Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  We're all finally recovering from our holiday bout of the flu.  Sameer and I aren't at 100% yet, but as of last week we've been well enough to cook regularly again and eat normal amounts. 

There is some cut tofu leftover in my fridge from last week's summer rolls (which I made to take advantage of the basil that's finally flourishing in the AeroGarden).  There is also half a whole wheat demi baguette leftover from last week's hearty veggie hoagies that may or may not still be good -- I have to check.  There's a bunch of leftover broccoli soup in the fridge, though I finished off the potato skins, which finished off the last of the russet potatoes in the pantry.  There is some plain non-fat yogurt in the fridge from when Sameer made yellow rice, so hopefully there is enough to make it into ranch dressing.  Then I can marinate and fry the leftover tofu into firecracker tofu to serve with it.  There is half a brick of diced paneer in the freezer which I'd like to thaw and make into saag paneer this week.  It'll also utilize some of the heavy cream that was supposed to become the ganache coating for the Yule log that we weren't well enough to make or eat.  We're having reasonably warm winter days today through Wednesday, but then it'll be QUITE cold, so I might make Indian food Thursday because that sounds pleasantly warming.  I'm only planning today through Thursday right now because that's what I did last week and then planned Friday and Saturday based on what we had at that point and what I felt like making and eating, and I think this might lead to less food waste.  I end up at the grocery store at least twice a week anyway.  Here is what I'm making this week:

Leftover Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup and DIY Sandwiches
Between the half demi baguette and the few remaining slices of sourdough bread, I think we can put together enough sandwiches for tonight.  There is probably still vegetarian bologna and pepperoni in the fridge, plus cheese both vegan and dairy, and some random vegetables.  There might also be bacon-style tempeh, which means we have everything for a vegan BLT.  I don't want the soup to go to waste, so this seems a good day to use up leftovers.  Sameer says he'll have leftover enchiladas from last night.

Firecracker Tofu and Gardein Chik'n Tenders (normal and "Nashville hot") and Homemade Ranch Dressing and celery sticks and Green Salad
I'm basically hoping to emulate the buffalo shrimp salad at Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House except with tofu.  I think their salad might have some kind of (candied?) nuts on it too and maybe blue cheese.  I need to take a look at the menu.  It is a rich, delicious salad that I bet I could make a healthier version of.  I've added the Gardein prepared faux meats to our meal plan mostly for Simran's sake and because we already have them and because I'm not sure we'll have enough tofu for three people.  (Okay I looked up the buffalo shrimp salad from Hugo's.  It's got mixed greens, corn, blue cheese crumbles, ranch dressing, and "spicy pecans."  I just need to make spicy pecans.  I'm not going to buy pecan halves just for this.  I have pecan pieces in the pantry that need to be used up that should work.  May or may not skip the corn.)

Vegetarian Kielbasa with Sauerkraut and Mashed Potatoes and Shaved Brussels Sprouts
This barely counts as cooking since most of it is already prepared, but I want to use up the Tofurky brand kielbasa and I'm not sure I'll be able to eat it all on my own even though I bought it for myself.  If Sameer and Simran hate it, we have other things like chik'n tenders in the freezer, and the mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts are neutral things we all like.

Saag Paneer and Dal Makhani and Naan and Basmati Rice and Mango Sorbet
I'm planning to make naan just to use up some of the whole wheat pastry flour in the pantry and because I already used up the prepared naan from the freezer the last time we had saag paneer (which was truly fantastic and unexpectedly easy).  The mango sorbet this time will be a can of unsweetened Kesar mango pulp + fresh lime juice + 1 tsp raw agave nectar run through the blender and then ice cream maker.  I've made this before with frozen thawed mango of a couple different varieties and the lime and agave and it's fantastic, so I'm just experimenting with what I can swap out and still have it work since frozen mango is becoming increasingly hard to find.