From Menu to Grocery List
Keeping organized in the kitchen is more than having neat pantries and cabinets. It’s having a system , plan in place to achieve the goals one sets for themselves over the course of the week, month, year in their individual space. Whether you cook for yourself, a small family, a large family, guests or for people outside of your home. Winging it every night at 5pm by walking into the kitchen and blankly staring into your refrigerator and saying to yourself “What’s for dinner?” really just doesn’t work. On social media people joke that the hardest part of being an adult is deciding the answer to that question. Setting up a plan and a system REALLY helps. It took me many years of trial and error to find a system that works for me. Then it took me more time to find the ability to be flexible if things didn’t go the way I set out.
My first step is setting a time each week to not only plan the week’s dinners, but to also plan the Shabbat menu. This allows me to plan my grocery list for the week. When my children were younger (preteen, teens, & young adults) I made a printed chart that allowed them to plan ahead as well. I also used the weeknight dinner chart to assign household chores that were kitchen related: help prep dinner, wash dishes, etc.. It’s actually funny when I first started doing this I hand wrote onto those charts. Today all of my planning is done on my laptop or cell phone and shared electronically. I will print the Shabbat menu because it makes it easier for me to check off as each item is prepared.
I usually plan the menus for the weeknight diners in Notes and have a file there that all of those are saved in. Here for example is this week’s menu:
Week of July 18 - 22
Sunday - Break Fast of Tisha B’ Av
Salmon Ramen Bowl for me & a Grilled Cheese Sandwich w/ baked beans for DH
Meatless Monday
Vegan Pad Thai I have been Craving and planning for two weeks!!!
Tuesday
Shabbat Left-Overs - Beef Salsa Verde & Chicken Tacos
Wednesday
Salisbury Steaks & Quinoa Collard Green Salad
Thursday
Lemon Caper Salmon w/ Rose Sauce over Mixed Leafy Green Salad
The menu for the Shabbat meals is also planned when I am writing the weeknight menu. Here is this week’s Shabbat Menu:
Shabbos Evening Meal & Shabbos Day Meal
Down Home Texas Style Shabbat
Challah
Hummus
Assorted Dips (eggplant, tehina, tomato and a variety of salsas)
Crispy Salmon w/ Homemade Salsa Verde
Lemony Celery Crunch Salad
Cauliflower Lemon Salad
Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salad
Big Leafy Green Salad
Oven Smoked BBQ Turkey Thighs
Perfect 20 Minute Roast Chicken Breast
Salsa Verde Brisket
Tex Mex Corn Kugel
Roasted Peppers
Roasted Onions
Cinnamon Babka
Peach Cake
Once both menus are determined I am able to go to the next step, creating a grocery list/ lists. First I do an ingredient check – freezer, fridge and pantry. The items I don’t have go onto an electronic shopping list via a delivery app. Currently I use three different delivery apps: Instacart (gives me the ability to order from a wide range of specialty stores), H-E-B delivery (locally owned supermarket that has a large kosher department) and Walmart Delivery (wide range of products at great prices). I also try to space my deliveries out onto different days, that way I am able to add something if I forgot it. Knowing what products are available in which store is also key. In general Sunday, Monday & Tuesday are regular cook dinner for my family days or work with clients outside of my home. Wednesday is baking day, challot, cakes, cookies, babka, etc.. Thursday is the day I attempt to complete all of my cooking for Shabbat. This way Friday is not a crazy rush. It doesn’t always work exactly as planned and often Friday morning is used to finish up last minute things for Shabbat. Setting certain days to prepare specific items helps to keep me focused. Another factor I use when planning the week is the weather. If the forecast is for rain Thursday or Friday I probably won’t plan to be using my outdoor grill. I will also keep an eye on the local temperatures. Here in Houston during the summer months if I am going to grill outdoors I try to do it early in the day before the temperatures soar.
Black Bean & Corn Salad
Ingredients:
1 can Black Beans (15.5oz) drained and rinsed
1 cup Corn; canned, frozen or fresh cut off the cobb
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
OR
1 ½ cups cut up Grape Tomatoes
OR
1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained well
1 medium White Onion, diced fine
1 large or 2 small Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and diced fine
½ cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
¼ cup Olive Oil
Directions:
Open, drain and rinse the black beans. Put them in a mixing bowl. Add the corn (drained if using canned, defrosted if frozen, and cut from the cob if using fresh). Add the remaining ingredients. Toss to mix and combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Tex Mex Corn Kugel (Thank you Carolynn F. for the base to this delicious recipe)
Ingredients:
2 cans (15.5oz) Cream Style Corn
½ cup Earth Balance, melted OR ½ cup Grape Seed Oil
¼ cup Sugar
3 Eggs
½ cup Flour
½ cup Corn Flour (Masa)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ cup Non Dairy Milk of Choice
1 small can Diced Chili Peppers OR 1 large Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and diced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Pour the first ingredient into a large mixing bowl. Moving down the list adding the rest of the ingredients until all have been incorporated into a batter. The batter should be thicker than a pancake batter but thinner than bread dough. Adjust flours as need to get good consistency. Prepare a cast iron skillet or a 9 x 13 pan by generously coating the pan with additional earth balance or oil. If using the cast iron pan, place it into a preheated oven empty to heat up. When the skillet is hot carefully remove it from the oven and fill with the batter. Return to the oven and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the kugel is firm in the center and edges are crispy and golden. If using a 9 x 13 pan fill with the batter and cook for the same time frame until the kugel is firm in the center and edges are golden.