Tiffanie: this week's menu

The stomach flu is visiting our house this week, so I'm not putting much effort into food. So far just the littlest one is ill...

Meals this week:

• lentil soup from the Barefoot Contessa. I need to use up celery, leeks, and carrots! At least two meals worth here.
• beans sauteed with onion and garlic, with greens (Swiss Chard), and fried sausage rounds (Field Roast). Another use of leftover sausage and CSA greens.
• avocado sushi. Saving this for when the little one can eat again; she loves avocado.
• falafel. Probably will serve in pita or tortillas, with hummus and avocado. 
• tacos with mushrooms. Another easy popular dinner.

I'm also going to make some sprouted quinoa tabbouleh (Clean Food cookbook) to use up CSA parsley, and will do more sauteed grated zucchini with baked eggs for lunch. Today I also made a salad nicoise of a sort, based around blanched green and yellow beans and potatoes. Yummy!

Tiffanie: this week's menu

I'm trying to plan early this week -- it's only Saturday!! Tonight I'm making a tofu and broccoli stir fry (per last week's menu plan), and the cauliflower is all roasted and eaten. Still have plenty of potatoes, kale, herbs, and squash!

I've got two evenings with little time to cook this week, so I must plan very easy (i.e. leftovers) meals or ones I can cook early in the day. I also have five avocados ripening!

This week:

• raw kale and avocado salad, as a side
• breakfast for dinner: pancakes, hash browns, fruit salad
• corn chowder (2 meals worth)
• pineapple fried rice
• tostadas, perhaps with beer-chile marinated tempeh and lots of mushrooms
• avocado sushi rolls

Tiffanie: this week's menu

The deadline slog continues, though my partner is home for most dinners this week (then departs immediately for more work).

Meals this week:

• leftover lal dal
• broccoli and tofu stir fry
• spaghetti and beanballs (again, but I still crave more!)
• mushroom tacos

I'm falling behind on the CSA box... I've got the following haunting me in my fridge:

• purple cauliflower
• at least two cabbages
• two fennel
• lots of potatoes
• little green beans
• some radishes
• summer squash
• basil
• parsley
• lettuce
• kale

I think the cauliflower will be roasted in olive oil. Some of the cabbage will be slaw, as I am loving raw cabbage lately. The radishes go into that or are eaten alone. The squash will be roasted or grated and sauteed for my egg bake dinner-alone favorite. The kale is the flat variety, so maybe I'll turn it into chips... that soup last week with the Rancho Gordo flageolet beans was incredible, but I want to use a huge bunch of kale for that. Deadra suggested an apple and fennel salad... it's that or some sort of healthful root vegetable soup, or roasting them.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

Yet another week of just me and the kids for dinner....

My plans for meals:

• white bean soup with kale, with garlicky croutons
• spaghetti and beanballs (probably cheesy noodles for the kids)
• Turkish-style cabbage and olives with rice
• lal dal (yellow lentil curry) over jasmine rice

I roasted seven beets the other day, so I really need to start eating them. Beet salad! 

Meal Plan/Freezer Friendly Meals

I'm finally getting back into the rhythm of cooking again now that we don't have any guests to entertain, but I seem only to be able to plan three meals in advance or I stray from the plan.

The next few meals on our list:

• Chicken Enchiladas
• Three Cheese and Italian Sausage Lasagna
• Chicken Tenders with Corn on the Cob and Baked Beans for sides

These are all pretty hearty, meat heavy dishes, which is what crops up when I search the web for "freezer friendly meals" but I figure they're a good start for loading up the fridge with meals I can just stick in the oven. I'm stocking the freezer since the baby is due to arrive in the next 4 weeks, so half the portions will be frozen for consumption post-birth. I'm also hoping that we'll have our act together enough to make it to the grocery store (or use Safeway delivery) to get ingredients for simple veggie sides since I remember craving a lot of vegetables after the birth of my first baby.

A neighbor was also kind enough to drop by yesterday with a crate of strawberries. We've been eating as many as we can but I'm also washing, cutting and freezing them. Strawberry smoothies!

If I get these three dishes done this weekend, I plan to make brisket, spinach pie, and empanadas next. If anyone has freezer friendly recipes to share, I would love them!

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil

I haven't posted in quite awhile. Mostly, we've been surviving on quick meals like spaghetti and meatballs or breakfast for dinner type dishes. However, I did stumble on one pasta dish that I thought I would share because it was very easy and a nice simple dish if you're in the mood for carbs.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil.

I thought it was a little bland although the lemon flavor came through but the husband and toddler approved so I'll probably make it again since it was so easy. The toddler asked for seconds then thirds. I served the pasta with chili lime roasted chicken and roasted asparagus.

Tiffanie: this week's menu

The start-up slog continues, so the meals are mostly just for the kids and myself. Leftovers much appreciated by the husband, of course.

I'm a little behind on my CSA produce -- I've got the most delicate little green and yellow filet beans, beets, squash, cabbages, way too much lettuce, and a lot of spinach.

I'm going to make a Provencal style salad with the green beans, something like this recipe, but I think I'll add some boiled potatoes, maybe go non-vegan and add hard boiled eggs and some sardines.

The spinach will go nicely into a millet spinach polenta with sun dried tomato pesto. Recipe is in Vegan with a Vengeance, and it is just awesome. Some roasted sweet potatoes and squash would be good with it.

Ok, I think I've got some menu planned!

This week:

• Millet spinach polenta with sun dried tomato pesto, roasted sweet potatoes and squash. Chocolate pudding for dessert (a new recipe I'm trying from Clean Food; it uses bananas, silken tofu, and chocolate chips...).
• Provencal salad. This is probably just for me, as I doubt the kids will like any of it. Smoothies for them!
• Peanut noodles, onion pancakes, baked tofu, cabbage slaw.
• Tamale shepherd's pie. I've been wanting to try this one for a while, and it looks like a good source of leftovers. :-)  I'm also making some cashew cream cilantro smother sauce, which would taste good on this dish.