

WED: Tri-tip on the grill. Grilled veggies.

THUR: Cashew chicken. Steamed rice.

14 Likes

Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga. Still recovering from a full and fun but pretty exhausting week–work got busy just as family/friends arrived and it was A Lot. We went out a lot and did some scrounging and everything went well. Here comes October!
Breakfast: Caramelized apple pancakes
Saturday, October 1: Cajun meatball fricassee from Cook’s Country; rice; some kind of veg
Sunday: Herzhafter Käsekuchen from Classic German Baking (kind of like a fondue pizza?); roasted cauliflower; white wine roasted pears. Might as well go full white-themed food here…
Monday: Work is going to be crazy; I think tomato/egg stir-fry and rice will do the trick
Tuesday: Scrounge
Wednesday: Pasta with smoked salmon and tomatoes
Thursday/Friday: TBD. Maybe freezer cleanout, maybe out, maybe both!

Have a great week, and stay safe, all of you in the Carolinas, especially LLM! Happy cooking!

12 Likes

Well, the week flew by. It’s SO COLD here in NYC! Makes me want warm and homey food.

Actuals for last week:

  • Mon - Chana Pulao using a recipe flagged long ago in a book that was a gift (used dried chickpeas soaked and pressure cooked first). Leftover carrot salad, yogurt, and papad on the side.
  • Tues - Leftover chicken curry from last week + Malabar-spiced cauliflower (COTM) + chapatis & rice
  • Wed - Butternut squash and carrot soup + Open-faced cheese toast
  • Thurs - Out, Turkish, happy hour + dinner with friend just back from summer away. Lahmacun, Zucchini fritters, Fava bean bruschetta.
  • Fri - Out, American small plates at a small venue to watch a friend perform. Heirloom tomato and burrata flatbread, chicken croquettes and frisée with creamy truffle dressing.

Some ideas for the weekend and next week:

  • Pakistani Pot Roast (DOTM) from the same book at the Chana Pulao + mashed potatoes or crusty bread + arugula salad
  • Peruvian Arroz Con Pollo (Cuisine-OTM) but with black beans
  • Beef Chow Fun or Pad See Ew + bok choy or broccoli
  • Fish (Salmon) Tagine + quinoa (but instead of chermoula, doctored chimichurri that’s languishing in my fridge)
  • Paya Ka Salan / Trotters Curry (COTM) + roasted cauliflower + bread & rice (but I may dial down the spice and make it more of a soup like my mom makes, 'tis the weather for it)
  • Bengali Macher Jhol / Mustard Fish Curry (COTM) + quinoa/rice + crispy okra

Have a lovely weekend and a great week!

11 Likes

These next two weeks are going to be really busy. Kinda looking forward to November already.

For two adults in San Diego:

This week’s breakfasts: Finishing up the chocolate chip scones I baked last week.

S: Takeout

Su: (tonight) Macaroni and cheese, to use up random bits of cheese. With peas - vegetarian

M: Chicken tacos (cheese, avocado, tomatoes)

T: Egg rolls (purchased) with a slaw made with purchased sesame dressing

W: TJs Beef tamales and beans

Th: Shrimp scampi, but spicy, with onions and peppers. Sourdough for dipping. - seafood

F: Flying up to Sacramento to be with my mother, whose health is declining. My first time flying since Feb 2020. Wish me luck! I’m assuming fairly bland food will be on the menu for me this weekend. Knowing my husband, there will be pizza for him.

Have a good week!

15 Likes

I’m sorry about your mother’s health. I’m happily surprised to say that masking was a bit better on my flights last week than I’ve seen on other flights in the past 5 months.

4 Likes

Thank you. She remains stubborn and probably more active than she should be. No immune system, though, so I’ll be masking the entire weekend. I booked first class (gulp) in order to be around fewer people for less time. Wish me luck! Glad to hear you saw more masking. I am encouraged.

3 Likes

Greetings, People.

A no shop week. Instead enjoying the perpetual emptying of the freezer, fridge and pantry.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW.

FRI: Leftover tri-tip and veg from last week’s grill.

SAT: Late-season BLTs. Roasted potato wedges.

SUN: Chicken and veg soup of some kind – have a lone breast in the freezer which I’ll poach. Homemade oyster crackers.

MON: Homemade pork and apple sausages. Roasted garden veg.

TUE: A repeat of last week’s very successful lemony fish chowder with peas and rando veg. Have belly-flaps, tail-pieces and trimmings in the freezer to use up. Oyster crackers.

WED: Leftover black-bean chili. Home-fried tortilla chips.

THUR: Pan-roasted chicken thighs. Lemony orzo with peas and dill.

12 Likes

That lemony fish chowder looks really good - thanks for the link.

3 Likes

cooking for 1 at the Jersey Shore

Thursday: porchetta https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/porchetta-sandwiches-2042293, wild rice, steamed cauliflower
Friday: Thursday leftovers
Saturday: pesto lasagna from the freezer https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pesto-lasagne-2122008
Sunday: shrimp burger (can’t remember what recipe I planned to use but it will come to me), green salad
Monday: roast salmon with cucumber-dill cream sauce, brown rice, green salad
Tuesday: spaghetti carbonara
Wednesday: skirt steak with jalapeno-lime compound butter, basmati rice, steamed green beans

13 Likes

for shrimp burgers - I liked this recipe recommended in 2021 by CH’er Valerie. With some Old Bay Mayo - 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning stirred into 1/3 C. Mayo. Wups - dead link. Here’s the paraphrase

Shrimp Burgers paraphrased from America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

For Burgers - which need to chill 30 minutes to 24 hours before cooking:
1 slice whole wheat bread, torn into pieces then pulsed into 3/4 C. crumbs
1 lb shrimp (raw, not precooked, peeled and deveined – these get chopped in food processor so use any size that’s reasonably priced, I used 41 – 50 count Large
3 tablespoons mayonnaise / light mayo
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. freeze dried)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch cayenne pepper
When ready to cook:
2 teaspoons canola oil - or lemon olive oil
S & P in skillet and top of burgers just before cooking

Pulse into coarse crumb in a food processor to get about 3/4 cup of crumbs. Wipe the bowl of the food processor out, then add the shrimp. Pulse about 7 times, just until you have a mixture of finely minced and coarsely chopped pieces. Place breadcrumbs and shrimp in a large bowl but do not mix yet.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and cayenne together until well combined. Pour mayo mixture over the shrimp and breadcrumbs, and gently fold everything together.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions, and loosely pack each into a 1-inch thick burger on a small baking sheet – “You want to be gentle here – don’t try to pick up the mixture and shape it the way you might with a traditional burger.” Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).

Set a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it shimmers, carefully transfer the burgers to the pan. Cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 8-10 minutes total. Serve on toasted buns (we had ours open-faced on bun halves) with your favorite toppings.

9 Likes

Hello from Ottawa, Canada where fall is in full swing. The leaves look lovely and I’m just waiting for the skies to clear up (it was raining this morning) so I can take a picture of the skyline from my apartment. It’s a sea of colours at this time of year. This weekend will be quiet since it’s Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday so I want to cook some of these squashes I’ve been getting in my CSA and I would like to take out my winter clothes over the weekend. I will have to face the music sooner or later 🙁 So my menu for this week is as follows:

Today: today’s take out lunch was a chicken parmigiana sandwich so I will have a corn tomato avocado salad. https://www.skinnytaste.com/corn-tomato-avocado-salad/

Saturday: turkey pot pie from the pricey butcher, corn salad with tomatoes and feta on the side.

Sunday: Happy Thanksgiving! Roast chicken, veggies tbd although I’m leaning towards Brussels sprouts and squash. https://americanhomecook.com/corn-salad-with-tomatoes/

Monday: Peanut butter noodles with cucumbers if I have any cukes left. If not I will probably have a stir fry. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/peanut-butter-noodles-with-cucumbers

Tuesday: Linguine with scallops and leeks. Tomato cucumber salad on the side.

Wednesday: Hot sesame noodles with scallions and pork. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hot-sesame-noodles-with-scallions-and-pork

Thursday: Film society night so I will have dinner out beforehand.

Have a nice week everyone.

11 Likes

Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where the beautiful fall weather continues to hold!
Breakfast: Banana, date, and walnut cake from Sweet
Saturday, October 8: Shepherd’s Pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible; some kind of salad. I will also be making jam and prepping for next weekend’s trip.
Sunday: Cheese fondue with bread and broccoli; salted butter break-ups from Dorie Greenspan
Monday: Firecracker chicken; rice; more broccoli?
Tuesday: Scrounge/takeout
Wednesday: Green chile mac and cheese; sautéed yellow squash
Thursday: Scrounge/takeout
Friday: Driving 8 hours to spend the weekend with long-time friends (we worked together over 20 years ago!); going to make spinach and mushroom lasagna and others will take care of sides
Saturday: Cheese enchiladas; Black Forest torte; the rest is TBD

Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadian contingent! Have a great week and happy cooking!

9 Likes

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the other Canadians here!

5 Likes

The Thanksgiving thread is up!

2 Likes

I had a wonderful vacation on the West Coast, saw my oldest girlfriend and it was like we’d just been together the day before. Ditto my brother. Saw other friends and family and loved every moment. Came back to Ian ravaging Chapel Hill, and Lulu out of town, so there were a few days of carry out from the restaurants that were open. Now LLD is away on a biking adventure in Mallorca, and Lulu and I are getting girl time. Here’s what we’ve had this week:

Mon: farfalle with creamy mushroom and chicken sausage sauce

Tues: baked potatoes and salad

Wed: Greek-style braised chickpeas with orange and honey over toast (Milk Street based on a Diane Kochilas recipe - Lulu looooooves DK)

Thurs: burritos

Fri: carryout sushi feast

Sat: kidney bean curry, basmati, maybe cabbage salad

Sun: thinking of trying a new to me Diana Henry recipe fro From the Oven to the Table that involves roasted grape tomatoes and white beans. Kind of excited about it.

Hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful fall weekend.

17 Likes

Welcome home! It sounds like you had a lovely trip. Hopefully you didn’t get much property damage from Ian? Fiona flattened many parts of Nova Scotia and they are predicting it will take weeks to clean up.

Thar kidney bean curry sounds intriguing. Have you made it before? And can you share the recipe or say which cookbook it is from if that is your source?

2 Likes

Thanks OOD. We were lucky, and mostly just had a mess from the trees in our yard. I’ve seen pictures from Nova Scotia and it is unbelievable.

I should have said - the kidney bean curry comes from Made in India, and it is my favorite from the book. Here is a link to it: https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2019/10/easy-weeknight-kidney-bean-curry-rajma.html

5 Likes