What’s For Dinner?

My meal planning resolution is going well so far!  On Monday night, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for dinner.  I had plenty leftover and put some on a salad the next day for lunch, made Matthew a chicken sandwich for work, and made a large batch of homemade chicken stock for soup later in the week.  I still have chicken leftover, which I hadn’t planned on!  I am not sure what to do with it, but I’ll have to use it up soon.

On Tuesday night, I tried a recipe from my new Ellie Krieger cookbook, which was a gift from my lovely friend Michelle.

The recipe can be found on page 176: Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu.

I was drawn to this recipe for several reasons:  it is vegetarian; I had all of the ingredients on hand; and it seemed much healthier than my Family Fried Rice.

It was a great decision!  It helped me turn this…

…Into a real meal:

Fried (Brown) Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu

Served with baby bok choy stir-fried in garlic, salt, and cooking spray

I don’t think I can share the exact recipe on the blog since it is from a cookbook, however, I hope the photo quality is good enough that perhaps you can try to emulate it at home   However, I really do recommend buying the book.  I chose two other recipes from it to try this week!

Wednesday

Tuscan Vegetable Soup (page 85)

I am serving this with some wholegrain bread and a salad for me, and maybe bread and the leftover chicken for Matthew?

Thursday

Macaroni and Four Cheeses ( page 168)

Again, I’ll serve with salad or steamed vegetables to round it out.  I am excited about a couple modifications I am making to this recipe to lighten it up a little more.

Friday

I haven’t planned Friday’s dinner yet.  I think Matthew has a work dinner so I may go out with a friend. 

Clearly I am still working on my technique with meal planning, but already this week I am trying new recipes and shaking things up a little!  Eventually I’d love to have it down to an art like so many other bloggers do (like this lady, she is a pro!).  For example, right now I am mainly planning dinners, but it would be neat to be able to sit down on Sunday and map out an entire week of meals!

Do you plan your meals in advance?  Do you have any tips for effective meal planning?  One thing that really got me excited to plan meals this week was my new cookbook!  Also, I love making lists, so it was fun for me to make a massive grocery list at the beginning of the week.

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