{"id":6722,"date":"2010-10-19T17:27:09","date_gmt":"2010-10-19T22:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankymouse.com\/?p=6722"},"modified":"2010-10-19T21:58:12","modified_gmt":"2010-10-20T02:58:12","slug":"weekly-dinner-menu-101810","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/2010\/10\/19\/weekly-dinner-menu-101810\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Dinner Menu: 10\/18\/10"},"content":{"rendered":"


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<\/a>.<\/em>
\n\"\"
\nI’m in the midst of Scholastic book fair madness over at my kids’ school, and I apologize for being late. My menu, however, is filled with make-ahead meals for when \u2013 I don’t know \u2013 you’re going to be at school all morning and all afternoon and all night and want to leave something edible for your husband to feed the kids. In case you’re that sort of person, there are a few tips here for you. (I’m actually sitting in the midst of the book fair right this minute.)
\n\"\"
\nThis menu is tomato-heavy on purpose. It’s the end of the season, and it’s the perfect time to pick up a crate of tomatoes at the market as they liquidate their inventory. <\/p>\n


Monday \u2013 <\/strong>Spaghetti and Meatballs<\/a> with Homemade Tomato Sauce<\/a>
\n
Tuesday \u2013 <\/strong>Loaded Baked Potato Soup<\/a>
\n
Wednesday \u2013 <\/strong>Roasted Tomato Brie Tartlets with Almond Crust<\/a> with grilled chicken
\n
Thursday \u2013 <\/strong> Mediterranean Pasta<\/a>
\n
Friday \u2013 <\/strong>Chantrelle Mushroom and Kale Pizza<\/a>
\n
<\/p>\n

The Preparation Shortcuts:<\/h3>\n

1.<\/strong> Make the tomato sauce and meatballs ahead of time. When it’s time to start dinner, just pop them in the oven or in a pot on the stove. All you have to do is boil the water to cook the pasta and wait for the rest to heat up.
\n2.<\/strong> This baked potato soup can be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated. It’s heat and eat, and that helps. (Crickets)
\n3.<\/strong> Chicken on Wednesday can be added to Friday’s meal, and if you have a husband like mine, you’ll also be putting it on the pizza.
\n4.<\/strong> Again, pizza is a great catchall. I like to plan a few to make special, but then a garbage pizza with all the week’s leftovers is a fantastic way to use up those scraps and small pieces of meat that didn’t make it into lunches.
\n
<\/p>\n

The Shopping List:<\/h3>\n

1 whole chicken
\n1 small precooked ham
\n1 bunch fresh basil
\n1 bunch fresh thyme
\n4-6 ounces chantrelle mushrooms
\n2 pints cherry tomatoes
\n6 1\/2 lbs paste tomatoes
\n4 carrots
\n4 stalks celery
\n2 red bell peppers
\n2 poblano peppers
\n1 cup sour cream
\n1 mozzarella ball
\n6 ounces crumbled feta
\n1\/4 cup heavy cream
\n8 ounces cheddar cheese
\n14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts
\n8-10 pita bread folds<\/p>\n


Pantry<\/a> Items:<\/strong>
\ngarlic
\nonions
\nsun-dried tomatoes
\nkalamata olives
\npotatoes
\nbutter
\nflour
\nmilk
\nalmond flour
\nolive oil
\nbalsamic vinegar
\nrosemary
\noregano
\ncrushed red pepper
\nfennel seeds
\nbay leaf
\nsalt and pepper<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Last week from Food for My Family<\/a>:<\/h3>\n

Check out our compost pile (video)<\/a>
\nOn Babble:
\nHarry Potter Pumpkin Pasties<\/a>
\nHarry Potter Party: Halloween Time<\/a>
\nSpice Pumpkin Cake from Duncan Hines<\/a>
\nPoor Man\u2019s Mocha<\/a>
\nBoss\u2019s Day: Magnolia Bakery Delivers<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For more menu plans:<\/center>\"orgjunkiempm1\"<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,41],"tags":[344,707,346,484],"class_list":{"0":"post-6722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-menu-planning","7":"category-the-monday-menu","8":"tag-meal-planning","9":"tag-recipes","10":"tag-shopping-list","11":"tag-tips-and-tricks","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"mv":{"thumbnail_id":null,"thumbnail_uri":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6722"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6736,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6722\/revisions\/6736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}