This post is by request of a few friends, and also, because most of my non-kid thoughts are about what the heck we’re going to eat while in quarantine. I love hearing what other people are making for dinner and how folks are being more creative in the kitchen so I thought I’d share some of our culinary feats.
I’ve surprised myself how resourceful I’ve been these last few months and it’s been quite a welcome challenge. I’m cooking for a family of four with two toddlers who have rather different palates from each other and we’re aiming to make our groceries last around two weeks, so really, the challenge is on.
I’m thinking of doing a little series about what we’ve been eating and some of our meal plans and how I’m stocked up and structuring our meals. This post is very general and as time allows I’ll add to the series and maybe even break things down by meal. Stay tuned!
Some of my most favorite quarantine meals have been:
- Homemade pizza {try this dough recipe – it makes enough for two pizzas – I freeze half for next week — just pull it out of the freezer a day in advance and pop it in the fridge}
- Simple tortellini with pesto, pine nuts, feta and cherry tomatoes {this turns into a lovely pasta salad the next day — add cucumbers, Kalamata olives, too!}
- Avocado toast – great for any meal or snack of the day {use crispy sourdough-ish toast, slather with fresh avocado, sprinkle with salt and, if you have it, a squeeze of lemon}
- Focaccia bread {really fun to make with toddlers!}
- Banana bread
- Sweet potato, black bean and corn quesadillas {roast diced sweet potatoes with a little taco seasoning and combine with black beans & frozen corn on a quesadilla}
- Kelsey’s Chickpea & Feta Salad {recipe at bottom of post}
- Nicoise salad – try this recipe
- Tuna noodle salad {recipe at bottom of post}
- Bacon, egg & biscuit breakfast sandwiches {a LONGTIME favorite recipe of mine – biscuits are SO easy to make! Improvise however you need here.}
How we’ve been grocery shopping
Largely we’ve been doing a big stock-up about every two weeks. It’s challenging to shop that infrequently because very little produce lasts anywhere near as long as I’d like it to. A mental exercise I go through most days is how to use up the produce that will spoil first and save the longer-lasting items for a meal at the end of our second week.
Fruits:
- Berries for immediate use.
- Pineapple, unripe mango for a few days or even a week down the road.
- Bananas with a variety of ripeness – I’ve largely just been using bananas for smoothies and banana bread, so it’s okay if they brown.
- Unripe pears for early in the second week.
- Avocado – I’ve been buying a big bag or two of five avocados and trying my best to get them to ripen at different times. A friend mentioned you can freeze them in their skin at the peak of ripeness – try this and make some guacamole.
- Mandarin oranges and apples have been in heavy rotation for the second week.
- Frozen fruit for our daily smoothies.
Vegetables:
- Springtime favorites for me include asparagus, green beans and snap peas – I’ve been using these up in my first week.
- Fresh greens to be used up in the first couple days so I try to plan a salad or two for right after I get my grocery haul.
- Packaged greens {like a plastic container of spinach} usually have a few extra days.
- Carrots and sweet potatoes help us get to the two-week mark, or at least close to it. We’re loving brown butter carrots with thyme and sweet potato fries.
- Onions, garlic and shallots are always something I have on hand.
- We haven’t experimented much with any of the squash variety, though much of it has quite a lengthy shelf-life.
- Our tiny little mountain town has a weekly farmers market and I’m planning on getting some greens more frequently there, as well as other fresh spring crops as they’re available, as I await my own harvest.
- Herbs are now growing out on my deck so I have the luxury of snipping off some fresh basil or sage as needed.
Recipes
I’m not big on exact measurements with cooking. I’m more of a “add and see” how it tastes kind of cook. My friend Kelsey inspired the first salad and my friend Sarah’s mom and my dad inspired the tuna salad – I really don’t know what to call it. My dad grew up eating tuna salad every Sunday, so I combined his recipe with my friend Sarah’s mom’s and added a few of my own things!
Kelsey’s Chickpea & Feta Salad
- Chickpeas (a can, rinsed)
- Chickpeas (roasted – a really generous handful)
- Farro (cooked – I used 1/2 cup, uncooked) – original recipe uses Bulgar wheat
- Fresh dill, chopped
- Cherry tomatoes, halved – original recipe uses bell peppers
- Cucumber, chopped
- Shallot (1/2 of a shallot, finely chopped)
- Feta – lots! – chopped
Dressing
- Lemon
- Cumin
- Salt
- Garlic (I used two cloves)
- Olive oil
Combine salad ingredients – add greens if desired. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!
Tuna Noodle Salad
- 12 to 16 oz of pasta, cooked per package, rinsed to cool
- 2 cans of tuna, drained
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/3 cup shredded cheese
- 1/4 cup pickle relish
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- hard boiled eggs, peeled & chopped – I used 4
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together, enjoy!
