It’s that time again! Remember how last week I was feeling all refreshed from having my mom cook for me? And how I was so game for meal planning? And so excited about all the meals I was going to prepare?
Yeah, that lasted for two days.
But here we are, another Monday, another week of meals to plan. Plus I am of course already fretting about what we will eat when my friend visits, but lucky you, that is a fret for another day.
(It will involve tacos. A lot of our friendship was spent going through the drive through of the local taco place, buying tacos, eating tacos.)
But that is for a future meal plan. Today I must plan for the week that has already begun.
Dinners for the Week of August 19-25
- Ham Sandwich: We will have ham sandwich (at least) twice this week.
- Caprese Salad with Balsamic Chicken and Balsamic Dressing: Heck yeah baby, this is back on the menu. I’ve been adding corn to it instead of avocado and I like it so much.
- Yellow Curry: We had a can of yellow curry paste in the pantry and I’ve never made (or ordered) yellow curry before; the time is now. We are going to use different veggies than the ones in the recipe though: red bell pepper, peas, broccoli.
- Grilled Chicken with Spicy Cucumber Salad: I think I’ve said enough about cucumbers.
- Lemon Feta Sheet Pan Chicken/Salmon: Yesssss. This sounds good.
I have also been thinking a lot about whether I might be able to turn my favorite plum torte into cupcakes. A small plum per? Seems like it would be the perfect late summer breakfast. But… I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
What kinds of foods are on your mind this week?
I like your idea for turning your plum torte into cupcakes. I look forward to learning how that works out.
Well now I MUST do it, in order to be able to report back!
I was just telling my family last night about the plum torte, which I think I will make every time you post the recipe and I never have. I was actually going to ask you for the recipe. Thinking it might be a good Labor Day dessert.
It is SO GOOD and SO EASY. I hope you try it!
It is our chicken heavy week this week. We have chicken tikka masala, marry me chicken, garlic sheet pan chicken, and…something else that is not chicken but is on the list on the fridge which is allllll the way over there.
I’ve also started having dinner ready as soon as the kids get home from school which is stupid early for dinner (4pm) but it is working SO WELL. They are hungry so they eat actual dinner! It makes them stop being so mean and cranky for two hours after they get home. The rest of the evening goes so well! Before they used to come home and be mean and eat a bunch of nutritionally questionable snacks and then no dinner. I meant to do it only for a week or two while we adjusted to back to school but honestly this might be just What We Do Now.
The early dinner for the kids sounds SO SMART. I wonder if I could get my act together enough to do that for my kid????
It definitely is a challenge but also it’s kind of nice to not be cooking dinner while everyone has dumped their book bags all over the kitchen counter and are asking me a million questions and all that stuff. But it’s weird to be all “two o’clock, time to start thinking about dinner.”
I think you’re a genius with this solution, truly.
I know that ham sandwich is code for “fend for yourself” but actually…no one would hate it if I made ham sammie sliders.
I want the caprese salad! Please don’t misunderstand, I didn’t say that I wanted to make it, I just want to have it magically appear before me.
I say yes to turning your torte into cupcakes! There is no reason why it wouldn’t turn out, and in my house everyone loves tiny versions of bigger foods – a cake is “meh” but the extra same ingredients in cupcake form is “yah”.
Hahahaha – yes I would also like the caprese salad to magically appear before me.
“There is no reason why it wouldn’t turn out” sounds excellent to me, so I’m going to try it!
No cucumbers here as they have been recalled due to salmonella. I love yellow curry!
Salmonella cucumbers?!?! Oh dear!
Here’s to ham sandwiches!
YASSSSSS.
We are having shredded barbeque pork for dinner tonight and the pizza casserole that I made so that Tank could take a bunch back to school before his meal plan started. Then it might be time for leftovers. I hope.
I’m excited to make the balsamic honey chicken. I actually emailed myself the recipe, so I think that means it’ll happen. I need to figure out a few recipes for me to eat that are low FODMAP. I’ve been doing my best to avoid foods high in FODMAP, but I wanna see what happens if I really cut it out of my diet for awhile. I hope to figure out what triggers me and then maybe I can get off this stupid medication.
I hope low FODMAP works for you, Ernie!
That balsamic dressing is almost exactly my go-to balsamic dressing! We are having it tomorrow on Big Kale Salad, with crusty bread. Today I cut some of my three-foot basil and we are having pesto pasta salad with peas, zucchini (OF COURSE), and cucumber. Then I’ll put tomatoes on the side (Jake doesn’t like tomatoes) because I have about 20 pounds of them right now.
SO JEALOUS OF YOUR ZUCCHINI. Seriously, why aren’t we neighbors.
Yes, you must try to make the torte into cupcakes and report back. That recipe is one I keep meaning to try but then I wonder – do I need an actual torte pan or can I make do with something else?
You can 100% make do with something else. No torte pan necessary.
Good to know, thanks!!
I’m loving this current stage of life that I am in, because my adult daughter cooks one night, my husband cooks two nights, and we go out one night, which means I only have to come up with 3 meals. YAY! Tonight my daughter is cooking tacos. For tomorrow, I have some beautiful green beans and tomatoes that I got at the Farmer’s Market, as well some leftover goat cheese in the fridge, so I’m going to make Engie’s green bean and olive salad. I bought some lamb chops to go with it, and our daughter will have goat cheese pizza because she is vegetarian AND does not like green beans. Also at the Farmer’s Market, I bought some basil pesto that also has pistachio in it, so I will make something with that. That leaves me with one night to figure out, which is pretty darned good. Might be Ham Sandwich.
I would love to make those plum tarts, but likely I would be the only one to eat them. My daughter doesn’t really eat sweets at home (probably the last vestiges of her eating disorder) and my husband can’t have sweets due to being pre-diabetic, so it would be just me. I mean, maybe I could make them and give them to neighbors or something. That has happened before.
I spent the whole day before my friend and her daughter (and Matt’s brother and his family) arrived, so we’ve been eating through all of that (peanut chicken, beef taco skillet, pulled pork wraps). Tomorrow I’m driving Eve back to school so tomorrow night will probably be Jack Astor’s Thai Coconut Curry Bowl. Then back home and just the two of us, meaning mostly just me for most of September. I have big plans to get more organized and creative with cooking. Big plans.
Well now I’m craving curry. Maybe I’ll make that yellow curry (with tofu) this weekend. I just have to get yellow curry paste which might require a trip to Whole Foods. Other than that, I’m implementing my “easy bowl dinner” plan this week!
Why do we have to plan meals EVERY WEEK, Suzanne? WHY? I’m over it. We’re having nachos this week. Every day. Done. (We are not having nachos every night. My husband would revolt. I would enjoy it, though.)
What I wouldn’t give for my Mom to cook for me for a week: HEAVEN. (well, it would literally have to happen in heaven)
Girl, if you need to serve ham sandwiches (or the equivalent) you’re still feeding your family. Have a great time with your friend!
Give me balsamic EVERYTHING! 🙂
It is going to be a hot week here so I think I try to stick to salads mainly. I am hoping it will include a watermelon feta salad. But caring a melon home or jungle it on the bike is currently preventing that.
And maybe my favorite summer dish of braised cucumbers. https://www.craftaliciousme.com/schmorgurken-favorite-summer-dish/
I’d love to have some tacos. I have never made those I think…