A weeks worth of dinners...

[Gypsy]

So, what does a typical weeks worth of dinner menu's look like at your house?

For example this week our menu is tentatively scheduled as follows:

M: Mushroom empanadas (we had a big lunch)
T: Chicken beasts (pounded thin and dredged in flour) with leak vermouth pan sauce, mashed potatoes (left over from braised short ribs last week) on side.
W: Pan seared Opah with an meyer lemon buerre blanc and small roasted patty pan squash on side.
Th: Fresh Truffled Ravioli's with a shitake mushroom and pancetta sauce
F: Tikka Masala with Paneer, Naan on side.

Please share.

 

[kmarla]

M- Honey ginger glazed chicken breasts with steamed cauliflower and carrots
T- Italian seasoned roast pork loin au jus with succotash of onions, zucchini, button mushrooms and tomatoes
W- Vegetarian chili with a fresh garden salad
T- Nasi goreng (using leftover pork loin) made with brown rice and green salad
F-Usually our take-out night so probably ordering stir fry or sushi.

I'm dieting again so everything is made fresh each day. Also no bread allowed.

 

[Matata]

M - Martini, shaken not stirred
T - Martini and potato chips
W - Dirty Martini and extra toasty Cheez-Itz
T - Dirty Martini w/extra olives
F - Vodka on Cheerios

 

[Gypsy]

M - Martini, shaken not stirred
T - Martini and potato chips
W - Dirty Martini and extra toasty Cheez-Itz
T - Dirty Martini w/extra olives
F - Vodka on Cheerios

 

[dk168]

After Easter and before my holiday in early September, I am in my "summer" mode with lighter meals such as salads and sandwiches.

My main meal of the day is usually lunch unless I go out for an evening meal.

This week's lunch:

M - salad with shredded ham
T - roast pork sandwich with sliced gherkins, rocket and sliced cucumber; plus a few baby plum tomatoes, radishes, sliced bell peppers and grapes on the side
W - shredded ham sandwich with sliced gherkins etc..
T - Avocado and crispy bacon sandwich etc...
F - roast pork sandwish as Tuesday
S - nothing much as I am going out for dinner
S - Ribeye steak with pan-fried mushrooms, oven chips, onion rings and a side salad

My "winter" mode consists of homemade soups, stews, chilli, ragu, curries.

I cook in larger quantity and freeze what I do not eat in tubs, so that I have a selection to choose from during the week.

Typical lunch would be something like this:

M - Soup as I normally make one on Sunday with a couple of slices of bread or toast
T - Chilli with rice and vegetable
W - Pasta with a creamy cheesy mushroom, spinach and chicken sauce
T - More soup and bread/toast
F - Lamb curry with rice and vegetables
S - I usually go out for lunch or dinner, otherwise I may have a take away
S - Steak dinner as before, stir-fried vegetables instead of salad


DK

 

[House Cat]

Grilled meat of some kind
Roasted or steamed veg
Salad
Quinoa or quinoa and rice blend, or sometimes a sweet potato.



I premake meals. I usually make four day's worth of lunches and dinners at one time. This is how I keep myself from eating out three or four days per week. It's boring but it works.

 

[wildcat03]

Monday - bbq chicken quesadillas
Tuesday- bbq chicken nachos
Wednesday - homemade pizza
Thursday - burgers with Mac and cheese
Friday - takeout/fast casual (Chipotle most likely)
Sat - cookout with friends or dinner out
Sun - breakfast for dinner

 

[PintoBean]

So, what does a typical weeks worth of dinner menu's look like at your house?

For example this week our menu is tentatively scheduled as follows:

M: Mushroom empanadas (we had a big lunch)
T: Chicken beasts (pounded thin and dredged in flour) with leak vermouth pan sauce, mashed potatoes (left over from braised short ribs last week) on side.
W: Pan seared Opah with an meyer lemon buerre blanc and small roasted patty pan squash on side.
Th: Fresh Truffled Ravioli's with a shitake mushroom and pancetta sauce
F: Tikka Masala with Paneer, Naan on side.
Please share.

I want you as my wife!

M - Martini, shaken not stirred
T - Martini and potato chips
W - Dirty Martini and extra toasty Cheez-Itz
T - Dirty Martini w/extra olives
F - Vodka on Cheerios

i want you as my mistress!

 

[madelise]

I'm loving dinners now that they're provided by DH's employer, we don't need to cook, and mostly, I don't need to clean. Mostly the last part.

M: seafood spaghetti (squid and shrimp), and turkey breast + asparagus
T: tri tip
W: pan seared ahi tuna and mustard? i think? sauce
Th: german sausages,sauerkraut
F: Korean barbecue ribs, japchae (glass) noodles, kimchi fried rice




I'm getting so fat. I swear, I've gone up a whole ring size in the last month.

 

[Cozystitches]

Love this!!! So, last summer I came up with the 5 weeks of meals plan. I made my kids give me what meals they liked (limited repeats), and made that into a menu plan. This year, I removed a few things, gave a few more options, and now have SIX weeks of meals. I am VERY proud of this as I detest cooking dinner especially because I'm tired and don't want to try to think. Here's our six weeks...we are on the Meatloaf week. CP is Crock Pot. Some recipes I found online, some are in my head (now have written them down) as they are kind of "family" recipes....If anyone wants a recipe or info, let me know.

1. One Pot Pasta
2. Cornbread Taco Pie
3. Tuna Noodle Casserole
4. Grilled Steak or Chicken
5. Broccoli, Chicken, Cheese Rice

6. Sloppy Joes & Cole Slaw
7. Ham & Potatoes
8. Firecracker Casserole
9. Fried Rice or CP Chicken (Beer or Salsa)
10. Mandarin Chicken

11. Jambalaya
12. Chicken Enchilada Casserole
13. CP Beef Stroganoff
14. Chicken Alfredo
15. Spaghetti or Ravioli

16. Chili
17. Siracha Chicken & Noodles
18. Cheeseburger Gnocchi
19. Chicken Orzo or Soba
20. Homemade Pizza

(This week)
21. Meatloaf
22. Cilantro, Lime Chicken & Rice
23. Stuffed Peppers or Waikki Meatballs
24. Fajitas
25. Chicken Masala or Chicken Gnocchi

26. Chicken & Dumplings or Chicken Pot Pie
27. Cowboy Stew
28. Buffalo Chicken Casserole from Pinterest or Dijon Pasta
29. Tacos
30. Minestrone or Goulash

 

[azstonie]

M - Martini, shaken not stirred
T - Martini and potato chips
W - Dirty Martini and extra toasty Cheez-Itz
T - Dirty Martini w/extra olives
F - Vodka on Cheerios

Sistah!!! Extra Toasty Cheezits are da bomb, I'll have to try some with a Crystal Head Vodka shot

 

[azstonie]

Cozystitches, thank you for offering recipes

I would like:
Cornbread Taco Pie
Firecracker Casserole (great name!)
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Cowboy Stew

Any or all of these if you please!!!!

 

[Queenie60]

Monday - Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes (left over from Sunday), tomato salad, roasted corn

Tuesday - Chicken thighs cooked with a lemon pan sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes, green salad, roasted artichokes

Wednesday - leftovers from Tuesday

Thursday and Friday - traveling to Pacific Northwest; will be eating out through Saturday!

 

[Gypsy]

I love this! So many different recipes. Cozystiches, I am interested in a couple of the same recipes as already requested.

I have discovered that for pork and chicken I am willing to pay more to have a butcher do a lot of work for me. I love chicken breasts pounded thin with a pan sauce (Marsala, piccata, whatever you like) but HATE HATE HATE the mess it makes. Since it is just DH and I most nights I have the local butcher do this for me. Saves me a lot of prep time. I have realized that long prep time dishes just do not get made in our house often, so I am always trying to cut down prep time. Most dishes we make have actual prep time of 20 minutes or less. Cooking time can be REALLY long. I have no issue with letting things cook for a long time. And I hate the crock pot.


We also have this wonderful brand of Indian Curry sauces here that Costco carries (Maya Kamal). And it makes the easiest dinners with either paneer cubes (buy at Costco as well) or chicken thighs. So I do those pretty often (every couple weeks) as it saves us $$$ from eating out at an Indian restaurant.

Aside from Lasagna and other Italian dishes of that sort (and Mousakka, which is just so much freaking work) DH will not touch casseroles.

I make chili every so often. I love pot roast, but DH doesn't so I discovered braised short ribs (I buy the boneless ones for me and bone in ones for him) make the best pot roast type dish ever and that is our compromise.

 

[arkieb1]

You can't tempt him with Osso Bucco or French casseroles like Cassoulet? You can really tell the people who have kids versus those who don't by the menu's above and yeah I am one with a fussy kid and I can't eat wheat so.....

 

[Gypsy]

You can't tempt him with Osso Bucco or French casseroles like Cassoulet? You can really tell the people who have kids versus those who don't by the menu's above and yeah I am one with a fussy kid and I can't eat wheat so.....

Haven't really tried. Tried the braised short ribs, had that work, decided to quit while ahead.

You can tell who has kids and who doesn't. Absolutely.

Dh and I were both raised with very little accommodation for our palates as kids though. We ate what the adults ate or we didn't eat. It made him flexible as an eater (in general) and me the opposite-- I hate people dictating what I can eat and I am a moody eater.

That's why I always have a stocked pantry and fridge so that if I crave something that isn't on the planned menu, I can usually switch with ease to accommodate that.

I have a head of cabbage in the fridge just sitting there because I was planning, ambitiously, to make stuffed cabbage leaves. Well that didn't happen. So now I made something else with the ground chicken and ingredients. Now I have to figure out what to do with the cabbage.

I want to make borsct, but need a good recipe and patience. So I will probably end up roasting it in the oven or grilling it.

 

[PierreBear]

Hi PS Friends! I generally make a large batch of something over the weekend, which might be a stew or shredded up chicken that can be put on salad or eaten with tortillas as an example. Then throughout the week, I eat salads for lunch and leftover weekend meals for the evening. I'll usually cook fresh veggies though with the dinner since it is quick.

I just wanted to share as it looks like there are other people out there who like to cook. I started taking culinary classes for fun at a local community college. There isn't Cordon Bleu anymore (went out of business) but I found that it wasn't affordable and you couldn't do it part time. I currently work full time and take 1 class a semester. It's hard work but it's been really fun. Better than those cooking classes at Whole Foods, which teaches you more about the recipe than a general technique. Anyhow, just thought someone else might be interested in it as well!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I cook so much less than I used to. Pretty much only when DH is home and sometimes not even then.

Last night he cooked ribeye steaks (grass fed and finished) roasted cauliflower and grilled zucchini
A couple nights ago I made spaghetti squash with sausage, mushroom, and onion marinara sauce.

Every week I cook a big batch of smoked chicken thigh fillets, some kind of grilled beef, Sabatinos chicken, gouda and artichoke sausages and ground beef with taco seasoning. That is for salads and quick dinners with whatever veggies I have. That is pretty much how I cook any more.

 

[telephone89]

We try to eat healthy during the week, and then the weekends are a shit show (of deliciousness) haha.

M- leftovers/cereal/something small
T - Salad greens from the garden (cooked or raw), chicken breast
W - Roasted veggies, chicken breast
T - Stirfry to use up whatever veggies picked that week, probably chicken breast LOL
F - H cooks. It's his only day off. Something like braised short ribs, pulled pork, brisket, etc. You get the idea. Meat, that cooks a while. Lots of wine.
S - If its nice out bbq. Grilled flank steak w/ chimichurri, roasted veg. Lots of wine. If its not nice out then something inside. Soup, coq au vin, roast.
Sun - Something easy. Maybe a noodle stirfry or just bbq steak + potatoes. Or left overs if thre was lots from sat.

I always crave fish because we eat it so rarely, but its hard to find good fresh fish here

We're usually quite boring during the week (as you can tell), and weekends I like to try new recipes. I have an absolute TON of parsley in my garden right now (its literally the size of a small bush!) so I've been making chimichurri and gremolatas like crazy trying to use it up. Sometimes I will just google an ingredient that I have and find an interesting recipe for it. Example, I have a ton of swiss chard, and found a lentil recipe that uses it. So ill try that tonight.

 

[Tekate]

Sunday - Shrimp cocktail and left over homemade pizza from sat.

Monday - Beef enchiladas, salad

Tuesday - out - Lobster rolls and fries

Wednesday - left over beef enchiladas

Thursday - Hummus, pita , veggie is:

Friday - Italian tuna sandwich - hard boiled egg, green oliver pesto, jalapeno, italian tuna with oil.. GARLIC, hard rolls

Saturday and Sunday - fried chicken mashed potatoes, green beans.

it's summer!

 

[PierreBear]

So, what does a typical weeks worth of dinner menu's look like at your house?

For example this week our menu is tentatively scheduled as follows:

M: Mushroom empanadas (we had a big lunch)
T: Chicken beasts (pounded thin and dredged in flour) with leak vermouth pan sauce, mashed potatoes (left over from braised short ribs last week) on side.
W: Pan seared Opah with an meyer lemon buerre blanc and small roasted patty pan squash on side.
Th: Fresh Truffled Ravioli's with a shitake mushroom and pancetta sauce
F: Tikka Masala with Paneer, Naan on side.

Please share.

Hey Gypsy (and others as well)! Do ya'll portion it out where you only cook enough for dinner and not have left overs? Or are those left overs being eaten for lunch the next day? I'm sooooo impressed with the ability to eat something different every evening.

 

[rubybeth]

I have tried to be better at meal planning. One thing that helps is occasionally doing a Blue Apron week where we get some meals delivered. We don't do this every week since it's kind of expensive, but it's helping me learn new recipes.

M - was terribly tired so we did Chipotle
T - Carbonara made with fusilli
W - Chili, most likely (tonight), or possibly a spinach salad with grilled shrimp
Th - our Blue Apron box arrives, so I will make whatever appeals most from these three: Mexican beef quesadillas, seared chicken and fregola sarda, or seared salmon with miso soba noodle salad.
F - one of the Blue Apron meals
Sat/Sun - we often eat at least one dinner with my parents, or we wing it and do leftovers or sandwiches. I like making what I call "fancy sandwiches" on either ciabatta buns or bagels, with nice cheese, avocado, turkey, spinach, any other veggies we have, plus some kettle chips on the side.

 

[ame]

M: Often takeout
T: We do our own thing, I have boxing. So I drink protein shakes.
W: I either cook steak and a side, or we go out, or I figure something out that is low carb. Wing it basically. It varies.
T: Same.
F: Boxing, so either protein shakes or we go out to a late meal that is often breakfasty food.

I USED to cook most weeknights. Since boxing started last Feb, cooking the other nights has been sporadic, and DH has also gotten involved in his own stuff, which means we wing it.

 

[Gypsy]

Hey Gypsy (and others as well)! Do ya'll portion it out where you only cook enough for dinner and not have left overs? Or are those left overs being eaten for lunch the next day? I'm sooooo impressed with the ability to eat something different every evening.

Neither of us are good with leftovers unless it is a soup or something like that. So I do limit the portions to one meal generally.

 

[NTave]

I love this. I fell far off the meal plan wagon this summer..we have mostly lived out of our garden with meat as an afterthought. I did buy a round of beef to make a pot roast this week (with a chicken alternative for the chicken eater)It's just been too warm to doing anything besides grill and eat summer salads (my excuse). Kids are back to school now so it's time to plan meals again. We have a teen that only eats chicken and fish, so I've been dreading planning.
Last night I made a lobster stew, which the kids fussed about and ate rotisserie chicken instead with cucumbers.
The night before was rice, and chicken and zucchini
The night before that was leftovers from the BBQ we had over the weekend, tomato basil mozzarella skewers, chicken, hot dogs, garden salad and potato salad.
Sadly this is about what we eat. Chicken. Salmon, ground turkey, repeat. That's why I'm pumped about the roast. Veggies are tomato, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant and peppers. .

 

[Cozystitches]

Requested recipes. These are more guidelines, let me know if you want step by step, amounts, etc. These are easily adapted and probably go by other names (Like Goulash and Minestrone are very similar I've found out)...Let me know if you have questions. These are all kid (and picky MEATEATER hubby). I've made notes for those who need to stretch as needed.

Cornbread Taco Pie - This is one that we've had in the family

Hamburger
Chopped onion (can substitute powdered if needed)
Minced Garlic (can substitute powdered if needed)
Diced Tomatoes (1 can or equivalent)
Green Chilies (1 can or equivalent)
Corn Bread Mix (or make from scratch)
Black Beans
Cumin
Chili Powder

Cook Hamburger, onion, garlic, add spices. Add tomatoes, chilies, beans, cook for a few minutes.
Make cornbread mix according to box directions (I've used Camp Corn Bread from Allrecipes)

Put hamburger mixture into casserole dish. Pour cornbread mix on top. Cook according to package directions until cornbread is cooked. Can also make the cornbread separately and serve on top of the taco mix.

Firecracker Casserole - This is modified from Taste of Home Recipes

Hamburger
Chopped onion (can substitute powdered if needed)
Minced Garlic (can substitute powdered if needed)
Diced Tomatoes (1 can or equivalent)
Green Chilies (1 can or equivalent)
Black Beans
Cumin
Chili Powder
Cream of Chicken/Mushroom soup (or mix equivalent)
Cheddar Cheese (or Pepper Jack)
Broken Tortilla Chips (stale can work too)
Cooked Rice

Cook Hamburger, onion, garlic, add spices. Add beans and cook a few minutes. Add tomatoes.
Put meat mixture into casserole dish. Top with broken chips.
In bowl mix green chilies (can add green chilie enchilada mix if desired) and Cream soup, add more spices. Pour on top of meat/chips. Top with cheese.
Cook in oven (or because it's too hot in the desert: Microwave that baby!) until all bubbly.
Serve over rice

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Chicken Breast - cooked and shredded (or boil with Chili powder & Cumin until cooked and then shred)
Black Beans
Cream of Chicken Soup (optional if needed to spread meal)
Cumin
Chili Powder
Green Chilies
Green Chili Enchilada sauce (canned, I don't know how to make this from scratch )
Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese (or pepper jack)

Mix shredded chicken, spices, green chilies, beans. Mix Cream of Chicken Soup and Enchilada Sauce (or omit Cream of Chicken Soup) in separate bowl, add spices. Save some Enchilada sauce (few tablespoons or so). In casserole dish pour saved enchilada sauce, layer chicken mixture, cheese, sauce, tortillas, repeat with chicken, cheese and the remaining sauce.
Cook in oven (or because it's too hot in the desert: Microwave that baby!) until all bubbly.
Serve over rice

Cowboy Stew - Family Recipe - Scratch method
Hamburger
Chopped onion (can substitute powdered if needed)
Minced Garlic (can substitute powdered if needed)
Diced Tomatoes (1 can or equivalent)
Can of mixed veggies (or bag of frozen or equivalent)
Can of Tomato sauce
Italian Spices (Oregano, Basil, Thyme)
Mashed Potatoes
Worchestershire Sauce

Cook Hamburger, onion, garlic, spices. Add tomatoes, veggies, sauce, spices, cook until bubbly. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Cowboy Stew - Family Recipe - Cheater method (This is how mom made it growing up, as adult we didn't always have veggie soup)
Hamburger
Chopped onion (can substitute powdered if needed)
Minced Garlic (can substitute powdered if needed)
Can of Vegetable Soup
Can of mixed veggies (or bag of frozen or equivalent)
Italian Spices (Oregano, Basil, Thyme)
Mashed potatoes

Cook Hamburger, onion, garlic, spices. Add soup, veggies, cook until bubbly. Serve over mashed potatoes.

 

[LLJsmom]

LOVE THIS THREAD. This menu changes all the time. My dad is the cook. I am allowed to set the table and clean up.

MONDAY Chinese BBQ pork, steamed gai lan (green veggie), beef stew regular, beef stew with curry, stir fried water cress, grilled wild salmon, brown rice,
TUESDAY. baked five spice chicken, steamed green veggies, stir fried Chinese long beans with egg and char siu. Stir fried water cress, brown rice, homemade chicken soup
WEDNESDAY. Chinese spare ribs, stir fried yam leaves, steamed egg, stir fried rib eye and veggies, brown rice, winter melon soup
Thursday spaghetti
FRIDAY. shrimp and egg, stir fried melon with pork, bitter melon with beef, stir fried bok choy, steamed rock cod, brown rice

 

[lissyflo]

This is slightly off track in that it's not our week's dinner list, but for anyone looking for quick tasty meals I would highly recommend the Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal book. There was a big trend in the UK a couple of years ago for quick recipe books, I think to try to encourage people to cook from scratch using fresh ingredients rather than buying lots of pre-done, processed food from supermarkets. His sausage cassoulet and chicken pie in particular are really quick and tasty, although admittedly what might take him 30 minutes generally takes me longer!

Nigella Lawson did a similar book called Nigella Express and the chicken cacciatore in there takes about 25 minutes in total (20 of those are cooking time where you don't need to do anything) and is delicious. My husband would also happily sell his soul for her Greek lamb chops, which also take only about 5 minutes prep time then an hour or so in the oven where you don't need any involvement whatsoever - amazing with crusty bread and green salad.

I have children at school and do a lot of running around with them for swimming clubs, music lessons, etc so I rely on a lot of casserole/cassoulet/chilli type dishes that I can cook in the day and just take the time to re-heat and cook some veg to go with them once we're home. I find winter a lot easier in that respect as casseroles generally taste even better re-heated. Summer is harder in our house as neither of my two boys will eat salad leaves, and summer salads look a bit sparse without the leaves!

 

[AGBF]

What is "Cowboy Stew"? I saw a "cheater's recipe" above, but don't know how one would combine the ingredients. Is it like Shepherd's Pie?

ETA: Just reread. See how it is made!

 

[PierreBear]

LOVE THIS THREAD. This menu changes all the time. My dad is the cook. I am allowed to set the table and clean up.

MONDAY Chinese BBQ pork, steamed gai lan (green veggie), beef stew regular, beef stew with curry, stir fried water cress, grilled wild salmon, brown rice,
TUESDAY. baked five spice chicken, steamed green veggies, stir fried Chinese long beans with egg and char siu. Stir fried water cress, brown rice, homemade chicken soup
WEDNESDAY. Chinese spare ribs, stir fried yam leaves, steamed egg, stir fried rib eye and veggies, brown rice, winter melon soup
Thursday spaghetti
FRIDAY. shrimp and egg, stir fried melon with pork, bitter melon with beef, stir fried bok choy, steamed rock cod, brown rice

Wow... sounds delicious. I wish I paid more attention to my mom cooking during my childhood days. I never got used to that bitter melon though!