The 2021 Week 20 Menu Plan is complete and it will be evident that I am attempting to incorporate a more plant based diet.
Breakfast
We are on an oatmeal binge once again aside from the traditional bacon and eggs on Sunday. Not only does this breakfast menu assure us of having at least one E meal a day, it also provides plant based eating.
Lunch
The 2021 week 20 lunch plan has two new plant based recipes and two returning favorites.
Mediterranean White Bean Salad
Broccoli, Cheddar, Bacon Quiche
Dinner
The dinners planned for the week are returning favorites with a new pizza casserole added for a trial run. My biggest challenge is planning the menu for our dinner for 6 on Thursday.
Roasted Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Low Carb Deconstructed Pizza Casserole
DINNER FOR SIX
Planning a menu for dinner for six this week has required considerable thought. We are celebrating the odyssey during Covid, to bring friends’ sail boat, Second Chance, back to the States from the Virgin Islands a 1300 mile passage.
One of the couples coming for dinner is not a fan of condiments and sauces. Actually I am not even sure if they like salad dressings. My current plan is as follows, but subject to change as the day approaches.
Chicken Piccata or Country Kiev Chicken
Hits and Misses
Breakfast
Yum! Quick, easy, and delicious! Next time I will use less sweetener since we have become accustomed to enjoying our food with much less sweetness and maybe a little more salt. This is rotation worthy.
Lunch
This soup has been bumped from week to week and it finally hit the lunch table. I must admit the first serving was more like a Stoup (as Rachael Ray calls it). For the additional servings over the course of the week broth was added to make it an actual soup. This is plant based eating, nutritious and very tasty. We will defiantly have it in the future.
Red Bean, Quinoa, and Kale Soup
When you have a plethora of jalapeño peppers, this is a good soup to try. Although spicy, it was not over the top. I have also determined that adding jalapeño to other soup bases would add another dimension of flavor.
This was a pleasant surprise. It was not completely plant based due to the mayo, but spread on a toasted Ezekiel English muffin, it made a satisfying lunch. I have a recipe for plant based mayo using tofu that I might be willing to try on the next batch.
Dinner
I tried this salmon preparation on the recommendation of my sister Jan. The ‘Ole Buckeye had huge misgivings especially when he saw “canned salmon”. We had it this week on the night the Mississippi pot roast was planned since I forgot to thaw the roast. It proved to be very tasty and a reason to have canned salmon in the pantry as a dinner backup, since the rest of the ingredients are always on hand. In the future I will plan to freeze leftover salmon (which I nearly always have). When I have enough I will make these patties eliminating the need to purchase canned salmon.
Jalapeno Cheddar Salmon Patties
After reading several reviews regarding a recipe change for the Mississippi roast, I decided to give it a try. In the place of a beef chuck roast, I substituted a pork loin roast. Delish. This is a great way to have a delicious pork roast without using the oven. We love the beef Mississippi roast, but this will definitely appear in the future, especially when pork is on sale.
This pasta has quickly become a favorite partly due to its’ ease of preparation with pantry staples. Once again after a busy day there was plenty of time and energy to make a satisfying meal.
Recap
The week ahead is relatively ambitious since my daily schedule is much busier due to scheduled appointments making it more difficult to maintain a solid cooking routine. I am sure there will be modifications, but at least there is a plan and ingredients on hand. The past weeks we have splurged on pizza after the soccer games. I may push for more healthy options this week. Our daughter has returned from her retreat and our friends return to prepare Second Chance for their trip north along the Atlantic seaboard to Baltimore for a wedding. I am certain meals and numbers of those sharing them may change. The journey continues. Bon Appetit.
