Menu Planning: Sometimes Detailed, Sometimes Not

I usually try to plan a week's worth of meals Sunday evening or Monday morning.


Sometimes my lists are detailed, assigning a specific meal to a specific night; other times I need more flexibility, so I will just scribble meal ideas on a legal pad which I then reference during the week. What I always do is pull out the recipes I intend to use from my kitchen binder and set them aside (so I'm not looking for recipes), then I make a grocery list and stock the pantry and refrigerator for the upcoming week.


It's not a perfect system, and sure there are weeks when I don't plan and I'm running around, and yes I've resorted to Little Caesar's pizza when I just don't feel like cooking, and sometimes we will even have a bowl of cereal for dinner, but the point is I like going into the week with some plan (vague or otherwise) so that I'm not scrambling.


This week I'm going with a list of meals. With two tennis matches I need flexibility to switch things around if I need to. Also, Jonathan arrives Friday for a four day weekend which not only means bigger meals, but also more nourishing ones to offset a college diet. Plus we're celebrating his 21st birthday, so there's that, too.


So here's our list of meals for the week. When I am trying to decide what to fix for dinner, I will pick from this list because I will have shopped for it and will have everything I need. I also know that we will eat out Saturday night and have lunch at Nonna and Nonno's house on Sunday.

Meal #1

pollo al forno con rosmarino (baked chicken with rosemary)

bruschetta

pure` di patate (mashed potatoes)

Meal #2

homemade pizza

raw vegetable platter

root beer floats

Meal #3

pasta alla Bolognese

salad

Meal #4

chili

cornbread muffins

Meal #5

Greek marinated grilled chicken

grilled Naan bread with spices

roasted/grilled vegetables

Meal #6 (football fare)
honey garlic crockpot meatballs
tortillas w. salsa grilled
Panini squares
gourmet popcorn

Bonus: One Breakfast Idea
cinnamon apple French toast

Bonus: One Dessert Idea
Nonna's apple cake

photo:

grocery shopping in Verona, Italy

June 2015

Sunday Dinner with i Nonni (il menu`)

primo

pasta alla puttanesca

secondo

pollo al forno con rosmarino (baked chicken with rosemary)

panzanella (panzanella salad)

pure` di patate (mashed potatoes)

dolce

sorbetto al lampano fatto in casa (homemade raspberry sorbet)

espresso

digestivo

limoncello fatto in casa (homemade limoncello)

The Sunday Test Kitchen

This past Sunday I was looking at a free afternoon with nothing to do. To be sure, there's always something I could be doing, but for the first time in a while there was nothing urgent ... pending ... looming.


So I did something that I've been wanting to do for a long, long time. Something that would ultimately make my life easier. Something that, while not earth-shattering, would make me happy.


Quite simply, I organized my recipes.


I threw open the kitchen windows, sat down at the table, and fortified with a frothy cappuccino proceeded to consolidate, organize, arrange, sort, catalog, eliminate and systemize a massive pile of recipe cards, scraps of paper, torn pages from magazines, and snippets of this and fragments of that.


After the dust settled this is what was left: a pocket folder with recipes that I plan on trying, and a huge binder filled with recipes that have made the grade. That binder is the Who's Who in the recipe world of my kitchen ... only the best of the best make it in there. Thirteen tabs (appetizers, soups, contorni, main dishes, salads, panini, pasta, etc.), with the last section containing a collection of complete menus from past parties (la festa di S. Giuseppe, canal cruise picnic, graduation dinner, Christmas parties, etc.) which I use as a reference point for planning future events.


And thus was my Sunday afternoon.


Like I said, not earth-shattering ... but gosh darn it felt good.

One pile of many ... all sorted and systemized.

Back to the (Pepper) Grind

Well. After weeks of big meals, clever leftovers and invites here and there, we are ready to get back to our normal routine. We will not be easing into Monday, but meeting it fully head on, and after late nights and sleeping in I foresee a case of the grumpies by 5 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Even our college student, who has an 8 a.m. class three days a week this semester, is in for a rude awakening ... literally. And just to mix things up, I am doing a three day detox. But more on that later.

Anyway. Meal planning. This week I didn't assign a meal for a specific night; rather, I made a list of seven meals and tomorrow I will shop for all the necessary ingredients. Then, depending on our schedules, each morning I will decided what we're having for dinner. No muss, no fuss.

1. Sloppy Joes w. carrot "fries"

2. Chinese Chicken and Rice (Eat Clean Cookbook p. 162)

3. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Thyme Sauce (Best of Cooking Light Magazine, Apr. 2013)

4. Homemade Pizza; Root Beer Floats

5. Scaloppine di pollo; cooked greens (Jamie Oliver's cookbook, Jamie's Italy, p. 11); creamy polenta

6. Pasta with Lentil Bolognese (http://www.italianfoodforever.com/2014/01/pasta-with-lentil-bolognese/)

7. Minestrone (Nonna's recipe) w. homemade crusty bread

 

Summertime Menu Planning

Summertime is here, and while this means relaxed schedules for everyone, we still have to eat ... which means I still have to plan meals.

As many of you already know, I am a big believer in planning meals; in fact, I've written on this very subject here, here, and here.

But what I've never shared is how I do menu planning during the summer months. In some ways summertime menu planning is easier because without school, sports, or carpooling I'm not limited to pockets of time. I can pick when I want to go to the grocery store and cook meals at leisure. During the summer days are longer, meals are spaced out, and the availability of fresh produce means lighter meals which can be prepared much more quickly (see Beating the Heat in an Italian Kitchen).

But menu planning also becomes more complicated because of all that free time; in other words, the boys are home. All day. And they like to eat. A lot.

So I need to be organized.

While the basic idea of my summertime menu planning stays the same ( i.e. PLAN THE MEALS), the how, when, and what changes slightly. For example, when planning during the school year I start with the family calendar and plan meals according to what is on our schedule for a particular day. During the summer, however, I make a list of meals I plan to cook that week, grocery shop to make sure I have everything on hand, but keep it as an informal list. Each morning I look at the list and, depending on my mood, pick a meal.

What also changes is that I include lunch ideas on my weekly list. This is not to say I plan meals for lunches, too, (what? you think I'm crazy?), but I do list some ideas that differ from the standard packed lunches the boys get the rest of the year. For example, on this week's list I have grilled cheese sandwiches, English muffin pizzas, and cauliflower soup (always a favorite).

Listing lunch ideas also helps me clear the freezer and pantry. Go look in both; I just bet you have half packages of this and partial boxes of that. Using them for lunches is a perfect solution! This week I found three fish fillets in the freezer which were left over from a larger box, and while three fillets are not enough for a family dinner, they are perfect for three quick and delicious fish fillet sandwiches for three hungry guys.

Bottom line is this: menu planning (any time of the year!)  makes life easier, helps you work with a budget, and encourages healthier eating.

All benefits, to be sure.

Summertime menu planning:
Chinese chicken & rice (Eat Clean Cookbook, p. 162)

 

Menu Planning after a Week Off

Last week, when Joe was out of town, I kept meals simple (pancakes, grilled sandwiches, and even a mid-week meal at Panera's). This week, with everyone home and back on full schedules, I am a little more organized ...

Sunday:

Rosemary Chicken

Fr. Justin's Root Vegetable Puree

Carrot "fries"

Honeycrisp Apple Tart; espresso

Monday:

Spaghetti w/ tuna, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley

Caesar Salad

Homemade bread

 

Tuesday:

Spicy Beef and Bell Pepper Stir Fry (Cooking Light Magazine)

 

Wednesday:

Zucchini Frittata (Silver Spoon Cookbook)

Tossed Salad w/ vinaigrette dressing

Ciabatta Toast

 

Thursday:

Seafood Night

Bruschetta

 

Friday:

Pizza Night (homemade)

Raw Vegetable Platter

Rootbeer Floats

 

Saturday:

Lunch: Cauliflower Soup & Grilled Panini

Dinner: Chili; garden salad

Planning meals, and taking a little time to re-organize my recipe folders
 in order to make use of the pretty binders I recently purchased.

Bumping Meals

Here's the best thing about menu planning: if something comes up and you don't use one of the planned meals, then that meal carries over to the next week.

For example, last week a dental appointment lasted longer than usual, so that night we had Leftovers Night, which basically meant heating up any and all leftovers (and with menu planning there are always leftovers) and setting up a buffet. Everyone chose what they wanted. The menu originally planned for that night was bumped, which not only means a meal is already planned for this week, but that all the ingredients are on hand.

Finally, here's the tip of the week: Establish a tradition with a specific meal. For example, when I was growing up whenever my mother fixed spaghetti for dinner, we always ate by candlelight. Always.

Buon Appetito!

Monday

pasta al tonno (spaghetti w. tuna, olive oil, & lemon)

garden salad

apple crostata (bumped from last week)

 

Tuesday

scaloppine di pollo

creamy polenta

cooked greens (inspired by Jamie Oliver's book, Jamie's Italy, p. 11)

 

Just got this book over the weekend and Jamie does
a fantastic job of capturing the essence of Italian Cuisine.
Beautiful photographs and insightful commentary.

 

Wednesday

homemade pizza (bumped from last week)

carrots w. Ranch dressing

dessert

 

Thursday

Halibut Meuniere (Cooking Light Magazine)

grilled zucchini w. sea salt (Cooking Light Magazine)

 

Friday

Taco Soup (Aunt Laura's recipe)

tortilla chips

 

Saturday

lunch: turkey-hummas pitas (bumped from last week)

dinner:  grilled hamburgers, baked beans, carrot "french fries", chips

 

Sunday

late lunch at Nonna & Nonno's (yeah! no cooking for me!)

 

What's Cooking?

Since the start of school I have been very, very diligent about planning our menus. Although everyone organizes and plans differently, this is what works for me ...

I usually plan our meals on Saturday for the coming week. Saturday afternoons are perfect because chores are done, and while the boys (big and small) are watching college football I sit at the kitchen table (with a cappuccino) and surround myself with cookbooks, magazines, my laptop, and the family calendar. The calendar is important because if, for example, there is an afternoon practice then I know to keep dinner simple (and quick) that night.

When planning I use two sheets of paper: one is for listing menu ideas for every day of the week, and the other is my grocery list which I make out as I go. I like to do my grocery shopping at some point over the weekend, if not I do it first thing Monday morning.

Although I assign a meal to a specific night, when things come up (and believe me, they do!) it is no problem switching meals since I already have everything on hand.

That being said, here's this week's menu list:

Monday

Chili

Garden Salad (inspired by the Olive Garden)

Macedonia (fruit salad)

Tuesday

Chicken Caesar Panini

Cauliflower soup

Wednesday (breakfast for dinner)

French toast with cinnamon apple compote (Cooking Light Magazine)

Thursday

Chinese Chicken and Rice (Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, p. 162)

Wonton Dessert Snacks (substitute lemon yogurt w. lemon sorbet)

Friday

homemade pizza

carrots w. Ranch dressing 

Root Beer Floats

Saturday

lunch: turkey-hummus pitas (Cooking Light Magazine)

dinner: OKTOBERFEST!!

Sunday (w. Nonna and Nonno ... our turn)

Chicken Cacciatore

garlic mashed potatoes

roasted "carrot fries"

apple crostata (inspiration from Mrs. Paproth and Ina Garten)

espresso

Nonno and Timothy
Enjoying fresh picked cherries
Tuscany, Italy
June 2006