Shopping List: A Super-Fun Game of Food Tetris
The Family Plan #73
When I launched this newsletter, I talked about what I do as something like food Tetris. This week’s menu is a primo example of that: On Monday you’re baking a bunch of sweet potatoes. They’ll get topped with a Tex-Mex-ish combo of seasoned ground meat or lentils and an easy carrot slaw—but doubling each element gives you material for another meal. The slaw goes into grain bowls on Tuesday. The meat or lentil mixture tops nachos on Wednesday. The sweet potatoes get turned into crispy fritters on Thursday. And the extra grain you’ll cook on Tuesday makes a lovely bed for an easy pantry tagine on Friday. I’m pretty tickled by how it all flows—I hope you will be, too.
Here’s the menu for next week:
SUNDAY: Optional Prep. If you’d rather not microwave your sweet potatoes tomorrow, bake them today.
MONDAY:
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Food Network. The recipe calls for ground beef (you can also use turkey), but vegetarians will swap in lentils, either canned or cooked from dried. Obviously, picky eaters can decide what to put on (or leave off) their spuds. Double every element of the whole recipe: the carrot slaw for tomorrow, the beef or lentil mixture for Wednesday, and the sweet potatoes for Thursday.
TUESDAY: Easy Grain Bowl from A Couple Cooks. We all know how much I love grain bowls for pleasing picky eaters… This is more of a guide to building an amazing bowl than an actual recipe, so I’m including only a few items in the shopping list—enough for the grain, a can of beans, and a simple tahini dressing. (You’ve already got yesterday’s carrot slaw.) Make sure to figure out what else you’ll set out ahead of time so you can add that to your list. As far as the grain goes, I recommend either bulgur, quinoa, or couscous—prepare a double batch and refrigerate the extra for Friday.
WEDNESDAY:
Nacho Bar from The Mom 100. Another sure way to feed picky eaters: Prepare a tray of very basic nachos, nothing but chips and cheese, and lay out an array of toppings so everyone can build their own. Monday’s ground beef or lentil mixture works beautifully here. Note that Katie’s recipe serves 8, so adjust the slider to serve 4 for appropriate amounts.
THURSDAY: Cheesy Mashed Sweet Potato Cakes from Café Delites with a green salad OR your family’s favorite vegetable. Monday’s pre-baked sweet potatoes help these crispy fritters come together in very little time. The recipe calls for fresh parsley—I’ve included it on the shopping list, but if you’d rather not buy a bunch for a single recipe, cilantro will work just fine.
FRIDAY: Chickpea and Roasted Red Pepper Pantry Tagine from Epicurious. I love this easy, pantry-based recipe. Grab Tuesday’s leftover grains to serve with it. If you’ve got any cilantro, tahini dressing, or sour cream left, they’d all be great here, too.
Here’s the shopping list:
Items with an asterisk * are for the vegetarian option.
Produce
8 small sweet potatoes (M, W, Th)
8 medium carrots (M, T)
1 medium onion (M, W)
7 cloves garlic (M, T, W, Th)
3 plum tomatoes (M, W)
1 large bunch cilantro (M, T, W)
1 bunch parsley, optional (Th)
1 bunch scallions (W, Th)
1 avocado, optional (W)
Vegetable OR salad fixings of your choice (Th)
1-2 large lemons (T)
Pantry
Red wine vinegar (M, T, W)
Apple cider vinegar (F)
Olive oil (M, T, W, Th, F)
Ground cumin (M, W, F)
Dried oregano (M, W)
Cayenne pepper (M, W, F)
Garlic powder OR fresh garlic (F)
Cinnamon (F)
Turmeric (F)
2 (15-oz.) cans lentils OR 1 1/2 cups dried lentils* (M, W)
1 (15-oz.) can white beans or other beans of your choice (T)
1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas (F)
1 1/2 cups bulgur OR quinoa OR couscous (T, F)
Tahini (T)
Maple syrup (T)
1 (5- to 6-oz.) bag tortilla chips (W)
Pickled jalapenos, optional (W)
Olives, optional (W)
Salsa (W)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (Th)
1 (12-oz.) jar roasted red peppers (F)
1/2 cup dried currants (F)
1/4 cup roasted, salted pistachios OR cashews OR almonds (F)
Meat Counter
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef OR turkey (M, W)
Dairy
8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese blend OR cheddar (W)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella (Th)
1/4 cup grated parmesan (Th)
8 oz. sour cream OR plain Greek yogurt (W, Th)
1 egg (Th)
On Saturday, paying subscribers will get the details on how it all comes together.
Stay safe, be kind, wear a mask, and get vaccinated when it’s your turn.
Debbie
Just saying, I love the Tetris! It's what I signed up for your newsletter for in the first place. Ecologically sound, not too complicated and very appealing to my "use the whole buffalo" mindset. Keep the tetris coming :)