What's for dinner?

Sirloin tip roast
smashed potatoes
Roasted Vegetables (squash, red pepper, onions, parsnips)
green beans and carrots (DDs won't eat the above)
Rolls
Pie

...the pie is in the oven, which will help warm the kitchen for the rolls. I'm off to eat a bit of lunch, make the roll dough and run to the store once the pie comes out!

Blessings,
Lenora
"...if woman's work is never done, why bother about how much of it [isn't] getting done at any given moment?"
~ Claire Fraser in The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

it's a small miracle but I do actually know, and I know for the next week or so - isn't that amazing! I'm going to try really hard to keep up the menu planning after we come back from Singapore too. It was CNY that messed me up last year, so I'm not going to let it happen again.

Tues - noodles with leftover roast beef and veg
Wed - sausages in gravy with onions, veg and some form of potato
Thu - chicken curry
Fri - homemade burgers and chips

I could go on... What I really need to do though is make sure I find a proper home for the book before I lose it permanently. I also plan to have a small whiteboard in the kitchen so I can be held properly accountable with my plans!

you'll notice it's pretty loose planning though - mostly round the type of carb and the type of meat. Since I need to practice making proper roast dinners this year I definitely need to practise having plans for the leftovers since I waste so much food by forgetting it.

I gotta keep it going this time - keep my sanity!

Kerri.

Last night I tried a new kind of quesadilla, a variation on the zucchini burrito recipe that is on this site already. Basically I carmelize onion slices, then quickly brown zucchini half moons. Normally I wrap it up in tortillas but I've noticed that the girls have a hard time with that, so I melted it in quesadillas. For DD6, a hit. DD2, still picky.

Tonight: pecan/cornflake crusted catfish (probably "oven-fried"), carrots (by request of DD6, who learned the spanish word yesterday), broccoli, and something else (salad? potatoes?)

Also this week: quick bean lasagne from Jane Brody's old Good Food Book and make-in-the-morning pasta shells with chickpeas, mozzarella, and hominy.

After that I'm kind of stuck. I've been making this Barefoot Contessa corn chowder that is great, as is her turkey meatloaf.

Looking at my message from this time last year, it may be time to revisit some old favorites!

Whole wheat spaghetti w/ tempeh-tomato sauce
Shrimp scampi linguini
Biscuits and gravy with Morningstar Farms "sausage"
Black bean quesadillas
Lentil soup
Lima bean soup
Kale-potato soup
Whole wheat spaghetti w/ spinach-tomato sauce
Enchilada casserole
Artichoke-potato frittata

I confess, this is not my best set of menus ever. Oh, and imagine some green veg. (asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts) with most nights, except fruit with the biscuits and gravy.

Both of those menus sound great! I think we need to remember that, no matter what we do, eating in is cheaper than eating out!

Keep on cooking!

This is my menu for the next week.
#1 Miracle meatloaf-crackers/eggs/milk and smooshed down flat with tom sauce over-green beans-mac/cheese lots of salt and pepper
#2 Chicken Taco's(shredded cooked chicken breast goes a long, long way) with assort let/toms and pinto beans. I use lowry/mccormick envelope seasoning.
#3 Bagoki (philipino soaked meat-was on old site) with stir fry vegi's and rice
#4 Pork Roast, roasted (like Honey's people do) potatos, brocolli and rolls
#5 Chicken mesquite (seasoning pkg), corn and rice
#6 Steak-baked pots and salad
#7 BBQ Salmon (with salsa on one and italian dressing on other) rice and zuchini/squash combo
#8 Applebee on Weds...kids eat for 99 cents! My favorite!!

AnneP.
A child enters your home and makes so much noise you can hardly stand it--then departs, leaving the house so quiet you think you'll go mad. -Dr. J.A. Holmes

I bought a whole pork tenderloin and roasted about 2/3 of it for Christmas Eve with a cranberry glaze, which was yummy. I cooked the other 1/3 for New Year's day and that one I filleted open and rolled up around apple-walnut stuffing (just dice an apple and toss in the stuffing with about 1/3 cup chopped nuts). About 30 minutes before it was done, I brushed it with some applesause and pressed on another 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts and crushed crackers mixed with about 2 tbs melted butter.....boy, was that good!

Dinner here?

Tonight: lemon-and-garlic chicken fettuccini and salad
Wednesday: chicken enchiladas, salsa rice, refried beans
Thursday: crock-pot BBQ pork sandwiches, homemade buns, cabbage salad (Gunnoe slaw! )
Friday: Pita-Pizzas
Saturday: Exam day for me: fend for yourself!
Sunday: Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, rice (for DD9 and me: we don't eat potatoes!) Green beans, carrot salad
Monday: Creamed chicken (leftover chk) and biscuits
Tuesday: Spaghetti and (turkey) meatballs, salad
Wednesday: Roast Beast w/veges, egg noodles
Thursday: leftovers/RB sandwiches
Friday: Chinese take-out (DD14 gone...she doesn't like Chinese food)
Saturday: Fish (salmon, tilapia...whatever's on sale), rice, glazed carrots

And at every meal we have raw veges on the table....and usually applesauce for the DDS.

Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

since that's what we're having tomorrow. Hmmm... Savoy cabbage eh?? Might be worth a try if I go out. We get a bit stuck on broccoli and spinach since the kids love them, but only the broccoli works with the rest. And mash really is the best option for the taters.

Today's was quite nice... stir fried roast beef with mushrooms and noodles. Forgot those mushrooms were in there, and they were still perfect.

Kerri.

This is a great thread! Gets my brain thinking about cooking dinner!

Michelle - I have just discovered how easy this is - take a pork roast - NOT pork tenderloin - and put in crock pot for 6 hours or so on low - this is flexible. When you are ready, take it out and cool and break it up into pieces suitable for a sandwich - put back in crock pot and add BBQ sauce from a bottle or make your own if you have time! Either way, it will make a nice, juicy, pork mixture that you can serve on the bun of your choice. Yum! There are a lot of recipes on the web, that's how I figured this out finally. Just google crock BBQ pork or something like that. You can also do it in the oven, but my lifestyle prefers the crock.

Andrea

We had crockpot BBQ pork sandwiches! That is pretty weird!

Tonight, honey-mustard marinaded chicken breasts (grilled), oven roasted green beans, and butter noodles for the kids, spinach for me.

DS is staying at his girlfriend's tonight so wasn't here for dinner. You know what that means....I didn't bother to cook for myself and just had a sandwich. Actually I ate the two rounds of beef sandwiches that I had made for him to eat on the train and then forgot to give him I had to buy him another before I put him on the train.

Can I have details on the Skinky Fish Dish, please Zillah I have some smoked haddock in the freezer so I quite fancy trying that.

I saw an interesting recipe cooked on tv today by two guys called the Hairy Bikers (on Richard and Judy, for those who know who they are. I only tuned in for their book club recommendations honest!). I think it was called Transylvanian Chicken Paprika but I can't find the recipe online I know it had chicken, onions and three types of paprika (hot, spicy and sweet) and they had it with funny little German dumplings (Spatzle?)

By special request it is quorn korma for us veggies, chicken Bhuna for the meat eaters (my parents), naan bread, plain boiled rice, poppadums etc and afterwards extreme chocolate birthday cake (chocolate sponge with chocolate butter icing inside, chocolate glace icing and chocolate to decorate)
pass the alka seltzer!
Shayne

...is the theme for this eveing! DH will be late (he always is on Friday...it's a "troubleshooter"-thing); DD10.75 is going to my mom and dad's after having her birthday (Feb.) pictures taken at 6:00 pm; and DD15.5 has friends coming over for "chick-flick-Friday," so they'll be chomping on homemade pizza, chips, and popcorn. ME? I will probably eat the leftover chicken and rice from the other night.

Blessings,
Lenora
"...if woman's work is never done, why bother about how much of it [isn't] getting done at any given moment?"
~ Claire Fraser in The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

In an extraordinary feat of organisation I put a French cabbage and bean type stew on to slow cook before I went out for the day. It was well worth it, tasted great with baked potatoes this evening.

Tomorrow we go to the organic farm where we buy all our meat, so it may well be a meat feast weekend!

Zillah

We're in a lull between freelance checks, so it's time to get creative and discover the contents of the deep freeze!

I happen to have some Boca Burger crumbles (hamburger style), which I have not been using because I don't think they are the healthiest things to eat (too processed) but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I think I'm going to try a recipe for Cincinnati chili with it, since I always have beans and cheese. I may toss in some frozen corn to beef it up.

I'll be getting creative with chick peas and black beans this week too. And I think I still have one frozen turkey thigh . . . Do you think that's enough to make a little stock with? I have a few egg noodles left from a big bag, and some baby carrots.

I'm not going grocery shopping this week. There are several chicken breasts in the freezer, we have mince enough for a couple of meals too, plus haddock and tins of tuna. I have frozen cauliflower, broccoli and peppers, and other veg in tins, and that will have to do. We have rice and pasta, though I might have to buy potatoes, milk and bread, that's all.

Tonight, inspired by Lenora, I'm thinking chicken fajitas. Well done on making your own tortillas Lenora! I'm getting mine out of the freezer

I made pancakes and sausage patties for breakfast after church and the meat for dinner is in the crockpot...smelling mighty good, I might add...

Beef over egg noodles
broccoli and cheese
spinach/baby greens salad w/ honey mustard dressing (homemade)
spiced peaches...if I get up and cook them so they'll have time to cool

Blessings,
Lenora
"...if woman's work is never done, why bother about how much of it [isn't] getting done at any given moment?"
~ Claire Fraser in The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon