Meal Planning

One more week 'til Christmas, and my freezer and pantry are significantly less crowded.  Here is what I have to use up this week from the fridge:  a couple cups of baby spinach, a couple cups of cubed sweet potato, and about half a cup of chopped green bell pepper.  Here is what I'm making:

Thai Green Curry
This will use up the cubed sweet potato and chopped bell pepper.  I also have a small stockpile of tofu in the fridge from my last trip to Whole Foods (it costs 50% less than at Meijer since you can get store-brand tofu from Whole Foods), which this will dip into.  I hate buying fresh basil in winter, but I do have a coupon for fresh herbs, and I think that's almost all I need to buy for this.

Black Bean Burgers on Honey-Oat Buns and Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Leftover Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I still have a bag of frozen black bean burgers in the freezer, so I'm making them again.  I'm making honey-oat buns for them this time because it's how the local restaurant serves them and will allow me to skip buying pretzel rolls.  I have about four organic sweet potatoes in the pantry from my last trip to Whole Foods, and the fries will use up one of them.  As the freezer has gotten emptier, I've found some small containers of frozen soup, so we'll eat those for our leafy green vegetable. 

Tofu Po'Boy Sandwiches on French Bread with Vegan Remoulade Sauce and Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip
I have plenty of tofu and Cajun spice blend and fixins for these sandwiches.  They might even use up the pickle chips in the fridge.  The tomatoes and lettuce I need to buy will work for both these sandwiches and the black bean burgers, so I might be able to avoid any leftovers.

Pita Pizzas and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip
The pita pizzas will use up some of the herbed feta in the fridge as well as most of the rest of the fresh baby spinach.  I think I already have a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto in the pantry.

Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips and Cinnamon Squash Chowder and Buffalo Hummus with Celery Sticks and Leftover Pita Bread
I'm skipping the squash mac 'n cheeze I usually make with this meal since I'm making the squash chowder, which Simran actually likes better lately.

Stir-fried Veggies & Seitan with Brown Rice
I've been making this weekly for a little while now, and it's really good.  A much better recipe than I've made before -- with seasoned sesame oil and peanut oil and liquid aminos and honey and ginger and garlic pastes.  I need to actually write it down.

Red Lentil & Squash Curry Stew and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I still have a fair amount of chopped delicata and butternut squash in my freezer, and I like this stew.  The last time I made it, I also made cheese & onion pasties, which was pretty much all Simran condescended to eat, so I'm making grilled cheese this time to go with the stew.