Meal Planning

Things I have to use up: baby spinach, salad greens/cucumber/grape tomatoes/homemade vinaigrette, roma tomatoes, red bell pepper, red cabbage, and corn tortillas. Here is what I'm making (possibly, I don't know):

Green Enchilada Lasagna (I Can Cook Vegan, pg. 192)

I can use up the baby spinach and some of the corn tortillas on this and serve red cabbage slaw with it. And it's healthy.

Red Chile Enchiladas and Red Cabbage Slaw

I can maybe finish off the corn tortillas here and some more of the slaw.

Avocado Grilled Enchilada with Red Chile Pesto 

Red bell peppers and finish off the slaw.

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

Because it's easy, uses up beans, and will finish off my nonfat Greek yogurt.

Spinach & Feta Pita Bake

Because it's easy and we all like it.

Black Bean Burgers

To finish off the mushrooms the pita bake will require me to buy.

Meal Planning

 Time for meal planning. Here is what I'm making:

Catalan Sauteed Polenta with Spinach & Butter Beans

Green Enchilada Lasagna (I Can Cook Vegan, pg. 192)

[Edited 3/19/2024: I thought this was great. I ate it covered in pico de gallo (unpictured). I added black olives on top because Sim loves them and about a cup or two of spinach to the filling for the sake of using up some spinach and getting leafy greens in there, and I stand by both of those decisions. I can't imagine it changed the flavor much. I also made it oil free by cooking the tortillas and filling in a nonstick pan, which tends to improve the texture when sautéing things like squash.]

Seven-Layer Tortilla Pie

Soup & Sandwiches

Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans

I don't make this nearly as often as I list it on the meal plan, just because I want the reminder that I can make it quickly and without much effort. I do plan to make this dinner on Wednesday because we have lots of commitments that day and I won't have time to make much else.

I'd also like to make a salad to go with one or more dinners and try out this lemon vinaigrette recipe. 

Meal Planning

I haven't quite finished making everything from the last meal plan, but I need to go grocery shopping today, so I'm carrying it over to this week's meal plan and tacking on ideas at the end that could be easy to throw together. Here is what I'm making:

Instant Pot Garlic Mushrooms and Caulipots and Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce 

Baked Gobi Manchurian and Dal Lasooni and Rice

Adding this because I'll have cauliflower leftover from the caulipots. I'll make the dal lasooni from my massive bag of mung beans. [Edited 3/17/2024: I'm happy to report I effectively cooked rice and the dal in the same InstantPot. I included extra tomato sauce and water in the dal, and I used my new little stand thingy I bought for the InstantPot to hold up what basically looks like a stainless steel cake pan that I had filled with aged brown basmati rice and water. I just set it all to cook for 13 minutes (an appropriate amount for aged brown basmati) and let it steam quietly for a couple minutes after the pressure came down naturally because the rice was initially a bit too al dente for my taste, and then everything was great.]

My pot-in-pot setup tonight, with rice in a smaller tin and dal in the main compartment:

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

Because the cornbread will use up the last of my nonfat yogurt. 

Vegan Fried Chicken with ranch dip and Baked Beans and Various Veggie Sides

Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans

Penna alla Vodka with Veg Italian Sausage

Creole Red Beans & Brown Rice

Meal Planning

Time for meal planning. It's supposed to be 70 degrees outside tomorrow but then get back into highs in the 50s and 60s with rain later in the week. So I'll make something more summery tomorrow and soups/stews and oven baked meals are fine for the rest of the time. Here is what I've got to use up: plain Greek yogurt, two bags of shaved Brussels sprouts, two cooked sweet potatoes, enough chilli-garlic paste for one more round of chilli-garlic noodles, a red bell pepper and some leftover chopped green bell pepper and onion, most of a bag of russet potatoes, and some steamed asparagus. The Brussels sprouts will become Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce whenever I need a veggie side. For meals I'll be making:

Red Beans & Rice 

To use up the remaining diced bell pepper and onion, and to use up some more of the red beans from my previous Rancho Gordo Bean haul.

Air Fryer Tofu with Rice and Crunchy Asian Slaw

I mostly need a green cabbage and green onion for this. I'll make it tomorrow since it's a nice warm weather dinner.

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

This will use some more Rancho Gordo chili beans (maybe the Vaquero beans from the box I just got) and some of the yogurt for making the cornbread.

Chilli-Garlic Noodles

To use up the rest of the chilli-garlic paste and some if not all of the rest of the green cabbage.

Vegan Irish Sausages and Colcannon (The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg. 164)

If I have any cabbage leftover from the crunchy Asian slaw and chilli-garlic noodles, I'll finish it off with colcannon. I already have russet potatoes and probably just need a lemon to make this.

Penna alla Vodka with Veg Italian Sausage

To finish off the steamed asparagus and any other random veg that needs to be used up.

Spinach & Feta Pita Bake

A nice, reasonably healthy weekend dinner that I can pass off as pizza.

[Edited 3/5/2024: In case I need a couple more meals to finish out the week, I'd also like to try Instant Pot Garlic Mushrooms maybe with mashed potatoes steamed pot-in-pot style and some homemade rolls and a side veg. I'm trying to make things right now that won't be good options in a few months, either because it'll be too warm to crank up the oven (the rolls) or because they are things my MIL doesn't eat (in this case mushrooms) so I don't make them when she is here. I'd also enjoy Beyond Burgers (or maybe homemade black bean burgers) and cheese fries and green salad Saturday night.]