Menu plan for the week of January 17, 2010

What a week!
It seemed like every day there was some new chore to run. I tried to limit what I bought this week, intending to eat out of the pantry. I dug out some new spices, went fishing through my collected recipes on Spring pad and came up with a few interesting ideas.

As always, lunches are leftovers. Snacks are fresh fruits/vegetables with simple dips. Breakfast is toast & natural peanut butter or oatmeal. My drinks of choice are tea, diet coke and water (unfortunately, in that order). My goal this week is to get through to Friday without ordering in or not making something on the menu. Wish me luck!

Sunday 17	Breakfast: Multigrain Breakfast Musli, an apple & tea. Lunch: Steak burritos, diet coke. Snack: broccoli, cauliflower, dip Dinner: Roast chicken, baby potatoes & salad with red wine vinagrette, diet coke
	I had a ton of folks over in the afternoon, and even with the smell of roasting chickens, they didn't stay for dinner. :) I bought two small grain-fed chickens, trussed them with lemons, tossed two cut up carrots, some celery, an onion and a ton of herbs and butter in with the birds and cooked them for about an hour. This results in one bird for dinner, and the second for leftover chicken for the week. I've also now got tons of stuff to make more chicken broth this weekend.
Monday 18	Breakfast: Multigrain Breakfast Musli, an apple & tea. Lunch: Shepperd's pie, diet coke. Snack: an apple Dinner: Chicken a la king, soda biscuits, salad & green tea Desert: Pistachio ice cream
	Chicken a la king, also known as chicken and vegetables in a white sauce. It's one of my favourite ways to use up leftover chicken. I always try to make a few extra soda biscuits as they make really good additions to a lunch and they freeze well, even when baked. The ice cream was requested specifically. It will mean a fair bit of shifting of things in my freezer; but it shall be made tonight and ready to eat either late tonight or tomorrow night for dinner. If anyone has a favourite ice cream recipe--please share. I'm always looking to expand my repertoire.
Tuesday 19	Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, tea. Snack: an apple Lunch: Roast chicken legs, potatoes, asparagus & peppers, diet coke, an apple. Snack: yogurt & flax seed Dinner: Mom's cold season chicken soup with day old bread, tea.
	Chicken soup is a very fast meal to make if you have all the ingredients handy. Tasty too. Any leftovers should go great as additions to lunch (like the basis of a healtier raman) or last in the fridge until the weekend.
Wednesday 20	Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, tea. Snack: an apple Lunch: Healthier Raman, diet coke, an apple Snack: yogurt & flax seed Dinner: Slow cooked beef & buttered noodles
	It seems odd to make this recipe from a good cut of beef; but it's a bit freezer burned and needs to be used up. Without good grilling weather, it's therefore destined for the crock pot. The grey weather of late has me wanting gravy and this dish can produce a lot of it.
Thursday 21	Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, tea. Snack: an apple Lunch: Lemon pepper tuna, crackers, and mixed vegetables, diet coke, an apple. Snack: Pretzels Dinner: Broiled white fish, steamed green beans, tea.
	A simple dinner of fish and vegetables, it's healthy and easy to make.
Friday 22	Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, tea. Snack: an apple Lunch: Leftover bonanza, diet coke, an apple. Snack: Pretzels Dinner: Pot luck & Leftovers
	I regularly bring food over to a friend's place and cook it. The problem is, I never know what I'm going to make until the day arrives. Then I email friends, tell them what I'm lacking and bring the rest. Dinners can be quite creative; but are always served (soup, meal & salad, sometimes desert) for 5$ a head. Sometimes I completely blow the budget (often with desert), but in general it's a fairly easy guideline. If someone brings food for the dinner (and not just snacks for the evening) they don't have to pay me $5.

Menu plan for the week of January 10, 2010

And so it continues.
We've not even had the Cosco card for a month, and already we're planning our next trip. Still, if we're careful then the purchase of a membership at our local bulk store is a wise decision. Figures though, one week after getting the card and we stumble on a 1/2 price sale for toilet paper. So that's one thing we won't be buying at Cosco for a while.

They have everything at Cosco. It's rather intimidating. Being part of a household of two - any six pack of consumables that can't be frozen (bread, baked goods, cheeses, etc) are problematic, and even those that can be frozen (meats, finished meals, etc) are often so large that my new and ginormous fridge-freezer is too small to store them properly. It's a hard question to ask. But do you really need to purchase a six month supply of eggs, shampoo and office supplies? The savings on such things are often marginal at best. But if you're careful, you can find a few deals. Note to self: pack a calculator and your price book.

As always, lunches are leftovers. Snacks are fresh fruits/vegetables with simple dips. Breakfast is toast & natural peanut butter or oatmeal. My drinks of choice are tea, diet coke and water (unfortunately, in that order). My goal this week is to get through to Friday without ordering in or not making something on the menu. Wish me luck!

Sunday 10	Breakfast: Egg sandwich, whole grain, turkey sausage. Tea. Snack: Rice cakes Lunch: Smoked meat sandwich, diet coke. Snack: Kellog's bar Dinner: Chicken nuggets & mixed green salad. Diet coke.
	It was my day to cook; I just didn't cook dinner. Dinner was frozen chicken nuggets with a bag of mixed salad and bottled salad dressing. Yummy - but not home cooked. Today I baked two turkey legs (strained and saved the broth, shredded the meat and saved the bones for soup. I made 4l of chicken broth (with mostly leftover vegetables and a bit of chicken bones) in the crock pot, and a cooked up two breakfasts worth of blackberry multi-grain oatmeal.
Monday 11	Breakfast: Tea. Blackberry multi-grain oatmeal. Snack: Kellog's bar Lunch: Risotto & cassoulet. Apple & diet coke Snack: cottage cheese Dinner: Hearty Ministrone soup and leftover bread. Tea. Snack: Banana bread?
	This is a great bean soup with a few vegetables. It tastes best when made with homemade stock, but any stock will do. The recipe I'm using makes enough for 4 hungry people; so I'm hoping to have a small amount left over for lunches. I also hope to make some more banana bread (mostly for breakfasts later in the week, but also as tonight's desert). Only time will tell if this happens though.
Tuesday 12	Deli-style coleslaw and meatball subs
	A classic combination, this is another version of a very sloppy joe. The meatballs are drenched in freshly made tomato sauce that is barely even seasoned. I am just as apt to use store-bought meatballs as homemade for this recipe; but the tomato sauce is simple and comes together so quickly that it is worth making from scratch. The coleslaw is creamy and gives the meal the traditional deli twist that would be otherwise lacking from eating on real plates with cutlery.
Wednesday 13	Basic sauteed chicken cutlets with mixed green salad
	This is quickly becoming a winter staple for me. The chicken breasts and flattened (or cut, depending on how I feel) and then pan fried in very little oil. Sometimes I make a sauce, but most times I don't.
Thursday 14	Risotto and Martedi and possibly apple pie
	Can you tell I have people coming over? Risotto is a pleasantly creamy dish that goes well with anything. Martedi is a recipe (of sorts) by Fae; and a great way to feed a crowd with very little preparation. The dinner isn't gorgeous, but it is delicious. There's been a request in my house for me to make another apple pie. I've given a definite maybe to the request. If it's gonna happen -- it will be the night folk come over.
Friday 15	Soda biscuits and turkey a la king
	The recipe is for chicken a la king, but I have leftover (cooked) turkey thanks to the cooking I did on Sunday. Soda biscuits are the easiest bread you'll ever make and come together in less than 30 minutes. They'll be put in the oven as soon as the turkey a la king goes onto the stove and both should be ready about the same time.

Weekly menu for January 03, 2010

Happy New Year!
My sister gave me a blank recipe book for Christmas. I promised my mother I'd fill it with recipes and give it to her. If all works well, I can give her the book and a link to my Springpad! At least then she'll be able to read my recipes. I'm trying to update them and comment on them as I use them; in most cases this also means minor alterations due to either goofs on my part (leaving out a recipe, misreading when it's supposed to go in, etc), or simply having to substitute ingredients due to costs.

There's another round of clean-out-your pantry going on out there in the Internet (as hosted by Jessica at Life as Mom and Crystal at Money Saving Mom). I'm not going to partake; but I am trying to design meals around what I have rather than what I need.

I'm still trying to finish off the little bottles in my fridge; but there's only so many uses I can find for hot and savory sauces. Friends comment that my fridge is always full to bursting; I tell them to look again just before I go shopping -- it gets pretty empty around then.

As always, lunches are leftovers. Snacks are fresh fruits/vegetables with simple dips. Breakfast is toast & natural peanut butter or oatmeal. My drinks of choice are tea, diet coke and water (unfortunately, in that order). I'm trying to stay away from deserts for a while, but (considering the number of dead bananas in my fridge), I can see myself making a loaf (or two) of banana bread.

Sunday 4	Chicken Cassoulet, steamed broccoli
	The dish took a fair bit of time to assemble, but I was able to do it with company in the house. I cooked way too much and will be eating the leftovers for lunches this week. It's a very hearty meal, but a bit bland for my tastes. Cheese helps, but I'm wondering if some of the spicy pastes in my pantry wouldn't help more.
Monday 5	Steak Fajitas.
	Served atop flour tortillas (warmed in the stove), these are filled with a mixture of sandwich steak, bell pepper, salsa, and sour cream. Just one problem -- I'm out of tortillas. I made quesadillas for friends on Saturday and that used up my supply. I found a recipe online, so this might just work.
Tuesday 6	Fish sticks, steamed vegetables, basmati rice
	I'll make the rice with chicken broth & herbs; mostly just to give it some flavour. As to the fish sticks - they're store bought.
Wednesday 7	Turkey Scallopini, buttered noodles and green salad
	I have a package of Turkey Scallopini in the freezer that's been there a while. This is another easy meal. The noodles are whole wheat egg noodles that I'll cook up and add a bit of thyme and butter to flavour. The green salad is dressed with a red wine vinagrette.
Thursday 8	Cracker crusted fish, risotto and steamed vegetables. Banana bread.
	Every time I put this recipe on my menu, something happens. Last time we ran out of crackers for ... um ... some unknown reason. Still, I want to use up the fish in my freezer -- so crackers or no crackers -- it will be eaten on Thursday. The banana bread is technically for Friday night; but it has to be tested before I can dole it out to friends.
Friday 9	Santa-Fey Chicken Chili with cornbread biscuits. Banana bread (leftovers).
	Chili always pleases a crowd. Ideally, I'll have everything mixed up and cooked before leaving the house in the morning. I realized this weekend that, whenever I bring soups, stews or chili's (or even wet ingredients for a meal) to serve to people, I pack the food hot in to freshly-washed mason jars. The results are easy to carry and I never worry about leakage.

Weekly menu for December 13 - 18, 2009

I'm trying to get ahead of the game this week, mostly by writing this on the Thursday prior to the dates in the title; as that's when I normally make my shopping list. The week is fraught with baking, shopping, and meeting friends. I suspect I'll not have much time to throw dinner together or eat for that matter; and yet I still need to make enough to bring leftovers as lunches throughout the week.

Sunday 13	Family dinner. Apple-cinnamon cake
	I'm off to a family dinner. I'm bringing a gift of truffles and an apple-cinnamon cake for desert.
Monday 14	Fajitas.
	Served atop flour tortillas (warmed in the stove), these are filled with a mixture of cooked chicken, bell pepper, salsa, and sour cream. Since I'm finishing off my Christmas shopping this week, it seemed safest to serve a simple meal.
Tuesday 15	Cracker and parmesan crusted fish, Steamed vegetables and basmati rice
	Crispy fish, rice made with chicken broth, and a green salad dressed with homemade vinagrette. Simple, quick, and easy. This has been one recipe I keep meaning to make.
Wednesday 16	Quick chicken cassoulet, green salad and cappuchino chocolate cheesecake
	This is a "fake" cassoulet, in that it doesn't have to bake for hours to be ready to eat. The desert is not, unfortunately for Wednesday night. I'll serve a small one on Thursday to guests and bring the rest to a pot-luck on Friday.
Thursday 17	Yellow split-pea soup and soda biscuits
	This is a dinner for 6, hopefully with left-overs. The recipe is an old family favourite that is a crock-pot meal. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes!
Friday 18	Leftover buffet
	Most Friday nights I want a simple and quick meal. Since I shop on Saturdays, I also want to clean out my fridge/freezer. Often I cook without a recipe, finding bits that should be used up and making something dinner-like out of it. This is also the day of my office's pot luck; so I suspect that by dinner time I'm not going to be all that hungry.

Weekly menu for November 29th, 2009

Where does the time go? This weekend had a lot more running around than I initially thought. The menu this week is all comfort food as we both try to get over lingering aches and pains of colds and gym workouts. I aimed for simple recipes that I know fairly well (even the new ones seem familiar and should be easy to make). I hate to say it, but I'm also carefully doubling any recipe I bake and freezing half because, you know, that season is on the horizon and fast approaching.

Sunday 29	Smoked meat sandwiches & dill pickles. Blueberry pie.
	We buy packaged smoked meat from time to time. It comes in a box with four little packages. The package is boiled for seven minutes, then carefully opened. Served on toasted whole wheat with lots of mustard and a dill pickle on the side. Desert was the last slices of blueberry pie fresh from the bakery... some days ago.
Monday 26	Tacos. Chocolate mousse?
	Served atop corn tortillas (warmed on the stove top), these are filled with a mixture of diced romaine lettuce, diced bell pepper, salsa, sour cream and cheese. He asked for it last week, so thought I'd make some up. Tonight I have to make up a big batch of apple oatmeal for breakfasts this week. Lately steel-cut oats seem to be the only thing that keeps me from getting really hungry between breakfast and lunch. If I have the time, I also want to make up some lentil and bulgar salad. This makes a nice accompaniment with lunch, and should help keep me full until dinner.
Tuesday 27	Parmesan chicken & steamed vegetables.
	When I came across this recipe last week, I knew I wanted to make it. Crispy chicken without frying? If it's even half as good as that sounds, it will quickly become a family favourite.
Wednesday 28	Cracker and Parmesan crusted fish fillets, basmati rice & best green salad
	Crispy fish, rice made with chicken broth, and a green salad dressed with homemade vinagrette. Simple, quick, and easy. If I can manage it, I want to try making brown butter & ginger cookies; mostly so there will be leftovers for company on Thursday and more cookie dough for my freezer.
Thursday 29	Crockpot hungarian goulash, soda biscuits and green salad
	This is a dinner for 6, hopefully with left-overs. I'll serve the goulash over the soda biscuits (instead of pasta).
Friday 30	Meatball subs
	Meatballs, cooked in spaghetti sauce, then poured between freshly baked whole-wheat bread. Friday meals should always be this easy.

Weekly menu for November 23rd, 2009

The week got off to a rough start. I'm going to dart out for a few fresh supplies this week, but there's no plan to actually *buy groceries* like we normally do. I've been very impressed by Saucy Apron, who went a whole month without buying groceries! While I'm not trying to repeat her triumph, I am trying once more to eat down my fridge/freezer/pantry before buying more. Beacuse this week will be spent using up leftovers, I don't have many recipes to share. Next week I'll go back to trying to use up what I have before buying more. So, here's the plan. Lets hope it survives confrontation with my life, such as it is.

Sunday 22	Take out
	After a day of chores and visitors, there was no energy left to make food. Lunch was a bowl of reheated chili and dinner was takeout. Yummy. Yummy. Take out.
Monday 26	Chicken with Provencal Sauce, steamed wild rice, steamed green beans, and banana bread for desert.
	It's a very simple saute recipe that comes together by the time the rice is done. It makes very little sauce, but it's well worth it. The wild rice in my pantry is the last cup from a much larger bag. Breakfast: steel cut oats, dried cranberries & cinnamon. Lunch: Heat and serve basil chicken with broccoli & pasta Snacks: Crackers, 1 red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons hummus We have dying bananas, and so I should make banana bread. My preference is to use Rick Gallop's banana bread which includes flax seed, wheat germ, and no sugar. Mmmm banana bread sandwiches with peanut butter for breakfast!
Tuesday 27	Steak sandwiches with cheese and salad
	This is one of my favourite fast meals. I don't really have a recipe for it. Served on good crusty bread, the sandwich meat is quick fried and served with slightly melted cheese. The salad, topped with a bitter vinagrette is also a family favourite - this time using up some of the walnuts stored in my pantry along with my dwindling supply of red wine vinegar. Breakfast: steel cut oats, dried cranberries & cinnamon. Lunch: Pork (leftovers) with fermented black bean sauce (tiny jar), steamed wild rice, steamed green beans. Snacks: banana bread, 1 red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons hummus
Wednesday 28	Hosin chicken breasts, BBQ potatoes and green salad
	The Hosin sauce is low-sodium and is one of the many little bottles in my fridge. The breast marinade in the sauce and then are barbecued until done. The potatoes are the last of the summer harvest from the farmer's market and cook quickly. The salad will be topped with herbs, croutons (the last of my supply) and bottled dressing (of which I have lots). Breakfast: Toasted banana bread with peanut butter Lunch: Steak sandwich with cheese, salad Snacks: fruit, 1 red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons hummus
Thursday 29	Meatloaf with creamed sauce, polenta, steamed vegetables and cookies for desert!
	The cream sauce is new, but the meatloaf is not. I made Bittman's meatloaf a while back and froze the extra. I'll serve it up over polenta with steamed vegetables and top it with a creamy herb sauce. Should make for a fairly quick and easy dinner. I'm making cookies tonight. One batch will be (mostly) wheat free to feed to a friend with a wheat allergy (and to get rid of my barley flour); while the other batch will be made with a mix of whole wheat and white flour. I'm thinking of making either peanut butter or oatmeal cookies. Hrm. Peanut butter oatmeal? Breakfast: Toasted banana bread with peanut butter Lunch: Hosin chicken breasts, BBQ potatoes and green salad Snacks: fruit, cottage cheese & crackers
Friday 30	Leftover beef barley soup
	I made this for last Thursday's crowd and threw the leftovers into the freezer. It will be tonight's dinner for up to 6 people. I'll fry an onion and some celery to go into the mix, and thin it a bit with some broth before serving. Now, if someone brings bread -- it should make a delicious meal. Breakfast: Toasted banana bread with peanut butter Lunch: Meatloaf with creamed sauce, polenta, steamed vegetables Snacks: cottage cheese & crackers, fruit

Weekly menu for 26 October, 2009

We got the shopping done a bit late this week (finishing it off on Sunday instead of Saturday); and there were a few items I didn't like the look/price of--so my menu's changed a bit since I designed it last Thursday. This week I had decided to attack my condiments! Use them up and clean out my fridge. Unfortunately a single week of recipes just won't do it. I know these recipes will definitely put a dent in them though; and using condiments to plan a menu certainly brought lots of inspiration.

Sunday 25	Leftover buffet
	A name that inspires confidence! Essentially it was a fend-for-yourself night. The fridge is full of leftovers (soups, roast pork, roast chicken, etc...) and after a day of running around (and an amazing lunch at the Old Dublin pub), we just weren't that hungry.
Monday 26	Beef Sate with peanut sauce, steamed rice & vegetables.
	Tonight I'm trying to get rid of my little bottle of Thai red curry paste. Hopefully I can do this without making the dish too hot to eat. Beef Sate is very easy to make and leftovers of it (with the peanut sauce) are even more amazing as a lunch.
Tuesday 27	Bittman's Meatloaf with salad.
	Another great as leftovers meal. I hanker for meatloaf sandwiches, but I have a friend coming over. I'm going to use the homemade seafood sauce (ketchup + Shireah) as a topping for the meatloaf, thus technically getting rid of more condiments from my kitchen. I'll use my imported mustard to make a fancy dijon vinagrette for the salad.
Wednesday 28	Mac and cheese with salad.
	I made this not too long ago and it was a big hit; so I'm making it again. Mac and cheese has always been comfort food to me. This recipe is so much better than the store-bought blue box that I find it difficult to even think about going back. It takes more work and is longer to make -- but there are no leftovers. :) The salad will be dressed with a red wine vinagrette and beans.
Thursday 29	Chicken Thighs with Spicy Tomato Sauce with polenta and Cesar salad
	I shall try to make this with Chicken breasts. This recipe won't reduce my condiment bottles--but the Cesar salad will (as I have a bottle and a half of anchovies). The polenta (or possibly wild rice, haven't decided) are much needed for this very saucy recipe.
Friday 30	Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Oxtail
	I intend to make the stock throughout the week, then bring it to a gathering with me. Hopefully friends will bring noodles, veggies, and meats to go with the meal. I'll keep the meat to serve with the soup and probably bring some shaved carrot, beansprouts, and definitely the hot sauce -- hopefully the gathering will use it up.