Dinner Recipes, Summer Meal Plan #2

What to cook for dinner this week:

1.) Zuppa Toscana 2.) Open Face Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches with Roasted Tomato Sauce 3.) Baked Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomato Risotto 4.) Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing 5.) Spaghetti Puttanesca 6.) Cocktail: Rosemary Grapefruit Greyhound

On this page, you’ll find a meal plan for the week. Each meal is designed to build on the previous night’s efforts by using leftover ingredients. A little = a lot. You’ll also find a preparation schedule and grocery list.

Individual Recipes:

(A shopping list for this week’s meals is at the bottom of this page)

Meal Prep, Day by Day

Day #1

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Zuppa Toscana

Make a batch of Roasted Tomato Sauce. This delicious sauce plays a prominent role in this week’s meal plan, proving just how versatile and delicious this simple sauce is. 8 pounds of tomatoes will only give you 4-5 cups of sauce, which might make you think that it’s not worth it. Trust me when I tell you that it absolutely is. The hands on time to make the sauce is minimal, and the sauce adds a remarkable amount of flavor to three dishes this week. You won’t use the sauce in tonight’s meal, but you will use it on Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches on Day #2, in Baked Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomato Risotto on Day #3, and in Spaghetti Puttanesca on Day #5. Whipping up a batch today will make getting dinner on the table the rest of the week much quicker.
Zuppa Toscana is one of my favorite soups of all time. The recipe makes quite a bit on purpose. Leftovers reheat beautifully and (I think) are even better the second or third day. It’s a wonderful dish to have on hand for lunch or for one of the nights this week when you’re not planning to cook. If you’d rather not have leftovers, just reduce the recipe.
The recipe calls for 1 pound of sausage. For this week’s meal plan, cook 1 1/2 pounds of sausage, reserving 1/2 pound of cooked sausage for Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches on Day #2.

To get an even bigger jump on the week:

Mix up the tahini salad dressing and make the candied almonds for Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing on Day #4. Store the dressing in the refrigerator and the almonds at room temperature. (You might want to hide the almonds, even from yourself, so that they don’t get eaten before day #4. Speaking from experience here. 🙄)
Peel and cut the carrots for Roasted Carrots and Dates, which will also be used to make Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing on Day #4. Store carrot sticks in the refrigerator.

Day #2

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Open Face Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Since you’ve already cooked the sausage and made the roasted tomato sauce on Day #1, tonight’s dinner will be on the table in about 10 minutes.
Serve tonight’s sandwiches with a simple salad of fresh greens tossed with Classic Vinagrette.

Day #3

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Baked Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomato Risotto

Roasted tomato sauce is just one of the ingredients in tonight’s dinner that make it rich and flavorful. The entire meal will take under an hour and utilizes the easiest, most hands-off method I know for risotto. You can use either frozen or unfrozen shrimp in this dish. If using unfrozen, get the risotto going then the baked shrimp. If using frozen shrimp, get that going first, then make the risotto while the shrimp cooks in the oven.

Day #4

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing

If you want to top your Spaghetti Puttanesca with Grilled Chicken on Day #5, grill 4 extra pieces and reserve them in the refrigerator.
Follow the recipe instructions to get the chicken in the brine 30-60 minutes before you want it to be on the grill.
While the chicken soaks in the brine, follow the recipe to prepare the lemon rub and baste mixtures and get the carrots and dates in the oven to roast.
While the chicken and pineapple is on the grill, whip up the tahini dressing and candied almonds (if you didn’t already do these tasks on Day #1).

Day #5

What’s for Dinner Tonight: Spaghetti Puttanesca (with or without Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken)

Use the last of the Roasted Tomato Sauce to make this super-simple, flavor-packed pasta dish that only takes about 10 minutes of hands-on time.
If you grilled some extra Lemon Rosemary Chicken on Day #4, pile it onto your pasta to add some protein to this carb-rich meal.

This Week’s Featured Cocktail: Rosemary Grapefruit Greyhound

Suggested Recipes for the Baker:

Useful Equipment:

Shopping List, Weekly Summer Meal Plan #2

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*Does not include ingredients for suggested baked goods.

1 & 1/2 lb Italian Sausage, spicy or sweet (for Zuppa Toscana and Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches)
8-12 oz thick cut bacon
1 & 1/2 – 2 pounds raw shrimp, fresh or frozen, peeled and deveined
3-5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3 lbs for Grilled Chicken on Day #4, plus an optional 1-2 lbs to top Spaghetti Puttanesca on Day #5)
2 large or 3 small yellow onions
24 cloves of garlic
2 lbs yellow potatoes (Yukon gold)
1 & 1/2 lbs carrots
8 pounds ripe tomatoes
6 plum tomatoes
7 large lemons
1 fresh pineapple
1 cup chopped dates
3 cups kale
3 cups fresh arugula
8 cups mixed greens
3 cups fresh parsley
2 tbsp chives
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme Plus 1 tsp fresh thyme
4-6 sprigs of fresh oregano
3 tbsp fresh rosemary
a handful of fresh mint
One loaf French bread
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground thyme
5 cups chicken broth
3 cups vegetable stock
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
4 anchovy fillets
2 oz black olives
4 oz nonpareil capers
1 lb spaghetti
1 1/4 cup arborio rice
1 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup tahini paste (ground sesame paste)
Shredded parmesan (optional for sprinkling over Zuppa Toscana and Spaghetti Puttanesca)
6 oz fresh mozzarella
8 slices provolone cheese
1 cup cream
9 tbsp butter
2 & 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup salt (for the brine for Lemon Rosemary Chicken)
1 cup sugar (for the brine for Lemon Rosemary Chicken), Plus 2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup dry white wine (for Zuppa Toscana and Baked Garlic Shrimp)

For this week’s featured cocktail, the Grapefruit Greyhound:

1/2 cup sugar
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, plus 2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary for garnish (optional)
3 oz grapefruit vodka
1 oz campari
3 oz grapefruit juice
1/4 tsp salt