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.
I spent part of last week in Florida with the other Lifetime Moms. I was excited to meet them in person, and I’m delighted to call them my friends. While I was gone, my brother Joel and Ole held down the fort and tried to keep things under some semblance of control. This week we’re back to normal, and I may even try to put away the kids’ clothes that have been waiting on the living room bookcase for the last two weeks…
Monday – Smoked Barbecue Ribs
Tuesday – Spring Vegetable Risotto
Wednesday – Chicken Tikka
Thursday – Chicken and Wild Rice Salad
Friday – Shrimp, Spring Vegetable and Wild Rice Soup
The Preparation Shortcuts:
1. Make the ribs ahead. Ole always makes several racks and stores them in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer so that we can have easily accessible ribs when we need them. Of course, fresh off the smoker is always best, but we don’t always have 4 hours to smoke them the day we want to eat them. just make them ahead and bring them along. Five minutes on the grill, and you’re ready to eat.
2. Use the leftover asparagus and English peas from Tuesday’s meal for the soup on Friday. Incorporating meals with similar ingredients throughout the week reduces waste and, subsequently, cost.
3. Make vegetable stock from vegetable scraps on Tuesday for the risotto, but make plenty extra for the salad on Thursday and the soup on Friday. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
4. Broil extra chicken with salt and pepper only alongside the yogurt chicken on Wednesday. Cool, wrap and hold it until Thursday’s meal to save you that extra step.
5. Make extra wild rice on Thursday for the soup on Friday. Store in the fridge until you’re ready to use.
The Shopping List:
1-2 racks of baby back ribs
4-5 chicken breasts
3/4 pound raw shrimp with shells on
1 bunch thin asparagus spears
2 cups shelled English peas
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas
1 pound baby carrots
1 head celery
1 lemon
2 limes
small piece ginger root
2 cups wild rice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
fig vinegar (could substitute with apple cider)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt
Pantry Items:
onions
garlic
grainy mustard
almonds
Arborio rice
homemade vegetable stock
dry white wine
canola oil
olive oil
butter
sugar
rib rub
salt
pepper
bay leaf
coriander
cumin
turmeric
garam masala
cayenne pepper
Fresh from the Garden:
thyme
tarragon
parsley
red spring onionsLast week from Food for My Family:
Smoked Barbecue Ribs: The Movie
Root Beer Floats with Vanilla Bean Gelato
Vanilla Bean Gelato
I love how you post shortcuts and shopping lists with each of your weekly menu plans. Do you shop weekly, too? The spring vegetable risotto sounds delicious.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday 5/31 – 6/6 AND Weekly Garden Update =-.
We do shop weekly! Nearly every Saturday morning we hit the farmer’s market and anywhere else we need to shop for the coming week, all six of us together. The only exception is if we plan to have seafood later in the week. Then we’ll pick it up the same day to maximize freshness.
This looks like a great menu – especially the vegetable risotto. Have a wonderful week!
I love this idea. Shortcuts, shopping list, one stop shop. You are so well organized I never know what I am cooking till the day of. Sometimes the day before but that is rare.
.-= polwig´s last blog ..Toddler Friendly Chinese Chicken =-.