Would you be more excited if this post was a recipe? I might. Life has been/is going to get super hectic, and I was contemplating discontinuing the weekly dinner plan posts, for fear of looking like I don’t have my dinner planning together. As I mulled over this strategy with Steve, he took the position of devil’s advocate (not shocked), and suggested that posting a dinner plan in the midst of my busiest times is precisely what makes the topic relatable. Ugh. Fine–he wins.
Life is rarely perfect and basically has no regard for the fact that we’re trying to get dinner on the table almost every night, whether it be for one, two, four, or seven mouths. I do my best to put together a plan, and lately, I have not always stuck to that plan. I have unanticipated leftovers. I just can’t bring myself to cook. I have so much to do that I’ll deal with the financial and/or nutritional burden of packaged or takeout food for one night. Is anyone with me in reminding myself that all of that is completely okay? If so, feel free to raise your hand (but don’t blame me for any resulting embarrassment if you’re in a public place), breathe a sigh of relief, just appreciate the fact that we have so many dang choices about what to eat for dinner, and that the issue isn’t will there be food for dinner. #perspective
Also, to continue the theme of not being perfect, this week’s dinner board photo is taken with my iPhone, because there’s no rule that you can’t snap some camera phone photos for your blog even after joining the ranks of real camera owners. Can you tell I’m feeling a bit nonconformist this week?
Below you’ll find all the details of what I have planned, and I also wanted to give you some ideas for meatless Monday! Here are a few of my favorites, both from my own archives and a few other food blog world favorites:
I Love Meatless Monday (or any day; everything here also happens to be gluten-free)
- Caramelized Onion Tart with Potato Crust
- Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins (from Pinch of Yum)
- Portobello Fresca Melts
- Spicy Vegan PB Tofu (from Kalyn’s Kitchen)
- Thai Eggplant Salad and Rice
- Quinoa Avocado Tabbouleh (from Tori Avey fka The Shiksa)
This week’s dinners:
- Monday: Lentil soup (from freezer–didn’t get to it last week); homemade parmesan croutons (bread from freezer); sour cream
- Tuesday: Cauliflower pasta with ricotta and peas…a weeknight favorite
- Wednesday: Falafel (Joy of Cooking recipe), Swiss chard and mushroom sautee, tzatziki sauce (from my eCookbook)
- Thursday: Beef stew, to use red wine and homemade beef stock
- Friday: Leftovers or takeout (I think Indian food might be in the cards)
- Saturday: Loaded fried rice; teriyaki tofu and shrimp
- Football snack: Sweet potato skins–toppings TBD
Speaking of football snacks, you might have caught the BBQ black bean jalapeno poppers I posted on Insta today. A little inspiration from the Pioneer Woman, plus a little vegetarian-izing, and they turned out so good! I promise you the recipe (including a few quickly snapped photos I took with barbecue sauced fingers today) no later than Friday evening, on time for college and Sunday NFL games.
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