Operation Menu Planning

Beautiful fresh veggies from the Farmers' Market (left)
Delicious fruit from the Farmers' Market / an anniversary present basket from my sweet parents (left)

During the school year, I spend a lot of time on Sunday afternoons, planning our lunches for the week and then making individual portions of soups and salads for Jeff and me to take to work. Summers are a different ballgame, though; typically, I just look in the fridge in the afternoon, pick up anything additional needed at the store, and cook with Jeff in the evening. This week is a little different, though, for a few reasons.

First, we're leaving this weekend for a bit of a summer road trip, so I need to clear out the fridge as much as possible. Second, Jeff has a bunch of little tasks to accomplish over the course of the week (thanks, HOA, for yelling about the weeds in our backyard without ever complimenting the flowers in the front), so I want to support him by making dinners for us and lunches for him (since I'm home during the day, I can just throw things together at lunchtime). Finally, we may have gone a bit overboard at the Farmers' Market on Saturday, so there are a lot of (delicious, fresh) perishables to consume. As a result, here I go! I'm committing myself to sharing my plans with you today, then updating you throughout this week.

An added challenge: an assortment of items from the pantry to try to mix in!
(L to R): Brandied Cranberries, Tart Red Cherries, Light Coconut Milk,
Major Grey's Chutney, Hearts of Palm, Artichoke Lemon Pesto

Note: I'm listing meals as "Dinner A" or "Lunch A" because I'm not sure exactly what nights I'll do which meals. However, the dinners and lunches pair together, "Dinner B" will be followed (the next day) by "Lunch B."

More Farmers' Market bounty: cherry tomatoes, squash and zucchini, and baby eggplant

Lunch X (we're having pizza/movie night with friends, so there won't be leftovers, but Jeff will need lunch for tomorrow): Leftover Chicken Pad Thai. Jeff took half the extra order we got Friday night to work for lunch today, so the other half will work for lunch tomorrow.

Dinner A: Entree Salad. I bought an extra bag of spinach (for my lunch sandwiches) by mistake, forgetting I got a big bag of greens at the Farmers' Market--oops! So, for dinner tonight, I'll do a salad with fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and hearts of palm. (I might add half a poached chicken breast for Jeff, if he feels like he needs it.) On the side, I'll toast up a Trader Joe's "bake at home" baguette.

Lunch A: Leftover Stuffed Peppers. Remember those peppers I made last week? One of the extra portions I froze is perfect for Jeff's lunch; I just need to steam a couple of peppers tonight and add some feta to the filling, and he'll be good to go!

Dinner B: Eggplant Parmesan. I need to do a little recipe research for this one, but I'm thinking that, with the baby eggplant from the Farmers' Market, a little fresh mozzarella, some sliced heirloom tomatoes, and some multi-grain bread (dried and crumbled into breadcrumbs), I can fashion a deconstructed eggplant parm that will be perfect for a warm summer night!

Lunch B: Summer Pesto Pasta. I'm planning to crack that jar of artichoke lemon pesto (pictured above) and toss it with bowtie pasta, quartered cherry tomatoes, the remaining half chicken breast from the "salad dinner" night, and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Should be easy to throw together in the morning and toss in a Pyrex bowl for Jeff to take to work.

Dinner C: Indian Inspiration. TBD. My goal is to use both the coconut milk and the chutney, but I'm not sure how yet! It will likely involve chicken and maybe some of the remaining peppers/onions in the fridge. Update: I think I'm going to use this Thai Chicken Curry recipe from allrecipes.com, since we already have virtually all the ingredients; however, I'll serve it with some Trader Joe's naan and the chutney.

Lunch C: Leftover Indian Inspiration. Whenever I make curry dishes like the one I'm planning for Dinner C, there are always plenty of leftovers for the next day.

Dinner D: Steak Night. We have two beautiful steaks from Angelic Beef, our organic meat vendor at the Farmers' Market. Combine that with the zucchini/squash and beautiful little artichokes we got Saturday (I'll make some homemade hollandaise for dipping) and some roasted purple potatoes (also from Saturday's market), and we've got a summer spread to drool over! (I'll have to ask Jeff to grill the steaks and zucchini, since he's a grill master, but I think he'll be okay with it.)

Lunch D: Leftover Steak and Potatoes. I don't eat my whole steak ever, so the extra will work for Jeff, and I'll make sure some potatoes and zucchini/squash are left over (since the artichokes won't reheat well).

Dinner E: Thai. This is my cheat--we have a restaurant coupon that will expire before we return, so we'll treat ourselves to dinner out the night before we leave, and we can snack on any leftovers before we head out the next day.

Alright--the mission is laid out, and I should succeed in using most of our fresh vegetables (we'll eat the fruit with breakfast/snacks) and even using four out of six of the pantry jars. Not bad--let's see how I do!