Shopping List: Sheet Pan Greek Chicken, Easy Eggplant & Zucchini Parm, and Plenty of Black Beans
The Family Plan #17
I really enjoyed chatting with you guys about the ways our picky eaters drive us crazy. (If you missed the conversation, it’s not too late!) As this newsletter grows, I’m going to be doing more of that, opening up a chance for you to talk about how things are going in your cooking life as well as your parenting life—and to exchange ideas with other Family Planners. If you’ve got a problem, maybe one of us can help you solve it.
(BTW I’m pretty proud of myself for not mentioning coronavirus. Doh! I just did.)
Here’s next week’s menu:
SUNDAY PREP: You’ll definitely cook a big batch of brown rice, which will come in handy for three different meals. And if you like the nice texture (and lower cost) of dried black beans, you can cook up a pound. Those’ll figure into two meals.
Photo courtesy of Budget Bytes
MONDAY: Sheet Pan Greek Chicken and Vegetables from Budget Bytes is one of those lovely one-pan dinners, ready in under an hour. You’ll add some extra chicken breasts to use on Thursday, and serve with some of the brown rice. Vegetarians: Swap in vegan sausage for the chicken.
TUESDAY: Kale, Black Bean & Avocado Burrito Bowls from Cookie + Kate use more of that brown rice as well as some of the black beans. Because you’ve already got cooked rice, this’ll be on the table in about 20 minutes.
WEDNESDAY: Eggplant and Zucchini Parmesan from Cooking Light won’t make any of the oil-spattered mess you’re imagining, because it’s baked instead of fried. Serve it with spaghetti and good-quality jarred sauce.
THURSDAY: Easy Peanut Chicken with Veggies from Well Plated uses the last of the rice as well as Monday’s chicken, so there’s virtually no cooking involved. It can be ready in the blink of an eye if you like—swap frozen stir-fry vegetables for the fresh ones marked (Th) in the shopping list. Vegetarians: You’ll use tofu instead of chicken.
Photo courtesy of Epicurious
FRIDAY: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Beans and Guacamole from Epicurious gives you several ways to please picky eaters: Plain baked sweet potato, plain black beans, plain avocado, and even tortilla chips.
Here’s the shopping list:
Remember, an asterisk* indicates an ingredient for vegetarians only. If I don’t specify an amount for an ingredient, assume it’s not substantial. And note that I’m not including salt and pepper unless a recipe calls for a particularly large quantity.
Produce
1 head garlic (M, T, Th, F)
2 large red onions (M, T, F)
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes (M, T)
4 bell peppers, various colors (M, Th)
1 bunch parsley (M)
1 large bunch cilantro (T, Th, F)
1 bunch curly kale (T)
5 oz. package baby spinach (F)
1 small jalapeno, optional (T)
3 avocados (T, F)
1 (1 lb.) eggplant (W)
1 medium zucchini (W)
1 small knob ginger (Th)
8 oz. broccoli florets (Th)
2 medium carrots (Th)
1 bunch scallions (Th)
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 9 oz. each) (F)
1 lemon (M)
6 limes (T, Th, F)
1 package vegan sausage, Italian or Greek flavor* (M)
1 block extra-firm tofu* (Th)
Pantry
3 cups brown rice (M, T, Th)
Olive oil (M, T, W, Th)
Vegetable oil (F)
Dried oregano (M)
Ground cumin (T, F)
Chili powder (T)
Cayenne pepper (T, F)
Red pepper flakes, optional (Th)
Sesame seeds, optional (Th)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (M)
4 (15 oz.) cans black beans OR 1 lb. dried black beans (T, Th)
1/2 cup mild salsa verde (T)
Hot sauce, optional (T)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat panko (W)
1 jar good-quality marinara sauce (W)
8 oz. spaghetti or linguine (W)
1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter (Th)
Sesame oil (Th)
Reduced-sodium soy sauce (Th)
Honey (Th)
Unsalted roasted peanuts, optional (Th)
12 oz. vegetable broth (F)
1 bag tortilla chips (F)
Meat Counter
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (around 2 1/2 lbs) (M)
Dairy
2 oz. crumbled feta (M)
2 large eggs (W)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan (W)
2 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese (W)
2 oz. queso fresco or 2 oz. mild feta (F)
Freezer Case
1 cup shelled edamame (Th)
As usual, watch for the full plan on Saturday.
Until then,
Debbie