Doesn’t matter how big your kitchen is, I can bet you have only two places you stand. 1. Within the same 2 cubic feet of countertop (even if your kitchen is massive) and 2. in front of your range. This week’s menu will keep you right there in the comfort zone.
How I’m Using the Menu
Is it wrong to say I’m using this menu to warm my house?
A: Yes, it is wrong to purposely heat your home from your oven. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an added bonus this time of year!
This is a great week to work ahead even for those of us that don’t like to.
Start on Sunday with the roast chicken. Too busy on Sunday? Don’t fret. This does require a decent amount of time in the oven (1.5 hours), but the actual prep work is relatively minimal. You could prep the morning of or on a weekday afternoon if you come home at the same time kids are done with school and have plenty of time.
Anyway, while the chicken is roasting, you could prep the veggies for the roasted veggie sandwich night. Just make sure to leave enough space between racks when you first put your chicken in! (Then on sammie night, reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.)
Speaking of those sandwiches, they are just as good cold as served fresh out of the oven. Maybe take it on the go for lunch or a busy night of soccer practice-piano lesson-play rehearsal.
We serve these sandwiches with fruit, but good old fashioned chips or even a freezer French Fry would be a good side dish.
Finally is the tomato soup. This is another one that requires simmering time, but almost no prep. I make this one on a work-from-home day or a Saturday night where we start lounging on the couch around 4 and can’t be bothered to do anything productive after that. Save the rest of the tomato paste. We’ll use that next week.
I love, love, love the croutons that go with this soup, but you could easily skip if you’re going gluten-free. OR, want to double down? Then the grilled cheese is the only way to go!
Finally, we have cocoa-nutty blondies. This sweet treat is a rich one, so plan on small squares or make it for a potluck meal. (Or keep them all for yourself in the back of the fridge. We all need rewards of some sort!) Keep the leftover coconut, too. We will also use more next week. (Or throw in the freezer. It will last forever in there.)