Meal plan: Week of June 1
Grilled meals and other easy to prep dishes
Also, as it's finally warming up, it's grill season with a vengeance. This time of year I start doing more meats on the grill and incorporating leftovers into the meal plans.
Recipes below for those menu items noted with an asterisk.
Sunday: Grilled marinated beef and grilled vegetables, salad, a good baguette from the local bakery. Grilled pineapple drizzled with dulce de leche for dessert.
We'll probably eat a little late this evening as my oldest son has a makeup baseball game in the afternoon. This is one way the grill is great – fast, with minimal kitchen mess.
Monday: Honey-mustard chicken*, rice pilaf, salad, broccoli
Chicken legs and thighs are on sale this week. I'll buy enough for two meals: one fresh and one meal quantity for the freezer.
Tuesday: Curry chutney chicken salad (not wrapped this time)
I have to be at an event in the evening, after taking one of my kids to a late afternoon swim lesson (and, oh yeah, going to the office) – and my husband is on a bad schedule at work, too, so I am not sure exactly when he'll get home. I'll make most of this ahead on Monday evening for the quickest possible turnaround.
Wednesday: Baseball for one son, last choir of the year for the other. Leftovers for the kids early, gnocchi with sun-dried tomato pesto and a green salad for the parents later.
I realized I had some gnocchi in the freezer that needs to be used, and a jar of the yummy pesto in the pantry. Instant dinner.
Thursday: Grilled marinated pork chops and grilled vegetables, salad, egg noodles
Boneless porkchops are also on sale this week. I'll make extra tonight for use in tomorrow night's dinner. I’ll probably use a fajita marinade.
Friday: Double-baseball night. Pork and bean burritos*, tortilla chips, salsa, and other snacky stuff at the baseball field.
Baseball season is about half over. Friday night baseball picnics feel the easiest because there's no pressure of appropriate bedtimes for school the next day. We seem to be a little more relaxed.
Saturday: Pasta with pancetta, salad.
This is our "carb loading" night before an annual fundraising walk the next day, and this is one of our favorite pasta recipes (though infrequent given the ingredients!).
Honey mustard chicken
This recipe can be scaled up or down depending on your crowd. The sauce is yummy over noodles or rice.
Chicken parts – I use thighs and drumsticks ½ c honey ½ c mustard 2 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the chicken parts in a baking dish. Combine honey, mustard and butter in a small bowl and whisk together well. Pour over the chicken parts, using the back of a spoon to spread honey mixture around, if necessary.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, basting a couple times with the sauce along the way. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more.
Pork and Bean Burritos
Again, a recipe that can be scaled up or down depending on the crowd. You can make these ingredients into a burrito bar and let everyone build their own burritos.
Large tortillas Marinated and grilled pork, sliced thin 1-2 cans of black beans, warmed up Spanish rice Shredded cheddar cheese Chopped tomatoes Shredded lettuce Sour cream Guacamole Salsa
Carefully layer desired ingredients on the tortilla. I like to lay down the black beans, then the rice, then the pork, and finally the rest. Roll it up and it's ready.
