Weekly Dinner Menu Plan: 3/1/10

March? Really? I couldn’t tell by looking outside.

One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.

Monday – Turkey Salad on greens

Tuesday – Spaghetti Pie, green salads

Wednesday – Red Lentil Soup using turkey broth, Onion Rolls

Thursday – Turkey Tetrazzini, steamed vegetables

Friday – Breakfast for dinner: Sleepin’ in Omelette with fresh fruit

The Preparation Shortcuts:

1. Roast the turkey the day before or early the day you are eating the salad. Pull the meat off the bones and then make a turkey stock from the carcass. The meat is used in both the turkey salad and the tetrazzini, and the broth/stock will be used in the red lentil soup on Wednesday.
2. When it’s time to make spaghetti pie, cook both boxes of noodles and assemble the tettrazini right then. Thursday’s meal will be ready to throw in the oven.
3. Make your own buttermilk from vinegar and milk for the onion rolls to avoid having to buy an extra ingredient.
4. Save the extra onions rolls (be sure to make enough for your family + extra) and turn them into the base for the egg bake on Friday.

The Shopping List:

1 8- to 10-pound turkey
2 16-ounce boxes angel hair or thin spaghetti
greens for salad, including spinach
1 cup peas
3 shallots
1 red onion
1 stalk celery
16 ounces mushrooms
1 lemon
chives
sage
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup cream
8 ounces parmesan
8 ounces ricotta cheese

Pantry Items:
milk
eggs
butter
mayonnaise
olive oil
bread crumbs
cayenne pepper
dry mustard
nutmeg
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
olives
pecans
dried cranberries
sherry or dry white wine
diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
red lentils
brown rice
vinegar
yeast
sugar
flour

Last week from Food for My Family:

The Kugelhopf, from my grandma’s kitchen has been popular, and I also talked about how and why we stock our pantry.