Horseradish!

We have a small clump of horseradish in the garden.  We've tried processing it on several occasions, but had trouble getting the consistency just right, before the fumes chase you out of the house.  Thanks to Eugenia Bone, at Well Preserved, I finally got it right.

I honestly planned to photograph the whole process, but apparently a child felt they needed the camera more than I did, so that didn't work out for me.  I did, however end up with 3 half pint containers of fresh horseradish, with a minimal amount of discomfort.

I'm fixing pork chops for dinner and J always likes a dab of horseradish to go with them.  I'm also going to make a batch of deviled eggs with just a little mixed into them, as well.

As for the rest of the week, my schedule is packed with training and end of the school year events, so most meals need to be pretty easy.

Monday:  I won't be home for dinner so it's Hamburger Helper.  I think it's disgusting, but J and the kids love it.

Tuesday:  Flank Steak and Shitake Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice

Wednesday: Herb and Cheese Stuffed Chicken and Spinach Salad

Thursday:  Potato Soup

Friday:  Jasmine Rice Stuffed Peppers

Saturday: Beer Can Chicken

Sunday: Memorial Day Cookout

Check out Meal Planning Mondays at The Organizing Junkie For More Ideas

Menu Plan May 17-23

The hoop house is up and plants are growing.

The last two weeks of the school year are always busy, but hopefully we will be able to stick to our plan. As soon as school is out, I'm hoping to start watching what I'm eating better and lose some weight.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread

Wednesday: Pork Chops, pasta salad

Thursday: Chicken Parmesan

Friday: Minestrone

Saturday BBQ with friends

Sunday: Too far in the future to decide

Meal Planning Wednesday?

Yesterday I completed my last final this semester. Between working on finals and chaperoning school trips, I got behind on everything! I did get my hoop house completed for the garden, but I'm still waiting out this cold spell before I put anything out. Currently, my kitchen is half food prep area and half greenhouse. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything out this weekend. I also hope to figure out getting pictures from the camera to the blog.

I mostly stuck to my plan for the last couple of weeks, but did give in to convenience and pick up pizza or take-out a couple of times.

Here's this week's menu.

Monday: Beef Stew and Biscuits

Tuesday: French Onion Soup I made beef stock this weekend and J brought home a giant bag of Vidalia onions from the Shriners

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday: Apple Stuffed French Toast

Friday: Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf and Veg

Saturday: Minestrone (didn't get to it last week, still need to use the vegies)

Sunday: Potluck BBQ with friends

Rice pilaf is a stand by in my menu planning. I buy big bags o Jasmine Rice when I'm in Denver and everyone loves it. Here's my rice pilaf recipe. I adapted it from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe, but replaced bullion cubes and always use fragrant, jasmine rice instead of long grain white rice. It's a great way to use up extra vegetables.

Melt 2 TBS of butter in a medium saucepan. Add about 1 cup of any combination of diced vegetables. I usually use carrot, shallot or onion, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms, depending on what I have in the fridge. I love garlic, so I add 1 or 2 cloves of diced garlic. Saute vegies until they start to soften. Add 3/4 cups rice to the pan and saute 1-2 minutes then add

1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 20- 30 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Sometimes I have to add extra broth if the liquid cooks away before the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork. I don't add salt to many things in the kitchen. If you prefer things a bit saltier, add salt with the broth.

Two weeks worth of menus

It's a double feature Meal Planning Monday.  I'll be busy next weekend so I planned two weeks worth of menus and will do all of my grocery shopping today and just pick up  few perishable items next week.

Sun 4-24

B Sour Cream Coffee Cake 

D Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Bread, Peas

Mon 

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas, Spanish Rice

Tue

Linguine with Clams, Salad, Bread

Wed

Country Style Ribs, Pasta Salad

Thur 

Orange Chicken with Scallions, Jasmine Rice, Potstickers

Fri & Sat

I'm chaperoning K's choir trip to Denver, so the boys are on their own.

Sun

Pork Burgers

Potato Salad

I'll also be making a pot of Minestrone for Monday night because I'll be going with my students to Cody and won't get back to 6:00 or later.

Mon 5-3

Minestrone

Tue

5 Spice Roast Chicken, Rice, Snow Peas with Almonds

Wed

J's choice, since he it his day off.

Thur

Penne and Tuna Salad

Fri

Fish and Chips

Sat 

Gratineed Chicken, Salad , Bread

Earth Day

While my environmental footstep is not the size of a small country, I'm sure there is more that I could do for the planet. Baby steps we've taken include recycling glass, plastic, aluminum, and plastic. I bring my own bags to the store, but mostly for selfish reasons; I hate pulling plastic bags out of my trees every spring.

We have a cow share and enjoy fresh, raw milk and cheese that has exactly 7 food miles. We also butchered our own steer in January, one of the calves from a milk cow heifer. We also bought a pig from the college and processed that ourselves. We've ordered 30 meat chicks and 5 turkey poults. We live in town so luckily, we're able to keep them at a friends place.

I'd love to have a super local Earth Day dinner, but by April everything I canned last fall is gone. We'll be having Spaghetti with Bolognese. I froze a big batch during Christmas break before we had the steer in the freezer, so it's made with plain old grocery store burger. Caesar Salad from a bag and French Bread. The local part of our meal will be fresh mozzarella toasted on the bread.

I'm hoping to get my hoop house completed for the garden this weekend. Hopefully I'll fresh salad fixings by Memorial Day.

I'd like to see a big improvement to my global efforts by next Earth Day!

Baby steps to a better life for my family one reusable grocery bag at a time

Who needs a New Years Resolution...I'm making a completely arbitrary middle of April goal to monitor the food my family eats, (at home, at least) lose a few pounds, and keep better control of my food budget.  

I'm a mom, I have a full time job, and I've gone back to college nearly full time.  My first baby step is to feed my family wholesome home-cooked meals.  I am a good cook and always prided myself on having healthy, sit-all-together-meals when I didn't work.  I continued as the kids got busier, and have tried very hard to keep this up after I started school again.

My first post will be a very late Meal Planning Monday.  I have been pretty consistent about meal planning for about a year.  When I get lazy and don't plan ahead, I spend more money, eat crap and feel more stress at dinner time.  The baby step in this process is keeping better track of my grocery budget.  

Monday

Beans and Leftover Ham

Cornbread (Jiffy I am embarrassed to admit)

Tuesday

Pulled Pork Sandwiches (leftover pork in freezer from Super Bowl)

Homemade bbq sauce

Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes

Wednesday

Spaghetti (Frozen homemade sauce)

Salad

French Bread

Thursday

Bean and Cheese Burrito

Spanish Rice (Lipton)

Friday 

Orange Chicken with Scallions

Jasmine Rice

Potstickers (Frozen that we bought on last trip to Denver)

Saturday 

Didn't plan a meal for Sat because I thought I would go to the lake with Mom & Dad, but will most likely stay in town and do homework and garden prep

Sunday

Ditto. Will have to take a look through the freezer and find something. 

So by Wednesday, I can already tell you, we did not have Spaghetti on Wed.  My husband was home and he decided to cook so we had Filet Mignon (from the freezer, we butchered a steer in January and split it with my step-son) Crab and Mushroom Stuffed Shrimp, Baked Potatoes and Dinner Rolls.  He does not buy into the whole budget/wholesome idea yet.  We're going to skip burritos and replace with spaghetti, look for burritos next week.

So far grocery bill is a reasonable $31.00.  Sadly most of that was frozen breakfast items.  I'm not a morning person, but do make sure there is something available to eat before leaving the house.  I'm happy with a whole wheat bagel and cream cheese.  Hubby likes sausage biscuits, the kids like freezer waffles, toaster pancakes, etc.

Looking forward to improving my life (or failing on a global scale) with an audience.

Ginger