Thanksgiving is the week after this one, so your head is probably already there. Nothing in this week needs much thinking about. A creamy chicken casserole on Monday, pork chops out of the Instant Pot on Tuesday, shrimp fried rice that clears out the fridge on Wednesday, a mushroom risotto worth slowing down for on Thursday, and a big tray of nachos for Friday.
For the bonus recipe, gingerbread cake. A dark, soft molasses cake under cinnamon cream cheese frosting, baked in a 9×13 and cut into twelve. No pie this week on purpose. The pies belong to next week.
Helpful Tips for This Week
- Buy a rotisserie chicken for the chicken casserole and you have the four cups of shredded chicken without cooking anything first.
- Use bone in pork chops at least an inch thick. Thin chops are overcooked long before the gravy is ready.
- Cook the rice for the fried rice the day before and chill it. Warm rice goes to mush the moment it hits the pan.
- Keep the stock for the risotto warm in a pan beside you and add it one ladle at a time. Cold stock stops the cooking every time you pour it in.
- Spread the chips for the nachos in a single layer on a sheet pan. Piled up, the ones underneath come out bare.
- Use light or original molasses in the gingerbread cake, not blackstrap. Blackstrap turns it bitter.
1
Monday — Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
Shredded chicken folded into a sour cream, cream cheese and cottage cheese base, then baked under buttery crushed Ritz crackers. Six servings, and a rotisserie chicken does most of the work.
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2
Tuesday — Instant Pot Pork Chops
Thick bone in chops seared and pressure cooked with onion, cremini mushrooms and Italian seasoning, then finished in a cream gravy. Forty minutes, most of it unattended.
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3
Wednesday — Shrimp Fried Rice
Shrimp, egg, peas and carrots and cold rice tossed in a hot pan with soy sauce and sesame oil. Thirty minutes, and the best use there is for yesterday’s rice.
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4
Thursday — Mushroom Risotto
Arborio rice cooked slowly with mushrooms, thyme and white wine, finished with butter and Parmesan. Vegetarian, and the one night this week worth standing at the stove for.
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5
Friday — Ground Beef Nachos
Seasoned beef and pinto beans over a sheet pan of chips with cheese sauce, then whatever you want on top. Twenty minutes and it feeds eight.
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6
Bonus — Gingerbread Cake
A dark, soft molasses cake spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, under cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Cuts into twelve squares.
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Easy Serving Ideas
Monday takes a green salad and not much else. Spoon the pork chops and their gravy over mashed potatoes or rice. The fried rice is a full dinner, though chili crisp or sriracha on the table is a good idea. Put a lemony arugula salad next to the risotto. For Friday, set the nacho toppings out in bowls and let everyone build their own.
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
- 2 yellow onions, 1 for the pork chops and 1 for the risotto if you are not using shallots
- 2 small shallots, optional, for the risotto
- 1 pound mushrooms, for the risotto
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, for the pork chops
- 1 bulb garlic, you need 8 cloves
- 1 small bunch fresh thyme, you need 2 teaspoons
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 bunch scallions, you need 5
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, optional, for the nachos
- 1 avocado, optional, or a tub of guacamole
- 1 lemon, optional, if you are making a salad with the risotto
Meat and Seafood
- 1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 4 bone in pork chops, 1 to 1 ½ inches thick
- 1 pound shrimp, 51 to 60 count, peeled, deveined and thawed
- 1 pound ground beef
Dairy and Eggs
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, ½ for the casserole, ½ for the risotto and 2 for the cake
- 1 small tub sour cream, you need ½ cup, plus more for the nachos
- 8 ounces cream cheese, 4 for the casserole and 4 for the frosting
- 1 small tub cottage cheese, you need 1 cup
- 1 small carton heavy cream (double cream in the UK), you need ½ cup
- 1 wedge Parmesan, you need ¾ cup grated
- 1 dozen large eggs, you need 4
Canned and Jarred
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans
- 1 (15-ounce) jar nacho cheese sauce
- 1 jar chunky salsa, you need ½ cup
- Pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos and guacamole, optional, for the nachos
- 1 (32-ounce) carton vegetable stock, you need 5 cups for the risotto
- 1 (32-ounce) carton chicken stock, you need 1 cup for the pork chops
- Soy sauce, you need 2 tablespoons
- 1 small bottle dry white wine, you need ½ cup, pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
Frozen
- 1 small bag frozen carrots and peas, you need 1 cup
Bread, Pasta and Dry Goods
- 1 ¼ cups arborio rice, for the risotto
- Long grain rice, you need 5 cups cooked, so about 1 ⅔ cups dry
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, you need 32
- 1 (16-ounce) bag tortilla chips
Baking Aisle
- All-purpose flour, you need 2 ½ cups, or gluten free flour
- Baking soda, you need 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder, you need ½ teaspoon
- Granulated sugar, you need ½ cup
- Powdered sugar, you need 3 cups
- 1 jar unsulphured molasses, light or original, you need ¾ cup. Not blackstrap.
- Pure vanilla extract, you need 1 ½ teaspoons
- Holiday sprinkles, optional
Oils, Condiments and Spices
- Vegetable, canola or avocado oil, you need about 4 tablespoons
- Olive oil, you need 3 tablespoons
- Toasted sesame oil, you need 1 teaspoon
- Cornstarch, you need 2 tablespoons
- Taco seasoning, you need 2 ½ tablespoons
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried parsley
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon, you need 1 ½ teaspoons
- Ground cloves
- Ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
Supplies
- 9×13-inch baking dish, for the chicken casserole
- 9×13-inch baking pan, for the gingerbread cake
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- Wok or a 12-inch skillet, for the fried rice
- Wide heavy pan or Dutch oven, for the risotto
- A small pan to keep the risotto stock warm, plus a ladle
- Large sheet pan, for the nachos
- Box grater, for the Parmesan
- Hand or stand mixer, for the cream cheese frosting
Optional Serving Ideas
- A green salad with the chicken casserole
- Mashed potatoes or rice under the pork chops and gravy
- Chili crisp or sriracha on the table with the fried rice
- A lemony arugula salad next to the risotto
- Nacho toppings in bowls so everyone builds their own
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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