Menu for Week of June 8

O.k..I said I was going to do this, and I am! I am still working out some kinks but this is my menu for this week. I try to leave one day free, as a cook’s choice sort of day to allow for weirdness in my week. We rarely have leftovers but it is a good time to use them if you have them. There are several recipes I am working on in the mix this week, as well as a new glaze for turkey that I am working on for Thanksgiving.

BBQ Chicken Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

Monday nights are hectic because the kids have activities as church. Wenesday nights they have youth so that is another hectic night. Try to allow for those types of things by making as much ahead of time as possible. Learn to use your kids as prep coooks. Cooking is a great way to build relationship and I have heard more “secrets and confessions” from my prep cook of the day than you can imagine. Have a child that has trouble releasing emotion? Give them some onions to chop so they have an excuse to have a good cry.

The more you make yourself, the less you depend on prepared items, the more you will save on your bill AND reap the reward of better, healthier eating. I try to stay away from corn syrup as an ingredient, unless it is in a recipe I am making myself and I use non-GMO. If you have big appetites in your family like I do then do what our grandmothers did. Create healthy meals and depend on whole grain breads for filler. I really want to encourage you to pick up Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I love this book and there is just not an excuse to not have fresh, homemade bread.

So, here is the menu for this week. I will be back later with the budget damage. I have these marked one through seven because I am still not sure of the days I am serving the different things.

One

• Grilled Steak (I picked these up yesterday, marked down from 28.00 to 7.99)
• Wheat Berry Salad
• Banana Caramel Tart

Two

• Lasagne
• Tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette
• Garlic bread
• Stacked Blondies- blondie, cheesecake, mango cream? puree? gel? still working on this (it will be pineapple on top..mangoes were $$$ and pineapples were ripe and on sale!)

Three- (adapting from Mesa Grill)

• Turkey with Chipotle Maple Glaze  (got turkey medallions on clearance yesterday for 2.25!0
• Sweet potato- pecan gratin
• Brussels sprouts with orange chipotle butter
• Pumpkin- pecan ice cream

Four

• Pizza! Not sure what I am using for toppings yet. I did BBQ Chicken Pizza last week and it was awesome.

Five

• Whole wheat fettucine w/ black beans, corn, zuccini, chilis, cilantro and Jack cheese
• Sliced tomatoes
• Corn bread..(switching to some other bread, not sure yet..maybe rosemary..I forgot cornmeal and I am out of dry corn to grind.)
• Lime Vanilla Creme Brulee (working out of Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook)

Six (this is probably today since it will be easy and I have errands)

• Taco Salad
• Homemade tortilla chips
• Rice Krispie-Ganache bars (working on this recipe) (While I was getting the Rice Krispies I happened to see the Golden Grahams and had an inspired moment..)

Seven

• Cooks choice

—————————–

O.k…I am back from the store. My grocery bill came to $174.03 and according to my reciept I saved 55.00 with instore savings.  Whatever. This amount includes chicken breast  (2 big packs) that I picked up on sale for 1.99 a lb and strawberries that I wasn’t planning on that were on sale. I also got enough ground beef to use in more than one meal, even though it is only on the menu one night. I made some substitutions as noted above.  Keep in mind that I cook for 8 people. This amount includes 3 meals a day for 7 days, with some things to carry over. I figure I wont know exactly what I am spending until a month has gone by and I can average it. There will be no “running to the store to pick up xyz” unless I have to do it for a specific post, like Daring Bakers.   Wow…what an adventure here, right?

image:MaryeAudet