I’ve been on the move since I last posted: staying with family and living in hotels and rentals while moving back to the Northeast. I’m finally settling into a new place, but sadly my kitchen tools and utensils are still in boxes thousands of miles away. They’ll catch up to me in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got a spork, one pan, and a new neighborhood full of restaurants and markets to explore.
I found meal planning for a kitchen with limited tools and pans difficult at first, but it’s gradually gotten easier. No pot to boil water in? Skip the pasta and stick with microwavable rice and potatoes. No mixing bowls? Just oil vegetables and frozen pierogies directly on the pan.
Unlike at home where a sheet pan formula made sense, I’ve been following a plate formula: protein, starch, vegetable. It also helps when I add fats and sauces that can be used for multiple dishes. Example shopping list:
- Greenhouse lettuce (trying to avoid contaminated lettuce…)
- Peppers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Apples
- Can of dolma (stuffed grape leaves)
- Microwavable rice
- Balsamic dressing
- Feta cheese
- Bread
- Frozen fish fillets
- Frozen turkey meatballs
- Frozen breaded chicken tenders
- Frozen vegetable mix
- Frozen potatoes (wedges, fries, pierogies, whatever they’ve got)
Here are the meals I made with those ingredients:
- Balsamic salad with chicken, dolma, and feta
- Turkey meatballs with rice, veggies, and balsamic dressing
- Fish with potatoes and veggies
- Turkey meatball salad with apples and torn up bread croutons
- Chicken with potatoes and veggies
I’ve also been changing it up by buying frozen proteins already in a sauce, like butter chicken or fish in a butter sauce.
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