Fantasy Meal Plan

Menu Plan Monday @ orgjunkie.com

What if I could eat anything I wanted for a whole week? And didn’t have to cook or clean up? And price was no object? And there would be no leftovers to use up or waste to think about?

I’m imagining that I’ve won the services of a professional chef for a week, along with a personal grocery shopper and kitchen clean-up crew. I’ll just send in my meal plan and it will appear! Of course, I will imagine that I am off work, and I have plenty of time to enjoy leisurely meals at home. Plus, I can choose everything to my own tastes with no compromise for other people: no fast food, no kid food, and no toned-down spices!

While I’m daydreaming, I’ll request tablecloths and cloth napkins, flowers, candles and lovely dishes and silverware….

So here’s my chance!

My own personal chef can make me:

MONDAY

Breakfast (all breakfasts will come with whatever coffee is my whim that morning)

• Warm cinnamon buns – with pecans – and fruit salad

Lunch

• Homemade samosas, chutney, puffy naan bread, and mango juice to drink

Samosas and Chutney

Monday (all dinners will come with a choice of fine wines)

• Hearty chicken pot pie with vegetables, crusty bread rolls, poached pear

TUESDAY

Breakfast

• Waffles with custard (from scratch!) and strawberries

Lunch

• Ham and cheese quiche, salad with baby greens & how about some fresh figs and pine nuts with that?

Quiche and Salad

Dinner

• Slow-cooked lamb or beef stew, dumplings or biscuits, caramel cheesecake with chocolate drizzled on top

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast

• Lemon poppy seed muffins, yogurt with fresh berries

Lunch

• Turkey club sandwich with roasted sliced turkey breast, extra-crisp bacon, tomato and lettuce; thin-cut sweet potato fries with sea salt

Dinner

• Pasta Primavera – angel hair pasta with tiny spring vegetables; bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; lemon tart

Pasta Primavera

THURSDAY

Breakfast

• Veggie omelette, asparagus, multigrain toast

Omelette with Asparagus

Lunch

• Spicy chilli with beef and beans, tortilla chips, guacamole

Dinner

• Fish and chips: home fries, battered haddock, minted peas, and steamed toffee pudding for dessert!

FRIDAY

Breakfast

• French toast with maple syrup, melon slices

Lunch

• Roasted vegetable panini with olive tapenade; fruit-topped pavlova for dessert

Dinner

• Avgolemono (egg/lemon) soup, spanakopita, moussaka, Greek salad (horiatiki) and a piece of honey-drenched baklava!

Spanakopita

SATURDAY

Breakfast

• Warm pumpkin bread; selection of nuts, dried fruit and cheese

Lunch

• Pizza with white sauce, pesto, artichokes, olives, etc; Caesar salad

Pesto and Artichoke Pizza

Dinner

• Spring rolls, Thai green curry chicken over basmati rice, and coconut ice cream

SUNDAY

Breakfast

• Almond croissant, a big bowl of cafe au lait, and a thick big-city newspaper to read (now I am asking for non-food items!)

Coffee and Croissant

Lunch

• Barbecued veggie burger on a Kaiser roll, zesty relish, corn on the cob

Dinner

• Pork tenderloin with orange/apricot sauce, mashed potatoes, julienned vegetables, and rhubarb pie

If you had a week of unlimited food choices, what would be at the top of your list?

I asked my spouse this question and he said he would just let the chef be creative and trust his or her judgment. However, when pressed, he wanted a popover pancake (Dutch Baby) with fillings, a deluxe tray of nachos with all the trimmings, and traditional roast lamb with potatoes and vegetables. I bet a lot of people’s fantasy meals are something their mother or grandmother used to make. Or, they would want to recreate a special restaurant meal they’d had in the past.

In real life, I have eaten out for every meal for a week or two when I’ve been on vacation or at conferences. Even with a generous budget, you do start wanting basic meals again, and even to make them yourself!

I would never want to make all of these dishes in one week, but here are the ones I actually know how to make: cinnamon buns, fruit salad, samosas, chicken pot pie, lamb stew with dumplings, biscuits, turkey club sandwich, omelettes, chilli, French toast, pumpkin bread and green curry chicken.

I guess I’d better get to work on learning the rest – in the absence of my own personal chef 🙂

Inspired by Menu Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie!