Does anyone else have this issue? You plan out the meals for the week, but then you get a call from an old friend… she’s in town and hosting a barbeque. Or perhaps your in-laws stop by for an early celebration of your wedding anniversary and they ask to take you out to dinner.
Such was the case for me last week. And I’m never going to say no to (a) a chance to socialize with loved ones while (b) snarfing down free food that I don’t have to prepare. But such unexpected windfalls, coupled with the sheer size and volume of last week’s lasagna, means I’m still working with the Week 1 menu plan.
So this week’s plan is considerably more… modest. Especially since my husband and I recently worked out a deal: I get two nights out a week to write, so he’s responsible for some dinners! (His cooking requirements: fast and easy.)
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Breakfasts: Greek yogurt with sliced fruit and honey, or pesto cream cheese on bagels (We are blessed to live four blocks from an excellent bakery, which is where I get the bagels. For pesto cream cheese, I just make Mark Bittman’s classic pesto and then add two 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese to the food processor.)
Dinner #1: homemade pizza with pesto sauce, topped with shrimp (pre-cook), chèvre, artichoke hearts, and sliced red pepper
Dinner #2: BLTAs with tossed green salad (The added “A” in the BLT is for avocado–delicious!)
Dinner #3: Grilled Flank Steak with corn, tomatoes, and chimichurri sauce (an eats-like-a-meal salad)
Dinner #4: Tater Tot Casserole (I add shredded vegetables to mine, and I also use a homemade “cream of whatever” soup mix)
Kate Diamond, Author 
Find a way to incorporate what you were planning to eat into the options that you have when you go out. Had a salad on your menu, but now going to a restaurant? Consider the extra money you spend to be the cost of socializing, but keep your food choice as close as possible to what you have at home. Also don’t be afraid to take something along to the BBQ that you can eat.
My friend brought a DELICIOUS salad to the BBQ last week (we’re actually using the same CSA, so I recognized many of the veggies she used). Our grill-master had all kinds of tasty main dishes (I had a veggie burger). And I discovered the magic of S’mores made with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
I’ve so been wanting to try tater tot casserole, but can’t figure out a way to make it vegetarian while still having protein. Without the meat it just turns into cheesy potatoes (more of a side dish). 😦
I had ingredients and recipes out for about three weeks before I finished my one week of meal planning. Such is summer. Always a better offer!
KaraAnne, I’ve never seen a recipe for vegetarian tater tot casserole that involved a viable protein. Could you incorporate beans or tofu? Please let me know if you come up with a solution! I’d love to have your recipe.
This is a great blog Kate! I missed seeing you start it, but happy to follow – and you can freeze chard and beet greens. I chop the stems into little dice, and freeze them in a small bag or small container – they’re easy to toss into any stir-fry or saute when you want them. Then I rinse and puree the leaves in my food processor, uncooked. It looks like a pesto but doesn’t have anything else in it. I put the past in small containers – the type that holds about 1/3 cup – and whenever I’m making anything w/red sauce or a hearty soup, I pop one of those little containers of already pureed chard in and cook it up. I was feeling so guilty about all the beet greens going to waste, I figured out how to do this.
Anna, great idea! Thanks! I will have to try that with the chard. (I just learned how to freeze cabbage: life-changing.) I’m all about soups and stews in the fall and winter. (I’d do it year-round if my other family members would let me get away with it.)
I think my husband would be crushed, though, if I didn’t make beet greens his preferred method–just sautéing them with minced garlic as soon as they come home. It’s his favorite part of the CSA!