While I am a planner in general, I am not much of a meal planner. My friend Mindi insists that my life will be easier – I’ll save time and money – if I plan. She has even tried to help me with this…..and it’s like someone asking me to do high level Calculus. My brain shuts down. I’ve held on to the idea that I like just eating what I feel like. I see it as a luxury. However, my life has been incredibly busy this semester with full-time work and part-time classes. I was staying afloat, until I got sick. When I got sick, I had zero desire to cook. In fact, the week that I had the supercold combined with the allergic reaction, I ate at Taco Bell and McDonald’s more than once that week. Everyone was away, and the thought of cooking or figuring out what to cook would have sent me over the edge. Then I woke up last Tuesday and wanted to make a pot roast. So, things are looking up. And I think life will be even easier if I plan out some quick & easy weeknight meals for myself. I like eating leftovers….once….maybe twice. That’s just me. I can’t do them all week. I’m aiming to cook something for dinner four nights a week. I’ll have the leftovers for lunch or for one other dinner. Plans may change, but well, I planned this on Sunday night when I picked up everything for the week. It’s a start!
Monday: Spicy Panko Chicken Strips, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Yukon Potatoes
Tuesday: Sweet Potato Hash
Wednesday: Pumpkin Pizza Dough Calzones with Ricotta, Spinach, and Caramelized Onions
Thursday: Lentils and Lime Rice
Friday: Leftovers or CSA veggies
For the Spicy Panko Crusted Chicken Strips. Get out milk and hot sauce.
Add about one cup of milk and a teaspoon or two of hot sauce. Let chicken sit for 15 minutes.
Add panko crumbs, around 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, Lowry’s seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I also threw in a little flour.
Mix it, then roll chicken pieces in the crumb mixture.
Rinse Brussels sprouts and cut in half. Chop up potatoes.
Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Ta-da! I’ll have lots of leftover chicken strips for lunches or I might freeze some. Bake everything at 425 degrees.
Now, I was hungry after class. So I put everything on the same pan, so I could eat my veggies earlier. The Brussels sprouts will finish cooking faster. They take around 15- 20 minutes.
I cooked the chicken and potatoes for about 35 minutes. (I like them browned.)
Very comforting food on a long, cold day. I just wrapped up my Special Education class. I also had my Philosophy of Education class at lunch. Between the two classes, I had three papers due today……33 pages in total!
Successful meal planning for Monday night.
Meal planning is just like calculus….Your meals always inspire me! All I can think about now is chicken strips, magic bars, hash(the food kind), calzones ….must go shopping!
Oh, thanks Jill! The magic bars are dangerous. I’ve made them twice this week. Eeeek!
Is it weird that I’ve never had brussel sprouts in my entire life?
I like the idea of meal planning! When I was on a weight loss program, they said it’s one of the keys to not reaching for whatever random thing you can find when you’re hungry – which is usually something bad. This is something I’d like to incorporate in my household!
Oh, it’s not weird at all. I JUST started eating them……and now I can’t stop. They.Are.So.Good. Just cut in half, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper….roast at 425 for about 20 minutes. I could eat heaping plates of them.