Usually, I won't make a list until I see what's on sale at the store. I'll head for the mark-down spots and see what looks good.
It's only my son & I, and many times I'll make a casserole or taco meat and we'll eat on it for most of the week. This week, I went to a local Thai place. For $25, I picked up their chicken pahd Thai. It's about 5 pounds of food and we'll both eat on it all week.
For lunches, I hit the farmer's market and got some cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes. I'll be able to switch between cherry tomatoes & cottage cheese or tomato sandwiches...or even cucumber sandwiches.
Sometimes, I'll do chicken schwarma with a seasoning mix I found online & make. Then get pita bread & whatever else I want to throw in. Chicken fajitas are nice to have on hand. One hot dish that my son taught me is to get chicken & season it. Throw it in a 9x13 pan. Top with a big can of cream of chicken soup, but I've substituted cream of mushroom. Top with hashbrown patties or tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with shredded cheese & bake for another 15 minutes.
ETA: I did a meal service for awhile. One of the meals was panko crusted tilapia with creamy lemon spaghetti. I've changed it a little bit and use chicken.
1 lb or so of chicken, cut up and seasoned (garlic, onion, Old Bay). Cool and set aside.
Boil spaghetti or pasta of chioce. Reserve pasta water.
2 Tbsp butter in pot
Saute garlic (I just squeeze in some jarlic, but use 3 or so cloves)
1 8 oz block of softened cream cheese, stir in & melt
2 Tbsp butter
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Pasta water
2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning, or more to taste
Toss chicken and pasta into the sauce. Add more pasta water to get to the right sauciness you like.
I'll make this every other month and the 2 of us will eat it all week. Sometimes my family will ask me to make it for a special occasion.
[This message edited by leafields at 4:33 AM, Monday, September 8th]
