Dinner Recipes, Summer Meal Plan #2

What to cook for dinner this week:

1.) [sg_popup id="5474" event="click"]Zuppa Toscana[/sg_popup] 2.) [sg_popup id="5477" event="click"]Open Face Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches with Roasted Tomato Sauce[/sg_popup] 3.) [sg_popup id="5481" event="click"]Baked Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomato Risotto[/sg_popup] 4.) [sg_popup id="5484" event="click"]Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing[/sg_popup] 5.) [sg_popup id="5487" event="click"]Spaghetti Puttanesca[/sg_popup] 6.) Cocktail: Rosemary Grapefruit Greyhound

If you’re not familiar with this blog, here’s the basic idea:

Using some of the same ingredients in multiple dishes throughout the week is the key to getting delicious, wholesome, good for you, home cooked meals on the table several nights of the week. The recipes in each 5-day meal plan include some prep-work for another meal later in the week.

Like every other meal plan on this blog, this week’s recipes are designed to make healthy, delicious, home cooked meals every night of the week much easier with each meal building on the previous night’s efforts. A little = a lot.

If you’d rather cook three meals instead of five this week…

If two or three home cooked meals is more your style this week, Days #2, # 3, and #5 – OR – #1, and #4 work well together. Please note that the grocery list at the bottom of this page is for all 5 meals.

Meal Prep, Day by Day

Day #1

What’s for Dinner Tonight: [sg_popup id="5474" event="click"]Zuppa Toscana[/sg_popup]

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 for Zuppa Toscana calls for 1 pound of sausage. For this week's meal plan, cook 1 ½ pounds of sausage, reserving ½ pound of cooked sausage for Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches on Day #2.

Meal Prep:

The following meal prep tasks will make the rest of the week's recipes a breeze.

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 give you about 6 cups of sauce, which you'll use in three different meals this week.

[sg_popup id="5484" event="click"]Lemon Rosemary Chicken Salad Prep[/sg_popup] (Day #4):

Mix up the tahini salad dressing and make the candied almonds. 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. Store carrot sticks in the refrigerator.

Day #2

What’s for Dinner Tonight:[sg_popup id="5477" event="click"]Sausage and Provolone Sandwiches[/sg_popup]

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:[sg_popup id="5481" event="inherit"]Baked Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomato Risotto[/sg_popup]

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.
If you're planning to make Day #4's meal tomorrow, it's helpful to get the chicken in the brine tonight. The chicken needs to marinate in the brine for at least 30 minutes, but it's even better if it marinates overnight.

Day #4

What’s for Dinner Tonight:[sg_popup id="5484" event="click"]Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Tahini Dressing[/sg_popup]

If you want to top your Spaghetti Puttanesca with Grilled Chicken on Day #5, grill a couple of extra pieces and reserve them in the refrigerator.
If you completed the prep work at the beginning of the week, this salad will come together quickly. If not, don't be alarmed by the length of the ingredients and instructions. The whole salad can be prepared in about an hour.

Day #5

What’s for Dinner Tonight: [sg_popup id="5487" event="click"]Spaghetti Puttanesca[/sg_popup]

Use the last of the Roasted Tomato Sauce to make this super-simple, flavor-packed pasta dish that will be on the table in under 45 minutes.
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 large and 1 small yellow onion
8 pounds ripe tomatoes
6 plum tomatoes
34 cloves garlic
2 lbs yellow potatoes (Yukon gold)
1 lbs carrots
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 ½ cups fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoon chives
3 tablespoon fresh rosemary
a handful of fresh mint
3 cups fresh arugula
3 cups kale
4–6 cups mixed greens
7 large lemons
1 fresh pineapple (Can also use canned pineapple rings.)
¾ cup chopped dates
1 cup whole almonds
1 ½ lb Italian Sausage, spicy or sweet
1 lb thick cut bacon
2–3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (get about 2 lbs more if you want to top spaghetti puttanesca on Day #5 with chicken)
1 ½ – 2 pounds raw shrimp, fresh or frozen, peeled and deveined
1 loaf hearty bread (like sourdough or Italian)
3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
3 teaspoon ground thyme
3 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
5 cups chicken broth
3 cups vegetable stock
1 ¼ cup arborio rice
2 oz anchovy fillets
4 oz nonpareil capers
½ cup (about 2 oz) black olives
¼ cup tahini
1 lb spaghetti, dried – OR 1 ½ to 2 lbs fresh pasta
1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup heavy cream
8 slices provolone cheese
Shredded parmesan, for serving with Zuppa Toscana and Spaghetti Puttanesca (optional)
6 oz fresh mozzarella
¾ cup dry white wine (for Zuppa Toscana and Shrimp and Risotto)
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
9 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper

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

½ 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
¼ teaspoon salt