Quick and Dirty Meal Planning

I cook dinner almost every night, at least 5 times a week. We are a very busy and active family of five, just like you. Well, I don't know if you have 5 in your family, but I do know everyone is stinkin' busy these days.

Here's what I used to do....skip this paragraph and the next now if you don't care. You shouldn't care. I used to dinner plan by the month. Hated it. I mean it was useful when the kids were tiny and I would rather chew broken glass than take them to the grocery store. But there wasn't much flexibility.

So I switched to dinner planning every 10-12 days, kind of a stepped-down version of monthly. I made 5-7 dinner plans that I could rotate around bi-weekly. Initially this took days to do--to write down everything I knew how to cook or could cook from cookbooks. In this case I tried to have some easy prep meals with more complicated weekend meals on each Menu. The only problem is, I eventually wanted to try more and more new recipes so I trashed this method too.

Here's what I don't do:
1.  I do not scan Pinterest for recipes. They never work. Ok 90% of the time. Unless you know the bloggers recipes always work, do not be lulled in by Pinterest recipes! Pinterest and blogs have their place in meal planning, but not in 15-minute meal planning.
2.  I do not rip recipe pages out of magazines anymore. I just lose them.
3.  I do not go to the store without a dinner list. I used to go to Costco, spend $150 on groceries and then still have nothing to actually make for dinner.
4.  I do not read recipe books while dinner planning. More on that below.
5.  I do not plan lots of side dishes. More on that below.

Here's what I definitely do:
1. Plan 4-5 meals for the week.
2. I make sure at least 2-3 are fast meals, under 30 minutes total. (On the weekends I allow myself the treat of planning more elaborate meals and I make special trips to the store for those kinda meals.)
3. The others 2-3 recipes can not exceed 1 hour total unless it's a slow cooker meal or unless it can be prepped earlier in the day. Afternoons are insane when you have teenagers.
4. Make sure the meals have a variety--some meat, some vegetarian, some pasta. Would I prefer pasta every night? Yes, but my thighs would not.
5. Have a written list. Duh.


My current method is what I call the Quick and Dirty and here's how it works:

On Monday morning during breakfast I pick a cookbook I already love, or two cookbooks, no more, and turn to the pages I previously had marked with flags. (I read cookbooks like novels with Post-it flags while I watch TV at night.)

Do not just thumb through books! That's a time killer! You have to have things marked already in books, or maybe keep a running list of things you actually know how to make without written recipes, etc. (For me that would be tacos, spaghetti, etc) I really believe this is the bottleneck in the whole process of meal planning.  Do not skim through books! You'll spend 1-2 hours skimming, get frustrated, quit, and eat quesadillas all week.

I also keep a running list in the front cover of many of my go-to cookbooks. These are recipes I have already tried that were a success and I would definitely want to make again. Scanning these lists makes the process even faster.

I also try to just think of yummy things I really wanna try and go to America's Test Kitchen websites and search out that recipe and hope they have it. No one paid me to say this--I spend $70 bucks a year to subscribe to their websites and it's the best money ever spent. My tummy is so much happier. Plus if I do ignore all my rules and go to the store without a list I can quickly open the the Cooks Illustrated app and search out my favorites.

This was last week's menu. In the upper right hand corner of the page you can see where I wrote down four meals I want to make. (I never plan more than 4-5 dinners for a week because sometimes there is not time at all to cook, sometimes we go out to eat on the weekend, or sometimes I hate my family and I say "Screw you have cereal". 

On the left I write out the ingredients I need to shop for to cook that particular meal. I keep each meal separate because sometimes I can not find a particular ingredient, or one of the ingredients is too expensive, so at the grocery store I'll make the executive decision to trash that meal and therefore nix buying anymore ingredients in that section.

The asterisks are ideas for side dishes, depending on time, they may not happen. I keep lots of vegetables in the fridge so I rarely write down my sides. Remember this is Quick and Dirty Meal Planning, don't get bogged down in the details. If you have your main dishes planned the sides take care of themselves as time permits--bagged salad, sliced fruit, frozen peas.

Don't make the rookie mistake of thinking every meal has to have every dish planned out. Martha does not live in my house or yours.

However, I am flexible (see the screw you comment above) so if I see whole chickens are on sale, and I swear they never go on sale, I must roast chicken that week. I simply must. So butterflied roasted chicken became our 5th meal last week.

This planning process, if you can call it that, takes 15-20 minutes. That's all. And obviously it is only for dinner. I do not meal plan breakfast or lunch unless it is a special occasion.

For all other non-dinner groceries I need I keep a running list on the "Paperless" app on my iPhone. U update it throughout the week as we run out of staples.

If it's a good week I grocery shop at two stores--usually at the local grocery store and Costco. Otherwise, I hit the regular grocery store if there's a time crunch. Or if I just don't have it in me to go to two stores. Remember Quick and Dirty--you should be able to shop at just one store.

Then my list gets folded up and stuck to the refrigerator for the week for reference.

I mark the page for each recipe so I can easily find that recipe again. For this particular week all my recipes came from one book The Make-Ahead Cook and America's Test kitchen websites.

And that my friends is how this busy mom plans a week of home cooked meals in 20 minutes a week. We do not eat out. We do not order pizza. We don't have any good options for pizza delivery in Provo Utah anyway. They all bite. For those lazy days we eat quesadillas, or pancakes and once-in-a-while leftovers. My family won't eat leftovers anyway. It makes me angry.

Please keep in mind I have been cooking dinner for 21 years. If you are just starting out at menu planning, try as hard as you can to think of what will work for you. Maybe cooking just 2 dinners a week is all you can take at first. That's ok!

Eating at home is always healthier, cheaper, and I believe yummier. You can do it!

In case you are curious, here's what we ate last week:

Black Beans Chili with Corn Muffins

Sesame Noodles made with leftover roasted chicken and Asian Slaw (just a bag of cole slaw and Asian salad dressing):

Chicken in Foil with Potatoes and Carrots

And Slow-cooker Beef and Barley Soup. I forgot to take a picture of that one!

Pepperoni Pan Pizza

I used to make homemade pizza a lot. And then life got busy with teenagers and dinner prep time got shorter around 5 o’clock each night. I just didn’t have the time anymore to make my regular thin-crust pizza. The counters get too messy and I have to heat the pizza stones for nearly an hour. Then I discovered this Pepperoni Pan Pizza recipe in my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook last week.

Oh blessed day!  I’m back to making pizza on weeknights. Yes, the dough has to be made with yeast so it still has to rise, which takes time, but I made this again last night, got the dough made, drove my daughter to her ukulele lesson, came home and finished it off. So it’s doable on a weeknight as long as you are somewhat around. The kids love it, I love that I usually have all these ingredients on hand, and I love the minimal cleanup compared to regular pizza making.

I do have to double the recipe for my family of five. We eat about 3 of the pizzas and save one for snacks the next day. Pfff, teenagers.

The dough is what makes this recipe killer. It is chewy and crispy at the same time. Yes, it is a little thicker because it is pan pizza, but it’s not bready and dry. It has a great crispy chew. I’ve only found that same chew on deep dish pan pizza in Chicago.

The first time I made it we didn’t have any pepperoni but I did have a package of fresh basil so that’s what we topped them with.

I’m just so happy I found this recipe. Pizza on a weeknight. Yes.

Pepperoni Pan Pizza   Printable Version click here

Makes 2 9-inch pizzas (I double this for my family of 5)

Dough

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for greasing pans)

¾ cup skim milk plus 2 additional tablespoons, warmed to 110 degrees

2 teaspoons sugar

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter

2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 package)

¾ teaspoon table salt

Topping

Sliced pepperoni

Basic pizza sauce: Cook 1 clove garlic in 1 T. olive oil in a saucepan until fragrant—don’t burn the garlic! Add a 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes until thickened.

3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Turn oven to 200 degrees, then turn off once that temperature is reached. Mix milk, sugar, and oil in measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter, gently shape into ball, and place in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Coat two 9-inch cake pans with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil each.

To shape and top the dough: Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and lightly roll each half into ball. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll and shape dough into 9 1/2-inch round and press into oiled pan. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter about 20 minutes until dough is puffy. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the pepperoni between paper towels on a plate and microwave about 30 seconds. This gets rid of lots of that pepperoni grease that usually just leaves pizza with an oil slick.

Remove plastic wrap from dough. Ladle sauce on each pizza, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 cups cheese and top with pepperoni. Bake until cheese is melted and pepperoni is browning around edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let pizzas rest in pans for 1 minute. Using spatula, transfer pizzas to cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve.

 Printable Version click here

Thanksgiving 2013

This year it was just our family. Nobody came over, nobody invited us over.  We live in Utah but most of our family does not—and if they do live here they had other plans. This might sound sad to you—but I actually love it. No pressure. I can make peanut butter sandwiches for all I care. I would never do that—but it’s nice to know it’s an option. I like options.

All my recipe came from America’s Test Kitchen this year. There’s a shocker. If cookbook companies had groupies, I’d be one. I’d go to their concerts and throw pie on the stage. I’m totally mesmerized by cooks. (Once in Chicago I went to Rick Bayless’ restaurant and my eyes went all foggy and my throat dried up when I saw Mr. Bayless himself.) You can have your lame-o movie stars—I stalk chefs. Ok, I don’t stalk them, but I’d love to if it were legal.

First up—Mr. Turkey. He was brined the day before for six hours and then left overnight on a rack to dry out. America’s Test Kitchen says this will give a crackly crisp skin and moist meat. Boy did it ever. I’ve never had better turkey. I even overcooked it a bit (I blame the convection) and still the white meat was jui-cy!

Here’s Mr. Turkey taking a nice salty briney bath on Wednesday. My garage is plenty cold in November but I added plenty o’ ice to the cooler just in case.  Nobody’s getting food poisoning at my house. I did have to double the brine recipe to completely cover my 13 pound turkey.

Here’s Mr. Turkey resting after 2 hours in the oven. You give him that St. Tropaz tan by starting him on his tummy then flipping him to his back after an hour. Crispy goodness all around. He rested for half an hour after his tan so that I could make the gravy and so that all his juices would redistribute throughout the bird lest he be dry.

Next up: making pie dough on Wednesday afternoon so that Thanksgiving day I can get up early (like a bona fide baker) and cook my Lemon Meringue and Pumpkin pie.

All good desserts start with an inordinate amount butter. Gosh I wish I could eat like this everyday.

Pie dough ready for a chill in the refrigerator before rolling out.

Baking done by Thursday morning at 10am. Lemon Meringue Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Crescent Rolls. Did I mention I only fed 5 people? Mmm, leftovers.

A simple orange cranberry sauce…..

And something new this year: Green Bean Casserole with a homemade mushroom cream sauce. This was my favorite dish this year. I will make it for Christmas too. Holy cow, so good. You won’t even miss the metallic-tasting mushroom canned soup.

Ilene is so happy to be trimming the green beans.

Here’s my son Nathan peeling sweet potatoes. I believe in manual labor before the feast for all involved.

Everybody had a job this year. Thank goodness the kids are old enough to help now. My husband Paul did the grunt work for the turkey but he’s not pictured because he stayed in his pajamas all day. I’m not kidding. You wear pajamas, you don’t make the blog cut.

I’ve broken with my childhood tradition and do not stuff the bird anymore. Just bake the stuffing  dressing on the side. (Sorry Mom.) Sausage, Cranberry and Bread stuffing. Good stuff.

I didn’t burn the crust—it kinda looks that way on the Pumpkin Pie though.

I served most everything on my mother’s fine China that my Dad bought her for a wedding gift in Japan during the Vietnam War. My kids said it shouldn’t be called China if he bought it in Japan. True.

Let the feast begin! The best part? We ate ate all the leftovers for three more days.

Gracious I love Thanksgiving. I can’t think of anything more fun than cooking for two days without needing to do anything else—to me that’s heaven.  God Bless America!

Sichuan Stir-Fried Pork

Holy Moly. I hit the culinary jack pot last night with this recipe from CooksIllustrated.com.  This has to be the best stir fry I have ever made. It tastes as good as the Sichuan stir fry at PF Chang’s restaurant. Although I think theirs is beef. Or maybe chicken. Whatever. This is tasty stuff folks.

If you don’t subscribe to any of the America’s Test Kitchen websites, nor own any of their books, at least buy the once-a-year “Best of” magazine for $10. And because it’s a magazine, I grab it when I’m running to the market and haven’t had time to make a grocery list yet.  I’ve blogged about this dang magazine before.

Yes, I keep flags all over my cookbooks because I gotta mark the “you’ve been chosen” recipes. Don’t you?

It required a trip to the Asian Market but luckily we have an amazing one on 500 West in Provo. Just a few miles from my house, yippee. These ingredients were the ones I couldn’t find at the regular grocery store:

Particularly the Asian broad bean chili paste. I had never heard of that and the Asian market has a million different bean sauces, but I think this is what the recipe meant. It was the only paste I could find. At least that’s what I bought anyway. I was super worried as I was making the stir fry because this bean paste smells bad. Just like fish sauce. Gulp. Strong stuff. But I proceeded anyway and the smell didn’t transfer to the finished dish. Phew. Just look at that greasy label? Mmmm, grease.

Oh and I couldn’t find shitake mushrooms so I had to use regular white ones. But other than that, I think I followed it exactly. I declared to the family, “We’re having this once a week for a while!” After all, I have all these interesting sauces I gotta use up now.

The only downside to making really authentic stir-fries is the million ingredients. Cooking the stir fry took maybe 10 minutes. Assembling all the ingredients takes forever in my mind. And soaking the pork in a baking soda-water mixture to soften it added another 15 minutes. In reality I was in the kitchen about 45 minutes. Listen to me whine.

We ate it over brown rice because we pretend to be healthy. And of course a side of tomatoes because the garden over floweth.

I’m just near giddy at being able to cook stir fry better than any restaurant.

APRIL 2014 UPDATE: I’ve been making this recipe now for 6 months. I never get tired of it. My favorite stir fry!

Click here for my printout of the recipe