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, brown rice was served with Sautéed Pork & Peaches and used again in a Garlic Fried Rice. This week, an easy Honey Barbecue Sauce will be brushed onto Grilled Chicken Thighs and smeared onto BBQ Cheddar Burgers.
Here’s the rest of the plan:
Pantry Items Olive oil (regular and extra virgin)
Cider vinegar
Rice wine vinegar
Cooking spray
Butter
Mayonnaise
Fat-free sour cream/Greek yogurt
Ketchup
Yellow mustard
Honey
Dark brown sugar
Fish sauce
Sriracha (optional)
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
Pepper
Grocery List based on servings for 2 w/ leftovers 1 ½ lb bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 block extra sharp cheddar
1 red onion
1 yellow onion
1 head garlic
3 roma tomatoes
1 head lettuce
1 package shredded slaw mix (red & green cabbage, carrots)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 lime
3 ears corn
1 can tuna
2 hamburger buns
4 slices good quality rye bread
Day 1 – Honey BBQ Chicken Thighs w/ Grilled Corn *Makes leftover Honey BBQ Sauce, Chicken Thighs & Grilled Corn
Heat a small pot over medium-high heat and coat lightly with oil. Add in ¼ minced red onion and 1 clove minced garlic, cooking until softened. Mix in ½ cup ketchup, 3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, ½ tbsp yellow mustard, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cooking until sauce has reduced by half. Taste and season as needed.
Pour a third of the sauce over chicken thighs and toss to coat.
Heat grill to medium and brush grates with oil. Place chicken skin side down on grill and grill, turning once, until golden brown and cooked though, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove husks and silk from corn. Rub with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until ears are lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.
*Reserve 1 ear of corn for use in day 2.
Brush chicken lightly using the rest of the BBQ sauce.
*Reserve half the chicken for use in day 3 and remaining sauce for use in day 4.
Serve chicken thighs hot with grilled corn.
Day 2 – Skillet Lettuce Tacos w/ Corn Salsa *Uses leftover Grilled Corn
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and coat lightly with oil. Add in ½ lb ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
*Reserve remaining meat for use in day 4.
Slice half a yellow onion into thick rounds and set aside for use in day 4.
Chop the remaining half yellow onion and add to skillet with 2-3 cloves minced garlic, cooking until softened. Stir in 1 tbsp homemade taco seasoning and a splash of water. Taste and add more seasoning/water as needed.
Meanwhile, use a knife to remove leftover corn from cob. Toss corn kernels with 1 diced tomato, ¼ minced red onion and chopped fresh cilantro. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove a few leaves of lettuce, keeping them intact to form cups. Shred cheddar cheese for serving.
Set up a make-your-own taco station with lettuce cups, taco beef, corn salsa, shredded cheddar and sour cream.
Day 3 – Vietnamese Style Chicken Salad *Uses leftover Grilled Chicken Thighs
Whisk together ¼ cup rice wine vinegar, ¼ cup fish sauce, 2 tbsp honey, 1 clove minced garlic and 1 tbsp water. Mix in chopped cilantro and season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste.
Pour onto shredded coleslaw mix. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
Remove meat from leftover chicken thighs and roughly chop.
Mix into shredded cabbage mixture and serve over chopped lettuce with Sriracha.
Day 4 – BBQ Cheddar Burgers w/ Crunchy Slaw *Uses leftover Honey BBQ Sauce
Form leftover beef into two patties and season with salt and pepper. Use thumb to create an indent into the center of each.
Heat grill and brush grates with oil. Add reserved yellow onion rings and cook, turning once, until charred and softened.
Add burger patties and grill until charred on both sides and cooked to desired doneness, brushing with honey BBQ sauce during cooking. During last minute, add sliced cheddar cheese and cover to melt.
Warm buns and top burgers with extra honey BBQ sauce, grilled onions, sliced tomato and torn lettuce. Serve with slaw tossed with a splash of cider vinegar, mayonnaise, honey, salt and pepper.
Day 5 – Tuna Melts on Rye
Mix drained and flaked tuna with ¼ minced red onion and mayonnaise. Season to taste (I like mine with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper).
Heat broiler to high and add 4 slices of buttered rye to toast.
Add tuna to two slices, top with shredded cheddar cheese and sliced tomato and top with the other two slices of bread, buttered side facing out. Broil again until cheese melts.
Slice and serve hot with more crushed black pepper.
Enjoy!
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This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.
