Menu plan and grocery list week of 6/27

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday

Tandoori lamb chops and roasted cauliflower with cumin – because I saw a recipe for tandoor lamb that looked interesting and we bought the most beautiful purple cauliflower at the produce stand

Monday

Assorted flatbreads – because I haven’t made them in a while and we have fond memories of interesting experiments

Tuesday

Grilled chicken with Chermoula and grilled zucchini – because it sounds healthy

Wednesday

Grilled green onion, jalapeno pork with cumin black beans and grilled peppers – because Samantha loves pork tenderloin and spicy food, double win!

Thursday

Grilled shrimp and avocado salad – because I can serve ours with shrimp and Samantha’s without (I can grill an extra chicken breast on Tuesday and save it for her salad)

Grocery list (does not include all flatbread ingredients as topping ideas are still up for discussion!) 🙂

Produce

• garlic
• ginger
• limes
• tomato
• cucumber
• mint
• parsley
• lemon
• peppers (red, yellow, orange)
• scallions
• zucchini
• avocados
• lettuce

Dairy

• plain yogurt

Meat and seafood

• lamb chops (I do one rib and one loin per person)
• shrimp (for the flatbreads, I’ll get more later in the week for the salad)
• skinless, boneless, chicken
• pork tenderloin

Miscellaneous

• black beans

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• white vinegar
• cayenne pepper
• turmeric
• tandoori spice blend
• honey
• brandy
• coriander seed
• cumin seed
• garlic powder
• paprika
• orzo
• canola oil
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• Dijon mustard

Menu plan and grocery list week of 4/25

Here is the menu plan and grocery list for the week:

Sunday

Rosemary lamb chops with garlic onion roasted potatoes and spinach salad

Monday

Orange pork with baked sweet potatoes

Tuesday

Saucy Sirloin

Wednesday

Spicy chicken pizza

Thursday

From the freezer

Grocery list

Produce

• baby potatoes
• rosemary
• salad
• sweet potatoes
• garlic
• orange
• ginger
• jalapeno
• onion
• spinach
• plum tomatoes
• scallions

Dairy

• shredded Mozzarella

Meat and seafood

• lamb chops (I do one rib and one loin per person)
• pork tenderloin
• cubed sirloin beef
• ground chicken

Miscellaneous

• orange juice
• orange marmalade
• pizza crust
• tomato sauce
• 1 can consomme
• 1 can mushrooms

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• kosher salt
• brown sugar
• soy sauce
• 5 spice powder
• hoisin sauce
• lemon juice
• lime juice
• sriracha
• fish sauce
• cumin
• coriander
• chili powder
• flour
• dry mustard

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 4/4

Yesterday was Easter and we enjoyed an outdoor family dinner at my sister’s. We provided appetizers and I made fresh Vietnamese spring rolls with peanut sauce. I made some with shrimp and some without. They were quite a hit. My sister and brother-in-law made an excellent dinner of lamb, asparagus, brussels sprouts and potato gratin. What a treat!

Here is the menu plan for the rest of the week:

Monday

Gochujan chicken and vegetables – another sheet pan dinner

Tuesday

Steak and asparagus stirfry

Wednesday

Gnocchi from the freezer and Caesar salad

Thursday

Pizza Amatriciana

Grocery List

Produce

• ginger
• Butternut squash
• turnips
• asparagus
• bell pepper
• garlic
• onions

Meat and Seafood

• Bone-in chicken breasts
• flank steak
• bacon

Miscellaneous

• Gochujang
• beef broth
• black bean garlic sauce
• pizza crust
• can crushed tomatoes

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• soy sauce
• canola oil
• rice vinegar
• sesame oil
• sherry
• cornstarch
• red wine
• crushed red pepper flakes

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 2/28

In spite of rain and warmer temps, the ground out our back door is still covered with snow and ice. Since that is where our grill is located, I left grilling off the list this week.

Sunday

Crispy Latin spiced pork chops and mashed potatoes

Monday

Shrimp and linguine fra Diavolo

Tuesday

Chicken Pizza Francaise

Wednesday

Salmon Dijonnaise and asparagus

Thursday

From the freezer (either lasagna or seafood gumbo)

Grocery List

Produce

• potatoes
• shallots
• onions
• baby spinach
• asparagus

Dairy

• buttermilk
• sour cream
• Gruyere cheese

Meat and seafood

• boneless pork chops
• shrimp
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salmon (I’ll buy the fish on Wednesday

Miscellaneous

• cornflakes
• Arabbiata sauce
• linguine
• pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• cornstarch
• Dijon mustard
• garlic
• vegetable oil
• cumin
• chili powder
• ground coriander
• red pepper flakes
• milk
• butter
• panko
• olive oil
• wine
• Herbes de Provence
• mayonnaise
• horseradish

Menu plan for week of 2/15

Our Valentine’s dinner was carryout Thai food. Perfect for a cold winter night! Here is the menu plan for the rest of the week:

Monday

Spicy chicken pizza (one of Samantha’s favorites)

Tuesday

Leftover lobster chowder (made on Saturday from a recipe in a cookbook I gave Keith for Christmas last year)

Wednesday

Italian meatballs with polenta (I finally used all of the meatballs in the freezer so I am making more)

Thursday

Orange pork and roasted sweet potatoes (a more recent discovery that has quickly become a Samantha favorite)

Here is the recipe for the chicken pizza:

Spicy Chicken Pizza

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 small onions, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground chili powder
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 pizza crust
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• garlic to taste (either raw or roasted (wrap a whole head of garlic in aluminum foil and roast at 425 for about an hour)
• shredded Mozzarella cheese
• spinach

Preheat oven (with pizza stone) to 425.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add jalapeno and onion and saute 2 – 3 minutes until soft.  Add spices and stir to combine.  Add chicken and cook, stirring until chicken is cooked through.

Spread sauce on pizza crust.  Top with chicken, garlic, spinach and cheese.  Cook 8 – 10 minutes or until done.

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 1/3

Happy New Year! I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday, full of lots of good things to eat. My favorite thing I made was for our stay at home New Year’s Eve dinner. I pulled out my restaurant cookbooks and made the Lobster Napoleons from the Inn at Little Washington cookbook followed by the Mongolian pork chops from the Mustard Grill. Even if we can’t travel, we can always pretend!

Now back to reality!

Sunday

Crab saute with Smithfield ham (because we have leftover ham from Christmas)

Monday

Shrimp and cauliflower saute (because we found a recipe in the paper that looked intriguing)

Tuesday

Grilled Thai pork with rice (because I have 3 pork tenderloins in the freezer)

Wednesday

Chicken chipotle pizza (because Samantha will love it!)

Thursday

Lasagna from the freezer (because after my first full week back at work, I’ll be ready for an easy night)

Here is the grocery list for the week

• Asparagus
• Cauliflower
• Rosemary
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Onion

Dairy

• Cheddar cheese

Meat and seafood

• 1 lb crabmeat
• 1/4 Smithfield or country ham
• 2/3 lb shrimp
• pork tenderloin (unless you have 3 in the freezer)
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Miscellaneous

• almonds
• coconut milk
• steak sauce
• pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• unsalted butter
• olive oil
• capers
• black peppercorns
• rice vinegar
• brown sugar
• soy sauce
• fish sauce
• rice
• canola oil
• honey
• chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

Menu plan and grocery list week of 12/13

The weather today was beautiful but it’s cooling off and we may get snow this week. That means it is time for some comfort food.

Sunday

Braised chicken with polenta – one of my favorites!

Monday

Roasted vegetable soup

Tuesday

Warm spinach and bacon salad

Wednesday

Pizza with Soppressata and Prosciutto

Thursday

Penne with tomatoes, pancetta and red pepper

Grocery list

Produce

• onions
• rosemary
• garlic
• 1 lb carrots
• 1 lb parsnips
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 butternut squash (or 1 package cubed butternut squash)
• 1 package mushrooms
• 1 bag baby spinach
• shallots
• cherry tomatoes
• 4 tomatoes

Dairy

• 4 oz pancetta
• Parmesan cheese
• eggs
• 10 – 12 slices Soppresotta
• 3 – 4 oz Prosciutto

Meat and seafood

• bone-in chicken breasts, I bought 2 for the 3 of us
• bacon

Miscellaneous

• chicken stock
• rolls
• pizza crust
• tomato sauce
• penne pasta

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• olive oil
• bay leaves
• whole cloves
• tomato paste
• white wine
• cornmeal
• milk
• red pepper flakes’
• balsamic vinegar
• whole grain mustard
• butter

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 12/6

This week’s menu plan is mostly old favorites. We’re gearing up for the holidays and even though things look different this year, there are still presents to be bought and wrapped, Christmas cards to be ordered and mailed and of course, cookies to be baked! Here is the menu plan for the week and grocery list:

Sunday

Nacho burgers and sweet potato fries

Monday

Spicy chicken pizza

Tuesday

Cauliflower soup

Wednesday

Quiche

Thursday

Shrimp and black bean quesadillas

Produce

• 2 jalapenos
• 1 onion
• garlic
• 4 avocados
• spinach
• sweet potatoes (I do one per person)
• lime
• 3 plum tomatoes
• red onion
• leeks (3-4)
• cauliflower (2 heads)

Dairy

• grated Mozzarella
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Parmesan cheese (shredded)
• 1 small container creme fraiche
• 1/4 lb Proscuitto
• sour cream
• eggs
• milk
• half and half
• Jarlsberg

Meat and Seafood

• burgers (1 per person)
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 2/3 lb shrimp (I’ll buy it later in the week)

Miscellaneous

• hamburger buns
• chicken stock
• pie crust
• black beans
• salsa
• tortillas
• pizza crust
• tomato sauce

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t already have:

• olive oil
• cumin
• coriander
• chili powder
• red wine vinegar
• honey
• canola oil
• chipotle peppers in adobo
• cayenne

Time off for the cook

Our freezer is stuffed. During the pandemic, I’ve done a lot of cooking. Last week when I made the chicken enchiladas, Keith pointed out that there probably wasn’t room to freeze the leftovers. So we ate them on Thursday. Samantha requested Pad Thai for tonight and then we are going to eat out of the freezer for a few nights. So here is our menu plan for the week – I’ll post the freezer friendly recipes but no store list.

Sunday

Pad Thai with shrimp

Monday

Mexican chicken soup

Tuesday

Eggplant lasagna

Wednesday

Meatballs with polenta

Tbursday

Thanksgiving!

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 11/8

Here is the menu plan for the week and grocery list:

Sunday

Hoisin pork with leftover mashed potatoes

Monday

Chicken chipotle chili

Tuesday

Eggplant Lasagna

Wednesday

Queso Fundido pizza

Thursday

Fish tacos

Grocery list

Produce

• onions
• 3 large eggplants
• garlic
• lime
• avocados

Dairy

• Parmesan cheese
• Mozzarella cheese
• Ricotta cheese (15 oz)
• Mascarpone
• Pepperjack cheese

Meat and seafood

• pork tenderloin
• 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• tilapia filets (I’ll buy these later in the week)

Miscellaneous

• hoisin sauce
• 1 qt chicken stock
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 cans black beans
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• honey
• sherry
• sesame oil
• canola oil
• flour chili powder
• cumin
• red pepper flakes
• egg