Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I tweaked last week's meal plan a little bit in order to use up the rest of the green cabbage without having to make chilli garlic noodles again this week.  My fridge is currently packed with food, thanks in part to getting takeout from a new local Indo-Chinese restaurant and in part to my not paying much attention to what was already in there when I went shopping last week.  I'm aiming to use up as much as possible in this next week to clear it back out.  I currently have the following to use up:  3 lbs baby red potatoes, too many carrots, a crown of brown cut into florets, the better part of two celery hearts, a can of chickpeas I opened thinking it was cannellini beans because I wasn't paying attention, two hearts of Romaine lettuce, half a green cabbage shredded, almost a pound and a half of fresh baby spinach, and three avocados.  Here is what I'm planning to make:

Vegan Mashed Potatoes and Vegan Fried Chicken and Sauteed Cabbage and Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip
This is what I'm making tonight.  I made mashed potatoes out of all three pounds of the baby red potatoes, leaving the skin on because they're organic and tiny and it saves time and nutrition.  The sauteed cabbage will use up the last of the green cabbage, as well as prepare any leftovers for tomorrow night's Bubble & Squeak.  I already made the ranch dip, and can serve it with some of my broccoli and numerous carrots.

Bubble & Squeak and Vegan Sausages
I really like this dish and haven't made it in years.  It'll be extra easy since I'll have leftover mashed potatoes and sauteed cabbage from tonight.  I like Bubble & Squeak with a fried egg on top.  I've been meaning to try this vegan sausage recipe forever. 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie and Vegetable Barley Soup
This will be a good Halloween meal since I can make it all in advance and just heat it up when we're ready to eat -- no need to miss any of the trick-or-treat action.  The shepherd's pie will use up any remaining mashed potatoes from the previous two nights (hopefully there will be enough), some of the carrots and some of the celery.  The soup will use up the chickpeas and again some of the carrots and celery.

Rigatoni alla Anthony  
This is a quick and easy dish that will use up about a pound of spinach, as well as some of the pasta in my pantry. 
  
Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach & Goat Cheese and Wild Rice Pilaf and Sauteed Carrots
I haven't made these mushrooms in awhile, and they will use up some of the spinach.  There is WAY too much wild rice in the pantry, so I'll make a pilaf.

Zucchini 'Crab' Cakes and Cheese Fries and Green Salad with Homemade Ranch Dip
I have some French fries in the freezer that this will use up, as well as the Romaine and a good part of the ranch dip.

Avocado Grilled Enchiladas with Red Chile Pesto with  Black Beans
I'm going to try making my own chipotle salsa this time around.  I haven't seen the Morningstar chik'n strips meal starters in awhile, so I'm going to use the leftover seitan from tonight's vegan fried chicken (I won't have enough batter to fry all of it anyway).

Spaghetti & Veggie Meatballs in Marinara
This is just instant food I have in the pantry and freezer.  We've had so many leftovers lately and gotten takeout at least once a week for a few weeks that I don't want to go overboard on shopping.  This is my "just in case" meal.