Menu Planning and Weekend Prep
A few weeks ago I blogged about menu planning and weekend prep (MPWP) and today I’m back up on my soapbox. I’ve been MPWPing our meals for the past month and I’ve got a few ideas and thoughts to share with you.
The first thing to think about is whether or not MPWP is for you. If you like to plan and if a home-cooked, whole-food evening meal is important to you, then you might benefit from MPWP. It’s also important to think about how you prefer to gather your ingredients; MPWP depends on having a whole week’s cache of ingredients on hand so it does require organization. Lastly you have to decide if you are willing to give up the chunk of time it takes to do the prep work; I’ve found that it is takes 2 to 3 hours of work but that includes prep work for our weekday lunches too.
I’ve MPWPed for the past five weeks and I’ve got a whopping 93 percent record of actually cooking and serving what is on my menu. The two times I veered from off were due to an overly-optimistic view of what I could pull off in an evening and what my children were willing to eat. One night my menu was for acorn squash and shitake risotto…while I did have the squash diced and the stock prepared I just couldn’t convince two starving teenagers that they would love this risotto…we had paninis instead. The other non-starter was thinking that I would want to cook on a Friday night…I don’t. On Friday nights I want a cold local beer and a hot local burger…I want it brought to me and then I want to go home, put on my pajamas and catch up on the TV I recorded during the week. Now my Friday menu indicates who gets to pick the restaurant.
I’ve learned that it’s best to stick to food that has a high likelihood of appealing to the whole family like Reuben Sandwiches, Pork Burritos, Chili, and pasta. It also needs to be food that can be prepared and eaten before 7:00pm because of evening commitments with tutors, meetings, rehearsals, etc. The downside to these menu choices is that they are rarely bloggable. But the family is happy and well fed. We waste far less food now than ever before and that’s a boost for our bank account and for our conscience. I think the cost of each meal is lower than what it would be if I didn’t MPWP because I’m sure we’d be eating more takeout or going out to restaurants if I had to make dinner from scratch each evening.
We take big salads to work everyday for lunch. The organization and effort it would take to make those salads from scratch each morning is more than I can pull off so now I include all the prep work in my weekend prep time. I wash enough lettuce for 10 salads, peel and chop carrots, broccoli, and whatever else came in the CSA box. With the lettuce washed and dried and all the veg cleaned, chopped, and jarred, all I have to do each morning is assemble the salads and add a tiny bottle of olive oil and vinegar.
Having the weekly menu posted on my wiki with links to my calendar means that I can easily remind myself what dinner is and what my evening obligations are. I come home relaxed and I know exactly what I need to do to get the evening portion of our life in motion. That’s what I like the most about MPWP…it’s an anti-anxiety measure that actually ends up giving me more time throughout the week than what it costs in time on the weekend.
White Sauce and Bread Crumbs – the mac magic
My menu planning and wiki posting system is still being fine tuned. I say this because there is the absolute sloth factor that crops up when one is too lazy to come up with a practical and cogent weeknight menu. Last week went off without a hitch but we’ve had two Plan B nights this week. Last night we ate Paninis instead of risotto and tonight ot was homemade mac and cheese instead of pizza. Both were big hits…especially the mac and cheese.
The backbone of macaroni and cheese is a classic white sauce. Its simple proportions makes it easy to remember and it’s a snap to pull off. It’s 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, and 3/4 cup milk. For my mac and cheese I use 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoon flour, and 2 cups of milk (I go a little light on the milk because I’m adding cheese). I use a heavy 4 quart cast iron/enameled sauce pan. I start by melting the butter and then adding the flour. I stir the flour into the butter and let it cook over a medium low flame for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring often. Then I add the milk, turn up the heat to medium and whisk it until smooth. Then I add pepper, salt, and Crystal Hot Sauce and let it simmer on medium low for 5 minutes or so, stirring often.
While it’s simmering I grate up (use the food processor) some cheese…this time it’s cheddar and Gruyere. I add it to the white sauce and bingo… it becomes a cheesey delight that would be so tempting to guzzle. But I restrain myself and combine it with the drained pasta instead. I transfer it to a buttered cast iron gratin pan and bake it at 375 degrees. After 10 minutes I pull it out and add a layer of breadcrumbs.
Breadcrumbs are the other must have for homemade mac and cheese. They too are so simple…if you’ve got bread then you’ve got bread crumbs. When you’re grating the cheese for the sauce as I outlined in the step above you also want to pop 3 or 4 slices of your most stalest bread into the toaster and let it do its thing on its lowest setting for as long as possible without burning the bread. I use the toaster oven and set it to 250 degrees. Once the mac is in the oven you can pop the bread into the food processor which is now fitted with its blade and pulverize the bread into crumbs. I also like to add a pinch of salt and a clove of garlic. Heat a heavy skillet over a medium flame and add a 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it’s melted add the bread crumbs and cook them until they’re lightly browned, stirring often.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and return it to the oven for 5 minutes or until it’s golden crunchy brown on top. Serve it up and know this…it is totally possible to make this fabulous, soul-satisfying dish in 40 minutes; just remember to put the pasta water on to boil the minute you walk in the door. Menu Planning and wiki posting are all good but it sure is helpful to have a Plan B like this.
Wednesday, September 17 is my 2 year blogiversary….woot. I’ve got a few blog improvements on my task list that I hope to get completed soon…a recipe index is number one. Thanks to all my sweet readers for keeping me going….I’m looking forward to another year.
