January Eatz

Meal Planning, oh the drudgery!  Rob is the type that can eat the same thing repeatedly (providing it is in the meat and potatoes line of foods) and I just feel so blah eating the same things.  I am resolving to do something different for at least 28 days.  I made a 14 day menu and bought the non-perishables to make all the meals twice.  So we'll see how this goes.

The 1st and 3rd:
F - Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls
S - Blue Cheese Crusted Sirloin Steaks, Broccoli, Steamed Carrots, Rolls
U - Ham with Pineapple, Pan fried potatoes, Peas
M - Kidney Bean and Cheddar Cheese Soup, Bread
T - Swedish Meatballs, Egg Noodles, Broccoli
W - New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, Sausage
R - Tacos, Pinto Beans, Rice

The 2nd and 4th
F - Pizza, Salad
S - Baked Beans with Brown Bread
U - Chili, Cornbread, Carrots
M - Minestrone Soup, Rolls
T - Mojo Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, Yellow Curry Sauce
W - Skillet Lasagna, Salad
R - Country Style Pork Ribs, Baked Potatoes, Peas

The Steaks and Ham are Taste of Home, Spaghetti, Tacos, Pizza, Skillet Lasagna Chili, and Mojo Chicken are all just the way I make them.  For Pizza I use the Betty Crocker recipe for crust and a recipe I found in Better Homes and Gardens for sauce.  I ought to post it here, it is unbelievably simple and extremely good.  The Swedish Meatballs are from a Cooking with Kids cookbook, and I think all the rest are from a free Beans cookbook someone gave me at a health fair. 

My cooking goal for 2013 is to increase our bean intake.  I know what they say about beans......but I've also heard that if you increase your beans slowly it cuts down on that.  We already eat beans more than once a week pretty regularly.  I guess time will tell!

I also made macaroons for the first time yesterday.  I had some extra condensed milk from another recipe and two partial bags of coconut flakes.  They were scrumptious and beautiful and the kids drooled over them, took a bite and then rejected them on the basis that they "do not like coconut".  (Natalie's objection was they they were too pokey.)  Ha ha!  More for Rob and me!