It's Week 47 of Dinner Plans and the holiday cooking season is well underway!
This week we'll look forward to gathering with our family and share laughs and so much delicious food. My mom requested I bring a couple of sides and I am excited to share the bounty of our weekly CSA box with my familia. We've got our own family Thanksgiving dinner scheduled for later in the week and I know we're all looking forward to a number of leftovers for the week ahead.
In this season of giving thanks, I also want to extend my gratitude for you. Thank you for being here. If you've tried a recipe and let me know in the comments or in the DM's, followed along on social media, or read my weekly newsletter: thank you. Your support in all the ways you offer it helps so much in fueling the recipes and content I share. I hope the week is everything you desire it to be in this season of gratitude.
Seasonal Cooking Tip: Ways to Reduce Food Waste This Thanksgiving
In the midst of all the meal prep and dish washing, it can also feel like there are multiple bags of trash that seem to pile up no matter how hard we try to limit it. Here are three essential ways I work to reduce food waste during prime holiday weeks:
- Use Scraps and Bones to Make Homemade Stock: If you're making turkey this week, don't forget to save the bones and the scraps from carrot peels, celery ends, onions, and aromatics to make an easy homemade turkey or vegetable stock. Add the scraps and bones to a large pot filled with about 8 to 10 cups of water. Add in any desired aromatics such as a halved head of garlic and fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary. Bring to a boil then simmer for at least an hour. Strain the stock and discard the scraps and bones. Then, you'll have freshly made stock for any seasonal dish you want to make.
- Meal Prep Ahead: Since I'm buying more celery than I'll use in a recipe ahead of time, I'm going to dice and prep mirepox, a mix of celery, onion, and carrots. I'll portion it out into mise cups then freeze for up to a month. This will help me prep ahead for soups, chilis, and stews with ease.
- Repurpose Leftovers: There are so many ways to repurpose leftovers. Take any leftover cranberry sauce and make a vinaigrette for leftover turkey salads. Leftover turkey is the star when it comes to sandwiches, salads, and soups. Mashed potatoes can be mixed with a bit of flour to make gnocchi. And, of course, just eat leftovers as they are and revel in a few days of not needing to cook something new. I'm definitely Team Leftovers here.
A Bonus Tip:
Compost Scraps: I view this as a bonus tip but if you have a compost station set up, compost any leftover scraps. We love our Lomi Countertop composter for this very purpose.
And, don't forget to check out Part I and Part II of my Pantry Essentials Series for more tips and recommendations for keeping a well stocked pantry ahead of the holiday season.
Dinner Plans for the Week
We got a number of persimmons and pomegranates that signal fall fruit is finally here. Lots of chard and greens for soups and salads and the cutest baby poblanos I've seen! As gear up for the big cooking week around the corner, we're aiming to keep this week's Dinner Plans has easy weeknights top of mind.
Our Game Plan for Dinner this Week:
Sunday: Roast Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
Monday: Slow Roast Chicken Thighs with Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Greens
Tuesday: Easy Chicken Fajita Burritos with Poblanos and Onions
Wednesday: Pot Roast with Stewed Pinquito Beans (I've got a batch in the freezer I need to use up)
Thursday: Thanksgiving Meal at my Mom's; I'm bringing these Maple Harissa Roast Carrots and a riff off my Fall Harvest Salad using the greens in our box and the Maple Roast Delicata Squash
Friday: Turkey Noodle Soup using up some classic leftovers
Saturday: Pizza with Zucchini and Basil Pesto, Crispy Prosciutto and Burrata
From favorite recipes to new things with a wide variety of ingredients, cooking delicious food with our CSA definitely gets us out of a dinner rut and reduce food waste. I share meal ideas for our busy weeks with our weekly newsletter. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to be in the know when they’re live. 😉
Wishing you a nourishing week ahead. 🧡
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