Meal Planning

I ordered from Instacart for the first time on Saturday because we were down to our last bits of fruit and greens and because I'm sort of afraid of the grocery store now.  So we have some things, though not all the things, so it's time to plan some meals.  I've been sticking pretty strictly to my meal plans, though at least one night per week has ended up being "eat the leftovers" night because we can't always finish them at lunch and I don't want to throw anything away.  Last night I made a loaf of sourdough bread and we had those tofu salad sandwiches with broccoli sprouts again, so we've still got some bread.  Tonight we had veggie tacos with fresh guacamole in honor of still having broccoli sprouts plus the new cilantro and mushrooms and tomatoes and avocados from the Instacart delivery.  Here is the fresh stuff we have on hand to use ASAP:  the rest of the cilantro, the rest of the mushrooms, a large container of spring greens, some tomatoes, and a few avocados.  Here is what I'm going to make:

Vegetable Tagine (The How Not to Die Cookbook, pg. 124) over Quinoa
This will use up the remaining mushrooms, cilantro, and the container of chopped red onion and green bell pepper in the freezer I had originally set aside for Creole Red Beans & Rice.  I'll have to make some broth first too, but aside from the parsley, which may or may not still be fresh, I have everything for that.

Homemade Pizza  and Garlic Knots and Green Salad
Simran's birthday dinner Tuesday night.

Black Bean Burgers on Pretzel Rolls 
I'm getting quite sick of these, but there are more burgers in the freezer still, plus I still have the vegan chipotle mayo I made last time (which is really the best part of these burgers), and this will use up some avocado, lettuce, and tomato.

Garden Pretzel Sandwich
To use up the rest of the pretzel rolls from the previous night, as well as some of the homemade vegan basil pesto mayo and fresh veg in the fridge.

Green Bean Casserole and Boxed Mashed Potatoes and Veg Chik'n Tenders
After Simran's birthday, I will have some milk or half and half or something left over from making ice cream, so I can use that to make the mashed potatoes.  The green bean casserole will use up some of the sour cream in the fridge.

Tofu Pot Pie

Vegan Methi Chicken Curry and Basmati Rice 
I can make this from just ingredients we keep on hand.  It's better with fresh cilantro though, so I might save it until after I have fresh cilantro again, unless the cilantro is still fresh come Wednesday.  I tried freezing cilantro last week but it looks pretty questionable.  I'm not sure if it would make the dish better or worse.

Idli-Sambar
Again, only in need of fresh cilantro to make this.  I have a good amount of cashew yogurt to use up, which I put in both the methi chik'n curry and in the sambar.

Pasta Primavera with Pesto Alfredo  
This would use up any remaining half and half or whole milk too.  I'm out of frozen broccoli, so this would be better after I go to the other local grocery store and stock up on all the frozen produce and fresh greens I couldn't get from Instacart over the weekend, presumably later this week.  

Vegan Shepherd's Pie 

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls
An easy meal we can make any day now that I have a jar of marinara and don't have to invest the time in learning to make some.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Bisque
Because I can always make bread again (as long as I have 36 hours notice), and I have three big cans of tomatoes in my house, which is comforting.

Creole Red Beans & Rice
I could substitute the red bell pepper in my freezer for the green I'd normally use in this and it would be fine.