The first week of #cook90 has gone well enough. I didn't quite stick to my menu (which isn't surprising to me), but I did make meals/eat leftovers as I was supposed to. I took my first day off on Sunday for lunch, because Alex was out of town and a friend suggested getting lunch and Amelia and I had been cooped up inside with the record cold temperatures. Plus, it's boring cooking for one.
My meals are listed below, but first, here's my general thoughts on it so far:
- Based on our recent 2-week record cold, and our recent power bills, I'm going to have to #cook90 and stop dining out for months. Oof.
- Meal planning is hard! I used to do it, but it was usually only meat + side. Sometimes I'd have recipes. It's been so long since I've done it. And I'm psyching myself out. I know I'm listing everything I make here, and someone will read it! Plus, it's cold and I only want especially delicious meals, and I'm picky.
- I can still toss together a side dish from scratch! I used to do this so often; it's good to know I still have the knack. The quinoa that I made with garlic and red bell pepper, and stuck half a lemon in while it cooked, was very delicious. It's a shame Amelia wasn't on board with it.
- Unfortunately, I'm usually only good for one serving of leftovers per meal unless it's something I love. it's hard to eat something I like that for that third time.
This week, I think I'm going to try steel cut oatmeal in my Instant Pot (affiliate link) on a weekday morning if I get it figured out. I'd like to share it with Alex, though, so it's really only if I get up early enough. I'm possibly going to switch around the shrimp and the pesto pasta, and maybe the honey chicken. And I've got pizza down for the weekend, but pizza can really be any night that it sounds good, as long as I get the pizza dough ready just before lunchtime.
First, a #cook90 update. Here's what I ate:
[Jump to Week 2's Meal Plan]
Week 1
Monday 1/1:
Breakfast: leftover cinnamon rolls
Lunch: test meatballs
Dinner: meatballs with barbecue sauce and sweet potato fries
Tuesday ½:
Breakfast: oatmeal, with honey and cinnamon
Lunch: leftover meatballs and sweet potato fries
Dinner: chicken enchilada soup
Wednesday ⅓:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: chicken enchilada soup
Dinner: braised beef with tomatoes, with salad and French bread
Thursday ¼:
Breakfast: baked oatmeal (it was a snow day!)
Lunch: leftover chicken enchilada soup
Dinner: leftover braised beef with tomatoes, tossed with egg noodles; and a salad and French bread
Friday ⅕
Breakfast: leftover baked oatmeal
Lunch: leftover beef with noodles
Dinner: leftover beef with noodles (finally finishing it)
Saturday ⅙
Breakfast: coffee cinnamon scones
Lunch: leftover baked oatmeal (there was a lot leftover, and I wasn't very hungry)
Dinner: broiled salmon and quinoa with red bell pepper, garlic, lemon, and parsley
Sunday 1/7
Breakfast: leftover baked oatmeal
Lunch: lunch out!
Dinner: Moroccan lentils with garlic bread
Monday ⅛
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: leftover Moroccan lentils
Dinner: pepper pork chops, beets
Tuesday 1/9
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: leftover pork chops
Dinner: Shrimp with herby beans
Wednesday 1/10
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: leftover shrimp
Dinner: roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas
Thursday 1/11
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: leftover sweet potatoes
Dinner: pesto pasta
Friday 1/12
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: leftover pasta
Dinner: Instant Pot (affiliate link) honey chicken (if I get my Instant Pot (affiliate link) figured out)
Saturday 1/13
Breakfast: something fun, TBD
Lunch: leftover chicken
Dinner: Chicken and wild rice soup
Sunday 1/14
Breakfast: leftovers of Saturday's fun breakfast
Lunch: leftover chicken and wild rice soup
Dinner: homemade pizza
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