I love summer produce

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Meal Planning Roadblocks, Dinners This Week

It continues to be hot and smokey, and we continue to have no rain. Not my ideal summertime conditions, for sure. (Although, to be clear, we have it a LOT better than many.)

Here I am, all ready to half-ass some dinner plans for the week, and I just remembered that we will have houseguests starting Thursday. Perhaps I should come up with something a little jazzier than “scrounge around for something resembling food.”

Things that are hampering my planning:

  • We continue to have no reliable grill. Earlier this month, I had someone come out to look at our existing built-in grill and give us quotes for replacing it. I have never gotten the quotes. (Although, very oddly, the same salesperson who came out to examine the grill showed up at my front door last week. He was looking for someone else, and had mixed up the addresses.) I should call the grill company to follow up, and I should also get a second quote from someone else but I have done neither thing.
  • The heat makes me resistant to turning on the oven. Clearly I need to lean more heavily on my air fryer.
  • Are we still avoiding lettuce? I can’t keep up with the latest on the cyclosporiasis outbreak and have no idea what produce are okay and not okay to eat. It would be wonderful to have some salads on the menu but… is that advisable? Well, the NYT has an article all about that very question, and I guess the answer is: maybe, as long as it’s from the whole head of lettuce and not iceberg lettuce. That helps, slightly… although I feel more comfortable putting myself and my husband at risk than I do putting my child and houseguests in the same position.

I think I’ve completely talked myself out of making dinner at all, ever again. How’s that for a Dinners This Week?

Dinners for the Week of July 20-26

  • Pasta with Chopped Pesto and Peas: I can use fresh basil from my “garden” and frozen peas. Maybe I can make a couple of chicken breasts and salmon fillets in the air fryer for those who require a separate protein.
  • Green Chile Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas: This will require the use of the oven, but it seems worthwhile.
  • Beef and Veggie Stir Fry: Did I tell you that I jettisoned my wok? For years, my wok was my most-loved appliance. And then I just… stopped using it. Ever since we moved to this house (THREE YEAR AGO OMG), I have been making stir fry in my big chili pot, and I’ve never missed my wok. Not sure why I felt the urge to share this little tidbit with you, but there it is.
  • Shortcut Korean Pulled Pork: This recipe calls for kimchi pickles and shredded cabbage, but I could also/instead make a quick and tangy slaw.

I cannot think of anything else, but there’s always takeout.

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Reluctant Return to Dinners This Week

For several months now, I’ve been operating under the “wing it” principle for dinners. It’s been too hot to want to eat, our schedule has been irregular what with summer camps etc., and the few times I’ve had something specific I wanted to make, I just… made it.

But it’s getting to the point, now, where the drudgery of discussing how to wing it each evening feels more onerous than the drudgery of planning out a week’s worth of meals. Also, I have been doing that thing where I end up needing to go to the grocery store multiple times per week, and then I end up spending way more money than I would have if I’d just taken ten minutes to think through a plan in the first place.

I still don’t want to cook anything, though. Well. Needs must. Here are some things I will make this week:

Dinners for the Week of July 13

  • Couscous Salad with Some Sort of Protein: Chicken breast for my husband, and I will probably do a filet of salmon for myself and Carla; she will have her couscous salad deconstructed, without any feta.
  • Szechuan Stir Fry: Literally the only thing that sounds appealing me to lately are fresh veggies. Of course, there is also the pesky cyclosporiasis outbreak hitting some 31 states right now, and no one seems to know where the parasite is coming from, just that it’s probably coming from veggies, so that’s fun. I love feeling like I’m taking my life in my hands every time I crunch down on a piece of cauliflower. Anyway, I have a bunch of fresh veggies and I’m going to wash them until they squeak and then throw them into a stir fry and then douse them in spicy sauce. I have some tofu that I may try to add to the mix. I am a little afraid of tofu, because I have made it only twice and very poorly, but the only way to improve a skill is to practice it.
  • White Bean Enchilada Soup: It is 100% not soup weather, but this soup sounds good, so I’m leaning into it.

Okay, three meals is pretty much all I can muster up enthusiasm for. Hopefully they will generate enough leftovers that we can stave off the “what should we have for dinner” question for a few additional nights.

What are you eating for dinner lately?

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Nearly No-Cook Dinners This Week

We are in the midst of a heat wave and I am still expected to provide meals for my family. I may have scoured every blog post and online article about “best no-cook meals.” No, I will never make gazpacho, every blog post and online article about “best no-cook meals.” My husband and I discussed the options I bookmarked and landed on a good meal plan for the week. There are a lot of chickpeas, quinoa, and pesto on the list. The dinners are kind of cilantro heavy, though, so if you hate cilantro, consider yourself warned. 

Dinners for the Week of June 23-June 29

  • Street Corn Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto: The original recipe calls for goat cheese, but I am going to swap that out for cotija. I am also going to get us some grilled shrimp from the prepared foods section to add as our protein.
  • Ground Beef Tacos in the Crockpot: The taco meat requires cooking, but I’ll make it in the crockpot to keep our kitchen cool. I usually heat up corn taco shells in the oven, so I will have to figure out if I can stand doing that or if I can make them in our air fryer.
  • Pesto Farmer’s Market Salad with Grilled Chicken: My husband and I are weary of the (delicious) salads in our regular rotation, so we’re going to give this one a try. Instead of my go-to balsamic, this salad calls for a pesto vinaigrette which is intriguing. I will “grill” the chicken in our air fryer.

I am hoping that many of these dinners produce leftovers because I don’t want to use my oven for lunch, either.

When you think of Good Bread, what do you think of? My husband requested sourdough; I am happy to oblige. What’s your favorite summery salad? What else do you like to eat when you refuse to use the oven?