Meal Planning

We're having wet weather today, so Simran and I are putting off our grocery shopping until at least tomorrow.  That means dinner tonight has to come from things we have 100% on hand at home.  As always before grocery shopping, I did a clean-out of the fridge and took inventory of what needs to be used up (I'm telling you this because I assume if you're bothering to read about my meal planning you are curious as to how I do it. If I am wrong but you want to know what I'm making, you can skip to the list by just looking at the bold faced meal names below).  This is what I base a good portion of my meal selections on -- using things up (I realize this is how most people meal plan, but I've only ever found "how to" descriptions from meat eaters who simply explain how they manage to use up a whole chicken over the course of a week -- FoodNetwork had an entire show devoted to it).  The other thing I tend to take into account is using up whatever fresh produce I'm buying this week (e.g., if I buy fresh spinach, I end up with way too much spinach for one dish, so I plan enough spinachy meals to use it up -- this is particularly important when it's an item that won't typically keep more than a week, like spinach). 

This week we have in the fridge:  flour tortillas in both burrito and fajita sizes, extra broccoli I didn't use last week along with a couple handfuls of baby carrots that won't be fresh much longer, some sliced green and red bell peppers that didn't get used up because I bought six bell peppers last week, and half a dozen miniature whole wheat pita pockets.  Here's what I'm making:

Stir-fry:  I'm making stir-fry tonight because I have all the ingredients necessary on hand.  The aforementioned broccoli, baby carrots (I'll just slice them each once length-wise -- better to use them this way than let them go to waste), and sliced bell peppers.  There is a little tofu in my freezer leftover from last week's spicy vegetable curry and the last of a batch of homemade seitans already thawed in my fridge since making spaghetti last night.  I always keep brown rice on hand, and I think we have canned water chestnuts and baby corn too.  Done.

Seven Layer Tortilla Pie with Red Cabbage Slaw:  This recipe calls for seven tortillas (one of the things I wanted to use up) and is delicious, so that's why I'm making it.  It also calls for salsa, which I always seem to have on hand despite no one in our house ever eating it outside recipes, and fresh cilantro, which only ever gets used up if I use it in multiple dishes like I'm doing this week.  The slaw calls for red cabbage and carrots, and will use up a good portion of the leftover plain yogurt already in the fridge.

Creamy Avocado and White Bean Wraps with Zucchini-Spinach Soup:  Sameer doesn't believe soup or sandwiches are dinner, so when I make them, I make them together.  It's a lot of work for something he doesn't like all that much, but I love sandwiches, and I like having leftover soup in the freezer for last-minute lunches.  This recipe will use up the last of the tortillas (I'm not bothering to buy wraps) as well as more of the red cabbage, which always requires multiple recipes to use up since a head of cabbage is enormous (I often get a tiny bag of the pre-shredded stuff, but it's more expensive and significantly less fresh).  The zucchini-spinach soup will use up however much of the spinach isn't used for pita pizzas.  It's also a Simran-level-healthy recipe and something she can easily eat with us.

Pita Pizzas:  We had these last week, but it left us with pita pockets and feta to use up.  They're good enough to have two weeks in a row, and they're really quick and easy, which is nice since Sameer's dentist appointment this Thursday afternoon won't leave a lot of time or energy for cooking.


Veggie Burgers with Artichoke-Bean Dip and crudites:  We still have two boxes of Morningstar veggie burgers in the freezer and don't need that many on hand, so we'll have those on fresh homemade rolls with whatever cheese and vegetable fixins we feel like.  The artichoke-bean dip is another Simran-level-healthy recipe that she can easily eat because it's pureed.  This is a reasonable Friday night dinner (meaning it doesn't require too much effort) if I make the rolls Thursday afternoon/evening and chop the crudites Friday morning or earlier. 

Penne a la Vodka?  We typically keep the ingredients for this dish on hand -- Tofurky Italian sausage, a jar  of vodka sauce, whole wheat penne rigate, and whatever random vegetables are leftover from other things.  We might end up having this meal Saturday or Sunday or not at all. 

As always, we also have a frozen pizza and ingredients for making spaghetti.