Weekly Meal Planner using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

Today was the "box" day, YEAH!

I don't have time to have my own garden so I truly appreciate this lovely gift each week of beautiful organic produce from farmers across CA. Even if I did have time to garden I would never be able to grow all of these amazing goodies.

What a wonder to see the variety and bright colors each week!. Thank you to the farmers who make it possible for my family to eat a rainbow of colors every single week!

So...What came in the box this week?


In my small box I received:

• oranges
• baby bok choy
• potatoes
• rutabaga
• chard
• Bay Leaves
• cabbage
• Brussels sprouts
• carrots
• parsely
• leeks

I also purchased these lovely ad on items

• Kale
• green garlic
• scallions
• broccoli
• humanely raised bacon

Meal 1
Brussels Sprouts & Chard with Caramelized Orange 
I did not get enough Brussels sprouts to feed the whole family so I plan to dice my pound of bacon and fry that up and put it to the side to go with the sprouts.
The directions in this week's Fresh Facts for how to best cook Brussels sprouts are new ideas to me so I plan to try these preparations.
I am going to cut them in half and cook them in the bacon grease and then mix them with the crisp diced bacon. If you don't do meat just skip the whole bacon idea and just make sure you cook them in a lot of yummy satisfying oil like expeller pressed coconut oil.
The amount of chard was small too so I plan to expand that with some oranges and onions.
If you don't have onion on hand you can use a little bit of your leek.
Dice some onion or leek and put in into a hot pan with some oil.
Wash your chard and cut out the stems and chop them. Add these to the pan with the diced onion or leek.
Next add diced orange to (maybe two oranges worth)
If you want it even sweeter add a little raw honey.
Cook it all until it is well browned and caramelized.
Then add in the torn or cut up chard leaves and cook until wilted.
Serve both of these sides with something easy that you can have baking in the oven or microwave. I make meat loafs and freeze them raw into metal loaf tins so I plan to pop one of those in the oven before I get started on these.

Meal 2
Crisp Leeks & Cabbage
Cut your leek in half horizontally and remove the tough green leaves from the top.
Slice the leek into thin slices and toss them into a pan or wok with some oil.
Get them nice and crispy and brown. Take them out an put them to the side on a plate.
Add chopped washed cabbage to the pan and some more oil and salt and pepper.
Cook until the cabbage has softened to your liking.
Serve it with crispy leeks on top.
This would pair well with good salami or cooked sausage.
You could easily turn it into a soup by adding water to the cabbage and whatever protein you want and then let it simmer for 20 minutes. Serve the soup with the crispy leeks on top too.

Meal 3
Sesame Baby Bok Choy
Wash and chop the baby bok choy.
Cook it in a wok with a neutral oil. Add a splash of sesame oil and/or soy sauce or soy sauce substitute like coconut aminos.
When it is cooked to your liking add in some toasted sesame seeds for the last minute.
This would pair well with a nice grilled steak.

Meal 4
Sun Dried Tomato Veggie Soup
I am found of saying "when all else fails make soup!"
I don't have any spaghetti sauce on hand this week but I do have a big jar of olive oil packed sun dried tomatoes!
Wash and chop your carrots, rutabaga, potatoes, and parsley.
Through this all into your soup pot or slow cooker.
Add some sun dried tomatoes, at least a cup. If yours are not packed in oil add some olive oil to the pot.
If you do not have sun dried tomatoes any kind of tomatoes or tomato sauce will do.
Put a bay leaf or two on top.
Then fill to the top with water or broth or a combination of the two.
If you are using a slow cooker turn it on low for 6 to 8 hours.
In a soup pot this will probably need to simmer for at least an hour. It will be done when the veggies are soft.

Meal 5
Fresh Orange Slices with Salmon
I have always enjoyed orange slices on top of salmon.
Other mild fish would probably work well too.
I plan to keep it simple and just slice and orange and place the slices on top of the fish.
I may squeeze half an orange onto the fish as well.

Dessert Idea:

Spiced Orange Slices
I have never tried this before but the idea sounds delicious!  I came up with it tonight while planning these meals.
Slice the rest of your oranges and lay them on a plate or flat container like a glass rectangle or square baking dish.
Sprinkle the slices with some pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.
Cover and store in the fridge.
I am going to wait at least half a day to let them marinate before I try them.

Happy Cooking!