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!