One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.
Monday – Maple-Glazed Steak Salad with Blue Cheese
Tuesday – Quinoa Vegetable Paella
Wednesday – BBQ Chicken Pizza
Thursday– Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese Orecchiette
Friday – Spinach and Italian Sausage Calzone
The Preparation Shortcuts:
1. Use at least half spinach in the steak salad so that you can buy it in bulk, making it cheaper, and then save the extra for Friday’s dinner.
2. Substitute asparagus for the zucchini in the quinoa paella to mesh with what’s in season, making it cheaper and easier to find, not to mention more environmentally friendly.
3. On Wednesday while you’re making the chicken, prepare extra for the pasta on Thursday. This way you will have less cooking time and an easier to prepare meal for Thursday.
4. Save the second serving of pizza dough (recipe makes 2) and use it for the calzone dough, splitting into four pieces, on Friday.
The Shopping List:
2 ribeye steaks
5 chicken breasts
red onion
spring mix
3 pounds baby spinach
small bunch scallions
10 cherry tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch asparagus
1 red bell pepper
2 cups quinoa
1 pound orechiette pasta
1 can kidney beans
1 can artichoke hearts
1 bag frozen peas
2 pounds mozzarella
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
8 ounces pure maple syrup
Pantry Items:
onions
garlic
yeast
flour
salt
pepper
smoke paprika
cumin
rosemary
diced tomatoes
vegetable broth
cayenne
olive oil
apple cider vinegar
barbecue sauce
butter
walnutsLast week from Food for My Family:
Sounds delicious. I made a ham and asparagus quiche for Saturday night’s dinner; a definite spring meal for me. Have a good week.
.-= Nancy´s last blog ..menu plan monday | different schedules version =-.
Still loving your organization. That puddle pic is great. Anyway, that steak salad sound awesome.
.-= Emily/Miss Mommy´s last blog ..Winner for Give-Away! =-.
You have some yummy meals planned.
Just doing some blogging visiting today.
Gotta get back to Law & Order on TNT.
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