Shopping List: Easy Pot (or Portobello) Roast, Crispy Noodle Pancakes, and Antipasto Salad
The Family Plan #67
Thanks to the pandemic, times are tight for many of us. I’ve been keenly aware of that, so it’s been quite a while since we’ve done any meat that’s not chicken or ground. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of it! So this week I planned a big, cozy pot roast—or if you’re vegetarian, a mushroom-based stew. I know that a large piece of beef may feel too expensive for some of you—but this will work with whatever inexpensive cut you can find, as long as it’s good for braising, and you’ll get at least two meals out of it. I hope you’ll give it a shot.
If there’s anything you’d like to see more of, by the way, don’t hesitate to hit me up! Leave a comment below and we’ll talk.
Here’s the menu for next week:
MONDAY:
Instant Pot Pot Roast from Damn Delicious or Vegetarian Portobello Pot Roast from Gimme Some Oven, with noodles. Pot roasts always taste better after the flavors have had some time to meld, so make this on Sunday if you can swing it. You’ll be buying butternut squash for tomorrow’s posole, so if you’ve got extra, add it to the pot. Vegetarians, add some seitan to your pot if you want a protein boost. Both recipes should yield enough leftovers to transform into soup on Thursday. Serve your pot roast with wide egg noodles—cook the whole package so you’ll have extra for Wednesday. These days my picky guy will actually eat pot roast (for years he wouldn’t touch it because it has sauce, and he still won’t go near the vegetables). In his younger days, though, he’d be having buttered noodles.
TUESDAY: Butternut Squash & Tomato Posole from Eating Well with tortillas or tortilla chips, and maybe some cheese. I’ve been making this vegetarian Mexican stew for years—it’s easy and flavorful, and my husband and I get dinner plus two lunches each out of it. Kiddo, of course, won’t touch it. He’ll have tortillas or chips, plus cheese.
WEDNESDAY:
Noodle Pancakes from Weelicious, with a salad. Monday’s leftover noodles become an easy, kid- (and adult-) friendly dinner tonight. The recipe calls for red bell pepper, broccoli, and corn, but you can swap in any vegetables you like. (Make some with nothing but noodles, eggs, and cheese if you’re serving picky kids.) Serve it with a simple salad made with lettuce, cucumber, and carrot.
THURSDAY: Vegetable Beef (or Mushroom) Barley Soup from Foodie with Family, with crusty bread. Monday’s leftover pot roast—either beef or mushroom—becomes a hearty dinner-in-a-bowl. This is a slow cooker recipe, but I ditched my own cooker when I got an Instant Pot. If you did, too, you can make this on the stove top (instructions are included in the post) or hit me up and I’ll walk you through doing it in your IP. My kid will dunk bread in the broth with a soup like this, but he won’t eat the solids.
BIG NOTE: The recipe as written serves 12, but the page has a slider to scale up or down. I’ve included ingredients below to make a batch serving 6—so you’ll have leftovers for lunch. But if you’re ok with having fewer bites of meat or mushroom in each spoonful, you can prepare this for 12 using however much pot roast you have. Just make sure you have enough of all the other ingredients!
FRIDAY: Vegetarian (or Not) Italian Chopped Salad from Cookie + Kate, with crusty bread. After a few nights of relatively heavy meals, it makes sense to end the week with a dinner salad. Meat-eaters, you can add pepperoni or salami if you like (though there’s plenty of protein in the salad, thanks to chickpeas and cheese). If you’ve got picky eaters, serve this salad bar-style.
Here’s the shopping list:
Items with an asterisk * are for the vegetarian option.
Produce
2 medium yellow onions (M, Th)
2 large red onions (T)
12 cloves garlic (M, T, Th, F)
2 lbs. baby red OR Yukon gold potatoes (M, Th)
1 bunch thyme (M, Th)
1 bunch rosemary (M, Th)
1 bunch cilantro (T)
7 large carrots (M, W, Th)
1 lb. cremini OR portobello mushrooms* (M, Th)
1 large butternut squash OR 1 large package pre-cut (M, T)
1 avocado (T)
1 red bell pepper (W)
1 broccoli crown OR frozen (W)
3 medium heads romaine lettuce (W, F)
1 cucumber (W)
1 small head radicchio (F)
4 ribs celery (Th, F)
1 pint cherry OR grape tomatoes (F)
1-2 packages seitan, optional* (M, Th)
Pantry
Canola OR other neutral vegetable oil (M, T, W, Th)
Extra-virgin olive oil (F)
Red wine vinegar (F)
Tomato paste (M, Th)
1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled OR crushed OR diced tomatoes (T)
1 (14-oz.) can diced tomatoes OR crushed OR tomato puree (Th)
56 oz. low-sodium beef broth (M, Th)
12 oz. OR 68 oz. low-sodium vegetable broth* (M, T, Th)
6 oz. apple cider OR additional beef broth OR red wine (M, Th)
Worcestershire sauce, regular or vegetarian* (M, Th)
Bay leaves (M, Th)
Chili powder (T)
Dried oregano (F)
Red pepper flakes, optional (F)
Cornstarch (M, Th)
Brown sugar (Th)
1 (12-oz.) bag wide egg noodles (M, W)
1 (15-oz.) can white hominy (T)
1 (15-oz.) can pinto OR black beans (T)
1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas (F)
3/4 cup pearl barley (Th)
1 jar pickled pepperoncini peppers (F)
Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (F)
Dijon mustard (F)
Honey (F)
Tortilla chips OR tortillas (T)
Meat Counter
1 (3-4 lb.) boneless chuck roast OR brisket OR bottom round (aka rump) roast (M, Th)
4 oz. pepperoni OR salami, optional (F)
Dairy
4 oz. cheddar OR Monterey jack cheese, optional (T)
3 eggs (W)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (W)
4 oz. provolone OR fresh mozzarella (F)
Bakery
1 package corn OR flour tortillas OR tortilla chips (T)
Crusty bread (Th, F)
Freezer Case
Pearl onions* (M, Th)
Corn kernels (W)
Chopped broccoli OR fresh (W)
Liquor Store
6 oz. dry red wine OR beef broth OR apple cider (M, Th)
On Saturday, paying subscribers will get the details on how it all comes together.
Stay safe, be kind, wash your hands, and wear a mask.
Debbie