I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don't make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I've bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter What's Cooking This Week -- my weekly meal plan and grocery guide. This way, I can make the most of my ingredients and my leftovers.
Last week, spiced ground turkey was used for both a Weeknight Chili (with optional beans!) and a Stuffed Burrito. This week, herbed dumplings will be served with Turkey Piccata and used for a Brown Butter & Mushroom Spaetzle.
Here's the rest of the plan:
Pantry Items Olive oil (regular and extra-virgin) Cooking oil (canola/peanut) Balsamic vinegar Butter Eggs Flour Bread crumbs Milk (or cream or half-and-half) Chicken stock Cream Cheese Parmesan cheese Dijon mustard White cooking wine Kosher salt Pepper
Grocery List based on servings for 2 w/ leftovers 1 lb turkey cutlets (or veal if desired) 8 slices smoked salmon 1 red onion 1 shallot 1 head garlic 1 tomato 2 lemons 1 cucumber 1 bunch fresh parsley 1 bunch dill 1 package arugula 1 package mushrooms 1 jar capers 2 bagels of choice
Day 1 -- Turkey Schnitzel & Arugula w/ Lemon Vinaigrette
Place cutlets between two sheets of plastic wrap and use the back of a pan to pound thin. *Refrigerate half for use in day 3.
Set up a breading station with lightly salted flour, beaten eggs mixed with milk/cream and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls.
Season cutlets with s+p on both sides and dredge in the flour. Shake off excess before coating in the egg mixture, then gently dip into breadcrumb mixture to coat.
Heat a generous amount of oil to a deep pan (enough so that the cutlets will not touch the bottom). Add in cutlets and fry until breading puffs and begins to brown. Gently flip and cook for another minute.
Meanwhile, juice half of a lemon and whisk together with 1 tsp Dijon, 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss with two generous handfuls of arugula.
Top arugula salad with hot schnitzel and serve with chopped fresh parsley and the remaining half lemon, wedged.
Day 2 -- Smoked Salmon, Red Onion & Arugula Frittata
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together 4-5 eggs, ¼ cup milk or cream, 4 slices chopped lox, the zest of ½ lemon, 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high and coat lightly with olive oil. Add in 1 cup arugula, ½ sliced red onion and 1 clove minced garlic, cooking for about 1 minute or until arugula wilts.
Spread out over pan and pour egg mixture over, stirring gently to combine. Cook until the bottom begins to set, about 3-4 minutes. Top with small drops of cream cheese before transferring to oven.
Bake until set completely, about 8-12 minutes.
Serve frittata hot w/ a side of greens tossed with oil + vinegar + s + p.
Day 3 -- Turkey Piccata w/ Herbed Dumplings *Makes leftover dumplings for use in Brown Butter Spaetzle
In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 4 eggs, ½ cup milk or water, 1-2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley until dough is smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes then transfer to a cutting board.
Bring a large pot of water seasoned with salt to a bubble. Use a sharp knife to push a long, thin strip of dough into the water. Continue dropping the spaetzle into the pot, being careful not to crowd. Dumplings are ready when they float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked dumplings and repeat process until dough is gone. (Alternatively, you can place the dough in a colander and press down, dropping long strips of dough through the holes and into the water). *Reserve 2/3 for use in day 4.
Meanwhile, season both sides of remaining turkey cutlets with s+p and dredge in flour.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and coat lightly with oil. Add cutlets and cook until lightly browned and cook through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.
To same pan, add in minced shallot and 3 cloves minced garlic, sautéing for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in ¼ cup white wine and ½ cup chicken stock. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.
To finish sauce, stir in 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon, 1 tbsp capers and 1 tbsp butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon pan sauce over turkey cutlets and toss the remainder with herbed spaetzle. Finish with chopped fresh parsley.
Day 4 -- Brown Butter Spaetzle w/ Mushrooms & Lemon *Uses leftover dumplings
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat lightly with oil. Add in sliced mushrooms and 1-2 cloves minced garlic. Cook, tossing until mushrooms have softened. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove mushrooms from pan.
To same pan, add 1-2 tbsp butter to melt. When butter begins to brown, add in leftover spaetzle, cooking until dumplings begin to crisp. Toss in cooked mushrooms and chopped fresh parsley and dill. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, tossing to warm through.
Serve hot topped with parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.
Day 5 -- Bagels & Lox w/ "the Works"
Slice bagels and toast if desired.
Meanwhile, cut a tomato, ½ red onion and cucumber into thin slices.
Mix cream cheese with chopped fresh dill.
Spread the bagels with cream cheese and layer on slices of lox. Top with sliced tomato, onions and cucumber and sprinkle on chopped capers, crushed black pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Enjoy!
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