Maiden Meal Plan
In the Barnes household, there's a forever battle of the starches. My husband, having lived abroad in China, has managed to convinced himself he's Asian (he's a white, white, white man), so he's forever routing for rice. I, however, grew up in an Italian household where pasta is absolutely king. Last week I managed to over-pasta my husband, so I've received demands for "ricey-goodness."
Additionally, as summer comes to a close, I wanted to take advantage of a few summer vegetables before going out of season.
Cue inspiration! So I have a few flavor profiles. However, from a more practical stand point, I honed in on the number of home-cooked meals needed throughout the week...
I noodled around a bit and landed on the following meal plan:
Additionally, as summer comes to a close, I wanted to take advantage of a few summer vegetables before going out of season.
Cue inspiration! So I have a few flavor profiles. However, from a more practical stand point, I honed in on the number of home-cooked meals needed throughout the week...
Breakfast every morning is a given - we very rarely eat out for breakfast. My husband typically enjoys cereal, a banana, and some almonds or cashews. Given the hot summer mornings, I've been enjoying refreshing parfait concoction - Greek yogurt, berries, almond butter, granola.
This week we needed 2 lunches (Wed, Thurs) and 3 dinners (Sun, Mon, Wed). Bit of a light cooking week all things considered. Though rather than cook an entirely separate dish for lunch, I really like to be strategic about what I'm cooking for dinner, double the quantity, and pack the leftovers for a tasty lunch!
I noodled around a bit and landed on the following meal plan:
- Sunday: breaded chicken cutlets with zucchini cakes and apple sauce
- Monday: Chinese cashew chicken and brown rice (+lunch leftovers)
- Wednesday: summer risotto (+lunch leftovers)
In my typical weekly fashion, I took a gander at my fridge and pantry and drew up this grocery list:
- blueberries
- corn (3 ears)
- bananas (5)
- garlic
- ginger, 2 inches
- parsley
- broccoli (1 large crown)
- red pepper (2)
- green onions
- zucchini (3)
- onion (1)
- cashews (1lb)
- boneless skinless chicken breast (3)
- Italian turkey sausage
- chicken stock
- olive oil
- panko bread crumbs
- milk (1 gal)
- frozen peas
I also like picking up a nice "snack fruit" to curb my appetite when I return from work or accompany a fun breakfast on Saturday morning. I like to meander around the produce section and shop sales - usually a good indicator of what's in season!
This week I'd have to say the cashew chicken and risotto were the real winners. I love Chinese take out just as much as the next girl, but I'd need to re-outfit myself with some pretty big "fat-pants" if I ordered out habitually. This chicken dish was a great way to satisfy the Asian craving while keeping is fairly light and well balanced!
But holy cow - my heart was captured by the summer risotto dish! It sounds pretty rich and creamy, sure. However, a true Italian chef would never consider adding cream to this dish! That's the beauty of using arborio rice - it simply doesn't require cream to become something unctuous! The addition of the fresh corn and peas just adds a nice snap to this tasty dish.
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| Cashew Chicken |
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| Summer Risotto |
But holy cow - my heart was captured by the summer risotto dish! It sounds pretty rich and creamy, sure. However, a true Italian chef would never consider adding cream to this dish! That's the beauty of using arborio rice - it simply doesn't require cream to become something unctuous! The addition of the fresh corn and peas just adds a nice snap to this tasty dish.
Total Grocery Cost: $97.99
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