This Weeks Menu

This weekend was good-not sunny, but warm. All the kiddos wanted to do was be outside, and frankly I wanted to be there with them. Then Monday and Tuesday turned out to be truly lovely days-70 and sunny. Perfect weather for hanging laundry and doing yard work.

So that’s what I did. I couldn’t see my way clear to being inside, and then all that fresh air and chasing around after kiddos had me tired out by the end of the day. All I wanted to do was sit still and read a bit.

So needless to say, posting here on the blog didn’t happen! But I have found that forcing myself to plan out the weeks menu has helped me to use up ingredients before they spoil, use my pantry effectively, and keep our menu both inexpensive and varied. Therefore I am going to bore you all with my menu even though the week is practically half over.

Monday: Hamburgers and Freezer Coleslaw

Monday evening we were all running around in the back yard and dinner snuck up on me. So I turned to my freezer to pull off the meal. The burgers were the venison/pork/tvp mix hamburgers I made back in the fall when we processed the venison. I packaged them in sets of 5 patties an vacuum sealed them. The kiddos usually only eat 1/2 of a burger each-so 5 is plenty for 4 people. The freezer coleslaw was also made back in the fall. I walked up to the local store and bought hamburger rolls (more expensive-but hey, that’s what happens when you don’t plan ahead). Otherwise I just served with some pickles and regular burger fixings.

Tuesday: Sandwiches

I had big plans to make biscuits and gravy for dinner tonight. Then I spent the afternoon walking around town putting up posters for our American Legion Riders Poker Run and our church’s Blessing of the Bikes. By the time I got home my ankle was really aching-I just couldn’t face standing in front of the stove and at the counter. We briefly considered ordering out chinese, or using one of the store bought frozen pizzas I have stashed away. But Yankee Bill had been feeling a bit off all day and really didn’t want to eat much. So that really left just me and the kiddos-and I felt much less guilty about feeding them sandwiches when the whole family wasn’t sitting down for an evening meal.

Wednesday: Broccoli and Cheese Quiche, Salad, Homemade Bread

Since I’m aiming for one meatless meal a week-both for the health benefits and for the financial ones-quiche fits the bill nicely. I have a head of broccoli that is starting to go wilted in the fridge, so I need to use that up. I’ve also always got some cheddar, eggs and milk hanging around. Oh, and I’ll be doing a rice crust using the leftover rice from Sunday’s curry meal.

The great thing about quiche is I can make it in the morning, and then just reheat it before serving. Since we have dance lessons on Wenesdays, something that either goes together extremely quickly, or is already done (usually crock pot) is in order. The salad can also be made in advance. I’ll even set the table before we leave for class.

Thursday: Chicken and Biscuits, Sauteed Greens and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Saturday we had a friend over and bought 4 “chicken halves” at a local BBQ fundraiser for lunch. We still have an entire cooked chicken half in the fridge. I’ll pull the meat off and make a milk gravy with some chicken bullion powder added for extra chickeny oomph. The biscuits will be homemade (they are so quick and easy to do-and way better than those whack-em biscuits in a can). The greens will either be out of a can, or else a mix of dandelion and plantain from the yard. The sweet potatoes were bought last week-I need to use them up before I forget that they are there.

Friday: Pizza.

Saturday: Ginger Fish, Rice, Stirfried Veggies

I love my mom’s Ginger Fish recipe. It’s got soy sauce, mushrooms and ginger. Yum! The rice is a quick and easy side using my rice cooker, and the stir fry veggies will finish clearing the fresh vegetables out of the crisper drawer.

Sunday: Ham, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Popovers

I’m trying to remember to include ham in the menu every couple of weeks, seeing as I packaged up and froze two entire hams about a month back when I found them on sale. This will be just the warmed up slices served with mustard. It may not be creative, but it is yummy! Green beans are out of a can, but the mashed potatoes will be homemade. And as for the popovers, I’ve just been dying to try making them (I’ll probably use this recipe for Plain Popovers off of Recipezaar). I grew up, as many of you know, in Maine. We were only about an hour from Mount Desert Island (home of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park). One of the landmarks there is a place called Jordan Pond House, which was FAMOUS for their popovers. Yum. There is just something so fun about poking a hole in one, watching the steam come out, and throwing a chunk of butter in there to melt. . . .