dinner time

I now officially live with a boy.  And from this point forward will live with this boy for the rest of our lives.  And as is my natural instinct, I want to feed this boy.  Coming from a Virginia matriarchal family, where food equals love, this is not a foreign concept, but cooking real meals for quick dinners is a challenge I need to face.

You see, living on my own for around ten years now, my dinner time has consisted of some pretty great culinary experiments, some pretty epic failures (pea loaf, I'm looking at you), and some pretty blah offerings.  The blah is what happens most of the time on the nights I stumble into the house starving and eating cereal or popcorn or roasted veggies/tofu/etc.  Lazy cooking.

Because I get home around 6pm and the beau gets home around 9pm, dinner time is my responsibility during the week.  I really don't mind (at least at Day Two) and have been trolling Pinterest for quick vegan-based meals that can reheat easily.  Yes, I plan on feeding a boy vegetables and grains and legumes without falling back too often on fake meat substitutes.

My dinner time plan this week:
Monday:  Gardein scallopini "chicken" cutlet + Kale & Potato Gratin (a staple recipe for me)*
Tuesday:  Quick vegetable curry with TJ's Masala Sauce + whole wheat couscous
Wednesday:  Grilled Peaches and Tomatoes with Whole Grain Pasta
Thursday:  Lentil Walnut Loaf + mashed potatoes (made with soy milk) + roasted carrots (work from home day, so can take a bit more time)
Friday:  Pasta with Creamy Squash Sauce (using up some frozen pumpkin puree and/or butternut squash)
Saturday:  Mexican night (tacos with TVP "meat" and veggies)
Sunday:  The boy's choice (seems only fair)

So, send me your good thoughts and any good recipe ideas!  Especially if you have any secret vegan slow cooker ideas that involve lentils and/or quinoa and are not SOUP.

*Yes, fake meat at the get-go because it was in the freezer and I had no real plans prior to Monday.  I promise I'll do better when next Monday rolls around.