Meal Planning

Traditionally (meaning I also did this last year) I've focused on cleaning out my fridge, freezer, and pantry in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This week should make my freezer pretty close to empty.  Here is what I'm making:

Vegetarian Reubens and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I have a sliced loaf of pumpernickel leftover from Thanksgiving, so this seemed like a good use of it.  I also have three bags of frozen broccoli in my freezer that can contribute toward the soup.

Cheese Pizza and Green Salad
I have a couple homemade pizza doughs in the freezer, plus pizza sauce and mozzarella in the fridge.  I also have fresh ranch dressing and romaine in the fridge, so I actually don't need to buy anything for this meal.

Black Bean Burgers and Crudites
I have some more black bean burgers premade in my freezer that I'd like to get rid of, plus a couple whole wheat hamburger buns.  I also have some baby carrots and broccoli florets and fresh ranch dressing leftover from Thanksgiving for the crudites.

Vegetable Biryani and Dal Makhani
I haven't made this in months, but I think I have a lot of the ingredients, such as the urad dal, brown basmati rice, and a can of coconut milk I'd like to use up. 

Vegetarian Korma and Brown Basmati Rice
I have half a container of curry base in my freezer, so I'm going to make a half portion of the korma.  There is usually far more than we can eat anyway.  I'm hoping to use a lot of the same vegetables for both the korma and the biryani so that I don't have to deal with things like leftover cauliflower.

Tu-No Casserole and Leftover Soups
I found two containers of leftover soups in my freezer.  One seems to be minestrone based on the noodles, but I can't tell what the other is just on sight, so I'll thaw them and see.  The tu-no casserole will use up some more of my stockpile of quinoa elbow macaroni and some of the peas from my freezer.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, so here is what I'm making up through then.  Some of it is carry over because I got lazy and made makeshift dinners last week.

Vegan Pad Thai

Red Chile Cheese Enchiladas and Mexican Potato Salad and Red Cabbage Slaw

Veggie Pizza and Green Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Thanksgiving Dinner

Charred Chile Rellenos with Cilantro Lime Rice and Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Tofu Provencal and Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf and Pan-Steamed Asparagus with Lemon-Caper Mayonnaise

Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
 
 
 

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  We have some carry over from last week, as well as duplicates of meals from last week.  Here is what I'm making:


Seitan & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice 

Chik'n Piccata and Brown Rice Pilaf and Steamed Broccoli and Pan-Steamed Asparagus with Lemon-Caper Mayonnaise

Pasta Salad 

Veggie Club Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Vegan Pad Thai

Red Chile Cheese Enchiladas and Mexican Potato Salad and Red Cabbage Slaw

Thanksgiving 2015

I think it's just going to be the three of us this Thanksgiving, but as I do tend to feed on the leftovers for days, I'm making a whole mess of things I like.  Also UnTurkey, because it sounds insane and I can't resist trying every weird vegan meat recipe I find.  I want to be able to make almost everything (if not everything) in advance so that I don't have to waste the day in the kitchen, so I'm keeping that in mind too. 

Pumpernickel or Sourdough Bread Round with Homemade Ranch Dip and Crudites
If I manage to achieve a decent sourdough rye bread by Thanksgiving, I'll make that.  If not, I'll buy a bread round from the bakery section of the grocery store.  I find this makes a good light lunch for me and something for Sim (or guests, when we had guests) to nosh on until dinner is ready.

UnTurkey
I ventured to the big Asian supermarket for bean curd sheets yesterday, so I'm pretty much set to start cooking this now.  I want to get it done early and stash it in the freezer because I really hate cooking on holidays.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Because the best mashed potatoes tend to have lots of butter and cheese, I'm making whipped sweet potatoes.  The best whipped sweet potatoes I've found so far are just baked sweet potatoes that have been skinned and beaten with my mixer.  I'm trying something just slightly different this year and boiling the potatoes, then whipping them with a little homemade unsweetened soy yogurt.  I want to make some fresh yogurt with cashews anyway in the hopes of making a vegan cheesecake, and the cashew soy yogurt comes out a nice thickness and with a pleasant sweetness.  Sort of like Greek yogurt, which is what people on the internet suggest whipping into sweet potatoes.

Green Bean Casserole
This is one of my all-time favorite dishes, so I don't want to forgo making it just to keep the meal vegan or healthy.

Cranberry Waldorf Salad 

Candied Pears
I already have a can of pear halves taking up space in my pantry.  I just need to buy a jar of maraschino cherries to make this.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
I'm going to use the recipe from one of the few cookbooks I own, Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner.  I'll feel less guilty eating an entire cheesecake if it's not quite as unhealthy as traditional dairy cheesecake.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  We ate leftovers and whatever we had on hand a couple times this week, so I have some carry over.  I want to clear my freezer a bit so I can make my Thanksgiving UnTurkey well in advance and stash it in there.  Here is what I'm making this week:

Veggie Pizza and Green Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Pasta Salad 
I had forgotten Sameer was taking the week off of work, and since I primarily make this so he can take leftovers in his lunch, I delayed this one from last week.  I'm going to thaw some of the homemade vegan chik'n seitan I made to throw in here.  I've started incorporating sun-dried tomatoes (the no oil variety) too, which works nicely.

Seitan & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice 

Chik'n Piccata and Brown Rice Pilaf and Steamed Broccoli
I went on a spree of buying Gardein vegetarian mock meats the last time I saw a wide selection at a store, so I'm using the chicken scallopini (I think that's what it was called) currently in the back of my freezer for this.  For the pilaf, I think I'm just going to boil/steam some brown Basmati rice and serve the chik'n piccata on top of it so that the sauce and parsley mixes in to the rice and flavors it.  I also have multiple pounds of frozen broccoli in my freezer right now because, while I use it a lot, I've apparently bought it even more often, so that seemed like a reasonable green side.

Spaghetti with Vegan Meatballs and Green Salad
I still haven't made my own vegan meatballs -- I finally found dried soybeans at a store the other day -- but I have some Gardein ones to use up from the freezer.


Pav Bhaji
I have the better part of a bag of whole wheat hamburger buns that this should help use up.  It will also utilize the last of the Yukon Gold potatoes I bought to make stew.