The 2023 week 13 menu plan is complete.
Breakfast
What can I say…it’s oats all the way this week…supplemented with nuts and berries! I can make all of these recipes in advance and the ‘Ole Buckeye has the availability of a nutritious breakfast whether or not I join him.
Lunch
There are lots of dinner leftovers for lunch this week. I may or may not need to utilize these new recipes, but it is always good to have a backup plan.
Dinner
The dinner plans for the week appear to be an adventure in cooking new recipes, some more complicated than others. Luckily I do have one eat again addition as well as a dinner out. The USO awards night includes a meal provided by Mission BBQ (not much to choose from health wise on that menu), but we will make do.
Farro Risotto with Mushrooms and Peas
Hits and Misses
This recipe is actually called the Absolute Best Lentil Soup. Although it was good, I will vote that Alton Brown’s Lentil Soup is the best we have had.
This is a good hearty soup but needs additional flavor. We added red pepper flakes to our individual servings which helped.
A family favorite for years is this chili created by my daughter-in-law. In fact it is in the family cookbook. A perfect dinner on a basketball weekend with guacamole!
Kara’s Vegetarian Chili
I made the sauce in advance because we had an evening soccer game. I prepared the pasta and added it to the sauce…voila’, dinner in a snap. The pasta needed the pepper and red pepper flakes, but it was a perfect late evening meal with a Caesar salad. I still miss having a little chicken with the pasta. BTW, we enjoyed this a second time for dinner and I added walnuts after reheating. Delish.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta page 138 PlantYou
What a great quick and easy dinner. It was real comfort food. I did make adjustments to the recipe. I used a quinoa pasta, almond half and half, and plant based butter. This is a keeper especially when asparagus is on sale!
This preparation sufficed because it was prepared in advance of a late night dinner after a soccer game. It served it’s purpose, but will not be repeated.
Recap
I am finding that I am tiring of beans stews and pasta dishes. More research and experimentation with tofu and other interesting lentil mealsis needed. I recently read an article that lentils could be substituted for ground beef…who knew. Actually that makes me a little more adventurous to create my own recipes by tweaking some favorites. The adventure continues. Bon Appetit!
