This week I’ve kind of been a disaster. I’m not sure exactly what I was doing when I made the menu for the week… side note…today I went on a free Menchie’s run (It’s National Froyo Day and they gave away 6oz for free) and I got laughed at for making a weekly menu for dinners. Let me tell you something. I like going to the grocery store as much as the next person but I have a system for getting it done in one go because I don’t have the time nor inclination to go after work. Here’s how it goes.
- I open up the pantry, fridge and freezer and see what’s in there. Is there anything I ought to use? What could it be part of?
- Is the any cookbook or Pinterest recipe calling me?
- Is there a variety of meats including a meat light night?
- Is that time on Sunday for a long cooking dish?
- Do all the dinners transform into lunches?
Once I’ve gone through those things and listing what I need to make them I fill in breakfast items and items to round out lunches and head to the store. The whole thing takes an hour or two from blank paper to back in the door with bags in tow. As I’ve said before we cook roughly 5 nights a week and I don’t get too many complaints. I also pack lunches while I get together my breakfast in the morning for myself and Z. We are lucky to be able to eat together almost every day. 
Anyway, back to dinner. I’ve been a bit of chaos this week, not the right dinners to achieve lunches in a quick easy way and no bread for sandwiches either. But I did manage one good one-out of one of the cookbooks for this year’s 52 Cookbooks challenge. The book is Crêpes by Lou Seibert Pappas and is a single topic volume all about the delicious thin pan-fried cakes. There are lots of options and varieties along with a big variety of fillings-very accessible to a home cook. I realize most people wouldn’t necessarily have a crepe pan but I think any non-stick skillet would work ok. The benefit of a crepe pan is low sides for the flip. Last night I made regular old crêpes out of regular flour. They turned out pretty well, thin with a bit of tender chew-I couldn’t get any golden bits for some reason-my stove can be touchy but they were fairly well done. I filled them up with a lovely bechamel turned mornay sauce with shredded gruyere and diced country ham. I served them folded alongside arugula dressed in a nice acidic capery vinaigrette-the salad cutting the richness of the dish. It was a yummy dinner and it made for a great lunch too. Good on that-twice!
My Urban Pantry 
Don’t let the bullies get you down 😉 I also make a weekly food plan similar to yours, but I normally only cook one full meal a week and eat off that for a while, interspersing other things to keep it interesting. I also include any “extra” cooking I’ll need to do, like when I take food to friends or events. I love the grocery store, but I read a while back that frequent trips actually make you spend more, so there’s a financial bonus to planning, as well.
LikeLike