I know this makes me a bit of a geek, but I just love Sundays, when I usually plan our menus for the week. By then, I’ve received my home delivery of produce on Friday from Front Porch Pickings, and I sit down with my magazines and my cookbooks and my computer and decide what I am going to make for the week. This week is a little nuts because Kevin and I are running in different directions, so the sacred family dinner that is always a part of our evening ritual is disrupted on a couple of nights, but most of the time, we will all be eating together, as usual.
BREAKFAST
Ultimate Oatmeal: I am going to try the steel cut oatmeal recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. Maybe I will make the one with dates and oranges this week, since I have both. I might also make a batch of Deceptively Delicious Blueberry Oatmeal Bars. I haven’t made those in a while and we love them.
LUNCH
Chicken Salad: It seems odd to call this chicken salad, because it isn’t what most people think of, but I hate mayonnaise and avoid any of the conventional salads with mayonnaise in them. This is just a very easy, fresh combo of diced celery and shredded rotisserie chicken. I don’t even season or dress it, but I think it would probably also be great with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper.
Ricotta and Arugula Pizza: I happen to have both of these ingredients, and I think I will make this with a whole wheat Boboli pizza crust for lunch. Usually, though, lunch is just leftovers from dinner.
DINNER
I usually only plan three dinners for the week. One night (often Friday) we end up having pasta or eating out or something, and Thursday nights we have a family dinner at my mom’s house.
Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas: Tomorrow night I have a meeting, so I am going to make it up to my husband by making enchiladas using shredded rotisserie chicken. He loves Mexican food.
Tex Mex Chicken and Rice: Most chicken and rice recipes call for white rice, but I love that the America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook features recipes with brown rice. I plan to make the Tex Mex version this week, and I’d like to try the Thai version in the near future.
Miso Glazed Salmon and Roasted Acorn Squash: This will be a quick and easy meal to pull together.
I also want to make Roasted Potatoes since I have some organic russet potatoes, and a Quinoa with pomegranates, so I might find a way to squeese those in.
DESSERT
I usually just bake as needed, and I am not very proficient at it, but I never stop trying. This week, I am going to try the Lemon Yogurt Mousse from that Healthy Family Cookbook. And I am going to make Rocco DiSpirito’s brownies, the ones with the black beans in them that he showed on the Dr. Oz show. I can’t wait!
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