make, prep, chop, soak. Meal planning for the week.

I just started my second week of being a public school speech-language pathologist, and for the second week in a row, did everything I could on the weekend to make the week go a little bit easier. The last two Sundays, I planned meals for the week, and did as much prepping and cooking of the food for those meals as possible. I'm by no means an expert, but I can feel myself falling into a rhythm even after just two weeks.



I started by planning and writing out meals for the week. I do this by looking what we already have in the freezer and cabinets, and planning meals around that. For this week, here is the plan:

S: broccoli and spinach quiche, Cesar salad

M: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

T: beef stew, homemade bread

W: pork chops, brussel sprouts, egg noodles

R: beef tacos, brown rice with tomatoes and beans

F: dinner out or order in


I make sure to spread meals out so that I can use leftovers as lunches. Another thing I've done the past two weeks is take a calculator to the grocery store so that I can keep track of how much I'm spending. It's something Will and I have done in the past when we were on strict budget, and it works really well. Even though I'm making more money now and could probably afford to spend a little more, I figure there is no reason to spend money that really doesn't need to be spent. For example, last week I spent $60, and this week I spent $50. This is MUCH lower than usual, yet I feel like we got way more meal value from it. One big change is that I bought very little prepared or boxed food. Almost everything was from the perimeter of the store (produce, meat, dairy). This means more prep time, but less money, and in general, healthier food.


So once I'm home from shopping, I go through the plan and break down all of the meals into tasks that be completed ahead of time. Here was my list yesterday:

A couple hours later, I had this:

a whole chicken, seasoned and ready to roast

quiche: Sunday dinner + lunches

banana bread: breakfast for the week

I'm only one night into the second week, but last week it was amazing to come home from work and have delicious dinners only a few easy steps away. I get every meal to the point where all that needs to be done is put in the oven, on the stove to steam or heat, thrown into the crockpot, etc. It definitely takes time on the weekend, but it's allocating it to a relaxing day versus a rushed, tired day. I'm finding that it also makes keeping the kitchen clean SO much easier. Most of the dishes (cutting boards, measuring cups, spoons, knives) are all used in this one chunk of time on Sunday. For example, the cutting board doesn't need to be washed after chopping veggies each and every night, because I used it to chop all of them at one time on Sunday. I can run a load of dishes through, and then have minimal clean up for the rest of the week.


Will there be weekends where this doesn't happen? Of course. But it's great to know that it can happen relatively easily, with just a bit of planning and re-allocating of time.

Sunday

Sunday is...


chicken stock bubbling on the stove,

banana bread baking in the oven,

and chicken tortilla soup (for dinner tonight and lunches this week) in the crock pot.

...so many good smells, and such a nice feeling to know lots of delicious food is in the works. I'll share recipes and more pictures once we get a chance to try everything.

hello, weekend!

.... Still in my internship clothes (except for the apron, which is courtesy of my best friend Diane!)

While I appreciate the Friday night pizza as much as anyone, I also really enjoy coming home on Friday and cooking. It's one of the few nights of the week where I can relax and not worry about time. Tonight I made Fall minestrone soup with kale and butternut squash soup, a recipe I found in my favorite cookbook (aka, the one I mention in almost every recipe share!). I also made a loaf of New York Times bread, which I started last night and baked this evening. It was the perfect Friday night meal, especially while in front of the tv catching up on the dvr! :-)

fall minestrone with Parmesan on top...yummm!

 This meal would have been awesome with a hard cider. I'm not really a beer person but I had a few drinks of Will's Octoberfest while I ate because it was just asking for it! Note to self: buy some hard cider to keep around for delish weekend fall meals like this!

Mark Bittman's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I've been a big fan of Mark Bittman ever since reading his book, Food Matters . I'm facebook fan of him, and he posts links to his blogs with recipes quite often. When I saw baked macaroni and cheese posted on Sunday, I knew I wanted to make it! I happened to leave my internship on the early side today, so I had time to stop at the store and pick up some ingredients I needed.

It turned out super yummy. I did find a few things I would want to adjust (as I always do the first time I try a recipe...), but overall I loved it and am already looking forward to leftovers tomorrow for lunch!The recipe did take a little more time than I would normally spend on a weeknight, but it wasn't difficult by any means. I threw together a salad from one of those salad kits and it was a warm, filling, tasty dinner!

veggie pizza

As I mentioned earlier, I had dinner in the works when I went on my bike ride: veggie pizza! I'm about to return a bread maker Will and borrowed from our friends (note to self: look at garage sales for a bread maker), so I decided to use it one last time to whip up some pizza dough. I followed this recipe, but adjusted the flour to 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup white, and added chopped garlic since Will and both love it.

I topped it with sliced tomatoes and basil that grew right outside on my balcony, orange and red peppers, red onion slices, and mozzarella cheese. I wanted to really be able to taste the tomatoes, so I decided to keep the sauce on the side. Delish!