What to cook for dinner this week:
- Cider Braised Pork Chops with Agrodolce and Roasted Vegetables
- Pan Fried Chicken Thighs with Honey Chili Glaze
- Chili Glazed Chicken Salad with Roasted Vegetables
- Thai Curry Shrimp and Rice
- Thai Pork and Noodle Soup
If you’re not familiar with this blog, here’s the basic idea:
Using some of the same ingredients in multiple dishes throughout the week is the key to gettingdelicious, wholesome, good for you, home cooked meals on the table several nights of the week. The recipes in each5-day meal planinclude some prep-work for another meal later in the week.
Each meal is designed to build on the previous night’s efforts. Alittle= a lot.
*This meal plan is based on a family of 4, with a couple of meals making more than 4 servings so that you have some leftovers for lunches, etc.
1. Mix up a batch of Pork Chop Dry Rub and Thai Chili Seasoning. 2. Make a batch of Agrodolce, a sweet and sour Italian condiment that will be spooned over tonight’s pork chops and used in Chicken Salad on Day #3. You can prepare it while the pork chops roast, or up to 5 days in advance. Serve half with tonight’s pork chops and reserve the rest for Day #3. *Don't discard the lemon after zesting; save it to squeeze the juice over Roasted Vegetables. 3. Cook approximatly 2 pounds of Roasted Vegetables. Serve half with tonight's Pork Chops and reserve the rest in the refrigerator for the Chicken Salad on Day #3. (Roast even more veggies if you like. I love having roasted or sautéed vegetables on hand to munch on throughout the week.) 4. Roast 6 Pork Chops. Serve 4 for dinner tonight. Cut the meat from the bones of the remaining 2 pork chops and cut into bite size pieces. Pack into a freezer zip top bag and freeze for safe keeping to use in Thai Pork and Noodle Soup on Day #5. 5. Cook 2 ½ Cups of Wild Rice. Reserve ½ cup of cooked wild rice for Chili Glazed Chicken Salad on Day #3. Serve half of the remaining rice with tonight's Pork Chops and reserve the remaining half for Pan Fried Chicken on Day #2. If you’d like to get a jump on meal prep for the rest of the week: 1. Prepare a Basic Vinaigrette, following the variation beneath the recipe for Chili Vinaigrette. Store the vinaigrette in a jar or other covered container in your refrigerator. You’ll use it for Chili Glazed Chicken Salad on Day #3. 2. Wash and dry the salad greens you purchased for Chicken Thighs on Day #2, and Chicken Salad on Day #3. Store the greens in a zip top bag or covered bowl in the refrigerator. 3. Make the marinade for the chili glazed chicken on Day #2 and put the chicken in to marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 4. The broth for the Pork and Noodle Soup on Day 5 can be prepared in advance through step #2. Refrigerate until ready to use. Making the broth in advance will mean that cooking the soup on Day #5 only takes about 20 minutes. Thick cut smoky braised pork chops coated in a sweet and spicy apple cider glaze, served over wild rice and topped with agrodolce, a sweet and sour Italian condiment that adds a shock of flavor to everything it touches. *Be sure to cook 2 extra pork chops and reserve the meat for Thai Pork and Noodle Soup on Day #5. *Also remember to cook 2 cups of Wild Rice and reserve half for Pan Fried Chicken on Day #2. The delicious sweet and sour Italian condiment that makes everything tastier. Spoon half over tonight's pork chops and reserve the rest for Chicken Salad on Day #3. How to make perfect oven roasted vegetables. Roasting any variety of vegetables is quick, easy, and delicious with this simple formula. Roast 2 lbs of Vegetables; serve half with tonight's pork chops and reserve the rest for Chicken Salad on Day #3. Photo Credit:ofbatteranddough.com Tart, crisp apples suspended in tender vanilla spice cake with a crunchy sugar topping and creamy vanilla custard sauce. This simple dish packs some serious flavor and will be on the table in under an hour – less, if you put the chicken in to marinade yesterday. Follow the recipe to cook 12 pieces of chicken, reserving the meat from 4 pieces and all leftover honey-chili glaze for Chicken Salad and Roasted Vegetables on Day #3. Chicken thighs are marinated in lemon and chili garlic sauce, seared on the stove top, covered in a honey chili glaze and then roasted. Serve over a bed of greens and wild rice, drizzled with more honey chili glaze. Be sure to cook 12 pieces of chicken and reserve the meat from 4 pieces (plus all the leftover glaze) for Day #3. If you like sweet and spicy flavor combinations, this is your co*cktail. Mango vodka is infused with fresh jalapeño then topped off with orange liquor, sweet lime juice, and a dash of Campari. If you have people in your house who don’t believe that salad = dinner, you’re going to blow their mind with tonight’s meal. And, thanks to the work you did on Day #1 and #2, tonight’s dinner will be on your table in under 10 minutes. It would be hard to pack more flavor into this chicken salad. Greens, wild rice, a variety of roasted vegetables, and strips of honey chili glazed chicken are topped off with a spoonful of agrodolce. This is not your typical chicken salad. A deliciously refreshing sour gin co*cktail made with Rose’s Lime Juice, cucumber, mint, and sparkling water. Photo Credit:ofbatteranddough.com Cherry turnovers with a sweet dark cherry & cream cheese filling that’s wrapped in flaky puff pastry and topped with roasted almonds and almond vanilla glaze. If you made Thai Spice Mix earlier in the week, heaping bowls of shrimp and vegetables coated in a richly flavorful green curry sauce will be on the table in about 40 minutes. Shrimp, bok choy, and cherry tomatoes are added to a rich green curry sauce flavored with coconut, cumin, Thai chili and lemongrass, then spooned over rice and seasoned with basil and lime. Gin, St. Germain, grapefruit juice, sliced Jalapeño, and fresh basil come together for a deliciously balanced and refreshing blend of spicy, sweet, and sour. Photo Credit:ofbatteranddough.com The perfect blueberry pie is just the right amount of sweet and tart, bursting with fresh blueberry flavor, covered in a flaky, tender, sugary crust, and easy to slice and serve. In the morning, remove the reserved cooked pork from your freezer (leftover from the pork chops on Day #1), and put it into the refrigerator to thaw. It probably won’t be completely thawed by the evening, but that’s ok. It will thaw completely when you add it to the hot soup. If you prepared the broth on Day #1, this soup will come together in about 20 minutes. If not, it will still be on the table in under 40 minutes. Chunks of tender pork, vegetables, and rice noodles are simmered in a rich shiitake mushroom broth that’s flavored with lemon grass, cilantro and Thai spices. The Manhattan is well known for a reason. It’s delicious in its simplicity, requiring just three ingredients plus a some brandied cherries if you like. Photo Credit:ofbatteranddough.com These buttery little sugar cookies are soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, bursting with vanilla and rolled in flavored sugar or sprinkles.Day #1: Cider Braised Pork Chops with Agrodolce and Roasted Vegetables
Cider Braised Pork Chops
Agrodolce ~ Sweet & Sour Italian Condiment
Roasted Vegetables
Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
Day #2: Pan Fried Chicken Thighs with Honey Chili Glaze
Pan Fried Chicken Thighs with Honey Chili Glaze
co*cktail Pairing: Mango Jalapeño Martini
Day #3: Chili Glazed Chicken Salad with Agrodolce and Roasted Vegetables
Chili Glazed Chicken Salad with Roasted Vegetables
co*cktail Pairing: Cucumber Gimlet with Mint
Dessert Pairing: Cherry Turnovers with Cream Cheese and Almonds
Day #4: Thai Curry Shrimp and Rice
Thai Curry Shrimp and Rice
co*cktail Pairing: Pepper Blossom co*cktail ~ Citrus and Jalapeño
Dessert Pairing: The BEST Blueberry Pie {with fresh or frozen blueberries}
Day #5: Thai Pork and Noodle Soup
Thai Pork and Noodle Soup
co*cktail Pairing: The Perfect Manhattan
Dessert Pairing: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Vanilla Sugar Cookies
*Does not include ingredients for suggested baked goods or co*cktails.
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 large yellow onions
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbspfresh ginger
- 2 lbs vegetables for roasting, any combination of varieties you like. Click here for suggestions.
- 7–9cups greens such as kale, endive, spinach, or arugula - or any greens mix
- 3heaping cups of bok choy – remove the leaves and chop the white stalks into1-inch chunks
- 2heaping cups of cherry tomatoes
- 8 ozshiitake mushrooms
- 2bunches of scallions
- 2 cups bok choy
- 1–2cups sprouts or micro greens
- ½ cupfresh basil
- 3or 4 stalks of fresh lemongrass
- ½ cupchopped cilantro
- 1 lemon
- ¾ cuplemon juice
- 8fresh limes
- 6thick-cut, bone-in pork chops, approximately 12-oz each
- 12chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
- 1lb fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 cup roughly chopped almonds, skin on
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4cups apple cider
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 ½ cups Wild rice
- 1to1 ½cups long grain rice, preferably Jasmine
- ¾ cupchili garlic sauce (should be in the Asian food isle)
- 4 ozgreen curry paste (about8 tablespoons) + 1 additional tablespoon green curry paste
- 13-oz can coconut milk, unsweetened
- 2 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tbspfish sauce
- 8 ozpad Thai rice noodles
- 1 cupof shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 ¼ cups olive oil
- 3 tbspcoconut oil
- 2 tsppeanut or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cupcornstarch
- Salt and Pepper
For the Thai Spice Mix (can also purchase a pre-blended spice mix):
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground dried hot red Thai pepper
- 2 tablespoon dried lemongrass (see note)
- 2 tablespoon lime zest (zest 1 or 2 small limes)
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 4 tablespoon toasted unsweetened coconut, ground in a food processor or spice mill
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
For the Pork Chop Dry Rub:
- 2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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