Dinners This Week

There’s a lot going on these days, Internet. I feel burnt out.

Then, NGS made a comment on my last dinner post that stuck with me: “You’re so much more ambitious in food planning than I ever could be. We seriously only have about six meals in rotation.” That struck me as SO LOVELY. Six meals? No fussing around with food blogs and magazines and a big pile of recipes I’ve emailed myself? Clean, simple, tada. GENIUS.

And then I thought of Nicole, who serves the same five categories of food each week, Monday through Friday. When she posted about her weekly meal plan, it was a revelation. I could make tacos every Tuesday?! And sometimes they could be fish tacos or carnitas or black bean tacos, but it didn’t matter what spin I put them, Tuesday would always be taco day! What a delightful fantasy!

These two wonderful bloggers (and I’m just assuming they are excellent home cooks, as well) got me thinking… and I think I’m making things too complicated.

It seems that I have made an overcorrection in my meal planning navigation. I find that it is so easy to get into a meal rut, when you feel like you’re eating tacos and spaghetti and grilled chicken ad nauseum and so cooking feels boring and eating feels boring and you just hate life. This is just me, of course. But I course corrected so far in the other direction – trying to find New! and Interesting! and Different! meal options – that now I feel like variation is my GOAL. (This is not to say that I don’t end up eating the same things over and over, I’m looking at you, delicious spinach and arugula salad.) And also, it’s become somewhat of a chore. I’ve been looking through my bookmarked meals, searching for something new or different… and nothing seems new enough or different enough. I start looking at super elaborate options that just aren’t practical for a regular Tuesday, and then I get discouraged and BAM!, I’m right back where I was when I started this whole meal planning journey.

So there’s that. But also… sometimes you just want to throw a couple of chicken breasts on the grill and call it a day!

This week, I am doing Tried and True, Easy Does It meals. And it feels super! I love it! I should do this more often. Or, maybe, I should come up with a list of Favorites that I can choose from again and again, things that can be Go-To meals alongside tacos and spaghetti and grilled chicken.

Anyway, here’s the dinner plan for this week.

Dinners for the Week of July 16-July 22

• Tacos

Note: Taco Tuesday, baby!

• BBQ Pork Tenderloin with Baked Potato (for me) and Coleslaw(for my husband)

Note: We are supposed to have storms, and it feels like we haven’t eaten this easy crockpot meal in a long while.

• Grilled Chicken with Quinoa Salad

Note: I will marinate the chicken in Wegman’s Korean barbecue marinade. I also have this idea that I will make a quinoa salad with bell peppers, bean sprouts, maybe some edamame, and scallions, and then dress it with Nagi’s Sesame Peanut Dressing. (When I went to a writer’s conference a couple of years ago, one of the meals was this AMAZING quinoa salad with pad-Thai-style flavors. I have been chasing that flavor ever since, and this sounds like it might get me pretty close.)

• Pizza

Note: I have tried many (MANY) a recipe for homemade pizza dough. But I haven’t found a single one that holds a candle to the Papa Sal’s dough I can get at the supermarket.

• Grilled Pork Chops or Steak with Roasted Green Beans

Note: I found a couple of filets in the freezer; I think I intended them for Carla (they were DEEPLY on sale), but perhaps I will commandeer them for myself and my husband.

• Grilled Chicken with Side Salad

Note: Chicken marinated in Wegman’s marinade, salad dressed with leftover French vinaigrette.

• Out

And you, Internet? What are you eating this week?

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Dinners This Week

You will be pleased and relieved to learn that The Smell has been eliminated! I did nothing more than the techniques I conveyed to you… I think the airing out via open windows was the clincher, there. Now that it’s gone, and there are (AS YET) no dead animals decaying in our walls, I am feeling rather cheerful. And, of course, it’s always nice to have an excuse to tidy up the house, get rid of the garbage, clean the sink/disposal, and wipe down the counters. Plus, bonus clean laundry (although that’s still in the dryer; what, I’m CONSISTENT at least in my inability to fold the clean laundry).

It was fascinating to read your comments about what I might consider in my search for The Smell – we all have our go-to sources for disgusting odors, which is comforting. I mean, I’m really glad that my garbage disposal isn’t the only stinker. But some were surprising! For instance, I was SO INTERESTED to know that potatoes smell!

But here is where I tell you a deep, dark secret: I keep my potatoes in the fridge.

I KNOW. That’s where I keep onions and garlic too, even though you’re NOT supposed to. I do it anyway and no one has died.

This is possible, I think, because I rarely buy more than two potatoes at a time. (Except at Thanksgiving, when I buy 10-20, and use them immediately to make mashed potatoes.) (Mmmmmm…. Mashed potatoes….) Same goes for onions, although maybe I buy those in more the four-to-five-at-a-time range. And I have expressed my love for jarred garlic many times in this space. IT IS A TIME SAVER, what can I say? If I bought potatoes and onions by the sack, it would be a different thing altogether. And I can easily imagine myself getting really potato-happy and then leaving some spuds to languish in a closet until they became all sprouty and gross.

Anyway, now that The Smell is gone and we are already talking about food, let’s have an abbreviated list of meals for the next few days:

Dinners for the Week(ish) of July 10 – July 15

• Grilled Salmon with Garden Salad: https://www.recipetineats.com/marinated-grilled-salmon/and https://www.recipetineats.com/french-vinaigrette/

Note: Now that our grill is in working order, I am All Grill All the Time. But grilled salmon still makes me nervous… so I am going to square my shoulders and try this recipe with Nagi’s very simple and clear instructions for not leaving half your salmon fillet on the grill grates.

Follow Up: Note to Future Me: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GRILL THE SALMON! ABORT! ABORT! Even though I followed (tried to, I guess, and clearly SCREWED IT UP) Nagi’s very clear and simple instructions, half the salmon stuck to the grill and then the whole thing was overcooked and I had to finish it in the broiler. It tasted good, though. Also, her French vinaigrette was delish.

• Grilled Pork Chops with Spinach Salad: https://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2019/04/spinach-pine-nut-cranberry-and-feta-salad-with-a-white-balsamic-vinaigrette.html

Note: I had this salad on the menu a few weeks ago and never got around to making it, but now I’m really going to do it. With goat cheese instead of feta though. We have some pork chops in the freezer, and some brand new marinades from Wegman’s, so that’s what we’ll have to accompany the salad.

Follow Up: Our pork chops were supper thin and ended up tasting like cardboard. But the salad was yummy! My husband really liked the salad, but laughed at me when I told him it was a Brand New (to us) Salad; he feels like we have had variations on it A LOT. Fair, I suppose. It’s very similar to a spinach and arugula salad that I fell in love with earlier this year, probably because of the goat cheese and cranberries and use of spinach in both salads. Also, full disclosure, I could not find pine nuts at the grocery store so instead I roasted some pumpkin seeds that have been living in my pantry for lord knows how long. They were delicious, and Carla ate a bunch of them, which is always a coup, getting her to try something new. The white balsamic vinaigrette was good but not super; I am judging it against a memory, which is super unfair. The memory is of a salad I used to get on work trips, with shrimp and avocado and a white balsamic dressing. This… was not that.

• Moroccan Chicken with Zucchini: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/moroccan-chicken-skewers-crazy-good-green-sauce/

Note: Every time I look at this recipe, I kind of furrow my brow. It seems like a LOT for one recipe, for one thing. But it also sounds really different and fun – flavor profiles I don’t eat often, for absolutely NO reason.

Follow Up: This was okay. The flavors didn’t really leap out at me, and my husband wondered if it might have helped to reserve some marinade and serve it as a sauce. Maybe. But there was the green sauce already, so I didn’t think it needed it. And the green sauce was… fine. A very different-for-us and interesting mix of flavors. It was fun to try, and certainly helped make the chicken more interesting, but I’m not rushing to make this or the Moroccan chicken again.

• Shrimp with Southwest Salad: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2019/04/southwest-salmon-salad/

Note: I will marinate the shrimp in a mixture of lime juice and taco seasoning. Will I grill it? Time and bravery will tell!

Follow up: After the salmon situation, no way was I going to try to grill the shrimp. So I just roasted them. The salad, as per usual, was AMAZING. I also made an impromptu second dressing, because it turns out I really like having two dressings on a salad. I mixed 1/8-1/4 cup of fresh lime juice with 1/3 cup of fat free Greek yogurt and a tablespoon of honey. It was super yummy. I just kept adding lime juice until it had a nice pourable consistency.

• Chili

Note: It seems like planning a week full of To Grill items is just asking for rain, so let’s have a nice indoorsy recipe as a backup, shall we?

Follow up: I love (this very specific recipe for) chili. I don’t think I’ve ever posted a chili recipe here and someday I will have to remedy that.

All right. Now I need to scurry off to the grocery store for provisions.

What are you eating this week, Internet?

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Dinners This Week

We continue to have lots of rain, but now the rain is punctuated by absolutely glorious summer days. Sunshine, high clouds, breeze. I am out walking as often as I can because it is GORGEOUS. Makes meal planning a little tricky, though, because I want to grill as much as possible but also need to have a few options on hand when I’d rather not flip chicken in a downpour and then eat sodden chicken.

And, yes, I am back on chicken! It is a relief. Life is easier when I can eat chicken.

Here’s what’s on the meal plan for this week (sorry about the weird line breaks — I have no idea why they are happening or how to fix them and am too lazy to poke around in the html):

Dinners for the Week of June 25-July 1 (OMG JULY? SUMMER IS PRACTICALLY OVER):

• Tacos
  
• Caprese Chicken Salad: http://www.chewoutloud.com/2017/06/29/grilled-chicken-caprese-salad-with-avocado/

Note: I will drizzle the salad with balsamic glaze as well, and will use bell peppers instead of corn because I FEEL LIKE IT.

• Pork Tenderloin with Green Beans & Potato Salad: https://www.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-marinated-pork-tenderloins-recipe-1948375 and https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/french-potato-salad/
• Chicken “Carnitas” Tacos with Avocado Crema: https://www.com/crispy-slow-cooker-carnitas/ and https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/avocado-sauce-recipe/

Note: This just means that I am replacing the pork called for in the recipe with chicken.

• Salmon Avocado Salad: https://www.com/salmon-avocado-salad/
• Greek Chicken with Quinoa Salad: https://www.com/greek-chicken-gyros-with-tzatziki/ and https://cookieandkate.com/best-quinoa-salad-recipe/
• Out

Plus, we have had an abundance of plums in our grocery store lately, so I am going to make this amazing and super easy plum cake (I have made it before and TRUST ME it is awesome): https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/10/purple-plum-torte/

That’s it! I’m hungry already!

What are you eating this week?

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Dinners This Week

German food is not really my favorite. While my husband was super excited about all the schnitzel and sausages, I was… excited about the salad? (Seriously, in Vienna, my meals were always accompanied by a little green salad with a simple, lemony dressing. Super simple, but something about the fresh-from-the-garden lettuce – none of that limp, brown-at-the-edges stuff you often see in US restaurants – and the tang of the dressing made it irresistible.) As I mentioned yesterday, I really enjoyed the abundance of asparagus… but even delicious asparagus can’t staunch my craving for spicy, full-flavor food. So when we first got back from Bavaria, I gorged myself on all the foods I missed. Tacos, spaghetti with meat sauce, homemade curry, hamburgers (I bet that there are plenty of hamburgers in Bavaria, but I ordered one in Vienna and something about the seasoning of the meat or the meat itself just turned me off completely and I was afraid to order a burger the rest of the trip), stir fries, nachos, enchiladas, copious amounts of hot sauce.

But now I’m ready to get back to normal, semi-healthful cooking. Here’s my meal plan for the week ahead:

Dinners for the Week of June 18-June 24

* Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Broccoli: https://themodernproper.com/posts/perfectly-roasted-broccoli

* Garlic Grilled Shrimp with Quinoa Salad: https://www.acouplecooks.com/garlic-grilled-shrimp/ and https://avocadopesto.com/thai-veggie-quinoa-bowl-gluten-free-vegan/#wprm-recipe-container-19442

* Chicken Shish Kebabs with Asian Zucchini Noodles: https://whatsgabycooking.com/chicken-shish-kabobs/ and https://gimmedelicious.com/2016/06/03/easy-10-minute-asian-zucchini

Note: Did I tell you I bought a… noodler? Okay, it has a real name that is escaping me right now… It’s a… Oh! Yes! A spiralizer! I bought an inexpensive one per Lee’s recommendation and have used it exactly one time. So I plan to use it for the second time this week, to see if it is as labor intensive as it was last time. (Wait a second. That link is taking me to a spiralizer that costs $23; when I bought it, it was $8.99. I get price fluctuations and all, but this makes me cranky. It is NOT worth $23, that’s for damn sure.)

* Fish Taco Bowls: https://damndelicious.net/2018/12/29/fish-taco-bowls/

* Mexican Salad with Chipotle Grilled Chicken: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/everyday-mexican-salad/and https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/chipotle-chicken-marinade/

* Fire Fry: https://lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/fire-fry/ 

* Chili

 

What’s for dinner at your house this week?

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Dinners This Week

Let’s talk about food!

• Fish Taco Bowls: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2018/07/fish-taco-bowls/

Note: Combining salad and tacos is becoming a regular pastime of mine, I see. And I am HERE FOR IT.

• Honey Garlic Shrimp with Broccoli: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/honey-garlic-shrimp/

Note: I have had this on my To Eat list for a very long time. It sounds slightly… off-puttingly-sweet to me? But I think if I add some broccoli and maybe some rice it should be good.

• Garlic Thyme Pork Chops with Zucchini: https://whatsgabycooking.com/garlic-thyme-pork-chops/

Note: This marinade sounds super good. And I have a bunch of pork chops in the freezer just begging to be eaten.

• Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/creamy-cajun-shrimp-pasta/

Note: We haven’t had this in a long time, but it was so good the last time I am wondering why I waited so long? Per usual, I will be amping this up with extra veggies.

• Poached Salmon in Coconut Lime Sauce: https://www.recipetineats.com/poached-salmon-in-coconut-lime-sauce/

Note: I can’t remember, but I think last time I turned this into a stir fry? Whether I did it or not, I plan to do it THIS time.

• Greek Chicken: https://www.recipetineats.com/greek-chicken/

Note: I may or may not make a Greek salad to go along with this chicken. Lots of leafy lettuce with some cucumbers and onions (and tomatoes for those who eat such things) and maybe some avocado and maybe some Kalamata olives? Sounds pretty delicious to me.

• Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/instant-pot-teriyaki-chicken/

Note: I haven’t made anything in the instant pot in a long time. Perhaps this yummy sounding chicken will get me back in the groove.

 

What does your weekly menu look like, Internet?

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Dinners This Week

While I really want to continue with the Salad Theme, I may be over-salading? So there is only one – nope, two, I couldn’t resist – on the meal plan for this week. Let’s try

• Spinach Salad with Chicken/Shrimp: https://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2019/04/spinach-pine-nut-cranberry-and-feta-salad-with-a-white-balsamic-vinaigrette.html

Note: This sounds… like not something I would eat. But it’s DIFFERENT and it has a white balsamic dressing, which sounds very tempting.

• Baja Fish Tacos with Citrus Slaw: https://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2019/04/baja-fish-tacos-with-citrus-slaw.html

Note: THESE SOUND AMAZING. All the tacos, all the time.

• Southwest Salmon Salad: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2019/04/southwest-salmon-salad/

Note: YUM.

• Chicken Curry: https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-curry/

Note: I will be not eating the chicken and instead loading it up with bell peppers, which are clearly on my Desert Island Food List.

• Green Chicken Enchiladas: https://damndelicious.net/2019/03/01/green-chicken-enchiladas/

Notes: I successfully ate chicken at my dinner party (no barfing!), so I am ready (I think?) to stick my toe back into the chicken water. Which sounds gross. Don’t bathe in chicken water. But this seems like a good, gentle re-entry back into chicken-ism. I will make black beans on the side, just in case this is gross.

• Every Day Thai Red Curry: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/thai-red-curry/

Note: Two curries in one week?!?!?! Am I INSANE?!?!?! Perhaps, but I do not care.

• Out for a Mother’s Day Treat!

Note: We will probably go to my favorite Mexican restaurant so I can gorge myself on cheese and chips and hot sauce.

What are you eating this week, Internet?

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Dinners This Week

Another Tuesday, another list of delicious meals I am eager to eat and not as eager to prepare!

My lovely mother-in-law got us a gift subscription to Bon Appetit a while back. I love reading through it, but it’s rare that I find a recipe that speaks to me enough that I want to make it. But we finaly got around to reading a recent issue and it really pulled out all the stops! My husband and I found three whole recipes to cut out and save. The theme for this week is, once again, veggies! Lots of bell peppers and lettuce. And hopefully a whole lot of flavor.

• Balsamic Pork Tenderloin:  https://addapinch.com/balsamic-pork-tenderloin-recipe/

Note: I never remember that Tuesdays are awful, from a timing perspective. We get home late because Carla has A Sports Activity and she’s always cranky and exhausted so I need to put her dinner in front of her immediately and then throw her in the bath and then put her to bed. Which leaves very little time to prepare dinner for myself and my husband. So tonight I am making this crockpot meal that requires next to no prep and only needs me to chop and caramelize some onions once we get home. AM GENIUS.

• Shrimp and Basil Stir Fry: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/shrimp-and-basil-stir-fry

Note: This is a new-to-me recipe, but my husband picked it out and it sounds delicious. You know I love a good stir fry. I am going to add some bell peppers, onion, and maybe some broccoli to the mix to make it less shrimp-centric. Also, I am not sure about using two whole tablespoons of fish sauce, per the recipe… Fish sauce, like Chinese five spice, caraway seed, and anise seed, is one of those flavors that hits me REALLY hard, even in small amounts. So I may end up replacing some or all of it with soy sauce.

• Orange Fish in Parchment with Broccoli: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/orange-fish-in-parchment

Note: Another new recipe! I am giving this one the side-eye already because I don’t typically cook with orange. Don’t get me wrong, I love citrus! I am happy to use lemons and limes in my recipes anytime. But… orange? I mean, in bakingoccasionally, sure… But with fish? Well. I am always interested in new ways to make fish and this sounds really fresh and flavorful. I have no idea where I will get a single clementine, but I do enjoy a challenge.

• Caprese Salad: https://cafedelites.com/chicken-avocado-caprese-salad/

Note: Mozzarella was on sale at my grocery store last week, so I bought some and then realized I didn’t know what to use it for. NOW I DO. I am super excited about this salad, although you know there will be no tomatoes on my portion. I am marinating chicken for my husband and cooking shrimp for myself. PUMPED.

• Fajita Chicken Salad: https://gimmedelicious.com/2017/05/18/grilled-fajita-chicken-avocado-salad/#wprm-recipe-container-12805

Note: I am totally going to eat black beans instead of chicken and I CAN’T WAIT.

• Chipotle Pork Chops with Zucchini: https://www.com/best-steak-marinades/#wprm-recipe-container-27352

Note: This marinade is super yummy and I think it’s good to have an easy meat-plus-veg dish in the rotation.

• Out

 

What are you excited to make for dinner this week?

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