U 22 - Zesty Crockpot Chicken, Couscous, Green Beans
M 23 - Veggies and Penne, Experimental Bread yet to be chosen
T 24 - Fried Rice with Ham, Miso Soup
W 25 - Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Rolls
R 26 - BBQ Ham, Savory Polenta, Green Peas
F 27 - Mojo Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, and Yellow Sauce
Annalise helped me make the Peach Rhubarb Cobbler. We used Alton Brown's recipe from I'm Just Here for More Food. The rhubarb was left over from Natalie's birthday ice cream. It was really good - I think the rhubarb made it a little extra tangy.
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| There's nothing quite like taking a picture with kids to make you look old. I wear my glasses all the time these days. My contacts were bothering my eyes, plus it just seemed like it would make more sense to not have to buy contacts all the time. I don't like wearing glasses though - fingerprints...constantly!!!...on them, plus they fog up when I open the oven or the dishwasher or if I go outside and it's really humid. Anyway, Rob said they didn't look right in the picture, so I took them off and I think I look funny without them. I'm not used to seeing myself clearly without them on. |
So I haven't posted a meal plan in a while. I have not been feeling really confident in my meal planning, plus there are 15,000 other blogs that do it 15,000 times better than I do. Not that the competition is really why I do it. Regardless, one that does is strikingly well is Eat at Home. I think I found it because I was looking for something homeschool related and the family homeschools. The mom runs the website and it seems most of her kids have already graduated. Maybe someday I will be able to pull of something so well organized! Little kids...wow - they are truly a joy to your heart, and a handicap to your sanity at the same time.
Another online resource that I can recommend is the recipe finder of the USDA's nutrition website. It's really a compilation of different food program recipes from around the country. It is not fancy looking, but you can search for recipes by cost or by ingredient. I have found lots and lots of recipes there that are economical and nutritious. I want to point out that they seem to pad the nutrition facts by leaving salt out of nearly ever single recipe. Since we eat very little processed food, I don't concern myself much with leaving salt out of recipes.
In bread, I have gotten to a place where I am happy with my rolls, sweet bread, french bread, and biscuits. I want to branch out and try some new stuff. Maybe Challah bread...I also found a recipe for Artesian bread that does not require kneading. I really want to try that out!
And another economical discovery...if you like Miso soup, it is just too easy to make "from scratch". And by from scratch, I really mean in bulk, because I can't make the ingredients in their useable state. We had been buying (on occasion) at the Asian market a pack of 8 soups for about $5. For $15, we got a package of miso paste (500g - everything else on the packaging is in Japanese), a box of Boniato soup stock (aka Dashi), and a bag of dehydrated seaweed. Other than that you just need water, but you can add tofu or scallions or whatever you like. You can vary the amounts based on your preferences, but say a tablespoon or so of the miso paste, a half teaspoon of the Dashi and a pinch of the seaweed (it gets a lot bigger) and 8oz or so boiling water. Voila. The Dashi is what gives it it's flavor. It is really fish stock - yup powdered tuna. We are working through the paste pretty briskly, but the Dashi is going to last a long time.
