Alright. We’re back. School’s out, sun’s out, and we are in full swing. Time for a delicious summer.
No? This is not you? You’re not ready?
Me neither. Don’t worry. We’ve got this. If your life is like mine, you have a house full of people, each with unique schedules, needs, preferences and tastes… your days begin early and run late, and there are sparks coming off the revolving door of your home, given the speed of all of the comings and goings, including your own! In order to keep up with the controlled chaos and stay ahead of the demands of this life, we need a plan, and we need one fast. It has to be simple and efficient and meet lots of objectives with little time/work expended.
Here’s what one such (weekly meal/life) plan might look like:
Today is Saturday. I want to go to the grocery store today, and not go again until Friday. (That means that I don’t have to even think about the holiday weekend today! I will mull over that plan as the week progresses and stir up some inspiration for grilling and smoking and summer salads to serve on America’s Birthday…later.)
I’ll start my thinking with dinner, the one meal of the day we try to eat together, and one meal for which we often have more than the four of us at the table. Given the calendar for the next six days, I will need dinner plans for tonight (Saturday), Sunday, (leftovers Monday), Tuesday (friends coming for dinner), and Wednesday (I’ll be going out with friends on Thursday, and everyone else can forage on the inventory).
Tonight is easy: I’ll do turkey burgers and use the buns I have leftover from last weekend’s impromptu Fathers’ Day Cookout. Tonight, I’ll also marinate a few pounds of chicken for tomorrow– maybe half in BBQ and half in my chicken marinade— for grilling. That will pair beautifully with whatever seasonal veggies came in the farm share yesterday (I think there is kale, green leaf lettuce, arugula, baby bok choi and radishes), plus I have seven sweet potatoes that I didn’t use last week: hello, sweet potato fries on the grill! Those will be great with turkey burgers tonight, and we’ll re-heat the rest in the oven with chicken tomorrow.
I made a huge batch of sauce a few days ago, and there is still about 6 quarts left (despite Axel literally drinking it from a bowl for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past three days). I think I’ll make Eggplant Parm for dinner on Tuesday, for guests, along with grilled Branzino, littlenecks and a green salad of some sort (and mac and cheese for our friends’ kids, which I promised a long time ago). I’ll make-ahead a big family-sized mac and cheese for Wednesday night, which we will devour with grilled pork chops and kale salad.
That covers dinner for the week.
Now. I need an easy high-protein, convenient, delicious and savory breakfast that will re-heat beautifully and last all week for my hard working family who needs to be well fueled for long, hot days in the sun and on their feet at work.
I think I’m going with egg cups this week. I’ll make 24 and get english muffins for quick and delicious egg sandwiches to go. That covers us for breakfast.
For lunch, I’ll stock extra pasta and grains (I’m sure I’ll throw in a few side dishes of polenta, faro salad, pasta salad, etc., depending on what I see on sale at the grocery today. Leftover turkey burgers, chicken and pork chops will be packed up over grains/greens for lunch all week.) I peeled and chopped 10 pounds of carrots yesterday, and I’ll stock up on melon, grapes, apples and sugar snap peas for snacking. I recently stocked up on craisins, walnuts, cashews, almonds, and chocolate chips, so there will be lots of trail mix to-go ahead of us. I’ll add a baked good or two if I have time to bake tomorrow… maybe some banana bread (I have some bananas tucked away in the freezer for just this purpose) and/or blueberry muffins, just to let them know I love them an extra lot and smooth out the transitions we’re all facing this week.
I’d better tend to my grocery list…
Grocery List:
6 lb. ground turkey
4 lb. chicken breasts and thighs
Pork chops x 8
Branzino x 6
5 lb. littlenecks
2 lb. bacon
3 dozen eggs
Milk
Coffee
Eggplant x 4
Spinach
Lemons
Cantaloupe
Apples
Sugar Snap Peas
English muffins
Keep in mind that my pantry is STOCKED with cheeses, grains, pastas, everything I need to make a marinade (oils, vinegars, spices, etc.) and pretty much every baking ingredient (flour, sugar, baking powder/soda, vanilla, etc.)… so I can usually keep my grocery list TIGHT and limited to perishables (proteins, dairy and produce), plus replenishing pantry ingredients that are running low. This week, I also need to replenish paper goods, so I’ll be adding toilet paper, paper towels and napkins to my list.
I’m going to chronicle the making of the sweet potato fries for you here, so look for that recipe, coming soon! Happy Saturday and good luck!!