Dinner Planner: Week of August 14th, 2017

I am en route from New York to LA and although I had an amazing three weeks (two of which were pure vacation), I am looking forward to unpacking and sleeping in my own bed tonight. There’s no place like home. I have a few meetings, one class and a lot of laundry to do in the next few days before I turn around and go back to NY on Wednesday! Tune into the Today Show on Friday morning when I’ll be doing a back-to-school (YIKES!) segment. Food segments are almost always between 8:30 and 9:00 am.

Then I’m off to Dallas for the weekend where I’ll be recording a podcast with the lovely Belbel sisters of A Double Dose blog and doing a book event at The Gem on Monday, August 21st at 10:00 am! See my Events page for details.

On Wednesday, I’ll be in Houston for a live segment on KHOU-TV Channel 11 on “Great Day Houston” and then a book party hosted by my dear friends Maria Kasselakis and Marcia Smart (her fantastic blog is Smart in the Kitchen.) I am so excited to meet everyone in Dallas and Houston!

Here’s your dinner planner for this week:

Meatless Monday: Spaghetti squash with pesto and peas, zucchini carpaccio from cookbook (To roast spaghetti squash, cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rub the inside of each half with a drizzle of olive oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Arrange cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees until tender. Set aside CUT SIDE UP (so it doesn’t overcook) until it is cool enough to handle. Rake crosswise using a fork.)

Tuesday: Baked parmesan caprese chicken, arugula with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and salt

Wednesday: Grilled panzanella, poached salmon with cucumber yogurt

Thursday: Roasted zucchini pasta bake from Sprouted Kitchen (add Italian turkey sausage if you want)

Friday: Fresh tomato soup with buratta and crusty bread, simple green salad with white beans, cucumber, radish, and basil vinaigrette (or if you have any leftover pesto, stir a spoonful into any basic vinaigrette)

Saturday lunch: 7-layer salad with blue cheese

Sunday: Slow cooker bbq chicken sandwiches, salad with ranch (or use leftover blue cheese dressing)

Here’s what you can do ahead if you need:

Sunday

Roast and strand spaghetti squash and refrigerate (toss with pesto and peas in a skillet to warm through)

Make vinaigrette for panzanella

Make BBQ sauce or buy premade

Tuesday

Chop cucumbers for panzanella

Cook sausage for pasta bake if using

Wednesday/Thursday

Assemble pasta bake and refrigerate before baking if desired (add 10 minutes to cooking time)