Recently-ish I mentioned that I was planning to make one-pot turmeric coconut rice with greens and I wanted to tell you that it was very good! So good I will definitely make it again, with a few small changes.

The recipe mentions swapping the greens for something like frozen peas for “anyone who doesn’t thrill to the sight of the word kale.” While I wouldn’t say kale thrills me, I like it fine, particularly in recipes where you can get a lot of its nice healthful benefits tucked among other good stuff. But in this recipe, it was not my favorite. I would 100% use frozen peas next time, and perhaps some grated carrot for color and sweetness. Chopped spinach, perhaps. And I’d also throw in a protein, as I did when I made it. If I recall correctly, I made ground pork; grilled chicken would also be good.

Anyway, my point in posting today is to share my meal plan from the week of June 17. I’ve started to try really hard to plan meals on Sunday afternoons/evenings and then shop on Mondays, when I work from home and can skate out to the grocery store around lunchtime. This has reduced the number of annoying grocery trips I have to squeeze into the week, which is a good thing because I don’t work from home every day anymore!

So last week:

Monday: Chimichurri chicken with corn and a simple salad
A++ would make this chicken again. The chimichurri could be used with any number of things, really. But this was easy and good and makes use of the grill if you don’t want to cook inside.

Tuesday: Salmon and tomatoes in foil with risotto
Also a do-again. Requires the oven, so not great on a hot day in my house; though I suppose you could do it on the grill? My grill is…generously described as janky but it could work if you were careful. The risotto is actually from a packet (I don’t necessarily endorse buying things at Walmart but this is pretty widely available and of course, Walmart has it for .75 less than most places) and it’s brilliant on a weeknight.

Wednesday: Slow-cooker BBQ chicken drumsticks with kale salad
This was…perfectly fine. The slow cooker is great and I’m trying to do one slow-cooker recipe per week this summer, I wouldn’t have a problem doing this one again because it’s very easy and extremely cheap. But here’s the thing: don’t make your own BBQ sauce for this unless that’s your particular jam. I used regular old Sweet Baby Ray’s and it was fine. The salad is this one, we eat it probably once a week.

Thursday: Chicken with kale and yogurt, naan, chana masala
I was drawn to this recipe because it is by Chetna Makan of Great British Bake Off fame. She has a new cookbook and based on this recipe, I’m definitely going to be buying it once it hits Amazon’s used books selection. Super easy, super good. The chana masala was from a packet.

I tend to keep some convenience items like the risotto and chana on hand. Sure, making your own sides is always better in terms of knowing what you’re eating, but if you read labels and don’t go crazy, it can really make your life a lot easier on weeknights. Having something that’s ready in a few minutes and nicely rounds out your lovingly prepared main dish is like a little cooking vacation!

Now, I’m off to plan this week’s dinners!