Halloween is on Saturday this year, so Friday night is mini pizzas with ghosts and jack o’lanterns on them and nobody has to cook on the big day. The rest of the week is proper cold weather food. Chicken and dumplings to start, a pot of American chop suey that will feed you twice, a kidney bean curry over rice, and a whole side of trout under with garlic butter.
For the bonus recipe, Halloween witch finger cookies. Buttery almond shortbread shaped into bony fingers, an almond pressed in for the nail and a smear of raspberry jam at the knuckle. Makes twenty, and they are the ones that get photographed.
Helpful Tips for This Week
- Use a rotisserie chicken for the chicken and dumplings and you cut an hour down to about 30 minutes. You need 3 cups shredded.
- Do not lift the lid while the dumplings cook. They steam rather than boil, and every peek costs you a few minutes.
- The American chop suey serves 8. Make the full pot on Tuesday and you have lunches sorted through Thursday.
- Toast the cumin seeds for the kidney bean curry in the hot oil until they pop before anything else goes in. That one step is most of the flavor.
- Grate the ginger on the small holes of a box grater. Chopped ginger leaves fibrous bits in the sauce.
- Ask the fish counter for a side of trout with the pin bones already out. Twenty minutes in the oven and it is the easiest night of the week.
- Take the pizza dough out of the fridge an hour before you want to roll it. Cold dough springs back and fights you.
- Cut the cheese ghosts and pumpkins on Thursday and keep them between sheets of parchment. Friday then takes 15 minutes.
- Press the almond into each witch finger before baking, not after, and chill the shaped dough for twenty minutes so the knuckles hold.
Easy Serving Ideas
The chicken and dumplings needs nothing but a spoon. Chop suey wants a green salad and some garlic bread. The curry comes with its own basmati, so add naan only if you want something to tear. The trout goes with roasted potatoes or rice and a lemony green vegetable. Put out carrot sticks and apple slices with the mini pizzas so there is something on the table that is not cheese.
And Halloween spaghetti alongside the mini pizzas if you need something more filling
Shopping List
This shopping list includes everything you need to make all five dinners, plus the bonus dessert in this week’s plan. It is sorted by aisle so you can work through it in one pass.
Produce
- 3 medium yellow onions
- 1 bulb garlic, you need 11 cloves
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 bunch celery, you need 1 rib
- 1 piece fresh ginger root, you need about 1 inch
- 1 green chili, optional
- 1 small package button mushrooms, you need 5 or 6
- 2 lemons
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
Meat and Seafood
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, or 1 rotisserie chicken
- 2 pounds 90/10 ground beef
- 1 side of trout fillet, 2 to 2 ½ pounds, pin bones removed
Dairy and Eggs
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, you need about 2 ¾
- 1 small carton heavy cream, you need ½ cup
- 1 small carton whole milk, you need ½ cup
- 1 (8-ounce) tub sour cream, you need ½ cup
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded cheddar
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded mozzarella
- 1 package sliced mozzarella, you need 4 slices
- 1 package sliced orange cheddar, you need 4 slices
- 1 dozen large eggs, you need 1
Canned and Jarred
- 1 (32-ounce) carton chicken stock, you need 4 cups
- 1 (32-ounce) carton beef broth, you need 3 cups
- 1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can kidney beans
- 1 can coconut milk, you need about a quarter of it
- 1 jar pizza sauce, you need ½ cup
- 1 can whole black olives, you need 10
- Worcestershire sauce, you need 2 tablespoons
- 1 small jar seedless raspberry jam
Frozen
- 1 small bag frozen peas, you need 1 cup
- 1 ½ pounds pizza dough, or fresh dough from the bakery counter
Pasta and Dry Goods
- 1 (1-pound) box elbow macaroni, you need 2 ½ cups
- Basmati rice, you need 2 cups
- 1 small bag blanched almonds, you need 20
Baking Aisle
- All-purpose flour, you need about 5 ½ cups, or gluten free flour
- Granulated sugar, you need 1 teaspoon
- Powdered sugar, you need 1 cup
- Baking powder
- Pure vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Green food coloring, optional
- Parchment paper
Oils, Condiments and Spices
- Olive oil, you need about 2 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil, you need about 2 ½ tablespoons
- Cumin seeds, you need 1 tablespoon
- Ground coriander, you need 1 tablespoon
- Ground cumin
- Ground turmeric
- Garam masala
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Dried dill
- Red chili flakes, optional
- Bay leaves, you need 4
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
Supplies
- Large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid, for the chicken and dumplings
- Large deep skillet or pot, you will use it Tuesday and Wednesday
- Large sheet pan, for the trout
- Baking sheets, for the pizzas and the cookies
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Small sharp paring knife, for carving the mushrooms and the cheese shapes
- Box grater
- Tongs
- Hand mixer or stand mixer, for the cookie dough
- Wire cooling rack
Optional Serving Ideas
- A green salad and garlic bread with the chop suey
- Naan with the kidney bean curry
- Roasted potatoes and a green vegetable with the trout
- Carrot sticks and apple slices alongside the mini pizzas
Made something from this week’s plan? Leave a 5-star rating and a quick comment on the recipe. It helps other readers decide what to cook next, and it means a lot to me. Thank you for your support!
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