Category Archives: Meal Planning

MEAL PLANNING – WEEK 5

Here is my suggested meal plan for the upcoming week which is Week 5 in our meal planning series. If you want to check out previous weeks’ meal plans, hotlinks to them are included at the end of this posting.

As with previous meal plans I have published, I’ve provided a list of the main ingredients for each recipe that, for the most part, would probably involve a shopping trip to the supermarket for most. However, as always, read each recipe thoroughly and carefully to create your own list as I have not listed what I consider to be “staple” items like regular milk, butter, eggs, flour, sugar, butter/shortening, oil, spices, etc.

This week, we’ll start off with a baked ham which will give us leftovers for the next day. Continue reading MEAL PLANNING – WEEK 5

10 Tips for Cutting Your Food Bill and Reducing Food Waste

With continuously rising food prices, many people find it necessary to cut corners on their grocery bill and that can be a challenge.  There are several ways in which I keep my food bill in check and reduce food waste.  Here are my 10 top tips:

  1. Cut Back on Eating Out

It’s easy to fall into the “convenience food” trap.  The old “I just don’t have time to prepare homemade food” trap comes with a hefty price – both in terms of money spent on food and in nutritional value.

It’s very easy to pick up a muffin and a coffee on the way to work, for example.  However, for the price (or very little more) of those two items on one day alone, an entire batch of a dozen muffins could be made and frozen, ready for the weekday lunch bag(s).

Zucchini Granola Muffins
Zucchini Granola Muffins

For a visual of how much that daily coffeeshop tea or coffee is costing, multiple it by 365 days – if a coffee/tea costs, for example,  $3.00, a significant sum of $1095.00 a year will be spent on just one take-out coffee or tea a day (and I know some folks buy more than one a day).  If you were to make your own tea or coffee, how much would it cost? How much are you shelling out for the convenience of picking up the beverage at a coffeeshop? Add to that a bakeshop or coffeeshop muffin that generally runs about the same price as the coffee and, again, basic multiplication will reveal another $1095.00 for just the daily muffins for a year.  I can make a LOT of batches of muffins for $1095.00 a year! Together, those two simple items can run you about $2200.00 a year!

Homemade Muffin and Coffee
Homemade Muffin and Coffee

Spending $7.00+ for a bowl of soup or a salad at lunchtime adds up over a week, a month, and a year.  For $7.00, a big batch of healthy basic homemade soup, for example, can be made and frozen in portion-sized containers, making the lunchtime meal more healthy and economical.

Potato Leek Soup
Potato Leek Soup

I do not eat out a lot.  I’m not against it but it is expensive and dining out frequently makes it less of a special treat. For anyone on a restrictive diet, finding a restaurant that can accommodate the diet can be a real challenge. When I do eat out, it’s usually because I am traveling or, if at home, I am choosing to go to a nice restaurant as a special treat. If you normally eat out several times a week, consider cutting it back to, perhaps, only once a week and see the difference it will make in how much you spend on food. I never “order in” food and very rarely eat from a deli. Stopping at a supermarket deli on the way home from work is a temptation to scoot around the store and “pick up just a few items” while you are there.  Suddenly, the supper stop just cost $60 instead of $15.

If you can afford these conveniences, great.  However, if you need to cut your food expenditures, this might be a good place to start making adjustments. Making your own food/beverages is both cost-effective and healthier.

  1. Make a Budget

Grocery Budgeting
Grocery Budgeting

Make a realistic budget for food, based on what you really need.  Set aside that money from your income and stick to the budget.  If you only allot so much for groceries, it will force you to shop for good bargains and to only buy what you need, not what you see and are enticed by, that if truth be told, you probably really don’t need. I sometimes see shoppers using calculators as they grocery shop.  This is a great idea! If you only have so much money to spend, you’ll immediately see where you are with your budget as you select items from the grocery shelves and deduct their cost from your budget.  If you start to see you’re over budget, take a look through the grocery cart to see if there are any non-essentials that could perhaps return to the grocery shelf.

Grocery Shopping
Grocery Shopping

Keep track of what you buy and are spending on groceries.  A bit tedious but, if you need to figure out where your food dollars are going, keep a record for a few months recording what you buy. Review it to see if there are non-essential items creeping into the grocery cart that could perhaps be eliminated from future grocery orders.  If you are, for example, buying big name brand products to be used as ingredients for a casserole, could the dish be made with less pricey items such as store-brand ingredients?  Do you really need the frozen entrée dinners or could you prepare healthy homemade meals? Do you need to pay for cheese already grated or could you buy a block of cheese on sale and grate it yourself? Do you really need to buy a bottle of salad dressing or could you make a simple healthy vinaigrette from ingredients already in your pantry? Once you get a clear picture of exactly what you are buying, you will likely identify items that can be eliminated or exchanged for more economically-priced substitutes.

  1. Engage in Meal Planning

Roast Turkey
Roast Turkey

I’ve written about the merits of meal planning before.  Make a list of the foods/meals your family likes to eat.  Plan for leftovers.  For example, if you are cooking a turkey dinner on the weekend, know ahead of time what you will use the leftover meat for so that you can extend its use.

Turkey Chowder
Homemade Turkey Chowder

Transforming the meat into other dishes will generate more servings than simply plating the leftover meat. For example, you might make a turkey chowder that will yield several servings. You might substitute the turkey for chicken in creamed chicken and get a significant number of servings. Perhaps you’ll make a chicken chow mein casserole that will give several dinner servings.

Chicken Chow Mein Casserole

Save the turkey carcass and make stock that can be used as the base in soups and other dishes.  Extend that turkey to get as much use out of it as you can.

Homemade Turkey Stock
Homemade Turkey Stock

The homemade turkey stock makes a wonderful base for turkey vegetable soup in which some of the leftover turkey meat can be used.

Turkey Soup
Turkey Vegetable Soup

If you are having a boiled ham dinner, save the broth and use some of the meat to make a tasty ham and lentil soup that will yield many servings.

Ham and Lentil Soup
Ham and Lentil Soup

Or, make a ham-based casserole that will generate several servings. All of these items can be frozen in whatever serving sizes you need for your family to have on hand for weeknight dinners.

Hawaiian Fiesta Casserole
Hawaiian Fiesta Casserole

By careful planning, you’ll be amazed at how many more meals you can generate from the leftovers of just one food item.

Try to make recipes that will give at least two nights’ meals.  For example, if you are making scalloped potatoes to go with leftover ham, double the recipe so you will have the side dish prepped for another meal.  Many dishes, like scalloped potatoes actually, in my opinion, improve their flavour over a day or two.

Scalloped Potatoes
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

The same principle of extending food usage holds true with foods like chicken breasts, for example.  To serve individual chicken breasts, it’s expensive.  However, if they are bought at a good price, they are golden for meal extension.  One 7 – 8oz boneless chicken breast will yield two to three sandwiches much more economically than buying sliced processed chicken at the deli.

Turkey, Pear, Brie, and Cranberry Sandwich
Turkey, Pear, Brie, and Cranberry Sandwich

An 8 oz chicken breast will generally yield about 1 cup, or slightly more, of diced chicken which can be used in casseroles or creamed chicken that will yield far more servings than simply putting a single full chicken breast on a plate with vegetables for just one serving at one meal.

Creamed Chicken
Chicken and Mushroom Vol-au-Vent

When I know I need to prepare some make-ahead meals that will require a lot of chicken or turkey (I use them interchangeably in recipes), I have my recipes planned and I watch for turkeys on sale. I don’t go into a store and, unexpectedly, see turkeys on sale and pick them up to put in the freezer unless I know I am going to use them relatively soon.  They are big to store and take up a lot of my valuable freezer space.

I always have a plan for recipes I can make if I can get a good deal on the main ingredient like meat, for example.  If I’m shopping and I know I want to make, say, Irish Stew soon (or when I can get the beef on sale), I will check the meat section to see if they have any best-before today/tomorrow sales. Sometimes, good cuts of meat will be reduced by 25% or even 50% if it has same day, or next day, best-before date.  There is nothing wrong with the meat and, if you can use it or make it into a recipe on the same day as purchase, it’s a great saving. I keep a list of ingredients of my most common make-ahead recipes on my phone so, if I can get a good deal on the meat, for example, I know what other ingredients I need to pick up at the same time to make the dish.

Irish Stew
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Irish Stew

If you plan your meals out, you’ll be less likely to head to the deli, take-out, or restaurant for meals. Careful meal planning is a great way to stretch food ingredients out into more servings and save money.

  1. Shop with a Grocery List and Only Buy What’s on the List

Grocery List
Grocery List

Make the grocery list before you leave home.  If you don’t have a list, the tendency will be to wander the supermarket aisles aimlessly, hoping the sight of items will trigger what you should pick up. When you get to the supermarket, DO NOT go up and down every aisle! I repeat, DO NOT go up and down every single aisle. Only visit the aisles that have items on your list.  Otherwise, the “browsing” will likely result in buying interesting looking items you may, or may not, use (and may not actually need) and that’s going to increase your grocery bill.  In fact, because I know the layout of the supermarkets well (most have the same basic layout), I actually make my grocery list in accordance with the store layout so I have a game plan when I hit the supermarket arena and I am not “backing and forthing” all over the store to pick up my groceries.  So, my grocery list starts with any needed fruits and vegetables since that’s the zone into which I enter the supermarket, then meats, and so on, as I traverse the store. The faster I can move through a zone without revisiting it (or lingering), the less likely I am to notice something that causes me to stop and explore it and potentially buy it.

Don’t stockpile food items, even if they’re on sale – you are tying up money into items that will expire and throwing them out is a waste of money. Plus, they are taking up real estate space in the pantry and/or freezer and are likely to eventually become food waste.  Most grocery items go on sale cyclically anyway so it’s not a “once in a lifetime must buy now deal”. I don’t keep a supply of canned goods on hand at all.  Rather, I choose a recipe, make my ingredient list, and go shop for the specific ingredients at the time.  This ensures my products are fresh and I have not tied up money in products I may, or may not, ever use. This method allows me to control my food budget better.

If you only need a few items, don’t take a shopping cart.  Instead, use a small hand-carried grocery basket or, better still, if you can carry all the items in your hands, you will be less likely to pick up additional products because your arms can only hold so much. I keep a grocery basket shown in the photo below) in my car.  I use this basket frequently because it will only hold so much so it helps to control my shopping.  It also doubles as my carry-out container and is easier to unpack when I arrive home.

Grocery Shopping Basket
Grocery Shopping Basket

If all you need is milk, for example, pay a few cents extra and buy it at the convenience store or gas bar because it will save you money in the long run. How so? If you travel all the way to the back of a large supermarket where the milk is usually located, you will be more likely to come out with a $60+ grocery bill than the $3.00 litre of milk you were shopping for because you will be enticed by other items along the way for which you did not go to the supermarket. If you do go to the supermarket for just an item like milk (and some of us do because the supermarkets are typically the stores that carry certain types of milk for special diets), take the route through an aisle in which you have no interest in the products. For example if you don’t have pets, pet food won’t be of interest so zoom down that aisle (as opposed to, say, the chips and snack aisle). That way, you’re not tempted to pick up excess items not on your list.  There’s a reason why grocery store designers place basic food necessities, like milk, at the very far back end of the store – they know shoppers have to pass by many, many items to get there and those other items are strategically placed to catch the shopper’s attention.  Many shoppers will pick up items as they head to that single litre of milk they actually came into the store to buy. So, once again, the risk is that the stop for a $3.00 litre of milk may turn into a $60+ grocery bill (willpower, willpower, wherefore art thou when in a supermarket!)

  1. Shop Around and Check out Sales Flyers/Price Compare Websites or Apps

If you are trying to save on your grocery bill, you will probably have to shop at more than one supermarket to get the best deals.  In most cities, supermarket chains tend to set up business in very close proximity to their competitors.  For example, in Charlottetown, we have three large supermarket chains located within about a half kilometer (or less) of each other so it makes it easy to shop around.  Now, if you had to drive 10-20 kilometers between them, the savings on the item(s) would have to be very significant to justify the gas and travel time.  But, if the grocery stores are close, savings can be found for the shrewd shopper who takes the time to find them.

Check out the weekly sales flyers to see which supermarket has the items on sale that you need (operative word here always being “need”).  Or, check out price compare websites or apps to see which grocery store chain has the best price on products you need. Not all chains will price match but some will.  It never hurts to ask.

Sales Flyers
Grocery Sales Flyers

There is one grocery store in my hometown which I would class as less glitzy and more basic than the others.  I shop for what I can get there because it’s a smaller store which makes it easier to stick to my grocery list as there are fewer items drawing me to buy them.  Another store has great regular prices on certain items so, when I need those specific products, I head first to that store and buy what I can there. For example, there is a particular brand of yogurt I like.  The regular price for this item at one supermarket has, for a long time, consistently been (at time of writing) $2.97 for 500g. The exact same brand item of the same size retails at the competitors for $4.97. A 2.63 litre of a major brand orange juice sells for $3.97 (regular price) at one store while the competitors retail it for, on average, $7.49 – a $3.52 difference.  On just these two items alone, I can save $5.52 by carefully shopping around. A third supermarket has its own name brand products that I really like and which are priced cheaper than big name brand counterparts.  That’s the store I head to for those products because I don’t particularly like either of the competitors’ own store brand products.

I am not a huge user of coupons because I find they are most often for items I don’t need.  However, they are a good way to save money if they are for items you do actually need.  That said, as a word of caution, don’t use the coupons to buy items simply to try the products.  If the items are not ones you need, then putting any money at all on to the items is adding unnecessary strain to the food budget.

While I am not against big box warehouse shopping venues, they can require a lot of willpower on the customer’s part to pass by items that aren’t on the grocery list but certainly look interesting and appear to be a good price.  BUT….are they really a great price if you look at the per unit or per weight price and factor in all the considerations around them?  Items typically come in very large quantities at these stores (there’s a reason why they have those jumbo-sized grocery carts that can hardly be pushed or navigated through the store). So, unless you have a very large family and lots of refrigeration and pantry space, many of the items are just simply too large for many households to store and use up before the items expire. Therefore, the questions to ask are:  Do you, first of all, really need the items?  Will you be able to use them all up before they expire?  If you are a household of one or two people, would you really use a 10lb bag of quinoa or rice? If you end up throwing out a good portion of the food items, that constitutes food waste and a drain on the food budget and you really haven’t saved any money.

We don’t have big box grocery warehouse stores in PEI at the time of writing but a lot of Islanders frequent them off Island. I did have a membership (which also costs an annual fee) at a big box store with locations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for a couple of years but discontinued it when I found I wasn’t using it enough to justify the membership fee.  Living in PEI, I had to factor into the cost of the grocery items, the Confederation Bridge toll (nearly $50. at time of writing), gas, and the time to travel to the big box warehouse stores. But, the biggest reason why I wasn’t shopping at them?  Everything was available only in way-too-large quantities and most of the products, well, I just simply did not need or I could get what I needed more economically when the standard local supermarkets put on good sales.

One previous frequent grocery warehouse shopper told me his family recently discontinued their membership as well because every time they were at one of these stores (2-3 times a month, on average), they were spending at least $500 per trip on items they really did not need (but looked enticing) and they ended up throwing out a good portion of them after their expiry date had passed because they could not use up such large quantities.  These shopping excursions were in addition to their regular grocery shopping at home, putting a huge unsustainable strain on their food budget.

To stay on a food budget, shop around and buy only what you need and can reasonably use up before the items expire.

  1. Follow Credible Well-Tested Recipes

While it’s fun to try new recipes, if you are on a strict food budget, you’ll want to ensure you choose recipes that, first of all, have ingredients you know your family will like and, second, come from a trusted source.  This is because you want a recipe that has good, clear directions and that will turn out for you.  The last thing you want is to have to walk the dreaded walk to the compost bin with a failed recipe and still have nothing prepped for dinner. That’s when you tend to order in or head out to a restaurant for the meal, really taxing the food budget.

Don’t choose complicated recipes with expensive ingredients, especially if you are a novice cook – it will be easy to become discouraged with home cooking if your efforts don’t meet with a satisfying tasty dish. Start basic and move toward more elaborate recipes as your cooking experience grows. There is no shortage of cookbooks and cooking magazines on the market and literally anyone can post any recipe on the internet.  However, there is no guarantee that any of the recipes from these sources have actually been tested for success.  Ask your friends and family for recommendations on the recipe sources they use with success and, of course, you can always check out recipes here on My Island Bistro Kitchen’s website since those recipes have been well tested several times before being published!

For those on a budget, look for recipes that call for economical ingredients and that you can get more than one meal from the recipe.  While pricey food items like lobster, scallops, and steak are wonderfully tasty, they can make a serious dent in the food budget.  To keep the budget in check, I recommend saving those types of items for a special treat or occasion and selecting other, more economically-priced, ingredients for everyday meals.

There are ways to turn everyday basic ingredients into very tasty, wholesome meals using seasonings, sauces, and so forth. A lot of the contents in my freezers are not “gourmet” by any stretch of the definition but they are mighty tasty meals and not difficult to prepare.  These include the basics like baked beans, chili, macaroni and cheese, creamed chicken, chicken and ham casseroles, soups, and so forth.

  1. Buy a Big Freezer

In my opinion, one of the best investments one can make is in a big upright freezer.  This allows for batch cooking make-ahead meal preparation to be done when food ingredients are in season or on sale.  I freeze lots of varieties of soups, main entrées, side dishes, and desserts.  This allows me to eat well, at home, and quite economically.  Plus, I know what I’m eating and the foods are not full of preservatives or ingredients I can’t pronounce.

Frozen Homemade Make-ahead Meals
Frozen Homemade Make-ahead Meals

Properly package items for freezing and label and date everything.  While the money has to initially be laid out for ingredients to batch cook and the prep work still has to be done, it does cut down on the grocery bill on an ongoing basis and lessens the task of meal prep on weeknights.  Plus, it discourages the old fallback of stopping at the supermarket deli for dinner on the way home from work because you will know you have quality homecooked meals already prepared.

  1. Batch Cook and Prepare Make-ahead Meals for the Freezer

I believe that, no matter how busy we are, we make time for whatever is a priority for us.  So, if healthy, affordable eating for you and your family is important to you, you’ll put some time into healthy, economical meal preparation.

Set aside a few days and prepare several make-ahead meals for the freezer – soups for lunches, muffins for breaks, entrées for main meals, and desserts for when the sweet tooth calls.

Beef Pasta Casserole
Beef Pasta Casserole Ready for the Freezer

Once I have my freezers (yes, freezers plural) filled with make-ahead meals, my ongoing grocery list just usually consists of dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, and the like. If you don’t know how to cook, or you need the motivation from others to get you going, gather together some friends to have a batch cooking session at the end of which everyone goes home with some make-ahead meals. Or, take a short cooking class.  Many larger supermarkets, for example, will frequently offer evening or Saturday cooking classes. You might also check out some community colleges or local cooking schools to see what short-term cooking classes they might offer.

If you want to tackle a new recipe you are not familiar with, engage an experienced cooking mentor to help walk you through the process.  Most experienced cooks will be more than willing to share their knowledge and experience in this field.

Batch cooking is my lifesaver – I don’t have to stop at the supermarket or takeout for dinner and I know what’s in my food that contains no preservatives or weird, hard-to-pronounce ingredients. Whether you are living alone, as a couple, or a family of several members, advance batch-cooking is a great meal preparation strategy. For singles or smaller households, it offers the benefit of having a variety of meals on hand from which to choose each day without having to individually prepare small-sized meals on a daily basis. For larger families, it provides healthy, home-cooked meals on busy weeknights when everyone is running in multiple directions to and from activities. If you have some others in the house, engage them in the meal preparation to lighten the load (it’s a great way to teach the younger generation how to prepare home-cooked meals, too).

  1. Adjust Meal Planning According to the Seasons

Create a list of favorite recipes to make when fresh local produce (perhaps from your own garden) is available and at good prices.  For example, I do a lot of soup making and freeze portion-sized containers of the soup for weekday lunches.  Some of my favorite soups are tomato, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup

We had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden this year and making soup with them is a great way to use up the tomatoes and cut the cost of the soup significantly.  I was able to find beautiful large heads of broccoli and cauliflower for .99 cents in the fall and, since they are the primary ingredients in two of my favorite soups, I was able to make double batches of cauliflower and broccoli soups for the freezer very economically – much more so than making cauliflower soup, for example, in the winter when a small head of imported cauliflower has run as high as $7.00 in recent years. The same holds true with fresh fruits.  I make my Blueberry Peach Crisps, Apple Crisps, and applesauce when the fruit is fresh and at a good price.  I then freeze these desserts for use throughout the year.

Summer Dessert
Perfect Peach Blueberry Crisp

 

  1. Shop Less Frequently

Just because it’s Saturday (or whatever day you typically do your main shopping) does not mean you automatically have to go grocery shopping if you really don’t need a grocery order.  Make it a habit not to be stopping at the supermarket every day, or every other day, throughout the week.  The more times you enter a grocery store, the harder it will be to stick to a food budget.  You might try only doing focused grocery shopping every two weeks and, in the interim, stop to pick up the necessities like milk, at a convenience store or gas bar where there will be less items calling your attention and wallet.

Conclusion

It is a challenge, for sure, to eat well when food prices continue to rise rapidly.  It does require some folks to become more creative in how to feed a family healthy meals on a budget.  I believe it can be done but it does take work, dedication, commitment, organization, planning, and shopping around for the best deals possible on food items.  For some folks, it may mean a lifestyle change by eating out less frequently and removing some non-essential items from the grocery cart.  For others, it may mean learning how to cook economical and nutritious meals from scratch at home.

I hope you have found some of my tips helpful for controlling the grocery bill and reducing food waste. What are your strategies to stretch your food dollar?

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Tips for Cutting Food Bill and Reducing Food Waste
Tips for Cutting Food Bill and Reducing Food Waste

An Autumnal Themed Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner
Autumnal-themed Thanksgiving Dinner

Undisputedly, a big roasted turkey is the traditional star of the Thanksgiving dinner in many North American homes.  Playing the supporting roles, of course, are all the fixins’, including the variety of vegetables and gravy. This year, however, I am deviating from the norm and putting a new twist on Thanksgiving dinner, lightening it up and sizing it down for smaller households, while still staying true to some of the elements of what one would expect to be on the Thanksgiving dinner table.  Here’s why I’ve shaken up the norm a bit.

Sizing Down and Lightening up the Thanksgiving Dinner

I sometimes hear people say they don’t want to cook a big turkey, or even a whole chicken, because perhaps they have a small household of only one, two, or three people and it’s just too much meat for them.  And, then there is the large carcass to deal with – though I am a big proponent of using it to make great homemade stock (click here for my stock recipe).  Others have indicated they don’t have a big roaster in which to roast a turkey and still some others say they don’t know how to roast a turkey to get it cooked properly.  I have heard some say that, while they like a roast turkey dinner, it can be a heavy meal with rich gravy, heavily spiced stuffing, and so forth. Others may be on a restricted diet making it a challenge to, alternatively, dine out for Thanksgiving dinner.  Whatever the reason, I have decided to create a Thanksgiving dinner menu suitable for the smaller household and those looking for lighter fare.

Now, it can be challenging to size everything down precisely to one or two servings and, to be frank, it’s not the most cost-effective or efficient approach to meal preparation for the smaller household.  I learned that many years ago and that’s when I moved to batch cooking for the freezer which allows me to have much greater meal variety than would be the case if I was to spend time in the kitchen preparing unique daily meals for one or two.  This menu, by the way, is also suitable for any autumnal dinner party and the recipes referenced are scalable to the number of servings required.

Bread
Baguette

Menu Inspiration

The inspiration for the menu was drawn primarily from seasonal foods, those that would be considered to be fall flavors. While varied from the traditional Thanksgiving dinner style, I aimed to still maintain elements of a typical Thanksgiving dinner. From the gourd family comes the butternut squash for the soup.  From the garden come the fresh greens, vine-ripened tomatoes, beets, and carrots.  From the fields of a local farmer, come the potatoes.  From the cranberry bogs and high bush blueberry field come the cranberries and blueberries.  And, from a local orchard and distillery come the apples and liqueur for the dessert. In lieu of turkey, I have opted to go with chicken breasts though turkey breasts could certainly be used.  The chicken breasts are smaller to roast and plate quite attractively. The steamed mussels for an appetizer have been included because, well, it’s PEI and we love our mussels any time of the year!

The table is set – it’s time to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner!

Placesetting
Thanksgiving Dinner Placesetting

The Menu

Food is meant to be enjoyed and savored, not hurriedly consumed.  This menu and its serving style aim for that objective.

Appetizers

Island Blue Mussels steamed in Upstreet’s “Rhuby Social” beer

Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini

Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Served with a toasted baguette slice topped with cheese, bacon, and chives

Salad

Mix of Garden Greens with Vine-ripened Mini Tomatoes and Button Mushrooms

Dressed with Raspberry Vinaigrette and served from the salad urn, tableside

 Main

Roasted Chicken Breast with a dry rub of spices

Served over Sausage Bread Dressing

Accompaniments

Petite Roasted Potato Stacks

Thinly sliced potato tossed with melted butter, herbs, and cheese then roasted

Roasted Beets and Carrots

Cranberry Blueberry Sauce

Dessert

Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce

Wine Pairing

   Clean Slate 2016 Riesling (Germany)

 

The Appetizers

It’s almost bordering on the sacrilegious if either (or both) steamed mussels and oysters are not on the menu for a gathering here in PEI!  Yes, we love our seafood!  I’ve chosen Island Blue Mussels steamed in Upstreet’s “Rhuby Social” beer (recipe here).  Steaming mussels in beer lends a wonderful flavor to the mussels.  Easy and quick to prepare, these mussels are a great start to a wonderful meal.

PEI Mussels
PEI Mussels Steamed in Rhuby Social Beer from Upstreet Craft Brewing

The second appetizer I’ve chosen is the Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini (recipe here).  These little morsels are ever-so-tasty.  This recipe is easy to reduce or increase in size, depending on the number of guests and either wheat-based or gluten-free baguettes can be used.

Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini
Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini

The Soup

Our Thanksgiving dinner this year starts with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, a stunning golden yellow soup that is smooth and luxurious and filled with the warm flavors of fall (click here for recipe). This soup is a great way to kick off an autumnal dinner. My recipe for this soup makes 8-10 servings so, if making the soup specifically for Thanksgiving dinner in a small household, the remainder can be frozen for later enjoyment.  Alternatively, the soup can be made in advance of Thanksgiving, frozen, and then the number of servings needed thawed and reheated for the dinner.  I love when I can do prep work for dinners days ahead as it relieves some of the work and stress on the day of the dinner.

Squash Soup
Classic Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Serving the soup at the table from a soup tureen adds a lovely touch to a special meal or dinner party.

Squash Soup
Classic Butternut Squash Soup

The soup tureen can also serve as a table centerpiece for the soup course.

Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

The Salad

Our garden did fabulously this year.  We grow a grand selection of lettuce that usually takes us well into the fall, sometimes until late October.  Our one tomato plant with mini tomatoes has literally produced hundreds of tiny orange tomatoes this year.  It was a very prolific producer and we have been blessed to have its produce right through to Thanksgiving, even if it meant blanketing it down on frost nights in order to keep it producing.

Salad
Salad Urn

My salad bowl is a small ceramic urn-shaped planter which also serves as the table centerpiece for the salad course.  It’s a great conversation piece and it elevates the status of the salad! When using a unique vessel, like this urn, for the salad ingredients to be assembled at the table, opt for few ingredients that can easily be divided between plates. It’s not always necessary to have a multitude of ingredients in a salad, particularly if it is a starter to a meal.  In this salad, all I’ve used is a selection of lettuce, tiny tomatoes, and button mushrooms served with a simple raspberry vinaigrette. I like vinaigrettes because they allow the flavour of the vegetables to shine through as they are not masked by a heavy cream dressing.

Salad
Edible Salad Centrepiece

Chicken Breasts

Chicken breasts sometimes get a bad rap for being dry.  I think this is because they have not been properly prepared and cooked.  I always brine my chicken breasts – it makes such a huge difference in both flavor and texture and no more dried out, stringy chicken.  All I do is place the chicken breasts in a salt brine for 1½ – 2 hours, rinse them off, then pat them dry with paper towel followed by a light brushing of some olive oil and a sprinkle of selected dry spices.  Then, into my convection oven set at 400°F they go just until they test done on my trusty meat thermometer.  The high heat locks in the juices and cooks the chicken fast so it does not get a chance to dry out.  The result is perfectly cooked and juicy chicken …. every time.  The great thing about boneless skinless chicken breasts is it’s all meat and no waste and they slice beautifully for plating, sandwiches, etc.

Chicken
Sliced Roasted Chicken Breast

The Dressing

For my Thanksgiving dinner, I have plated the sliced chicken over sausage bread dressing – recipe here.  This is not a heavily spiced dressing so it is in keeping with my “lighter” Thanksgiving dinner theme yet it still bows to the tradition of having stuffing/dressing as a side dish at dinner.  In fact, I will often make this recipe and freeze it for later use when I am having some kind of chicken dish for a meal.  So, this is also something that can be made ahead for this dinner and the dressing can be heated for just a few seconds in the microwave.

Stuffing Recipe
Sweet and Savory Sausage Bread Stuffing

The Potatoes

Because this meal is meant to be light, the traditional gravy is absent.  This meant I needed to come up with a potato side dish that did not need gravy.  These Roasted Potato Stacks (recipe here), are the perfect potato side dish.  These are not difficult to make and, with the butter, garlic, herbs, and cheeses, these tasty morsels are simply divine.  They bake perfectly in muffin cups and plate beautifully.  They are best served fresh from the oven.  However, they can be pre-made, roasted, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours then reheated for a few minutes in the oven.  So, again, this is a menu item that can be made in advance of the dinner.  While my published recipe makes eight potato stacks (serves four), the recipe is easily halved (or, alternatively, make the whole recipe and enjoy leftovers the following day).

Potato Stacks
Roasted Potato Stacks

The Roasted Vegetables

For my vegetable side dishes, I decided to go really local — all the way to our backyard garden!  Beets and freshly dug carrots were roasted with herbs in the oven.  I love roasted vegetables because their true flavors are evident and no nutrients or flavor are washed down the drain as can be the case with boiled vegetables.  The beets were tossed with a spritz or two of raspberry balsamic vinegar and the same of orange juice.  The key is not to add too much liquid to the roasted vegetables that would make them soupy or lose their roasted flavor.  Both the vinegar and orange juice are just meant to be flavor enhancers so very little is needed.

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving DInner

The Condiment

For the condiment, I’m serving my Cranberry Blueberry Sauce.  This sauce is a beautiful deep burgundy-plum color and combines two complementary flavors.  The tartness of the cranberries is enhanced by the sweetness of the high bush blueberries.  Click here for my recipe.

Sauce
Cranberry Blueberry Sauce

The Dessert

To bring one of the quintessential fall flavors into the menu, I am serving Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce (recipe here).  Both the pudding and the sauce freeze well for later use and both can be made ahead of the dinner, thawed, and reheated for dessert.

Bread Pudding
Apple-Maple Bread Pudding

The Wine Pairing

The wine I’ve paired with this meal is Clean Slate, a 2016 Riesling from Mosel, Germany, an affordable wine that appeals to a variety of tastes.  When selecting the wine for this meal, I considered the menu items, both individually and collectively.  Thanksgiving dinner plates tend to have a variety of foods with flavors that span the spectrum from sweet (Cranberry-Blueberry Sauce) to the moist and gently spiced (Sausage Bread Dressing) to the herbed and roasted (the vegetables) to the slight saltiness (brined chicken breast).  With that variety, it can be a challenge to select one wine that will temper and balance all the flavors and cleanse and refresh the palate between bites so that the true flavors of each of the foods can be enjoyed.

A Riesling wine is a great choice because it has low alcohol content with lots of palate-refreshing acidity along with a slight touch of sweetness to balance and complement the variety of flavors.

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Dinner

So, whether you’re looking for inspiration for a Thanksgiving dinner with a lighter fare, one that is suitable for smaller households, or for an autumnal-themed dinner party, this menu is scalable to virtually any number, big or small. All recipes referenced can be found on My Island Bistro Kitchen’s website, a one-stop destination for recipes for a tasty fall dinner.

Pin Me To Pinterest!

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Dinner 2018

Meal Planning – Week 4

Here is my suggested meal plan for the upcoming week. If you want to check out previous weeks’ meal plans, click here for the meal plan for week 1, here for week 2’s plan,  here for the meal plan for week 3, here for Week 5, and here for Week 6.  I’ve provided a list of the main ingredients that, for the most part, would probably involve a shopping trip to the supermarket for most. However, as always, read each recipe thoroughly and carefully to create your own list as I have not listed what I consider to be “staple” items like regular milk, butter, eggs, flour, sugar, butter/shortening, oil, spices, etc.

This week, we’ll start off with a roast chicken or turkey.  I watch and get chickens or turkeys when they are on sale and I usually have a stock of 2-3 in the freezer.  They are great week starters because, yay, there are leftovers!!!! This means the leftovers can be transformed into other dishes such as turkey chowder and chicken (turkey) chow mein casserole.  And, if you are cooking a turkey (or a large chicken), don’t throw out the carcass as it makes great poultry stock!

Click on the green links below to access the recipes for this week’s meal plan.

MONDAY

Bran Muffins – A healthy batch of muffins to start off the week.

Shopping List:  Applesauce, molasses, natural bran, all-purpose and whole wheat flours, and raisins

Bran Muffins
Bran Muffins

Dinner:  Roast Chicken or Turkey with Mashed Potatoes, Favorite Side Vegetables, Turnip Puff Casserole, Stuffing/Dressing, Cranberry Sauce

Who can pass up a roast chicken or turkey dinner with all the fixins’!

Shopping List: Roasting Chicken or Turkey, Vegetables of Choice. For Turnip Puff Casserole – Rutabaga, applesauce, onion, parmesan and cheddar cheeses. For Stuffing – Potatoes, bread crumbs, onion, summer savory, celery, apple, and liquid chicken bouillon. For Cranberry Sauce – cranberries (fresh or frozen), apple, and orange juice.

Roast Turkey
Roast Turkey
Turnip Puff Casserole
Turnip Puff Casserole
Turkey and Dressing
Turkey and Dressing
Cranberry Sauce
Zesty Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Dessert:  Blueberry Buckle

A cake type dessert made even more tasty with blueberry sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Shopping List:  Blueberries (fresh or frozen), orange juice + general baking supplies

Blueberry Buckle
Blueberry Buckle with Vanilla Ice Cream Drizzled with Blueberry Sauce

TUESDAY

Make stock from the carcass of the turkey/chicken.

Homemade stock is so flavorful and versatile. You’ll find a multitude of uses for this stock.

Shopping List:  2 lbs fresh turkey pieces, onion, leek, carrots, celery, garlic, rutabaga, parsnips, mushrooms, cider vinegar, herbs and spices (rosemary, parsley, thyme, dill, sage, basil, coriander, summer savory, cardamom pods, cloves, allspice, star anise pod, peppercorns)

Homemade Turkey Stock
Homemade Turkey Stock

NOTE: Be sure to save 2 cups of cubed turkey/chicken for the turkey chowder for Wednesday’s dinner and 1 cup for the casserole for Thursday’s dinner.

Dinner:  Leftover Roast Chicken or Turkey with Potato Salad (add a green salad, if desired)

Don’t reserve potato salad just for summer picnics and barbeques.  It’s great any time of the year and is a fine accompaniment to cold chicken or turkey.

Shopping List: For the Potato Salad – potatoes (such as Yukon Gold or Reds), eggs, celery, onion, salad dressing (click here for my recipe), sour cream, sweet relish, and mustard).

Potato Salad
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s PEI Potato Salad

Dessert:  Leftover Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Buckle

WEDNESDAY

Dinner:  Turkey Chowder

Leftover turkey gets transformed into this hearty and flavorful chowder.

Shopping List: Onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, summer savory, poultry stock, potatoes, milk, 1 – 10oz can creamed corn, and Parmesan cheese (Note: This recipe requires 2 cups of the cooked, cubed leftover turkey/chicken)

Homemade Chowder
Turkey Chowder

Dessert: Molasses Spice Cookies

A spicy and chewy cookie.  Great for the cookie jar!

Shopping List: Molasses and general baking supplies 

Spice Cookies
Molasses Spice Cookies

THURSDAY

 DinnerChicken Chow Mein Casserole served with a green salad and fresh biscuits

Leftover chicken (or turkey) gets re-purposed into this flavorful easy-to-prepare casserole.

Shopping list:  For the casserole: 1 – 10oz can Cream of Chicken Soup, Parmesan cheese, fresh mushrooms, red pepper, celery, onion, garlic, chicken broth, cashew pieces, sliced water chestnuts, and chow mein noodles. (Note: This recipe requires 1 cup of the cooked, cubed leftover turkey/chicken) For the salad: Lettuce and fresh vegetables of choice and dressing. For the biscuits: Whipping cream, milk, and standard baking supplies.

Chicken Chow Mein Casserole
Tea Biscuits
Tea Biscuits

Dessert: Old-fashioned Jam Squares

A real old favorite, these jam squares demand red jam like raspberry!

Shopping List: Raspberry Jam, Lemon, and general baking supplies

Jam Squares
Jam Squares

FRIDAY

 Dinner:  Seven Layer Dinner (aka Shipwreck Dinner)

By far, one of my most popular recipes and one of the most frequently searched for on my website. Dinner in one casserole! A simple meal but a mighty tasty one!

Shopping List: Ground beef, potatoes, onion, celery, parsnips, carrots, frozen peas, Minute Rice, and 1 – 10oz can tomato soup

Shipwreck Dinner
Seven Layer DInner

Dessert: Peanut Butter Cookies

This is an all-time favorite cookie.

Shopping List: Peanut butter + general baking supplies

Peanut Butter Cookies

NOTE:  Soak the yellow-eyed beans overnight tonight in preparation for making the Maple Syrup Baked Beans for tomorrow night’s dinner.

SATURDAY

 Dinner: Maple Syrup Baked Beans with Homemade White Bread

A Saturday night tradition in many Maritime homes.  These beans freeze great if there are any leftovers.

Shopping List: For the Baked Beans – 1 – 1lb bag yellow eye beans, garlic, dry mustard, liquid chicken bouillon, tomato paste, cider vinegar, pure maple syrup, molasses, BBQ sauce, and onion.  For White Bread: Yeast, milk, flour and general baking supplies.

Baked Beans

 

White Bread
Homemade White Bread

Dessert: Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce

This bread pudding is such a treat, especially when flavored with maple liqueur that is made right here in PEI by Deep Roots Distillery in Warren Grove, just outside Charlottetown.

Shopping List:  For Pudding: 1 – 1lb loaf of soft French bread, whole milk, blend/cream, baking apples, maple liqueur, and raisins. For Sauce: Maple syrup and maple liqueur.

Apple-Maple Bread Pudding

SUNDAY

 Sunday Breakfast: Special Treat – Irish Cream French Toast, a great way to use some of the homemade bread from yesterday

Irish Cream jazzes up traditional French toast. A lovely weekend treat.

Shopping List: Irish Cream Liqueur (click here for my recipe), orange juice, eggs

Irish Cream French Toast
Irish Cream French Toast

DinnerPork Chops with Bread Stuffing and Creamy Mushroom Sauce; serve with baked potato and medley of favorite steamed vegetables

This is such a flavorful way to present pork chops. Yummy.

Shopping List: Pork Chops (bone-in), bread crumbs, onion, summer savory, celery, apple, liquid chicken bouillon, 1 – 10oz can mushroom soup

Pork Chops with Bread Stuffing and Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Pork Chops with Bread Stuffing and Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Dessert: Leftover Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce

Maple Sauce on Apple-Maple Bread Pudding

Week 1 Menu Plan
Week 2 Menu Plan
Week 3 Menu Plan

So, there you have it! A weekly menu that makes full use of a roasted turkey or large roasted chicken.

Meal Planning – Week 3

A weekly meal plan is always useful to have. It helps with shopping, meal preparation, healthy eating, meal variety, and can save on the grocery bill. What follows is my suggested meal plan and shopping list for Week 3. I have several weeks’ worth of meal plans developed using recipes I have created for my food blog.  You can access the meal plans for other weeks by clicking on the hotlinks at the end of this posting.   Of note, the Week 1 posting also includes information on meal planning in general.

I’ve provided a list of the main ingredients that, for the most part, would probably involve a shopping trip to the supermarket for most. However, as always, read each recipe thoroughly and carefully to create your own list as I have not listed what I consider to be “staple” items like regular milk, butter, eggs, flour, sugar, butter/shortening, oil, spices, etc.

Click on the green hotlinks to access the recipes.

MONDAY

Glazed Lemon Pecan Sweet Bread – This is a lovely treat to start off the week. Tuck it in to the lunch bags for a treat at break.

Shopping List: Lemon, pecans

Glazed Lemon Pecan Sweet Bread

Dinner:  Rich and Hearty Goulash Soup with Whole Wheat Biscuits

This soup is the full meal deal – very filling and flavorful.

Shopping List: For the Soup – Ground beef, onion, celery, carrots, rutabaga, parsnip, potatoes, zucchini, garlic, tomato paste, canned diced tomatoes, ketchup, beef stock (click here for my recipe), red wine vinegar. For the Biscuits – All purpose and whole wheat flours, buttermilk

Goulash Soup
Rich and Hearty Goulash Soup

There’s nothing like a wholesome homemade biscuit and these whole wheat biscuits go really well with the Goulash Soup.

Whole Wheat Biscuits
Whole Wheat Biscuits

Dessert: Apple Crisp

No matter the season, this old faithful dessert will always meet with satisfaction. Pure comfort food at its best!

Shopping List: Apples (e.g., any combo of Cortland, Honeycrisp, Humes, Gingergold), rolled oats, pecans, lemon juice

Apple Crisp
Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

TUESDAY

Dinner:  Pork Loin Roast with Pomegranate, Red Wine, and Black Garlic; serve with Potato Patties and medley of roasted vegetables of choice

Black garlic is not all that common yet, here on PEI, the garlic grower at Eureka Garlic just outside Kensington produces black garlic. Click here to read the story I wrote on Eureka Garlic’s black garlic.  Not at all the taste you might think – in fact, no garlic flavor at all. Its transformation is more of a cross between a fig and a prune. Goes particularly well with pork.

Shopping List: For Pork Loin Roast – Pork rib roast, garlic, soya sauce, white wine vinegar, shallots, pomegranate molasses, chicken stock, black garlic, balsamic vinegar, red wine, orange juice. For Potato Patties – Potatoes, sour cream chicken bouillon, breadcrumbs.

Pork Loin
Pork Loin Roast with Pomegranate, Red Wine, and Black Garlic Sauce served with Potato Croquettes and Roasted Root Vegetables

These potato patties are such an incredibly tasty way to serve potatoes and they freeze well, too!

PEI Potato Patties
PEI Potato Patties

Dessert:  Date Squares

Date Squares, the perennial favorite with many! These are a yummy treat and they freeze well, too.

Shopping List: Dates, rolled oats, orange juice

Date Squares
Date Squares (aka Matrimonial Squares)

WEDNESDAY

Dinner:  Savory Cottage Pie

Lovely winter time treat, these little pies are packed full of flavor!

Shopping List: Ground beef, onion, carrots, parsnip, celery, green pepper, garlic, mushrooms, tomato paste, tomato sauce, ketchup, canned diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, beef broth, molasses, frozen peas and corn, potatoes, grated cheddar cheese

cottage pie
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Cottage Pie

Dessert: Butter Tarts

When it comes to food, it doesn’t get any more Canadian than these sweet butter tarts! A treat for sure, eh!

Butter Tarts
Butter Tarts

Shopping List: Pie Pastry, general baking supplies + maple syrup, milk/blend/cream 
Butter Tarts

THURSDAY

DinnerMussel Chowder served with Pan Rolls

This chowder is incredibly flavorful. They’ll ask for seconds on this one!

Shopping list: For Chowder:  2 lbs PEI mussels, onion, garlic, white wine, celery, carrots, potatoes, chicken broth, whole milk (or evaporated milk); For Pan Rolls: Yeast + standard baking supplies

PEI Mussel Chowder Paired with Upstreet Brewing Company's Commons Czech Style Pilsner
PEI Mussel Chowder Paired with Upstreet Brewing Company’s Commons Czech Style Pilsner

Nothing better with chowder than fresh homemade rolls, still warm from the oven! Bring on the butter!

Pan Rolls
Pan Rolls

Dessert: Squash Pie

Pick up a butternut squash and make this delectable pie – it’s even better than pumpkin pie and has a deeper flavor. Don’t reserve this recipe just for the autumn – it’s good any time of the year!

Shopping List:  1½ – 1¾ lb butternut squash, pastry for 10” single crust pie, evaporated milk, whipping cream

Squash Pie
Squash Pies

FRIDAY

 Dinner:  Chicken and Mushroom Crepes with Cheese Sauce; serve with favorite green salad

A real special Friday night dinner. These crepes are so tasty with their cheesy sauce!

Shopping List: For crepes – 2 cups cubed cooked chicken, chicken stock, cheese mix (e.g., mozzarella, provolone and parmesan), celery, mushrooms; For salad – lettuce and favorite salad fixings and dressing.

Chicken and Mushroom Crepes with Cheese Sauce
Chicken and Mushroom Crepes with Cheese Sauce

Dessert: Leftover Squash Pie

Squash Pie
Squash Pie

SATURDAY

Dinner: Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Rice

Fresh asparagus works best in this chicken dish.  Super yummy and looks great when it is sliced with the rings of the asparagus being very showy!

Shopping List: Boneless skinless chicken breasts, Boursin cheese, fresh asparagus spears, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, rice.

Asparagus
Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Dessert: Blueberry Bread Pudding with Grand Marnier Sauce

Oh là-là, how many different ways can you say “yummy”? This moist and flavorful bread pudding will have them calling for seconds!

Shopping List:  For Pudding: 1 – 1lb loaf of soft French bread, whole milk, maple syrup, 2 cups high-bush blueberries (fresh or frozen). For Sauce: Grand Marnier, corn syrup

Blueberry Bread Pudding
Blueberry Bread Pudding

SUNDAY

 Sunday Breakfast: Special Treat – Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Buns

DinnerCranberry and Ginger Sauced Pork Chops; serve with baked potato and medley of favorite steamed vegetables

Jazz up pork chops with a tasty and colorful cranberry and ginger sauce.

Shopping List: Pork Chops, chicken broth, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, cranberry preserve/jam, mustard, onion

Pork Chops
Cranberry and Ginger Sauced Pork Chops

Dessert: Leftover Blueberry Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Blueberry Bread Pudding

I hope you have found some interesting recipes from my food blog to try this week!

For other weekly meal plans from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:

Week 1 Meal Plan
Week 2 Meal Plan
Week 4 Meal Plan
Week 5 Meal Plan
Week 6 Meal Plan

MEAL PLANNING – WEEK 2

Here is my suggested meal plan for the upcoming week. This is the Week 2 menu.  You can access the meal plans for Week 1 by clicking here, Week 3 here,  Week 4 here, Week 5 here, and Week 6 here.

I am a big fan of meal planning – it takes some coordination and effort upfront but the payoff is great. Find tested and reliable recipes with ingredients you know your family will like, read through the recipes to see what’s involved in their preparation and how long it will take to prepare them, make the shopping list, shop for the ingredients, and set aside the time to make the recipes. If you have helpers in the household, assign them tasks to help with the preparation.

Rather than spend time aimlessly perusing recipes in books or magazines or searching through the internet for a recipe that might pique your interest, I recommend first thinking about what main ingredient might appeal to you – is it ham, beef, poultry, fish, pasta, vegetables, etc. Are you looking for a casserole, a pot pie, or a main entrée, a one-time meal recipe or one that leftovers could be frozen for another meal or transformed into another dish altogether? Once you narrow down what you are aiming for, your search for the recipe will be more focused and concentrated and you will spend less time on the recipe search and more time productively spent actually making the dish.

To help you with that search, I hope you find some, or all, of the following recipes of interest and ones you will add to your weekly meal plan.

I’ve provided a list of the main ingredients that, for the most part, would probably involve a shopping trip to the supermarket for most. However, as always, read each recipe thoroughly and carefully to create your own personalized list as I have not listed what I consider to be “staple” items like regular milk, butter, eggs, flour, sugar, butter/shortening, oil, spices, etc.

Make sure you read through the menu suggestions for the entire week as some require some leftover meat or gravy, etc., from a previous day’s dinner so you will need to know what amounts of ingredients need to be set aside for a subsequent day’s meal.

Click on the green hotlinks to access the recipes.

MONDAY

GranolaMy recipe for granola is nut free.  So tasty, it’s actually yummy eaten as a trail mix treat, too! 

Granola
The Bistro’s Great Nut-Free Granola

Best Zucchini Granola Muffins – These are great breakfast or coffee break muffins and they freeze very well.  Great treat to start off the week!

Shopping List: Granola (click here for my recipe), zucchini, applesauce

Zucchini Granola Muffins
Zucchini Granola Muffins

Dinner:  Roast Beef, Potato Patties, Turnip Puff Casserole

A roast beef dinner is so tasty (and the house smells so great when the beef is roasting).  Be sure to save some of the beef and make some gravy for the beef pot pies for Tuesday night’s dinner!

The potato patties are a change from traditional mashed or boiled potatoes and these are super tasty.  Turnip goes particularly well with beef and is transformed into a lovely flavorful casserole to serve as a side dish. Jazzes up a roast beef dinner for sure!

Shopping List: Roast of beef, cut of choice. For Potato Patties – Potatoes, sour cream chicken bouillon, breadcrumbs. For Turnip Puff Casserole – Rutabaga, applesauce, onion, parmesan and cheddar cheeses.

PEI Bistro-style Potato Patties
PEI Bistro-style Potato Patties

  Turnip Puff Casserole

Turnip Puff Casserole

Dessert: Rustic Apple Pie

Who can say no to a homemade apple pie!  Add a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream to make this an even more special treat!

Shopping List: Apples, pie pastry for double-crust pie + enough for a single crust pie (needed for tomorrow’s Beef Pot Pie)

Apple Pie
Rustic Apple Pie

TUESDAY

Dinner:  Beef Pot Pie – This is a great way to use up leftover roast beef and gravy from Monday night’s dinner.

Sometimes, depending on the size of roast, after a couple of days of leftover sliced cold roast beef, it can be a little boring, shall we say.  That’s why it’s important to find other uses for the leftover roast beef, like this Beef Pot Pie, so it seems like a brand new idea for dinner!

Shopping List: Rutabaga, carrots, potatoes, onion, mushrooms, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, red wine summer savory, frozen peas and corn, fresh parsley, pastry for single crust pie

Beef Pot Pie
Beef Pot Pie

Dessert:  Leftover Apple Pie

Apple Pie
Apple Pie

WEDNESDAY

Dinner:  Potato Leek Soup with Whole Wheat Biscuits

Sometimes you just need a plain old-fashioned silky smooth cream soup and this Potato Leek Soup fits that bill nicely.  Serve it with some warm homemade whole wheat biscuits, with a slather of butter, of course!

Shopping List: For Soup – Potatoes, leek, celery, onion, garlic, chicken/turkey stock, milk, white cheese blend (e.g., mozzarella, provolone, parmesan) For Biscuits – All purpose and whole wheat flours, buttermilk

Potato Leek Soup
Potato Leek Soup

 

Whole Wheat Biscuits
Whole Wheat Biscuits

Dessert: Chocolate Drop Cookies

These are a great chocolate cookie and sure to find their way into the heart of any chocolate lover.

Shopping List: General baking supplies + cocoa

  Chocolate Drop Cookies

Chocolate Drop Cookies

THURSDAY

Dinner:  Chili Con Carne served with Pan Rolls

This chili is packed full of flavorful ingredients.  While I think it’s perfect any time of the year, it’s especially inviting on cold winter days!  Make a batch of homemade pan rolls to accompany this chili.

Shopping List: For Chili – Ground beef, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, 1 – 28oz can diced tomatoes, 2 – 14oz cans red kidney beans, 1 – 10oz can tomato soup, 1 – 5.5oz can tomato paste, chili powder, balsamic vinegar, liquid beef bouillon, mushrooms. For Pan Rolls – Yeast + standard baking supplies

Chili
Homemade Chili

 

Pan Rolls
Pan Rolls

Dessert: Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

Baked rice pudding is a comfort food and many will remember their mothers and grandmothers making this treat. I’ve jazzed up my recipe with coconut milk and raisins that have had a little “nip” of amaretto!

Shopping List: Arborio rice, amaretto, raisins, coconut milk, maple syrup, shredded coconut

Rice Pudding
Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

FRIDAY

 Dinner:  Honey Garlic Spare Ribs, Twice-baked Potatoes, favorite side vegetable

Nothing beats honey and garlic to add some life to spare ribs!  These ribs can be served with rice or choice of potato but my favorite is to add a twice-baked potato to the plate. Super yummy.

Shopping List: For Spare Ribs – Ribs, apple juice, honey, soya sauce, garlic, onion. For Twice-baked Potatoes – Baking potatoes such as Russet variety, sour cream, whole milk or cream, liquid chicken bouillon, garlic, cheddar and parmesan cheeses

Garlic Spareribs
Garlic Spareribs served with Turnip Casserole and Baked Potato

 

Stuffed Baked Potato
Twice-baked Potato

Dessert: Jelly Roll

Lovely sponge cake rolled with red jam or jelly. Yes, this is indeed an old favorite with many.

Shopping List:  Cake and pastry flour, favorite red jam or jelly

Jelly Roll

SATURDAY

 Dinner: Moussaka with green salad

While I have made Moussaka for years, recent visits to Greek islands reignited my love for this dish.  As a nod to my Prince Edward Island heritage, my version uses potatoes instead of the traditional eggplant. A little time-consuming to make but the end result is so worth it!

Shopping List: For Moussaka – Ground beef, onion, celery, garlic, 14-oz can crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, beef broth, russet potatoes, milk, Gouda cheese, breadcrumbs. For green salad – favorite lettuce and salad fixings of choice, dressing.

Moussaka
Moussaka

Dessert: Vintage Tomato Soup Cake

I grew up with this cake being frequently made.  Bet you can’t tell there is a can of tomato soup in it!

Shopping List:  Tomato soup, molasses

Tomato Soup Cake
Tomato Soup Cake

SUNDAY

 Sunday Breakfast: Special Treat – Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Sunday mornings call for something just a little more special than you might make on busy weekday mornings.  Try these Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with maple syrup or a rich blueberry sauce for double the blueberry flavor.

Shopping List:  Buttermilk, blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Blueberry Pancakes

DinnerLeftover Moussaka

Moussaka
Moussaka

Dessert: Leftover Vintage Tomato Soup Cake

Tomato Soup Cake
Tomato Soup Cake

So, there you have it – the Week 2 Meal Planning Menu from My Island Bistro Kitchen.

For other meal plans from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:

Week 1 Meal Plan

Week 3 Meal Plan

Week 4 Meal Plan

Week 2 Meal Plan
Week 2 Meal Plan from My Island Bistro Kitchen

Pin Me To Pinterest!

Week 2 Meal Plan from My Island Bistro Kitchen Food Blog
Week 2 Meal Plan from My Island Bistro Kitchen Food Blog

 

Meal Planning – Week 1

I am a big believer in meal planning and follow it regularly.  I recommend meal planning for several reasons:

  • Eliminates last minute meal planning – that’s when you leave work with no idea what’s for dinner and, suddenly, as you pass a supermarket with a deli or prepared food section or a fast food outlet and, well, you know the story – that becomes dinner.
  • Saves money and reduces food waste – have a plan in mind for using leftover meat such as ham, turkey, or roast beef. For example, use the leftover meat in sandwiches, casseroles, and/or soups. These are great ways to stretch the food dollar and eliminate food waste.
  • Healthier way to eat – You will eat less pre-packaged foods that often have way too many preservatives, additives, and other unhealthy ingredients. Meal planning means you are in control, to the extent possible, of what is in your food.
  • Less stress – Once you have a plan in place for meals for the week, you don’t have to stress each day over what to make for meals.

The keys to good meal planning are:

  • Make meals with ingredients you know your family will like – doesn’t have to be fancy, new, or creative. Sometimes, the old faithful comfort foods are the best.
  • Make the meal plan on the weekend and formulate the shopping list BEFORE you go to the supermarket and then stick to the plan, avoiding distractions of already-prepared or frozen entrées that supermarkets display to tempt shoppers.
  • Make your To-Do list for the meal preparation for the week – for example, if you are making baked beans on Saturday, get those beans soaking overnight on Friday evening.
  • Read each recipe carefully to ensure you will have all the ingredients and that the method is easy to understand and do-able in the time in which you have to do the food preparation.
  • Watch the supermarket sales flyers. Know your favorite dishes and buy ingredients for them when they are on sale. You’ll be more likely to stick to a meal plan if you already have most or all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand.
  • Plan around what’s in season. One of my favorite soups is cream of cauliflower which freezes well (provided whole milk, not fat-reduced, is used). I make several batches of this soup each fall when the locally-grown cauliflower is in season. I would not make it, however, in January with imported cauliflower that has traveled thousands of miles for days and is highly priced. Good meal planning needs to take place, on an ongoing basis, throughout the year.

Here is my suggested meal plan for the upcoming week, focusing primarily on dinners with some suggestions for a couple of lunches making the most of a boiled picnic ham. I’ve provided a list of the main ingredients that, for the most part, would probably involve a shopping trip to the supermarket for most. However, as always, read each recipe thoroughly and carefully to create your own shopping list as I have not listed what I consider to be “staple” items like milk, butter, eggs, spices, etc.  Click on the green hotlinks to access the recipes.

MONDAY

Blueberry Muffins – These are great breakfast or coffee break muffins and they freeze very well.  Nice treat to start off the week!
Shopping List: Blueberries (fresh or frozen), orange juice, orange rind

Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Muffins

Dinner:  Meatloaf
Serve with mashed or riced potatoes and your favorite side of veggies. Homemade mustard pickles go great with meatloaf!

Shopping List: Ground beef, onion, prepared mustard, tomato soup, dry onion soup mix, graham wafer crumbs, fine bread crumbs, garlic powder, vegetables of choice

Meatloaf with Riced Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables
Meatloaf with Riced Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables

Dessert:  Gingerbread
At least once every winter, I have to have a dose of this yummy comfort food! Drizzle with brown sugar sauce for an extra-special treat!
Shopping List: Applesauce, molasses, coffee

Gingerbread
Gingerbread with Whipped Cream and Brown Sugar Sauce

TUESDAY

Homemade White Bread – This is always such a treat!  This bread will be super good with the ham sandwiches this week!
Shopping List: All-purpose flour, dry yeast, milk, butter/shortening

White Bread
Homemade White Bread

Dinner:  Old-fashioned Boiled Ham Dinner – This is truly dinner-in-a-pot and is my definition of “comfort food”!  The meat and vegetables are all cooked in the same broth in the same pot. Make sure you cook enough veggies for Wednesday night as this always tastes even better the second day. Easy to heat the vegetables in the microwave and, poof, you have two nights’ meals prepared in one effort. You’ll want those mustard pickles or mustard beans with this dinner!
Shopping List: Smoked pork picnic shoulder (ham), parsnips, carrots, rutabaga (turnip), potatoes

Boiled Ham Dinner
Boiled Ham DInner

Dessert:  Blueberry Grunt
This is such an incredibly yummy dessert – serve it with your favorite vanilla ice cream!
Shopping List: Blueberries (fresh or frozen) and lemon rind, vanilla ice cream

Blueberry Grunt
Blueberry Grunt

WEDNESDAY

Lunch:  Ham Sandwiches made with homemade white bread!  Don’t forget the mustard!

Dinner:  Leftover boiled ham dinner from Tuesday.

Dessert: Cherry Wink Cookies
Shopping List: Dates, cornflake crumbs, maraschino cherries

Cherry Wink Cookie
Cherry Wink Cookie

THURSDAY

Homemade Tea Biscuits
Shopping list: Whole milk, whipping cream, unsalted butter

Tea Biscuits
Tea Biscuits

Lunch:  Ham Salad Sandwiches

Shopping List: Sweet pickle relish, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, celery, red pepper, mayonnaise, Havarti cheese

Dinner:  Hawaiian Fiesta Casserole – this is a great way to use up left-over cooked ham and stretch its use. Serve these with those tasty biscuits and perhaps a green salad!
Shopping List: Rice, cream of celery soup, sour cream, liquid chicken bouillon, broccoli, canned pineapple chunks, Parmesan cheese, fine bread crumbs, leftover cooked ham, and ingredients for a green salad and dressing

Hawaiian Fiesta Casserole
Hawaiian Fiesta Casserole

Dessert: Decadent Chocolate Chip Squares
Shopping List:  Chocolate chips and coconut

Decadent Chocolate Chip Squares
Decadent Chocolate Chip Squares

FRIDAY

Dinner:  Mac ‘n Cheese with a green salad and homemade tea biscuits
Shopping List: Elbow macaroni, liquid chicken bouillon, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, salad ingredients and dressing

Mac 'n Cheese
My Island Bistro Kitchen Macaroni and Cheese

Dessert: Cinnamon Sweet Bread
Shopping List: Staple baking ingredients

Cinnamon Sweet Bread
Cinnamon Sweet Bread

SATURDAY

Dinner: Maple-Orange Sauced Chicken Breasts with Rice
An extra special weekend treat!
Shopping List: Boneless skinless chicken breasts, onion, fennel, orange juice, orange rind, chicken stock, maple syrup, orange marmalade, rice

Maple-Orange Sauced Chicken
Maple-Orange Sauced Chicken

Dessert: Coconut Cream Pie
One of the best pies going!
Shopping List:  9” pie shell, coconut milk, whole milk or cream, sweetened shredded coconut

Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut Cream Pie

SUNDAY

Sunday Breakfast:  Pancakes

Pancakes
Pancakes

Dinner:  Bistro Burgers with Home Fries
Shopping List: Ground chuck, mayonnaise, maple syrup, ketchup, rhubarb relish, Dijon mustard, sour cream, onion salt, Parmesan cheese, Blueberry BBQ sauce, dry onion soup mix, bread crumbs, Cheddar cheese slices, red onion, tomato, prosciutto, fresh pineapple, bread and butter pickles, hamburger rolls, potatoes (for home fries)

"The Bistro Burger"
“The Bistro Burger”

Dessert: Leftover Coconut Cream Pie

Meal planning can be a challenge, especially with high food prices, ingredient availability (particularly in winter for fresh local ingredients) and, of course, for those who are busy and time-challenged.  However, with having a plan in place and establishing a routine for meal preparation, it is a way to eat better, save money, reduce food waste, and eliminate the stress of last-minute meal preparation that can sometimes result in unhealthy food choices. For those with children, it’s a good way to help them make good food choices and engage them in meal preparation by assigning them tasks to help with the work of making meals.

For my Week 2 Meal Plan, click here.
For my Week 3 Meal Plan, click here.
For my Week 4 Meal Plan, click here.
For my Week 5 Meal Plan, click here.
For my Week 6 Meal Plan, click here.