weekly eats.
After the gluttony & spontaneity of the holidays, I grab onto every bit of january organization that I can and hold on tight. While I did not seem to inherit the OCD gene (oh heeyyy big sister & little brother!), I do find that there are certain routines that really work for me. One big one? Meal planning. I really don't 'get' when people say/post/comment that at the end of the day they don't know what to make for dinner. What? You make what you planned. Duh. Why leave such an important decision to the very last minute? The cooking part of dinner is sometimes stressful on weeknights, but the sitting down, eating, talking, and (sometimes) drinking wine is so needed at the end of the day. Sometimes meal planning is a long drawn out process of browsing Pinterest, flipping through magazines and cookbooks, and consulting my recipe binder. Sometimes it's about turning to tried & true meals that come together quickly. And sometimes, 'fend for yourself' is written in (Austin is a master at making breakfast sandwiches for dinner). On this week's menu…
Sunday – shrimp fajitas using homemade corn tortillas (tortillas purchased at the winter farmer's market in Burlington…they were VERY small, but really tasty!)
Monday – (insert line about the best laid plans here) burgers + sweet potato & parmesan chips. Here's how this went down – I got off work late, which means that I got to the gym late. Austin was apparently STARVING, so the guys went ahead with making burgers. I got home and realized that I am actually out of veggie burgers, sooo…I made the sweet potato chips and had a simple arugula salad on the side. Uhm, those chips are FABULOUS. I didn't get them very crispy, so I ended up eating them with a fork…and it's a good thing that I didn't have to share.
Tuesday – kale & chanterelle pasta, possibly with artisan bread if I can stay awake long enough to make the dough tonight
Wednesday – cheesy vegetable chowder, definitely with artisan bread
Thursday – Risotto with pine nuts, currants, and feta – likely to be my Foodie Friday post this week. A family fave.
Friday – fend for yourself!
Saturday will be a recipe browsing, planning sort of day – plus I want to shift to grocery shopping on Sat instead of Sun. I'm already thinking maybe some sort of tartine.
4 Comments
Barb
I like the getting lost in Pinterest, recipe files, and cookbooks. That’s my favorite part of the meal planning.
And, I’m with you. I eat better and feel less stressed about cooking when I have a clear plan.
mom
I think it’s the “long, drawn out process” that many of us try to avoid. And some people simply don’t know what they will be doing or what time they will be home tomorrow, much less next Thursday. I like to just keep a variety of foods in stock and then cook what I have the time and energy for when I get home. When I shop I try to buy at least three things that are different from last week’s purchases, but that is the limit to my cooking creativity. I have to save my time and energy for other things.
Katrina Simeck
bought a new cookbook tonight – can’t wait to savor it.
Katrina Simeck
remember, it’s only long & drawn out sometimes! 🙂