This week has seemed busier than usual, which is why I'm especially glad that I took the time to do a little meal planning this weekend. It doesn't often happen in my house, and we usually end up at Publix at least 4 times per week, scrambling and starving after a long day of work and daycare, but this week we've only been once (so far)! The key was to cook two roast chickens on Sunday, so I could use the leftover chicken in recipes all week, or at least the first part of the week. It's now Thursday and we have used all the chicken within the 3-4 day window for leftovers, so I think we made just the right about.
Here is how we did it:
On Sunday, rather than roasting just one chicken like I normally do, I roasted two. I always follow Ina's perfect roast chicken recipe, and it, as the name implies, turns out perfectly every time. The only difference is that I rub my birds with olive oil instead of butter, and this time I sliced sweet potatoes and onions to put in the bottom of the pan. I drizzled the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. My sweet husband wanted mashed potatoes, so he made a bunch and set aside half to make dairy-free. For the dairy-free version, he just added some almond milk, salt & pepper and olive oil. That night we feasted on roast chicken, veggies, mashed potatoes and lots of gravy. I carved the remainder of the chickens and cubed the meat, and set aside for the rest of the week. Also, while the chicken was cooking, I chopped up all the veggies for Monday night's dinner so that it would be ready to go.
On Monday, we made a dairy-free cottage pie based on this recipe. We modified the filling a bit and used the leftover (dairy-free) mashed potatoes as the topping rather than a crust. Here is what we did:
Dairy-Free Cottage Pie
Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. flour (we use white-wheat)
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. almond milk
1-2 cups frozen peas
approx. 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2-3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 and heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the saucepan, and once hot, sauté the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook about 5-10 minutes until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are mostly cooked, but still a little crunchy (they will keep cooking in the oven). Add the thyme, sage, poultry seasoning and flour. Allow the flour to cook 1-2 minutes, then add the chicken broth, almond milk, frozen peas, and leftover chicken. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, and top with mashed potatoes. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
On Tuesday, I had high hopes of making a basil pesto to serve over pasta, leftover chicken, and broccoli, but I ended up not having the energy for all that. Instead, I cooked some pasta and sautéed a package of white mushrooms in some olive oil, dumped a jar of pasta sauce on top, and added a package of spinach and a cup or two of leftover chicken. It was simple, tasty, and required very little work from me.
On Wednesday, we ate rice bowls topped with a yummy cilantro avocado tahini sauce (note - I added a clove of garlic and 1-2 tbsp. olive oil). After I made the sauce, I threw a bag of our trusty Trader Joe's organic brown rice into the microwave, then prepped the broccoli. I chopped a head of broccoli up and put it in a microwave-safe dish, added 1 tbsp. water, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I cooked it covered in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. To assemble, I divided the rice among three bowls, added the remainder of our leftover chicken (I didn't bother to heat it up, and just added it straight from the fridge), and topped with the broccoli and sauce. Delish, and ready in about 15 minutes.
Tonight, rather than go to the store to buy more meat, I plan to make falafel from ingredients I already have in my pantry. I would love to try the quinoa version of the falafel, but I don't feel like making quinoa tonight, don't have any of that egg-replacer stuff and I just so happen to have some organic bread crumbs in my pantry. I'll serve them in pitas with lettuce, tomato and leftover cilantro avocado tahini sauce. I've never made falafel before, so wish me luck!
Tomorrow is Friday, which means it is steak night in my household. I'll head over to B&G at lunch, grab a couple steaks, then pick up some kale and sweet potatoes at the store. We'll bake the sweet potatoes in the oven (400 degrees for about an hour). Then, while my husband grills the steaks, I'll sauté the kale with a couple cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt. Can't wait!
What is everyone else cooking for dinner this week? I need inspiration!
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