The week we ate all the vegetables…and leftovers.

Hope everyone that celebrated had a restful and delicious holiday. I had turkey twice (Thanksgiving plus Friendsgiving two days later), and then stuffing waffles twice. (Have you made these ever? I’m convinced it’s the best way to use the waffle iron. I’ll leave the VERY best way to make this a breakfast at the end of this post.) I believe as of today at 1:02 p.m. I have eaten my last turkey sandwich. Until 2024, big birdie!

This is what happens when you have Chef friends who make your turkey.

But yes, back to it. Back to my mostly vegetarian lifestyle, and back to planning a full week of dinners. Sort of.

This week:

Sunday: At Z’s request, Broccoli Cheese Soup. I also had time to bake this bread which was heavenly on the side. (Yes, I made the bread from scratch, and no, I’m not better than you. I just have more time right now. And I REALLY love homemade bread!)

Monday: Fried rice. Here’s the scoop on this: I used to follow a recipe, but now I just throw it together from memory. Remind me to write down how I do it. But the beauty of it is this: you can’t screw it up too much. We add edamame for all of us (but not A), and extra soy sauce for the parents.

Tuesday: Southwestern Lentils and Rice Skillet. Have I talked about this one yet? Everyone loved it, but since Zoe mostly doesn’t like rice, I just don’t bring attention to it.

Wednesday: I have plans, so it’ll be a leftover night!

Thursday: I have plans again (’tis the season), so either more leftovers or breakfast for dinner!

Friday: I’m trying out a new one. Smitten Kitchen doesn’t do me wrong, so we are trying her perfect vegetable lasagna. I’ll report back on this one!

Saturday: Finally, we get to celebrate A’s bday with her friends, and she is taking them all for a cooking class. They’ll be making homemade pasta. I hope they feed the parents. I’ll probably make a little something for the parents’ table, but I haven’t decided yet.

HOW TO SERVE THOSE STUFFING WAFFLES (breakfast edition):

Follow your waffle iron instructions, but use the leftover stuffing instead of batter. Once they are done (they take longer than a typical waffle in my opinion), top with a beautiful fried egg or two and some leftover gravy. You’re welcome.

Trying one new this week, and celebrating our first born!

For those of you who have been around since the blogs before this one, you might be shocked to learn that my Beebs is turning ten on Saturday. Two digits. I struggle to believe that I have been a parent for this long. It also seems like just yesterday? Parenting, am I right? But our almost ten year old is still a vegetarian, so I have planned yet another week of vegetarian entrees!

And, of course, we had to incorporate some birthday celebrations into the week for her!

But first, I promised to report back on the Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers I planned for last week. Everyone liked them! It may have been a little spicy (thanks to the Trader Joe’s taco seasoning, which tends to be spicier than other kinds), so I added some extra corn for the kids. I also had quite a bit of the rice mixture leftover (I think I used smaller peppers), so I ate that for lunch topped with a little cheese and fried eggs. We will call that one a keeper!

We also skipped the fish sticks night, as we had plenty of leftovers, so I opted to work through those as opposed to making something new. (A key to menu planning is building in some flexibility. I hate wasting, so I like to build in leftover nights, and include some things that can hold over from week to week.)

This week:

Sunday: We did leftovers last night. Not exciting, but also, very easy.

Monday: Black bean soup! This is my favorite recipe right now, but we have some in the freezer we should use, so we will thaw that. But seriously, make that recipe, the lime crema is next level. We love it with fritos too!

Tuesday: Chickpea and Vegetable Coconut Curry. I almost always sub out the cauliflower for broccoli, it just looks prettier, and I use curry powder instead of paste. (I have kids that balk at spicy, so the powder seems to be a more subtle flavor.) This is crowd pleaser!

Wednesday: Leftovers again. Wednesdays are our busy nights, as both kids have activities, so I aim for speed/efficiency, and can’t really plan on cooking a full meal these nights.

Thursday: Trying a new one: Creamy Tomato Rigatoni. Will report back! Will likely serve with a salad.

Friday: At request, orange chicken. Yes, I buy the frozen bag, and yes, I generally plan this when I am out for the evening. For those vegetarians out there, Trader Joe’s does a good faux orange chicken that is Beebs-approved!

Saturday: The birthday night! She’s requested “real ramen,” so we are taking her out. I’ll be making her cake, however, and have never gone wrong with Smitten Kitchen’s “the ‘i want chocolate cake’ cake.” It’s really that good, and very simple too!

Can you believe it’s Thanksgiving NEXT WEEK? I won’t be normally menu planning, but I absolutely will share what I contribute to the holiday on the blog next week. Have a great week, all!