It’s a new week, which means that another 21 meals stretch before us, waiting to be planned and created. That both sounds like A LOT and not that many, although it feels endless and insurmountable. It’s also an appointment-heavy week, which I am not looking forward to. So much driving. So much trying to squeeze in Normal Life around these holes in the schedule. Why do I do this to myself? I think what happens is that, as I’m scheduling the appointments (which is usually months in advance of the actual appointment), I either think, “Oh, it will be so nice to just get everything over with at once!” when in fact I do not find that “nice” at all, but overwhelming and disruptive. Or I get all flustered on the phone and feel like I am being A Pain if I continue to request different dates/times. Probably it is a combination of the two. Either way, Past Suzanne is a jerk.
Dinners for the Week of January 23-29
Lemon Chile White Fish with Chickpeas: I think I have shared my rule of thumb with you before, which is, if my husband suggests a meal, I make it. I hope that this encourages him to suggest more meals because coming up with meals is so tedious. (Once again, I fervently wish that I had A Mostly-Fixed Weekly Rotation, like Nicole… or a handful of tried-and-true recipes that we eat regularly, like NGS. Alas.) We do not own “Aleppo pepper,” but my husband is confident we can use chipotle powder and no one will know the difference. Probably we will have something green on the side – steamed broccoli, maybe?
Greek Chicken with a Big Salad: I am going to use this marinade as the dressing. Alert alert: I do not use a mortar and pestle with the marinade/dressing ingredients: I blend everything up in the blender. My Greek salad will have feta, Kalamata olives, red bell peppers, red onions, and cucumbers. My husband will have tomatoes instead of olives. I may also make some pita bread, just because it’s not too hard and it’s so fun to see the little pitas puff up.
Japchae (inspired by this post from Birchwood Pie Project): Birchie eats this meal with gyoza, but says steak would probably be a good accompaniment. I may make steak for my husband and shrimp for myself, or just load it up with veggies and eat it without meat.
Farro with Garlic and Roasted Vegetables (inspired by this post from The In Between Is Mine): This sounds so wholesome and wintery and versatile. I will not be using tomatoes (quelle surprise), and I don’t have any potatoes on hand. I think I am just going to throw in whatever I can find rolling around in the house: mushrooms, red onion, zucchini, maybe a sweet potato although I’m trying to decide if that would taste weird with the other ingredients or not. I don’t really like sweet potatoes, but they are supposedly pretty healthful and my husband likes them and I have one languishing in the pantry. Hmmm. It will be a game-time decision.
Black Bean Burritos: I have been in a burrito sort of mood, so I’m putting this on the list. My favorite kind of burrito is a simple one. On the inside: black beans, a little cheese, a lot of hot sauce, a sprinkling of cilantro if I have some on hand. On the outside: copious amounts of cheddar – no, more than that, maybe just a little more – heated in the oven until it’s all bubbly and melty, lettuce, onions, sour cream, and so much hot sauce the whole thing looks more like an enchilada than a burrito.
What are you looking forward to this week? Or not looking forward to, as the case may be?
I hate it when Past Me gets Present Me into that kind of what-was-I-thinking situation!
Past Me is so dumb sometimes!
Our meal plan for dinners is an exact repeat of our menu from last week with a substitution of a black bean/pumpkin soup for butternut squash soup. I am uninspired and lazy.
ALSO. I am hosting book club the next time we meet. It will be the first time I have hosted since 2019 or something crazy like that because we are weirdos who still don’t let people in our house because people are vectors of gross illness. ANYWAY. It is to be held on the birthday of someone who occasionally comes to book club. She laughingly said all that she wants for her birthday is lemon bars and champagne and now I am determined to figure out a fabulous GF recipe for lemon bars to serve her. So this week I shall be making my first attempt. Let’s see how it goes, shall we?
Oooh! That sounds like a fun quest! Looking forward to seeing what you find! There *must* be tons of excellent gluten free lemon bar recipes out there.
We are slated to try 4 new recipes this week, which literally never goes well. Last night I made chicken Caesar salad wraps that I thought would be a hit because Caesar is such a good gateway salad, but, alas.
Oh no! That’s so disappointing! And yes, I agree: usually a bad plan to do multiple new recipes… but I am guilty of that too because sometimes the novelty is the only thing that gets me through the slog of meal planning.
I love the variety of your meals! I’m a black bean burrito fan too–with cheese and sweet potatoes and topped with avocado, sour cream and salsa. I’m not a creative cook so it’s lucky that I just have to prepare for me. Sometimes a bagel and cream cheese with some raw veggies is my dinner.
Yum! A bagel and cream cheese with veggies is a great dinner. I make that for my kiddo sometimes. And I see burritos with sweet potatoes all the time and have never tried it! I love black too much I guess.
I am suddenly in the mood for black bean burritos. I wonder why? 🤔
Because they are delicious, Ally! I hear them calling you…
Mmm the Greek salad sounds really good! I have a salad for lunch when I go into the office so I should make that my salad next week!
I only plan 3 dinners/week since we can get by on those leftovers and other odds and ends since the kids rarely eat what we eat! Last night I made a corn chowder, tonight I’m making a veggie-packed ragu sauce that the boys will actually eat although Paul is known to fish the tiniest pieces of carrot out of the marinara sauce (I blitz the onion, carrot and celery in a food processor but he can still pick pieces out). On Friday I’m making a shrimp and veggie stir fry. So the boys will eat 1 out of 3 meals. But that’s better than 0 out of 3 I guess??
I think 1/3 is a win!
Ugh, so many appointments are exhausting!
21 meals…when you put it like that, it seems like so much.
It’s funny you mentioned me – thank you! – because I was just thinking I should write a “week in the kitchen” post about my dinners/ baking/ etc. Inspiration!
YES. Please do this!
I am ALSO now in the mood for black bean burritos. Or maybe enchiladas- yours did remind me of enchiladas more than burritos. You’re very organized- I don’t have any dinners planned for this week other than tonight, which is leftovers from last night.
Good luck with all your appointments! I totally know that feeling. Every year I tell myself NOT to make any appointments in December, and then inevitably find myself heading off to the dentist or something when I have a million other things to do. AGAIN? What was I thinking??
The organization is an illusion. My meal plan holds (usually) for one or two meals and then falls to pieces.
I am always SO impressed by these meal plans. I feel like we eat a lot of meals on repeat and I still fly by the seat of my pants. Sigh. A few years ago I was structured but it just feels like too much energy these days because, like you say, there are TWENTY-ONE meals to plan in a week. And next week? Another 21. GAH!
So many meals, Elisabeth!
21 meals. That somehow sounds so daunting. Plus my 2 year old and 11 month old usually require snacks too. No wonder it feels like I’m constantly cleaning the kitchen or feeding small people.
Have a happy week! (Even with all the appointments. )
Ohhhhhh yes, snacks too! It’s a wonder any of us ever leaves the kitchen!
21 meals! I’ve never looked at it that way! How come I can rotate toast and cereal every morning and it’s not weird but I can’t rotate burritos and pasta every night without seeming weird?
Our dinner plan is:
Monday – Choritzo Pasta Bake
Tuesday – Out to dinner for by biiirthday
Wednesday – Salmon and Rice and veggie bowls (need a sauce or something for this)
Thursday – Roast root veg & quiche
Friday – ??? Husband on dinner duty.
Saturday – Lamb Rogan Josh
Sunday – Something with Tofu (need to use tofu before expiry)
Your meals look delicious and involved! Also, I LOVE a black bean burrito. I also love ground turkey and black bean burritos.
My opinion is that if your burrito doesn’t look like an enchilada by the time you’re done then you’re not doing it right.
Does anyone use a mortar and pestle IRL? I remember that my mom had one but I haven’t seen it in action since I was a kid. I’ve never owned one or been tempted to get one.
Enjoy the japchae! Yes steak will work well and I’m sure that shrimp will be good also.
Weirdly, I do own a mortar and pestle (not sure where they are, though) and used them… several times. But not MANY times, just several. There are much more efficient ways to get the same results, in my opinion.
Sunday: White bean-broccoli-tomato casserole
Monday: White beans sauteed with scallions and toasted pumpkin seeds. Broccoli. Cheddar melted on tortilla chips
Tuesday: Chinese “chicken” salad with oranges and cashews
Wednesday: Vegetable soup. “Tuna” melts
Thursday: Tofu and broccoli stir fry
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Cheesy kidney bean casserole
Wow! You have a menu for the whole week! Does this mean that you have to do all the cooking this week? This puts me in mood for a Chinese chicken salad with mandarin oranges and cashews! Maybe next week?!
Sunday is usually Beth’s night, but she was road tripping back from hauling Noah’s stuff up to Ithaca and didn’t get back until dinnertime, so I made dinner that night. North’s cooking night is Thursday. Usually, I have no idea what they’re going to make, but they told me this time. With Noah gone, the rest of the nights are mine.
I’m about to start the Chinese chicken salad. New recipe. Hope it turns out.
Good luck!
Sometimes Past Me makes Today Me crazy too. Someone mentioned enchiladas in the comments; which made me realize I haven’t had an enchilada since before the pandemic…now I want enchiladas desperately!
You must remedy this right away!
I’ve been known to book several appointments in one day, and days over the course of a week. I too, am mad at Past Suzanne; she really can be inconsiderate.
A bean burrito sounds really good! I wonder if I can pass that off on the resident carnivore who resides with me? Will he notice there isn’t any meat?
I tend to make the same 7-10 meals with occasionally throwing in something new, like your Chicken and Pesto soup from last week. (or the week before?) It was really good; ended up being very thick, more like a stew, but we loved it.
I did sloppy joe’s this week and seasoned potato (fries?), then cheesy chicken. Coach grilled chicken and we have a vat of leftover chicken and wild rice soup that didn’t turn out at all, edible but bland mush. So we have a ton of meals which is nice because it has been an emotional week and I wake up each morning with a pit in my stomach thinking of Curlyl’s friends and trying to process the tragic loss of their mother.
I HAAAATE making appointments and attending appointments and anything to do with appointments. There is NEVER a good time. Having them all together sucks. Having one a week for three or four weeks sucks. It all sucks. I am crawling to the end of January and my husband is away so I got a big salad at Mad Radish and a giant pizza and I am going to eat both for the next three days. I also got cake, because January.
Oh, I am so glad you’re trying the farro recipe – I really enjoyed it. And I am sure that you can substitute ALL the veggies in this one.