How to Plan a Menu

I'm always surprised when I mention dinner plans, or someone overhears the daily "what's for dinner" phone call from my husband, that so many people have no plan for shopping or cooking. Many of my friends tell me they don't know how are don't have time. Planning is something I take for granted. I love to plan. I write lists for everything and think planning a vacation is as much fun as actually going on vacation. The time it takes me to plan and shop for a week or two week menu plan is easily saved later in the week when I am not stopping at the store or staring aimlessly into the refrigerator, hoping for inspiration.

My planning has changed a bit recently because I pick up my produce basket Saturday morning. In the past I had my plan done Friday evening, or early Saturday and tried to hit the stores early before things get too busy. Now I have a bare bones plan in place Saturday. Mostly things that need to get used up immediately and family meal requests.

After I receive my basket I come home and inventory the contents. This week, I received broccoli, cabbage, apples, bananas, kiwis, watermelon, pears, blackberries, fennel, tomatoes, red bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, garlic, onions, parsley, basil, rosemary, and sage.

I still have green beans, carrots, cucumbers and peppers in the produce drawers that need to get used up. I've noticed that tossed salads are not as popular as they were when the weather was warmer.

The berries and bananas will get used up in breakfast smoothies. Some of the apples will get eaten in bag lunches and as snacks.

Once I know what I have for perishables I look to the freezer. I have about a half of a pig left and a whole beef. I also have a few packages of chicken breasts. When I don't have two freezers full of meat, I browse the grocery adds to look for "big buy" sales to keep the freezer well stocked.

The next step is finding ways to use the things I have on hand.

Monday: Oven Baked Ribs (freezer and pantry items plus onions) Coleslaw (cabbage, carrots and pantry items for dressing) Fried Apples, Watermelon slices and biscuits leftover from Sunday dinner.

Tuesday: Eggplant Parmigiana (eggplant, zucchinis, herbs and home-canned marinara sauce) Tossed Salad (cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and pantry items for dressing) rosemary foccacia

Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff (onions, mushrooms and noodles form the pantry) Steamed Broccoli and Pear and Apple Crisp

Thursday: Minestrone (cabbage, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, rosemary) and Paninis (leftover foccacia)

Friday: Beef and Vegetable Potpies (zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms)

Saturday: Pork chops

Sunday: Chicken Normandy

Saturday I will pick up another basket and will determine sides for Pork Chops and Chicken at that time. I'm not sure what to do with the fennel. My daughter asked for the ingredients for fruit pizza to use the kiwis, but she did not make it over the weekend, so I'm not sure what to do with them yet. Hopefully, I will find uses for them during the week. I don't like to throw away food, so if I have not used them by Wednesday, I'll call my mom to see if she wants them or take them to work and share them.

I don't think planning a menu is difficult to do or stick to. I freeze leftover soups that I can use in the event I forget to pull meat out of the freezer or an unexpected kids' activity keeps us from getting home in time to cook dinner.

Having this plan in place is very comforting. I do not have the stress of figuring out each night's meal at the last minute and I'm saving money by not making a daily trip to the store.

More Baby Steps

Two of the first changes I made when I cut back on processed foods were eliminating bagged salads and pasta/potato side-dish mixes. For months, whenever I set a salad, loaded with fresh vegetables and tossed with homemade dressing, on the table, my children would cry in despair, "When can we have Caesar salad?" The bagged salad kit includes romaine, some Parmesan, 6 - 8 dry croutons and a calorie rich dressing. On a busy evening recently, I "pressed the easy button," and picked up a salad kit and a box of Alfredo style noodles to go with grilled pork chops. At the end of the meal, the salad sat, barely touched. My husband asked what I did wrong to the noodles because they were "sticky." I didn't have the heart to tell them, they were just used to eating real food.

Good Mornings

I am not a morning person. I'd really like to be, but I don't expect that will ever happen. To get ready for back to school, I've tried to find ways to make school day mornings a little less stressful. Muffins will do for a quick breakfast in a pinch, but I prefer fruit, yogurt, or an egg. As hard as I try, I can't seem to make the time to fix a hot breakfast, and often finding a minute to sit and eat a container of yogurt is beyond me.

I have had a surplus of fresh fruit from my co-op basket so I used some of it to make advance preparations for back to school.

I cut up a banana, some mango, nectarines, and strawberries and put them in individual baggies and stashed them in the freezer. I can use these portions to make breakfast smoothies in a snap on busy mornings. With a little planning ahead, I can even put everything into the blender in the fridge the night before. With minimal effort on busy school day mornings, I'll have a healthy, portable breakfast.

Menu for Two Weeks and a Very Short Grocery List

My last co-op basket was loaded with all kinds of goodies, and I did my best to put them all to good use.

Apple Pie with Ginger Crumble

I love apple pie and this is one of my favorites. It is not overly sweet and the crumble topping adds interesting texture.

Insalta Rustica

This simple salad combines sweet fruit and salty prosciutto and Romano cheese. The lemon and olive oil dressing is a perfect compliment.

Cauliflower and Radish Salad

This salad was a summer staple. My mother made it with ranch dressing mix. I use my homemade ranch dressing instead. It's just like a vegie tray in a bowl.

I love picking up my basket. It's just like Christmas morning. I can't wait to get home and discover what surprises I'll find.

This time, the contents included: strawberries, nectarines, cantaloupe, bananas, mangoes, plums, baby heirloom tomatoes, fingerling potatoes (I think), onions, celery, romaine and green beans. I also picked up corn and flour tortillas.

I'm trying to keep my grocery budget low and make some room in my freezer. I planned the next two weeks menus relying mainly on the things I had on hand.

Saturday: Pork Roast, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans, Apple Cheddar Beer Bread

Sunday: Bacon, Onion, and Mushroom Pizza with Homemade Whole Wheat Crust, Strawberry Shortcake

Monday: Summer Garden Tortelloni, Fruit Salad. Baguette

Tuesday: Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa, Red Beans and Rice

Wednesday: Picnic Dinner Chicken Caesar Salad Bagels

Thursday: Noodles with Roast Pork and Almonds (using leftovers from Saturday)

Friday: Grilled Steak Sandwiches, French Fries

Saturday: Chicken Marinated in Garlic Oil, Parmesan Noodles,

Sunday: Pork Spareribs, Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans

Monday: Chicken and Corn Tacos, Mexican Rice

Tuesday: Pork Chops, Apple Sauce, Vegie, Sour Cream and Thyme Rolls

Wednesday: Burgers and Chips

Thursday: Soup (Minestrone from the freezer) and Sandwiches

Friday: Steak, Foil Potatoes, Vegie, Apple Crisp

Saturday: Carne Guisada Burritos

I only needed a handful of groceries, mostly replenishing staple items like butter, brown sugar, and milk. I also needed a few fresh produce items that weren't in my basket. My grocery bill should be less than $100.

I'm done working until the end of August so I hope to put some meals into the freezer. I'd also like to make some muffins and other handy breakfast items for smoother school day mornings.

I haven't visited the Organizing Junkie in some time, but I will try to remember to link up to MPM on Monday.

Fruit and Vegie Basket Menu

In addition to falling off the blogging wagon, I have been less diligent about menu planning. I have noticed the fallout in my grocery budget, time I waste wandering around the store wondering what to fix for dinner and the ridiculous number off times we are eating at 8:30 or 9:00 because I did not take something out of the freezer in time to get it thawed by 5:00.

Meals have not been a total disaster. We went camping over the Fourth and enjoyed many fabulous camp breakfasts and dinners. We rocked the dutch oven and made cowboy breakfast, chicken and vegies, and apple crisp. The new fridge in our camper has a freezer and we were able to top the crisp with vanilla ice cream. That was the ultimate luxury!

Cowboy Breakfast

Sausage browned in the dutch oven, topped with hash browns, eggs and cheese and baked.

We also fixed one of my favorite campfire meals, braised cabbage. This simple, hearty meal is quick and easy to cook over a campfire. In a really big skillet, cook chopped bacon and onion until the onion starts to soften. Add a head of chopped cabbage and cook until the cabbage softens. I added leftover andouille sausage. You can also add diced tomatoes, roasted green chiles, bell pepper or anything else that you have on hand.

I picked up my co-op basket this morning and started planning my menu around it. This week I received:

6 bananas

1 pineapple

carton of button mushrooms

head of broccoli

head of cauliflower

7 apricots

4 Fuji apples

3 red pears

6 plums

4 large tomatoes

carton of figs

bunch of spinach

I also ordered an Asian basket that included:

big bunch of basil

garlic

napa cabbage

bok choy

snow peas

ginger

green onions

My upcoming menu looks very interesting. One of the most best things about the vegie basket is how excited my husband gets when I bring it home. He goes through its contents and always makes suggestions for dishes he would like. He did not recognize figs and has never had them before, but he was excited to learn how to fix them and suggested the stuffed pork idea. Coming from a man who could live on cheeseburgers and steak and potatoes, I am pretty impressed.

Saturday: Beer Can Chicken, Cauliflower and Radish Salad, Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Sunday: Asian Buffet including Beef with Broccoli and Mushrooms, Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-fry, Pickled Napa Cabbage, Potstickers, Rice

Monday: Chicken Succotash (with leftover chicken from Saturday,) Dinner Rolls

Tuesday: Whiskey Marinated London Broil, Foil Packet Potatoes, Spinach Salad, (Rolls if there are still any left)

Wednesday: Wednesday Night at the Nic, Picnic Dinner TBD

Thursday: Fig and Walnut Stuffed Pork Chops with Apricot Glaze

Friday: Pork Burgers, Potato Salad

Saturday: Western Barbeque at the Rodeo

Sunday: Baked Ziti, Tossed Salad

We don't eat dessert very often, so I'm struggling a little bit with using the plums and pears, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. My next goal is to try to remember to take pictures of these meals and share them here!

Season of Preservation

Rhubarb Salsa

When life gives you lemons; make lemonade. But what do you do when life gives you rhubarb?

After making strawberry rhubarb pie and rhubarb snack cake and canned 7 half pint jars of rhubarb salsa. Made with strawberries and dried cranberries, it's a great snack with cinnamon pita chips (or leftover pie crust pieces.)

I also had a big bag of Vidalia onions to use up so I made Vidalia maple conserve. I canned 7 4oz jars and reserved enough for an onion tart appetizer. I topped frozen puff pastry with the onion mixture and some mozzarella cheese and baked it. This would also be good with pork roast or in quesadillas.

Vidalia Onion and Maple Conserve, before it went into jars

Canning is a relatively simple way to preserve extra fruits and vegetables, but it's important to follow the recipe and canning times exactly. Done properly, the jars are shelf stable for 12 to 18 months, not that they ever go unused that long at my house!

Produce Basket Menu May 14 - 22

Hopefully I have found ways to use up all the great fruits and vegetables I received in my basket Saturday morning. Even my husband was excited and made suggestions for meals that would include our basket items.


I used most of the blackberries for canning blackberry jam. Saturday night we had BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, and grilled sourdough slices. Sunday morning I got up and made chiliquiles, a Mexican breakfast dish I fell in love with while on vacation. I made salsa verde for my chiliquiles, but could have used a red sauce.




We're really looking forward to this week's menu.




Sunday: Steak Tacos, Mexican Rice, and Blackberry Lemon Pudding Cake

Monday: BLT's and Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday: Beef and and Vegetable Pot Pie

Wednesday: Spicy Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers, Rice Pilaf

Thursday: Slow cooker Red Beans and Rice, Salad

Friday: Dinner out for Friend's Birthday

Saturday: Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa and leftover Red Beans and Rice

Sunday: Grilled Pork Chops with Homemade Apple Sauce and Parmesan Noodles

New Produce Co-op

My aunt called a couple of weeks ago to tell me that a food co-op that she and her daughter participate in up north has moved into Casper. This co-op sources produce from around the Western U.S. and Mexico. I signed up on line and picked up my first basket this morning.
Wow! I did not expect to receive nearly as much as I did.

The basket contained 6 ears of corn, a 3 pound bag of Washington apples, a container of blackberries, a pineapple, a cantaloupe, 3 mangoes, 3 artichokes, 2 cucumbers, 3 bell peppers, 8 Roma tomatoes, and a head of romaine lettuce.

I added the Mexican basket and recieved 4 avocados, a bunch of green onions, a bunch of cilantro, a head of garlic, 2 red onions, 10 limes, 4 jalapenos, 8 chilies that I can't identify, and 9 tomatillas.

Because I never know when to say "when," I also picked up a case of blackberries. I plan to can jam and syrup and make a couple blackberry desserts.

The final addition was 5 loaves of sourdough bread. I will freeze these and take them out as needed.

The quality of the fruit and vegetables in excellent. Everything looks fresh and unblemished. The ingredient list for the sourdough was very short. I am super excited to plan a menu around the variety in the baskets and try a few new items. I've never cooked or eaten artichokes other than the canned hearts.

My total expenditure was $53.00. I'm guessing that buying the same things at the grocery store would run $90.00 to $100.00. My true challenge now will be to use everything in the next week or two. This morning, we have already had an apple in our oatmeal, and I plan to have corn on the cob for dinner. I'm excited about the Mexican ingredients and hope to find a good recipe for fajita marinade and chilaquiles.

With any luck, I'll post a menu plan when I decide how to use everything.

Traditional Foods Photo Essay

I have neglected my blog of late. My college class schedule has been very demanding and posting my weekly menu has been pretty boring. I know nobody really cares that I eat leftover frozen soup and goulash most of the time.

I recently travel to Zihuatenejo, on the southwest coast of Mexico. Immediately I appreciated the simple menus and dishes we were exposed to while there. This was a great example of a traditional diet that truly had changed little in hundreds of years.

One of the first things I noticed was the portion sizes. In almost all cases, the portion was enough to satisfy you, but never left you feeling stuffed. The pork chop above was good sized, but the portions of the sides were small and were just an accent to the main dish.

This fish was served at the same restaurant. The preparation was simple for both dishes. The meat and fish was marinated in herbs and garlic and grilled on an open grill with the vegetables.

We watched this bean dish being prepared. Soaked dried beans were cooked with chorizo, onions, garlic, and tomato. The only nod to modern cooking was the use of vegetable oil instead of lard. When I asked why the oil was being substituted, the cook explained that it was simply a matter personal preference because vegetable oil is more shelf stable. Many families still use lard.
The beans were garnished with fresh queso and spicy onion relish.

In the town's market we watched masa (whole corn treated with lime) being ground and combined with water to make fresh tortillas. These tortillas held fresh mahi mahi that had been cooked on a hot grill, not fried, and served with salsa and fresh vegetables.

Roasted tomatoes, peppers, garlic and salt are combined in a pestle to make salsa. Green salsa is made with roasted tomatillas.

We caught fresh Yellowtail and dropped it off at a beachfront restaurant. They prepared the fish by grilling it with herbs and garlic, diablo style (very hot) and lightly breaded and fried. They also made ceviche that was served as an appetizer. We shared this meal with another couple and we still had too much food to eat in one setting. We caught a 25 pound fish. We should have requested that they only cook four portions and keep the rest for themselves, rather than have so much go to waste.

We ventured into the local market and found the source of our meals. From our room, we watched the fishing boats come in at sunrise.

Fresh chickens

Fresh queso. I don't know all the names, but I tasted three. One was very mild, one was very strong (think stinky feet) and one was similar to ricotta.

Sandwiches made with pork stew. The crusty bread made these perfect for packing in your lunch. At the pier before we went fishing, we picked up tuna sandwiches. The tuna salad was not made with canned tuna and had corn, peas and green beans mixed in. It is my new favorite way to have tuna salad.

Dried beans in the foreground

Fruit stand

We spent a week eating local foods, including refreshing waters flavored with fruit or hibiscus flowers (surprisingly my husband's favorite) and never had any stomach issues. We flew home, had a meal in the Houston Airport and I immediately felt intestinal issues.

Between eating meals that contained no highly processed ingredients and the miles of walking we did, I actually lost weight while on vacation.

Breakfasts consisted of eggs, fresh fruit, and my favorite: chiliquiles (breakfast nachos.) I'm pretty sure I could eat this way every day. My husband did break down and eat a cheeseburger after a couple days. I did not miss American cheese at all

Menu January 10 - 17

Since I didn't cook for several days last week, much of this weeks menu is a repeat of last week's plan. Somehow, when we moved the fridge to put in the new floor, the temperature adjusment got out of whack and all of my produce froze, so my "on-hand" vegies went in to the trash and I'll be making due until I get to the grocery store.

Monday:
Chicken and Dumplings (frozen leftover roast chicken carcas with frozen vegies and drop dumplings)
Tuesday: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Wednesday: Grilled Steaks and Baked Potatoes (It's never to cold to grill steaks!)
Thursday: Bistro Braised Chicken and Salad
Friday: Pot Roast
Saturday: BBQ Pork
Sunday: Green Chili and Quesadillas

School is back in session and things will begin to get busy again, but I hope to stick to my plans and stay organized and on budget!

Don't forget MPM for more great ideas!

menu plan interrupted

This week's menu hit a snag Wednesday when we decided to finally install tile in the kitchen. A friend who installs flooring for a living had offered to help us, but his work load wasn't allowing him any free time. As with any DIY project a two day project turned into four days and the kitchen was out of commission for most of that time. I thought about pulling some things to put in the crock pot, but with limited access to the sink, (I refuse to wash dishes in the same bathtub where people wash their feet) I opted for take out or eating out.
We microwaved leftovers, the kids were thrilled that we got to order pizza, we had Mexican food (Snapper a la Vercruzana for me) and Chinese take out.
Laying tile is a ridiculous amount of work, but I love the finished product. I can't wait to cook a meal in my "new" kitchen!

Menu January 3 - 9

The "No Shopping Challenge" last week went very well. The challenge was made much easier because I came down with a horrible cold and didn't feel like going anywhere and we had a huge snowstorm so driving didn't seem like a good idea, either. The only exceptions to last week's plan was a substitution of ham and bean soup from the freezer on one of the days I felt horrible, and a lunch at the Chinese food place while D and I were running errands.
I probably could have made it through another week without shopping, but the menu choices would have been limited and somewhat bland since I ran out of carrots, celery and onions. The basis of this week's plan was still things I had on hand, but augmented with a few items from the store. My total grocery spending this week was just under $50

Menu
Monday:
B - Cereal
L - Leftovers
D - Chicken Tamale Casserole (with leftover roast chicken)

Tuesday:
B - Rice Pudding
L - Sandwiches
D - Mac-n-Cheese with Salmon Patties

Wednesday:
B - Cinnamon Rolls
L - Sandwiches
D - Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley Soup, French Bread

Thursday:
B - Cereal
L - Soup
D - Bistro Braised Chicken, Salad

Friday:
B - Eggs and Toast
L - Homemade Pizza
D - Tuna Noodle Casserole made with bechamel sauce

Saturday:
B - French Toast
L - Leftovers
D - BBQ Pork Sandwiches (from uncured pork shank, leftovers to be frozen for future meals,)
Au Gratin Potatoes

Sunday:
B - Pancakes
L/D Green Chile and Quesadillas

Salmon Patties are a family favorite. The recipe I use is my great-grandmother's. The copy I have is in her handwriting. It has all of the hallmarks of a depression era recipe: a few, inexpensive ingredients, high protein, and with stretch to make a lot by adding more crackers.
Combine one can of salmon, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk and enough crackers to make them thick enough to form patties, salt and pepper to taste. Adding onions are a great addition.
My grandmother scooped a couple of spoonfuls of saved bacon grease into the pan to fry these, I use a couple tablespoons of peanut oil. If there are any leftovers, they are great in sandwiches the next day.

What are your favorite family recipes?

See Laura at the Organizing Junkie for more menu plans.